Attention Book Groups

Empty Mansions: the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending 

of a great American fortune 

by Bill Dedman

When Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money?

Dedman has collaborated with Huguette Clark’s cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few relatives to have frequent conversations with her. Dedman and Newell tell a fairy tale in reverse: the bright, talented daughter, born into a family of extreme wealth and privilege, who secrets herself away from the outside world.

Available as a Book Group To Go bag.  

What's Next for Lisbeth Salander?

Devoted fans around the world were devastated when Stieg Larsson, author of the Millenium series died suddenly after publishing only three books in a series projected for ten.  Hope was revived briefly when information surfaced that the manuscript for an unfinished fourth novel was being fought over by Larsson's partner, family and his publisher.

Today, the publisher, Norstedts Forlag (who own the rights to the series), announced (yes, it's in Swedish, but Google Translator will take care of that for you) that they have contracted author David Lagercrantz to write a fourth Millenium novel, due to be published in August 2015.

So What Do Librarians Read?

It's a question we get asked all the time and the truthful answer is that if you ask 5 librarians that question, you'll get 25 answers. This, then, makes the one and only list of the Best Books of 2013 I'm going to publish very unique.

Near the end of November, librarians around the country were challenged to tweet their favorite titles from 2013 with the hashtag #libfaves13. For ten days, librarians tweeted one title each day and now the results have been released!

ELEANOR & PARK	Rowell, Rainbow
FANGIRL	Rowell, Rainbow
ROSIE PROJECT, THE	Simsion, Graeme
LIFE AFTER LIFE	Atkinson, Kate
OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE	Gaiman, Neil
CUCKOO'S CALLING	Galbraith, Robert /Rowling
GOLDFINCH, THE	Tartt, Donna
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN	Penny, Louise
INTERESTINGS, THE	Wolitzer, Meg
HUMAN DIVISION	Scalzi, John
LEXICON	Barry, Max
ME BEFORE YOU	Moyes, Jo Jo
NO GOOD DUKE GOES UNPUNISHED	MacLean, Sarah
WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES	Fowler, Karen Joy
BETTER NATE THAN EVER	Federle, Tim
DETROIT: AN AMERICAN AUTOPSY	LeDuff, Charlie
FLORA & ULYSSES: THE ILLUMINATED ADVENTURES	DiCamillo, Kate
GOLEM AND THE JINNI, THE	Wecker, Helene
LONGBOURN	Baker, Jo
BONE SEASON	Shannon, Samantha
CURTSIES AND CONSPIRACIES	Carriger, Gail
ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE	Carriger, Gail
HELP FOR THE HAUNTED	Searles, John
RELISH: MY LIFE IN THE KITCHEN	Knisley, Lucy
SOMEONE	McDermott, Alice
STORYTELLER	Picoult, Jodi
TENTH OF DECEMBER	Saunders, George
THINKING WOMAN'S GUIDE TO REAL MAGIC, THE	Barker, Emily Croy
ANCILLARY JUSTICE	Leckie, Ann
COUNTING BY 7's	Sloan, Holly Goldberg
FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL	Fink, Sherri
GULP	Roach, Mary
HEIRESS EFFECT, THE	Milan, Courtney
HUSBAND'S SECRET, THE	Moriarty, Liane
JOURNEY	Becker, Aaron
P.S. BE ELEVEN	Williams-Garcia, Rita
RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA	McCreight, Kimberly
RETURNED, THE	Mott, Jason
SAGA	Vaughn, Brian K.
TALE FOR THE TIME BEING, A	Ozeki, Ruth
TELL THE WOLVES I'M HOME	Brunt, Carol Rifka
VAMPIRES IN THE LEMON GROVE	Russell, Karen
WORLD'S STRONGEST LIBRARIAN	Hanagarne, Josh
AMERICANAH	Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED	Hosseini, Khaled
BOXERS & SAINTS	Yang, Gene Luen
BOY ON THE PORCH	Creech, Sharon
CALLING DR. LAURA	Georges, Laura
CINNAMON AND GUNPOWDER	Brown, Eli
CODE NAME VERITY	Wein, Elizabeth
COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN	Black, Holly
CRAZY RICH ASIANS	Kwan, Kevin
DOCTOR SLEEP	King, Stephen
DOLL BONES	Black, Holly
DREAM THIEVES	Steifvater, Maggie
ENGAGEMENTS, THE	Sullivan, J. Courtney
FAULT IN OUR STARS , THE (2012 title	Green, John
FLORA AND THE FLAMINGO	Idle, Molly
FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK	Quick, Matthew
LOST GIRLS	Kolker, Robert
NIGHT FILM	Pessl, Marisha
NOS4A2	Hill, Joe
OUT OF THE EASY	Sepetys, Ruta
REAL BOY, THE	Ursu, Anne
RIVER OF NO RETURN	Ridgway, Bee
ROSE UNDER FIRE	Wein, Elizabeth
S.	Dorst, Doug / Abrams, J.J.
SCARLET	Meyers, Marissa
SCREAMING STAIRCASE, THE	Stroud
SERAPHINA	Hartman, Rachel
VISITATION STREET	Pochoda, Ivy

Note that the list is in the order of the most votes received, and when multiple books received the same number of votes, they were then alphabetized.

Feel free to give us a call for help getting your hands on a copy of any of these titles!

Happy Holiday Reading!

Attention Book Groups

The House Girl by Tara Conklin

The House Girl, the historical fiction debut by Tara Conklin, is an unforgettable story of love, history, and a search for justice, set in modern-day New York and 1852 Virginia.

Weaving together the story of an escaped slave in the pre–Civil War South and a determined junior lawyer, The House Girl follows Lina Sparrow as she looks for an appropriate lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking compensation for families of slaves. In her research, she learns about Lu Anne Bell, a renowned prewar artist whose famous works might have actually been painted by her slave, Josephine.

Featuring two remarkable, unforgettable heroines, Tara Conklin's The House Girl is riveting and powerful, literary fiction at its very best.  Available as a Book Group to Go bag.

Are you an avid reader?  If you are and have not discovered goodreads.com, you may want to check it out.  On goodreads you can keep track of all of the books you have read and would like to read.  You can get reading ideas based on the books you have read and discuss books with other readers.  There are literally thousands of reading groups you can join, depending on your interest.   If you like trivia, there are quizzes on hundreds of books, including a never-ending book quiz.   I have kept a list for over ten years of books I have read, and on goodreads I could enter them and then tag them under different categories, such as historical fiction, nonfiction, suspense, favorites, etc.  It’s a great way to recommend books to people, depending on their reading preference.  So, if you’re a reader I encourage you to give goodreads a try. 

From Page to Screen: Flowers in the Attic

It was probably inevitable. I mean, now that 50 Shades is being made into a movie the floodgates have opened and the bar of "questionable taste" has been....adjusted.

Without further ado, I give you the trailer for Flowers in the Attic.



Lest you are surprised Flowers hasn't been made into a movie before now, rest assured: a 1987 adaptation was released, but only hinted at the incest that is integral to the plot (the part that was 90% of the reason most of us weren't allowed to read the book).  According to star Mason Dye, this adaptation will be different, saying "we stay very true to the book." 

The new film adaptation will premiere on Lifetime, January 18, 2014.  Incidentally, that leaves you plenty of time to read the book before you pop your popcorn.

Happy Reading!

World Book Night Returns!

Hey Book Lovers!  It's time to get ready to share your passion!

World Book Night 2014 is already in the works, with titles having been released this past week and applications to be a Book Giver are open!

In case you've not yet experienced it, here's the long (in short) about World Book Night: each year, readers from around the country nominate books that they have loved and the top 35 most recommended books then go back to the presses and get snazzy new covers that mark them as a World Book Night title.  Meanwhile, Book Lovers (such as yourself--hint hint) are busily signing up online, all over the country, to be Book Givers.  You'll ask for your top three choices of the above-mentioned books.  Early next year, you'll pick where you want to pick up your box of books and then, magically, a box will arrive at that place with your name on it and 20 copies of one of your top three picks.  You, then, my devoted readers, will go out into the community on April 23 and give away the books, for free, to anyone willing to try them out!

The idea behind World Book Night is to get books into the hand of people who might not have books of their own, or people who are less inclined to read.  The beauty of the book nominating system is that all these books have been selected by other readers--think of them as the Best of the Best in the People's Choice Awards.  

If you're ready to get involved, go here to fill out the application to be a Book Giver.  Want to know more about World Book Night?  Check out the website to learn all about the story behind this great annual event. And if you're simply ready to read every single book on the list, give the Ask Here Desk at the library a call at 355-2730 and we'll help you get your hands on them.

Happy Reading!