April is Poetry Month. The library’s Great Books group has a tradition of discussing poems (usually in December). The poetry discussion is always one of my favorites. People come up with very different, often clever and surprising interpretations. Here is a poem we talked about last December that I particularly liked. Who is parting in [...]
Are you looking for a good book to read? Do you like to discuss what you read? If so, then check out our Contemporary Book Discussion Group. Led by one of our librarians, this group meets once a month, September through June. We offer a choice of three sessions: the first Thursday evening of the [...]
The ladies at the check out desk are always eager to share their favorite books with you! One of the best books I read this year was The God Box: sharing my mother’s gift of faith, love and letting go by Mary Lou Quinlan. It is a lovely book and has inspired me to start [...]
Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed its River and the Land Beyond by Richard Cahan is a large, beautiful coffee table book telling the story of the history of the Chicago River in more than 150 never before published photographs. The negatives, recently found by accident, are historically valuable because they come with detailed descriptions and [...]
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is a historical adventure, thriller and story of friendship during WWII. The unexpected ending had me reading it a second time to see how perfectly all the pieces fit together. Jennifer NYPD Red by James Patterson – loved this book, lots of action, I liked all of the characters-even [...]
My husband and I listened to all of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel audiobooks, since we both enjoy Young Adult Fantasy. This year, the final book, The Enchantress, came out. I love Scott’s witty and exciting writing style and the way he incorporated real historical figures, as well as mythology, into his stories. I am [...]
One of my treats during the holiday season is checking the new season-themed romances that come out around this time of the year. Historical, contemporary, new authors and returning favorites – if you like romance stories, you’re sure to find something in this new batch. Historical romances are my favorites: Twas the Night After Christmas by Sabrina [...]
October is National Reading Group Month. It is sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association. Each year, the committee publishes a list of “Great Group Reads.” Are you looking for a book club to join? The library has two adult book discussion groups. Great Books has been meeting for over 20 years. It is led [...]
Michael Frayn’s “Skios” was recently long-listed for the prestigious Man Booker prize. It may well be the funniest Booker nominee. In the classic manner of farce, “Skios” involves a case of mistaken identity that keeps escalating. Dr. Norman Wilfred and Oliver Fox arrive on the same plane to the imaginary island of Skios, Dr. Wilfred [...]
Gillian Flynn’s third book, Gone Girl, recently hit the shelves and has skyrocketed on the bestseller lists thanks to a lot of media mentions and endorsements. During the recent power outage, I read the Nook ebook. The story is given to us in alternating chapters by Nick and Amy. These two seem like the greatest guy and [...]