Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence Winners Announced

Posted on July 31, 2012 by | Comments Off

On June 24, the recipients of the first Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were announced at the American Library Association’s annual conference in Anaheim, California.

St. Charles Public Library IL - Catherine The Great by Robert K. MassieThe nonfiction award was presented to Robert K. Massie for Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman.

 

 

St. Charles Public Library IL - The Forgotten Waltz by Anne EnrightThe fiction award was given to Anne Enright for
The Forgotten Waltz. 

Booklist magazine’s senior editor Donna Seaman sat down with Enright for an in-depth interview about her award-winning novel and her illustrious career.

You can access the interview here.

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Chill out with these cool audiobooks

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off

Instead of curling up with a good book try stretching out with a good listen. Just put the fan on ‘hi’ and the CD player on ‘medium’ and let someone else do the reading.

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis

St. Charles Public Library IL - The Boy In The Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis

Can someone help the blockbuster Nordic authors with their title choices?  I find them so bland.  Fortunately, this story is anything but.  This is the first in a mystery/suspense trilogy by authors best known for their young adult fantasies.  A Red Cross nurse tries not to get killed while she solves the mystery of the boy in the suitcase.  Narrated by Katherine Kellgren, and a winner of an AudioFile Earphones award.

Among the Missing by Morag Joss

St. Charles Public Library IL - Among the Missing by Morag Joss

This psychological thriller is set in Scotland and the listener is treated to not one, but 3, inveterate readers; Robin Sachs, Kate Reading and Cassandra Campbell. They do an expert job of getting into the heads of the characters who have survived a bridge collapse.  Another AudioFile Earphones award winner.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

St. Charles Public Library IL - Blue Monday by Nicci French

Didn’t get your tickets to the London Olympics? This thriller will take you all over the city as a psychotherapist and chief inspector try to thaw a very cold case involving an abandoned child.  The blurb says, “Blue Monday introduces a compelling protagonist and a chilling mystery that will appeal to readers of dark crime fiction.” Deftly delivered by Beth Chalmers. AudioFile Earphones award winner, March 2012.

And now for something completely different,

Life, on the Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas

St. Charles Public Library IL - Life, on the Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas

This is one compelling memoir.  I was enviously wondering how Achatz could be the #1 U.S. chef and a great storyteller as I listened to his tale of starting out in a diner in Michigan to owning Alinea, the 4-star, world-class restaurant in Chicago. And he is a stage four tongue cancer survivor. And he isn’t even 40 years old.  Achatz’ success story is mostly about hard work and determination.  After you finish this you’ll want to check out his cookbook, Alinea, then you’ll want to make reservations.  Johnny Heller narrates.

And finally, we do have the Fifty Shades trilogy on audio but perhaps you want to wait until the weather is a little cooler for this hotter than hot title.

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Staff Reads

Posted on July 23, 2012 by | Comments Off

Here’s our latest reading suggestions gathered from Readers Services staff .

St. Charles Public Library IL - Wife 22 by Melanie GideonA fun book for a light summer read is Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon. This modern look at love, marriage, parenting and friendship in the age of social media has a nice balance of humor, heart & heft.

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty is a good coming of age story. Ten year old Evelyn lives in small town Kansas, smack in the middle of the United States. She’s also in the midst of family relationships, falling in love, poverty, and other complications of growing up, all seen from her eyes. Staff are also enjoying Moriarty’s latest book, The Chaperone.

St. Charles Public Library IL - The Expats by Chris PavoneIf you’re  into espionage and intrigue, try  Chris Pavone’s  debut novel, The Expats. Kate quits her job with the CIA when her husband is offered a mysterious banking job in Luxembourg. Neither spouse has been very honest with each other over the years, and there are lots of twists and turns as layer after layer of untruths are revealed.

Adults as well as teens are enjoying Veronica Roth’s two Young Adult novels, Divergent and Insurgent. In a dystopian Chicago, all sixteen year olds must choose which of five factions of society to devote the rest of their lives to.

St. Charles Public Library IL - Paris, My Sweet by Amy ThomasFor those who prefer nonfiction, Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas is another fun read. For you armchair travelers, it also gives  a great sense of Paris. Thomas accepts a 2 year position in Paris as a copywriter for Louis Vuitton, and with an insatiable desire for sweets, she spends her free time scouring Paris for the best chocolates, pastries, breads and cheeses.

 

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Awesome Audios

Posted on July 18, 2012 by | Comments Off

Something about summer makes me want to make sure I am never without a good book – to read at home or to listen to in the car. I found some audiobooks I highly recommend.

St. Charles Public Library IL - Train Dreams Audiobook by Denis JohnsonDenis Johnson’s Train Dreams (AUDIO BOOK FIC JOH) is short at just 2.5 hours, but what an extraordinary tale it tells. Robert Granier is an ordinary man making a living in the northwestern U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. He is a logger, a bridge builder and a freight man. Through his eyes we see the beauty and harshness of the American West and hear the stories of the common folk he encounters. Audie Award winner Will Patton narrates with a variety of voices and inflection and my next audio selection will probably be narrated by him as well.

St. Charles Public Library - Blind Fury Audiobook by Lynda La PlanteFor suspense, it would be hard to top Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante (AUDIO BOOK FIC LAP), read by Kim Hicks. Detective Inspector Anna Travis is on the team investigating the killings of young, unidentified women. The police know there is a serial killer at large but are hard pressed for clues. When convicted serial murderer Cameron Welsh offers to help profile the killer, and insists he speak with Anna, her superiors press her to speak with him.

As is typical of La Plante’s writing, there is dogged police work interwoven with relentless suspense. Just the ticket for fans of contemporary British mysteries. Reader Kim Hicks does a fine job on all characters, but especially Anna, who is determined to excel in the man’s world she has chosen and forced to endure conversation with the repulsive Welsh.

St. Charles Public Library IL - Prague Fatale Audiobook by Philip KerrPrague Fatale (AUDIO BOOK FIC KER) is the 8th mystery in Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series. It’s 1941 Berlin. Bernie is suicidal, overwhelmed by the horrors he experienced on the eastern front, when he is summoned to Prague to serve as bodyguard to Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich. When one of Heydrich’s adjutants is found murdered, Bernie investigates. Bernie’s caustic sense of humor, hatred for Nazis and his aggressive questioning of his superiors add to the tension. Paul Hecht narrates with just the right mix of sardonic commentary and pathos.

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Posted in Award Winners, Book Reviews, Staff Reads

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4 More Weeks to Hit Summer Reading Goal

Posted on July 16, 2012 by | Comments Off
Fireworks

CC Image: Bayasaa via Flickr

Once July 4th is celebrated the rest of the summer shoots forward like a firework. Our Summer Reading Program — “Reading is So Delicious!” will be wrapping up on Wednesday, August 8th. That means there are still almost four more weeks of weekly drawings, trivia contests, logging in book titles, and of course, earning rewards!

If you haven’t signed in with us yet, there’s plenty of time to do so.  If you’ve already completed all prize levels, your reads will earn you additional chances in the drawings, including those for our three Grand Prizes.

Please stop by the Readers Services Desk “Book Bistro” for the latest “dish” on this “tasty” program.

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What to Read When You’re Tired of The Hunger Games

Posted on June 26, 2012 by | Comments Off

I must confess, although I hugely enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent by Veronica Roth and other similar titles (I also recently read and loved the classic A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller), I have now grown a little weary of the dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre.  So, for anyone else who might be looking for some “other” science fiction, here are six titles (old and new) to consider:

St. Charles Public Library IL - Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. CoreySt. Charles Public Library IL - REAMDE by Neal StephensonSt. Charles Public Library IL - The Alien Years by Robert SilverbergSt. Charles Public Library IL - Muse of Fire by Dan SimmonSt. Charles Public Library IL - Hammerjack by Marc GillerSt. Charles Public Library IL - All About Emily by Connie Willis

In addition, for those who generally don’t read science fiction, Flavorwire recently did a “10 Great Science Fiction Books for People Who Don’t Read Sci-Fi” post which had some interesting titles (I totally agree about Fledgling by Octavia Butler) and Reader Services maintains a similar list, Books for Those Who Think They Don’t Read Science Fiction.

Do you have some science fiction titles on your favorite books list? Please share will us!

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Awarding Excellence

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | Comments Off

For readers who turn to lists of award-winners to help them answer that perennial question of “What should I be reading?” there’s an important new award in town – the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.  Honoring Andrew Carnegie’s deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world, the Andrew Carnegie Medals were made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York on the occasion of the foundation’s one-hundredth anniversary, and are co-sponsored by Booklist  magazine, published by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

The Andrew Carnegie Medals will recognize the best fiction and nonfiction published in the United States during the previous year.  An annually appointed selection committee of library professionals from around the country who work closely with adult readers is chaired by uber-library Nancy Pearl (author of the popular Book Lust series), and includes three editors from Booklist magazine and three former members of the RUSA Notable Books Council.

In May, Pearl announced the shortlist of finalists, which was comprised of 50 titles culled from 2011′s Booklist Editor’s Choice and RUSA Notable Books lists. The awards will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference on June 24, 2012, in Anaheim, California.  The winners in each category will receive a $5,000 cash award.

So, without further ado, here are this year’s finalists.  How many of them have you read?

Nominees for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction 2012

St. Charles Public Library IL - Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

 

 

 

Nominees for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Nonfiction 2012

St. Charles Public Library IL - Catherine The Great by Robert K. Massie

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable

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Posted in Award Winners, Book News, Uncategorized

If You Like…

Posted on June 12, 2012 by | Comments Off

If you’re waiting for the latest book by a favorite author or a copy of the hottest new read that everyone’s talking about, consider browsing the library’s If You Like… book lists.

Do you like romantic suspense novels? There’s a list for that! 

Love Lee Child’s novels? There’s even a list for that!

Here are 3 easy steps to find a variety of “readalikes,” categorized by author, book title or even genre.

  1. Go to our website and scroll to Books in the main navigation.
  2. Select What to Read from the drop-down menu.
    St. Charles Public Library - Books - What to Read
  3. Once on the What to Read page, scroll down until you find If You Like… towards the bottom of the page.
    St. Charles Public Library - What to Read - If You Like

Or you can just click here and be sure to bookmark the If You Like… page in your browser. It’s that easy!

Don’t see a reading list that’s right for you? Contact the Readers Services Desk for a personalized reading list.

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Beach Reads

Posted on June 5, 2012 by | Comments Off

Whether you’re actually heading to a beach or just imagining yourself there, some books (and their covers!) to get you started:

Beach Trip by Cathy Holton   Life's A Beach by Claire Cook   The Beach Trees by Karen White

Beach Season by Lisa Jackson   Love Finds You in Sunset Beach Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn   Beach Lane by Sherryl Woods

Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe   Beach Folly by Dorothea Benton Frank   The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri

 

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Posted in Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

Patron Picks

Posted on June 1, 2012 by | Comments Off

Here is a current crop of titles that patrons have been talking about with us at Reader Services.  Any time you have a book to recommend, please stop by the Reader Services Desk and share it with us!

California Girl
By T. Jefferson Parker
A great suspense fiction, plus it’s fun trying to figure out the real life people some of the characters are based upon.

Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories
By Edith Pearlman
This collection of short stores sparkles with “wonderful writing.”

The Love Dare
By Stephen Kendrick (248.844 KEN)
Based on the hit movie Fireproof, patron called it “powerful” and worth owning.

Anything by the romantic suspense author Laura Griffin. The series starts with Untraceable.

Only Time Will Tell
By Jeffrey Archer
This  is the first in new family saga by Archer and the patron was eagerly waiting for the next (Sins of the Father) out May 8th.

Serena
By Ron Rash
This historical fiction title set in 1929 Appalachia, features a female character who is so ruthless she’s almost unlikable – which is funny given that “the author recently spoke at ECC and he is SO nice!”

Aging Our Way: Lessons for Living from 85 and Beyond
By Meika Loe (646.79 LOE)
Well-written look at aging that is both uplifting and informative; good insight for an older person and/or someone with aging parents.

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
By Colin Woodard (970.00497 WOO)
If you like history, this is “fascinating.”

Have you read one of these titles and would like to tell us your thoughts? Share your comments below.

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Posted in Book Reviews