The light between oceans

What would you do?  How would you react if you were in Tom and Izzy’s shoes? These are the questions everyone should ask themselves as you read M. L. Stedman’s new debut novel, The light between oceans.

It’s a novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore.

I found this book to be a fascinating story from page one.  It’s one you won’t want to put down.  It’s tragic as well as heart wrenching. You will become emotionally involved with the characters as they make their decision and try to live with the consequences.  If you like a book with a good moral dilemma this one’s for you.

If you are in a book club I highly recommend this book for your group.  Certainly there will be lots of discussion to follow.  Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

While you are waiting for Stedman’s book you may want to check out this similar title.

The snow child by Eowyn Ivey

A childless couple working a farm in the brutal landscape of 1920 Alaska discover a little girl living in the wilderness, with a red fox as a companion, and begin to love the strange, almost-supernatural child as their own.

If you enjoy stories that deal with moral issues you may want to look for these titles.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

March by Geraldine Brooks

The cider house rules by John Irving

Mudbound by Hilary Jordan

The god of small things by Arundhati Roy

The lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

The great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Additionally you may want to check out Jodi Picoult’s books as her books almost always deal with societal or moral issues. 

My sister’s keeper

Sing you home

Lone wolf

Picture perfect

Handle with care

If you would like further information about The light between oceans check out BookBrowse.com for reviews, excerpt, author biography and a reading group guide.

image courtesy of Google images

Holiday Classic Books & Movies

For me, the holidays are always a time of nostalgia.  It reminds me of the great classics to read and explore anew.  And with the cold weather, it is even more comforting to curl up with a tried and true book, a warm blanket over my feet, and a cup of hot chocolate in hand.  Here is a list of list of classic books to read and enjoy again.

Books
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The holidays are a time to gather with family and friends as well.  In my family, we watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer every year when it was aired on TV and later on would watch poor Ralphie in A Christmas Story.  My holiday season is not complete unless I have watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or A Christmas Story.  Here is a list of other classic holiday movies for you and your family to enjoy!

Movies

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Christmas Story

Frosty the Snowman

Home Alone

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

It’s a Wonderful Life

Miracle on 34^th Street

The Muppet Christmas Carol

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

The Polar Express

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

A White Christmas

Happy Holidays!

****Image taken from Google Images.

Movember

Most everyone is aware of Breast Cancer awareness month in October, but are you aware of a similar initiative in November, dubbed Movember, that raises awareness for men’s health issues?  The movement was started in Australia and has quickly spread around the globe to the U.S.  According to their website, “During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.”  While you may not be able to participate in growing a mustache for this year’s Movember, you can still donate to the cause at the website linked above.

Another great way to raise awareness about men’s health and other issues is by participating in International Men’s Day on November 19^th.  The purpose of this day is to promote positive male role models, celebrate men’s positive contributions to society, focus on men’s health, highlight discrimination against males, improve gender relations and equality, and create a safer and better world.  The theme this year is “Helping men and boys live longer, happier and healthier lives”.

Yet another way to get into the spirit of the month is to check out some books we have on Men’s health here at the library.  

Check out these titles:

The whole life prostate book : everything that every man-at every age-needs to know about maintaining optimal prostate health by Carter, H. Ballentine.
100 questions & answers about men's health : keeping you happy & healthy below the belt by Ellsworth, Pamela.
American Diabetes Association complete guide to diabetes
The men's health big book of 15 minute workouts by Yeager, Selene.
The Men's health big book of food & nutrition : your completely delicious guide to eating well, looking great, and staying lean for life! by Weber, Joel.

However you choose to recognize men’s health awareness this month be sure to be supportive of all the men in your life!

*Picture courtesy of Google Images

Checking out library e-books just got easier!

If you have an e-reader or a tablet, you may have downloaded library books from Wisconsin’s Digital Library using Overdrive.  The good news is that Barnes and Noble recently began offering the Overdrive app for free to Nook Color, Nook Tablet and Nook HD users.  Amazon followed suit, offering the app on Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.  This means that users can now download library books directly onto their e-readers without first going to their computers.  Users simply go to the app store on their device, “purchase” the Overdrive app for free, choose “Get Books” from the menu, and follow the prompts.  For more detailed instructions for the Nook, click here.  For Kindle, click here (NOTE:  when using the Overdrive app you will want to choose EPUB  books rather than Kindle format books) .

Wisconsin’s Digital Library contains thousands of titles, including fiction and nonfiction, old classics as well as new releases, in both audio and print versions.

With the holidays coming up, you may want to check out a few e-cookbooks, such as Baking Artisan Bread:  10 expert formulas for baking better bread at home by Ciril Hitz, Vegan Holiday Kitchen:  more than 200 delicious, festive recipes for special occasions by Nava Atlas, or the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

Want to curl up with a fiction title from the NYT Bestsellers list?  Try The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom, in which Father Time tries to teach earthlings the true meaning of time, or Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, about a beautiful woman who disappears on the morning of her fifth wedding anniversary, or the last in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons.

Several non-fiction titles from the NYT Bestsellers list are also available for e-readers including Unbroken, the amazing story by Laura Hillenbrand of a WWII airman who survives a plane crash, weeks adrift in a lifeboat, and capture by the Japanese.   Another tale of endurance is Cheryl Strayed’s Wild:  from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail.  On a lighter note, Gretchen Craft Rubin has written a second book with practical suggestions about how to be happy called Happier at Home:  kiss more, jump more, abandon a project, read Samuel Johnson and my other experiments in the practice of  everyday life.

Are you finding that the titles you want are all checked out? (even digital titles can only be checked out to one person at a time) Try browsing through the section called “Currently Available ebooks”.  Here are some I found at the time of this writing:  a wonderful  book  by Condoleeza Rice called Extraordinary, Ordinary People: a memoir of family, an adventure tale by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child called Thunderhead and the creepily suspenseful Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs.

Happy e-reading!

photo courtesy of Google images