My favorite book of the summer so far!

OMG!  I haven't had this much fun in a while.  This little book, due out June 16th, is the PeRfEcT beach read!  

Hothouse Flower is the story of a young woman in her thirties (it's quite appropriate to call her a bitter divorcee) doing ad work she doesn't particularly care for and working for a super sleazy boss.  Her job is empty, her apartment is empty, her life is empty.  Shouldn't she be doing something better with her life?  Well, Ms. Lila Nova decides to start with one plant.  She finds  a plant stall at the local market owned by a man not like any Lila is acquainted with.  He is tanned and strong and has dirt on his hands and clothes that is more than superficial.  He sells Lila a bird-of-paradise and offers her a whole lot more.  A whole host of surprising things happen for Lila, only the beginning of which is the success she has with the first exotic plant.  Her association with the plant man leads her to actions and places she never could have imagined, and they just may lead her to herself.

I love debut novels!  I love the new ideas, new voices, the sometimes unpolished moments I find in them.  Never be timid to try something completely new, you just might be in for a treat as I was with Hothouse Flower.  The analogy included in my ARC is that Hothouse Flower is Eat, Pray, Love meets The Orchid Thief with a dash of Romancing the Stone on the side.  Yes, yes, yes!  You have some over-the-top characters in some over-the-top situations and I loved every minute of it!  It was fun, exciting, sexy, and thoroughly enjoyable.  Also mentioned in the ARC is that Julia Roberts has bought the film rights and is scheduled to star as Lila.  I will SO watch this movie if/when it makes it to the big screen.

So, if you are ready for some rollicking, rolling, sexy, fun adventure, put this on your summer reading list for sure!  Also, I read this as part of my 100+ Reading Challenge and I'm on cusp of 50 books for the year so far!

Happy reading!

Holley

Calling all Mark Twain fans!

If you haven't left town for Memorial Day, I invite you to join the Genre Reading Group on Tuesday May 26th at 6:30pm in the library's Conference Room where we will be discussing the works of Mark Twain.  Bring your favorite Twain book and tell us about it!  I'll also tell you all about the library's second annual Adult Summer Reading program and the prizes that could be yours for participating!

Also, the library will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (May 23, 24, and 25) in observance of Memorial Day and will reopen Tuesday May 26th on Summer Hours.  See the Library Hours sidebar item for the particulars on Summer Hours.

Happy reading!

Holley

New and Hot Summer Books!

The library's Brown Bag Lunch Series program this past Wednesday found Adult Services Librarian Katie Moellering and I previewing soon-to-be-published books for an enthusiastic audience.  Check out this list!  Where the item is already in the library system or isn't yet available but has a record for reserves, I have included a link to the library's catalog!  Even if there is not yet a link, all of these items will be ordered!

AVAILABLE NOW

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters 

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlanskey 

The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith 

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AVAILABLE MAY 26TH

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall 

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See 

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AVAILABLE JUNE 2ND

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman 

Medusa by Clive Cussler 

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steel

Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad

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500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane & Michael Stern (available June 4th)

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Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin (available June 6th)

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AVAILABLE JUNE 9TH

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe 

Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver

Relentless by Dean Koontz

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AVAILABLE JUNE 16TH

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin

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AVAILABLE JUNE 23RD

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook

Tomato Rhapsody: A Fable of Love, Lust, and Forbidden Fruit by Adam Schell

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Swimsuit by James Patterson (available June 29th)

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Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank (available June 30th)

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AVAILABLE JULY 7TH

Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie 

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

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AVAILABLE JULY 14TH

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey 

The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

Rain Gods by James Lee Burke

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Get Real by Donald E. Westlake (available July 17th)

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AVAILABLE JULY 21ST

The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underground and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Defector by Daniel Silva

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

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The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth (available July 23rd)

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AVAILABLE JULY 28TH

Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson 

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AVAILABLE AUGUST 4TH

The Arms Maker of Berlin by Dan Fesperman

In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect by Ronald Kessler

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

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AVAILABLE AUGUST 11TH

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 

Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie 

Intervention by Robin Cook

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Rhino Ranch by Larry McMurtry

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AVAILABLE AUGUST 18TH

Vanished by Joseph Finder 

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

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206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (available August 25th)

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Happy reading!

Holley

Memorial Day closing schedule

The library will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (May 23, 24, 25) in observance of Memorial Day!  

We will reopen at 9am on Tuesday May 26th on Summer Hours.  Those hours are as follows:

Monday 9am-6pm

Tuesday 9am-9pm

Wednesday 9am-6pm

Thursday 9am-6pm

Friday 9am-5pm

Saturday 9am-5pm

Sunday the library is closed

Please take note that the library will have evening hours on Tuesday nights only and will be closed on Sundays.

Holley

Summer Book Preview!

Pop over to the library today at 12:30 and bring your lunch! 

The summer book season is about to be in full swing and Katie and I are going to share our favorites today!  Come learn the latest and greatest due to be published in the next few months, perfect for your summer vacation plans!

Happy reading!

Holley

Now Hear This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you seen this?

Lev Grossman (Time Magazine book reviewer extraordinaire) has penned this new work of fiction about a boy obsessed with a magical world he read about as a boy. Get this ... the magical world is about five kids growing up in a school for magic. Sound familiar? It gets better - Grossman's protagonist is admitted to a very private school of sorcery where he attends college. Upon graduation his life is changed forever when he and his friends discover their magical world is very, very real.
Here's the publisher's blurb:

The Magicians: A Novel

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. He's a senior in high school, and a certifiable genius, but he's still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read as a kid, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory.

Everything changes when Quentin finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. But something is still missing. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he thought it would.

Then, after graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real.

The Magicians will be published in May of 2009 in the U.K. and in August in the U.S. You can order it at any of these online bookstores.

Not only all this, but guess what else?
My very favorite author of the moment (George R.R. Martin) has THIS to say about the new novel:

“These days any novel about young sorcerers at wizard school inevitably invites comparison to Harry Potter. Lev Grossman meets the challenge head on ... and very successfully. The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea. Solidly rooted in the traditions of both fantasy and mainstream literary fiction, the novel tips its hat to Oz and Narnia as well as to Harry, but don't mistake this for a children's book. Grossman's sensibilities are thoroughly adult, his narrative dark and dangerous and full of twists. Hogwarts was never like this.”

— George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series

Could you DIE people?

If I cannot beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this new book from the publisher, I am going to buy it from amazon.uk

Seriously, I can't wait.

Later!

km

Edgar Award Winners Announced!

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious award in the mystery genre, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America.

Here are the 2009 winners!

Best Novel

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box

Best First Novel by an American Author

The Foreigner by Francie Lin

Best Paperback Original

China Lake by Meg Gardiner

Best Critical/Biographical

Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Harry Lee Poe

Best Fact Crime

American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum

Best Young Adult

Paper Towns by John Green

Best Juvenile

The Postcard by Tony Abbott

S&S Mary Higgins Clark Award

The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd

Wow, there are so many good stories to read right now!  How can we possibly keep up?  Personally, I use Shelfari (look for the sidebar item to see My Bookshelf).  Katie uses LibraryThing.  What do you use to keep up with what you've read and what you'd like to read?  Take a look at these two and consider moving your paper lists online!

Happy reading!

Holley

Genre Reading Group recap

The Genre Reading Group will meet May 26th at 6:30pm to talk about Mark Twain! Read any book written by Twain and come tell us about it!

Tuesday we discussed a nonfiction topic, southern history!  I consulted the U.S. Census Bureau on exactly what was considered to "the south" and the definition was broad.  Maryland was included so that is why you'll see a book on Baltimore among those listed below.  I hope to see you all next month!

Ten Flags in the Wind: the Story of Louisiana by Charles L. Dufour

Washington Burning: How a Frenchman's Vision of Our Nation's Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army by Les Standiford

Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson
The reader of this title mentioned that this was the 4th book about this relative time period (very early 20th century) that she had read: Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris, Nicholas & Alexandra by Robert Massie, and Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.  Another title mentioned was a hilarious young adult book by Richard Peck, Here Lies the Librarian, set in rural Indiana around 1904 about a young man trying to operate one of the first auto repair shops in his area while still raising his younger sister to be a proper young lady. 

Lowcountry Hurricanes: Three Centuries of Storms At Sea and Ashore by Walter J. Fraser Jr.
I read this for bookgroup AND as part of my 100+ Reading Challenge...it was the 38th book I've read this year!

Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South by Dan T. Carter
The reader of this title was unable to attend a couple of the last meetings but shared what she did read for those genre: Edith & Woodrow: The Wilson White House by Phyllis Lee Levin and (!!!) Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie.

Charm City: A Walk Through Baltimore by Madison Smartt Bell

Alabama: One Big Front Porch by Kathryn Tucker Windham

Very New Orleans: A Celebrations of History, Culture, and Cajun Country Charm by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler
Several readers had comments about New Orleans in general.  In the French Quarter you can find the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve French Quarter Visitor Center!  They offer a small selection of free guided walking tours.  This led to a comment about Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series.  She is a U.S. National Park Ranger/amateur sleuth who continually runs into trouble in America's national parks.  Rumor is that Barr's next Anna Pigeon book will be set in New Orleans!  The magazine Southern Accents has a regular City Profile piece and recently featured New Orleans.


At the end of our meeting, when quizzed for some good books in general, Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune and Chris Cleave's Little Bee were heartily endorsed!


Happy reading!
Holley

mid-year best in mystery!

Booklist magazine has put out a couple of great lists that should be of interest to all of our mystery readers (and listeners!) out there!  

The first list, Top 10 Best Crime Novels, features some great titles, check 'em out!

Cold in Hand by John Harvey

The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow

Exit Music by Ian Rankin

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

Liars Anonymous by Louise Ure

Mine All Mine by Adam Davies

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

Spade & Archer: the Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon by Joe Gores

When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

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TOP 10 BEST CRIME NOVEL DEBUTS

Amberville by Tim Davys

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theorin

Final Theory by Mark Alpert

Nuclear Winter Wonderland by Joshua Corin

Old City Hall by Robert Rotenberg

Rules of the Game by Leonard Downie

Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton

Singularity by Kathryn Casey

Takeover by Lisa Black

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For all the audiobook fans out there, have a peek at the TOP 10 CRIME NOVEL AUDIOBOOKS!

Blue Heaven by C. J. Box

Exit Music by Ian Rankin

Gas City by Loren D. Estleman

The Genius by Jesse Kellerman

The Ghost War by Alex Berenson

The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

Swan Peak by James Lee Burke

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Have you read or listened to any of these?  What did you think?

Happy reading!

Holley

Genre Reading Group meets tonight!

When: 6:30pm

Where: Emmet O'Neal Library Conference Room

What: The Genre Reading Group will be discussing Southern history nonfiction!

Light refreshments will be served.  Have you read a great book lately on southern history?  Stop by the library at 6:30pm and share it with us, plus learn about some great titles from other readers!  New members always welcome!  

See you there!

Holley