I'll update with more information and details later as they become available, but the pick is:
She: The Old Woman Who Took Over My Life by Kathryn Windham Tucker
About the Roundtable
- RART Librarian
- Jefferson County, Alabama, United States
The Jefferson County Public Library Association (JCPLA) was founded in 1974 for the improvement of librarianship and for the advancement of public libraries in Jefferson County. The public libraries of Jefferson County form our cooperative system, the Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC). Membership in JCPLA provides an organizational structure for staff training countywide.
The Reader's Advisory Roundtable is open to all library workers in the JCLC Community. If you love reader's advisory, need help honing your skills, or are looking for new tools/ideas, please consider joining us. JCPLA and the Roundtables are a great way to share resources, connect with other libraries in the county, network with your colleagues, or just take a break from the daily grind and get some fresh perspective!
Questions? Send an email to jclcraroundtable [at] gmail [dot] com
Thursday, September 6, 2012
2012 Project Read Fall selection
I'll update with more information and details later as they become available, but the pick is:
She: The Old Woman Who Took Over My Life by Kathryn Windham Tucker
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Young Adult Novels
We set the meeting schedule for 2013 and the lineup is as
follows:
February 13 – Fiction of Choice, meeting at Gardendale
Library
April 10 – Southern Writers
June 12 – True Crime/Travel Writing
August 14 – Fantasy
October 9 – Self Help
December 11 – Holiday Writing
A quick, easy, and sure-to-be popular display may be cobbled together from NPR's recent readers' choice Best Young Adult Novels list, have a look at it!
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Seventeen year old Cass inherited two very special things from his father: a powerful athame and the ability to use it to dispatch murderous ghosts. His mother, and as close to a sidekick as anyone has ever become, shuffles him around the country following leads onghosts and racking up high body counts, ghostly bodies that is. The ghost currently at the top of his hit list is Anna Dressed in Blood, the spirit of a young girl murdered in 1958 who still haunts her home, brutally murdering anyone who sets foot in the house. Cass’s usual MO is to move to town, start school, and see who wants to gossip about the local legends. He finds his mark in the most popular girl in school and, unfortunately, her recently ex-ed boyfriend. Cass gets them to take him to Anna Dressed in Blood’s house, but is utterly unprepared to be knocked in the head and shoved through the door of the house to meet his doom. What started as an immature prank quickly turns gory and horrifying. It will take all Cass’s skills, and the unlikely help of the town nerd, to get him out of this one.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal
Seventeen year old Cass inherited two very special things from his father: a powerful athame and the ability to use it to dispatch murderous ghosts. His mother, and as close to a sidekick as anyone has ever become, shuffles him around the country following leads onghosts and racking up high body counts, ghostly bodies that is. The ghost currently at the top of his hit list is Anna Dressed in Blood, the spirit of a young girl murdered in 1958 who still haunts her home, brutally murdering anyone who sets foot in the house. Cass’s usual MO is to move to town, start school, and see who wants to gossip about the local legends. He finds his mark in the most popular girl in school and, unfortunately, her recently ex-ed boyfriend. Cass gets them to take him to Anna Dressed in Blood’s house, but is utterly unprepared to be knocked in the head and shoved through the door of the house to meet his doom. What started as an immature prank quickly turns gory and horrifying. It will take all Cass’s skills, and the unlikely help of the town nerd, to get him out of this one.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal
Montmorency by Eleanor Updale
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The books of Libba Bray
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing
Gina, Gardendale
Going Bovine
Gina, Gardendale
Beauty Queens
Gina, Gardendale
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing
Gina, Gardendale
Going Bovine
Gina, Gardendale
Beauty Queens
Gina, Gardendale
Every Man For Himself: Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy
edited by Nancy E. Mercado
Mondretta, Leeds
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Mondretta, Leeds
Tempest by Julie Cross
Mondretta, Leeds
Mondretta, Leeds
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Mondretta, Leeds
Tempest by Julie Cross
Mondretta, Leeds
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
A young boy, Ged or Sparrowhawk, lives on a small island and discovers he is a powerful wizard. With this discovery, he goes through many challenges and lessons to learn how to control his temper and his magic. In the process, he ventures off to the wizard school on the island of Roke. While he is there, he summons a spirit of the dead along with something even more sinister a nameless shadow being. Sparrowhawk is pursued by and, eventually, pursues the shadow being. Ultimately, A Wizard of Earthsea is a book about self-discovery.
Samuel, Central
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Samuel, Central
NOTE: The new movie is due out December 14 of this year. Mary Anne recommended the audio version narrated by Rob Inglis as well as Inglis’ narrations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Samuel, Central
YuGiOh by Kazuki Takahashi
Samuel, Central
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Monkey D Luffy is a boy who wants to be King of the Pirates. He has eaten one of the enchanted Devil Fruit which gives him the power to stretch but renders him unable to swim. As Luffy tries to amass a crew for his ship and get treasure, adventures take place. He meets many interesting characters with strange powers.
Kyo Kara Maoh by Temari Matsumoto
Yuri Shibuya is normal Japanese boy who loves baseball. One day he tries to defend a school friend from some bullies and in retaliation he is submerged in a toilet. Well, the toilet becomes a portal and he gets sent to another world…the Demon World. He comes to find out that he is the demon king. As he discovers what being demon king means and tries to understand his new kingdom, strange and funny adventures ensue.
Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya
Shinichi Chiaki, who is an arrogant perfectionist, is the best student at Momogaoka College of Music and secretly longs ultimately to become a conductor. He plays the piano and violin but studies only the piano. Another student, Noda Megumi a.k.a. Nodame, is the quintessential messy slacker and eccentric, who studies the piano. Nodame plays by ear instead of by the score and is considered sloppy and playful by most. One night, after Chiaki gets drunk and is broken up from his girlfriend, he collapses outside Nodame’s door, which happens to be next door to his apartment. Nodame falls madly in love with Chiaki whereas he is not interested at first. He eventually finds Nodame’s approach to music to be exciting and fun and is ultimately attracted to her. There are also additional eccentric characters that make this series very enjoyable and entertaining to read.
Samuel, Central
A young boy, Ged or Sparrowhawk, lives on a small island and discovers he is a powerful wizard. With this discovery, he goes through many challenges and lessons to learn how to control his temper and his magic. In the process, he ventures off to the wizard school on the island of Roke. While he is there, he summons a spirit of the dead along with something even more sinister a nameless shadow being. Sparrowhawk is pursued by and, eventually, pursues the shadow being. Ultimately, A Wizard of Earthsea is a book about self-discovery.
Samuel, Central
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Samuel, Central
NOTE: The new movie is due out December 14 of this year. Mary Anne recommended the audio version narrated by Rob Inglis as well as Inglis’ narrations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Samuel, Central
YuGiOh by Kazuki Takahashi
Samuel, Central
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Monkey D Luffy is a boy who wants to be King of the Pirates. He has eaten one of the enchanted Devil Fruit which gives him the power to stretch but renders him unable to swim. As Luffy tries to amass a crew for his ship and get treasure, adventures take place. He meets many interesting characters with strange powers.
Samuel, Central
Yuri Shibuya is normal Japanese boy who loves baseball. One day he tries to defend a school friend from some bullies and in retaliation he is submerged in a toilet. Well, the toilet becomes a portal and he gets sent to another world…the Demon World. He comes to find out that he is the demon king. As he discovers what being demon king means and tries to understand his new kingdom, strange and funny adventures ensue.
Samuel, Central
Shinichi Chiaki, who is an arrogant perfectionist, is the best student at Momogaoka College of Music and secretly longs ultimately to become a conductor. He plays the piano and violin but studies only the piano. Another student, Noda Megumi a.k.a. Nodame, is the quintessential messy slacker and eccentric, who studies the piano. Nodame plays by ear instead of by the score and is considered sloppy and playful by most. One night, after Chiaki gets drunk and is broken up from his girlfriend, he collapses outside Nodame’s door, which happens to be next door to his apartment. Nodame falls madly in love with Chiaki whereas he is not interested at first. He eventually finds Nodame’s approach to music to be exciting and fun and is ultimately attracted to her. There are also additional eccentric characters that make this series very enjoyable and entertaining to read.
Samuel, Central
Faithful by Janet Fox
Beth, Homewood
Beth, Homewood
Owl Service by Alan Garner
A novel with teen main characters that will naturally appeal to adults, The Owl Service concerns several Britishers, a remote Welsh valley, and a realistic plot that very gradually becomes more and more fantastic. Ancient magic is locked up in a service, or set of dinner plates, with an owl motif. An adolescent girl unknowingly starts a chain of events and, before they know it, the young people have unleashed a Welsh mythical story that is no longer mythical.
Richard, Central Fiction
A novel with teen main characters that will naturally appeal to adults, The Owl Service concerns several Britishers, a remote Welsh valley, and a realistic plot that very gradually becomes more and more fantastic. Ancient magic is locked up in a service, or set of dinner plates, with an owl motif. An adolescent girl unknowingly starts a chain of events and, before they know it, the young people have unleashed a Welsh mythical story that is no longer mythical.
Richard, Central Fiction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Allison, Avondale
Allison, Avondale
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
It’s going to be a sad one. I mean, it does have two teenagers with cancer. A lot of people said it made them cry. I didn’t cry with this one, but with this next one I did…
See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles
I didn’t just cry, I boo-hooed! I think what made it worse was that I didn’t realize it was going to be as serious a book as it turned out to be.
It’s going to be a sad one. I mean, it does have two teenagers with cancer. A lot of people said it made them cry. I didn’t cry with this one, but with this next one I did…
See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles
I didn’t just cry, I boo-hooed! I think what made it worse was that I didn’t realize it was going to be as serious a book as it turned out to be.
Miracle by Elizabeth Scott
About PTSD, a girl is the lone survivor of a plane crash. While not my favorite of E. Scott’s books, I really liked it and would recommend any of her books to patrons. She has lighter reads (you can tell at a glance – they have pastel covers) and more serious like this and Living DeadGirl (my favorite).
About PTSD, a girl is the lone survivor of a plane crash. While not my favorite of E. Scott’s books, I really liked it and would recommend any of her books to patrons. She has lighter reads (you can tell at a glance – they have pastel covers) and more serious like this and Living DeadGirl (my favorite).
Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson
A teen girl starts using meth after losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina.
A teen girl starts using meth after losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina.
Alice on Board by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The most recent (and maybe the final) book in the Alice series. The book covers Alice’s summer after high school graduation. She is working and dealing with all those questions/feelings about leaving home for college. One of my all-time favorite series! The series begins in elementary school and follows her through middle and high school.
The most recent (and maybe the final) book in the Alice series. The book covers Alice’s summer after high school graduation. She is working and dealing with all those questions/feelings about leaving home for college. One of my all-time favorite series! The series begins in elementary school and follows her through middle and high school.
David Levithan is another favorite author of mine and he has
a new book, Every Day, coming out at the end of August. Here is the publisher’s blurb: Every morning
A wakes in a different person’s body, in a different person’s life, learning
over the years to never get too attached until the day he wakes up in the body
of Justin and falls in love with Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon.
April, Pinson
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
From Amazon.com:
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face. Thirteen Reasons Why is the gripping, addictive international bestseller that has changed lives the world over. It's an unrelenting modern classic.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
From Amazon.com:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
Orson Scott Card’s Ender Wiggin series beginning with Ender’s Game
From Amazon.com:
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face. Thirteen Reasons Why is the gripping, addictive international bestseller that has changed lives the world over. It's an unrelenting modern classic.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
From Amazon.com:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
Orson Scott Card’s Ender Wiggin series beginning with Ender’s Game
From Amazon.com:
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Young Adult Meeting Next Week
Join the members of the JCPLA Reader's Advisory Roundtable next week on
Wednesday, August 8th at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library for a discussion
of young adult books.
Bring your favorites and tell us about them! The RA Roundtable is geared towards adult services staff but everyone is welcome! Questions? Give me a call or send an email!
Holley
205-445-1117
hwesley@bham.lib.al.us
Bring your favorites and tell us about them! The RA Roundtable is geared towards adult services staff but everyone is welcome! Questions? Give me a call or send an email!
Holley
205-445-1117
hwesley@bham.lib.al.us
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Taking it to the Beach
After complaining about the non-beachy weather on Monday, the day for our Beach Reads meeting dawned bright and clear and we really got into the spirit of it! It was a small, yet feisty group and we talked about SO many different books, movies, and philosophies of life. If you weren't there, you really missed out on a great meeting!
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
Kelly, Springville Road
Samuel, Central
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
Jon, Avondale
Jason, Trussville
Leslie, Homewood
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, August 8th at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library and we will be discussing young adult fiction and/or nonfiction. Also, it's time to vote on next year's topics so let me know if there is a genre you'd like to put on the ballot at hwesley[at]bham[dot]lib[dot]al[dot]us or 445-1117.
Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development, or Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Fruit Loops are not for Dinner by Jen Lancaster
Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver
Kelly, Springville Road
They Eat Puppies, Don't They by Christopher Buckley
“Byrd” McIntyre needs to sell Congress on an advanced weapons system, but Congress is not inclined to vote for it without an eminent threat to national security. To drum up public opposition to the Chinese, he
joins forces with Angel Templeton, a beautiful and ferocious conservative mouthpiece. When the greatly beloved Dalai Lama suddenly collapses, Byrd and Angel plant a rumor that the Chinese have attempted to
assassinate him. There are Lama-hating hard-liners on the Chinese Central Committee who wish to escalate hostilities, especially with Tibetan rebels who support the Dalai Lama. The moderate Chinese President, Fa Mengyao, is caught between the bad guys on the committee and avoiding conflict with the United States. Angel lambasts the Chinese on the airwaves and trades insults with their envoy. Public outrage grows,
and then it is discovered that the Dalai Lama is actually dying of a rare form of cancer. If China refuses to allow him to be buried in Tibet, it could start a civil war. If they permit him to enter the country, the
hard-liners will take over the Committee and that will be very bad for the United States. Buckley uses his insider perspective to skewer everyone—Left, Right and Middle. Though the issues aren’t funny, the book
is hilarious and will make readers suspect this is how things REALLY get done in Washington.
GENERAL DISCUSSION: All Jen Lancaster books are hilarious if you are in to the sarcastic, irreverent, snarky humor of writers like Chelsea Handler or David Sedaris. Holley particularly enjoyed Lancaster's Pretty in Plaid: A Life, A Witch, and a Wardrobe, or the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smart-Ass Phase in audiobook format.
Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
GENERAL DISCUSSION: The audiobook version of Ready Player One, narrated by Will Wheaton, is particularly good. Suitable for family trips, early teens and up. The paperback is now out, with a great book trailer:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Hap & Leonard series by Joe R. Landsdale
also:
A Thin, Dark Line and The Bottoms by Joe R. Landsdale
The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson
John Dies at the End by David Wong (New title coming out: This Book is Full of Spiders)
Jason, Trussville
The Ritual by Adam Nevill
Four university friends go on an ill-fated camping trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle in this creepy, cold book. The friendships are wearing thin as food, cigarettes, and booze start to run out, the woods get thicker and more impenetrable, and they find the dead animal in the tree. Salvation seems at hand when the guys stumble across an old cabin in the woods, but once they are inside, things change. Old religious artifacts decorate the walls, dry bones litter the floor, and the most disturbing example of taxidermy I've ever read about reposes in an upstairs bedroom. They should have gone to Euro Disney instead. Check out the book and get ready for a gruesome thrill ride!
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
A Good and Useful Hurt by Aric Davis
This first novel by Davis has so many interesting facets, I hardly know where to begin. Tattoo artist and shop owner Mike has not been in a relationship since his girlfriend Sydney committed suicide in his bathroom several years before (where she still appears from time to time...Mike keeps the bathroom door closed, just in case). Enter the new body piercer, Deb. She's cute, sweet, mean, and every bit his match. Plus, she gets along with the other quirky characters at the tattoo shop. Also, there's a depraved serial rapist/murderer in the neighborhood. These character's lives start to connect when Mike gets the first request from a client for a very special tattoo. The client wants to be tattooed with a relative's cremated remains. As Mike and Deb's relationship gets stronger, the danger to them both gets closer. This novel is not for the faint of heart, the sensitive, or the easily offended. Strong language and graphic violence abound. Suggest to your fans of early Patricia Cornwell, Chelsea Cain, and other forensic fiction fans.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
The Man of My Dreams (story anthology)
Daytime Drama by Dave Dembow
Tricks of the Trade by Ben Tyler
The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers
Color: by Victoria Fenley
Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Fenley
Samuel, Central
GENERAL DISCUSSION: There are some truly fascinating books about color out there. Amy Butler's A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire is about bugs and adventure and you'll never look at the color red the same way again. Christopher Moore's irreverent and hilarious book, Sacre Bleu: A Comedy of Art, takes a look, and a playful slap, at the color blue.
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
As three generations of Kelleher women arrive at the family's beach house, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.
Leslie, Homewood
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town by John Welshman
Both of Us: My Life with Farrah by Ryan O'Neal
After Camelot: An Intimate History of the Kennedy Family, 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli
GENERAL DISCUSSION: The conversation about the book on the Titanic reminded me of the excellent new novel by Charlotte Rogan, The Lifeboat. This debut novel is 22-year old Grace Winter's memories of what happened to her after the ship she and her new husband sailed on to escape the start of WWI sank, stranding her in the open ocean in an overcrowded lifeboat. She is now on trial for her life and her defense team has asked her to write down every single detail she can remember. Survivor turned against survivor, paranoia ran high, and the food and water didn't last. What would YOU do to survive?
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
Last Day in Vietnam by Will Eisner
Sam & Twitch: Book 1 by Todd McFarlane
In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
Night Season by Chelsea Cain
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly
The novels of Joseph Wambaugh
Silent Partner: the graphic novel by Jonathan Kellerman, Ande Parks, and Michael Gaydos
The novels of Tim Dorsey
Raylan by Elmore Leonard (adapted for tv on FX as the series, Justified, now in it's third season)
GENERAL DISCUSSION: Autobiographies came up in the discussion. Musicians carried the day.
Life by Keith Richards with James Fox
Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton
I, Me, Mine by George Harrison (Amanda notes that the format of this title is confusing and unfocused.)
Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
Kelly, Springville Road
Samuel, Central
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
Jon, Avondale
Jason, Trussville
Leslie, Homewood
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, August 8th at 9am at the Emmet O'Neal Library and we will be discussing young adult fiction and/or nonfiction. Also, it's time to vote on next year's topics so let me know if there is a genre you'd like to put on the ballot at hwesley[at]bham[dot]lib[dot]al[dot]us or 445-1117.
Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development, or Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Fruit Loops are not for Dinner by Jen Lancaster
Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver
Kelly, Springville Road
They Eat Puppies, Don't They by Christopher Buckley
“Byrd” McIntyre needs to sell Congress on an advanced weapons system, but Congress is not inclined to vote for it without an eminent threat to national security. To drum up public opposition to the Chinese, he
joins forces with Angel Templeton, a beautiful and ferocious conservative mouthpiece. When the greatly beloved Dalai Lama suddenly collapses, Byrd and Angel plant a rumor that the Chinese have attempted to
assassinate him. There are Lama-hating hard-liners on the Chinese Central Committee who wish to escalate hostilities, especially with Tibetan rebels who support the Dalai Lama. The moderate Chinese President, Fa Mengyao, is caught between the bad guys on the committee and avoiding conflict with the United States. Angel lambasts the Chinese on the airwaves and trades insults with their envoy. Public outrage grows,
and then it is discovered that the Dalai Lama is actually dying of a rare form of cancer. If China refuses to allow him to be buried in Tibet, it could start a civil war. If they permit him to enter the country, the
hard-liners will take over the Committee and that will be very bad for the United States. Buckley uses his insider perspective to skewer everyone—Left, Right and Middle. Though the issues aren’t funny, the book
is hilarious and will make readers suspect this is how things REALLY get done in Washington.
Kelly, Springville Road
GENERAL DISCUSSION: All Jen Lancaster books are hilarious if you are in to the sarcastic, irreverent, snarky humor of writers like Chelsea Handler or David Sedaris. Holley particularly enjoyed Lancaster's Pretty in Plaid: A Life, A Witch, and a Wardrobe, or the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smart-Ass Phase in audiobook format.
Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Amanda, Emmet O'Neal
GENERAL DISCUSSION: The audiobook version of Ready Player One, narrated by Will Wheaton, is particularly good. Suitable for family trips, early teens and up. The paperback is now out, with a great book trailer:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Hap & Leonard series by Joe R. Landsdale
also:
A Thin, Dark Line and The Bottoms by Joe R. Landsdale
The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson
John Dies at the End by David Wong (New title coming out: This Book is Full of Spiders)
Jason, Trussville
The Ritual by Adam Nevill
Four university friends go on an ill-fated camping trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle in this creepy, cold book. The friendships are wearing thin as food, cigarettes, and booze start to run out, the woods get thicker and more impenetrable, and they find the dead animal in the tree. Salvation seems at hand when the guys stumble across an old cabin in the woods, but once they are inside, things change. Old religious artifacts decorate the walls, dry bones litter the floor, and the most disturbing example of taxidermy I've ever read about reposes in an upstairs bedroom. They should have gone to Euro Disney instead. Check out the book and get ready for a gruesome thrill ride!
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
A Good and Useful Hurt by Aric Davis
This first novel by Davis has so many interesting facets, I hardly know where to begin. Tattoo artist and shop owner Mike has not been in a relationship since his girlfriend Sydney committed suicide in his bathroom several years before (where she still appears from time to time...Mike keeps the bathroom door closed, just in case). Enter the new body piercer, Deb. She's cute, sweet, mean, and every bit his match. Plus, she gets along with the other quirky characters at the tattoo shop. Also, there's a depraved serial rapist/murderer in the neighborhood. These character's lives start to connect when Mike gets the first request from a client for a very special tattoo. The client wants to be tattooed with a relative's cremated remains. As Mike and Deb's relationship gets stronger, the danger to them both gets closer. This novel is not for the faint of heart, the sensitive, or the easily offended. Strong language and graphic violence abound. Suggest to your fans of early Patricia Cornwell, Chelsea Cain, and other forensic fiction fans.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal
The Man of My Dreams (story anthology)
Daytime Drama by Dave Dembow
Tricks of the Trade by Ben Tyler
The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers
Color: by Victoria Fenley
Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Fenley
Samuel, Central
GENERAL DISCUSSION: There are some truly fascinating books about color out there. Amy Butler's A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire is about bugs and adventure and you'll never look at the color red the same way again. Christopher Moore's irreverent and hilarious book, Sacre Bleu: A Comedy of Art, takes a look, and a playful slap, at the color blue.
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
As three generations of Kelleher women arrive at the family's beach house, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.
Leslie, Homewood
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house, a door
has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home's
new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters.
Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot,
has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain
after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of
the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count?
Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of
bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself
wondering about the women in this sparsely populated village – self-proclaimed
herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women
mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has
become desperately tenuous? The result is a poignant and powerful ghost
story.
Leslie, Homewood
Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town by John Welshman
In his famous book A
Night to Remember, Walter Lord described the sinking of the Titanic
as "the last night of a small town." Now, a hundred years after her
sinking, historian John Welshman reconstructs the fascinating individual
experiences of twelve of the inhabitants of this tragically short-lived
floating village. In Titanic, Welshman offers a
minute-by-minute account of the doomed liner's last hours, based on a
representative cross-section of those who sailed in her: men and women, old and
young, passengers and crew, wealthy and poor. The survivor accounts allow Welshman
to construct a graphic and compelling picture of events on a day-to-day and
hour-by-hour basis, providing vivid glimpses of the tragedy as seen from their
respective vantage points. In addition, Welshman tells the story of where these
twelve people were from and what happened to those who survived in the years
afterwards.
Leslie, Homewood
Both of Us: My Life with Farrah by Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett……one of the most storied love
affairs in Hollywood history, their romance has captivated fans and media alike
for more than three decades. Fans of
each other from afar, Ryan and Farrah met through her husband, Lee Majors, and
fell passionately in love. Soon, however, reality threatened their happiness
and they struggled with some serious matters, including the disintegration of
Farrah’s marriage; Ryan’s troubled relationship with his daughter, Tatum, and
son, Griffin; mismatched career trajectories; and raising their young son,
Redmond—all leading them to an inevitable split in 1997. Ryan fought to create a life on
his own but never stopped longing for Farrah. Eventually he realized that he
had lost his true soul mate. Older and wiser, he and Farrah found their way
back to each other and were excited to start a new life together. But their
bliss was cut short when Farrah was diagnosed with cancer and passed away just
three years later. Ryan’s
deep love for Farrah and his devotion to preserving her memory are evident in Both
of Us. Drawing on decades’ worth of personal records and keepsakes, he has
included never-before-seen photographs, letters exchanged between him and
Farrah, and his own diaries, making this a poignant and compelling memento for
her fans. Written with candor and emotional honesty, it is a true Hollywood love story.
Leslie, Homewood
After Camelot: An Intimate History of the Kennedy Family, 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli
For more than half a century, Americans have been captivated by
the Kennedys - their joy and heartbreak, tragedy and triumph, the dark side and
the remarkable achievements. In this ambitious and sweeping account,
Taraborelli chronicles the family history providing a behind-the-scenes look at
the years "after Camelot." He describes the challenges Bobby's
children faced as they grew into adulthood; Eunice and Sargent Shriver's
remarkable philanthropic work; the emotional turmoil Jackie faced after JFK's
murder and the complexities of her eventual marriage to Aristotle Onassis; the
the sudden death of JFK JR; and the stoicism and grace of his sister Caroline.
He also brings into clear focus the complex and intriguing story of Edward "Teddy"
and shows how he influenced the sensibilities of the next generation and
challenged them to uphold the Kennedy name. Based on extensive research,
including hundreds of exclusive interviews, After Camelot captures the
wealth, glamour, and fortitude for which the Kennedys are so well known.
Leslie, Homewood
GENERAL DISCUSSION: The conversation about the book on the Titanic reminded me of the excellent new novel by Charlotte Rogan, The Lifeboat. This debut novel is 22-year old Grace Winter's memories of what happened to her after the ship she and her new husband sailed on to escape the start of WWI sank, stranding her in the open ocean in an overcrowded lifeboat. She is now on trial for her life and her defense team has asked her to write down every single detail she can remember. Survivor turned against survivor, paranoia ran high, and the food and water didn't last. What would YOU do to survive?
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
Last Day in Vietnam by Will Eisner
Sam & Twitch: Book 1 by Todd McFarlane
In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
Night Season by Chelsea Cain
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly
The novels of Joseph Wambaugh
Silent Partner: the graphic novel by Jonathan Kellerman, Ande Parks, and Michael Gaydos
The novels of Tim Dorsey
Raylan by Elmore Leonard (adapted for tv on FX as the series, Justified, now in it's third season)
GENERAL DISCUSSION: Autobiographies came up in the discussion. Musicians carried the day.
Life by Keith Richards with James Fox
Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton
I, Me, Mine by George Harrison (Amanda notes that the format of this title is confusing and unfocused.)
Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe
Monday, June 11, 2012
RA Roundtable meeting this Wednesday
Beach Reads
Fiction & Nonfiction
It doesn't feel like beach weather outside. Even the beach is not having beach weather, but we'll be bringing the spirit of the beach to our meeting this week on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at Emmet O'Neal Library at 9am with a discussion of beach reads! Fiction or nonfiction, it's your choice! If you believe some lucky beach bum would love to devour your choice of book(s), bring it in and share it with us!
Our own Mary Anne (Southern History) sent me a link to Flavorwire's "10 Highbrow Books to Read on the Beach." Have you read any of these? What would you add/take away from the list?
Bring your books for discussion and get ready for a great meeting!
Reader's Advisory Roundtable is geared towards adult services staff, but everyone is welcome! For more information, email me at hwesley[at]bham[dot]lib[dot]al[dot]us or call 205-445-1117.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Cowboys vs Aliens
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 9am at the Emmet O’Neal Library. Our topic is Beach Reads. Fiction, nonfiction, audio, ebook, the format doesn’t matter. If you decide it’d be ideally read on the beach with a frosty drink close at hand, bring it and tell us about it!
December feels a long way off at this point, but our meeting road trip has been confirmed. The meeting on December 12 will be held at the Birmingham Public Library downtown in the Southern History department. They have an outstanding collection of vintage/local cookbooks and we will have the opportunity to see a few of the best so be sure to mark your calendars for far-off December!
In the epic battle between cowboys and aliens at the Reader’s Advisory Roundtable this morning, it was a rousing victory on the part of the aliens. Science fiction, traditional and in a wide variety of sub-genres, won the day with westerns scrambling to keep up.
Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels:
The Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
The Robots of Dawn
Robots and Empire
Mary Ann, BPL Southern History
GENERAL DISCUSSION: Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific of writers, penning material, both fiction and nonfiction, for every age group from elementary school to learned adult. Find more information about him here.
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Hybrids by Whitley Strieber
Mondretta, Leeds
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt
Katie, Emmet O’Neal
Zombie Powder by Tite Kubo
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Dune by Frank Herbert
Samuel, BPL Info/Circ
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Set up as a series of interviews with survivors (on the World War Z model), Robopocalypse recounts the earliest days of the takeover of the planet by our trusted machines. Anything with any sort of onboard computerization now wants to kill you. First it was cars and machinery. If you were in it, it crashed. If you weren't in it, it ran you over until you were dead. Then it patrolled the streets, searching for new victims. Later, more mobile robotic entities started entering homes and clearing buildings. Soon, the last pockets of human resistance were rounded up into prison camps, where the machines began “experimenting.” An unapologetic, gory, roller coaster thrill ride through a dystopian landscape refreshingly different from the zombie takeovers currently in fashion.
The Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan
Behemoth
Goliath
This steam punk alternate history of the events leading up to World War I for young adults is SOOO good! The world is parsed in two groups: the Darwinists and the Clankers, those who’ve built their societies around bioengineering and those who’ve chosen steam-powered mechanics. The Germans, now in pursuit of the assassinated Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand’s son Aleksandar, are Clankers and the British are Darwinists. Young airman Dillon Sharp, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service, finds herself aboard the mightiest beast in the British fleet, the whale air ship Leviathan. As the paths of the Leviathan and Aleksandar Ferdinand converge, the fate of Europe becomes more and more unstable. Excellent world-building, a super strong and funny heroine, and a fast-paced plot combine to make the whole trilogy a winner. The audiobooks, narrated exquisitely by Alan Cumming, are not to be missed.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Kelly, BPL Springville Road
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
Buffalo Girls by Larry McMurtry
Michelle, Irondale
Earthbound by Joe Halderman
Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
The Rope by Nevada Barr
Blend by Alan Dean Foster
Doc by Maria Dorla Russell
Jon, Avondale
GENERAL DISCUSSION: We talked quite a bit about westerns as a genre and its waning popularity.
2010 article in Library Journal
Elmore Leonard’s western novels, specifically the Raylan Givens novels, have experienced a resurgence due to the hit FX show adapted from those novels, Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant. Here’s a recent Book Beast interview with Mr. Leonard.
This just in! Patron recommendations on Thursday, April 12th include One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus and Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire books:
The Cold Dish
Death Without Company
Kindness Goes Unpunished
Another Man's Moccasins
The Dark Horse
Junkyard Dogs
Hell is Empty
As the Crow Flies
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Richard, BPL Fiction
Looking for purchasing sources for graphic classics? Try Classics Illustrated Junior Comics or try this list of websites.
What are YOU reading?
Holley
December feels a long way off at this point, but our meeting road trip has been confirmed. The meeting on December 12 will be held at the Birmingham Public Library downtown in the Southern History department. They have an outstanding collection of vintage/local cookbooks and we will have the opportunity to see a few of the best so be sure to mark your calendars for far-off December!
In the epic battle between cowboys and aliens at the Reader’s Advisory Roundtable this morning, it was a rousing victory on the part of the aliens. Science fiction, traditional and in a wide variety of sub-genres, won the day with westerns scrambling to keep up.
Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels:
The Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
The Robots of Dawn
Robots and Empire
Mary Ann, BPL Southern History
GENERAL DISCUSSION: Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific of writers, penning material, both fiction and nonfiction, for every age group from elementary school to learned adult. Find more information about him here.
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Hybrids by Whitley Strieber
Mondretta, Leeds
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt
Katie, Emmet O’Neal
Zombie Powder by Tite Kubo
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Dune by Frank Herbert
Samuel, BPL Info/Circ
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Set up as a series of interviews with survivors (on the World War Z model), Robopocalypse recounts the earliest days of the takeover of the planet by our trusted machines. Anything with any sort of onboard computerization now wants to kill you. First it was cars and machinery. If you were in it, it crashed. If you weren't in it, it ran you over until you were dead. Then it patrolled the streets, searching for new victims. Later, more mobile robotic entities started entering homes and clearing buildings. Soon, the last pockets of human resistance were rounded up into prison camps, where the machines began “experimenting.” An unapologetic, gory, roller coaster thrill ride through a dystopian landscape refreshingly different from the zombie takeovers currently in fashion.
The Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan
Behemoth
Goliath
This steam punk alternate history of the events leading up to World War I for young adults is SOOO good! The world is parsed in two groups: the Darwinists and the Clankers, those who’ve built their societies around bioengineering and those who’ve chosen steam-powered mechanics. The Germans, now in pursuit of the assassinated Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand’s son Aleksandar, are Clankers and the British are Darwinists. Young airman Dillon Sharp, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service, finds herself aboard the mightiest beast in the British fleet, the whale air ship Leviathan. As the paths of the Leviathan and Aleksandar Ferdinand converge, the fate of Europe becomes more and more unstable. Excellent world-building, a super strong and funny heroine, and a fast-paced plot combine to make the whole trilogy a winner. The audiobooks, narrated exquisitely by Alan Cumming, are not to be missed.
Holley, Emmet O’Neal
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Kelly, BPL Springville Road
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
Buffalo Girls by Larry McMurtry
Michelle, Irondale
Earthbound by Joe Halderman
Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
The Rope by Nevada Barr
Blend by Alan Dean Foster
Doc by Maria Dorla Russell
Jon, Avondale
GENERAL DISCUSSION: We talked quite a bit about westerns as a genre and its waning popularity.
2010 article in Library Journal
Elmore Leonard’s western novels, specifically the Raylan Givens novels, have experienced a resurgence due to the hit FX show adapted from those novels, Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant. Here’s a recent Book Beast interview with Mr. Leonard.
This just in! Patron recommendations on Thursday, April 12th include One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus and Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire books:
The Cold Dish
Death Without Company
Kindness Goes Unpunished
Another Man's Moccasins
The Dark Horse
Junkyard Dogs
Hell is Empty
As the Crow Flies
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Richard, BPL Fiction
Looking for purchasing sources for graphic classics? Try Classics Illustrated Junior Comics or try this list of websites.
What are YOU reading?
Holley
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