Thankful for some great books!

It is once again time for Thanksgiving.  Have you done your planning yet?  Here's some great books that can help you enjoy this wonderful holiday:  (Click on the title to place a hold via InfoSoup.)

  The Thanksgiving book:   a companion to the holiday covering its history, lore, traditions, foods, and symbols, including primary sources, poems, prayers, songs, hymns, and recipes, supplemented by a chronology, bibliography with web sites, and index.

  Thanksgiving 101:  celebrate America's favorite holiday with America's Thanksgiving expert.

  Thanksgiving Entertaining

  Betty Crocker's Complete Thanksgiving cookbook: All you need to cook a memorable meal.

  The Book of Thanksgiving:  Stories, poems and recipes for sharing one of America's greatest holidays.

  Tried and True Thanksgiving: Top 200 recipes.

  The Thanksgiving Table: recipes and ideas to create your own holiday tradition.  

  Thanksgiving: festive recipes for the holiday table

  Crafts for Thanksgiving

  Beyond the Turkey:  a Thanksgiving feast of fun, facts, and activities.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

What is the library staff reading?

You see them in and around the library.

They work with books every day.

What are they reading?

In case you're curious, here's what a few of our library staff members have read lately. (Click on the title to place a hold via InfoSoup.)

  SHARON STUHR 

Sharon says:  

I have just gotten through reading two of Barbara Delinsky books.  The first one is titled The Carpenter's Lady. It's about a successful television writer, Debra Barry,  who went through a painful divorce. She leaves New York for the beautiful countryside of New Hampshire where she hopes to mend her broken heart. After buying a house, which needed much repair, she hires a master carpenter, Graham Reed, to fix up the house. Graham, who is hiding from his own bitter pass, reluctantly agrees to take the job. As the house begins to come together, Graham and Debra unexpectedly find themselves laying their own emotional groundwork.

The second book is titled An Accidental Woman.  Poppy Blake was injured in a long-ago snowmobile accident which took the use of her legs. She was having a hard time believing that handsome reporter, Griffin Hughes, could be interested in her. Griffin is afraid how Poppy will feel about him when she finds out that he inadvertently gave a tip that sent Poppy's good friend, Heather, to jail for a 15- year-old murder of her former lover. Now Griffin must uncover the truth about what really happened in Heather's past and try to clear her of any wrongdoing.

  GAIL KLEMANN 

Gail says:

I just recently finished The Godfather Returns, by Mark Winegardner.  It's a new novel, based on the Godfather series by Mario Puzo.  It's a great read, and I highly recommend it!

  BOB TOMCZYK

Tom says:

Right now, I'm reading The Whole Truth by David Baldacci.  The book is about Nicolas Creel.   He heads up the world's largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to "perception manage" his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts. But Creel may have an even grander plan in mind.

  ESTHER BURNS

Esther says:

I just finished reading The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  All three books are so exciting, and you absolutely won't be able to put them down until you're finished!  I also just started See You in a Hundred Years, by Logan Ward.  It's about a family that decides to live for a year exactly as people did in the year 1900.  It's very interesting!

How about you? What are you reading right now?

Social Networking for Readers

The internet is full of social networking sites these days.  Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Pinterest, they're all out there.  But did you know there's some great Reading social network sites?  Here's a list of some of the best:

• Goodreads: www.goodreads.com  A great place to get book recommendations from people you know.  You can also keep track of books you've already read, and books you'd like to read.  There's also fun ways to start a book club, answer book trivia, and collect your favorite book quotes.

• Shelfari:  www.shelfari.com   Shelfari is a community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers.  Create a virtual bookshelf, discover new books, connect with friends and learn more about your favorite books– all for free.

• Readernaut:  www.readernaut.com  Find the books you’ve read and rate them, store notes about them or review them.  Add books you’re reading and begin tracking your progress or write notes or comments.  Build your wishlist and see what others think of the books you want to read.  Or import your books from other services like Anobii, GoodReads, LibraryThing and Shelfari.

• Library Thing:  www.librarything.com  Join the world’s largest book club.  Catalog your books from Amazon, the Library of Congress and 690 other world libraries. Import from anywhere. Find people with eerily similar tastes.  Find new books to read.  Free Early Reviewer books from publishers and authors.  Enter 200 books for free, as many as you like for $10 (year) or $25 (life).

• Book Crossing:  www.bookcrossing.com  From the website:  "It's the World's Library. It's a smart social networking site. It's a celebration of literature and a place where books get new life. BookCrossing is the act of giving a book a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked and thus connecting its readers. There are currently 948,137 BookCrossers and 8,147,968 books travelling throughout 132 countries. Our community is changing the world and touching lives one book at a time."  How does it work?  "Label. Share. Follow.  Breathe new life into books instead of letting your old favorites collect dust - pass them along to another reader. Our online archival and tracking system allows members to connect with other readers, journal and review literature and trade and follow their books as lives are changed through “reading and releasing”. Users are able to tag and track their individual books by marking them with BCIDs (BookCrossing Identity Numbers). Each BCID is unique to each book – once it’s registered on our site, the book can then be followed and journaled forever. BookCrossing is free to join and free to play. So don't be 'shelf'ish with your books!"

Did I miss any?  Do you have a favorite reading website?

Stay local- read Wisconsin authors!

There's so much buzz out there lately about buying local products--but have you ever thought about reading books written by local authors? Here's a few to choose from:

Stephen E. Ambrose (1936 - 2002) A best-selling historian, Ambrose is known for his books about World War II, the American West, and for presidential biographies. (Raised in Whitewater.)

Robert Bloch (1917 - 1994) Best known for Psycho, the novel that formed the basis of Alfred Hitchcock's film classic, Block was an award-winning science fiction and mystery writer. (Raised in Milwaukee.)

Kevin Henkes (1960 - ) Best known for his children's books and illustrations, Kevin Henkes' fiction and picture books for young readers have been praised by many critics for their light-hearted, yet sensitive portrayal common occurrences in young children's lives. (Born in Racine, attended UW-Madison, lives in Madison.)

Jacquelyn Mitchard (1953 - ) Mitchard achieved fame when her first novel, "The Deep End of the Ocean", was the first selection of Oprah Winfrey's Book Club. (Lives in Madison.)

Sterling North (1906 - 1974) North's books for children and adults present a nostalgic view of rural life early in the twentieth century,as illustrated by his most famous children's book, "Rascal". (Born in Edgerton.)

Jane Hamilton (1957 - ) Hamilton is a novelist whose work expresses the difficulties of contemporary society as reflected by characters living in small, midwestern towns. (Lives in Rochester.)

Ellen Baker (1975- ) Author of Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This. Grew up in Wisconsin.

Lois Ehlert (1934- ) Author and illustrator Lois Ehlert has written and illustrated, or illustrated for other authors, over 30 books. (Born in Beaver Dam, now lives in Milwaukee.)

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) This beloved children’s author was born in 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin, which is the setting for her first novel, The Little House in the Big Woods. Most of her work attempts to capture the pioneer experience in America through her childhood experiences in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakota territories. (Born in Pepin.)

Thornton Wilder (1897 - 1975)  One of America's favorite playwrights, Wilder won the Pulitzer Prize for "Our Town" and again for "The Skin of Our Teeth." (Born in Madison.)

Enjoy a good book today, from one of our local Wisconsin authors!

Have you read a good movie lately?

When you think about books that have been made into movies, lately two books come to mind:  Harry Potter and Twilight.  But did you know there's so many more great movies out there that are based on books?  Here's some fun titles to choose from:

FOR THE GROWN-UPS:

(click on the links to reserve either book or movie via InfoSoup)

1. Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand (book/movie)
2. About a Boy, by Nick Hornby (book/movie)
3. What Dreams May Come, by Richard Matheson (book/movie)
4. The Last Song, by Nicholas Sparks (book/movie)
5. Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom (book/movie)

FOR YOUNG ADULTS:

1. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne (book/movie)
2. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (book/movie)
3. Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (book/movie)
4. Holes, by Louis Sachar (book/movie)
5. Rocket Boys: A Memoir (October Sky), by Homer Hickman (book/movie)

FOR CHILDREN:

1. 101 Dalmations, by Dodie Smith (book/movie, animated/movie, live action)
2. How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell (book/movie)
3. The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks (book/movie)
4. Nanny McPhee, by Christianna Brand (book/movie)
5. Stuart Little, by E.B. White (book/movie)

It's always fun to read the book first, and then compare it to the movie.  Doing this with your kids improves their reading and critical thinking skills, which keeps their brains moving during lazy summer days.  

Have any of you read a good movie lately?