As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches and our community prepares to engage in One Book, One Community events, I would like to recommend a middle-grade fiction novel,Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes.  Ninth Ward is the first middle grade novel written by Rhodes, an award winning author of adult fiction. It is also the first middle grade novel written about Hurricane Katrina.

12-year-old orphan Lanesha lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans with 82-year-old Mama Ya-Ya, her caretaker. The story begins on Lanesha's birthday, a few days before Hurrican Katrina hits in 2005.  Lanesha is teased by her peers at school because she talks to ghosts, but she is a strong and independent character and so the teasing doesn't bother her. Mama Ya-Ya has the feeling something bad is going to happen soon, but she doesn't know what it is until she and Lanesha hear the news announced on the TV. What happens next is a tale of  a struggle for survival in what was to be the tragic aftermath of catastrophic flooding in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina passed through.

This amazing tale has already received a Parents' Choice Gold Award and is the latest pick for Al Roker's Book Club.

The 2010 One Book, One Community selection is Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

Take a look at some of the new books available in September.

Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund
And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer
Bad Blood by John Sandford

Attention Dog Lovers! National Dog Day is being celebrated August 26th, but you can enjoy great dog stories all month long. Check out the list of titles available at the library.

Books and DVDs:

If you're a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan, you probably know the DVD was released August 3.  To place a hold on one of the library's copies, click here.  Just a reminder, our DVDs cost $1.50 for a one-week rental. The sequel, based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, is scheduled to be released March 25, 2011.

                                                               
Diary of a Wimpky Kid 5 is scheduled to hit the streets Novemeber 9 with a 5 million book first-print run.  It's the largest print run for the series to date!  The cover and title, The Ugly Truth, were revealed on July 29. Be one of the first kids to read it by placing a hold here.          
 

Every summer it seems we get many requests from parents asking us to help their school-age sons find something to read.  Many times these boys are reluctant readers. Connecting a child with a book he is eager to read is one of our greatest pleasures!

Did you know there are also great websites that have book suggestions for boys, tips for getting boys to read, and more?

Guys Read, a web-based literacy program for boys is a great place to start.  It was begun by author (and Flint, MI native) Jon Scieszka, named in 2008 as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Boy Meets Book is also an excellent website for finding books boys will like and tips for parents of boys. This website was created by Michael Sullivan - teacher, librarian, chess instructor, author, storyteller, and expert on boys and reading.

One of my favorite websites for reading about children's books is KidsReads.com. Besides the Great Books for Boys list, other features include lists of new books, series books, and books into movies as well as trivia, author interviews, contests and more.

For other reading lists for boys, try BoysRead.org and Parents Choice Book List for Boys. 

Come to the library and sharpen the joys of summer!

In July, our display spotlight is on "Beach Reads" -- books that are enthralling, mesmerizing, funny, moving, thrilling, cryptic, charming, riveting, jocular  ... well, you get the picture!

And, your "Road Trip" this summer gets the spotlight in another display.  You'll find more than you'll ever need to get the most fun out of your next jaunty excursion!

There are three important things you need to know about Justin Cronin's new epic novel, The Passage.

First: You'll want to cancel any appointments, meetings, and commitments you had planned for this week.  Trust me, they are no longer important.  Once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down.  Cronin does a masterful job of quickly building tension and then maintaining it over the entire span of the novel.  Reading The Passage feels like reading Stephen King at the height of his game (fellow lovers of The Stand, this book is for you!), which is probably why King wrote a rave review for the dust jacket.  Just like with King’s novels I was afraid to keep reading, lest one of my favorite characters get killed or infected with the terrifying virus that plagues Cronin’s tale.  But the story was so compelling that I was afraid to stop reading!  I had to know what happened next so I kept reading, and reading, long into the night.  Which brings us to the important question of sleep.  Sleep no longer matters. 

Fiction located in the fiction section under author's last name.
Mystery located in the mystery section under author's last name.

Elizabeth Adler (Fiction)

Maeve Binchy (Fiction)

Sandra Brown (Fiction)

Catherine Coulter (Fiction)

Since childhood, I've had a fascination with times of warfare and the people who live in them ... the French Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars.  Through the years, I've read many memorable books on and around the topic, from The Warriors: reflections on men in battle, by J. Glenn Gray, to The Great War and Modern Memory, by Paul Fussell (both of which I highly recommend).

It's no surprise, then, that my eye alighted upon "Beyond Fear: Great Combat Memoirs of the 20th Century," an article in the current issue of Military History.  The editors draw attention to 9 memoirs that demonstrate the spirit, strength, pain, and raw courage that have enabled the best to survive the worst, from World War I through Vietnam.

For a truly compelling reading experience, try a book from the list:

With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, by E. B. Sledge.
Quartered Safe Out Here: a recollection of the war in Burma, by George MacDonald Fraser.
The Coldest War: a memoir of Korea, by James Brady.
A Rumor of War, by Philip Caputo.
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young:  Ia Drang, the battle that changed the war in Vietnam, by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.

As we celebrate Father's Day on Sunday, June 20, 2010 ... here are some great recent books that remind us of the importance of fathers in our lives ... no matter how old we get.

The Council of Dads : my daughters, my illness, and the men who could be me, by Bruce S. Feiler.

Father Fiction : chapters from a fatherless childhood, by Donald Miller.

Not My Boy! : a father, a son, and one family's journey with autism, by Rodney Peete.

My Father, the Captain : my life with Jacques Cousteau, by Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Losing My Cool : how a father's love and 15,000 books beat hip-hop culture, by Thomas Chatterton Williams.

No Wonder My Parents Drank : tales from a stand-up dad, by Jay Mohr.

 

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying..." 

June is National Rose Month.  Of course the library has lots of information on growing and appreciating all the beautiful varieties of roses for gardeners and aficionados.

But beyond the literal, the library has wonderful books to read and films to view to celebrate the power of the rose in life and literature.  Below are a few suggestions.  Share your own suggestions by clicking below on "add new comment."

Always looking for a new author to try?

The New Yorker magazine has chosen its "20 Under 40" list of fiction writers worth watching.  It's been more than a decade since the magazine published such a list, which features noteworthy young writers who are relatively unknown but may emerge as future literary stars.  The previous list included authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, Nathan Englander, and Junot Diaz.

Here's the new list.  Dip right in.  For more information, click here.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chris Adrian
Daniel Alarcon
David Bezmozgis

Yes, the East Lansing Public Library has books to read in languages other than English!

Our Community Languages Collection has books for children and adults in 13 other languages . . . everything from folk tales to the Twilight series, everything from popular mysteries to awarding winning fiction.  Come in and take a look!

Arabic
Chinese
French
German
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Persian (Farsi)
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese

Take a look at some of the new books available in June.

Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery
American Music by Jane Mendelsohn
An American Type : A Novel by Henry Roth & Willing Davidson