Later in this series, we will be devoting a month to books made into movies. Our Fall Film Series features two of these - Primary Colors on October 25 at 6:00 p.m. and Election on November 1 at 6:30 p.m.
Films are free and light refreshments are served and you can be WAY ahead of the curve.
When you really like to read, it isn’t enough to just have the books. You need books to tell you what books to get. I have a couple that I got recently that I am really enjoying.
The first is READ THIS! Handpicked Favorites from America’s Indie bookstores. The editor contacted 25 independent bookstores and asked their best handseller to create a list of their 50 favorite books. There is a bit about each book store (some of my favorites aren’t there but they are good stores) and a little additional chat about a few of the books that each seller has recommended. It is really interesting to look at the lists – some have nothing but books I have never heard of and others have lists that I have mostly read – it’s all about taste.
The other book is Books to Die For – the world’s greatest mystery writers on the world’s greatest mystery novels. In this case, the editors have asked current mystery writers to write an essay about one of their favorite mysteries. The choices range from classics like The Moonstone and The Hound of the Baskervilles to books by modern writers like Margaret Maron, Donna Tartt, Reginald HIll and Laura Lippman. The essays range from an analysis of the story to a very personal essay on what a story meant to the writer. You can use this book to see what your favorite writer likes, to see if a writer agrees with you about a book you have already read or just to get a list of books that writers think are good enough to warrant attention.
The downside of this, of course, is that the pile of to-be-reads just keeps climbing.
If that is a question you ask – even occasionally – you might be interested in a site that lets you enter a book title (or ISBN) that you enjoyed and it will give you another – or many other – titles that might be of interest.
check it out http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com
Had a nice note from Jeremy today saying he has set up a Bagels and Books display on the 2nd floor near the fiction section. He also added a nice link to our blog from the Library website.
thanks Jeremy
When did you start reading mysteries? Whose books got you started? Were you a Nancy Drew fan or did you go directly to Miss Marple?
The Concord Festival of Authors begins Thursday October 18 with a reading by J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Commencement and Maine (I’ve read Maine) at 6 p.m. This is the beginning of three weeks of events (most of them free) all over Concord – one of the things I look forward to all year. The events range from Opening Night with Thomas Frank, the author of Pity the Billionaire, a sardonic look at how the worst economy since the 1930′s brought about yet another conservative revival to an Animal Stories Party for kids to America Meets China with Eric Jay Dolin and Healing Digestive Illness with Russell Mariani. I am personally especially looking forward to Mrs. Queen Takes the Train, a fictional romp into the mind of Queen Elizabeth. And I always love the New Literary Voices session. You can see the complete schedule at http://www.concordfestivalofauthors.com.
Stopped by the Farmers’ Market sale today and picked up 4 mysteries - Donna Leon, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, and Sue Henry. The library has a large collection of mysteries and thrillers and we usually have a few for sale on the on-going sale shelf opposite the elevator- everyone should be able to find something that appeals to them.
