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June 30, 2007
July Staff Favorites
Oh yes, SUMMER is finally here and do we have some great beach reads for you! Lie on the sand, laze on the porch in the shade, curl up in a hammock and lose yourself in a fun book.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
--Asha suggests going back to the beginning and starting over again before the new one (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) comes out on July 20 (make sure your kids come to the midnight release party in the Children's Room at the Library!).
Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
--Mary says this collaboration between Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer is pure enjoyment. Mayer's dry sense of humor perfectly complements Crusie's brand of sharp wit, and together the two have cooked up a sexy, sassy, and smart combination of romance and suspense that is absolutely irresistible.
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
--Kim is definitely a laze on the porch and enjoy the view reader. With that in mind, she offers this tale of two sisters and their step mother who learn that they are stronger than they thought they were, that family ties are worth preserving, and that there are perks to sharing the same shoe size. Weiner, a marvelously natural storyteller, blends humor and heartbreak to create an irresistible novel.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
--Afraid of being fired from her prestigious law firm, hotshot lawyer Samantha, runs away and blindly ends up wandering into a mansion. The owner mistakes her for the maid, which Samantha accepts, and begins an inept career scrubbing toilets. Judy says that if you can swallow the premise, it is a thoroughly charming read.
Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen
--Sue recommends any Carl Hiaasen if you need a good laugh. This is a typical one - Hiaasen fills his Florida based novels with some of the strangest characters in fiction--and somehow makes them work!
Big Love by Sarah Dunn
--E (she refuses to reveal her name) suggests this humdinger -a surprising, touching and hilariously deadpan first novel.
Posted by SallyT at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2007
Advance Readers? Adult Summer Reading?
Our trip to Book Expo provided not only wonderful prizes for the Adult Summer Reading program, but also afforded us a whole new supply of advance copies for those of you interested in being part of the Club. Several readers were thrilled to read the advance copy we had of the now-published Peony in Love by Lisa See. All thumbs up reviews, by the way, so put your reserve in now! We currently have what might be an even bigger blockbuster. Remember The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold? Her new title, The Almost Moon, due to be published in September is sitting on the shelf, just waiting for someone to come and snap it up. Just ask for Sally at the Front Desk, call 655-1234 x128, or email sallytornow@darienlibrary.org
A wonderful example of an advance reader review is the one I received today from Mr. A:
Cormac: the Tale of a Dog Gone Missing by Sonny Brewer (due out 9/07)
Dog and man go together, and as might be expected this book is more about the man than about the dog, although dog-lovers will find comfort in Brewer’s biography. Brewer is a fine writer, and the prose is a delight to read, but I found the book on a par with popular magazine pieces, and a little too plotted for emotional ups and downs. But, what do I know, I wasn’t there, and I was completely sympathetic to the story.
Bravo, Mr. A, and thank you - what a terrific review!
Now, for the Adult Summer Reading Program: We’ve already had our first winner of the weekly bag of signed copies – congratulations to Fei Chuan Lo! After only ten days of sign up, there’s a whopping 219 participants. People are just itching to win the bags of books signed by the authors, or the luggage grand prizes at the end of the program, or to work their way through the list of suggested titles, or to hear Wendy Kann speak on July 11th. My favorite reason for participating, though, is the one a young mother gave me as I enrolled her: “This is so great – I get to have fun just like the kids, but even better, THEY will see me reading!” Exactly what we hope, too!
Posted by SallyT at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2007
News You Can Use...
In our constant search to improve our customer service to you, we have changed the amount of time we’ll hold items on reserve. The system previously allowed only 3 days for you to come in and pick up your item, no matter what it was. Now, DVD’s will still be held for three days, but all other items will now be held for five. As always, if you have any problem picking up an item in time, please give us a call at 655-1234 ext. 0, and we will be happy to check out the item to you, so that it will be ready and waiting for whenever you are able to get in to the Library.
The Adult Summer Reading Program is off and running, and in only a day and a half 94 people have already signed up! So, come on in, sign up, read a book (or listen to one!), and maybe win a prize. See you in the Library!
Posted by SallyT at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2007
So many things to talk about! Book Expo, Advance Readers Club, and Adult Summer Reading – you’ll see, though, they’ll all meld together in the end.
Several of us at Darien library were fortunate to attend Book Expo in the Javits Center last weekend, the annual convention of all the publishers. It was a wonderful experience to see the enthusiasm and vitality of the industry, to meet some famous and not-so-famous authors, and best of all, to collect copies of new and forthcoming books. Which leads me to both Summer Reading and Advance Readers! Those of you who participate in the Adult Summer Reading program (signup June 18th !), will be eligible to win signed copies of newly published books or advance copies by authors - I’ll tantalize you with just a couple – such as Jodi Piccoult and James Patterson. Imagine being able to read Ann Patchett's new book, Run, before it comes out in October!
The Advance Readers Club also benefited from the Book Expo. There is a whole new batch of books from which to choose: Fern Michaels’ Up Close and Personal, Kim Reid’s No Place Safe, John Ed Bradley’s It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, Gail Tsukiyama’s The Street of a Thousand Blossoms and many others. Come into the Library, pick one up, and see what a book is like before it’s actually published. All we ask is a short, very general review – it doesn’t even have to be written down! For example, P read Lisa See’s Peony in Love (coming out this month), and found the characterization so completely different from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – a main character completely steeped in her culture as opposed to being rebellious.
So, come in and sign up for Adult Summer Reading on the 18th, come in any time and join our Advance Reader’s Club, or just come in and visit!
One more thing – remember Celebrate Darien Library Week? We received the following lovely certificate from the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County for the huge amount of food that all of you donated. Thank you for your generosity, as always so abundant. In addition, we received a thank you note from one of our raffle winners expressing her joy at winning Walter Isaacson’s Einstein: His Life and Universe. “We have been enthusiastic users of the Darien Library for 26 years and winning the raffle simply adds to our enthusiasm.” Sign up for Adult Summer Reading and you, too, can be a winner!
Posted by SallyT at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)