Tuesday, May 27, 2014

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

Our June book for discussion is The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Stedman's debut novel is a story set on an Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore.  It is a novel full of choices, dilemmas, and relationships.

 

Looking for more like The Light Between Oceans?  Try one of the books listed below.
 
When the Light Goes by Larry McMurtry
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Sea by John Banville
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The Cider House Rules by John Irving
 
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Monday, May 19, 2014

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: ROALD DAHL

Roald Dahl is a wonderful author of children's books, and next month our Book to Movie club will be discussing MatildaMatilda tells the story of an exceptional little girl who discovers her own remarkable powers due to the bullying of the school's headmistress.

Some other popular Roald Dahl books include:

James and the Giant Peach
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Danny, the Champion of the World
The Twits
George’s Marvelous Medicine
The BFG
Boy
The Witches
Esio Trot


For more information on Roald Dahl, check out his website: http://www.roalddahl.com/home

Looking for some more fun children's books?  Try one from the list below!

The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond
Operation Bunny by Sally Gardner
City of Fire by Laurence Yep
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The New Kid at School by Kate McMullan
Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Fall of Fergal by Philip Ardagh
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath


Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0670824399/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

Monday, May 12, 2014

DIVERGENT

With the movie release of Divergent in March, there has been a lot of interest in the trilogy by Veronica Roth.  Haven't read any of the books yet?  Click on the links below to place a hold today!

Book 1 - Divergent
Book 2 - Insurgent
Book 3 - Allegiant

Already read all three books and watched the movie?  Try one of these books to hold you over until the movie release of Insurgent.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes place in a future North America in which the rulers control through an annual televised event that forces young people from each district to compete against each other.  Katniss Everdeen's skills are put to the test when she volunteers to take the place of her sister.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card follows Andrew "Ender" Wiggin as he attends Battle School on his way through the military hierarchy.  Ender is the most talented result of Earth's attempt to create the military hero they need to win the war against an alien enemy.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is set in a world where everyone gets to be beautiful.  Tally is about to turn sixteen and undergo an operation that turns you from an ugly into a pretty.  However, Tally's friend Shay is not sure she wants that new life.  She would rather risk living on the outside, and when she runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world.  Tally must choose to find her friend and turn her in, or to never turn pretty at all.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien: Gaia Stone is forced to make a difficult choice when her parents are arrested and taken into the city.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff tells the story of Daisy who leaves New York City for England to stay with her aunt and cousins.  War soon breaks out and threatens to rip the family apart.

Matched by Allyson Condie takes place in a world where the Society decides everything such as playtime, where to work, living quarters, food and clothing, and even death.  For Cassia, the most important decision the Society will make is who she will marry.  She is matched with her best friend Xander, but is left to wonder why Ky's face appeared on her match disk as well.

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9780062024039/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

Monday, May 5, 2014

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: CHRISTOPHER PRIEST

A few years ago I saw the movie The Prestige starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.  I really enjoyed the movie, and once I found out that it was based on a book, I immediately added that book to my list of things to read.  I finally read the book a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that even though I liked the book, I think I liked the movie more!

Christopher Priest is an English author who has published many books and short story collections.  He has won the Arthur C. Clarke award as well as the BFSA award.  His most recent work, The Adjacent was published in April 2014 in the United States.  For more information on Christopher Priest visit http://www.christopher-priest.co.uk/

Works by Christopher Priest:
The Adjacent
The Islanders
The Separation
The Dream Archipelago
The Extremes
The Prestige
The Book on the Edge of Forever
The Quiet Woman
The Glamour
The Affirmation
An Infinite Summer
A Dream of Wessex
The Space Machine
Inverted World
Real-Time World
Fugue for a Darkening Island
Indoctrinaire

Looking for something similar to The Prestige?  Try one of these books:

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke
The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Vicious by Victoria Schwab
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson


Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0786168412/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12