Tag: nonfiction (books)

My Year in Reading

What was your year in reading like?

I know a lot of my bookish friends tend to describe their year in reading by how many books they read — and I do that too — but that still doesn’t say much about your year in reading, like what you were actually reading in those 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, etc. books you read over the course of 2016.

And, so to that end, I thought I’d recap my year in reading –a lot of which did not end up on the blog — and you could share your year in reading in the comments.

Note: not all of the books I mention are available in the library, but we can certainly try to get them for you through ILL if you’re interested!

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2016 Library Challenge: A Book Published This Year

This is it.  Believe it or not, you have made it to the last post of the 2016 Library Challenge.

If you’ve been participating in the challenge or following along with the blog, you know we have taken quite the journey this year, working our way through a range of interesting challenges, everything from romance to nonfiction to badly-reviewed books.

The only one left is a book published in the last year. So, without further ado, let’s take our last romp of the year with a round-up of some recent releases that have received positive reviews.

As always, if you’re interested, please visit our online library catalog for more information on any of the books.

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2016 Library Challenge: A Pulitzer Prize Winner

Let’s be real. For many, the Pulitzer Prize is not a reading turn-on.

And I understand why. If contemporary literary fiction isn’t your thing, ploughing through some of the past winners may seem like real work.

But I like literary fiction and think many prize-winning books make for a good read, even if you aren’t living in an ivory tower. If nothing else, they always give you plenty to think about!

Don’t forget that Pulitzers are also awarded for nonfiction, history, and biography.

Ready to take the plunge? Here’s a few prize winners that may just draw you in…

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2016 Library Challenge: A Book of Short Stories

Don’t feel like you have the emotional energy to devote to an entire novel?

Still looking for something different but the nonfiction post from last week isn’t really your thing?

Try a short story collection!

Personally, I love a good short story. This may be a form of heresy to many readers, but if I had to pick between a good short story and a good novel, I’d pick the short story just about every time.

To that end, here are a few short story collections released in the last year or so!

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2016 Library Challenge: A Nonfiction Book

Not in the mood for a novel but still want something to read?

Looking for a book that qualifies as “nonfiction” for the library challenge?

Love nonfiction but unsure of what’s been recently released?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this post is for you!

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2016 Library Challenge: A Book Based on a True Story

August 2016--Based on True Story

“Based on a True Story” – words that stop you in your tracks or make you want to run?

If you, like me, think those words on the cover of a book are magical, how do you feel if a few days or weeks later, you learn that, though it is based on a true story, the author has taken a bit of creative license with his or her book? Are you okay with the author making changes? Or is that a deal breaker for you as a reader?

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2016 Library Challenge: A Book Turned Into A Movie

This month, our theme at the library is “The Book Is Better,” and to that end, we’re highlighting books that have been adapted into films, as well as other forms of adaptation, all month long. We have a display at the front of the library of a wide range of books and their accompanying movies. Here, though, I thought it would be a great time to highlight books that have been adapted into films that are being released later this year. All of the film versions of these books don’t come out until September or later, so you’ll have plenty of time to read the books beforehand. As we all know, the book is almost always better, so it’s also almost always best to read the book first!

 As always, our online library catalog is where you can learn more about each item and place holds.

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2016 Library Challenge: A Memoir

Are you a fan of memoirs? They’re one of the categories on the reading challenge we’re doing this year, and one thing I’ve noticed from working in the library is people tend to either really enjoy reading them or they don’t. Personally, I like a good memoir, but I must confess, it’s not usually something I think to pick up on my own. I shared my own book for this challenge last week, but in researching selections for this post, I also found a wide range of memoirs that, hopefully, will appeal to readers who enjoy the genre and read widely in it and those who don’t. If you’re interested in learning more about any of the books mentioned below, please follow the link to our online catalog.

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2016 Library Challenge: A Book You Can Read Quickly

As summer rolls around, we all, maybe, hopefully, have a little more time for reading. But if you’re looking for a quick read to enjoy between all of your summer plans–or if you need one to fulfill the library challenge requirement–consider reading one of the following books, all of which are well under 200 pages long and, in most cases, are barely 130 pages in length.)

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Books in Bloom Preview–Book Talks

Here at the Berryville Library we’re looking forward to the 11th annual Books in Bloom Literary Festival on May 15th. You’ll get to mingle with famous authors and fellow book lovers. To prepare for Books in Bloom, we’ll be running teasers about the authors who will be giving talks.  We also have works by all of this year’s Books in Bloom authors on display at the library. Read them now–meet them on the 15th!

Ever wanted to get behind the scenes of a book . . . or perhaps more like inside the mind of its author as they were writing it?  How did they come up with that idea?  What motivated them to keep writing that story? From the posted schedule, it looks like you’ll have your chance at this year’s Books in Blooms!

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