Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Sequel Coming in September

girlFor those of you who have been impatiently waiting for the new sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Girl In the Spider’s Web  by David Lagercrantz will be released in September 2015. The publisher’s summary: Late one night, journalist Mikael Blomkvist receives a phone call from a trusted source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female super hacker–a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium magazine, turns to Lisbeth Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda.

If you haven’t read the series, below is a summary of the original three books.  And those who have already read them, you might want to refresh your memory and reread them before the new book is released.

dragonThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo –  A murder mystery, family saga, love story, and a tale of financial intrigue wrapped into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable inequity and astonishing corruption.

fireThe Girl Who Played With Fire – Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government. But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander – the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.  As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

hornetThe Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest – Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Also available at the library on DVD.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest

The Martian is Coming!

martiAll I can say is

WOW.

I have not read a book this gripping in ages. Oh, sure, I adore the Retribution Falls series by Chris Wooding, they are delightful and make my heart sing, but in The Martian, Andy Weir has managed to catch me in my weakest spot, a tale that feeds both my need for a good imagine-if story and lovingly nerdy details that set my non-fiction scientific brain on fire. I got to the end, and I wanted to read it all over again.

Very rarely do I seek a book out. They just happen to come to me in weird ways and tickle my interest enough that I open the cover (and covers are so VERY important. If it wasn’t for the fantastic artwork on the original Dragonlance books, I never would have entered a world that kept me trapped for more than ten years and ultimately sent to me to Lord of the Rings, which, really, is the Great-Granddaddy of the genre anyway). This time, I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie version of The Martian (release date: October 2, 2015), and was intrigued enough that when the book passed through my hands, I grabbed it.

Mark Watney is a crewman on the third manned mission to Mars. When a dust storm hits the crew on their way back to the lander, a piece of equipment snaps off and skewers his spacesuit, sending him reeling down a dune. His crew searches, but can’t locate him in the storm. His vital signs aren’t registering, and they all saw him toothpicked by that antenna. At the last possible second, they admit to themselves he’s dead and blast off to the mother ship while they can.

Only one problem.

He’s not dead.MV5BMTcwMjI2NzM2MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDkyNTI5NTE@._V1_SX214_AL_

The story revolves around Watney’s ability to survive the impossible, figuring things out as he goes, making everything out of the most basic substances, James T. Kirk channeling MacGyver. Because the supplies left behind were meant for six and he’s only one, he’s able to piece things along using his own ingenuity until NASA realizes he’s still alive. They try and mount a rescue mission, but NASA being NASA and twisted up in bureaucracy and safety margins, not everything is going to go by plan. The chances of Watney making it or not remain 50-50 right up until the final pages. This is a book that will make you sneak off every possible second to read just one more paragraph. From the first page, it will grab you and never let you go. By the end, you’re going to be looking around your house to see if you, too, have anything that can free oxygen or create water, and you will never look at potatoes the same way.

Knowing that in the film Matt Damon has the lead role of Watney makes you read the story in his voice. He is a brilliant piece of casting; the book seems written for him and he will be utterly convincing in the role. Check out the trailer here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI . Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise) is directing, and he is certainly adept at handling suspense. I’m waiting to see what they do with the soundtrack, since it’s a running joke through the book that the only music that was left behind is disco (can you imagine being stuck somewhere for months or years with nothing but a few tracks of disco to listen to? I love the Saturday Night Fever album, and I do love ABBA, but not for weeks on end!).

You don’t have to know science to enjoy the book. You don’t even have to know your Phobos from your Deimos. You just have to love a good pressure-cooker story. Don’t let this one skip your orbit.

Andy Weir, I love you.

Mars surface close to equator

Mars surface close to equator

Young Adult Spy Novels That Adults Can Enjoy Too

spystormDo you have a young adult reader that loves detective and spy novels but has moved past The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and N.E.R.D.S.? Perhaps you love young adult fiction and a great spy novel. Well, whatever the case, here are some of the best spy and espionage books to be had in the young adult section of our library. Did I miss one of your favorites? Please mention it in the comments so that others can enjoy it as well!

1. Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1) by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6.spygallager

2. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, #1) by Ally Carter
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from “normal teenage life” until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

3. H.I.V.E. Higher Institute of Villainous Education (H.I.V.E., #1) by Mark Walden
Swept away to a hidden academy for training budding evil geniuses, Otto, a brilliant orphan, Wing, a sensitive warrior, Laura, a shy computer specialist, and Shelby, an infamous jewel thief, plot to beat the odds and escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.

4. The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey, #1)  by Richard Paul Evans
spycell25Michael Vey, a fourteen-year old who has Tourette’s syndrome and special electric powers, finds there are others like him, and must rely on his powers to save himself and the others from a diabolical group seeking to control them.

5. Independence Hall (I, Q, #1) by Roland Smith
Teenagers Q (Quest) and Angela go on tour with married rockers Blaze and Roger and, while in Philadelphia, become submerged in a world of danger when they discover the identity of Angela’s real mother, who is a former Secret Service agent.

6. Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1) by Elizabeth Wein
In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage and great courage as she relates what she must do to survive while keeping secret all that she can.

spypalaceAs always, I have trouble stopping with just a few. There are just so many great books out there. So, if you have already read the books on my short list, here are some more recommendations; Palace of Spies (Palace of Spies, #1) by Sarah Zettel, Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs, All Fall Down (Embassy Row, #1) by Ally Carter, The Lab (Agent Six of Hearts #1) by Jack Heath, The Recruit (Cherub, #1) by Robert Muchamore, Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1) by Gail Carriger, Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted, Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy (Dukovskaya #1) by Elizabeth Kiem, Two Lies and a Spy (Two Lies and a Spy, #1) by Kat Carlton, Also Known As (Also Known As, #1) by Robin Benway, A Spy in the House (The Agency, #1) by Y.S. Lee, Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers, Sekret (Sekret, #1) by Lindsay Smith, Fledgling (Jason Steed, #1) by Mark A. Cooper, SilverFin (Young Bond, #1)  by Charlie Higson, and Spy High Mission One by A.J. Butcher.

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Books about the First Day of School

The first day of school can be scary for all grades, but especially for those in Preschool, school1Kindergarten, and the other lower grades. New teachers, new schools, and new classmates can spark anxiety and excitement for every child. Whether they are worried about being away from home, making friends, or what to expect it can be a stressful time for children, and their parents.  Here are some great picturebooks to read with children (or parents) that are a little worried about going back to school that can help them get excited, confident, and ready for the big day.

school21.Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

2.My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvitsschool3

3.Chu’s First Day of School (Chu, #2)  by Neil Gaiman

4.First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

school45.Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin

6.Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

7.The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wingschool5

8.Miss Nelson Is Missing! (Miss Nelson, #1)  by Harry Allard

school69.Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

10.Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. Georgeschool7

And because you might have read all of these, and because I just cannot stop myself, here are some additional titles you might want to check out: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon, David Goes To School by David Shannon, Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton, Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell, The Name Jar  by Yangsook Choi, I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont, First Grade Stinks! by Mary Ann Rodman, Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty-Pants by Elise Primavera, Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London, Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School by Herman Parish, If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Joffe Numeroff, and The Teacher from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon, #1) by Mike Thaler.

August is National Romance Month and Read-a-Romance Month

romance

August is National Romance month and Read-a-Romance month and the Cheshire Library has a wonderful collection of romance titles for  you to enjoy – from books to movies!

There is a separate romance section of mass market paperbacks on the main level of the library, located near the front windows.  There you can find many genres of romance including contemporary, suspense, paranormal, inspirational, and historical.  There’s quite a variety so come on in and browse the collection.  You’re sure to find a title or two that appeals to you.

You can also browse this blog for posts on romance titles.  Just type Romance in the box under Search All Posts and it will give you a list of all the posts related to romance.  One of my favorites is Today’s Romance Novels.

Read-A-Romance blog celebrates the month in a big way.  Each day of August, authors will be posting something on the blog.  Below is a calendar listing the authors for each day.

 

You can also access more information about Read-A-Romance month on their facebook account here.

NPR comes up with a list of their 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances each summer.  You can access the list here.

The Cheshire Library also has a nice selection of romantic movies for you to enjoy.  A few are listed below:

Romantic Movies

Officer and a Gentleman

Pretty Woman

Bonnie and Clyde

Love Actually

Chocolat

Life Is Beautiful

A Walk To Remember

Notting Hill

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Casablanca

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer with these romantic selections!