The Best of the Best!

It’s a new year and time to honor the best of the best books written in 2011 for children. Many awards are given, but there are two that stand above all the rest. The first one is the John Newbery Medal. This award dates back to 1922 and it was the first children’s literary award ever given in the world. The award was named after John Newbery, an 18th century English publisher of books, and it was given for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. The honor for this award for 2011 goes to “Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos. This story is a blending of true and fictional events. 12-year old Jackie Gantos (does the name sound familiar?) is looking forward to 2 fantastic months of summer vacation when out of the blue, he is grounded for life. All he has to look forward to now is helping some little old lady, who types obituaries about fellow townspeople, each with their own story to tell. Who knew that a summer filled with molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, Hells Angels and a possible murder would take Jack on an unexpected adventure in this quirky little town. Readers will laugh at all the twists and turns as this story unfolds Jack’s summer.
We have a change of pace with the first Newbery Honor Book, “Inside Out & Back Again”, by Thankha Lai. Ha’ has lived her whole 10 years in Saigon. As the Viet Nam war comes ever closer to Saigon, Ha’ and her family are forced to leave Saigon for a new home and a new hope in America. That first year is a year of change from the warmth of friends to the coldness of strangers, from the exciting aromas and tastes of her marketplace to food that is dull in comparison, and from the beauty of her own papaya tree to the strange shape of a new landscape in Alabama. The one constant in her life is the strength of her family. You come to know all of Ha’s dreams, grief, and healing as she adjusts to her new home.
“Breaking Stalin’s Nose” by Eugene Velchin is the second Newbery Honor book. From age 6, Sasha has known all the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers. He lives and dreams about being the perfect Soviet comrade, just like his dad and Stalin; then, when he can finally join the Young Pioneers, his world changes in a heartbeat. It’s bad enough when he breaks a schoolmate’s glasses with a snowball or when he accidentally damages a bust of Stalin, but the worst is yet to come-- his father’s arrest. Velchin, born and educated in Russia, shows in this story the fear that Russians lived with during the Stalin regime.

The Newbery award honors writers, but many people believe that the artists creating the book are also deserving of an honor for their artistic skill. In 1937 , a prestigious second medal was established in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator, Randolph J. Caldecott. This honor is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
The honor of this award in 2011 goes to “A Ball for Daisy”. Through the use of watercolor, gouache, and ink, Christopher Raschka is able to convey the joy and sadness of a little dog as he plays with his prize possession without writing a single word.
The first Caldecott Honor book is “Grandpa Green”, written and illustrated by Lane Smith. Reading this book is like entering a secret garden. Line drawings and sponge drawings create whimsical topiaries that tell the story of Grandpa Green’s life. Even though Grandpa struggles with his memory, the garden helps him to remember his past. You can easily see the love between the grandson and the grandfather conveyed through the illustrations. Words aren’t necessary to describe their feelings for one another.
The second Caldecott Honor book, “Blackout”, is written and illustrated by John Rocco. We’ve all been there-- a hot summer night, storm breaks, and the lights go out. All that you were busy with has come to a screeching halt because there is no electricity. At first it’s frustrating, but then, if you’re lucky, you get out the candles and give in to the moment and enjoy it. That’s what happens in this beautifully illustrated book. Everyone in this story is “too busy” to play a board game and then the blackout occurs. Because the apartment is too hot, the family goes up to the roof where they can actually see the stars. As Rocco puts it “It was a block party in the sky”. Eventually the lights come back on, but the family chooses to turn them off and take the time to be together.
In the third Caldecott Honor book, “Me… Jane”, written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell, we get a short biography of Jane Goodall. Done in India ink and pastels, we see from the very beginning that Jane was meant to be a chimpanzee researcher and conservationist. Her favorite stuffed animal was a chimpanzee named Jubilee, she loved the outdoors, she loved learning about nature, and she dreamed of someday traveling to Africa. This book is so highly thought of that, on March 3rd, it will receive the 2012 Charlotte Zolotow Award, given for outstanding writing in a picture book.
Hope you enjoy reading the best of the best.

Newbery picture courtesy of Google images

Get Ready for World Book Night!

On April 23, 2012, something exciting will happen: one million books will be given away across the United States. Even more exciting: you can be one of the people who gives them away!

The event is called World Book Night, and the goal is to promote reading by putting books in the hands of people who seldom read. The organizers (mostly publishing and printing companies) are looking for 50,000 volunteers to each give away 20 books which will be shipped (free!) to a location near you. As a volunteer you even get to choose, from a list of 30 popular titles, which book you’d like to distribute. The idea is for the book-givers to be able to say, “You have to read this book—I loved it!” Interested? Go to worldbooknight.org to find out more about this event or to volunteer to be a book giver. The deadline for applying to be a book giver is February 1, so don’t delay.

Even if you don’t plan to be a part of World Book Night, you may want to peruse the list of books that were chosen to be given away. The committee began with a list of award-winners, best-sellers and frequently-requested books, and asked librarians and booksellers to choose from that list the books they would be most excited to give away. (For more on this process, read howwearechoosingtheusbooks). So the 30 books to be given away are a treasure trove of recommended reads. All of them can be found at the Weyenberg library. How many have you read?

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was hugely popular several years ago. I love books that give me a glimpse into another country; in this book you’ll get an unforgettable picture of life in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Don’t miss Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, which many agree is even more gripping than the first.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a riveting story about a child who was conceived as a bone marrow match for her older sister, who is fighting leukemia. As always, Picoult does an amazing job of getting into the heads of each of her characters, telling the story from multiple points of view.

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo is part of the juvenile collection, but it has a protagonist who is so endearing that I’m happy to recommend this book to adults as well as children. It’s funny and charming and sweet, filled with lovable and quirky characters, and focuses on the importance of family and friends--both human and canine.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is an unforgettable memoir. The author and her siblings have parents who seem to be blissfully unaware of the fact that they are responsible for their four children, and the children are left to raise themselves. I enjoyed the adventure of their parentless childhood, was amazed at the resilience of the children, and astounded that there could be such parents in the world. You may also enjoy reading Half Broke Horses (or listening to it on CD--read by the author), which is about her incredibly independent and free-thinking grandmother.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak will grab you in the first chapter, and not let go. It’s a story of survival set in Nazi Germany, told by an unusual narrator, but it’s also a tale of how love of others makes all things bearable, and how books nourish the soul.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a mesmerizing dystopian tale. Most adults I know say they would never have chosen this book on their own, but read it because others raved about how good it was—and they were not disappointed! So if you usually avoid Young Adult books in general, and dystopian fiction in particular, try The Hunger Games. Once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down, and after turning the last page, you’ll be hungry for more. Fortunately, there are two more titles in the series, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

The other titles on the list are:

Adult Fiction
Little Bee by Chris Cleve
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Stand by Stephen King
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Just Kids by Patti Smith

Adult Genres
Kindred by Octavia Butler (Sci Fi)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Sci Fi)
Blood Work byMichael Connelly (Mystery)
Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Mystery)

Adult Non Fiction
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Biography)

Young Adult
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Russia Revisited

Why do so many authors turn to Russia as a setting for their novels? It’s hard to say, but certain places just make for great stories. Russia with all its vastness, people and history, wintered in cold and darkness, shrouded in greatness just seems like a perfect setting for mystery, romance, intrigue or war. Who can forget Doctor Zhivago, Anna Karenina or John le Carre’s dark thrillers of cold war?

While not all novels can compete with the likes of these great books, there certainly are some newer books being written with that same familiar sense of place. The past and the present come full circle in the two novels described below. If it were not for the memories of the past locked up inside each of the characters, we would have no storyline. While one is the sole possessor of one’s own memories, it is in the here and now of the present that matters.

Winter garden by Kristin Hannah was fairly popular with patrons when it first came out and I still get frequent requests for it. The past (Leningrad) becomes the key to unlocking the present in this story of a mother and her two daughters. If you haven’t read anything by Hannah before I recommend you give her a try. Kristin Hannah writes contemporary stories focusing on women’s lives and relationships. Similar authors are Barbara Delinsky and Luanne Rice. I have read some of Rice’s books and have liked them. I found Winter Garden to be a satisfying read. You won’t be disappointed.

I suppose you could say the cover of Russian winter by Daphne Kalotay caught my eye when I first saw it. It’s unusual because it shows the back of a woman’s head with a necklace facing out. The necklace as it turns out is central to the story. Each of the main characters Nina, Drew and Gregori are interconnected through this necklace. Sense of place and history is well defined and the characters are equally drawn out. If you like jewelry, the ballet, a bit of romance and mystery along with an introduction to Russian history this book will appeal to you like it did to me.

I just finished reading Snowdrops by A. D. Miller. This tiny, slim debut volume was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker prize. It’s a psychological drama that takes place over one Moscow winter. The story is being told through the words of Nick Platt, a British lawyer living in Moscow as he confesses to a woman he is about to marry. A snowdrop is a corpse that lies buried or hidden in the winter snows, emerging only in the thaw. I’ve read you need to get past the first twenty pages to really enjoy this book. That may be true, but I was interested right from the start with the encounter at the train station. If you like a modern day story with a lot of twists and secrets this book may appeal to you.

With the film Tinker tailor soldier spy now playing in theaters, readers may be interested in rereading the novel of the same name or John le Carre’s other spy novels. It’s best to start with The spy who came in from the cold and then work your way up to the more challenging novels. Readers looking for other similarly complex, layered stories may also look to Alan Furst and Daniel Silva.


May we suggest the following additional titles?

The Russian affair by Michael Wallner
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith
Heart of iron by Ekaterina Sedia
The betrayal by Helen Dunmore
City of thieves by David Benioff
Three stations by Martin Cruz Smith
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne dominion by Eric Lustbader


Picture courtesy: http://english.runsky.com/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20091120/00e061046ec50c7021320a.jpg

I GOT A KINDLE, NOW WHAT DO I DO?

This holiday season, getting a Kindle or other e-reader device from family and friends seems to be a common gift received. But now that you have an e-reader device, how do you go about using it? Sure, you could buy your books outright. And with prices under $10 for most titles, why not? But what about the books that you don’t want to own? What if you want to borrow books from the library like you have been doing for years? Well, you’re in luck because for a couple years now, the libraries in the state of Wisconsin have been pooling their resources together for OverDrive, a database that lends digital copies of audiobooks and e-books. And since September 2011, the Kindle device has joined the list of the hundreds of supported devices that can be used with OverDrive.

Borrowing e-books through the library system is free, fairly easy to navigate, can be borrowed for up to 3 weeks, returns automatically so there are no late fees, can be done in the comfort of your home, and did I mention free? Now, there can be waiting lists for titles just like there are for the physical books, but because of the automatic return process, you could get a book in a couple weeks versus a couple months.

Some recent books I have read through OverDrive:
A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair, book 1 of the Vintage Magic Mysteries
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, book 1 of the Kate Daniels series
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle series

The Outcasts by John Flanagan, book 1 of the Brotherband Chronicles

You may also find many popular best-sellers available in Overdrive, such as:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress 40 years earlier.
The Litigators by John Grisham. Partners in a small law firm take on a big case after a fast-track burnout joins them.
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. In the second volume of the Millennium trilogy, a Swedish hacker becomes a murder suspect.
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. After a disastrous vacation in Hawaii, Stephanie Plum becomes the target of an international killer.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. In the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are mustering.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The third volume of the Millennium trilogy, about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

If you would like instructions on how to use OverDrive with your new e-reader device or how to download audiobooks, here are some links to instructions.
OverDrive Services Summary – audiobooks & e-books
How to get an OverDrive e-book on your E-Reader (Nook & Sony)
How to get an OverDrive e-book on your Kindle

To access OverDrive, go to http://www.flwlib.org/ and click on the OverDrive link on the right hand of the webpage or type in the internet address bar dbooks.wplc.info. Once you have clicked on the OverDrive link, the OverDrive website will load. Sign into your account by going to the top right hand corner and clicking on “Sign In.” Select “Eastern Shores Library System” from the drop down menu. You will then be prompted to enter your library card number (located on the back of your library card) and PIN number (usually the last 4 digits of your telephone number). You are now signed into your OverDrive account and can begin searching!

****Image pulled from Google Images.

GOTHIC NOVELS

I recently started reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, and immediately, I was struck by a layer of creepiness within the story. This got me thinking about other creepy books, and the list I came up with consisted of mainly gothic novels.

Gothic novels combine elements of horror and romance and are often melodramatic. The birth of gothic novels is often attributed to The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, written in 1764. The age of gothic novels only lasted until about 1820. Then, their popularity began to fade. However, you can still find great gothic novels written today.

The main attributes that make up gothic novels consist of a castle setting, a mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere, a prophecy, omens and visions, supernatural or inexplicable events, high emotions, a woman in distress, a powerful and tyrannical man, and/or the prevalence of gloom and horror. While not all of these elements must be present for a book to be considered gothic, more than one must be prevalent throughout the story.

There is a lot of fear, terror, surprise, and darkness in these books. They make for fun reads on gloomy winter days: perfect for sitting next to a warm fire or curling up in your favorite chair to get lost in the sensationalism of the story.


Newer Gothic Novels:

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: A long-lost letter arrives fifty years late and sends Edie Burchill to Milderhurst Castle where she encounters the three Blythe sisters. You will follow Edie as she attempts to unravel the mysteries of the castle and the sisters.

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood follows Gerard Freeman as he sets out to solve the mystery of his family. He discovers a ghost story written long ago that implicates his mother in a terrible family tragedy. This is a story of family skeletons and stories.

Half Broken Things by Morag Joss is a psychological suspense story that looks at the lives of three lost people who come together at Walden Manor and the events that occur upon their arrival.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield tells the story of Vida Winter, a famous author of twelve tales. She tells her life story to a biographer, Margaret Lea. The story is one of beauty, ghosts, a garden, and a terrible fire. The two women must face their pasts in order become transformed by the truth themselves.

Classic Gothic Novels:

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe



Picture from http://irishgothichorrorjournal.homestead.com/IrishGothicHaslam.html

Best Books and Movies of 2011

It’s the end of another year, and “Best of” lists abound. If you’re a bibliophile, you may want to check out the New York Times Top 10 Books of the Year or its 100 Notable Books. Newsweek and The Daily Beast have their Favorite Books of 2011. Esquire publishes its Top 10 Books list, and The Atlantic has come up with a list of Best Books I Read this Year. Not to be outdone, the staff at the Weyenberg Library has come up with some of our own favorites. We hope you enjoy them:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett—the heroine of this book must combat not only the jungle, but also a crotchety former professor, as well as her own conscience. The New York Times best-selling author takes the reader on an Amazon adventure, a modern mystery, and a journey in to the protagonist’s multi-layered past.

The language of flowers: a novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh—Alternating chapters show us 9-year old and 18-year old Victoria, a girl who spent her childhood being shuffled from one foster home to another. She longs for a home and family, but communicates better through flowers than with words. What is the mysterious event in her past that kept her from being adopted by the loving Elizabeth? Will she ever learn to love and be loved?

The Bone House by Brian Freeman—Hilary and Mark move away from the big city to a small town, but they don’t find peace or quiet when Mark finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of a local teen. The wide cast of intriguing characters and the suspenseful plot combine to keep readers riveted to the page.

The Confession by John Grisham—Another fast-paced page-turner that dives into America’s justice system; this book will grab you in the first pages and not let go. Travis Boyette is ready to confess to murder when he realizes that his brain tumor will likely end his life. If no one listens, however, the man who has been wrongfully convicted will be executed. “When it’s over, no one really wants to die.”

Room: a novel by Emma Donoghue—This spare title is reflective of the spare environment in which the four-year old narrator lives: a single room in which he and his young mother are being held captive. But despite her youth, his mother is a remarkable woman, whose resourcefulness gives Jack an astonishingly active life, and earns her the admiration of the reader. Will Jack and his mother live inside “Room” forever?

Lethal by Sandra Brown—This suspense novel reads like an action thriller movie. Honor Gillette is a recent widow, mourning the death of her husband and trying to be a good mother to her four-year old daughter, when her fragile life is shattered. Nothing is as it seems, and it may be that the only one she can trust is the accused 7-time murderer who kidnapped her. You’ll be glued to your seat as Honor and Coburn run from the law and race toward the truth.

Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark—Yes, it’s the Marcia Clark who was the lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson case, and in this debut novel she proves that she’s not only an able lawyer, but also an excellent writer. Clark combines her knowledge of the Los Angeles judicial system with a fast plot, great characterization, witty dialog, humor and suspense in this LA crime novel.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach—This novel takes place at a small college in Wisconsin, and is on the surface a novel about baseball. But more than that, it’s a novel about growing up, making choices, and the fallibility of man. Harbach marries his love of baseball to a love of literature in this novel which is sure to entertain baseball lovers and non-lovers alike.

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton—The staff member who recommended this book admitted that Sue Grafton novels sometimes disappoint, but stated that in this one, “She outdid herself!” Mystery lovers will enjoy this book even if they have not read any of the others in Grafton’s long series.

DVD: Crazy Stupid Love—People from multiple generations are looking for love in this star-studded, touching romantic comedy with a few surprise twists and a satisfying ending.

DVD: The Young Victoria—Did you enjoy the royal wedding? Well, here’s another one for you. If you like history, intrigue, or romance, this gorgeously costumed and well-acted movie is for you.

Our DVD list would not be complete without including The Help, the movie about black maids and their white employers that is based on Kathryn Stockett’s popular book. While not the first movie to explore the issue of racism, this one does it with characters who are unforgettable.

So snuggle up on the couch with a hot drink and a blanket, and don’t let the year end without checking out some of the best books and movies 2011 has to offer.

Snowflakes-Winter’s Secret Beauty

December 21st, the first day of winter, is almost here. When you think about it, we started working our way toward winter back on June 21st, the first day of summer when we had the most amount of sunlight. From that point on, we lost several minutes of light each day which allowed our part of the hemisphere to slowly cool down until we have winter. With winter comes cold and with cold comes SNOW. Now I know it’s hard to see the beauty of a snowflake when a blizzard is howling and you have 12 plus inches of swirling snow to remove from your driveway, but if you took the time to analyze one snowflake, you would see a creation that is truly unique.

Snowflakes are growing crystals, not frozen raindrops, which is what sleet is. They are usually six sided, but rarely they can be three or twelve sided. In the clouds, when one droplet of water begins to freeze, it turns to ice and a snowflake is created. It continues to grow as more water vapor in the air condenses and freezes on it. This process continues the whole time the flake is falling. A snowflake is affected by the temperature and humidity around it and because no two snowflakes fall the exact same way, each snowflake will be unique.

Through time, many people have attempted to record the different designs that are created. The first attempt was back in 1555, by Olaus Magnus, the Archbishop of Upsala. Seeing as there were no cameras back then, woodcuts were used to show what a snowflake looked like. Better observations could be made in 1665 when the microscope was developed. Robert Hooke included sketches of snowflakes in his book Micrographia. More observations and books followed the initial attempts, but these books, just like the first ones, only contained sketches of snowflakes from the author’s memory. In 1885, the first snowflake was successfully photographed by Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farmer who had always had a love affair with snowflakes. He captured more than 5,000 images of snowflakes, many of which are in his book Snow Crystals. In the children’s book Snowflake Bentley you will read about how dedicated he was to this passion of his. The next two books written by Kenneth Libbrecht are phenomenal. In The Secret Life of a Snowflake you will be taken on a step by step journey of a snowflake from its creation to its final resting point on a child’s mitten. To capture the beauty of these fleeting crystals, you need to check out The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty. You will be able to see snowflakes in a way you’ve never seen them before. The pictures will take your breath away.

If you’d rather read about someone else dealing with the snow season, then you might enjoy these titles:

-Light on Snow-Shreve
-A Reliable Wife-Goolrick
-Hard Winter-Boogs
-Brian’s Winter-Paulsen
-Winter Solstice-Pilcher
-The Mitford Snowmen-Karon
-Esther’s Gift-Karon
-Shepherds Abiding-Karon
-Snow Day: A Novel-Coffey
-Snowed In-Bartolomeo

For you mystery buffs, you might enjoy these books:

-61 Hours: A Reacher Novel
-Ice Cold: A Rizoli and Isles Novel
-The Chocolate Snowman Murders: A Chocoholic Mystery-Carl
-Tell Me Pretty Maiden-Bowen
-White Corridor-Fowler

If you can get the kids to come indoors, they might enjoy these picks:

-A Season of Gifts-Peck
-Duck at the Door-Urbanovic
-The Snow Tree-Repchuk
-Winter on the Farm-Wilder
-In the Snow: Who’s Been Here-George
-Footprints in the Snow-Benjamin
-Winter Barn-Parnall
-Bedtime for Bear-Helquist
Keep warm, happy reading, and just remember, when December 21 rolls around, we are on our way back to summer!

Picture courtesy of Easicat