Looking for book reviews to help you decide what to read or discuss for your book discussion or even just discover what others have felt about a book you have read? Then take a look at these databases on the St. Charles Public Library 's web site:

* Book Review Digest Plus covers many titles and their reviews back to 1983, both fiction and nonfiction. Another good feature is that the Digest includes reviews of adult, young adult and children's titles.

* St.Charles Library's Staff Online Book Reviews
Our staff has a variety of reading tastes. Check out this online database of reviews written by our staff and find a book that appeals to you. You can search for a specific genre (romance, mystery, science fiction, etc.), author, or even pull up the entire list.

And coming soon will be Pearl's Picks a database updated monthly with 12 new annotations (both fiction and nonfiction), that Nancy Pearl hopes will deliver good reading experiences to a wide audience of book lovers. Nancy, by the way, is a former Seattle librarian, Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book and creator of the idea "One City One Book" that has spread across the country. Her books include Book Lust, and Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, and she is a regular commentator on NPR's Morning Edition.

- MC

There's quite an uproar brewing over the question of whether listening to audiobooks is, in some ways, cheating -- at least as far as a book group in Virginia is concerned. An article in the August 2 edition of The New York Times recounts the experience one member had when she confessed that she had used the audiobook version of that month's selection rather than read the actual novel.

Now maybe the controversy had to do more with the book in question -- Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, which tops out at more than 600 pages -- rather than the format of the novel. I mean, if I had lugged a 3-inch tome around with me for a few weeks, as opposed to just merely booting up my iPod or turning on my CD player, then maybe I'd fuss at my fellow club member, too.

But for those of us who are devotees of audiobooks, the idea that fellow book lovers would be outraged over the choice to use one's ears rather than eyes to "read" a book seems a bit much. Personally speaking, listening to audiobooks has given me some of the most enjoyable hours I've ever spent with a book. The History of Love and Middlesex are just two examples of excellent audiobook productions. And the book in question -- A Fine Balance -- was also a wonderful experience. In fact, there are many cases in which I have found that I retained the names of characters and sequence of events better than I did when I read a book in the traditional way.

If a reader/listener chooses the abridged versus unabridged version, then maybe the accusation of "cheating" is valid. But otherwise, I think audiobooks offer busy readers a more satisfying alternative to the car radio, or a delightful diversion when slaving away over a hot iron on Sunday afternoons.

Any thoughts?
CH

If you're a regular reader of the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune, you've probably noticed that the "Books" section is no longer included! This caused me a small amount of panic until I realized that it hadn't been eliminated, simply moved to the Saturday edition of the paper. Of course, I'm disappointed since I only subscribe to the Sunday edition, but fortunately the Library has it. Even better, we're pulling the "Books" section and bringing it up to the Reader Services area so it's easy for everyone to find! Just look on the New Fiction shelves where we have various magazines and newspapers dedicated to book reviews (don't see it? Just ask at the Reader Services Desk!). If you can't wait to come into the Library, you can also see "Books" online.

While I'm sorry to lose "Books" from my personal collection, I must say that I'm enjoying the expanded coverage in the new Saturday edition. I also like the "Lit Life" column by Julia Keller in the Sunday "Arts & Entertainment" section. What do you think? Some people feel that moving "Books" to Saturday is an indication that the popularity of reading is waning and that one day it will not be published at all. As a reader who relies on reviews to help me find titles I might otherwise miss, I certainly hope this doesn't happen!

- marlise

The Readers Services Staff at the St. Charles Public Library is thrilled to be able to provide patrons with this virtual means of keeping you, our astute readers on top of the latest news in the wonderful world of books. You can look forward to current updates about:

*The hottest bestsellers

* Newest title releases by your favorite authors

*Recommended titles our staff are reading

*Reading suggestions for you or your book club

*Upcoming Readers Services programs & services

*Other local literary events

Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or contact the Readers Services Department for more details or suggestions!