Cozy Mysteries

Fall is in the air – cool crisp mornings, the scent of wood burning, the leaves turning colors…doesn’t it make you want to sit by the fireplace and knit an afghan? Not so crafty? Then how about just reading a “cozy” mystery from one of the Needlecraft series, Someday Quilts series or the Home Crafting series, to name a few.

Monica Ferris started writing the Needlecraft series in 1999 with Crewel World. She has since written 12 more, the latest of which, Buttons and Bones, will be published later this year.

The Someday Quilts series is written by Clare O’Donohue. At the moment there are only 3 books in the series: The Lover’s Knot published in 2008, A Drunkard’s Path (2009) and The Double Cross (2010).

The first book in the Home Crafting Series, written by Sophie Mae Reynolds, is Lye in Wait, published in 2007. There are 3 subsequent titles, the most recent, Something Borrowed, Something Bleu was published in July.

However, if you do want to knit 1, purl 2 and drop 3…we can also recommend some of those titles.

Aaron Copland

When you think about composers that conjure up images of America, Aaron Copland comes to mind. His life spanned most of the 20th century: November 14, 1900 - December 2, 1990. In the twenties, he was trying to find a serious style which sounded American, rather than European. In this period, his music conveyed the image of energy and power.

In the thirties, Copland wanted music to reach those who weren't interested in modern music. He wrote music for theater, ballet, and films and used folk influences. His most popular works were Billy the Kid and Rodeo for the ballet. He wrote music for Irwin Shaw's play Quiet City, and the film scores for Our Town and The Red Pony. He also wrote music for the full-length opera The Tender Land, Fanfare for the Common Man, Lincoln Portrait for speaker and orchestra, Quiet City, Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Harp and Piano, the Old American Songs, and Appalachian Spring. You can find these on The Music of America. Watch Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony explore the music of Copland and the cityscapes, landscapes and political developments that shaped it.

In addition, he became an impressario of modern music, establishing the composition department at Tanglewood, helping young composers, and writing and lecturing on a wide range of modern music. He also wrote a music appreciation book, What to Listen for in Music.

Copland retired from composing in 1965, although occasionally he wrote short pieces. He did, however, decided to conduct, specializing in his own scores.

Attention Anna Quindlen Devotees

Anna Quindlen has a devoted following of readers. She wrote five best-selling novels as well as books of nonfiction. There are also movies based on her fiction. She writes columns in Newsweek and her New York Times column, "Public and Private" was awarded the Pulitzer in 1991. Moreover, she has appeared in high school literature and anthologies. She is a gifted writer who uses prose that appears simple. She has an ear for dialogue and an ability to tell a story. She engages readers on a variety of challenging topics from difficult career choices to domestic violence. Her novels feature complex family relationships and mainstream female protagonists struggling with personal crises and grappling for self-awareness. Quindlen's novels are loved for their all-too-human characters and universal conditions. Black and Blue, for example, dealt with family violence. Her most recent novel, Every Last One, delves into a social issue theme.

Every Last One is an unforgettable portrait of a mother, a father, a family, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seems like inconsequential actions. Mary Beth Latham is first and foremost a mother, whose three teenaged children come first, before her career as a landscape gardener, or even her life as the wife of a doctor. Caring for her family and preserving their everyday life is paramount. And so, when one of her sons, Max, becomes depressed, Mary Beth becomes focused on him, and is blindsided by a shocking act of violence. What happens afterward is a testament to the power of a woman's love and determination. Mary Beth must face "every last one" of her fears as she holds onto love and pursues hope and healing.

So, for her devoted readers, Every Last One, is about facing every last one of the things we fear most, about finding ways to traverse an unintended path, and to be brave enough to try to live a life we never dreamed we'd have to live.

Talking Books

Do you or someone you know have difficulty reading conventional print materials due to a visual or physical disability?  Voices of Vision Talking Book Center (VOV) provides FREE library services to eligible readers. VOV provides: books, playback equipment, Braille books, recorded and Braille magazines, recorded and Braille books and magazines for children. All books and equipment are mailed to and from your home postage free as “Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped”.  There is no longer a waiting list for the new digital players; they are now available to everyone who requests one.  The digital players are much easier to use and do not require a computer in order to use. For more information or an application, please contact Janet McIntyre, Outreach Librarian, at the Readers Services desk. Applications are also available online at the Voices of Vision Talking Book Center.

Looking for a Good Book to Read?

Everybody knows that the libary has books, but did you know that we also have several resources to use when you are looking for a good book to read?
If you are at home and looking for recommendations, visit our What to Read webpage. There are several different links that feature award winning books, read-a-likes and staff picks. You will also find a link to Novelist which is a database created by librarians for readers. Take a look at this tutorial to see how you can use Novelist to find recommended books. Please note that in order to access Novelist you will need to enter your Glenview Public Library card number.

Next time you visit the library, ask about BookPage. BookPage is a monthly newspaper that you can take home with you free of charge. Each month, newly released books are featured, for adults and kids in fiction and non-fiction.

I often recommend browsing the shelves to find a good book. Areas in the collection which are perfect for browsing include the New Book area, which features new fiction and non-fiction, the Book Discussion area, which has titles that have been discussed by library book groups and the topical displays that greet you on your left when you walk into the library.

And, if you still can't find something good to read, please ask for a suggestion at the Reader Services Desk. In addition to our many years of reading experience, we have a variety of tools at our disposal in order to help us make reading suggestions to our patrons. We don't want you to go home empty handed!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard." Told through the voice of Mia, the reader is brought into a world where a teen girl is standing outside of her body, after a tragic car accident that took the lives of both parents and her little brother, Teddy. She must decide: should I stay, or should I go? What would life be like without her parents and brother? How would this young cellist go to Julliard as "an orphan" as she hears herself referred to by the nurses in the ICU. Mia has to contemplate this big decision as she watches over her body in the hospital, hooked up to machines. She watches as the people in her life come and go as visitors: her best friend, boyfriend, aunts, uncles, cousins. Beautifully written, the decision is "a choice" that one has in their own destiny. Flashbacks of Mia's life sprinkle throughout the book to bring the reader up to date with where Mia's life has gone, how she became to love music, how relationships with her boyfriend was central, and how her struggle to "stay or go" not only was meaning of her life, but she had wrestled with this same question as one who was living: should she stay in Oregon to stay closer to Adam, the boy she had intense connection with, or follow her dream of going to Julliard if she was accepted, and make a new life in New York. Detail was given to each parent, the way they were as individuals in the present day, and how they transformed into what they are from years back, before Mia was born. Many references to music, both punk and classical, are weaved throughout the book as well. Not until the very end do we know what Mia's choice will be. If I Stay is an excellent read for teens going through a tough personal struggle as well as a great choice for parents.

Belva Plain

Best selling romance writer Belva Plain has died at the age of 95. At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages. Twenty of her novels appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Ms. Plain was known for telling wholesome, inspirational multi-generational sagas of families and the women who held them together. Her first novel, Evergreen, was published in 1978 and told the story of Anna, a Polish orphan who immigrates to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. After choosing to become a domestic servant, she marries and begins to guide her family through the next decades.

So if you’re looking for a good saga you can sink your teeth into and that’s sure to have sequels, try the writings of the beloved Belva Plain.