Showing posts with label links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label links. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2011

Weekend Linky Goodness

In my online travels, I’ve found some interesting book and reader links. You might be interested in them too!

Are any of your favorites on this list???
Check out their readers’ popular vote Puddly Awards (Powells is in Portland, OR) winners. I’ve mentioned both books on this blog. I highly recommend them. By the way, Powells.com is the online arm of Powell’s Books, an independent bookstore spanning a whole city block. I’ve never been in person, but I have bought from them online and the service is terrific! (This is my personal recommendation; I have not received any compensation (except hours of reading fun) for mentioning them to you)

A fun slide show with cover art and quirky blurbs that will entice you to give the book a try. Well…go ahead…read ‘em!

Information Is Beautiful brings us this graphic representation…
Books Everyone Should Read

If you like Science Fiction (and I do), you’ll enjoy this wonderful pictorial representation of the History of Science Fiction. Be sure to zoom in to see the detail!

I’ve been reading Westerns for the Genre Study group I’m in, so look forward to a post about those books. I discovered that I really like Westerns! Check out the links to your left for information about Westerns and Novels of the West (they are a bit different).

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Help by Stockett

I'm currently listening to The Help by Kathryn Stockett during my commute. I'm really enjoying the story and the narrators. This is one of those stories that make me enjoy a traffic jam because it means I get more time to listen!

For those of you who haven't read the book, the plot concerns a newly graduated young white woman who wishes to be a journalist and begins to become more disturbed by the treatment of black family maids in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. She plans to write a book about these maid's stories and gets help from two middle-aged maids. The book is told from the point of view of the three main characters: Skeeter Feelan, Aibileen and Minny. It is a sympathetic portrayal, and the book has been controversial even now in the Southern United States.

I haven't finished the book yet and I was surprised to see that Stockett is being sued by her brother's long time maid for unlawful use of her story. I'm not sure what will happen with the lawsuit. It does bring to mind thoughts about what constitutes fiction and where does the line begin when you are basing a fictional tale on real life events? Is The Help's maid Aibileen Clark, based closely on the life of the actual maid Ablene Cooper, who is suing Stockett? It would seem so at first glance. Is it appropriate for an author to base  character on a living person and how close can you get?

How much information realistically can be "changed to protect the identity" of the person on which the story is based? This question is one that is central to Stockett's book. While listening, I can't help but think that there isn't a way that Skeeter could change enough the names of these maids and the circumstances these women describe. Their identities will surely come out in the end, and that promises to cause upset and grief for all involved. I guess I'll find out next week during my commute!

Regardless of the personal drama unfolding in Ablene Cooper and Kathryn Stockett's lives, the book is a good read and especially good to discuss with your friends and book group members. Let me know what you think!

P.S. Here are some links to the controversies surrounding this book.

The Help: Kathryn Stockett's Controversial Hit

Racial Insults and Quiet Bravery in 1960s Mississippi

A Maid Sees Herself in a Novel, and Objects

Thursday, February 10, 2011

50 Books Challenge is ONLINE

Look for this
button on the
Library website!

You can now sign up and keep track of your books online. If you live your life on the web, this will be perfectly easy for you! If you want to keep track of your reading using the paper reading logs, that's fine with us. Either way works!

The Library has a new online tool called "LitKeeper" which will allow you to keep track of all your reading and listening online. Once you register you'll have your own page where you can add your titles and reviews if you'd like. Other people can see your reviews and you can see theirs, but...you won't see their user name or real name connected to the review.

Here's how to sign up:
1. Follow this link or go to our website and click on the "50 Books Challenge" button.

2. When you are at the screen which says "Tewksbury Reads" look at the right upper corner and click on the "SIGNUP" button.

3. At this page, click on "50 Books Challenge"  which will bring you to the registration page.

4. Fill in the boxes with your information. The starred fields are required, but are not shared with anyone but the administrator. How else will we know who you are if you win a prize???

5. You have now created "MY PAGE" and you will automatically go there. This is where you will keep track of your books, ebooks or audiobooks.

6. If you have books to enter into your list, you can do that now. If you don't, you can "LOGOUT" with the button on the upper right hand of the page.

THAT'S IT! It's as easy as that to register. I hope you'll take advantage of either way of participating: online or traditionally. Either way, you'll have fun and have a record of at least 50 books you read in 2011!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Best Books of...

It's that time of year when everyone does their Best Books Lists. Here are some lists that we look at this time of year!

New York Times 10 Best books of 2010

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2010

National Public Radio's Best Books of 2010

Seattle Times 27 Best Books of 2010

What are your favorite lists? Do you agree or disagree with the books on this list? Do you think it's ridiculous to try to even pick the top books of the year?

As you read this year, what will your top books of 2011 be???

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Reading Advisory

Even though it's a couple of weeks before the 50 Book Challenge, I wanted to call your attention to the recommended links to the left of the page and then talk a bit about reading advisory and what the Tewksbury Public Library can do to assist you.

To the left are some categories of popular fiction. Each category has a few websites of interest to readers who enjoy that type of book, or which will introduce new readers to the books of the genre. Because this is a living, growing project, there will be more additions as the year moves along.

Leave a comment to let me know which categories of fiction you like to read and any special reading websites you visit regularly.

Reading Advisory. Do you know how we get weather advisories from the news or weather websites?  Reading Advisory is similar--we try to be more accurate! We'll try to match you with a book you'll enjoy (not just one that we enjoyed!). We'll post reviews and appeal factors for some books you may want to consider reading or recommending to your friends.

What are appeal factors? Appeal factors are words and phrases that evoke a specific feeling in the reader. Phrases like "fast paced" and "seat of your chair" are often used to describe adventure novels or thrillers.  Words like "languid" or "introspective" are often used to describe literary fiction. "Intrigue" is often a word used to describe the plot of mysteries."Literary" and "Lyrical" are used to describe writing style in any number of genres.

Since we don't have a special department to advise readers, we make lots of book lists, displays and websites available to help you. We also all read pretty extensively. Some of the staff read more of one kind of book than another, and you can start a conversation with us at any time. We LOVE to talk about what we've been reading! I suggest you stop at the Front Desk to start your conversation about books. Library clerks not only read many books, they see lots of popular titles and authors pass through the circulation area every day. Most of the Library Clerks read mysteries, suspense/thrillers and literary fiction.

Our Librarians also read in many areas. Check with the Reference Librarian, Freyja, to talk about non-fiction books. Check with the Children's Librarian, Noelle, to talk about literary novels, teen books, fantasy novels and children's novels. Our Technical Services Librarian, Robert, reads lots of teen novels--plus he selects them for the library, so he knows what is what! I, Diane, your Library Director, read romance, science fiction, graphic novels (adult ones) and poetry.

There are many ways in which we serve you and many ways in which we'd like to serve you better. Please comment with suggestions for us.

My next post will start us off with a review of a teen book I just finished. Have a great holiday season!