Live the Life of Riley With These New Adult Fiction Titles From JCPL!

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‘Working like a dog,’ ‘dog tired,’ ‘it’s a dog’s life;’ these phrases give me pause as I look over at both of my dogs, stretched out on a couch in each room, comfy and dreaming whatever dreams that dogs dream.

Each day is an endless stream of naps, food, water and ‘want to go out?’ They have begun to rule the roost, and, in my opinion, live the life of Riley. ‘The Life of Riley,’ if you’ve never heard the phrase, is used to describe someone with a happy life, without work, problems or worries.

They are, without a doubt, living the life of Riley, which to a human, would be the equivalent of being able to sit in a favorite spot, warm and comfortable, feet propped up, with a book in hand, reading endlessly without interruption.

If I were ever accused of living the life of Riley, I would hope that is exactly how I would be doing it. A good place to start before I begin my life of Riley would be a visit to my local branch of JCPL, where the new books on the shelves would provide the ‘book in hand’ part of my new position as Riley. Read on for your ‘book in hand’ adventure!

Food; it is Sydney Strauss’s greatest obsession. She likes to eat food, but what she really loves is to write about it. Foods of all kinds; everything from fruit to organic farming techniques are Sydney’s true love, and working for one of TV’s biggest egomaniacs is great, until she finds herself making money at the local farmer’s market. As uneventful as her new job is, Sydney makes lemonade out of the lemons she’s been handed and begins writing a column for the market’s weekly newsletter, which catches on in a big way as her whimsical stories catch the attention of a local food columnist. Opportunity knocks when Sydney gets a shot at a big story; one that could make or break her career in ‘A Second Bite at the Apple’ by Dana Bate.

NYPD Homicide Detective, Nikki Heat is working on a murder investigation with her imaginative, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist boyfriend, Jameson Rook, along for the ride. Happy to have him alongside her as he provides entertainment with his witty sense of humor, Nikki likes being able to bounce ideas off of Jameson as the two of them rekindle their romance. The challenge of working alongside her boyfriend becomes more intense, however, when conflict over the case arises. As Hurricane Sandy begins to rage on, pounding New York with magnitude and force, the battle intensifies and Nikkie Heat finds herself up against not only a force of nature, but forces seemingly beyond her control in ‘Raging Heat’ ‘by Richard Castle.

Lizzy and Jane lost their mother to cancer at an early age. Elizabeth, nicknamed Lizzy, fled her home shortly after her mother’s death, searching to fulfill her dream of creating magic in the kitchen. Settling in New York, Lizzy soon climbs the culinary ladder, landing the job as head chef at the restaurant she is employed by. Things turn sour for Lizzy, however, when the restaurant’s financial backer brings in someone new to work alongside her, so once again, Elizabeth is on the run. Returning home to Seattle, Elizabeth learns that her estranged sister, Jane, has been stricken with cancer, and so the decision is made for Lizzy to stay in Seattle, regrouping and creating healthful meals for her sister as she battles the disease that claimed the life of their mother. When the opportunity to return to New York is presented to Lizzy, she finds herself pressed to make a decision in ‘Lizzy and Jane’ by Katherine Reay.

Twenty years have passed since Annie Black spent a winter in London, partying and looking for love in all the wrong places. Now happily married and the mother of three children, Annie lives in San Francisco. An old obsession, however, takes hold of Annie when an old photograph arrives unexpectedly in her mailbox, leading her to return to London and the memories of the past that have led to Annie’s present day life in ‘A Small Indiscretion’ by Jan Ellison.

After you visit your local branch of the Jasper County Public Library, you will be well on your way to living the life of Riley, which all creatures great and small are entitled at some time or another. So make this your time to find a favorite spot, put your feet up, and place a book in your hand as you live the life of Riley, courtesy of the new books you check out from your friends at JCPL!

Photo: Original image Dreaming Maddox by Carlito Gonzales via Flickr.