Winter Reading has returned!

You may have noticed in the local paper already, but our adult winter reading program, "From Page to Screen," started this week! To participate, all you need to do is register for the program, read three books of your choosing, attend one adult program, and submit your completion! When you complete the program, stop by your local library branch and pick up your completion prize - a limited edition library mug! Each completion is an entry into our grand prize drawing after the program ends on February 28, 2015. 

As an added bonus, we're taking votes on our list of nominations for the best books of 2014 - these books were chosen based on how many times they were checked out by our patrons, and their popularity on Goodreads and LibraryReads. How many have you read? Get a few more titles read by the time votes are due on February 13th! We're having a "Read" Carpet Awards Night on February 20, 2015 to announce the winners, and we'd love to have you there!

Since the theme is Hollywood-related, we've got a few programs in store that fit the bill. We've got our usual Movie Nights on the first Tuesdays of the month. We've got movie-related Trivia Night on January 23rd. We've got a Gone with the Wind Book & Film Discussion on January 29th. And a staged reading on February 6th of Ron Hutchinson's play "Moonlight & Magnolias," a comedy about the writing of the script for Gone with the Wind. 

And while you can read whatever three books you choose to participate in the program, we'd love for you to check out the lists we made of books that went "from page to screen," and of novels about film or film stars, available in our Reader's Corner, with print copies available at the library. 

Stop by the library and see all the fun things we have to offer! We love seeing you!

Victorian England

This fall I've found myself turning to books set in Victorian England. But just because they have similar settings doesn't mean these stories are all the same!

  

The Quick by Lauren Owen might be my favorite adult fiction of the year so far. Most of the publicity for the book has kept major information about the plot a secret, but here’s what I can tell you without spoiling anything (although  for me, that information was what made me pick the book up in the first place). In London in 1892, the young poet James Norbury is befriended by Christopher, a young aristocrat who introduces him to high society. When James vanishes, his older sister Charlotte searches for him, a quest which takes her among both the wealthiest and poorest parts of the city. Part historical literary novel and part genre novel, The Quick examines power and class structure of Victorian London, but doesn't skimp on terror or adventure.

The Asylum by John Harwood is a straight up novel of suspense. A young woman, Georgina Ferrars, wakes up in a private asylum with no memory of the past few weeks, and is told that she arrived there the day before under the name Lucy Ashton, then suffered a seizure. When he doctor telegrams her uncle back in London, the reply is that Georgina Ferrars is in London, so the woman must be an imposter. True to gothic storytelling, we get a glimpse into Georgina’s diary and letters as she struggles to find out what led her to the asylum—and what will lead her out of it. This book is ideal for fans of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas takes us into the strange and compelling world of theatrical performers. The charismatic and ambitious stage magician Devil Wix partners with a dwarf named Carlo to create an illusion called The Execution of the Philosopher at a newly reopened theater called the Palmyra. As their illusion increases in popularity, the two men align themselves with others such as Heinrich Bayer and his disturbingly lifelike automata, waxworker and artist Jasper Button, and the beautiful Eliza Dunlop. As the motley group struggles to make their shows at the Palmyra more and more successful, they face jealousies, romances, and even physical danger.

Do you have any favorite books set in Victorian England? Or does a different historical setting call out to you?

Fairytale Retellings

I love fairytale retellings. It’s amazing how creative authors can be, weaving bits of a story I already know into a completely new tale. The characters are old favorites, but the journey is completely different. Recently, I've enjoyed reading Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles series. She takes fairytale favorites and puts them in a futuristic high-tech world, while weaving their individual stories into an intertwined saga. The first three books are:

Linh Cinder is a cyborg from New Beijing who falls in love with a prince. When Scarlet Beniot’s grandmother goes missing, she enlists the help of a street fighter named Wolf to find her. Cress is a hacker who’s been confined to a satellite since her childhood, but now has the chance to escape.

The last two books are:

Queen Levana just wants to rule and be the fairest of them all. Fairest comes out January 2015. And then there’s the mysterious Winter, which doesn't come out until November 2015.

Will Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter prevail? Or will the future be in the hands of the evil queen?

NaNoWriMo 2014

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Do you know what NaNoWriMo is? It's National Novel Writing Month! People all over the country (and the world!) spend the month of November WRITING A BOOK! It's a really fun program, and a way for any of you budding novelists to get inspiration, support, and at least a good head start on getting that idea for a novel you've had for years written down.

Even if you're not up to committing to writing 50,000 words in one month (!!), you can still drop by the library and get inspiration for your writing life. Library Assistant Katie has put up a great little display near Reference at the Cartersville branch of books about writing. Here are a few:

Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Terry Brooks' Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons From a Writing Life
Suzanne Strempek Shea's Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures From a Year In a Bookstore

And if you need a little bit of a writing community to get you going, stop by our adult writing group, Writer's Block, on November 20th! Bring yourself, pen and paper, and be ready to get some writing done!

Library Reads

Have you heard of Library Reads? It's a great program that's been around for just over a year -- librarians around the country vote on their favorite books being published every month! Certainly you can always rely on the best seller lists for new books to read, but wouldn't you trust a librarian, too? Lots of great title selections from all kinds of genres. Check out the November list today! We also try to keep the current list at the Reference Desk at the Cartersville branch, so stop by and ask us for a reading suggestion! Be "in the know" about great new books coming to the library!

October's list has some great suggestions, too. Definitely check out As You Wish by Cary Elwes, about the making of the film The Princess Bride! It's so delightful. And Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver is great for Agatha Christie fans.

Halloween Reads

I know quite a few people who enjoy the countdown to Halloween. Many of them will do a #31HorrorFilms31Days and watch at least one horror film a day leading up to Halloween. I'm not much of a horror film person myself, but I do love a good creepy read! With a few days left before Halloween, why don't you try one of these books to keep you up at night?

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova - Like vampire tales, especially Dracula tales? This is the book for you! It's incredibly suspenseful, as well as being pretty informative about Eastern European history and culture. Entertaining and enlightening! A woman discovers some old letters in her father's things that tell this adventurous and unnerving tale of a man and woman seeking out the history of Dracula lore. It's a hefty tome for sure, but the pace moves fast and will keep you hooked.

Bliss House, by Laura Benedict - This book has only been out for a few months, and the reviews were so good I had to check it out as soon as it was published. A very well-crafted book about a mother and daughter who had recently experienced tragedy, moving back to the mother's ancestral home to try and start anew. But tragedy seems to follow the small family, and the effect that the house has on them is conflicted. The clues of the past are laid out carefully, and will keep you thirsty for the ending.

Horrorstör, by Grady Hendrix - Ever gotten lost in an IKEA? Imagine if that happened at night, you're alone, and something you can't see is after you. That's the premise of this book. It's designed to look like an IKEA catalog, along with vaguely Scandinavian-sounding furniture names. Something is afoot at this IKEA-like store, and a handful employees are volun-told to take an overnight shift and figure out what. Creepiness unfolds. I heard another reviewer call it "Evil Dead 2 in an IKEA," and I think that's a pretty good description.


What good scary reads do you enjoy?

We're BACK!

After a blogging hiatus, we are back! We are reading loads of great things, and we want to share them with you!! So bookmark this page, sign-up to get email updates, follow us on Twitter, add us to your RSS feed of choice - we want to talk about books!

And, of course, you are always welcome to stop by any of our locations and ask your friendly library staff for reading suggestions. :)