It’s National Audiobook Month – 10 Great Audiobooks to Listen to With Your Kids

June 18, 2013June 19, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you feel like you spend all your time driving your children back and forth from school, to practice, to friends houses, to wherever? These days we are all busy, and parents chauffeuring their children around know it well. Whether it is on the way to scouts, sports, or a family vacation you can turn a search for quiet into some serious quality time. Put that CD player or iPod to work and steer your car-full towards some of your childhood favorites, or new popular books, and you have the bonus of knowing exactly what they are reading (or hearing as they case might be) so that you can start conversations about the books with your children.

Many classic and new, popular books for children are now available on audiobook, and they are often read by very talented voice actors, the author, or sometimes even a full cast of voices. Here are ten quick suggestions, in no particular order, for audiobooks you might want to listen to with your children or for your own enjoyment.

1. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making, written and read by Catherynne M. Valente.

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (and the rest of the series), written by J.K. Rowling and read by Jim Dale.

3. Anything written and read by Neil Gaiman, such as Coraline, M is for Magic or The Graveyard Book.

4.Green Eggs and Ham and other Servings of Dr. Seuss, read by Jason Alexander, Michael McKean, and David Hyde Pierce.

5. The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan and read by Jesse Bernstein.

6. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, written by Tom Angleberger and read by Mark Turetsky, Greg Steinbruner, Jonathan Todd Ross, Julia Gibson, and Charlotte Parry.

7. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber, Freckle Juice, or anything else from Judy Blume. Some books are read by the author, others by Halley Feiffer or Laura Hamilton.

8. Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass written by Lewis Carroll and read by Ralph Cosham.

9. Magic Tree House Collection Books 1-8 (other book groupings are also available), written and read by Mary Pope Osborne.

10. The works of E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan read by E.B. White, and Stuart Little, read by Julie Harris.

If you prefer downloading audiobooks rather than juggling cd’s in the car, do not forget that you can use Overdrive to download free audiobooks. Many of these titles, as well as more great audiobooks and e-books to share with the family can be found there as well.

Orwell’s 1984 is Back on Bestseller Lists After NSA Leak

June 15, 2013May 1, 2015 / Linda / 1 Comment

George Orwell

Since revelations about the government’s massive surveillance program became public knowledge, sales of the novel 1984 by George Orwell (pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) jumped significantly, according to Amazon. Within 24 hours, sales increased by 6,000% – jumping from 7,636 place to the 123^rd spot.

The book was originally published on June 8, 1949. In this dystopian future, Great Britain society is being monitored by round the clock surveillance. The story centers around Winston Smith who dreams that it might be possible to oppose the government and bring about change, and the lessons he learns along the way. The book has been mentioned by President Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders and various media outlets. The publisher, Penguin, says there is clearly a connection between the current news about the NSA whistle blower and the increase in sales.

The Cheshire Library has several copies located in the Young Adult section, and it is also available in e-book and audiobook formats through our Downloadable Catalog.

Sharon Reads: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

June 13, 2013June 3, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Darkest Minds

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken is a young adult novel about a world in which the children and teens of the world have either died from a strange illness or developed mental powers. The adults are both scared for their children and, in some cases, of them. Ruby was only ten when her parents locked her in the garage and she was sent to a camp for the newly ‘gifted’ children. Six years later, Ruby is still struggling with her abilities, the conditions she has survived, and the idea of freedom. On the run, Ruby discovers that there are multiple faction and dangers working in the world. Much has changed since she was last outside a fence, and discovering who she can trust is more challenging than surviving in the camp ever was. Can Ruby survive on the outside, and can she protect those that help her from her uncontrolled abilities?

The Darkest Minds is a highly entertaining and engaging read. It is however, not easy emotionally. It is very highly charged. Just for starters, they round up kids and send them to ‘rehabilitation’ camps and fear them. The world building is so well done that you could believe that the scenario could happen anywhere at any time. The fear, mob mentality, and power plays in the world are something I could honestly see playing out.

I highly recommend The Darkest Minds to young adult and adult readers. This dystopian novel has rich characters, a world to fear, and deep set conspiracies and plots that will have you looking over your shoulder long after putting it down. There are significant amounts of death, violence, and cruelty in the book- so I do not recommend it for younger or more sensitive readers. I am looking forward to reading the sequel(s) that I have been told are coming.

Brightly Woven

Alexandra Bracken’s other book in our collection, Brightly Woven which is about sixteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabel, an unusually talented weaver, must master her mysterious power and join a young wizard in stopping an imminent war in land. I also recommend a reading this book, perhaps while waiting for sequels of either to be released.

Author Johanna Lindsey

June 8, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Johanna Lindsey

June marks a big milestone for New York Times bestselling historical romance author Johanna Lindsey. Her 50^th novel, One Heart To Win, a western set tale, will be released on June 11.

When she was younger, she was such an avid reader, she found she couldn’t get enough historical romances to read. She decided to write a book for her own enjoyment – Captive Bride. It wound up being published in 1977 and was an immediate success.

Johanna’s books span various eras of history – Middle Ages, Regency England, American Old West and the Viking era. Her stories portray vivid adventures to foreign lands and time periods.

One Heart To Win is on order at the Cheshire Library. You may place a hold on it if you wish.

Book Buzz : Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

June 5, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Jason Matthews is a 33 year veteran of the CIA, who has turned his considerable knowledge of espionage into a fantastic debut novel. Reviewers have said it is the best thriller you will read this year.

Jason and his wife (who also worked for the CIA) appeared on CBS This Morning on June 4^th. They gave a fascinating interview recounting their lives as CIA agents. You can view it here.

Mr. Matthews is the first American spy to take a turn at writing fiction. Authors John le Carre, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Somerset Maugham, Ian Fleming and Stella Rimington all worked for the British intelligence community.

Red Sparrow is about a hotheaded rookie spy, Nathaniel Nash, who is pitted against a gorgeous Russian intelligence officer, Dominika Egorova. The story takes place in Moscow, Helsinki, Athens and Washington. Mr. Matthews is very skilled with his writing – smart, fluent, great dialogue and extremely knowledgeable. The book is filled with seemingly classified information – both American and Russian. It’s a wonder the manuscript got past the redacting committee at Langley!