10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in November

November 9, 2014October 29, 2014 / Louise / Leave a comment

It’s November, time to put on a sweater, throw another log on the fire, and give thanks for a lot of great new books coming your way!

Every month, librarians from around the country pick the top ten new books they’d most like to share with readers. The results are published on LibraryReads.org. One of the goals of LibraryReads is to highlight the important role public libraries play in building buzz for new books and new authors. Click through to read more about what new and upcoming books librarians consider buzzworthy this month. The top ten titles for November are:

Us by David Nicholls
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes
The Forgers by Bradford Morrow
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Laurie R. King
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron
Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

You Can Turn Endless Political Talk into Election Education

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

With the political ads practically inescapable lately and midterm elections happening today, it is a perfect time to talk about voting with our children. Introducing the history, responsibilities, reasoning and ideals behind voting, and maybe a few laughs along the way, can turn the political ad season into a more enjoyable prospect for readers of all ages. I have broken the subject into two short lists, non fiction books and fiction.

Juvenile Nonfiction:

1.How Do We Elect Our Leaders by Willian David Thomas

2.Voting by Sarah De Capua

3.Today on Election Day by Catherine Stier

4.See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan E. Goodman

5. If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier

More nonfiction books that are solid resources in understanding the political process and the history behind it include: Eyewitness Vote by Phillip Steele, Getting Elected: a Look at Running for Office by Robin Nelson and Sandy Donovan, Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President by Ann Malaspina, Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote, 21 Activities by Kerrie Logan Hollihan, So You Want to be president? by Judith St. George, The Taxing Case of the Cows; A True Story About Suffrage by Iris van Rynbach and Pegi Deitz Shea, Running for Public Office by Sarah De Capua, Vote! by Eileen Christelow, You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz, A Kid’s Guide to the Voting Process by Tammy Gagne, and America Votes: How our President is Elected by Linda Granfield.

Juvenile Fiction:

1. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

2. The Kid Who Ran for President by Dan Gutman

3. Fake Mustache: or, how Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind by Tom Angleberger

4. Vote: the Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Politics by Gary Paulsen

5. Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote by Herman Parish

More stories about elections and the political process include: Election Day by Margaret McNamara,

President of the Whole Fifth Grade by Sherri Winston, Vote for Larry by Janet Tashjian (YA), Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel,Vote 4 Amelia by Marissa Moss, Pioneer Summer by Deborah Hopkinson, The Case of the Crooked Campaign by Lewis B. Montgomery, Otto Runs for President by Rosemary Wells, The Red, White, and Blue Crew by Lisa Mullarkey, The Hope Chest by Karen Schwabach, Babymouse for President by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm, Duck for President by Doreen Cronin,and Vote for Me! by Ben Clanton.

Psychics in Fiction

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 / Mary / Leave a comment

Did you know that October 31^st is Increase Your Psychic Powers Day?

I didn’t know it. Guess that means I’m not psychic. But I was curious so, like a good librarian, I began researching the topic. And discovered… Well, not a whole lot.

The day is rumored to have its origins in England back in the nineteenth century even though no one seems to have heard of this holiday until recently. Halloween is regarded as the day when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is weakest, so some believe if you are going to try out your psychic powers October 31 is the best day to do it.

I guess if I were psychic I would have known all about it.

Anyway, I decided to abandon the research and delve into the world of fiction. And here I hit paydirt. Literature abounds with tales of psychics.

Andrew Greeley, famous for his Blackie Ryan mysteries, also has a series about Nuala Anne McGrail, Irish immigrant, beautiful, a gifted singer, and, oh yes, psychic. She uses her psychic skills to solve mysteries. The first book in this series of twelve is Irish Gold.

The Arcane Society novels by Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz (who just happen to be the same person) revolve around a mysterious society of people with psychic powers. The Amanda Quick books are set in England at the end of the nineteenth century. The Krentz books are all modern. All the tales are romantic suspense with a dash of psychic power.

Kay Hooper has a mystery series that is described as psychic suspense. Her hero is FBI agent Noah Bishop, whose rare gift for seeing what others do not helps him solve the most puzzling cases. The books are denoted by the tagline Bishop/Special Crimes Unit and as of 2013 there fifteen titles in the series.

There are many, many more great novels about psychics. If you have a feeling you’d like to peruse a few, here is a short list, in no particular order, of ten more popular titles:

Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz
Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen
Before I Say Goodbye by Mary Higgins Calrk
Darkness My Old Friend by Lisa Unger
What I Had Before I Had You by Sarah Cornwell
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
The Dead Path by Stephen Irwin
The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

For a lengthier list of titles, concentrate really, really hard… Or just click this link and peruse our catalog.

Great Graphic Novels for Young Adults

October 23, 2014October 16, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

If you have not been in our teen or children’s area lately you might not know that we have a solid collection of graphic novels for both age groups. The collections include the expected superhero books, but there are also classic stories and non fiction books in graphic novel format. There is also a large collection of Manga in the teen section that garners a large amount of attention for older children and teens. I would highly suggest taking a look at these collections and checking out the wide variety and high quality of graphic novels that have been released in the last few years. Just because the book is shelved in the teen section, that does not mean adults of all ages cannot enjoy them as well. However, if you are uncomfortable checking these out yourself we also have a growing collection of adult graphic novels.

1.The King’s Dragon by Scott Chantler

2.Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

3. Dogs of War by Sheila Keenan

4. Primates: the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks

5. The War Within these Walls by Aline Sax

6. The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

7. War Brothers: the Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay, Daniel Lafrance ; art by Daniel Lafrance

8.Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey by Nick Bertozzi

9. The Sea-Wolf by Jack London ; adapted by Riff Reb’s

10. Bad Machinery. Vol. 1, The Case of the Team Spirit by John Allison

This list barely scratches the surface of great graphic novels that are currently gracing our shelves. In fact, the happens to be a brand new order of graphic novels that need a little attention and then will be ready for you to check out as well. Here are some more books in our collection that are well worth reading as you wait the next batch of new additions; The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff, Hidden: a child’s story of the Holocaust by Loïc Dauvillier, Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey by Nick Bertozzi, Laddertop. Books 1-2 by Orson Scott Card, Battling Boy by Paul Pope, Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks, Peanut by Ayun Halliday, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet: a play by William Shakespeare by adapted by Gareth Hinds, Saints and Boxers by Gene Luen Yang, Templar by Jordan Mechner, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: theGgraphic Novel by Ransom Riggs, and Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and other Things that Happened by Allie Brosh.

New Cozy Mysteries for October 2014

October 21, 2014October 15, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

There’s a chill in the air – a great time to curl up with a gentle mystery. Here are the newest releases of cozy mysteries. Is your favorite series listed?