Monday, December 31, 2012

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: EMILY BRONTE

The library's Book Club just finished reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.  If you were are part of the discussion, or have read Wuthering Heights before, then you may be interested in reading something similar.



Wuthering Heights is the only novel by Emily Bronte.  It was first published under the name Ellis Bell.  Emily's sisters Anne and Charlotte were also published at this time, and they used the pen names Acton and Currer Bell.  After the deaths of both Anne and Emily, Charlotte had the books republished under the author's real names.  







The Bronte Sisters' Novels:
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Looking for more?  Check out some of these titles:
A House Divided by Catherine Cookson
Kate Hannigan's Girl by Catherine Cookson
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
Emily's Ghost by Denise Giardina
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Daphne by Justine Picardie
The Minotaur by Barbara Vine
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Branwell: A Novel by Douglas A. Martin

Movies based on the Bronte novels:

For more information about Emily, Anne, and Charlotte:

Monday, December 17, 2012

CHRISTMAS

Christmas is just around the corner, so I thought it would be fun to put a list together to help get you in the holiday spirit.  I have a little something for everyone: fiction, nonfiction, movies, children's materials, and young adult materials.

Adult Fiction:
A Cowboy Under My Christmas Tree by Janet Dailey
A Christmas Garland by Anne Perry
An Outlaw's Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
A Lone Star Christmas by William W. Johnstone
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland
The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson
The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Christmas Thief by Mary Higgins Clark
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Adult Nonfiction:
I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas by Lewis Black
Quick and Clever Christmas Cards by Elizabeth Moad
Christmas in Plains: Memories by Jimmy Carter
Christmas Ideas
The Christmas Box Miracle by Richard Paul Evans
I'll Be Home For Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II
Christmas Remembered by Ben Logan
4000 Years of Christmas by Earl W. Count
Christmas Poems, Stories, and Carols 

Children's:
Christmas in Mouseland by Katharine Holabird
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schulz
Little Porcupine's Christmas by Joseph Slate
Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne
Pooh's Christmas Gifts by Isabel Gaines
Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make by Kathy Ross
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
The Case of the Christmas Snowman by James Preller
Rocking Horse Christmas by Mary Pope Osbourne
The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke
Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera

Young Adult:
Christmas Classics (Graphic Novel)
Christmas After All by Kathryn Lasky
Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy
Mistletoe: Four Holiday Stories

Movies:
A Christmas Carol
Christmas in New York
White Christmas: All Star Show
Christmas in South Africa
Christmas with Gumby
The Polar Express
Christmas in Boston
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Life
The Santa Clause

Picture from http://rockcat.als.lib.wi.us/search~S29/?searchtype=X&searcharg=Unwrapping+Christmas&searchscope=29&sortdropdown=-&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=XUnwrapping+Christmas%26SORT%3DDZ

Monday, December 10, 2012

MYSTERY SERIES

Who doesn't like to read a good mystery?  And, what's better than one good mystery?  A whole series!

If you can find a character that you love or a writing style you enjoy, then why wouldn't you want to read more like it?

I just started reading the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, and I am loving it!  Hannah Swensen is a Minnesota native who owns her own bakery, The Cookie Jar.  Interspersed between chapters, Fluke includes some of Hannah's recipes.  Try them out and get a taste of Hannah's world while enjoying a great read.







There a lot of mystery series out there, and here a few to get you started.

Hannah Swensen Series by Joanne Fluke:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
2. Strawberry Shortcake Murder
3. Blueberry Muffin Murder
4. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
5. Fudge Cupcake Murder
6. Sugar Cookie Murder
7. Peach Cobbler Murder
8. Cherry Cheesecake Murder
9. Key Lime Pie Murder
10. Carrot Cake Murder
11. Cream Puff Murder
12. Plum Pudding Murder
13. Apple Turnover Murder
14. Devil's Food Cake Murder
15. Cinnamon Roll Murder

Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear:

1. Maisie Dobbs
2. Birds of a Feather
3. Pardonable Lies
4. Messenger of Truth
5. An Incomplete Revenge
6. Among the Mad
7. The Mapping of Love and Death
8. A Lesson in Secrets
9. Elegy for Eddie

Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes Series by Laurie R. King

1. The Beekeeper's Apprentice
2. A Monstrous Regiment of Women
3. A Letter of Mary
4. The Moor
5. O Jerusalem
6. Justice Hall
7. The Game
8. Locked Rooms
9. The Language of Bees
10. The God of the Hive
11. Pirate King
12. Garment of Shadows

Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich:

1. One for the Money
2. Two for the Dough
3. Three to Get Deadly
4. Four to Score
5. High Five
6. Hot Six
7. Seven Up
8. Hard Eight
9. To the Nines
10. Ten Big Ones
11. Eleven on Top
12. Twelve Sharp
13. Lean Mean Thirteen
14. Fearless Fourteen
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen
16. Sizzling Sixteen
17. Smokin' Seventeen
18. Explosive Eighteen
19. Notorious Nineteen

Some other series include:

Goldy Schulz Culinary Series by Diane Mott Davidson follows Goldy Schulz, a small town caterer, as she solves murder mysteries in her spare time.  These novels include recipes for the reader to try at home.

Kinsey Millhone Series by Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone is a private detective.  In the first novel in the series, A is for Alibi, Kinsey must find the killer of a hated divorce lawyer.

Women's Murder Club Series by James Patterson: A group of women solve crimes in their home city of San Francisco.  They often meet up to discuss clues and life over food and drinks.  In the first entry of the series (1st to Die), a serial killer is stalking and murdering newlyweds on their honeymoon.  Homicide Inspector Lindsay Boxer takes on the case and meets three other women along the way: a lawyer, a reporter, and the city medical examiner.  Together they solve the crime, and the Women's Murder Club begins.

The Alex Cross Series by James Patterson follows Alex Cross, the Deputy Chief of Detectives.  In the first book (Along Came a Spider), Alex works on a case involving a kidnapping and a $10,000,000 ransom.

Flavia de Luce Series by Alan Bradley takes place in an England in the 1950s.  A young girl, Flavia, lives in an ancient house and frequents a long abandoned Victorian chemistry lab.  In "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie," Flavia must prove her father did not commit a murder.  Along the way she is able to tie together two distant deaths and is led all the way to the King of England.

Tea Shop Mystery Series by Laura Childs: In "Death by Darjeeling," tea shop owner, Theodosia Browning caters an annual event in which one of the patrons turns up dead.  Her reputation is on the line and with the help of her friends and fellow tea shop owners, she sets out to unravel the mystery of the deadly tea.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen is a mystery series that takes place in 1930s London.  It features a young penniless member to the extended royal family as the heroine.  Check out the first book in the series: Her Royal Spyness.

Children's Mystery Series:

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon
Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy
Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Jigsaw Jones by James Preller
Chet Gecko by Bruce Hale
Cam Jansen by David A. Adler
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol




Monday, December 3, 2012

HANUKKAH

Hanukkah begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev which means that this year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 8th and ends on December 16th.

On each of the eight days of Hanukkah, we light the menorah, a nine-branched candelabra.  On the first night, one light plus the shamash (attendant candle used to light the other candles) is lit, on the second night we light two candles plus the shamash, and so on until the eighth night when all eight lights plus the shamash are lit.

To light the menorah:

On the first night of Hanukkah, set one candle to the far right of the menorah. On the following night, add a second light to the left of the first one, and then add one light each night of Hanukkah (moving from right to left). 
Each night, light the newest (leftmost) candle first,
and continue lighting from left to right. 
In other words, add lights to the menorah from
right to left, and light from left to right.

For more information on Hanukkah, take a look at these websites:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/hanukkah

And, take a look at these children's books:

Caleb's Hanukkah by Lisa Bullard
The Eight Nights of Hanukkah by Judy Nayer
Hanukkah by Anne Clark
The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser
The Stone Lamp by Karen Hesse
My Two Holidays by Danielle Novack

Adult Nonfiction:
Sacred Seasons by Ronald Issaacs
Chanukah: A Joyous Celebration by Daniel S. Wolk

Picture from http://rockcat.als.lib.wi.us/search/?searchtype=X&SORT=D&searcharg=The+Borrowed+Hanukkah+Latkes&searchscope=29&submit=Submit