Forthcoming Fiction for July

Here are some titles coming out this July. You can reserve these by going to our Online Catalog or by calling the Reader Services Desk at 847-729-7500 x7600.

Ladies’ Night by Mary Kay Andrews

The King’s Deception by Steve Berry

Lost by S.J. Bolton

Earth Afire by Orson Scott Card

Merry Christmas, Cowboy by Janet Dailey

Murder at the Castle by Jeanne M. Dams

The Ides of April: a Flavia Albia Mystery by Lindsey Davis

The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

The Confessions of Al Capone by Loren D. Estleman

The Heist by Janet Evanovich

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

The 9^th Girl by Tami Hoag

Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey

Burdens of the Dead by Mercedes Lackey

One Heart to Win by Johanna Lindsey

Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

The Goliath Stone by Larry Niven

Protector by Diana Palmer

Second Honeymoon by James Patterson

Choke Point by Ridley Pearson

The Long War by Terry Pratchett

The Eye of God: a Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins

Close Knit Killer by Maggie Sefton

Shadow People by James Swain

Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

Aftershock: a Thriller by Andrew Vachss

Enigma of China: An Inspector Chen Novel by Qui Xiaolong

The National Parks

Several years ago, my family and I decided to drive cross-country from Chicago to Vancouver, Canada, to attend my niece's wedding. It was a long trip, but well worth it. As we travelled through South Dakota, with its ribbon of highway that go on forever and cornfields that line both sides of the road, I could not help but think of "spacious skies and amber waves of grain". To break the trip, we planned on visiting some of the National Parks along the way. So going, we stopped at the Badlands, and Mount Rushmore, and on the return, Olympic and Yellowstone. There is nothing like rounding the bend on the way to Mount Rushmore and coming face to face with the Presidents - or visiting Yellowstone and seeing Old Faithful erupt!

To find out more about the National Parks, start with The National Parks: America's Best Idea with Ken Burns, as this documentary will give you the history of the Parks. Next, you can watch National Parks Collection - produced by National Geographic, which explores the natural history and the wildlife. You will also find DVDs that focus on specific parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier and Yosemite, to name a few.

Please don't wait to enjoy and explore the National Parks. Have a great trip and a wonderful vacation!

VolunTeens Needed for Book Buddies

Are you a teen who enjoys helping others?  The Youth Services Department is looking for teens who might be a good fit to help with the Book Buddies program this Summer. 

Pledge to meet with a young reader six times in six weeks.  All teens will be asked to meet at the Library to read aloud together and do an activity once per week.  Registration for the program began on April 1st. 

This is also a great way for those in the VolunTeen program to earn service points!  If you are a teen looking to apply to this exciting program, please go to the Teen Scene kiosk and pick up an application, or stop at the Reader Services Desk.  This is a year-round program where teens are matched up with different duties throughout the Library in exchange for service points.  Book Buddies would be a great way to "double dip" and earn service points for helping kids with reading. 

For more information about the general information sessions for Book Buddies, check out our web site at http://www.glenviewpl.org. 

Appalachian Vacation

Early summer is a good time to pause and take in the gentle breezes, chirping birds, and brilliant violet, fuchsia, and yellow flowers. In May I am reminded of past trips down the Blue Ridge Parkway and into the Smoky Mountains. Even if you can't take an actual vacation there, you can still immerse yourself in the slow, meandering pace of rural mountain life by reading some novels set in Appalachia. Among my favorites are Lee Smith's award-winning books, described by New York Times book reviewer W.P. Kinsella as "literate, intelligent, insightful and entertaining," and Wendell Berry's multi-generational series set in fictional Port William, Kentucky.

Wendell Berry: The Memory of Old Jack

                        Nathan Coulter

                        Hannah Coulter

Kaye Gibbons: Charms for the Easy Life

Lee Smith: Fair and Tender Ladies

                 Oral History

Barbara Kingsolver: Prodigal Summer

Charles Frazier: Cold Mountain

Fred Chappell: I Am One of You Forever

                       Brighten the Corner Where You Are

                       Farewell, I'm Bound to Leave You

Sheila Kay Adams: My Old True Love

Robert Morgan: Gap Creek

T.R. Pearson: Blue Ridge

Jan Karon: At Home in Mitford

Thomas Wolfe: Look Homeward, Angel

Ann Pancake: Strange As This Weather Has Been

Catherine Marshall: Christy

Welch, Wendy: The Little Bookshop of Big Stone Gap (memoir)

If you also add some music (O Brother Where Art Thou?  O Sister! or The Three Pickers) and a DVD or two (Songcatcher, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Last Mountain, or Hatfields and McCoys), your summer getaway will be complete.

It's our prom (so deal with it)

It's Our Prom (So Deal With It) and other YA LGTB books

Back in the day when lesbian, gay, transgendered, and bisexual relationships were hush-hush and not as socially acceptable as they are today, it was hard for teens to find books about girls in love with girls, and boys in love with boys.  First published in 1982, Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden was ground-breaking, but it was also challenged and/or banned from numerous public and school libraries.   Over the years since, there have been many authors who write about LGTB protagonists.  Today, teens who want to read about same-sex, transgendered, and bi-sexual relationships don’t have to look far to find a book they might enjoy.  Francesca Lia Block, Brendan Helprin, Alex Sanchez, Julie Peters, Lauren Myracle, Libba Bray, and David Levithan – to name a few – are authors who have written beautiful and thoughtful books about teens exploring not only their sexual identities, but family and friend relationships, school and job concerns.  They are just kids, with same concerns and issues as everyone else…except that they or their friends are lesbians, gay, transgendered, or bisexual.

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Three high school seniors, a jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and a flamboyant gay rights advocate, struggle with family issues, gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other.

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

Sixteen-year-old Lissa's relationship with her best friend changes after they kiss at a party and Lissa does not know what to do, until she gets help from an unexpected new friend.

Jump Start the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Sixteen-year-old Elle falls in love with Frank, the neighbor who helps her adjust to being on her own in a big city, but learning that he is transgendered turns her world upside-down.

-KF

Gatsby Fever

As new Gatsby mania grips the cinemas, a resurgence of interest in Fitzgerald's classic work is happening here at the library. No matter what you might think of the film's "gutsy" interpretation of Fitzgerald's refined fiction (I haven't seen it but the previews seem a bit garish and overblown), now is a great time to revisit (or visit) this great American novel. While copies are hard to find on the shelf at the moment, place a hold today and then try one of these titles to feed your need for Gatsby while you wait: 

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles 

Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill 

House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton 

Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin, by Marion Meade 

An Object of Beauty, by Steve Martin 

Martin Dressler, by Steven Millhauser 

Spring in the City

Right around this time of year I like to get out and spend some time downtown. Spring time in the city can be so refreshing for the soul no matter the city. I love the outdoor cafes, the tulips and the return of ice cream. Here is a short list of movies that make you feel like you are out and about enjoying the city. Working on this list made me wish we had a movie that showcases Chicago in the same way.  Does anyone know of a good one?  Risky Business and About Last Night are a bit out of date.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
To Rome with Love
Midnight in Paris
New York, I Love You
Valentine's Day (Los Angeles)
Love Actually (London)

Forthcoming Fiction for June

Here are some titles coming out this June. You can reserve these by going to our Online Catalog, or by calling the Reader Services Desk at 847-729-7500 x7600.

Ladies’ Night by Mary Kay Andrews

The King’s Deception by Steve Berry

Lost by S.J. Bolton

Earth Afire by Orson Scott Card

Merry Christmas, Cowboy by Janet Dailey

Murder at the Castle by Jeanne M. Dams

The Ides of April: a Flavia AlbiaMystery by Lindsey Davis

The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

The Confessions of Al Capone by Loren D. Estleman

The Heist by Janet Evanovich

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

The 9^th Girl by Tami Hoag

Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey

Burdens of the Dead by Mercedes Lackey

One Heart to Win by Johanna Lindsey

Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

The Goliath Stone by Larry Niven

Protector by Diana Palmer

Second Honeymoon by James Patterson

Choke Point by Ridley Pearson

The Long War by Terry Pratchett

The Eye of God: a Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins

Close Knit Killer by Maggie Sefton

Shadow People by James Swain

Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

Aftershock: a Thriller by Andrew Vachss

Enigma of China: An Inspector Chen Novel by Qui Xiaolong

Congratulations Edgar Award Winners!

Each year in the spring the Edgar Awards are announced and handed out by the Mystery Writers of America.

This year the award for best book went to:
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

In 1926, during Prohibition, Joe Coughlin defies his strict law-and-order upbringing by climbing a ladder of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Cuba, where he encounters a dangerous cast of characters who are all fighting for their piece of the American dream.

The award for best paperback original went to:The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters

When the Earth is doomed by an imminent and unavoidable asteroid collision, New Hampshire homicide detective Hank Palace considers the worth of his job in a world destined to end in six months and investigates a suspicious suicide that nobody else cares about.

Best first novel by an American author:
The Expats by Chris Pavone

An international spy thriller about a former CIA agent who moves with her family to Luxembourg where everything is suspicious and nothing is as it seems.

Best fact crime award went to: Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French
Historian and China expert Paul French uncovers the truth behind the notorious murder of Pamela Werner, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.


For the full list of the Edgar winners and nominees for each category, click here.

Humorous "Momerhood" Fiction for May

May is the month we think of mothers. The only way to rise to the challenge of motherhood  is to give it a humorous spin. Check out a few of the following titles from GPL's collection of amusing and entertaining novels about life as a Mom.

The Mommy Club:  A Novel by Sarah Bird
A young surrogate mother attempts to make an ordered world for her child as she wanders through the maze of trendy yuppiedom to the treacherous waters of her relations with her old love, Sinclair.

Julia's Child by Sarah Pinneo
Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia's Child, makes organic toddler meals. But turning a profit while saving the world proves tricky as Julia must face a 92-pound TV diva, an ill-timed protest rally, and a room full of 100 lactating breasts.

Take It Like a Mom by Stephanie Stiles
A stay-at-home mom to a 3-year-old with a baby on the way faces her husband's job loss, preschool politics and a throwdown with her playground arch nemesis in this novel from a prize-winning poet.

Not Ready for Mom Jeans by Maureen Lipinski
After being a mother and a successful event planner and blogger becomes far too overwhelming, Clare Finnegan re-evaluates her life choices and wonders if being a stay-at-home mom is the answer.

The Seven Year Bitch by Jenifer Belle
Her comfortable life falling into chaos when she becomes a mother, Isolde Brilliant is laid off from her job and recognizes cracks in her once-stable marriage, a situation that is further strained when her best friend announces that she is leaving her family.

Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman
Ellen has everything--a glamorous job, good friends, an apartment in Greenwich Village--but when she sees her newborn niece, she realizes what she's been missing..

Motherhood Made A Man Out of Me by Karen KarboA novel exploring the wonders of biology, pregnancy, and motherhood celebrates the courage and strength of best friends Brooke and Mary Rose as they sort out the relationships in their lives..

Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill
Follows the misadventures of a stay-at-home mom, who struggles between the chaos of caring for three young boys and her ideals as inspired by a perfectionist reality-television style program.

HAVE A HUMOROUSLY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Zinio is here!

Zinio eMagazine service is now available through the Glenview Public Library! Check out the Library’s eMagazine collection and download magazines to your computer or mobile device, for free! Choose from nearly 100 magazines. For more information visit our website and click on "Download eMagazines".