I have come to the conclusion that it is much more difficult for me to select books to listen to than those I read in print. I wonder if others have the same dilemma? Here are two of the things I find myself dealing with when choosing audiobooks (and the ways I get around them!):

* The types of books I enjoy listening to are often very different from the ones I sit down and read. I have always been primarily a reader of fiction (especially thrillers, suspense, science fiction and fantasy), but I have found I enjoy listening to nonfiction. Since I'm not usually paying attention to nonfiction reviews, etc. I have to work harder to find ones that have some appeal. In addition to reviews and recommendations, I suggest keeping track of which audiobooks you enjoy most to look for recurring themes that you can use when browsing the nonfiction audiobook section (for me that means primarily memoirs, travel narratives and history). You might also want to note the readers you enjoy and use that as a guide. For example, I know some people will listen to literally anything read by George Guidall, and that has led them to listen to a wide variety of books. I am hit or miss on this system as I find a certain reader can become so strongly associated in my mind with a certain story that I am a bit disoriented when they are suddenly the "voice" for a completely different set of characters. Fortunately, after a certain amount of time I find that association diminishes and I can go back to readers I've enjoyed.

* There aren't as many reviews for audiobooks - or at least there didn't seem to be to me! I've since found there are a lot out there, you just have to search a bit harder. One nice new review source is AudioFile Magazine which the Library now has in the Reader Services area (and note that they have a great website as well). The Library also has complimentary copies of BookPage which reviews a few audio each month and I use the various resources on the "Audio" page of the Library's website for links to several different review sources. Last, but certainly not least, I've realized that many people are getting into audiobooks, so now in addition to asking whether they have read anything enjoyable lately, I ask if they've LISTENED to a good book!

mcs

p.s. I can think of other issues as well - what are yours? More importantly, if you ever feel "stuck" please talk with us at Reader Services. We're happy to brainstorm new book ideas with you - both in print and audio!

Posted by Readers Services at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I caught the end of a radio program the other day that featured movies guaranteed to get the waterworks going. Some real "tear jerkers" were mentioned, including:

Love Story * The Champ * Mask * Ghost * Rudy * An Affair to Remember * The Way We Were * Jerry Maguire

I started wondering about some of my own personal favorites that require a box of tissues and just how many of these films were based upon books. Here's a list of some of their original titles with authors & dates of publication:

Sophie's Choice -- William Styron, 1979
Terms of Endearment -- Larry McMurtry, 1975
Dying Young -- Marti Leimbach, 1989
The English Patient -- Michael Ondaatje, 1992
Brian's Song -- Based upon the book "I am Third" by Gale Sayers & Al Silverman, 1970
Beaches -- Iris Rainer Dart, 1985

Can anyone offer their opinions as far as how some of these films compare to the print version? It would be interesting to hear if the books inspire an equally-emotional response!

jdc

Posted by Readers Services at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chicago-area author Jim Kokoris will be speaking about the writing life and reading from his latest novel at a program on Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m., sponsored by the St. Charles Public Library Foundation. A dessert reception at 6:30 p.m. precedes his presentation. The program is free and open to the public, but if you plan to attend the reception, we request your reservation in advance. Tickets are $10 for the reception, and checks can be made payable to the St. Charles Public Library Foundation and either mailed to the library or dropped off at the Business Office with Virginia Tsipas.

Kokoris writes with wit, warmth, and wisdom about some of society's more hapless, but thoroughly lovable, individuals, from a newly widowed lottery winner to a newly unemployed ad executive. His treatment of the compromised "everyman" has won him exuberant and insightful critical praise.

In its review of his 2002 debut novel, The Rich Part of Life, Publisher's Weekly found a "subtle sense of humor as sweet as it is wicked," and The Dallas Morning News called Sister North (2004) "a compelling story of forgiveness and spiritual awakening." Booklist Magazine found Kokoris to be "a shrewd and compassionate observer" of the human condition in its analysis of his most recent work, The Pursuit of Other Interests (2009).

With such popular reviews, it is no wonder that Kokoris has also been the recipient of numerous awards. The Rich Part of Life received the Friends of American Writers Award for Best First Novel, and was translated into fifteen languages, while The Pursuit of Other Interests was named "an Indie Next List Notable" in December, 2009, by the Independent Booksellers of America.

The president and general manager of Oakbrook Terrace-based JSH&S Public Relations, Kokoris has also written humorous and keenly observant essays for The Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine; USA Weekend; Chicago Sun-Times; and Reader's Digest. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Kokoris's early writings caught the attention of 1980's television producer Grant Tinker, who offered him a job writing sitcoms. Kokoris passed on Hollywood, choosing to settle down in Chicago's south suburbs, where he lives with his wife and three sons.

ch

Posted by Readers Services at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Friend of the Family Lauren Grodstein FIC GRODSTEIN

Pete is an internist living a reasonably content life in New Jersey. He has prestige, an established practice, and good friends. But he begins his story by explaining that he is living in a studio apartment above the garage, exiled from his lovely suburban home and alienated from family and friends. The reader discovers the reason in bits and pieces which are tied together with a steady, unceasing tension.

At the core of Pete’s dilemma is his 20-year-old son’s association with his friends’ 30-year-old daughter. That daughter has a troubling past and Pete just cannot accept this relationship. The pages keep turning until the very end in this suspenseful novel. With memorable characters and identifiable family crises, A Friend of the Family will appeal to readers who appreciate contemporary family drama.

Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, this is one of St. Charles Public Library's featured "Small Press Month" selections.

jhl

Posted by Readers Services at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Born to Run:A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Christopher McDougall 796.424 MCD

Christopher McDougall, runner, AP war correspondent and contributor to Men’s Health, reveals the secrets of the Tarahumara Indians ( world’s greatest distance runners) as he trains for the race of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race from Mexico’s Copper Canyon to the Leadville Trail in Colorado. In his engaging narrative McDougall reveals our love of running, and pits the “super-athletic Americans” against the Tarahumara with inspiring and ironic twists along the way.

Going Bovine Libba Bray (YA FIC BRAY)

16- year-old Cameron Smith isn’t exactly the most successful high school student until he contracts Creutzfeld-Jakob’s disease (mad cow).While in the hospital, a lovely angel or wild hallucinations encourage him to search for THE CURE to save the world. With stalwart companions Gonzo the dwarf and Balder a Norse god in gnomic disguise, Cameron finds himself on a quixotic journey where he learns about true love (naturally), wormholes and string theory . Using humor, satire and a bit of the surreal, Bray leads readers on THE ROAD TRIP of a lifetime…A great, contemporary story though a bit long.

Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann (FIC MCCANN)

Using Philippe Petit’s 1974 illegal high-wire walk between the Twin Towers and subsequent courtroom trial as backdrops, Colum McCann presents an electrifying, vivid portrait of the beauty and misery of life in South Bronx during the 1970s. Petit’s trial is the catalyst that moves a storyline comprised of ten inter-connected tales beautifully written and poignantly felt by the reader. Don’t miss them!

Sovay Celia Rees (YA FIC REES)

It’s England during the French Revolution, and beautiful, rich, 17 year-old Savoy (disguised as a highwayman) sets out to find her father and brother who have been condemned for supporting the French. Savoy’s mission takes her to dangerous, exciting underworlds of Paris and London. Capturing the romance, political /class struggles and the drama of the 18th century, Rees’s readers will not be disappointed with her richly detailed descriptions of period clothing, architecture and technology, not to mention her fresh take on the “ highwayman.” For Young Adults and up.

Open: An Autobiography Andre Agassi (796.342 AGA)

In this revealing autobiography from one of the world’s greatest athletes, readers learn of the harsh, lonely childhood of Andre Agassi whose father (a former Golden Gloves fighter) forced his son to become a champion, like it or not. Such pressure was not without consequences as Agassi experienced sorrow and failure in both his professional and private life. However, since his marriage to Steffi Graf and his acceptance of the game he once hated, Agassi’s life has taken a more hopeful turn. Read this extremely honest, heartfelt memoir written with J. R. Moehringer as ghostwriter. A cautionary tale for Young Adults and up.

mc

Posted by Readers Services at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The movie Silent Light (DVD SIL) begins in early dawn when the stars are still shining. Slowly, the sun rises and a verdant landscape is revealed, a seeming Garden of Eden. Director Carlos Reygadas seems to be unveiling something for us, and it is only by film’s end that we find out what it is. Silent Light is set in a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, and the entire cast is Mennonite, so right away we know we are in for something unusual. It’s the story of Johan, a farmer, and his wife Esther. Their six children are beautiful and healthy, and their farm is prosperous and neat. We first meet them as they are silently praying before breakfast, in an immaculate kitchen where all is order and cleanliness. The prayer is long, and we begin to wonder what kind of people they are, seemingly so calm and passionless. It’s only when Esther opens her eyes, which are filled with pain, that we realize not all is as it seems. Like a well-oiled machine, family members disperse to their chores, but Johan is left in the kitchen, where he begins to weep.

We soon learn that he has fallen in love with another Mennonite woman, a waitress named Marianne. The affair has been going on for two years, and he has tried to break it off. He has told Esther, who is devastated, and their beautiful life is in the process of unraveling. These are the bare bones of the plot, but they give little hint of the spiritual struggle within Johan, who is not a bad man but who is being broken on the wheel of his own nature. He is as mystified by the power of his compulsions as anyone else, though as we watch we begin to wonder if living a life so placid and well ordered isn’t actually quite difficult. Perhaps life in the Garden of Eden is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The pace of this movie is slow, but there is so much of interest to see, that I didn’t mind. Silent Light is filmed beautifully in velvety, saturated colors—a car passes a truck, leaving behind a swirling plume of dust that slowly curls and eddies and disperses into a fog, and we are mesmerized. There is something almost unearthly about the world director Reygadas has created, and it’s apparent that he’s showing us a vision.

The movie ends at sunset, and the camera pans up into the darkening sky as stars appear and we gaze at the shimmering night. As an artist, Reygadas has gone after some big game here. Are we in a loving universe, rebellious residents in the Garden of Eden? Or are we exiles on a beautiful, strange world that is silent before our sufferings? In Silent Light he seems to be saying “neither.” To use a currently popular catch phrase: It is what it is— a mystery.

fmanos

Posted by Readers Services at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are all sorts of ways I find books to read--everything from serendipity, to hearing friends talk, to reading reviews and searching out books on certain topics. In fact, like many readers, I more often have the problem of too many books to read than not enough. But I've found some great books through still another source, and that's books through my e-mail. This is a service that the St. Charles Public Library offers through their web site. Each week a new book is featured, giving a few pages each day-- just enough to whet your appetite--or not. Some weeks I don't even take the time to read that much and just delete. But last Monday started another winner (in my opinion) and I thought, "Wow-this service needs to be promoted to readers regularly," and hence this blog entry was born. I happen to be in the non-fiction club, but there are many clubs to choose from. Why not try one (or more) of our Online Book Clubs today!

FYI-This is the book that I was excited to find out about this week. The author tells about how he came across two new slave narratives, recently come to light after having been passed on through family members. It's a perfect read for Black History Month.
TS

Posted by Readers Services at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Can't get enough of the entertaining and multifaceted The Help by Kathryn Stockett?
If you enjoyed this popular read, consider the following titles:

For the south & the civil rights movement of the 1960s...

Bombingham -- Anthony Grooms
The Bridge -- Doug Marlette
Five Smooth Stones -- Ann Fairbairn
Four Spirits -- Sena Jeter Naslund
Freshwater Road -- Denise Nicholas
Magic Time -- Doug Marlette
The Moon in Our Hands -- Tom Dyja
The Summer We Got Saved -- Pat Cunningham Devoto

For racism & race relations...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -- Sherman Alexie
To Kill a Mockingbird -- Harper Lee
Tortilla Curtain -- T. Coraghessan Boyle

For female relationships & friendships, including mothers & daughters...

"...and Ladies of the Club" -- Helen Hooven Santmyer
Charms for the Easy Life -- Kaye Gibbons
The Friday Night Knitting Club -- Kate Jacobs
The Secret Life of Bees -- Sue Monk Kidd
The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart -- Alice Walker

For coming of age stories...

Ellen Foster -- Kaye Gibbons
Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel -- Jeannette Walls
The Tender Bar -- J. R. Moehringer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- Betty Smith
Walking Across Egypt -- Clyde Edgerton

For the role of the African-American caregiver and the children cared for...

We Are All Welcome Here -- Elizabeth Berg

For multiple voices...

The History of Love -- Nicole Krauss
Son of a Witch -- Gregory Maguire

For classic southern writers, try...

Carson McCullers
Flannery O'Connor
Eudora Welty

And for more books featuring strong southern women, sample these authors...

Fannie Flagg
Jill McCorkle
Ann B. Ross
Lee Smith
Bailey White

(Please note: Readers will find overlapping themes within many of the titles listed above.)

And if you haven't already listened to the audio version of The Help, do!

Have any to add? Feel free to share them here.

Posted by Readers Services at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There has been good and bad news from the world of mystery writing in the past few days. On the plus side, the 2010 Edgar Nominees were announced. These titles are selected by the Mystery Writers of America to honor "the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2009." The winners will be announced in April.

On a much sadder note, many readers were shocked to learn that best-selling author Robert B. Parker passed away Monday at the age of 77. Tributes and memories are filling the internet, such as this from the Wall Street Journal and this from the New York Times, While many enjoy his "Sunny Randall" and "Jesse Stone" series, I have always been a strict "Spenser" devotee. I still remember when I first discovered this series and how I devoured all I could find. Since then, the arrival of the newest Spenser novel was always a highlight in my reading calendar and is something I will miss.

marlise

Posted by Readers Services at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not knowing much about Iceland, I didn’t know what to expect when I popped White Night Wedding (DVD WHI) a movie by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur into the DVD player. Touted as a comedy, it is the story of a professor named Jon. We first meet him teaching a class of bored students at a community college. Lecturing about moral relativism, he gazes out a window as though looking for someone—anyone---to come to his rescue. Life wasn’t supposed to be like this for Jon. Some years before, he and his artist wife had come to live on a remote island off the coast of Iceland, she to burn up the world with her art, and he, with his writing. Life dealt them harsh blows, though: her high spirits wobbled into emotional instability, then to madness, then to suicide. His writing doesn’t burn up the world; he struggles under the burden of his wife’s mental illness and her death, and he finds himself commuting by ferry to the college every day to teach. Then he meets a local island girl who is a student. She falls for the professor, and thinks she can save him from his sadness. After some plot twists and turns, they marry, and it’s happily ever after. Right? Watching this sequence of events unfold, we feel forebodings.

If you think this sounds like unpromising material for a comedy, I agree, and a big problem with this movie is its awkward mix of humor and tragedy that doesn’t gel into black comedy. We meet other islanders, including the mismatched parents of the young girl, some of the buffoonish friends of the professor, a lonely young minister, who is played for laughs, and some locals who, improbably enough, want to make the island a tourist destination, complete with golf course. The island is beautiful, gilded with the midsummer’s sun, with seascapes and soft green countryside looking like paradise to this landlocked Midwesterner. I found some of the humor rather broad, and laughed instead at the throw-away lines. For the first half hour of this movie, I was in a truly foreign world, where I didn’t know the people, the language, or their landscape, and had no point of reference, a world whose Norse heritage is thinly overlaid with European culture. This movie will pull you in, though, if you give it a chance. One test as to whether a movie is “good” or not is how it sticks with you after you’ve seen it. Some movies are like fast food: they are consumed quickly and then immediately forgotten. But a good movie will resonate in your imagination long after viewing, and the characters may haunt you. In this case, it is the character of the first wife who haunts. We think of her, on a remote island with no kindred souls, living with a husband who is decent, but emotionally remote. There was nothing or no one to slow her downward descent, and the lonely beauty of the island must have made her life all the more difficult. In my recollections of this movie, the antic humor has evanesced away, leaving only her dark image. Watch “White Night Wedding,” to see this absorbing slice of a world far away, and to have some smiles, but don’t expect a frothy comedy. (I have the feeling Icelanders just don’t do frothy comedy). Director Kormakur seems to be saying that life is a tangled mess of the horrible, the mundane, and the funny, and that we can’t lose ourselves, no matter to which island we may escape.

franm

Posted by Readers Services at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avid audiobook readers (listeners?) will be delighted with a new resource to help them expand their listening (reading?) pleasure. Now available at the Readers Services department, AudioFile Magazine is a trove of information devoted solely to the audiobook experience. In addition to reviews organized by genre (Mystery, Science Fiction, and so on), there are profiles of popular authors such as Nevada Barr and Diane Ackerman and essays from fan-fave narrators such as George Guidall. The current issue (Dec 2009/Jan 2010) features a review of the best headphones and lists of the Best Audiobooks of 2009.

ch

Posted by Readers Services at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Into the Beautiful North
Luis Urrea

When 19 year-old Nayeli realizes that most of the men in her Mexican village, including her father, have gone to the US for work, she decides to go north and find 7 men to protect her home town from the villains attempting to control it. Urrea's prose is luminous, filled with memorable characters, and he includes social commentary on immigrant life along the Mexican/US border. An enjoyable, humorous story.

Below Zero
C.J. Box

This recent addition to the Joe Pickett mystery series covers the issues of global warming...Game Warden Joe Pickett is forced to relive his foster daughter April's death (six years ago) when he learns that his daughter Sheridan is currently receiving text messages from someone claiming to be April. Added to his nightmarish horror is the suspicion that the texts are being sent by someone associated with environmental terrorists.

Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat
Gwen Cooper (636.8 COO)

A tender memoir about a young woman who adopts a blind cat at a time in her life when her lover, job and housing situation are challenging to say the least. Though reluctant to add a third cat to the two previously adopted ones, Cooper gives in when kitty # 3 purrs as soon as she is picked up. Throughout the next 12 years, Cooper finds herself growing into a mature, compassionate human being as she shares some difficult life experiences with an intrepid, wonderful cat. Warm, hopeful and entertaining.

What Is the What: The Autobiograhy of Valentino Achak Deng
Dave Eggers

Though a novel, Eggers's book is a true account of the adventures of Valentino Achak Deng, one of 3,800 Lost Boys from Sudan (Lost Boys because they were unaccompanied minors) who survived years in refugee camps of Kenya and Ethiopia. We learn of the unimaginable sufferings of these children as Achak narrates his frightening, sometimes wonderful experiences of escape, rescue and hardship ...even after settling in Atlanta. What Is the What carries the emotional impact of an epic with touches of humor, poignancy and wisdom. Dion Graham's narration pulls the listener into this harrowing reality, yet the warmth of Valentino's personality plus Eggers's gift as a writer makes one reluctant to leave this world when the book ends. An unforgettable witness to the beauty and power of one individual...not to be missed!

mc

Posted by Readers Services at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)