GoodReads Book Awards

GoodReads, is the largest website for readers and book recommendations around the world. The membership is over 6,500,000! Members use the website to track what they are reading, share recommendations and find others who have similar tastes. An excellent site for book discussions and chatting too. Since it's conception in 2007, it continues to grow each year and instituted it's own "book awards" in 2009. GoodReads 3rd Annual Book Award Winners have been annouced, and can be found here!

We know you'll find something new and interesting to read!

-EWML Reference Department

And the Winner Is...

The National Book Awards annouced their winners last week. The results are in and as follows:

FICTION: Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones (Bloomsbury USA)

NONFICTION: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
(W. W. Norton & Company)

POETRY: Nikky Finney, Head Off & Split
(TriQuarterly, an imprint of Northwestern University Press)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE: Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again
(Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers)

To check our catalog for these titles, click here!

Give the Gift of Books this Holiday Season!

The holidays are just around the corner, and what better gift to give (and we think, receive) than a book? From coffee table eye candy to the latest thriller, or a decadent compliation of recipes for the favorite cook in your life-books offer the one option that most other gifts cannot. There is truly a book for every reader-something for everybody.

But, before you make that trip to the big book store or your local hometown bookseller, (you can almost smell the steaming lattes right now, we're guessing...) check out some of these links that sport the latest and the greatest in holiday book giving!

Books Are Great Gifts

New York Times Best Seller List

Trending Books from Barnes and Noble

RJ Julia Holiday Book List

Local Monroe Children's Bookstore Linda's Storytime Staff Picks

And don't forget, you can always visit EWML for a sneak preview of something BEFORE you buy!

2011 National Book Awards, The National Book Foundation

Established in 1950, the National Book Foundation, is an organization of publishers, editors, writers and critics who recognize literary excellence in the form of yearly book awards in four categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry and Young People's Literature. If you are looking for something new to read, or perhaps even as a gift for the holidays, try one of these National Book Award Finalists:

2011 National Book Awards, The National Book Foundation

Book Discussion with Movie Tie-In

On Thursday, December 2nd the Library kicks off a new morning book discussion series. Read and discuss the book one week, then come watch the movie and compare the two the next week. The book Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates will be discussed on December 2nd from 10:30AM to 12:00 PM and the movie will be shown on the following Thursday, December 9th at 10:30AM. No registration is necessary. Books are available at the library.

Watch in January for a book/movie discussion on Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Book Review - What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman

This short novel unfolds in the form of a letter which the narrator, Wyatt Hillyer, writes to his 21-year old daughter, Marlais, about the circumstances surrounding her birth. The poignant tale he tells takes place in Nova Scotia during World War II and the plot revolves around historical events that took place in the waters off Newfoundland in 1942. The award-winning author, Howard Norman, introduces the reader to lesser known war atrocities which killed civilians and occurred less than 40 miles off the coast of North American. More than historical fiction, this novel is a character study of young Wyatt. Writing in a spare style, Norman successfully portrays Wyatt as a modern tragic hero.

Summer Reading Book Review: For a Few Demons More, by Kim Harrison

I found this book to be slow reading at first, but it finally picked up with some action near the end. For a Few Demons More revolves around the life of Rachel Morgan. Rachel is a witch and deals with earth magic as well as some dark, demon magic. In this story Rachel must juggle her friendship with vampire Ivy, her vampire boyfriend Kisten, a pixy, elves, demons, and werewolves in her hometown of Cincinnati. Her life seems to always be a small step ahead of the danger that lurks around her, but when murders start occurring in the neighborhood, danger seems to be on her front door step. Overall I liked this story, but was confused about some of the characters and references to past events as this book seems to be part of a series (One of the reviews on the back cover indicated this was a new series, but I believe this book is a follow up to A Fistful of Charms.)

Reviewed by Kristen Rowinsky