Librarians Are Reading!

If you just can't get enough books to read, and you're looking for something new, why not check out the Suburban Library Cooperative's Library Staff Are Reading page? Every year since 2002, the Cooperative asks library staff for their three favorite books of the year, and posts them online and in a brochure available at the libraries.

The Suburban Library Cooperative has 27 member libraries - imagine how many book recommendations that would give you!

Outside of a Dog, #69

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

It’s getting cold outside in Michigan, even though it’s been Fall since September. While we still have a few days left of sunshine and 50-degree days, check out one of these Michigan-set novels; come back for more before you hide under your blankets for winter!

Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon – Dean Bakopoulos

Written an “an elegy” to the working class men of Detroit (and America) in this quiet, almost heartbreaking novel of growing up without a father. Building a family in Michigan is the theme here, and there’s more than a few biographical touches to this tale, as well as threads of magical realism.

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Mr. Paradise – Elmore Leonard

Famous the world over for gritty noir novels, Elmore Leonard is a New-Orleans-born Michigan native who lives in Oakland County. This novel of crime gone wrong involves a high-priced call girl, authentic dialogue and places (the very first chapter places the protagonist at the posh Rattlesnake Club restaurant), and a satisfying murder mystery.

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Poison Blonde (An Amos Walker novel) – Loren Estleman

Classic cars and classic clothes are hallmarks of Amos Walker novels. Written for fans of 40s and 50s noir, this 19-book series by native Estleman hits these private detective stories right on the nose, where classy dames and real gone hipsters abound. Set in Detroit’s backyard of Hamtramck, this is the 17^th book in the series. If you want to start at the beginning, try 1980’s Motor City Blue.

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[Motor City Blue – Fic Estleman WMB]

A Stolen Season (An Alex McKnight Mystery) – Steve Hamilton

Winner of both the Edgar and Shamus awards for mystery and private eye novels, respectively, Hamilton is another local talent who turns his eyes to whodunits in Michigan – usually in the cold upper regions of the state. In this Alex McKnight novel (the seventh – and newest - in the series), plot crossovers and double-crosses surround the ex-cop while he deals with Bay Mills Indians and drug dealers.

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The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery) – Joanna Carl (a.k.a. Eve Sandstrom)

Michigan seems to be a popular place to set series mysteries – such as these Chocoholic books, featuring Texan Lee McKinney, who moves up to a Michigan resort town on the lake to help her Aunt Nettie’s chocolate business get back up and running. Lee and Nettie end up accidentally solving mysteries in this fictional resort town, and all of the mysteries involve chocolate! These are a good suggestion if you’ve finished the Joanne Fluke novels and are looking for more tasty page-turners.

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For kids who want some local fun, try the Michigan Chillers series by Jonathan Rand – featuring titles like Dinosaurs Destroy Detroit and Poltergeists of Petoskey.

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Outside of a Dog, #67

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Several old clichés come to mind when you think about friendship including “make new friends but keep the old”, “no one can have too many friends”, and “with friends like that, who needs enemies”. In the interest of discovering more about the concept or subject of friends we selected the following titles.

The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections - Richard Horchow

This book of rules and advice are offered with the goal of making real and lasting friendships. These true friendships can enhance and enrich each of our lives in many ways.

177.62 H WCV WAM

Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck in Complicated Friendships - Susan Shapiro Barash

What to do if your friends are not so wonderful but rather hurtful, unkind, nasty, and, yes, even toxic to your mental health and well being.

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If Teacups Could Talk: Sharing a Cup of Kindness with Treasured Friends - Emilie Barnes

A feel good little book detailing how important it can be to share time and tea with valued friends.

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I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women’s Lives - Patricia O'Brien and Ellen Goodman

After more than 25 years of friendship, Ellen and Patricia share their own stories as well as other stories about the importance of long time friendships.

158.25 G WCV WAM

Outside of a Dog, #35

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

"Say, hey, good-lookin’, whatcha got cookin’… How about cookin’ somethin’ up with me?" - Hank Williams

While cookbooks are a mainstay of libraries everywhere, if you’re more of a taster than a chef, try these food-related nonfiction finds and novels.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly – Anthony Bourdain
We’ve reviewed this book before, in August of 2008, and we revisit it again for this list. Bourdain’s wit and wisdom about food and the restaurant business are interesting and funny. Also available is a collection of short works by Bourdain, released in 2006, called “The Nasty Bits.”
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Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany - Bill Buford
New Yorker editor Buford gave up his desk-jockey life to learn the ins and outs of cooking under famous Babbo chef Mario Batali. Included in the book are adventures with knives, some biographical details about Batali, and lots of humor.
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Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip—Confessions of a Cynical Waiter – The Waiter
While Kitchen Confidential specializes in ‘back-of-the-house’ (a.k.a. the kitchen) tales, Waiter Rant is all about the ‘front-of-the-house;’ telling of diners both rude and sweet, and adventures with managers and other waiters that stemmed from “The Waiter”’s Waiter Rant blog.
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Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1) – Joanne Fluke
The first of the foodie murder mysteries by Fluke (#12 – Cream Puff Murder comes out later this month) finds heroine and cookie-baker extraordinaire Hannah Swensen trying to solve the murder of a delivery man – after he’s found dead in a pile of her famous chocolate chip cookies! Each book contains thematic recipes, too!
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Dying for Chocolate (Goldy Bear #1) – Diane Mott Davidson
Goldy Bear is an inventive caterer with a shaky past – her ex-husband stalks and threatens her, and her bills are piling up! She takes a job at the ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club to both get away and get on top of her mounting problems. But when one of the men at the club courts her, then ends up dead, Goldy’s new life may be in danger!
The Goldy books also include recipes – Dying for Chocolate features “Scout’s Brownies,” so good shivers will run down your spine!
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Bone in the Throat – Anthony Bourdain
Bourdain goes fiction in this first novel involving gangsters and restaurateurs in New York’s seedy Little Italy district. Also available is his second novel, which strays away from foodie interests, “Gone Bamboo.”
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And the Award Goes To...

New York Times bestsellers and Pulitzer Prizewinners aren't the only books in the literary world to get awards. Just announced yesterday - the Youth Media Awards, put together by the American Library Association.

The big three are:

Newbery Medal - for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman.
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The Caldecott Medal - for the artist of the "most distinguished American picture book for children."
The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson.
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The Printz Award - for a book that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."
Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta.
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The full lists of all the awards and honor books can be found here, at the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children Blog.

Coming Soon to a Library Near You!

January and February are big months for new books from your favorite authors. Here are just a few you can expect to see on our shelves soon - ask your librarian to put them on hold for you!

The Associate - John Grisham (1/29)
Run For Your Life - James Patterson (2/2)
Fool - Christopher Moore (2/10)
Promises in Death - J.D. Robb (2/24)
Bones - Jonathan Kellerman (2/24)
Night and Day - Robert B. Parker (2/24)
One Day at a Time - Danielle Steel (2/24)


And if you happen to be on a waiting list, why not try one of these recently released novels?

Mounting Fears - Stuart Woods
Plum Spooky - Janet Evanovich
Cross Country - James Patterson
The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
Scarpetta - Patricia Cornwell
The Pagan Stone - Nora Roberts
Black Ops - W.E.B. Griffin
Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult

Author Profile: Christopher Moore

An author of absurdist fiction – often writing about things that could never really happen (right?) in the real world, Christopher Moore is probably best-known for his books “Lamb” and “Bloodsucking Fiends.” What’s best about these novels (and many of his others), are the absolute comedy that starts with the subtitles. If you enjoy a particularly silly laugh, or you’d just like to know how a stupid angel tries to make a child’s Christmas wish come true, give these books a try:

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story

Jody never wanted to be a vampire. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much choice, because she sort of woke up dead. Adjusting to the change from 9-to-5 office drone to, well, bloodsucking fiend, is a lot harder than she’d ever imagined. Lucky for her, she meets Tommy, a night-shift worker (and champion turkey bowler). He agrees to help her during the day, and eventually falls for her at night in this comedic tale.

Moore followed up this novel with 2007’s “You Suck: A Love Story.”

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Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

The chronicle of Christ’s life has been told and retold many times, but never quite like this. Levi (who is called Biff) is called upon by the angel Raziel to tell his side of the story, and he starts from the very beginning, when he sees Joshua-bar-Joseph (Jesus as a child) reanimate a dead lizard. What follows is the telling of Joshua growing up in one of the most comedic ways possible, with occasional reflections from the modern world as Biff tries to convince Raziel to let him stick around for a while.

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The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

Raziel is back, this time, doing his best to grant a child’s Christmas wish – to have Santa Claus back. Unfortunately, the Santa Claus in question is the town drunk, who was killed by a shovel to the head. When Raziel intends to revive Santa, he accidentally raises a cemetery of dead people, who are surprisingly as amusing and lively as the living.

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Also available in audiobook

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A Dirty Job

Poor Charlie Asher – in the same day, he loses his wife and gains a daughter. Oh, and becomes the new Grim Reaper (called Death Merchants). People all around him start dropping dead, and his only clue is an instruction manual accidentally opened by Lily, the goth girl and Death wannabe who works in Charlie’s secondhand shop. Add in Moore’s wacky humor, his favorite setting, San Francisco, and find out how a beta male like Charlie learns to take charge of his life – and, kind of by accident, other’s lives and deaths, too.

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Also available in audiobook, ebook and eaudiobook.

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Thanks to AD for this author suggestion!

Outside of a Dog, #30

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

So...the Lions have not been the most winning football team this past season, setting a new record for the NFL. Still, in preparation for the Super Bowl on February 1^st, here are some entertaining football reads you might enjoy.

The 100-Yard War: Inside the 100-year-old Michigan-Ohio State Football Rivalry by Greg Emmanuel

ESPN coined it the number one sports rivalry of the century. This title showcases the two great football teams with history, behind-the-scenes stories, and information about the players as well as the fans.

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Football Made Simple: A Spectator’s Guide by Dave Ominsky and P.J. Harari

Do you believe over 60% of Americans watch football? Do all these people really understand what’s going on? This simple guide is filled with illustrations and explanations and contains everything for necessary for fans and non-fans alike to better understand and enjoy the game.

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The Way We Played the Game: A True Story of One Team and the Dawning of American Football by John Armstrong

Back in 1903, football was a very different game than what is played professionally today. This is the true story of a high school football team, its young quarterback and an enlightened coach pushing them toward modern-day football. A uniquely American story that will delight readers of history and fans of football.

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Outside of a Dog, #28

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Cold winter evenings are the perfect time to play some games. Can’t remember how to play? Here are suggested titles to refresh your memory.

Great Solitaire Games by Sheila Anne Barry
More versions of solitaire than you could possibly explore in one winter fill this slim book. Some of the games are quick and very simple, others much more complex and will challenge your powers of concentration.
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Winner’s Guide to Texas Hold’em Poker: The Smart Player’s Guide to Winning at Hold’Em by Ken Warren
Warren reveals his inside and top secret strategies in this, the definitive and essential guide to playing and winning at Texas Hold’Em, today’s most popular version of poker.
795.412W WCV EPL UPL

Teach Yourself Visually Bridge by David Galt
Bridge can be a very challenging card game, but you can quickly grasp the basics with this guide that SHOWS how it’s played. Covering everything from evaluating a hand and bidding it, through playing the cards, then scoring the results, this book guides you step by step with clear and colorful illustrations.
795.415G WCV SHL TPL

How to Play Better Dominoes by Miguel Lugo
28 tiles and four players, that’s all you need for a game of dominoes. Challenge your brain and test your logic with this old fashioned but still enduring game. This book offers insights and techniques to honing your skills at this deceptively easy game.
795.32L WCV SBL TPL

Hoyle’s Rules of Games Edited by Albert H. Morehead & Geoffrey Mott-Smith
A definitive book when it comes to the rules of the game – whether it's bridge, backgammon, blackjack, or blind tiger. Also included is a chapter on computer games.
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Outside of a Dog, #25

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

All sorts of craft ideas and projects compete for our attention. Why not indulge your crafting instincts with a few homemade holiday greeting cards? They are easy to make, quick, and can often be made with supplies you have around the house. The following titles offer inspiration as well as many samples.

Greeting Cards for the First Time by Karmen Quinney

Your cards will be a bit more special when they’re handmade with a particular loved one in mind. Sample cards, material lists, and advice are given here, and more importantly, the core ideas can easily be adapted with your own creativity in mind.

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Creative Greeting Cards by Sandi Genovese

Die-cuts to the rescue! Teachers, storytellers, and librarians have long used die-cuts for a wide variety of craft projects. Here they are utilized to create a selection of greeting cards. Everything from Christmas cards to invitations is showcased in a way that will inspire you to create your own unique cards.

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Instant Gratification Cards: Fast and Fabulous Projects by Carol Endler Sterbenz and Genevieve A. Sterbenz

Here we have plenty of quick and creative techniques to produce professional and sophisticated greeting cards in an afternoon that don’t look hokey or handmade. Whether a beginner or an experienced crafter you will find surely something in this book to inspire you.

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Better Homes and Gardens Handmade Greetings for all Occasions: 85 Cards, Gift Tags, and Invitations by Susan Banker

Send sentiments from your heart with cards made by your hands. Whether you’re looking for an extra-special way to say Happy Birthday or simply want someone to know you care, you’ll find ideas for perfect cards inside this book.

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Author Profile: Michael Chabon

Perhaps best known amongst comics fans as an Eisner Award Winner for his book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon has been writing novels and short stories (and the occasional movie!) since 1988, when he wrote Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Since then, one of his books, Wonder Boys, has been turned into a movie starring Michael Douglas, and he’s consulted on scripts for Spiderman 2, X-Men, and The Fantastic Four. Listed here are some of our favorites:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Two cousins with a pulp sensibility form an unlikely friendship and decide to draw a comic book about The Escapist, who breaks taboos and deals deathly blows to Hitler in this award-winning novel.

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Also available as E-Audiobook

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

Described by Publisher's Weekly as "a murder-mystery speculative-history Jewish-identity noir chess thriller," this alternate-history novel is Chabon's newest release to date. His hero is a much hung-over detective, stuck in a Jewish settlement in Alaska, with the mystery of a corpse in a hotel to solve and lots of brandy to drink.

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Wonder Boys

Writer's block is the worst thing that can happen to a writer. The protagonist in this tale is also middle-aged, unhappy, and a mess. What's the worst that could happen in one weekend? The lead character, Grady Tripp, finds out.

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Summerland

Chabon's first (and only) novel for young adults, this work takes us into a modern-day, American other world, much like Narnia or Wonderland. A young boy, who's really bad at baseball, is called upon to save the faeries of Summerland from the destructive Coyote and his band of warriors. Can 11-year-old Ethan do it?

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Werewolves in Their Youth (short stories)

In his second short-story collection, Chabon visits the aftermath of rape, what happens when boys playing at superheroes goes a little too far, and a fictional author's pulp horror tales (an author he created in the aforementioned "Wonder Boys" writes the last story in the book!) Wholly original, as are all of Chabon's work, and a great place to start if you're not sure you'll like his style.

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Thanks to IC for the author suggestion!

"When you can live forever, what do you live for?"

Fans across the world will be rushing into movie theaters next weekend for the opening of the movie "Twilight," based on the wildly-successful Young Adult book of the same name. The original four books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) are hard to get your hands on - the holds lists are almost 200 people strong! If you loved Twilight, how about some other supernatural books to keep you reading while you're waiting?


Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause
Vivian is a hereditary loup-garou (that is, werewolf), in a pack that's been run out of at least one town before. She lives like any other teenage outcast - willingly keeping company only with her age-mates in the pack. Until she reads a poem by another student, and becomes convinced that this one boy will understand what it's like to be a wolf, beautiful and wild and free. Meanwhile, people in the community are showing up dead - did Vivian do it? If not, who did?
(This was made into a movie, too, but the movie is completely different from the book.)
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Kitty and the Midnight Hour, Carrie Vaughn
Kitty Norville is just your average radio DJ, who hosts a late-night call-in show called The Midnight Hour. Oh, and not all of her callers are average. Or human. Of course, neither is Kitty. She's a werewolf, and in this first book in the ongoing series, the head of the vampire crime family (an undead mafia!) wants her show canceled, and Kitty dead.
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Vamped, David Sosnowski
One question that always gets asked in vampire novels is, if they're the more powerful predators, why haven't they killed all the humans and taken over yet? Sosnowski answers this question in Vamped, where vampires are the dominant species, and hilarity abounds.
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Sweep: Book of Shadows, Cate Tiernan
First in a series that now has 13 novels and a super edition, Sweep is a great set of novels about Morgan, a high school junior who finds out that she's a witch. Tiernan fills the novels with great prose, and accurate information about Wicca. Once you finish these, there's also the quadrilogy "Balefire" available.
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Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle, Jim Butcher
We've recommended the Dresden Files before on this blog, but if you've never picked up "Storm Front," or if you just prefer something a little easier on the eyes, try this new graphic novel, written by Butcher, and illustrated by Ardian Syaf, who is relatively new in the comics world. This is a stand alone story of Harry Dresden, and is as funny as the rest of the series. The art is well-done, and it's a great placeholder book while fans eagerly await "Turn Coat," due out in April of 2009.
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And of course, who can forget the classics:

Dracula, Bram Stoker
At the heart of all vampire novels is a vampire who wants to love a human. Here, the very first written story.
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The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection [DVD]
'When a man is attacked by a werewolf, he finds to his horror that he now becomes one himself under a full moon.'
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The Witches, Roald Dahl
A boy who's been warned about witches ends up at the yearly convention as a target. He finds that witches, REAL WITCHES, dress normally, live normally, and act normally, so it's terribly hard to catch them. Will he catch the witches, or will they catch him - and turn him into a mouse?
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Do you have a favorite supernatural book?

November is Native American Heritage Month!

Find out more about Native American heritage by reading some of these books, or checking out the websites listed below.

Nonfiction
Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko
Silko is another well-known author, who delves into the past with both fiction and nonfiction (See her work Ceremony for a winding tale of modern-day tribe members.) This is more of an autobiographical offering, with stories, personal history, poems, and photographs of her life.
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Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today by Leslie Marmon Silko
Written in 1997, but still relevant (and used in college curricula today), is this book containing nonfiction pieces on "America's Debt to the Indian Nations" and "Interior and Exterior Landscapes: The Pueblo Migration Stories."
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American Indian Trickster Tales by Richard Erdoes
Coyote is the best known trickster of the Native American stories, but he's not the only one. Included here are also Iktomi, a shapeshifting Lakota spider-man, and Veeho, the Cheyenne daredevil, in one hundred illustrated stories.
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Fiction
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Alexie is regarded as one of the best writers about modern Native Americans, mixing history and traditions of the tribes (usually the Coeur D'Alene tribe, of which he is one) with current topics, characters, and events.
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The Business of Fancydancing: Poems and Stories by Sherman Alexie
Alexie's first book, which follows his usual format of short stories with humorous titles, as well as poems.
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The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman
Known and rewarded as a top mystery author and Special Friend of the Navajo Tribe, Hillerman made his name in fiction for his Navajo Tribal Police/ Joe Leaphorn mysteries. Unfortunately, he also passed on recently, so there will be no more after the most recent, 2006's "The Shape Shifter. Start with this first book in the series, or with "The Joe Leaphorn Mysteries" collection, which features the first three novels.
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The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Coyote is one of the most famous (and beloved) of the Native American spirits - always in trouble for making deals and promises he doesn't exactly keep. Edited by Datlow and Windling, well-known for being a part of "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror," this is a collection sure to show many different sides of the Trickster.
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Websites
Native American Heritage Month (homepage): put together by the Library of Congress, this is a great jumping-off point for anyone interested in the subject.

Oyate: A Native organization devoted to making sure Native Americans are portrayed honestly in books and other media.

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: Three sites that make up the National Museum include artwork, history, archives, and more.

Outside of a Dog: The Spooky Edition

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Halloween is just around the corner, and we’d be remiss without suggesting a few spooky stories to put you in the mood.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
The Rolfes rent a summer home that sounds too good to be true. Soon they discover themselves caught up in a web of unimaginable menace and terror.
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Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
Published in 1998, this is the 7^th novel in the featuring Anita Blake vampire hunter. Hamilton’s immensely popular series, now numbering 16 books, continues to intrigue and fascinate readers. In this novel, Anita is dealing with leaving one boyfriend, the werewolf pack Alpha Richard, and turning to another, Jean-Claude the Master Vampire of St. Louis; not to mention combating a possible psychic firestarter.
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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A vampire book that's not at all like any vampire book you've ever read (we promise!) It's a story within a story within a story, generations of families and friends haunted by the search for Vlad Dracul. The dramatized version on CD is really a fright!
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Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
We’ve all seen or not seen the Academy Award nominated movie. You really have to read the book to truly appreciate how truly frightening the printed word can be.
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Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Regarded as the most frightening and disturbing of King's many horror novels (and that's saying something!), Pet Sematary has lasted the test of time will give you chills. The story of a family who moves from Illinois to Maine, and finds local pets being raised from the dead is a sure scare at Halloween, or any time.
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Coma by Robin Cook
This is the book that is credited with introducing the medicine gone awry genre. A young female medical student uncovers a shocking crime at her hospital.
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Crooked Tree by Robert C. Wilson
An engrossing tale that combines Indian legend and supernatural terror in a Northern Michigan setting. First published in 1980, it was recently reissued in paperback.
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Superstitious by R.L. Stine
After zipping through all of Fear Street and Goosebumps when I was 12, I dug up R.L. Stine’s only adult offering to date. Truly chilling for those young and old, Superstitious is about a college girl’s affair with a folklore professor – who might just be scarier than the superstitions he teaches her.
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For our younger readers looking for a scare, try R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps or Fear Street, Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, or Morgan Burke’s Party Room trilogy.

Readers: What is your favorite scary book?

Author Profile: Meg Cabot

Famous for the Young Adult bestsellers "The Princess Diaries," now numbering 13 titles, Meg Cabot has been writing both adult and teen books for years. She has a great sense of the places she writes about (usually New York, sometimes Michigan), and a sense of humor and style that is unusual and fun.

The Boy Series [The Boy Next Door (2002), Boy Meets Girl (2004), Every Boy’s Got One (2005)]
Each book of The Boy Series is based on a different character in New York City, usually a girl somehow involved with or related to the workers at the fictional New York Journal magazine. Every story is unique, and interspersed with e-mails, receipts, and other items, making them easy and engrossing to read - much like talking with an old friend, or looking at a scrapbook.
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Every Boy's Got One Fic Cabot ROG RSV

The Heather Wells Mysteries [Size 12 is Not Fat (2005), Size 14 is Not Fat Either (2006), Big Boned (2007)]
Heather Wells used to be a rock star on the mall tour (think Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, in the 80’s). Engaged to the lead singer of a boy band, and ready to write her own songs and make it big, Heather’s life is changed when her father is sent to prison and her mom runs off with her money. She works for the fictional New York College, and somehow is always involved in the newest murder on campus.
Size 12 Is Not Fat YA Fic Cabot WAM WDB WCV HPW
Size 14 Is Not Fat Either Fic Cabot WDB ROG FRA
Big Boned YA Fic Cabot WCV HPW / Fic Cabot MPL MCL SCS

The Queen of Babble Series [Queen of Babble (2007), Queen of Babble in the Big City (2008), Queen of Babble Gets Hitched (2008)]
Lizzie Nichols, fashion expert extraordinaire, and resident big mouth, is off to England to meet her long-distance boyfriend Andy. The only problem is, after the big graduation party (and a dozen or more travel book-lights), Lizzie finds that she never graduated. What happens next to our loquacious leading lady? Read to find out!
Queen of Babble Fic Cabot WCV MCL ARM / BCD Fic Cabot TPL
Queen of Babble in the Big City Fic Cabot ARM CHE UPL / ACD Fic Cabot CHE / EAudio WCV
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched Fic Cabot ARM WAM WDB / BCD Fic Cabot MPL TPL

Outside of a Dog, #23

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Selected this week are some older fiction selections that we happily classify as forgotten treasures. All were on best seller lists many years ago but definitely still qualify as a good read.

Defects of the Heart by Barbara Gordon

Jessica Lenhart is a prize-winning television executive. She becomes deeply involved in producing a show that deals with a new drug recently approved by the FDA. This drug is supposed to be useful in preventing miscarriages; instead, her own findings lead her to believe the drug may be causing birth defects.
This novel was published in 1983.

Fic Gordon MTC

Tender Mercies by Rosellen Brown

Don and Laura Courser have lived contentedly with their two children in a small New England town. On vacation, a terrible accident occurs. Laura is swimming near a motor boat when Don accidentally guns the motor of the boat and the propeller blade severs her spinal cord. How this family deals with the unexpected tragedy makes this a compelling and thought-provoking story.

This novel was published in 1978.

Fic Brown ROG RSV SHL

Love and Glory by Jeane Westin

This is a fictionalized account of four remarkable women who were part of the original group of Women's Army Corps officer candidates in 1942. Although each woman was distinctly different in personality and came from a variety of backgrounds they managed to form life-long friendships.

This novel was published in 1985.

Fic Westin SHL

Four Days by Gloria Goldreich

A middle-aged woman spends four days in a hospital deciding on whether or not to go through with an abortion. Although written over 25 years ago, the story still has a remarkable moral relevance to a question that is still being hotly debated today.

This novel was published in 1980.

Fic Goldreich MTC

License to...

With the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace” due in theaters next month, why not look into other books and movies featuring the well-known spy:

Casino Royale: The movie released in 2006 with newcomer Daniel Craig taking over where Pierce Brosnan left off, is very different from the original story, written in 1953 by Bond scribe Ian Fleming. The movie that came out in 1967 was a parody only loosely based on the original book.

1967 Parody: DVD Arts Casino TPL
2006 Movie: DVD C22 ($1 for 2 days) WCV
Original 1953 Story: Fic Fleming WAM (book includes “From Russia, With Love,” “Live and Let Die,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Dr. No,” and “Goldfinger.”)

Dr. No: The first Bond film, and the first starring Sean Connery as the legendary James Bond, was actually the sixth book Ian Fleming wrote.

Original 1958 Story: Fic EPL
1962 Movie: VHS Fic D RSV/ DVD Action-Adventure D ROG

You Only Live Twice: The last (consecutive) film that Sean Connery portrayed the lethal leading man in, the book was written well before the movie, too.

Original 1964 Story: Classic F Fleming TPL
Audiobook: (as part of “The Best of Bond, James Bond”) CD Soundtrack J SBL
1967 Movie: VC Y 30, CL FRA/ DVD Action-Adventure Y ROG

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Often called the best non-Connery Bond film, actor George Lazenby only played the role once.

Original 1963 Story: Mys Fleming WDB
Audiobook: BKC Fic Fleming RSV
1969 Movie: DVD On MTC

The Living Daylights: One of the last movies to be based on Ian Fleming’s original work (none of the Pierce Brosnan movies were!), it starred Timothy Dalton in one of two shots at the secret agent.

Original 1965 Story: M Fic SCS (In an edition with “Octopussy”)
1987 Movie: DVD Bond CHE

* Note: Other libraries also have various editions of the movies on DVD and VHS, but some are not holdable.

What's an mp3 Audiobook?

Audiobooks come in many forms: first, Cassettes (all Warren Libraries still have some!), Compact Discs, and most recently, the self-contained Playaway. The newest addition to our collections is an mp3 Audiobook, which allows you to have the entire book on one disc, instead of several!

mp3 files are small sound files, most recognized for being widely-accessible music files. Each one ranges from 1 megabytes to 5 megabytes, depending on the length of the song. Regular audiobooks on CD are in wav or wma files, which are much larger - usually 40 megabytes or more - which means that one CD can only fit 17 tracks. On an mp3 audiobook, the files are smaller, so you can fit more tracks on one CD!

mp3 audiobooks are playable on some CD players and car stereos (most new Ford models), and your computer (or any library computer).


Available mp3 audiobooks include:
Casanegra by Blair Underwood
Death Angel by Linda Howard
Killer View by Ridley Pearson
Tailspin by Catherine Coulter
No Choice But Seduction by Johanna Lindsey
Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner

Outside of a Dog, # 22

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good old fashioned love story. The following are some our favorites.

Close Relations by Susan Isaac
Marcia Green is a witty, talented, and very sophisticated New York political speech writer. She is currently involved with her boss’ chief of staff. The last thing she needs is a blind date engineered by her mother. Or does she?

WCV WMB WDB Fiction

‘Til the Real Thing Comes Along by Iris Rainer Dart
A widow at 37, RJ Misner finds herself disillusioned with men and the world of dating. Then she meets David Malcom. She discounts him immediately as too charming, too rich, too handsome, and most of all too young. Boy, how those first impressions can be deceiving!

WAM RSV SHL Fiction

Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Parker, an ex-convict with no family, no home, and no chance for love, drifts into Whitney, Georgia and meets the town’s crazy widow Dismore. Eventually these lost souls change each other’s lives.

WDB EPL FRA MTC Fiction

Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
After a terrible plane crash and extensive plastic surgery, a young woman is mistakenly identified as the wife of a handsome senatorial candidate. Before the truth can be uncovered, she finds herself falling in love.

FRA TPL Fiction

Outside of a Dog, #21

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Back to school often means back to those required reading lists for many students. But you don’t have to stick with one list. The following books offer a wealth of suggestions as well as explanations why the classics are still important.

A Month by Month Guide to the Classics and Crowd Pleasers for You and Your Book Group, Elisabeth Ellington
An entertaining and detailed list of past and present classics to discover.
011.73 E TPL MCL ROG

Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now, Andrew Delbanco
A somewhat scholarly view as to why reading the classical literature is even more important than ever and what we can learn from them.
810.9 D TPL
810.935 D SCS

Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed, the editors of Salem Press
A quality and comprehensive listing of a wide range of classic books.
808.8 R TPL

If you're overwhelmed by required reading, listed below are classic novels at or near 200 pages.
*Most of these will be shelved under the author's last name in the fiction section.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling