Every year a number of books are adapted into movies, with mixed results. If you're a movie buff, treat yourself to the real thing. Read the books the movies are based on.
Some suggestions:
Shutter Island; Lehane, Dennis, Shutter Island
Charlie St. Cloud; Sherwood, Ben, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
Eat, Pray, Love; Gilbert, Elizabeth, Eat, Pray, Love
The Social Network; Mezrich, Ben, The Accidental Billionaires
True Grit; Portis, Charles, True Grit
The American; Booth, Martin, A Very Private Gentleman
Secretariat; Nack, William, Secretariat: the Making of a Champion
Dear John; Sparks, Nicholas, Dear John
So pull up the recliner, make some popcorn, and enjoy!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
(Book) Mark the Spot
How are you doing on your 50 book challenge? Finding enough to read? If not, we have some ideas for you. Each month we have new bookmarks available. We try to find themes appropriate to the season or holiday. Our first bookmark gave general suggestions to start you off. For January, though, we have two different lists of suggestions, one non-fiction, "Get in Shape!", and one fiction, "Make 'em Laugh." Each one lists books certain to make your life better, or at least funnier.
In February we'll be celebrating two holidays. The Black History Month bookmark will feature black history from a local perspective. And we can't ignore Valentine's Day. "Isn't it Romantic?" lists titles certain to warm your heart.
Stop by any New Bedford library to pick up your bookmarks. If you have any ideas for book lists you'd like to see, please contact me at mkruger@sailsinc.org, or call me at (508) 991-6214. I'd be happy to put something together.
In February we'll be celebrating two holidays. The Black History Month bookmark will feature black history from a local perspective. And we can't ignore Valentine's Day. "Isn't it Romantic?" lists titles certain to warm your heart.
Stop by any New Bedford library to pick up your bookmarks. If you have any ideas for book lists you'd like to see, please contact me at mkruger@sailsinc.org, or call me at (508) 991-6214. I'd be happy to put something together.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Get Into Overdrive!
Books today come in other forms than on the printed page. Audio books have been around for a long time. More recently, electronic books, or ebooks, have become popular, with the introduction of such devices as Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad. Your library has many titles available to you, both as audiobooks and ebooks, through the Overdrive Media Console. This is software which alows you to download books directly to your device, inluding computers, Blackberries, and the iPhone. Best of all, it's free!
Start at the SAILS website at http://www.sailsinc.org/. From there click on the link for downloads, which will bring up the Overdrive page. Download the free software for your device, and you're ready to go. Browse books the way you do at a library, by title or genre, and add titles you want to your shopping cart. Checkouts work the same as for regular books, with a due date of two weeks. The title automatically expires at the end of the loan period. Once a books is checked out, it's uavailable to anyone else, so check back often to see what's on the shelf. Overdrive books can also be put on hold. Unfortunately, software for the Kindle or Barnes and Noble's Nook is not yet available.
I decided I'd read only for pleasure when I left college, after 4 years of interpreting and deconstructing dense texts. When I got my iPhone, though, I started downloading classics. I've since reread Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen, and am working through Great Expectations. It took a 21st century device to get me back to 19th century books. For traveling or going to places where I may have to wait, like a doctor's office, an ebook is much easier to handle than a regular book. It's easily portable and accessible. While I'll never give up books in print, I like having the option of reading in a different format. It's still reading.
If you haven't already tried Overdrive, why not start today? Any title you choose is eleigible for the 50 Book Challenge. And, like me, you just might find yourself hooked on new technology.
Start at the SAILS website at http://www.sailsinc.org/. From there click on the link for downloads, which will bring up the Overdrive page. Download the free software for your device, and you're ready to go. Browse books the way you do at a library, by title or genre, and add titles you want to your shopping cart. Checkouts work the same as for regular books, with a due date of two weeks. The title automatically expires at the end of the loan period. Once a books is checked out, it's uavailable to anyone else, so check back often to see what's on the shelf. Overdrive books can also be put on hold. Unfortunately, software for the Kindle or Barnes and Noble's Nook is not yet available.
I decided I'd read only for pleasure when I left college, after 4 years of interpreting and deconstructing dense texts. When I got my iPhone, though, I started downloading classics. I've since reread Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen, and am working through Great Expectations. It took a 21st century device to get me back to 19th century books. For traveling or going to places where I may have to wait, like a doctor's office, an ebook is much easier to handle than a regular book. It's easily portable and accessible. While I'll never give up books in print, I like having the option of reading in a different format. It's still reading.
If you haven't already tried Overdrive, why not start today? Any title you choose is eleigible for the 50 Book Challenge. And, like me, you just might find yourself hooked on new technology.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Review: OUTWITTING TROLLS, by William Tapply
When Boston attorney Brady Coyne meets old friend and neighbor Ken Nichols for a drink, he doesn't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen. Instead, he becomes mixed up in murder, when Ken's ex-wife, Sharon, finds him stabbed to death in his hotel room. When Brady takes Sharon on as a client, he is quickly involved in the mystery surrounding Ken's death. Sharon is the prime suspect, but as Brady investigates he finds other possibilities. Could the mysterious bearded man Brady saw talking to Ken be responsible? Or Ken's drug-dealer son, Wayne? Brady needs to find the real killer, before the killer can find him.
As with all Tapply's books, this is well-written and fast-paced, with solid characterizations and a mystery that keeps the reader guessing to the end. Sadly, Tapply died in 2010, and so this is his last book. His earlier books in the Brady Coyne series, as well as those featuring Stoney Calhoun, are available through the library.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Challenging the World
Libraries run lots of programs for children: story hours, summer reading programs, Dr. Seuss's birthday celebrations, etc. The Teen Room at the Lawler Branch Library caters to the needs of young adults, providing not only reading material, but entertainment, special programs, and a place to hang out. For our adult patrons,though, there's been little besides our book clubs. That was one reason we decided to offer the 50 Book Challenge. We expected it to be successful. We just didn't realize how successful. To date we have nearly 200 people participating. It's a fantastic response, especially considering that it's the holiday season, and we're pretty excited about it.
What we never expected was to get attention outside the area. Somehow, the story about our challenge went national. We've been featured on the websites of CNN, USA Today, MSN, and the New York Daily News. The Boston and Providence newspapers carried the story, which also was shown on TV news from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon. But then we went global: Singapore, Prince Edward Island, Shenyang Province, China - all posted news about us, to our astonishment. Yahoo News made the challenge the subject of its daily poll; 87% of people responding said they could read 50 books in a year. That's a gratifying amount.
People being people, some of the reactions have been a bit, well, odd. Commenting on the Yahoo poll, one responder wondered why he should waste time reading so many books, unless he gets money as a prize. Some people considered 50 books an enormously high amount to read; others thought it ridiculously low. One man even used the challenge as an excuse to take potshots at libraries and at paying taxes. Most people have been positive, though, with a few from out of the area wishing they could join in. Maybe we've started a trend.
If you haven't yet joined, come see what the fuss is about. Stop in at any New Bedford library and take the challenge. We can't wait to see you.
What we never expected was to get attention outside the area. Somehow, the story about our challenge went national. We've been featured on the websites of CNN, USA Today, MSN, and the New York Daily News. The Boston and Providence newspapers carried the story, which also was shown on TV news from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon. But then we went global: Singapore, Prince Edward Island, Shenyang Province, China - all posted news about us, to our astonishment. Yahoo News made the challenge the subject of its daily poll; 87% of people responding said they could read 50 books in a year. That's a gratifying amount.
People being people, some of the reactions have been a bit, well, odd. Commenting on the Yahoo poll, one responder wondered why he should waste time reading so many books, unless he gets money as a prize. Some people considered 50 books an enormously high amount to read; others thought it ridiculously low. One man even used the challenge as an excuse to take potshots at libraries and at paying taxes. Most people have been positive, though, with a few from out of the area wishing they could join in. Maybe we've started a trend.
If you haven't yet joined, come see what the fuss is about. Stop in at any New Bedford library and take the challenge. We can't wait to see you.
Monday, December 13, 2010
It's On!
The 50 Book Challenge, that is. Starting today I'm challenging myself to read 50 books in the next year. It's pretty exciting. I've met this challenge in the past, but this year I'll be among friends and fellow readers, all aiming for the same goal. The New Bedford Free Public Library is presenting the challenge as a reading program for adults. Why should kids have all the fun?
If reading 50 books in a year sounds impossible, think of it this way. It averages one book a week, with time to spare. Since it's the holiday season, I decided to kick off the challenge by reading Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron. It's part of a mystery series set in a fictional North Carolina county, featuring Judge Deborah Knott and her extended family. Murder might not quite fit into the holiday spirit, but Maron is a good writer and the book, so far, is fun. And that's what this challenge is about. I love to read, and I plan to enjoy every page of the next 50 or so volumes.
I think you should, too. So shut off the TV and put down the remote (unless you're watching the Celtics or the Patriots). What better thing to do on a cold winter night than snuggle up with a good book and some chocolate? Sounds good to me. In fact, I think I'll go do so, right now!
For more information on the 50 Book Challenge, visit the New Bedford Free Public Library's website at www.newbedford-ma.gov/library.
If reading 50 books in a year sounds impossible, think of it this way. It averages one book a week, with time to spare. Since it's the holiday season, I decided to kick off the challenge by reading Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron. It's part of a mystery series set in a fictional North Carolina county, featuring Judge Deborah Knott and her extended family. Murder might not quite fit into the holiday spirit, but Maron is a good writer and the book, so far, is fun. And that's what this challenge is about. I love to read, and I plan to enjoy every page of the next 50 or so volumes.
I think you should, too. So shut off the TV and put down the remote (unless you're watching the Celtics or the Patriots). What better thing to do on a cold winter night than snuggle up with a good book and some chocolate? Sounds good to me. In fact, I think I'll go do so, right now!
For more information on the 50 Book Challenge, visit the New Bedford Free Public Library's website at www.newbedford-ma.gov/library.
Monday, October 5, 2009
New Writer's Group
Have you always wanted to write a novel, the one that you know is inside you? Or maybe it’s a memoir of an interesting life, or a children’s book. If that’s the case, Wilks Library’s new Writer’s Group is the place for you. Meeting once a month, the group welcomes all writers. It doesn’t matter your level of experience, whether you’re a beginner or have been at it for a few years. It doesn’t matter what you write. Here you’ll find the kind of help and support that comes only from other writers. The most important thing is getting feedback on your work. Writing is solitary and it’s hard to know if what you’re doing is any good. Oh, your mother says it is (of course), but mothers aren’t impartial. Other writers are. A group like this can be invaluable.
The group will be led by librarian Mary Kruger, a published author of romance and mystery novels. Meetings will be held on the first Thursday of every month, at 6-7:30 PM. The first meeting is on November 5th. For more information or to register, call the library at (508) 991-6214. The Wilks Library is located at 1911 Acushnet Ave, New Bedford. Membership is limited, so reserve your place soon!
The group will be led by librarian Mary Kruger, a published author of romance and mystery novels. Meetings will be held on the first Thursday of every month, at 6-7:30 PM. The first meeting is on November 5th. For more information or to register, call the library at (508) 991-6214. The Wilks Library is located at 1911 Acushnet Ave, New Bedford. Membership is limited, so reserve your place soon!
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