Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Fall Into Reading

Enjoying the leaves as they turn colors?  Bite into a great book to celebrate the season. Check out this great mystery series by Sheila Connolly, the Orchard Mysteries series, set in an Massachusetts apple orchard!






One Bad Apple
Book 1, Orchard Mysteries
While renovating the Massachusetts colonial house her mother inherited to sell it quickly for a share of the profits, Meg Corey unexpectedly becomes enamored of the house and orchard, until she stumbles upon the dead body of her ex-boyfriend floating in her new septic tank. 

Rotten to the Core
Book 2, Orchard Mysteries
When the dead body of a local organic-farming enthusiast is found in her springhouse with traces of pesticide poisoning, orchard owner Meg Corey discovers that there is more than one bad apple in the bunch as she tries to clear her name.

Red Delicious Death: an orchard mystery
Book 3, Orchard Mysteries
When one of the chefs who planned on opening a new restaurant in Granford, which would use locally-grown foods, is murdered, orchard-owner Meg Corey steps in to investigate and digs up some small-town secrets that place her own life in danger.

A Killer Crop: an orchard mystery
Book 4, Orchard Mysteries
When her mother arrives unannounced during harvest season, apple orchard owner Meg Corey finds things taking a turn for the worse when an old friend of her mother's is found dead on her property and her mother stands accused of the crime.

Bitter Harvest
Book 5, Orchard Mysteries
After discovering an early-nineteenth-century silk sampler embroidered with apple trees and names she doesn't recognize, Meg Corey is plagued by a series of small, but dangerous, mishaps, which forces her to unravel the mystery surrounding the sampler.

Sour Apples
Book 6, Orchard Mysteries
When her neighbor, an outspoken dairy farmer, is murdered, apple orchard owner Meg Corey must find out who had a beef with the victim before she meets the same fate.

Golden Malicious
Book 7, Orchard Mysteries
Orchard owner Meg Corey investigates after she discovers a dead body at an old saw mill's forest reserve and an insect infestation comes to the area

Picked to Die
Book 8, Orchard Mysteries
It's harvest time in Granford, Massachusetts, and orchard owner Meg Corey and her fiance, Seth, are both racing to beat the New England winter. Meg is bringing in her apple crop with a team of workers, while Seth is working to restore an old building in the center of town. But when his project is set back due to the unexpected discovery of a skeleton under the building--and even worse, a young man related to one of Meg's former apple pickers is found dead behind the local feed store--the couple's carefully laid plans are quickly spoiled.

Friday, September 19, 2014

The Man Booker Shortlist for Fiction!



Cover image for To rise again at a decent hour : a novelCover image for We are all completely beside ourselvesCover image for The narrow road to the deep north : a novel


The Man Booker Shortlist for Fiction was announced on September 9th. The list trims the thirteen novels on the longlist down to the six selected to compete for the title of winner. Two American writers made the list, along with one Australian and three British writers. A.C. Grayling, chair of this year's judges, comments on the new eligibility rules: "As the Man Booker Prize expands its borders, these six exceptional books take the reader on journeys around the world, between the UK, New York, Thailand, Italy, Calcutta and times past, present and future." (Find out more at: http://www.themanbookerprize.com)

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour - Joshua Ferris
After noticing his identity has been stolen and used to create various social media accounts, Paul O'Rourke, a man with a troubled past, begins to wonder if his virtual alter ego is actually a better version of himself.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler
Coming of age in middle America, eighteen-year-old Rosemary evaluates how her entire youth was defined by the presence and forced removal of an endearing chimpanzee who was secretly regarded as a family member and was loved by Rosemary as a sister.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan
"A novel of love and war that traces the life of one man--an Australian surgeon--from a prisoner-of-war camp on the Thai-Burma Death Railway during World War II, up to the present"-- Provided by the publisher.

The Lives of Others - Neel Mukherjee
"An epic saga telling the story of a Bengali family in Calcutta -- exploring a family that is decaying as the society around it fractures, and one young man who tries to re-imagine his place in the world." (Random House UK)

J - Howard Jacobson
"J is set in a future world still trying to recover from a historical catastrophe that it only half acknowledges and does not officially remember (this outbreak of mass violence, presumably a second Holocaust, is shrouded in obfuscation and is always referred to as "what happened, if it happened"). But that world is only a step away from our own." (John Burnside in The Guardian)

How to Be Both - Ali Smith
"The book has two interconnected stories. There is a teenage girl called George whose mother has just died and who is left struggling to make sense of her death with her younger brother and her emotionally disconnected father. And then there is an Italian renaissance artist, Francesco del Cossa, a real-life figure responsible for a series of striking frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, Italy. Depending on which copy you pick up at random, you will either be presented with George's story first or with Francesco's. The two narratives twist around each other like complicated vines." (Elizabeth Day in The Observer

The last three entries will be available in U.S. editions over the next few months.The winner will be announced in London on October 14th.




Tuesday, September 16, 2014

YA School Daze

High school drama? Here are some school dramas that will keep you on the edge of your comfy chair!

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.

The New Rules of High School by Blake Nelson. Seventeen-year-old Max Caldwell has been the perfect high school student--on the honor roll, captain of the debate team, and soon-to-be editor of the school newspaper--but during his senior year, he begins questioning his approach to life and things start to change.

Nineteen Minutes by Jody Picoult. Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by an act of violence. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes--or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show--destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.

-KF

Monday, September 15, 2014

Grand Budapest Hotel

Our fall Glenviewings film series is now in full swing and we have a great selection of movies lined up for you this season. Please join us this Friday at 2:00  & 6:30 for The Grand Budapest Hotel and follow the escapades of legendary concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and his trusty "lobby boy." Written and directed by Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox) and staring a renowned cast of characters. Watch the trailer here: 

Monday, September 8, 2014

Back to School - What's a mom to do?

So the kids are back to school, what a great summer we had. I might have some time now for a little bit of leisure. One of my guiltiest pleasures is watching a movie in the middle of a weekday.  I have other things to do but sometimes you just have to take a break and enjoy the now. Here is a list, in no particular order, of movies/tv perfect for an afternoon or morning indulgence. Enjoy!




Thursday, September 4, 2014

Lyric Opera of Chicago - 2014

The Glenview Public Library will again be hosting the Lyric Opera of Chicago lectures.  All lectures will be given by a Lyric docent and will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room from 7:00-8:30.


Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Wednesday, September 17
First performed in Prague (now in the Czech Republic) in 1787.  A brilliant and charming opera featuring Don Juan, the lover and rapist, who slept with 2, 065 women.  The opera begins with a murder and attempted rape.

This is a new production at the Lyric.  Featured singers are Mariusz Kwiecian as Don Giovanni, Marina Rebeka as Donna Anna, Ana Maria Martinez as Donna Elvira, Kyle Ketelsen as Leporello, Andriana Chuchman as Zerlina, Antonio Poli as don Ottavio, Michael Sumuel as Masetto and Andrea silvestrelli as the Commendatore.


Capriccio by Richard Strauss - Thursday, October 2

The opera had its premier performance at the Nationaltheaterr Munchen on October 28, 1942.  It received its American Premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 1958.  This is the final opera by Strauss and is subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music".  The Countess has to choose between the poet (the theater director), who wants to give the audience a good show) or the Count (musician) what wants an affair with the actress.
Featured singers at the Lyric are Renee Fleming as the Countess, Anne Sofie von Otter as Clairon, Bo Skovhus as the Count, Wukkuan Burden as Flamand, Audun Iversen as Olivier and Peter rose as Laa Roche.

Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi - Thursday, October 16

The opera was first performed in Rome, Italy in 1853.  The story includes babies switched at birth, kidnapping, mistaken identity, poisoning, civil strife, witches burned at the stake and a noblewoman who offers herself to a man she hates, to save the man she loves.

Featured singers at the Lyric are Yonghood Lee as Manrico, Amber Wagner as Leonora, Stephanie Blythe as Azucena, Quinn Kelsey as Count di Luna and Andrea Silvestrelli as Ferrando. 

Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin - Thursday, November 6

The opera was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1936.  It is heavily infused with jazz and other U.S. musician influences.

Featured singers at the Lyric as Eric Owens as Porgy, Adina Aaron as Bess, Jermaine Smith as Sportin' Life, Eric Greene as Crown, Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi as Clara, Karen Slack as Serena, Norman Garrett as Jake and Gwendolyn Brown as Maria.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Forthcoming Fiction in September

Here are some titles coming out in September. You can reserve them by searching our Online Catalog, or give us a call at 847-729-7500.

The Marco Effect: A Department Q Novel by Jussi Alder-Olsen
The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush by Susan Wittig Albert
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood
The Blood of an Englishman: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton
The Cinderella Killer by Simon Brett
Raging Heat by Richard Castle
Personal: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child
Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel
A Dancer in the Dust by Thomas H. Cook
The Lost Key by Catherine Coulter
To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie
The Eye of Heaven by Clive Cussler
Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd
Perfidia by James Ellroy
Dark Blood by Christine Feehan
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett
The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory
Fighting Chance: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam
The Monogram Murders: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah
Haunted by Kay Hooper
The Perfect Witness by Iris Johansen
Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good: The New Mitford Novel by Jan Karon
Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel by Faye Kellerman
The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan Kellerman
Son of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury
The River by Beverly Lewis
The Children Act by Ian McEwan
Rose Gold: an Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley
Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates
Burn by James Patterson
Blood on the Water: a William Monk Novel by Anne Perry
Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs
Festive in Death by J.D. Robb
The Seventh Sigil by Margaret Weis