Recommended Readings . . .

Recently the library hosted Connie Paul to lead 3 discussions about Jane Austen. At the final session, Connie and the group came up with a list of recommended readings and authors. Why not share the list with everyone?

Connie has kept a list of Season's Readings for years. This is the list that the group came up with additions from a few other members that sent their lists after the meeting.

Here's to everyone finding a new book to enjoy this season!

Book Discussion Kits

Did you know that you can borrow a Book Discussion Kit from the Library?

In Each Kit You Will Find:

• 10 copies of the book
• Discussion questions
• Information about the author
• Reviews

How to Check Out A Kit:

• Kits are at the Monroe Township Library
• Kits can be renewed 1 time

Returning the Kit:

• Check that all the contents are in the kit
• Please do not place kit in a library bookdrop
• Overdue fine $1.00 per day

To see a list of titles, you can search in the Library catalog.

Top 10 Books for Library Journal

Librarians and book reviewers have chosen their top ten books of 2010 for Library Journal's Top Ten Best List. Fiction and non-fiction titles are included and, according to the site, this list, "represents an assortment of books appropriate for a broad reading audience."

Theresa A.

2010 Booker Prize Shortlist Nominees

ReviewofBooks.com provides a list of shortlisted Man Booker Prize Nominees with links to lengthy reviews from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more here.

ReviewofBooks.com is a great resource if you are looking for book reviews longer than a paragraph.

Theresa A.

100 Best First Lines from Novels

21. Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. —James Joyce, Ulysses (1922)

26. 124 was spiteful. —Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)

41. The moment one learns English, complications set in. —Felipe Alfau, Chromos (1990)

If we have managed to pique your interest, you may view the entire list here at 100 Best First Lines from Novels from AmericanBookReview.org.

Reading Radar

Reading Radar is a mashup that combines features of the New York Times Bestseller List with Amazon.com. This is a great way to see a list of bestselling titles, read reviews from customers and professional reviewing sources, and make a purchase, all from one website.

Theresa

'Under the Radar' Reads

Librarian and voracious reader Nancy Pearl picks her 'Under the Radar' reads here. She has included a thoughtful synopsis of each title. Perhaps you will find a wonderful hidden treasure to read.

Theresa

Paranormal Fiction

Things That go Bump in the Stacks: Whole Collection Advisory for Paranormal Fiction from Readersadvisory.com is a great resources for paranormal fiction. Click on Paranormal Fiction: a Guide to view annotated bibliographies for books on ghosts, psychics, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies, teen paranormal series, and paranormal graphic novels. Enjoy!

Theresa

Teen Books Popular with Adults

A recent editorial in the LA Times talks about how young adult novels have become popular with adults. These pages have links with brief descriptions of YA novels with adult appeal.

• The Ten Best Young Adult Novels for Grownups
• 13 Going on 30: The Best YA for Adults from Library Journal
  
• Recommendations from SF Signal

Theresa

Killer Thrillers

Here are the Top 100 Killer Thrillers, chosen by 17,000 voters from NPR's audience.

Top ten thrillers:

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. The Shining, by Stephen King
8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

For your convenience, there is a display of thriller in the center of the library that you can select from.

Theresa A.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson have been causing a bit of a sensation. I know that I could not put the first book down and have my name on the reserve list for the second title in this trilogy. If you have finished reading these books and are clamoring for more more like them, these links provide some suggestions.

Stieg Larsson & Scandinavian Mystery/Thriller Readalikes from the Johnson County Library

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Read Alikes from Norway Public Library Norwary, Maine

Readalikes suggested by Bookbrowse.com

Stieg Larsson readalikes from Edmonton Public Library

Theresa

More Beach Reads

The Ann Arbor District Library had put together Summer Reading 2010, a page with links to beach reads from Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and more.

I'm currently reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, from the comfort of my air conditioned home, but it would make a great beach read as well.

Theresa

15 Soaring Summer Reads

Independent booksellers Rona Brinlee of The BookMark in Atlantic Beach, Fla., Daniel Goldin of Boswell Book Co. in Milwaukee, and Lucia Silva of Studio City, Calif.'s Portrait of a Bookstore have chosen Booksellers' Picks: 15 Soaring Summer Reads

Theresa

20 Under 40

New Yorker magazine has chosen it's annual "20 Under 40" list, featuring twenty fiction authors under the age of forty that are worth watching. Prior authors chosen for this list include Jhumpa Lahiri and Jeffrey Eugenides.

Theresa

Best Romance Novels

The Rita Awards, chosen by the Romance Writers of America, represent the best romance books of the year. Categories include best first novel, best romance suspense, and best historical romance. Look here to see past winners from 1983-2009.

Theresa

RA Run Down

Here are New Titles on the Most Wanted Mashup This Week from The Reader's Advisor Online. This is a list of the most popular titles taken from a "scan of more than 100 blogs, newsletters, magazines, newspapers and television."

Scroll down the page to view New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer titles to be published this week.

Free BooksFrom DailyLit.com

Hell-Heaven from Jhumpa Lahiri, author of Unaccustomed Earth, is available from DailyLit.com. Register at DailyLit.com to have free installments of this collection of short stories sent to your e-mail account or blog reader here.

Theresa A.

Reading Guides from Penguin Books

Penguin Books has reading group guides for many of their books at their website.
These guides provide a brief synopsis of the book, biographical information and interviews with the author, and discussion questions. Guides can be browsed by author, title, or subject. I found many interesting titles when I browsed the site, including all three books from the Rashi's Daughters trilogy from Maggie Anton.

Vook

Vooks combine books and video. Here is the description from their website:

WHAT IS A VOOK?
A vook is a new innovation in reading that blends a well-written book, high-quality video and the power of the Internet into a single, complete story.
You can read your book, watch videos that enhance the story and connect with authors and your friends through social media all on one screen, without switching between platforms.

Listen to and watch a vook here.

Theresa A.

John Grisham's Novels Available as E-Books

John Grisham has decided to make all 23 of his books available in e-book format. This titles can now be found in electronic format at retailers including Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon.com.

Theresa A.

Gnooks

Using Gnooks.com is a fun way to find authors similar to your current favs. Type the name of an author that you like and then click on "find this author." This will bring up a literature map with the names of other authors that you may enjoy. A literature map looks like the image at left.

When I typed "Anita Diamant", the literature map recommended that I try Sue Monk Kidd and Philippa Gregory, along with several others.

Theresa A.

Staff Pick Blog

If you are looking for a good read, please visit our Staff Picks Blog. Staff members review their favorite titles here and each entry includes a link to book reviews on Amazon.com. Maybe you'll find a new favorite.

Theresa A.

What's Next In Series

What's Next Book in Series database from Kent District Library help you to find the books written in a series for adult and children's titles. Search by author, series, book title, and or/genre.

Want to find out the titles of all of the Alex Cross books from James Patterson? Just do an author search for James Patterson. If you only know the name of the series, that's OK! Just do a series search for "Alex Cross" and the database will retrieve a list of Alex Cross novels, in the order that they were written.

BookLust: A Community for People Who Love Books

Former librarian and bookseller Nancy Pearl has created Booklust, a wiki with books and reviews that she has created, along with comments and reviews from registered users. You can create an account by clicking on the yellow "Sign up" button on the upper right part of the page.

Nancy Pearl's book, Booklust and More Book Lust can both be found in the Library in section 011.73 PEA. These books include hundreds of book recommendations from this self confessed readaholic.

Theresa

weRead: Books, Authors, and More!

weRead is a site for booklovers that lets you enter books that you have read and provide ratings and reviews for those titles. You can then see what other users have to say about those books and see what readers with similar tastes are reading. This is a great way to keep track of books that you have read and also find new books to read. Users can follow weRead using Twitter or take their entire bookshelf to Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Browse books by title or author or participate in a book discussion here.

Take a tour to see how weRead works here.

New York Times Bestseller Lists

Take a look at the latest books on the New York Times Bestseller lists.

You can check to see if a book is available by searching the Library catalog or by contacting a librarian at the Reference Desk at 732-521-5000 or mtplref@monroetwplibrary.org.

If the book you to read is not available, it can be reserved by following these instructions.

J.D. Salinger Died at 91

J. D. Salinger, author of the Catcher in the Rye, died today at 91 years old. Learn more about his life and work here at this blog from The New York Times.

Robert B. Parker Dies at 77

Robert B. Parker, author of "Spenser" novels, died at 77.

Learn more at ABC News.

Free Downloadable Audiobooks

Free downloadable audiobooks can be found at the following sites:

• Epubbooks.com
• Web-books.com
• Books.google.com - to access them, you have to choose a subcategory from the left side and then choose Public Domain Only.

A large selection of downloadable audiobooks from ListenNJ and Recorded Books

can also be found on your Library website by selecting

"Download Movies and Audiobooks."