How to Keep Summer Reading From Being a War

Summer, and in turn the dreaded summer reading list, is on the way. Even the most eager readers are rarely thrilled to be told what to read, and this seems to be especially true in the summer months. Kids are thinking about the fun they want to have over summer vacation, rather than checking off a to-read list.summer-reading-topMost schools offer suggested reading lists; usually vague offerings mentioning award winners, well known writers, and some nonfiction. Other schools require a certain number of books, a list of genres or subjects that need to be read, or particular books that need to be read. The more general the requirements the more likely parents and librarians are to keep everyone reading and enjoying it. However, sometimes trudging through a book that is not something your kids would pick on their own is necessary. I have some tips and tools to help make the  process more enjoyable for everyone.

summerread3My first suggestion is to start increasing the pleasure reading now and try to get a firmer grasp of which books will keep your readers happy over the summer. Check with the kids about how much they liked a certain book, or if they like a particular author or genre more than others and why. If there is an obsession in the house, Disney movies, superheroes, Minecraft, horses, Star Wars, or whatever, then start with books on those topics to spark interest. Perhaps a star or sticker chart to help figure out the pattern of what they enjoyed most will help your selections of reading materials hit the mark even more often. I need to start this myself, because even though my two children request certain books and proclaim that they love them, rarely do I see them actually reading the books in question.

summereadIt would also be a good idea to get a routine in place. Whether the whole family troops to the library together (one day a week, once a month, or what ever works for you), you bring a selection of materials home, or you browse the e-book offerings from home, it would be great to get a dependable routine in play. My children know that every Monday I bring whatever books they are done with or did not want to read back to the library and bring home a new batch of books and movies. I try to bring home a few fun or silly books that I know will capture their attention. However, I also bring home a few nonfiction books and books that I think they would enjoy while stretching their reading skills a little. I still strike out with some of my picks, but the regularity and wide variety of reading choices help to keep them reading.

SUMMERREADGOVIt is very important that you don’t make reading a chore. I know there is pressure to get the reading done in a timely manner. I also know that you won’t like everything your child might want to read. However, putting pressure on anyone to do something is more likely to cause push back rather than happy reading. So lets keep reading fun. Join the library’s Summer Reading program so your kids have fun goals to reach and some rewards for their efforts. If there are particular reading requirements that need to be met, particularly if it includes books they aren’t looking forward to reading, alternate those with their favorites or light, silly reads. Don’t be afraid of letting them enjoy something a little easier than their current reading level, such as graphic novels, magazines, audio books, or a repeat read.

My final suggestion is to model the behavior you want to see in your children. In other words, if you want your children to see reading as something fun, valuable, and worth doing regularly then they need to see you treating reading the same way. This doesn’t mean that you need to start assigning yourself classic or acclaimed books to read. I suggest that parents do exactly what I suggest they let their children do. Read what interests you, what makes you happy. Whether that is enjoying graphic novels from Hoopla, magazines from Zinio, the newspaper, the latest New York Times best seller, the same books your children are reading, or something completely different, it really doesn’t matter. If your children see that you put some time into reading and get something out of it, they are going to be more willing to keep reading as well.summerread2

Books that Defy Genre Labels and Description

Part of my job in labeling and cataloging books includes deciding if it needs a genre label and which one(s). Some books are easy. With some books I know right away that it needs a mystery, fantasy, or science fiction sticker. Particularly if the publisher is nice enough to include that information in a subtitle or in the book description. Sometimes it takes a little more research, but the author or publisher often include the intended genre pretty clearly somewhere, if you know where to look. However, there are some books that are simply beyond categorizing. Sometimes this is because the book covers so much ground very well, sometimes it is because it simply defies description, and sometimes it is because it crosses so many genre lines that there is not enough room to defygenre1include all the relevant genre stickers.

Here are a few examples of fascinating reads that defy simple genre classifications:

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Interweaves six narratives spanning the period between 1984 and the 2030s to chronicle a secret war between a cult of soul-decanters and a small group of vigilantes who would take them down. By the award-winning author of Cloud Atlas.defygenre2

Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
A century-old classic of British letters that charmed and fascinated generations of readers with its witty satire of Victorian society and its unique insights, by analogy, into the fourth dimension.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami; translated by Alfred Birnbaumdefygenre3
Tracking one man’s descent into the Kafkaesque underworld of contemporary Tokyo, Murakami unites East and West, tragedy and farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy.

2666 by Roberto Bolaño; translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer
An American sportswriter, an elusive German novelist, and a teenage student interact in an urban community on the U.S.-Mexico border where hundreds of young factory defygenres4workers have disappeared.

The Incarnations by Susan Barker
Receiving mysterious letters from someone claiming to be his soulmate, a Beijing taxi driver learns about their shared relationships in numerous past lives before becoming increasingly certain that someone is watching him.

defygenrebtmMore suggestions for indescribably interesting reads include: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, Valis by Philip K. Dick, Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Here, There be Dragons by James A. Owen, Frost in May by Antonia White, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino,Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethe,Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke,The Marvels by Brian Selznick, In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Have you ever read a book that left you changed but still somehow wondering what exactly it was that you just read? What is your favorite book that left you speechless when it came down to recommending it or describing it to someone else?

New Fiction Coming Soon! May/June 2016

new fiction

Want a little heads up on when your favorite author is publishing a new book?  Here are some of the new fiction hardcover books coming out in May and June.  Clicking on the title will bring you to our catalog where you can place a hold if you’d like.

MAY

aunt dimityAtherton, NancyAunt Dimity and the Buried Treasure Discovering a beautiful garnet bracelet belonging to Aunt Dimity, Lori learns the story of a doomed love affair from Dimity’s youth and is asked to return the bracelet to a long-ago suitor, an endeavor that is complicated by discovery that the bracelet could be part of a lost national treasure.

boar islandBarr, NevadaBoar Island – When her paraplegic friend’s adopted daughter attempts suicide in the face of cyber-bullying and stalking, National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon investigates the person behind the increasingly violent harassment, who follows the troubled teen when Anna tries to move her to a safe haven.

tall tailBrown, Rita MaeTall TailWhen a confidante to the former governor of Virginia dies under suspicious circumstances, Harry and her furry detective cohorts look for answers in the eighteenth century, where they discover a secret ancestry that originated in brutality and silence.

 

dominionConnolly, JohnDominion – Emerging from the mysterious Derith wormhole to discover that years have passed in their universe, Syl and Paul are confronted by an Illyri civil war, Earth’s occupation by Others and the dark plans of a new Sisterhood leader.

 

emperor's revengeCussler, CliveThe Emperor’s Revenge – Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon join forces with a former CIA colleague to track down a rogue hacker and a ruthless former Ukrainian naval officer who are behind a violent bank heist that occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix.

girl from summer hillDeveraux, Jude The Girl From Summer Hill – Clashing with a gorgeous Hollywood star who is playing Darcy in a local production of Pride & Prejudice, Casey, a chef who puts her career first and who believes the actor’s brother-in-law’s damning claims, finds herself becoming attracted to him in spite of herself.

haunted destinyGraham, HeatherHaunted Destiny – Assigned to investigate a mysterious serial killer who leaves his victims in churches with saint medallions on their necks, paranormal investigator Jackson Crow and New Orleans agent Jude McCoy team up with piano player Alexi on a haunted cruise ship when the ghost of a victim appears to them.

rock a bye bonesHaines, Carolyn Rock-a-bye BonesCoping with a broken heart and the attack on Scott Hampton’s blues club, Sarah Booth Delaney discovers a baby in a basket on her porch and bloody footsteps leading to her driveway, a situation that places her in the same danger as a troubled mother running for her life.

nightshiftHarris, Charlaine Night Shift – When weapons obtained from Midnight’s local pawn shop are used in a series of dramatic suicides at the main crossroads in town, the vampire Lemuel makes astonishing discoveries about why the community has attracted so many paranormal residents, who must work together to stop the violence.

troublemakerHoward, LindaTroublemaker – Sent to a remote location in a small West Virginian mountain town to lay low after almost being killed in an ambush, Morgan Yancy finds his attraction to part-time police chief and housemate Isabeau Maran adds an unexpected complication to his life.

marrying winterboneKleypas, LisaMarrying Winterborne – Achieving wealth and success through his savage ambitions, tycoon Rhys Winterborne resolves to marry shy, aristocratic Lady Helen Ravenel, who in spite of her gentle upbringing responds to Rhys’s seductions with her own unexpected passions.

blood flagMartini, Steve Blood Flag – Defending a client accused of mercy-killing her father, attorney Paul Madriani is drawn into a treacherous conspiracy involving the victim’s former unit from World War II and a feared Nazi relic. By the best-selling author of The Enemy Inside.

 

prayers the devilMccrumb, SharynPrayers the Devil Answers – Appointed to serve out her late husband’s term as sheriff of their Depression-era Tennessee mountain town, Ellie struggles to reconcile her responsibilities with societal expectations for women and forges unexpected ties with a condemned killer she is scheduled to execute.

15thPatterson, James15th Affair – When an alluring blonde with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a luxury hotel, detective Lindsay Boxer is forced to uncover difficult truths about her husband’s secret life.

 

miller's valleyQuindlen, Anna Miller’s Valley – Living in a 1960s farming community in eastern Pennsylvania, Mimi struggles with the family secrets she unearths.

 

everybody's foolRusso, Richard Everybody’s Fool – Returns to the setting of “Nobody’s Fool” to find Sully confronting a daunting health prognosis, which he hides from his loved ones, including his longtime mistress, an increasingly distant best friend, and an obsessive chief of police.

the apartmentSteel, DanielleThe Apartment – Four friends sharing a beautiful loft apartment in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen revel in the glamour of city life before new relationships, job opportunities, and surprising circumstances test the strength of their bond.

 

the island houseThayer, NancyThe Island House – Having spent every summer of her adult life in Nantucket, Kansas City university professor Courtney finds herself caught between two lifestyles and two men before settling into the glamorous life she associates with the seaside and questioning her choice in the face of an unexpected turn.

JUNE

charmersAdler, ElizabethThe Charmers – Inheriting a family villa in the South of France after her aunt’s sudden and mysterious death, Mirabella has a close call with a motorcycle on her way to her new home and realizes that she is being targeted by dangerous people from her aunt’s past.

 

cavedonBradford, Barbara TaylorThe Cavendon Luck Picks up nine years after the events of Cavendon Women, in an epic tale that finds Cecily and Miles drawing on the collective strength of the whole family to protect Cavendon Hall and its clan from the challenges of World War II.

 

melody of murderCameron, StellaMelody of Murder – The arrival of a talented, ambitious and unusual new family leads to mayhem and murder in the peaceful Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir.

 

liberty'sCoonts, StephenLiberty’s Last StandIn the wake of an assassination attempt by a decorated sniper on the eve of a presidential election, Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini risk everything to uncover a massive conspiracy while helping a new resistance movement rise up against a new enemy.

pursuitEvanovich, JanetThe Pursuit – After rookie lawyer Jessica Monaghan meets with the First Lady, the VIP is killed in a car accident in which Jessica manages to survive. When she suspects the accident was something else and she becomes the next target, she and experienced FBI agent Mark Ryan team up to uncover the plot behind the First Lady’s murder.

guilty mindsFinder, JosephGuilty Minds – Summoned to investigate potentially explosive charges of corruption levied by a gossip website against the chief justice of the Supreme Court, private intelligence operative Nick Heller is given 48 hours to prove that the story is baseless.

 

first comes loveGiffin, Emily  – First Comes LoveWhile Meredith becomes increasingly unsure about the strength of her bond with her seemingly perfect husband and daughter, her once-happily single sister, Josie, frantically dates and considers her options in her desperation to have a baby.

here's to usHilderbrand, Elin Here’s To Us Gathering at a ramshackle Nantucket cottage, a late celebrity chef’s wives and children confront the sources of their bitter rivalries and slowly let go of resentments as they remember positive times and share long-held secrets.

 

born of legendKenyon, SherrilynBorn of Legend – Rescuing a teen boy from a violent mob, a fugitive royal becomes an unlikely ally to the boy’s mother, a rare Andarion Fyreblood whose people are being hunted to extinction by assassins from The League.

 

end of watchKing, StephenEnd of Watch – A conclusion to the best-selling trilogy that also includes the Edgar Award-winningMr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers finds mental patient Brady Hartsfield manifesting powers to commit deadly acts without leaving his hospital room, while retired detective Bill Hodges and his partner investigate a suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre.

daredevil snaredLaurens, StephanieThe Daredevil Snared – Hoping to prove himself by taking up his brothers’ covert mission in Freetown and protecting escaped captives in the jungle, hedonistic youngest son Caleb Frobisher falls in love with captive governess Katherine Fortescue, who is being targeted by a sadistic mercenary.

 

tea with jamMyers, Tamar Tea with Jam and Dread – While trying to welcome British royalty to her PennDutch inn and acquaint them with traditional American culture, Magdalena Yoder embarrassingly discovers a mummified corpse in the elevator shaft.

 

defenderPalmer, DianaDefender – Investigating a stalking case involving a Texas millionaire’s daughter-turned-assistant district attorney whose heart he broke three years earlier, FBI agent Paul Fiore struggles to regain her trust after discovering the truth about her nightmarish youth and the damage he caused by leaving her. 

vinegarTyler, Anne Vinegar Girl – A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew follows the experiences of a preschool teacher who alienates others by speaking her mind and who manages her family’s home before she is expected by her eccentric father to marry his assistant to prevent the young man’s deportation.

dishonorable Woods, Stuart Dishonorable Intentions – A latest adventure by the Edgar Award-winning author of Chiefs finds New York City cop-turned-rainmaker for a top Manhattan law firm Stone Barrington and his associates confronting a new threat that tests the limits of their collective skills.

Homesteading and Sustainability Practices on the Rise

Prices for many necessities continue to rise, while pay and compensation for most people do not seem to be rising at the same rate. Homesteading, or making the attempt to live more self sufficiently, is becoming a major trend as people make an effort to save more and do more for themselves. Most of these things are things our parents or grandparents did as a matter of course, but more and more people are learning how to revive these methods of taking care of the environment and their families.

Some of the activities that are seeing a major come back for one reason or another that can be considered a step towards homesteading or sustainable living include, knitting or crocheting, sewing, canning, gardening, raising chickens or other livestock, and so much more.  I have done some of the traditional homesteading activities, but I will admit to cheating in some departments. While I might garden and crochet, I have not homesteading1started canning like my family did when I was growing up. Frankly, I still have nightmares of peeling steamed tomatoes from my childhood as we made sauce and stewed tomatoes among other things.  If you are interested in learning more about what exactly homesteading is, or you want to move towards living a more self sufficient lifestyle, here are some resources that can get you started and answer some questions.

Homesteading: a Backyard Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More edited by Abigail R. Gehring

Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living by Rachel Kaplan with K. Ruby Blume

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich

The Nourishing Homestead: One Back-to-the Land Family’s Plan for Cultivating Soil, Skills, and Spirit by Ben Hewitt with Penny Hewitt

The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen

You might also be interested in Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity by Emily Matchar, Zero Cost Living: Explore Extreme Frugality by James R. Delcamp, Back to Basics: a Complete Guide to Traditional Skills edited by Abigail R. Gehring, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Self-Sufficient Living by Jerome D. BelangerBarnyard in your Backyard: a Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cattle edited by Gail Damerow, The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects by Spike Carlsen, The Renewable Energy Handbook: a Guide to Rural Independence, Off-Grid and Sustainable Living by William H. Kemp, Mini Farming : Self Sufficiency on a 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham,  and Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time by Michel Nischan with Mary Goodbody.

New Cozy Mysteries For Spring

mystery

Just in time for Spring, a fresh batch of cozy mysteries.  Pick your favorite series, or start a new one!

cincoCinco de Mayhem (A Sante Fe Cafe Mystery) – Ann Myers – When the local restaurateur who attempted to take over all of the food carts in town  winds up dead under her friend Linda’s famous tamale truck, Rita—a chef preparing for Cinco de Mayo in Sante Fe, New Mexico—must turn up the heat on the real killer before her friend gets burned for the crime.

peachRest In Peach (A Georgia Peach Mystery) – Susan Furlong -When the much-despised mother of the spoiled teenage Peach Queen is found murdered, Nola Mae Harper, who is coordinating both the cotillion dinner and the grand opening of her new shop, must prove that her friend, Ginny, is innocent of the crime by drawing out the real killer.

readingReading Up A Storm (A Lighthouse Library Mystery) – Eva Gates -The librarian at Bodie Island’s Lighthouse Library, Lucy Richardson, after a shipwrecked seafarer dies a few days after washing ashore, is once again roped into a murder investigation and must navigate a sea of suspects, all of whom had motives to kill the deceased.

vanillaVanilla Beaned (A Cupcake Bakery Mystery) – Jenn McKinlay – When they arrive in Las Vegas to open their first franchise of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery, Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura aren’t sure about turning their recipes over to brash former showgirl Holly Harzmark until a saboteur with a sweet tooth and a penchant for murder brings out a side of Holly that they both can relate to.

unhappyAn Unhappy Medium (A Family Fortune Mystery) – Dawn Eastman – When one of the runners in the Zombie Fun Run is found murdered and her estranged sister, Grace, disappears, Clyde and her police-detective boyfriend must clear Grace’s name in the crime while becoming trapped in a tangled web of family secrets, grudges and stolen diamonds.

crimeCrime and Poetry (A Magical Bookshop Mystery) – Amanda Flower – Returning home to Cascade Springs, New York to help her Grandmother Daisy run her magical store, Charming Books, where the books literally fly off the shelves, Violet Waverly must clear Daisy’s name when the body of a dead man is found clutching a book from her shop.

mossMoss Hysteria (A Flower Shop Mystery) – Kate Collins – When their idyllic new community is suddenly uprooted by murder, flower shop owner Abby Knight and her new husband, Marco, must weed through the suspects to catch a killer who is one bad seed.

 

needleNeedle and Dread (Southern Sewing Circle) – Elizabeth Lynn Casey – To make her new sewing shop a success, Rose sponsors a series of do-it-yourself weekends for sewing enthusiasts, but her plan is unraveled by the murder of an argumentative guest and it is up to Tori and the gang to piece together the clues before Rose’s life is ripped apart at the seams.

breachBreach of Crust (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery) – Ellery Adams – When she finds the body of Beatrice Burbank, the president of the high-society Camellia Club, floating in Lake Havenwood during their annual retreat, baker Ella Mae, who was hired to teach the members the tasty tricks of her trade, wonders what she’s gotten herself mixed up in.

clueA Clue in the Stew (A Soup Lover’s Mystery) – Connie Archer – When she hosts an event with a famous author, small-town soup shop owner Lucky Jamieson is unprepared for the trouble that boils over when a colorful cast of characters descend on the town resulting in a murder that is linked to another recent unsolved crime.

 

bossBossa Novas, Bikinis, and Bad Ends (A Happy Hoofers Mystery) – Mary McHugh –  Kicking off Carnival by entertaining the patrons at the most elegant hotel in Rio de Janeiro, the Happy Hoofers trade-in their dancing shoes and become samba-loving sleuths when their exotic Brazilian companion is found dead in her room, without a clue as to what killed her.

brakingBraking for Bodies (A Cycle Path Mystery) – Duffy Brown – Starting a new life in Mackinac Island where she works at the local bike shop, Los Angeles transplant Evie Bloomfield finds herself cycling through her past when, after an old friend comes to the island, her former editor of a sleazy rag, who arrived unexpectedly, is found dead.

newly wedNewlywed Dead (A Perfect Proposals Mystery) – Nancy J. Parra – When a bartender at her sister’s wedding drops dead from a lethal nightcap, Pepper Pomeroy, determined to discover who would want to kill a virtual stranger at a county club wedding reception, must outsmart a clever killer who is wedded to the idea of murder.

irishIrish Stewed (An Ethnic Eats Mystery) – Kylie Logan – To save her aunt’s run-down greasy spoon in Hubbard, Ohio, Laurel Inwood cooks up a plan involving daily specials featuring ethnic cuisine, but must first solve the murder of a local reporter who was found slumped over a table with a receipt spike in his back. Includes recipes.

gone withGone With The Witch (A Wishcraft Mystery) – Heather Blake – Hired to keep an eye out for a saboteur at the Pawsitively Enchanted pet contest, Darcy, along with her dog Missy, is thrown off the scent when her lead suspect is found dead and someone begins stealing prize-winning pets, forcing her to sniff out both a killer and a thief.

catchCatch As Cat Can (A Sunny & Shadow Mystery) – Claire Donally – Former reporter Sunny Coolidge, with the help of her boyfriend, Chief Investigator Will Price, must get seafood shop owner Neil Garret off the hook when he is accused of murder before the case goes belly up.

 

berryBerry the Hatchet (A Cranberry Cove Mystery) – Peg Cochran – When the mayor turns up dead during the Winter Walk grand opening ceremony, cranberry farm owner Monica Albertson and her stepmother become the prime suspects in the case when it is discovered that he was dating both of them.

seamsSeams Like Murder (A Crochet Mystery) – Betty Hechtman – When the discovery of a dead body interferes with the opening of a series of crafting classes called Yarn University, Molly, along with the Tarzana Hookers, must unravel the clues to solve this mystery. Includes recipes and crochet patterns.

againstAgainst The Paw (Paw Enforcement) – While trying to find a convicted burglar who has broken his parole, rookie cop Megan Luz, along with Sergeant Brigit, her K-9 partner, must stop a Neighborhood Watch group on Peeping Tom patrol before they take the law into their own hands.