Latest Additions January 25, 2010
Posted by stacey in Thoughtful Ramblings.Tags: Latest Additions, The Reading Room
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I think it’ll only be one more week and we’ll be back to normal! -Or as normal as anything ever gets?- But until then I must give PBS another shout-out: “Thank you PBS! Thank you for those fabulous Masterpiece Classic miniseries!” I loved Cranford and I plan to love Return to Cranford. (I missed them on television and will be watching the online episodes.) And I loved the first episode of Emma last night! I am a big fan of Ms. Austen from way back in junior high and have even joined The Jane Austen Society of North America. I like to think that means I can call myself a diehard Janeite, don’t you? I have a long list of sequels and prequels and stories adapted from Austen’s works that I love but there are also some books and films that I find regretful… Are you curious? Are you wondering what I would recommend for other Austen fans? Well then, come on in! While we wait just a little while longer for our beloved Reading Room to come back to us, we’d love to see you all in person!
—Stacey
Robert B. Parker, 1932-2010 January 24, 2010
Posted by Donna in Mystery, Thoughtful Ramblings.add a comment
Robert B. Parker, the author of more than 60 books, died on January 19, 2010. He has often been called the “Dean of American Crime Fiction” and was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 2002. Most of his books featured Spenser, a wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private eye. Spenser never had a first name but was dubbed by many as the ”thinking man’s private eye.” Parker created Spenser after he completed his doctorate dissertation on classic mystery crime writers, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald from Boston’s Northeastern University. Spenser first appeared in The Godwulf Manuscript in 1973 and was featured in more than thirty-some other novels. Wow! I think I have read every single one of them. I have had a secret crush on Spenser for years and I love Pearl the dog too. I read and enjoy all kinds of books but a Spenser book to me was one that I treasure as much as a delicious Starbuck’s Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Robert B. Parker and Spenser will be missed by me!
“It was not just that Ross Macdonald taught us how to write; he did something much more, he taught us how to read, and how to think about life, and maybe, in some small, but mattering way, how to live.”
~Robert B. Parker~
Happy Reading! ~Donna
More and More Book Awards! January 21, 2010
Posted by stacey in Book Awards.add a comment
More books were recognized for their ability to stand out from the crowd at ALA’s Midwinter Conference; isn’t that nice? So shall we take a moment to take a look at a few more lists? The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) passed out a whole big bunch of awards! They selected 25 fiction, non-fiction, and poetry books for their 2010 Notable Books list. They selected books for The Reading List which is made up of eight genres. And some reference book awards and individual awards that might be of interest if you are die-hard fan of any and all kinds of awards!
But perhaps you’d like to be a leader instead of a follower? Perhaps you’d like to start a list of your own Notable Books so you can be ready to see how they stack up against the official 2011 Notable Books list? You might want to start checking out what the independent bookstores are predicting will be the next hot title. The IndieBound list is always full of interesting suggestions!
Oh, the choices! Maybe you’ll want to switch back and forth between the all the lists? And still leave room for what’s coming in The Latest Additions? That sounds like a great plan!
—Stacey
Latest Additions January 18, 2010
Posted by stacey in Book Awards, Thoughtful Ramblings.Tags: Latest Additions, The Reading Room
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Well. You know. You know how technology can be, right? Sometimes it’s your best friend and sometimes it just likes to mess with your head a little bit? I think The Reading Room is our best friend 99% of the time, so I’m sure we can forgive this strange 1% when it’s messing with us a little.
And really, it’s okay because now we can ponder the awards given out this morning at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference! It’s a big day in the book world. I think it’s a bit like the Oscars, when you have a couple big awards that everyone tunes in for and then there are the many more, lesser known awards that are still prestigious to win but mostly unfamiliar to the general public. Does that make sense? In either case, I do believe it would truly be an honor just to be nominated! But in our book obsessed minds, today’s big awards are The John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal! ALA put out a press release saying When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead won the Newbery and The Lion and The Mouse written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott. Exciting, no? Or you can watch a video of the Youth Media Awards being announced this morning. So when you think about it, that’s a lot of pre-approved, actual winners to choose from! And I’m hoping it should be enough to keep you busy while the final adjustments are made to The Reading Room?
Enjoy!
—Stacey
What If There Were an American Author Idol? January 13, 2010
Posted by Evelyn in Book Awards, Fiction, Thoughtful Ramblings, Thrillers.Tags: Favorite books, Thrillers
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Would we judge authors on their looks? their prose? or maybe even the jacket covers of their books? Hmmm…..What a dilemma! I was wondering about this last night since it was pretty quiet on the reference desk and someone suggested that everyone was home watching American Idol. They told me there was even a Facebook page asking President Obama not to schedule his State of the Union speech to conflict with the program.
If I apply American Idol judging to pick the book I read next, which do you think would win?
The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell
The First Rule by Robert Crais
Or, Impact by Douglas Preston
I like them all, so I’ll just flip a coin to choose. Maybe I’m just a little Paula Abdul-ish at heart.
~Evelyn
Latest Additions January 11, 2010
Posted by stacey in Thoughtful Ramblings.Tags: Latest Additions, The Reading Room
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We’re still without any new additions to The Reading Room this week, but it’s getting closer to being all spiffed up and ready to go! Just hang in there a little longer with us, okay?
But for today I’m going to share with you some thoughts about: snow and books. When it snows, I must shovel. I have a looonnngg drive and so I must shovel for quite some time, darn it. So how can I make this annoying bit of business a good thing? I listen to a book on my mp3 player! I’ve listened to one full book and I’m half-way through another already! The only thing that could be trouble? I make faces while I listen (and shovel.) I know I do this because I’ll catch myself in the act. Then I think, how weird do I look if you see me while you’re driving by? At the end of the day, I like the idea that I’m multitasking. Are you interested? Would you like to try this too? Just head on over to our “digital library,” select a book, download it on your own mp3 player, and get busy with that snow!
—Stacey
Happy New Year! January 5, 2010
Posted by Donna in Fiction, Thoughtful Ramblings, Uncategorized.add a comment
Did you make any resolutions for this New Year and new decade? Check out http://www.top-10newyearsresolutions.com/ for the Top Ten. The only New Year’s resolution that I make and keep EVERY year is to READ. I love to read and I plan to read a lot! Here’s my new list of books to be read in 2010 (I’m sure I will be adding lots more):
Sizzle by Julie Garwood
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz
Days of Gold: A Novel by Jude Deveraux
(I’m still on my “happy endings” kick and I know these authors will satisfy this craving for me.)
What’s on your reading list for 2010?
Happy Reading! ~Donna
Snowy Reads January 5, 2010
Posted by Evelyn in Fiction, Mystery, Thoughtful Ramblings, Thrillers.Tags: Lake Effect, Reader's Advisory, Snow, Thrillers
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The snow’s still falling here—three days in a row. It’s called lake effect and it is typical for Cleveland in January. All this snow has me thinking about some of my favorite books where snow plays a big part in the story.
In The Big Thaw by Donald Harstad, it’s 30 below in the Iowa heartland and usually crime takes a vacation when it’s this cold. But when the sheriff discovers a break-in at the home of a farmer who is wintering in Florida, it leads to information about the possible hijack of a floating casino riverboat. I can still picture the sheriff driving down the single lane roads with walls of snow higher than his car on either side.
Imagine a city-wide snowman building contest in your local park as a popular winter event. Where? you say. Only in Minneapolis. That’s how Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy begins. You can just feel the cold and wet snow, frozen toes and soggy mittens. Imagine chasing a suspect through this family event and finding the horror of two dead police officers inside a couple of the snowmen. And, the hunt for a serial killer begins.
Or, you can stay warm and just search the word “snow” in our Reading Room for more titles—just keep the hot chocolate near by.
~Evelyn
The First Line from David Guterson’s The Other January 5, 2010
Posted by Ann in Fiction, Thoughtful Ramblings.add a comment
Commenting on Chris’s post about first lines: I’m fond of them too. Here’s the first line of the book I’m currently reading, The Other by David Guterson.
“I attended Roosevelt (the Teddies, Teds, or Roughriders), a public high school in North Seattle, while my friend John William Barry was a student at Lakeside, our city’s version of an East Coast private academy like Phillips Exeter or Deerfield.”
I love the writing of Guterson, and since he wrote Snow Falling on Cedars, I’ve read every book he’s written. Plus take a look at the cover- it’s perfect for the current snow-covered scene of northeast Ohio.
~Ann
Latest Additions January 4, 2010
Posted by stacey in Thoughtful Ramblings.Tags: Latest Additions, The Reading Room
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Well. I’m not really sure where to start today… Should I start with the mini-rant about the endless snow of today? Or perhaps I should explain why there aren’t any Latest Additions to share? You’re right. I should start with old business before moving on to new business. Hey, I know Robert’s Rules of Order thank you very much! And if I didn’t already just have that information in my brain, I know I could find it at the library! So. Old business. That would be why there aren’t any Latest Additions to post today… Well, let’s see… I guess the most basic explanation is that our technology people recommended that the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System host our Reading Room database on their server. They’ve already moved all the old files, but now they’ve caught up to the newer things we’ve added and they’d like us to take a little pause so they can be sure they’ve got everything. What does this actually mean to you, our loyal followers? Not too much except that we won’t have anything new to share for a week or so, but feel free to look over the many, many, many, many older entries! The Reading Room will continue to look and function the same way as it always has, so feel free to browse away! Or why not check out the latest Between the Covers? Still so many choices!
And for new business? The snow? Ugh! I knew it was going to be one of those kinds of days when I left my house this morning and I could see a wedge of snow on the upstairs window ledge. Why is it feast or famine? So little snow in December that we almost broke some “no snow” record and now, four days into January, the snow won’t stop falling! What’s that about? The upside? What a perfect day to stay inside and read a book, right?
—Stacey
