Book Video

Happy Holidays everyone! Please check out the video I created with KCPL Young Adult Programmer Eden Rassette featuring books that you'll enoy reading around the holidays (or anytime!). It's our first video and we plan to make more in the future. Thoughts, comments, and helpful suggestions welcome :)

Leigh & Eden's Holiday Book Talk

A number of years ago, I spent a day in Salt Lake City. I did not get to hear the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but I did walk my dog around the city's Temple Square. It's a really beautiful area and I was highly impressed with the amazing Salt Lake Temple.

I recently finished reading The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith by Joanna Brooks. Brooks was raised in Orange County, California at a time when girls aspired to be like Marie Osmond. Drinking root beer was approved and being part of the Mormon community felt good. But while attending Brigham Young University, Joanna became aware that being feminist and liberal were also important to who she was. I really like that she realizes she is all of these things, and doesn't have to give up pieces of her self or what she believes in to do it. Brooks struggles to reconcile her beliefs and feelings, but never shirks putting in the work. The book is interesting, funny, and shines a bright light on what it means to have faith.

Guest Blogger!

Andrew Smith has a peculiar way of writing: he defines Young Adult as a genre in itself, not as just an audience type. He is adamant in his expression of YA as genre so that teens are treated as adults. This is apparent in his recent work, The Marbury Lens. The main characters, their friends, lovers, and rivals are all teenagers. However, the content and situations they find themselves in are most definitely not typical for modern YA. The book is edgy, gritty, raw, graphic, violent, sexual, explicit, and apologetically honest. The protagonist, Jack, must lie, cheat, steal, murder, and worse in order to survive. He often finds himself face to face with his enemies over and over again, and sometimes those enemies are his best friends. At this point you’re probably wondering why you should even pick this book up, right?

It will change you. It will get inside your head and make you feel like Jack feels. Paranoia will unexpectedly creep into the back of your mind; you’ll hear Seth’s “Tap, tap, tap” in the middle of the night. You’ll keep asking questions, the same ones Jack is asking, and when you don’t get the answers you’ll want to read the sequel. Trust me. You won’t be able to escape Marbury. Pick it up, read the first page. Get sucked into Jack’s world, into his head, and then with him into the hell that is Marbury.

If you don’t believe me, check out what some critics, experts, and such have to say about it: "The Marbury Lens"

Read more about author Andrew Smith, his books and his views on writing and publishing on his website: http://ghostmedicine.blogspot.com/

~Written by guest blogger Eden Rassette, our Young Adult Programmer at Erlanger

Right Now I'm Reading:

A couple of weeks ago I went to see the movie Argo (which was great by the way), and there was a preview for the greatly anticipated film Lincoln which opens on November 16th. I had been intending to read Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin which inspired the film for some time now and I finally picked up my copy at the library last week. Right now we're waiting to find out who will be the Republican nominee for 1860 - William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, or a fellow named Abraham Lincoln. It's a good sign to me when I know how a book is going to end up, but I enjoy the story and facts of how it will get there.

If you've read Team of Rivals and want to know even more about Lincoln, here are some great suggestions from Bill Lucy at The Huffington Post:

The Abraham Lincoln Reading List: Recommendations and Suggestions

Tomorrow night marks one our yearly highlight events at Kenton County Library - an evening with our One Book, One Community author Rick Robinson! I've now been to a number of the meet the author nights and it's always interesting, insightful and fun. So many people have read this year's book, Writ of Mandamus, that I think there will be a lot of great questions for Rick.

In the book, "Congressman Richard Thompson is about to run for reelection and his only opponent is Sean Sullivan, an eccentric lawyer known for wearing fuzzy slippers in the court room and railing about the temperature of the Guinness served at Chez Nora (one of the many places you’ll recognize). But as Thompson and his wife prepare for a long-awaited vacation in Ireland, Sullivan files a writ of mandamus against him, and Thompson realizes that Sullivan is a more formidable candidate than previously thought. Then someone is murdered and the Thompsons are plunged into an investigation involving Keeneland, an Irish horse farm, an attack on CIA operatives and the smuggling of military aircraft parts to the Middle East." This is only one of several fast-paced thrillers that Robinson has penned, so check at the library for his other titles.

The talk is at the Erlanger branch on Thursday 10/25 and will start at 7pm. Robinson will also be signing books - if you don't have your own copy yet, you can buy one at the event for $5.

I describe some books as "a soap opera". It's not a criticism, it just means I think it's very dramatic, features over the top situations and highly emotional characters, and compels me to keep reading no matter what.

In the case of Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw, the book is a grand family saga that chronicles  two brothers and their sister from the mid-1940's through the late 1960's. A difficult and bitter home life sends the Jordache siblings into the world on vastly different paths. Gretchen is the eldest and runs off to try and pursue a life in the theater; brother Rudy pushes himself to succeed as a businessman; and angry, defiant little brother Thomas is sent off by his father, and must try to make it on his own. Full of scandal, passion, triumph and defeat, this novel is the very definition of "popular fiction". I also suggest delighting in the made for TV mini-series from 1976 - we have it on DVD!

Are you interested in joining a book group that meets at your convenience? Come and be a part of Southbank Reads, an online book discussion group moderated by staff from the Kenton County Public Library and hosted through Goodreads.com. 

We read a book every month, and you have a whole week to make comments and ask questions - at whatever time works for you! I always find it interesting to read what other people think about a book, because even though we all read the same title, everyone has their own personal reading experience. Suggestions for future reads are always welcome.


The book for August is Let the Great World Spin, a novel set in 1970's New York City, by Colum McCann. I just checked a copy out!

Right Now I'm Reading:

Hero by Perry Moore

Why I'm reading it: I like superheroes. The idea of a young man learning about his power (healing) and how to use it to help other people as well as himself. Being invited to join a league of world heroes. Figuring out how to work as part of a team. Terrified to reveal that he is gay, but finding that the best way he can be a hero is to face his face his fears head on. I'm about 3/4 through now and enjoying the story. Some of it is quite improbable, but hey, it's about superheroes.

It's been quite toasty hot out lately! I've been swimming, eating ice cream and hanging out in air conitioning to beat the heat. Now I just finished a book that spans some of the hottest days in summer, but the high temperatures are not the greatest threat. That would be Mount Vesuvius.

Robert Harris' Pompeii looks at the two days before and the two days after the famous eruption on August 24, A.D. 79. Young Marcus Attilius becomes the aquarius (engineer) of the enormous aquaduct. A smell of sulfur and quickly diminishing water supply send him on a mission to discover the source of the problem and fix it before towns are completely depleted of water in the oppressive heat. With a team of men, Attilius finds the blockage, but a climb to the top of Vesuvious points to a more imminent disaster.

As I read Pompeii, I could actually feel the heat, the dryness, and the frightening rumbles of the volcano. The historical facts of the book are highly interesting, from the good characters, to those who take advantage of the plight of others, the scientific data at the start of each chapter, and the first hand account of being in the path of falling volcanic rocks and ash. Definitely recommended as good historical fiction.

Right Now I'm Reading:      

                                                                        

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players by Stefan Fatsis 

Why I'm reading it: As an amateur scrabble player I'm very interested in how to make those 7 letter bingo words, words with 5 vowels, the 2 letter lifesavers, and what it takes to be a competitor in the National Scrabble Championships (I won't be competing any time soon). The book looks at those who play for fun and those who play to win, with some history behind how the game was developed. Come on XYLOGRAPHY!

It's time for Summer Reading Club! Here's what adults need to know:

•  Earn one raffle ticket for every book read or program attended
•  Raffle tickets are available at all reference desks and programs
•  One winner will be drawn every week
•  Prizes will include $25 gift cards to local book stores

Looking for a good vacation book? There are some great books (both new and old) to check out in the article "Top Books to Read at the Beach" - mysteries, modern romance, new releases, and more. June through August 2012.

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. For more information about the finalists, look on the American Library Association website.Winners will be announced on June 24th.

Finalists for Fiction

• Russell Banks, Lost Memory of Skin
  
• Anne Enright, The Forgotten Waltz
  
• Karen Russell, Swamplandia!

Finalists for Non-Fiction

• James Gleick, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood
• Manning Marable, Malcom X: A Life of Reinvention
  
• Robert Massie, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Are you thinking about getting an eReader? Maybe you've got a friend who just loves theirs, or you've seen people using them just about anywhere you can think of. But you're not sure exactly how it works or if you'll like using it. Why not give one a test drive before you buy?

The Kenton County Library is now lending out Nooks! Each Nook comes preloaded with a selection of 10-15 books - choose from Bestsellers, Mysteries, Science Fiction, Romance and others. You can check one out for 14 days. This way you can try it first hand, and feel free to ask us questions. We also offer classes so you can learn how to borrow eBooks from the library. Give it a try!

I was talking with a friend the other day about her book group. She wanted me to recommend a novel set during World War II that's not too graphic. I can understand that - they are interested in the time period, but don't want to feel like an emotional wreck when they finish reading.

My suggestion was Jamie Ford's beautifully written book The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It begins in the 1980's with Henry, a Seattle man who learns that items belonging to Japanese immigrants have been found in the basement of the Panema Hotel. We find out that Henry is Chinese and as a child during World War II he made friends with a Japanese girl named Keiko. The attack on Pearl Harbor turned people against the Japanese, even though Keiko was born in Seattle. Henry's father makes him to wear a button that states "I am Chinese", not that it makes much difference to the other children. The story alternates between the 40's and the 80's, telling how Henry acquires a love for jazz, Keilo and her parents are forced to move to a Japanese internment camp, and the lengths Henry goes to try and keep his young love safe.

The war in America is something I haven't read about to often in novels. What was happening to people living in the United States, not just in Europe and Japan. Ford's book is engaging and thought provoking. Consider what patriotism and belonging really mean.

It's February 29th aka Leap Day! An occurrence every four years that grants us an extra day. Is it more work? More play? More life? What will you do with more time?

I recently read a book as part of Southbank Reads, an new online book discussion group moderated by staff from the Kenton County Public Library. The novel is titled The Postmortal and it's the first book by author Drew Magary. The book begins in the very near future with a black market cure for aging. Once taken, the person remains at their exact age forever - the body may change, it can still be killed, but it will never age. And with that, time takes on a whole different meaning. What does "til death do us part" mean if there is no death? At what age do you take the cure? What struck me as very real about this book is how life and the planet would change. More people, more food, more housing, more space, more gas and oil, always a need for more. Perhaps the biggest question of all - would you take the cure? The Postmortal will really make you think.

If you're interested in participating in the Southbanks Reads online group, you can find information for joining us on the Kenton Library programs page. Everyone is welcome.

It's been a little while, but like the great song says "I'm still here". Do you enjoy a bit of rough and tumble, tongue in cheek humor that tells about the life of an ordinary person who became an extraordinary success? Then I have two words for you.

Bossy. Pants.

But when you are Tina Fey, you put them together and make it the title of your book. Bossypants is a look at what is in the mind of this very funny, very talented, and very versatile actress (except that she admits she always looks like herself no matter what character she's playing). Comedy seems to come so naturally to Fey that this is an interesting look at how crazy and stressful it can be on the performer/writer's  side. Few things can teach how to deal with the unpredictable and unplanned like doing a live comedy tour! Other things we learn? Well, gorgeous photo shoots are not glamorous, make sure you know who's in charge of the lifeboats on your cruise ship, and don't be afraid to push hard for what you know you deserve.

I loved reading the book, but have been told the audiobook (read by Tina Fey) is to die for. I may have to try the Bossypants on again.