Time is running out to win prizes

12 08 2008

The last day to enter the adult summer reading game “Timeless Reads” is Saturday August 16. Make sure you get that one last entry form in the box.

 

Many people have enjoyed “Timeless Reads” this summer and recommended their choices to others. At Dublin Library the following books were recommended as “Timeless Reads”:

  • Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E.Van Vogt
  • The Gift by Danielle Steel
  • The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
  • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  • In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
  • Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Great Works of Ayela Linde by Charlotte Forbes
  • Aunt Dimity’s Death by Nancy Atherton
  • Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
  • Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
  • Bertie Wooster Sees It Through by PG Wodehouse
  • Firm by John Grisham
  • Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Slan by A.E. Van Vogt
  • The Anome by Jank Vance
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  • Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
  • Ava’s Man by Rick Bragg
  • All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg
  • Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
  • Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
  • Them by Francine du Plessix Gray
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison
  • The Firm by John Grisham
  • B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
  • A Painted House by John Grisham
  • Last Heroes by W.E.B. Griffin
  • The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • The Man From Stone Creek by Linda Miller
  • To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer
  • The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
  • Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett
  • Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
  • The Asutra by Jack Vance
  • Brave Free Men by Jack Vance

So while the game is ending, it doesn’t have to be the end to reading the books others have declared “Timeless Reads”.





Timeless Reads from Children’s Literature

28 07 2008

And yet I cannot pretend that the reading I have done in my adult years matches in its impact on my soul the reading I did as a child… When I was a child, books were everything.  And so there is in me, always, a yearning for the lost pleasure of books.”
From The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 

Try these timeless reads from the children’s collection to bring back “the lost pleasures of books”.

The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy
By Jeanne Birdsall
Join the four Penderwick sisters for a summer filled with good old fashioned fun, as they vacation at the amazing Arudel Estate.

Tangerine
By Edward Bloor
Tangerine, Florida sounds idyllic but Paul finds his new home town filled with ominous things such as lightning, underground fires and his brother.

While No One Was Watching
By Jane Conly
When Fat Frankie takes a pet rabbit from the backyard in a wealthy neighborhood, he starts a collision between the two adjacent but very different worlds.

Getting Near to Baby
By Audrey Couloumbis
Willa Jo hopes to find the answers to life but Aunt Patty doesn’t think her roof is the place to find them.

Walk Two Moons
By Sharon Creech
Hubba, hubba ! Salamanca and her grandparents are off on a car trip across country to
look for Sal’s mom.

Ordinary Jack
By Helen Cresswell
Meet Jack, the only ordinary child in a household of zany Bagthorpes.  Can he and his dog, Zero, survive living in with a pyromaniac, a selective hearing grandfather and an overly dramatic father?

The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963
By Christopher Paul Curtis
What do you do with a JD son?  The Watson’s head south in the Brown Bomber to take Byron to spend the summer with his grandma.

Catherine Called Birdy
By Karen Cushman
Being a teenager in the Middle Ages is not so different than being a teenager nowadays. You’re not allowed to go places, choose your friends or run your own life!

Bandit’s Moon
By Sid Fleischman
New to California, 12 year old Annyrose meets “Wakeen” Murietta and joins his band of outlaws to search for her brother in the gold fields.

The Thief Lord
By Cornelia Funke
Runaways Prosper and Bo meet a mysterious 13 year old on the streets of Venice who calls himself the “Thief Lord.”  In order to survive, they join his gang and find themselves in a world they never could have imagined.

Out of the Dust
By Karen Hesse
A series of prose poems tell Billie Jo’s story of living on an Oklahoma farm in the during the dust bowl years of the Depression. 

Boston Jane: An Adventure
By Jennifer Holm
Miss Hepplewhite’s Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia did little to prepare Jane for her relocation to the Pacific Northwest in 1840’s.
 
A Matter of Spunk
By Adrienne Jones
Join Margery and her family as they move to 1920’s Hollywood and a new life among movie stars and the bohemian inhabitants of a theosophical colony.

Dog Friday
By Hilary McKay
When Robin Brogan and his mum move to one half of an old Victorian house on the Yorkshire coast to start a bed & breakfast, they didn’t count on the Robinson clan who live in the other half.   The Robinson children, Perry, Ant, Beany and Sun Dance, create cheerful mayhem in everything they do.

Bloody Jack: being an account of the curious adventures of
Mary “Jacky” Faber, ship’s boy

By L.A. Meyer
Street urchin Mary Faber is holding her own in eighteenth-century London until her gang leader is murdered.  Needing to get away, Mary transforms herself into a boy and is chosen as a ships boy because of the one skill no other boy on the dock has – she can read!

The Ornament Tree
By Jean Thesman
Orphaned 14 year old Bonnie Shafter finds herself living at her Cousin Audra’s boarding house in Seattle, Washington. In the side yard there is an ornament tree with its branches covered with slips of papers that hold the wishes, worries and hopes of the assorted boarders.
 
Forestwife
By Theresa Tomlinson
Have you ever wondered how Marian came to live in Sherwood Forest? Join Mary in her flight from an arranged marriage to the forest and its folk.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
By Wendelin Van Draanen
Have you read the Kinsey Millhone mysteries from A-T?  Ever wonder what Kinsey might have been like as a kid?  Meet Sammy Keyes – smart mouth, fast talking and fearless and able to solve mysteries.





Suggestions for Summer Reads on NPR

22 07 2008

National Public Radio’s Summer Books 2008 is a great source for ideas on what to read and, certainly, some suggested books will be Timeless Reads. Check it out!





Books to Film: Dune

22 07 2008

Dune by Frank Herbert is the definition of a Timeless Read. It is so popular that it has been made into a film twice, and is currently in the process of making the transiton to film once again. To celebrate this book, I offer you the trailer for the infamous David Lynch version of the film.

Dune (1984):

Place a hold on:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune (1984)
Dune (2000)





Review: Crocodile on the Sandbank

16 07 2008

(I’m a huge fan of mysteries, so I thought that I’d contribute a review of one of my “Timeless Reads” Choices. At this point I’m not even sure how many times I’ve read this book.)

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters is the first book in the Amelia Peabody mystery series. Miss Peabody is a 32 year-old English spinster of independent means and forceful personality, who has decided to go forth and see some of the world. She makes it as far as Egypt, where she falls in love with everything Egyptian. Except, of course, for the mysterious mummy who seems intent on causing mayhem, and is a bit too interested in Miss Peabody’s companion, Evelyn. The series is currently eighteen books long. So, fear not, you don’t have to worry about just getting interested in the series and then having to wait impatiently for the next book to come out. You have a bit of reading ahead of you before you get to that point.

Crocodile on the Sandbank takes place during the Victorian Age and is quite plainly a love letter to Egyptology. In view of this, it should not come as any great surprise to learn that “Elizabeth Peters” is a pseudomym for Barbara Mertz, Egyptologist and author of Red Land, Black Land and Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs (she is also Barbara Michaels, by the way).

This mystery is full of information about Egyptian archeology and Victorian social mores. This makes me particularly happy, as I love fiction that is informative as well as entertaining. The book doesn’t stop there, however. Oh, no. It also contains romance and comedy. Miss Peabody’s unique viewpoint alone is worth the price of admission. I feel that I should also point out that this is one of my default books to listen to on tape. If nothing in the audio books section is looking good to me, I just listen to Crocodile on the Sandbank again. Barbara Rosenblat does an excellent job with all of the different voices. So, whichever way you choose to follow Amelia Peabody on her first trip to Egypt, you are sure to enjoy yourself while you are there.

For more information about Elizabeth Peters, check out her website: http://www.mpmbooks.com.

Want to learn more? Check out these books:
Crocodile on the Sandbank
Red Land, Black Land
Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs





Fremont is Reading

7 07 2008

TIMELESS READS

At the Fremont Library

The 2nd annual Adult Summer Reading Game here in Fremont is starting its third week and off to a terrific start with 87 entries.

The weekly winners, their book title and comments are as follows:

• Dawn N., reading The Secret Hour. “Book 1 of The Midnighters- Better if you are a teen!”

• Sitalakshmi R., reading The Diary of Anne Frank. “Very touching and moving. A Must Read!”

• Sarah K., reading A Year of Living Biblically. “Simultaneously hilarious and profound. A.J. Jacobs, a secular Jew, spends a year following the Bible’s commandments, literally.”

All four libraries in Fremont, including our Centerville, Irvington and Niles branches invite you to come in and play our adult summer reading game. Good luck and happy reading.





“Timeless Reads” Program at Newark Library

3 07 2008

Newark Library has awarded two awards already to participants in the “Timeless Reads” Adult Summer Game.   Congratulations to Sandra, who is a fan of Agatha Christie mysteries, and to Laura, who is a fan of Daphne Du Maurier.  They both won gift certificates to be used at Starbucks. 

Suggested books are displayed next to the Circulation Desk, though any book you think is worth a second read can qualify for the adult summer reading game.  The game is open to any patrons aged 18 or older. 

Come on down to the Newark Library at 6300 Civic Terrace Avenue, Newark, CA.  We’ll be glad to assist you in locating some good books for the summer, and with any other information needs you might have.





Another Booklist

24 06 2008

Here’s a booklist from the Fiction listserv to to give you a few more ideas. Some titles may be on the Timeless Reads list.

 

Feel Good Books for Discussion

 

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Jan Karon’s Mitford books

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Stand in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg

Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough (pair it with the following title)

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Wizard of Loneliness by Jack Nichols

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Burns

Kick the Can by Jim Lehrer

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Lonesome Traveler by Weldon Hill

East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Carole Bellacera

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

World of Pies by Karen Stolz

Undead and Unwed and the sequel Undead and Unemployed by Mary Janice Davidson

First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Books by Jeanne Ray

July 2004
                Compiled by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list.

 

 

 

 





Free ebooks downloads

23 06 2008

Worldebookfair

Just in time for summer, World ebook Fair opens up their vast book library July 4 - August 4 for FREE! There are about 600,000+ titles from which to choose. What a nice way to see what is available without committing to a membership. There are bound to be some timeless reads in that many titles! Anyone try it last year?





Adult Summer Reading Game 2008

16 06 2008

 

 

 

 “sum·mer”

 

1. The usually warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn and constituting June, July, and August in the Northern Hermisphere, or , as calculated astronomically, extending from the summer solstice tot he autumnal equinox. 2. A period of fruition, fulfillment, happiness, or beauty.

 

According to the dictionary summer means: a period of fulfillment, happiness and beauty. Therefore, as I invite you to our Adult Summer Reading Game @ Alameda County Library, I would like to introduce you to some of my favorite Timeless Reads for summer reading.

 

These books bring me joy, understanding, and happiness. The characters not only travel to new places, meeting new people, or facing new situations but they arrive home with a richer understanding of love and the human struggle for happiness,

 

 Razor\'s edge

 

 Razor’s Edge is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham written in 1944. This book, popular with readers, centers on a soul-searching World War I veteran (Larry), who finds he cannot settle back into the world of the upper class. He delays his planned marriage and career, and travels abroad to seek the meaning of life.

 

Larry moves to Paris and immerses himself in study and the bohemian life.  After two years Isabel visits and Larry asks her to join his life of traveling and searching though with little money.  She can not accept that and returns to Chicago and marries a millionaire.

 

Larry leaves for India and eventually returns to Paris.  From evening till down in a Parisian cafe, he discusses India and all the events with Maugham (the narrator). The book signaled a beginning of Pop culture in the West as it embraced Eastern culture.  The book was twice adapted into film.

 

The Library has this title in three different formats: print, ebook and DVD.

 

Zahir

Another book that I recommend is The Zahir by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. It was published in 2005.  This novel, like his previous book, The Alchemist is about pilgrimage, loss and love.

 

The book has been translated into 44 languages.  This description of the book is from the author’s website (www.paulocoelho.com) is as follows:

 

“The narrator of The Zahir is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring.  His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover.

 

Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that life her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn’t have any answers, but he has plenty of questions of his own. Then one day Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to reunite him with his wife. In his attempt to recapture a lost love, the narrator discovers something unexpected about himself.”

Through the narrator’s journey from Paris to Kazakhstan, Coelho explores various meansing of love and life.

 

The Library has this novel in four languages, English, Farsi, Punjabi and Spanish. Other novels by this author are in Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese.

 

eat pray love

The third book that I have enjoyed reading recently is Eat, pray, love: one woman’s search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert.  The book has been on the national bestseller list for the last two years.

 

The book traces the author’s decision to quit her job and travel the world for a year after suffering a midlife crisis and divorce. Her journey took her to three places in her quest to explore her own nature and learn the art of spiritual balance.

 

“Sitting in an outdoor cafe in Rome, Gilbert’s friend declares that every city–and every person–has a word. Rome’s is “sex”, the Vatican’s “power”; Gilbert declares New York’s to be “achieve”, but only later stumbles upon her own word, antevasin, Sanskrit for “one who lives at the border.”  What is your word?  Is it possible to choose a world that retains its truth for a lifetime?”

If you would like to read the book in your book club, there is a study guide on the author’s website: http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/

 

The Library has this title in print, CD Book and electronic book.

 

One final note: I hope you will have a beautiful and happy summer, and as you play the reading game, if you stumble upon some good books, recommend the books to others right her. Click on the “Reader’s Choice” link at the top of this web page!

 

Lili Khalili

Reference Services Union City Branch