The Wheaton Whistle

Children’s Chatter is our blog from the Children’s Department, written by Rachel.  If you are interested in what children are reading or are looking for books to share with your children or grandchildren, this is a great place to check out!  I always find something I want to read.

And that was the case last week.  Rachel recommended Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry.  I read this beautifully written book in one day.  It is the story of Ignatius, called Brother, a twelve year old boy left to care for the family’s Oregon ranch with his grandparents while his father serves in Iraq and his older brothers are away at school or in the military.  It is about family, faith and responsibility.  This would be a terrific book for a 10 to 12 year old boy or girl and it would be a good book to read together and discuss.

Read the reviews here.

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Books on September 2nd, 2010
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“I never would have picked up this book to read if it had not been for this group.”  “I found another wonderful author, thanks to our group.”  “I didn’t enjoy the book, but I appreciate it more after listening to what others in the group have said.”  Carolyn and I have been leading the Contemporary Book Discussion Group for over 15 years and have heard comments like these over and over again.

If you like discussing books, please join us this year.  The library offers three opportunities each month, September through June:  the first Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m., the second Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., or the second Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.  We also provide copies of the book to be discussed.  Please contact the Reference Desk for more information or email me at beth@wheatonlibrary.org .

Our first selection is Out Stealing Horses, a translated work by Norwegian Per Petterson.  Trond Sander, nearing 70, has moved from the city to a remote cabin to escape pain and loss.  Out walking one night, he meets his only neighbor, who seems vaguely familiar.  Trond starts remembering a childhood summer that shaped the course of his life.

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Events on August 25th, 2010
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Posted in Books, Recommendations on August 19th, 2010
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We’ve cooked up a “wow!” schedule for Great Books, and you are invited to the feast.

First course will be one of the best of Ernest Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories.  In Hemingway’s classically simple language, “Indian Camp” recounts a traumatic and formative event in young Nick’s life.  According to critics, Hemingway develops themes from this brief story throughout the Nick Adams tales.

Non-fiction by Richard Dawkins, Bertrand Russell, Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel de Montaigne will be, at least for me, the vegetables – the nutritious stuff.  Through the years it has been very good for me to lead discussions of works about economics, physics, politics, etc., that I probably would not have read otherwise.  The Great Bookies help make even the toughest texts easier to digest by their enthusiastic participation.

We’ll reward ourselves with some bonbons – a lovely bunch of poems scheduled in December.  A Greek tragedy, a short story by Margaret Atwood and a novel by Bruce Chatwin appeal to the literary sweet tooth.  To see the full Great Books “menu” and to reserve your seat at the table, go to WPL’s Book Discussion Groups.

Bev, Great Books Coordinator

Posted in Events on August 12th, 2010
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I just loved reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy.  I had not read him before but something about the title enticed me.  I grew up in the era of “paper boys” and the main character, Leo, was a paper boy as a child.  Conroy’s descriptions of Leo riding his bike with no hands, tossing papers left and right as he rides by the beautiful old homes south of Broad St. are so vivid that you can really see Leo riding his bike at 4am.

The characters in South of Broad are quirky but have hearts of gold.  There is something about Leo that allows him to see the potential in people and that characteristic helps him win friends for life.  His mother, a former nun, is the high school principal and his father teaches science.  He is an only child after his “golden boy” brother commits suicide.

The characters seems so real, the descriptions so vivid – I didn’t want to put this book down.  I hope you read it and enjoy it too!

-Mary B., Guest Contributor

Note: If you find you enjoy Pat Conroy’s writing style, NoveList Plus also recommends:

Larry McMurtry – “Fans of Pat Conroy and Larry McMurtry appreciate the writers’ poetic language, rich imagery, well-drawn characters, brutal honesty, and use of humor to relieve tension in a story.”

Anne Tyler – “Anne Tyler is the queen of characterization, with a focus on quirky characters and their role within the family unit that Pat Conroy fans will like.”

Kaye Gibbons – “Pat Conroy fans who’d like more character-centered tales set in the South, should try Kaye Gibbons’ work.”

Posted in Books, Recommendations on August 6th, 2010
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“Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting me at the end of a long day makes that day happier.”

-Kathleen Norris

That was certainly the case for me last week.  I like historical romances and The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne had been on my “to read” list for quite some time.  I started it on Sunday night and for three days I anticipated returning to it each evening!

Annique, the Fox Cub, is believed to have a copy of Napoleon’s plans to invade England.  British spymaster Robert Grey has been sent to get her.  They meet as prisoners in the dungeon of a cruel Frenchman who also wants the plans.  Annique and Robert form an uneasy alliance to escape.  They’re on the run then – Robert to bring her to London and Annique to escape both men.

This book has romance, history, and was a great spy thriller!  This was more than the typical romance: man meets woman, they’re attracted but can’t stand each other, and of course end up together.  The chases were great – the horrible Frenchman chasing them to London; Robert chasing the spy Annique; and Robert chasing his woman Annique.  You get a good sense of the lives of spies, also.

Oh, and of course, they do end up together!

I didn’t want this book to end and was sorry I wouldn’t have it for my four hour plane ride to Los Angeles this week!  Joanna Bourne has a few more titles in the spymasters series so I’ll grab one of those!  I hope they are as good as The Spymaster’s Lady!

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Books, Recommendations, Uncategorized on August 3rd, 2010
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“Bank on Your Library,” our adult summer reading program, has over 500 people registered and reading for prizes!  It ends August 14 but you can still join.  For each book you read, or have read since June 1, you get an entry slip for the weekly drawings.  Check here for more details.

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Events on July 29th, 2010
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In Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson relates the story of how he came to build schools in Afghanistan.  According to an article in the New York Times last week, the book become popular “among military wives who told their husbands to read it.”  Because of this, Mortenson has been asked to speak with U.S. military leaders in Afghanistan and has set up meetings between them and village elders.

In the article, Mr. Mortenson says that there is no military solution in Afghanistan; “the education of the girls is the real long-term fix.”

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Books, Uncategorized on July 20th, 2010
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This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  Many of us read this book in school, or perhaps had it read to us when we were young.  It is a book you can read again and still be moved.  The publisher, has created a website for this year’s anniversary.

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Uncategorized on July 7th, 2010
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Have you read Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy?  You know – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played With Fire; and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest.  What intrigues you about these books? 

I could not get beyond the first few chapters of the first book.  I tried several times and gave up.  A wide range of readers (younger, older, male, female) have expressed surprise that I have not read these books.  Many readers have, also, made this comment: “The first half of the first book is hard to get through, but then it’s really good.”  Hmmm… should a “good” book be hard to get into?

Readers are disappointed that the series ended with the newest book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  Tragically, Stieg Larsson died in 2004, at the age of 50, before any of his books were published.

A co-worker suggested I start with the second book.  So I’m about 100 pages into The Girl Who Played With Fire and enjoying it.  Whether it inspires me to read the third book or go back to the first book remains to be seen, I guess.  Did you have trouble getting into this series? 

Beth, Reader’s Services

Posted in Uncategorized on June 28th, 2010
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