I love to read book lists, best of lists or who’s reading what lists, so I was intrigued when I saw the following two books: The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them edited by Roxanne Coady and Joy Johannessen is what the subtitle says a…
If you’ve been looking for our Editorials & Opinions page, it is back up and running. Sorry about the glitch. We would love to hear about what books you’re reading, so please leave a comment or fill out our book recommendation form.
This author of Ten Hours Until Dawn has written another compelling account of a disaster at sea. Two small fishing boats set out to Georges Bank in November 1980 on what marine forecasts lead them to believe is typical fall weather for that day. Due to a malfunctioning weather buoy, both vessels encounter a storm…
It’s been ten years since we were first introduced to Harry and his friends, and what an amazing ride it’s been! I must admit it was with a fair bit of trepidation that I opened the cover and started reading the last book, in part because I feared being disappointed. After all, how could this…
If you’re a Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan fan (as in The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse) you’ll want to take a virtual walk over to Riordan’s blog. He’s posted the first part of a never-before-seen Percy short story entitled Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot. For all of us who cannot…
From the Marquis de Sade to Mad Magazine, sixteen authors share their picks for summer over at Time.
Perhaps you haven’t heard of the magazine called Seed. I hadn’t until I read an interview with their editor-at-large Jonah Lehrer who wrote a book called Proust Was a Neuroscientist. Lehrer’s book fits perfectly with the theme of the magazine which looks at the intersection of science and culture. The editors at Seed have come…
A fictionalized account of the life of Marie Antoinette, this novel begins with Marie as a fourteen year old girl who marries the heir to the French throne. In rich detail, we follow her journey from a much-loved queen to her eventual death at the guillotine. I found this as equally engrossing as Naslund’s AHAB’S…
Fans of William Martin will love his newest. If you haven’t read any, this is is a good one to start with. Historical fiction is intermingled with a present-day quest for an annotated draft of the Constitution that has been lost/stolen for many years. Popular venues of the New England States are highlighted in this…
All the book news is about the soon to be released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you aren’t frantically re-reading the last 6 books, here are a few articles to help you get ready for the final installment. JK Rowling: Learning to live with fame, fortune and life without Harry Goodbye Harry by…
When the trustees of Ian Fleming’s estate began looking for an author to write a new James Bond book many assumed hard-bitten thriller writers such as Frederick Forsyth or John Le Carré would top the list.Certainly no one tipped the acclaimed serious literary novelist Sebastian Faulks to be entrusted with the latest incarnation of Britain’s…
You might want to check out this new feature on the NPR website. So, what is Book Tour? “Each week, we present leading contemporary authors of both fiction and nonfiction as they read from, and discuss, their current work.” Recent guests have included: Walter Isaacson (Einstein) Mathew Sharpe (Jamestown) Atul Gawande (Better) Kiran Desai (Inheritance…
Here’s the cool thing about Red Handed – besides the fact that it was really quite good – it’s a young adult novel that has an adult counterpart. But before I delve into that, a bit about Red Handed {via B&N.com}: “Phoenix Germaine has been trying to earn back her mother’s trust after going into…
If you enjoy the reading challenges that are out there, here are a few more. You can also look at other people’s challenge lists to get ideas for things to read. The Armchair Traveler Challenge: Read 6 books (fiction or non-fiction) from July-December. The books should be travel-related or where the location is “integral to…
You might like this book if you are into Alternative/Indie Rock. You would like it even more if you are a GenXer, particularly if you were born in 1970 and were obsessed with the band Guided By Voices. This is a memoir of Sellars’s coming of age in music. The best part of the book…
This book was a pleasure to read. Widow, Maggie McElroy, heads off to China to settle a matter that has come up regarding her late husband’s estate. While there she has agreed to interview, Sam Liang an American-born chef with a ties to some of China’s finest, imperial chefs. What Maggie ends up getting is…
Fear not! Laurell K Hamilton – and, therefore, Anita Blake – is getting back to her roots. Let there be rejoicing! But not too much; Jean-Claude isn’t in The Harlequin nearly enough. Ah, but let me backtrack a bit. First off, if you will, a synopsis: “Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of…
According to a British newspaper, “a rare copy of a book by the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton has sold at auction for £43,200.” That’s roughly $86,339.79. The paper goes on to say: “The book was edited and published by Shackleton (1874-1922) and his fellow explorers during their Nimrod expedition to Antarctica from 1907-1909. Archivists believe…
Maggie and Jem seem like opposites. She is the quick-witted, city girl and he is the slow, steady country boy who has just moved to London. With the help of their new friend, Mr. William Blake, they find that they might have more in common than it would seem. As with Chevalier’s other novels, the…
Zoe Redbird is not having one of her better days. She’s trying to break up with her boyfriend, her best friend is driving her crazy, and then, a vampyre Marks her. Zoe enters The House of Night where, as she undergoes the change, she will train to become an adult vampyre. Of course not everyone…
You don’t have to have read Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, nor do you have to have seen the BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth, to read Shannon Hale’s Austenland. Either way, the ending will still leave you sighing. And, hey, it may tempt you to do one of the above! {Cough*WatchColinFirth*Cough} Anyway, here’s a synopsis:…
As usual NPR has several stories on summer reading. Here are links to a few of their recommended lists. We would love to hear what you are reading so feel free to leave us a comment with your picks for the summer. Booksellers’ Picks for the Beach — or the Backyard “NPR Special Correspondent Susan…
The shortlist for the award included Carlos Fuentes, Doris Lessing, Philip Roth, Don Delillo, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje and Amos Oz. Judge Nadine Gordimer called Achebe the “Father of Modern African Literature.” He will be awarded $118,500 and will receive his prize and a trophy at a ceremony on June 28 at Christ…
If you had to pick one book to be the “definitive book of the 20th century,” which one would you pick? The Guardian Unlimited held a poll and asked their readers just that. The answer? George Orwell’s 1984. “Paranoia, propaganda and a state of perpetual war are the defining characteristics of the last century, according…
Once a pharaoh beloved by his people, but betrayed by someone close to him, Adrian King has awakened thousands of years later as a vampire. Now the owner of the Royal Palace in Vegas, he is falling in love with Egyptologist Christine Day. But, someone else has awakened who will not rest until Adrian is…
Ok, so this is one of inkonvellum’s favorite books, so how can I begin to review it? Gaiman’s premise that immigrants to America bring their gods with them was quite interesting. He also deals with the psychology of gods – their need to be worshiped and what they do to survive in the changing face…
Will the end of the Harry Potter series bring about a publishing apocalypse? Several news sources around the world, while not suggesting that, are certainly wondering what publishers will do once the series ends this July. Take this snippet from a recent USA Today article: “‘I don’t know if we are ever going to see…
“The Decline and Fall of the Book Review Section…and What It Means to Publishers” was a recent headline in The Huffington Post. The writer’s summation is that it “certainly ain’t good.” What do you think? Do book review sections effect how you borrow/purchase books? Do you even read them?
A patron recommends Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. She said that it was excellent and that it took her right back to that time.
“Whenever a bookshelf is in a photograph, I just have to identify its titles. It’s giving me a headache.“ Read the article here. I have quite the same problem, I must admit. Both the need to identify the titles and getting the headache. And book bloggers are notorious for photographing their bookshelves, as well as…
This is another fun novel from the author of The Love Letter. Her characters all live in the same neighborhood in New York City. They are introduced one by one and soon their lives become intertwined and their relationships defined by the dogs in their lives.
The title and premise of this book really intrigued me and promised to be interesting reading. It was not a riveting read, but did keep my interest. This is a fictionalized account of an actual bookmobile that delivers books via camel to a community in Kenya. The focus is on several characters and their…
If you’re a fan of James Bond, you’ll love Alex Rider. Sure, he may only be fourteen, but he knows his way around a karate kick and a Portuguese Man-of-War. Complete with gadgets – zit cream that can eat through eight inches of metal, anyone? – Alex infiltrates a computer manufacturing company to discover why…
Have you ever been daunted by great works of literature? If you’ve always wanted to read Don Quixote but were afraid to take on the challenge, Tilting at Windmills is your ultimate Don Quixote support group. It’s an online discussion group with links, lots of background info on the book and a few fun things,…
A patron recommends… Dorothy Garlock’s River Rising: “A light, entertaining story.”
“ It seems to me that there’s frequently neither rhyme nor reason to which books garner tons of readers and which are read by only a few, devoted as they may be. Somehow, books in the latter category don’t seem to register on the radar of public awareness. This is a shame, because in this…
This is a children’s book, but there was so much buzz about it, that I decided to read it. It was fantastic. The illustrations are gorgeous. The book is designed to be like a movie, with black and white drawings that start far away and then zoom in on an object. The story centers around…
One day, ta and inkonvellum discovered that they were reading the same book: Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. Several days of rather, er, interesting discussions ensued. A sample: inkonvellum: “I don’t know if I like the bear. He’s kinda crabby.” ta: “But he’s so cool afterwards.” inkonvellum: “Yeah, well…” ta: “Well I think Mrs. Coulter…
Here’s a book that Charlotte highly recommends: Acclaimed explorer Ian Baker’s long-awaited memoir of his successful quest to reach a legendary waterfall in the unexplored heart of the Himalayas’ deepest gorge, a place long held by Tibetans to be the portal to an earthly paradise and the origin of Shangri-la
This fun little book is a memoir about working in bookstores and a history of bookselling. Even though he has worked in the industry for years, Buzbee still loves walking into a bookstore. His passion for books is infectious and unprententious. He spends a fare amount of time talking about the birth of “booklust.” Here’s…
Walking on Eggshells by Jane Isay is a must read for any parent who has ever had trouble relating to their older offspring and their significant others. Some topics : how to deal with an empty nest, how to get along with your daughter/son-in law, how to be a good grandparent. She includes stories from…
I already had extreme respect for this baseball player. Reading his biography only increased this respect. He gives credit to his family, especially his dad, who taught him to overcome disappointments by working harder. He is a genuine nice guy who still can’t believe his success.
For those of you who like biographies, here’s a review from Julie: Lately I’ve been reading some of Reeve Lindbergh’s books. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was (is? how would you put it when the writer is dead (thus was), but you’re still enjoying her books (thus is)? anyway…) one of my favorite writers. I read her…
Fantastic! Not just for kids. Excellent writing. He finds Atlantis! Dave
Here’s a list of Favorites from Fran our Reader’s Advisory Guru: Broken for You / Stephanie Kallos The Kite Runner / Khalad Hosseini In the Country of the Young / Lisa Carey Set on a fictional island in Maine, this novel encompasses Irish history, folklore, and fantasy to weave its tale. As the characters come…
jmcg is a staff member who, with insistent prompting from ta and inkonvellum, will hopefully be providing more recommendations for Read This! She may even be tempted to write a profile! But for now, this is what she’s got for you… Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) About…
“The famously reclusive Mr. McCarthy, 73, won for his devastating chronicle of a father and son walking alone across a post-apocalyptic America, cold, dark and strewn with corpses and ash. In her review in The New York Times,, Janet Maslin wrote, “ ‘The Road’ would be pure misery if not for its stunning, savage beauty.”…
“I am concussed.”* I was so pleasantly surprised by John Green’s Looking for Alaska that I became concussed. Okay, so that’s not entirely true – I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this novel, but I wasn’t the one concussed; no, that was Miles “Pudge” Halter, the remarkably reasonable and intelligent narrator of…
For a book that centers on signs of the zodiac with “superheroes” attached to each one, this a surprisingly dark fantasy in which there is no guaranteed happy ending. The story’s heroine, Joanna Archer, (can you guess what her sign is?) has survived a brutal attack at age 16 and has spent the last few…
I don’t normally read mysteries, but how could I pass up a book about a Jewish, vegetarian, bookmobile librarian in Northern Ireland? Israel Armstrong spends countless hours travelling to Tumdrum and District, Co. Antrim, to start his new position as librarian only to find that the library has been “shut.” He later learns that his…
Technically, The Dead Girls’ Dance is considered a young adult novel. But don’t let that put you off. Rachel Caine knows how to tell a good story and she creates wonderful characters. If you’re a fan of either of those concepts (and you don’t mind vampires) give her Morganville Vampire series a shot. (In case…
Novel Reflections: The American Dream, a special presentation of PBS’s American Masters series begins tonight. This episode examines seven novels that typifiy the theme of the American Dream: The Grapes of Wrath, Sister Carrie, The Great Gatsby, House of Mirth, Seize the Day, The Street and Typical American. Click here to hear Gish Jen, author…
The 2007 PEN/Faulkner award was given to Philip Roth for his book Everyman. Below is a snippet from a press release available for download on the PEN/Faulkner Foundation’s website. “Philip Roth’s work Everyman (Houghton Mifflin) has been selected as the winner of the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Roth is the first writer to receive…
During the 1527 sack of Rome, the well-known courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini and her business partner Bucino escape to Venice, but not without battle scars. In the business of beauty, nothing less than perfection will do and it takes some time and ingenuity for the two to rebuild. Discussion of the “profession” is frank, but not…
Never heard of it? Me, neither. At least not until I was reading a book blog and the blog’s author mentioned it. So what exactly is the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction? Straight from the prize’s mouth, er, website… “The founders of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction were concerned that many of the biggest…
After having seen Frank Miller’s 300 on opening night, I can tell you that it is brutal in its beauty, surreal in scope and cinematography, and totally gripping. It’s one of those films that, the more you think about it, the more it burrows under your skin. Based on Miller’s (also of Sin City fame)…
Margaret Bradham Thornton has edited and annotated Tennessee Williams “notebooks.” The compilation has received rave reviews: From Booklist: “The greatest American playwright? Regardless of one’s personal thoughts on his ultimate ranking, Tennessee Williams was inarguably great. For the first time, and for dedicated aficionados of his work, his complete journals are now being published. Kept…
The NBCC Awards were announced on Thursday. Kiren Desai’s book The Inheritance of Loss won for best fiction. “In a crumbling house in the remote northeastern Himalayas, an embittered, elderly judge finds his peaceful retirement turned upside down by the arrival of his orphaned granddaughter, Sai.” Click here for more award winners.
Marie says this is a “Very Good” read, but not exceptional. This is another starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “See’s engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends (laotong, or “old sames”) Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their…
This received a “good” rating by one of our patrons. It also got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly: “Brooks’s luminous second novel, after 2001’s acclaimed Year of Wonders, imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. An idealistic Concord cleric, March becomes a Union chaplain…
The nominees for the Agatha Awards have been announced! For a complete list of the nominees, please click here! Here’s a little info on the awards themselves (via the official website): “The Agatha Awards honor the traditional mystery—-books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is generally characterized by mysteries that contain…
If you’re a fan of private investigator/vampire/preternatural fiction, you may be interested in a new television show based on Tanya Huff’s series featuring P.I. Vicki Nelson. Blood Ties will premiere on Sunday, March 11th at 9 p.m. (And, yes, this will, unfortunately, conflict with the SciFi Channel’s excellent Dresden Files series, which is based on…
Walking Zero is the latest offering from Raymo, Science Professor at Stonehill College and former columnist for the Boston Globe. His walk along the Prime Meridian is the backdrop for an exploration of the history of astronomy, geology and paleontology. The Meridian is surprisingly close to a number of hot spots such as Darwin’s home…
“The death of history teacher Craig Foster devastated his young wife, who’d sent him off to work that morning with a lovingly packed lunch. It shocked his colleagues at the Upper West Side private school. And as for the ten-year-old girls who found him in his classroom in a pool of bodily fluids, they may…
Erin Hart’s second book the award winning Lake of Sorrows is equally as satisfying as her first. The story brings us back to the unique setting of the Irish bogs. Once again an ancient body has been discovered this time by local peat workers. He appears to have fallen victim of a sacrificial death. Evidence…
Erin Hart’s debut fiction Haunted Ground is a fascinating read. I literally could not put it down. You know, the kind where it doesn’t matter where you are even if you’re sitting in your car in the driveway you just have to read…one…more…page. Anyway, interestingly, the story is a unique combination of archeological finds and…
Check out Nancy Pearl’s Books for Armchair Travel and Adventure on NPR’s Morning Edition.
If you are new to graphic novels, here are some that were recently recommended by local librarians. These are the kind that are geared for adults. Maus – Art Spiegelman Persopolis I & II, Embroderies, Chicken with Plums – Marjane Satrapi Palestine – Joe Sacco Rabbi’s Cat – Johann Sfar Pride of Baghdad – Brian…
As you probably already know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on Saturday July 21, 2007. For more on the story click here. What do you think? Will J.K. Rowling kill off her beloved main character?
Okay, so this isn’t your cozy up to the fireplace with a nice cup of tea reading, but it was a very interesting book. Sunderland bases her research on scientific studies and brain scans. She explores how parenting choices can effect a child’s brain development. Most new parents look at their babies and wonder, “what…
If you’re looking for a pleasant distraction, try Krentz’s White Lies. The publisher has apparently decided to name the books that involve parasensitives as Arcane Society Novels, so while the series name may be newish, the themes are not. White Lies was a very enjoyable romantic suspense novel with paranormal tendencies. Here’s a synopsis from…
A patron told me this was won of the two best books she read last year. Here’s a quote from Publisher’s Weekly: “If you’re going to read just one book about alien abductions, make it this one. And if you think alien abduction stories aren’t worth considering seriously, Clancy will convince you otherwise. A postdoctoral…
So, the new issue of Publisher’s Weekly came out Monday. For those of you who don’t know, Cuffies are chosen by children’s booksellers. They have some interesting categories. Here are some examples: Most Memorable Character in a Lead Role Liesel in The Book Thief (Edward Cullen only got an honorable mention! How could this be!)…
A patron loved David Baldacci’s The Collectors. Here’s a synopsis from Amazon: “People are dropping dead in Washington, D.C. First the Speaker of the House falls victim to a hitman in a carefully orchestrated murder in front of dozens of the city’s power elite. Next, the director of the Library of Congress’s Rare Books Room…
The Mystery Writers of America have announced the 2007 nominees for the Edgar award. (See them all here!) Aren’t familiar with the Edgar’s? The MWA has a whole page dedicated to explaining the award and the judging process (and here it is.) They also have a list of past winners on the site. How about…
Jim Butcher’s highly entertaining wizard P.I. series was optioned by the SciFi channel to become a t.v. series. In fact, it premiered last night, and as an avid reader/fan of the books, I have to say, they did an excellent job. (Even though it didn’t stay true to Butcher’s story.) However, the books are…
Rachel Caine knows how to write books that you can’t (or are unwilling) to put down. Great characters, fantastic premise – it’s all here! This is a series and it is necessary to read them in order, but once you do, you’ll be consuming the others at a fast rate. Here’s info (from B&N) on…
A Patron just came in and sayed she loved this book. She said it made her cry, but in a good way. “In this conclusion to “The Circle trilogy,” one vampire dares to stand against Lilith and her minions, using his love for the newly-crowned queen of Geall to finally complete the circle of six…
This is the latest selection for the Tuesday Morning Book Group here at the library. I have read this myself and it was a great book, but not for the faint of heart. It is about post-apartheid South Africa after all. This book won the 1999 Booker Prize. Click here for the Reading Group Guide.…
The days are short. The weather is cold. Now is the time to curl up with a good book. Why not make it a big, fat book. Bookfool at Bookfoolery and Babble is sponsoring the Chunkster Challenge. In short, you need to read something over 400 pages and there is a drawing for prizes. Here…
I don’t know when NPR started to takeover, but it seems to be always on at my house. This book profiles a number of NPR newscasters including some of my favorites like Scott Simon and Nina Totenberg. Phillips explores how veteran NPR personalities ended up in radio and the reader gets a sense of what…
A patron recommends Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Curiosities. She got so wrapped up in it, she finished it in two days! “In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house is discovered. Inside are thirty-six bodies — all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago. While FBI agent…
From the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, comes this new collection of short stories. Only one of the stories features Jonathan Strange, but the rest of the stories feel like they take place in the same world. Clarke conjures up a version of 19th century England where magic and Faerie are historical subjects.…
Check out book guru and librarian action figure model, Nancy Pearl, on NPR’s Morning Edition. On this page she offers up her summer reading selections for 2006. Like the title says, “These Books May Make You Skip Work.” If you call in sick, we’ll know what your doing! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5474426 Other Summer Reading selections on NPR…
Let me start by saying I don’t like motorcycles. I really don’t like motorcycles. That being said, I enjoyed this book by Ted Bishop about motorcycles and books. Bishop road from Alberta to Austin for a sabbatical project about Virginia Woolf. So the book is about motorcycles and motorcycle culture, a little bit about Virginia…
Welcome to read this! a new blog to help you find books to read or recommend. Staff or patrons can submit reviews of books they’ve read and loved (or hated) and we’ll post them according to genre. A personal recommendation is always a great way to find something new, so please contribute! Send reviews to…
What do you do when an avid teen reader comes to the desk looking for something great to read? If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest teen reads or if the perfect book doesn’t come to mind, Michelle has just the thing for you – Books Laid Bare. This is a separate blog…
Here are a few highlights from an article on the Poets & Writers website featuring some interesting literary news: George Washington (yep, that George Washington) owes three hundred thousand dollars in late fees to the New York Society Library for two overdue books he borrowed on October 5, 1789. (Guardian) Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs is…