I've always loved to
read holiday and Christmas stories. My brother gave me a collection of
Christmas short stories for my 10th Christmas-it included O. Henry's Gift of
the Magi and stories by James Hilton, Thomas Hardy and Ray Bradbury-I've
reread that book nearly every Christmas and still love the stories. Some of
my other favorites include Mary Higgins Clark's Alvirah and Willie Meehan
and Regan Reilly cute mysteries which always take place around the winter
holidays. Another favorite is Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, a
wonderful story for all ages. For a lot of fun read John Grisham's Skipping
Christmas - I can just visualize the snowman on the roof! And last, but not
least-Dickens, A Christmas Carol - I've read this several times and seen so
many movie versions-my favorite is Scrooge (1951) which stars Alastair Sim.
One of my all-time favorite anytime movies. At Central we always display our
holiday books-so drop by and pickup some holiday cheer! Or mysteries! Or
cookbooks!
Pride and Prejudice,
by Jane Austen
The Collectors,
by David Baldacci
Next, by Michael Crichton
The Adventures of Vin Fiz,
by Clive Cussler
Treasure of Khan: a Dirk Pitt novel,
by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
Blink, by Ted
Dekker
Apparently this
book has been renamed Blink of an Eye, which is the edition
the library has. The book I saw was an earlier edition.
The Lost World:
Being and Account of the Recent Amazing Adventures of Professor George E.
Challenger, Lord John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, and Mr. E.D. Malone of
the Daily Gazette, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The text of the
book itself, I believe, is only slightly longer than the title.
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,
by Kim Edwards
Protect and Defend,
by Vince Flynn
A Time to Kill,
by John Grisham
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
For Whom the Bell Tolls,
by Ernest Hemingway
Apart from a few short stories, I haven’t read much Hemingway. I
always figured, though, that if I were to read one of his novels, this would
probably be the one.
Dune: House Atreides,
by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Death in Holy Orders, by P.D. James
Pontoon: a Lake Wobegon Novel,
by Garrison Keillor
Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis
Proof Positive,
by Phillip Margolin
The Emperor’s Children, by Claire Messud
Captain Alatriste, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce
Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates,
by Tom Robbins
This might actually be my favorite book of all time, so I was very glad to
see someone reading the paperback edition while waiting for their plane. I
think I might even have cheered right out loud.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
by J.K. Rowling
The Interpretation of Murder,
by Jed Rubenfeld
This one sounds pretty interesting. On a 1919 speaking tour of
America, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung join in the search for a serial
killer. The reviews look pretty good as well. I'll have to keep
an eye out for this on the shelves.
Catcher in the Rye,
by J.D. Salinger
Non-Fiction:
Doyle Brunson's
Sypersystem: A Course in Power Poker, by
Doyle Brunson
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the C.I.A., Afghanistan, and Bin Laden,
from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,
by Steve Coll
Team of Rivals:
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer
The Homebrewer's Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem, Answers to Every
Question, by Ashton Lewis
I
Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny, by Bob Newhart
The
Audacity of Hope,
by Barack Obama
Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House,
by Valarie Plame Wilson
My
Airplane Books:
Marooned: The Next Generation of Desert Island Discs,
edited by Phil Freeman
This is a fun book. The premise is simple—ask a bunch of music writers what
one album they would bring with them to a desert island and why. I really
enjoy reading about music, particularly when it helps me hear familiar music
in a new way. That was certainly the case with the essay on
Spiritualized’s
Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space.
Other highlights include a short piece on
Miles Davis.
The
City: A Global History,
by Joel Kotkin
Exactly what the title suggests, this is a breezy little overview of how
cities have changed over time. As a municipal employee, I figure I
have somewhat of a vested interest in understanding the forces that shape
the development of cities.
You
Suck: A Love Story,
by Christopher Moore
Publisher’s Weekly describes the one novel in my backpack as “a
cheerfully perverse, gut-busting tale of young vampires in love.” That sums
it up pretty well. Part of
a loose network of books by the always
entertaining Christopher Moore, the plot stands on its own as well as acting
as part of a greater whole.
Redemption
Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer,
by Chris Salewicz
Another book
about music and musicians, this is the biography of
Strummer, who once jokingly categorized himself as a “Punk Rock Warlord,
with ‘Warlord’ being one word."
The Uncommon Reader...Posted by Penny -
November 7, 2007
It's a very appealing title (at least to a librarian), and the reviews are
good..."Briskly original and subversively funny,...a fun little book"
from Publishers Weekly, "delightful political-social comedy by a
celebrated British writer" from Booklist.....so I thought I couldn't go
wrong by sending this novella to a couple of book-loving friends.
Well, I'm glad that I checked it out and read it before purchasing it and
sending it as a gift. It's short (took me about an hour to read) which
is good for busy people, but I found it boring---not good for this busy
person.
The Uncommon Reader is slightly funny, but it certainly
didn't live up to its billing. The "surprise ending" was a dud,
too. Maybe if I was an Anglophile or a great fan of British comedy, I would
have liked it better.
Now I've gone back to my usual choice of nonfiction,
and I'm reading
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. The
subtitle is "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One
School at at Time".
It's an inspiring story about Mr. Mortenson's quest to
educate the children who live in the shadows of the world's greatest
mountain peaks. To read more about Mortenson and Three Cups of Tea
see the website:
www.threecupsoftea.com
Looking? ... Posted by Linda E. - October
22, 11:24 a.m.
Are you looking for a good Book and your favorite authors have nothing
new out?
Librarians are frequently asked for recommendations on favorite authors or
titles to read. While we enjoy these types of discussions, it can sometimes
be difficult to match title to reader. As we move toward the holiday season
and that yearly rite of making New Year’s Resolutions, I thought you might
be interested in this list of 100 Best 20th Century Books from the
“Hungry Mind Review”. It includes some nonfiction titles and more
contemporary, female and ethnic authors than the traditional Modern Library
list. Try a few of these titles and see if you don’t feel a little more
“well read”. You may even be able to initiate an animated literary
discussion at that next boring holiday office party!
The Hungry Mind Review's 100 Best 20th Century Books
http://www.bookspot.com/listhungry100.htm
Do you love lists? Here are some more 100 best books lists.
Librarians favorite novels:
http://www.the-bookman.com/main/Best.books.html
Modern Library list:
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
Times list:
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html
Romance rocks! ... Posted by Linda,
July 18, 3:05 p.m.
Back in February my library
director forwarded an email from someone about the
Romance
Writers of America (RWA) national conference which would be held in
Dallas in July. For the past several years RWA has had a “librarians day"
included in their conference-which, for a minimal fee you get to mingle with
lots of romance writers and get free stuff. I sent my response and fee back
immediately! And finally it was July 11th! What fun-to mingle to
authors, librarians (near and far), and publishers. To hear Jayne Ann
Krentz and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts and to get loads of free
books and stuff! We had lunch with Shirley Jump, a delightful humorous
contemporary romance writer. Other writers that I
heard during the day were Suzanne
Brockmann and former Arlington resident Shana Abe, Jane Porter and Barbara
Samuel, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Sandra Hill. What a great day-very informative
and well organized. Did I say how much fun it was!?
Authors' websites:
http://www.krentz-quick.com/
http://www.susanephillips.com/
http://www.noraroberts.com/
http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/
http://www.shanaabe.com/
http://www.janeporter.com/
http://www.dailyinquisitor.com/sherrilyn/
http://www.sandrahill.net/
http://www.shirleyjump.com/
Join the Club ... Posted by Amber,
July 9, 5:00 p.m.
Have you ever thought about joining a book club? Or maybe starting your
own?
Book clubs are a great way to meet people – or to find new sides to the
people you thought you already knew. They can also open you up to books
you’d otherwise never read – or the books you hear people talking about that
you never take the time to read.
Sure, you may think that someday you’ll get around to reading The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime because of the empathy you
can gain from hearing a story from the viewpoint of an autistic narrator. Or
eventually, you’ll get around to reading
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise because it
really must be fascinating to find out why Ruth Reichl actually put on a wig
and created a whole new persona just to become a food critic.
But that’s not going to give you the drive to finish the last eight
chapters in one night . . . not like if you had to be able to discuss how
that new persona started strangling who she really was at the book club
meeting the next day.
Tamera, who started the book club at the Northeast Library four years ago
says, “I started the book club to talk about books that I loved to read. But
the book club has allowed me to go beyond my comfort level and read books I
never thought I would pick up. I have discovered many wonderful books this
way.”
Book clubs each have a different personality, and you may have to shop
around to find one that will be a good fit. If you read nothing but
classics, don’t expect a book club full of mystery fans to suddenly change
their reading tastes to suit yours – you may have to branch out and read
mysteries. But there’s also nothing that says they won’t read the occasional
classic, for a change of pace.
You may even decide to form your own club. There are a number of manuals
available to help you do this, including:
Read it and Eat by Sarah Gardner
The Book Club Companion by Diana Loevy
The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson
But before you go out and start your own book club, why not try one of
ours? Three of our branches have book clubs, each with a different taste in
books.
Northeast Arlington Book Reading Group
Second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
Northeast Branch
They are currently reading
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marsha Pessl for the July 10
meeting. Don’t have time to read it by tomorrow? Get started on
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder for the August 14 meeting.
Southeast Arlington Book Reading Group
Third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
Southeast Branch
They are currently reading
No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews for the July 19 meeting.
Woodland West Book Reading Group
First Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
Woodland West Branch
They are currently reading
Crashing Through by Robert Kurson for the August 7 meeting.
