Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at a heartbreaking memoir about adventure gone wrong, a series that brands itself as rural noir, and a YA romance comedy that also features zombies.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Adventure Memoirs, Rural Noir, and YA Romance + Zombies”Category: romance (books)
Book Buzz: Pilgrim Brides, Medieval Amateur Detectives, and Mysterious Relics
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For August, we’re looking at a family saga of romance and American history, medieval murder, and a new look at a very old historical debate, the Shroud of Turin.
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Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Japan
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. We’re in Japan for March.
Japan, with its fascinating culture and stunning landscapes, is a favorite destination in fiction for readers and writers alike–and for good reason! We’ve got a wide-ranging collection of books (and movies) set in Japan, many of them from Japanese authors/creators. It’s a little something for everyone.
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Book Buzz: The Overland Trail, Royal Rebels, and Mr. Rogers
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at a 19th century tale of adventure on the road out West, a fictional look at one of the more infamous members of the British Royal Family, and a biography of a beloved TV star.
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Book Buzz: Bollywood-Style Pride and Prejudice, Gritty British Mysteries, and the Rough Riders
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at a gender and culture-swapped retelling of Pride and Prejudice, a series of intense crime thrillers, and a history of the Rough Riders, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Spanish-American War.
Your Library Card, Your Ticket To The World: Alaska
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe, but we’re starting off in Alaska.
The rugged beauty of Alaska has long inspired writers (and readers!), so it is not surprising how many books set in Alaska are in our system. And there’s a little something for every reader, regardless of preferred genre.
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Discussion Thread: Poldark
1783 was not a good year for Captain Ross Poldark. A British army officer, he has just returned from their defeat in the American Revolutionary War. He comes home to find that his inheritance is in shambles, that his family thought he was dead, and that his beloved Elizabeth has married another. Well, specifically, she married his cousin Francis. As you can imagine, complications ensue. . . .
Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible
Channeling my inner Jane Austen here: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a retelling of a classic story has one of two reactions, joy at revisiting a tale that is both familiar and new or complete, unmitigated horror at the desecration of a favorite book.
Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a little, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that people tend to either really like contemporary updated versions of old favorites or the very idea is repellent to them. Personally, I like when a classic is effectively brought into a different time and place because I like spotting all of the allusions and seeing what the author changed and what he or she didn’t and pondering why. With all of that in mind, I approached Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest book Eligible with a great deal of curiosity.
Guest Blogger: Tiffany Newton’s The Here and Now review
[We’re continuing our guest blogger posts, courtesy of our friends from the Green Forest Public Library. This one is from Green Forest’s director, Tiffany Newton. She also wrote about Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore a few weeks ago.]
“You can’t even look up tomorrow [on Google]. Who says the Internet is boundless?” (pg 129)
The Here and Now by Ann Brashares is a Young Adult book with some romance, science fiction, and dystopian themes. It was published in 2014, but it’s only been checked out from the Carroll and Madison County libraries less than 12 times. However, it’s a quick read that you won’t regret.
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2016 Library Book Challenge: A Classic Romance
One of the categories in this year’s reading challenge is a classic romance, and the week before Valentine’s Day seems the perfect time to offer suggestions for this one.
The word “classic” means something different for everyone, so I tried to include a broad range of selections. Yes, there are books that most people would instantly describe as classics, even if it is not their preference–19th century, gets taught in school. But I also included some more contemporary titles that have been popular in recent years.
In addition, I know not everyone enjoys this genre, so I’ve tried to include enough variety that everyone should find something they like, even if “classic romance” isn’t a category they usually read.
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Berryville Book Buzz 