
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Oprah's Newest Book Club Selection

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Annual Friends of the Library Author Dinner
ble for purchase and signing.Tickets are $12.00 for members of the Friends and $15.00 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased at the Albemarle branch of the Stanly County Public Library at 133 East Main Street, Albemarle, NC. Please call 704-986-3755 for more information. Tickets go on sale September 1st and must be purchased by September 22nd.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Man Book Prize Shortlist Announced
From India are Aravind Adiga and his novel The White Tiger and Amitav Ghosh with the novel Sea of Poppies.
From Australia is author Steve Toltz with his first novel A Fraction of the Whole. The Albemarle library has a copy of this book available for checkout.
Ireland's Sebastian Barry recieved his second nomination for his novel The Secret Scripture. This title is on order and will be available soon.
Two novelists from England are on the list. Linda Grant for her novel The Clothes on Their Backs, which is on order and will be available soon. And Philip Hensher for his novel The Northern Clemency. His newest novel is not available for order yet, but the Albemarle library does have a copy of his previous book Mulberry Empire available for checkout.
The Man Booker winner will be announced on October 14.
Monday, September 08, 2008
It's Football Time



Thursday, August 28, 2008
September is Library Card Sign-Up Time

- Bring a friend who doesn't have a library card in to get one and both of you will be eligible to win a $25.00 gift card.
- The adult and child at each location who bring in the most friends will will a gift card tot eh Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale.
Use it.
- use your library card anytime during the month and be automatically entered in a drawing for one of 19 Memory Band USB devices.
@ your Library.
- Check out the library's new web site at http://www.stanlycountylibrary.org/.
- Get a new library card with key tag.
- Get a free card holder key chain to put your new library card in.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Summer Vacation
The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. My husband and I started listening to this on audio and both enjoyed it. We weren't able to finish listening to the entire thing (it's about 21 CD's long) so I am taking the book so we can finish.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien. This is a book that my husband loves to read. I have never read it, but I love the movie, so I'm going to give it a try.
That makes two books we'll both be able to read. I also plan on downloading The Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle onto my MP3 player. The library offers free downloadable audio books through Net Library on NC Live. My book club will be discussing it this at our September 16th meeting so I need to get it read.
And, of course, we have a Vancouver/British Columbia guide book.
And that's what a librarian takes on vacation.
I'd love to hear what you took on vacation. Leave me a comment, and I'll put every one's name into a drawing for some free summer reading.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Movies at the Library
Friday, July 25th at 10:00 am Charlotte's Web (PG) 96 min.
Friday, August 1st at 2:00 pm Under the Tuscan Sun (PG-13) 113 min.
Friday, August 8th at 10:00 am Bee Movie (PG) 100 min.
Friday, August 15th at 2:00 pm Casino Royale (PG-13) 144 min.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Teens' Top 10
Before I Die. Jenny Downham.
Betrayed. P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.
City of Bones. Cassandra Clare.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff Kinney.
Eclipse. Stephenie Meyer.
Extras. Scott Westerfeld.
Evil Genius. Catherine Jinks.
Glass. Ellen Hopkins.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. J.K. Rowling.
Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale. Holly Black.
Jango. William Nicholson.
Jinx. Meg Cabot.
The Luxe. Anna Godberson.
Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. James Patterson.
Saving Zoë. Alyson Noël.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. Jessica Day George.
The Sweet Far Thing. Libba Bray
Tamar. Mal Peet.
Twisted. Laurie Halse Anderson.
Unwind. Neal Shusterman.
Vampire Academy. Richelle Mead.
Wicked Lovely. Melissa Marr.
Wildwood Dancing. Juliet Marillier.
Read as many titles as you can so you can make informed decisions about your favorite books when you vote. Encourage your friends to join you in TTT reading and voting—tell your book group, youth organization and any other groups you belong to to vote between October 12-18! The more teens who participate, the more accurately the winning list will reflect the reading tastes of teens all over the country!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
June Book A Month Challenge
The quest for knowledge has driven generation upon generation upon generation of humans. Whether it was forbidden knowledge, secret knowledge, or higher knowledge having knowledge has always meant having power. The world’s oldest sin in the Judeo-Christian tradition is Eve stealing the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, forever linking apples with knowledge. Isaac Newton’s nap under the apple tree, getting bopped on the head and coming up with the Law of Gravity cemented the relationship. Secrets and the spies in search of them are always lively reads. If nothing else, read a book on a topic you have always been interested in learning more about. Feel free to write a review here on the library’s blog (but it’s not necessary).
Friday, May 09, 2008
Food for Fines Successful
Monday, May 05, 2008
2008 Edgar Awards
2007 Nebula Award Winners
Friday, April 11, 2008
Memory Keepers Daughter
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
March BAM Challenge Book Review

Now I have to find a book to read for the April Book A Month Challenge - something to do with "beauty". I hope you're finding some great books to read for these fun challenges.
Monday, April 07, 2008
2008 Pulitzer Prizes Announced
Fiction: "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books)
Drama: "August: Osage County," by Tracy Letts
History: "What Hath God Wrought: the Transformation of America, 1815-1848," by Daniel Walker Howe (Oxford University Press)
Biography: "Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father," by John Matteson (W.W. Norton)
Poetry: "Time and Materials," by Robert Hass (Ecco/HarperCollins) and "Failure," by Philip Schultz (Harcourt)
General Nonfiction: "The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945," by Saul Friedlander (HarperCollins)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
National Poetry Month
by E. E. Cummings
10
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
Copyright © 1956, 1984, 1991 by the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust from The Complete Poems: 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings, Edited by George J. Firmage. Reprinted by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
BAM Challenge - "Beauty"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Watch PBS Online for Free
Friday, February 22, 2008
Author Nora Roberts in the News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_re_us/fire_roberts;_ylt=AubYSzkoti5PdYUhxbzDpPhvzwcF
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
News from Author Cathy Pickens
If you want the chance to see Cathy, she will be at the South Carolina Book Festival in Columbia, SC February 22-23. She will be closer to Stanly County on April 1 when she will lead the Let's Talk About It discussion of Paretsky's Burn Marks at the Cabarrus County Library. She will also be the Friends of the Library speaker for the Kannapolis Public Library's luncheon and discussion on April 22.
There is a new Southern Writers Blog that Cathy is participating in. "A Good Blog is Hard to Find" is available at http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/ and you will find a large group of Southern writers - names you may be familiar with and new ones.
Visit Cathy's website at www.cathypickens.com for links to interview podcasts and youtube book trailers along with her appearance schedule.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
February BAM Challenge
For the month of love, you can read a romance, or go with any genre that has a subplot of romance. Try a book about legendary lovers or even something in medicine about the heart. And then there is always a book with “heart” in the title. I’ve got a great list of choices to get you started – or you can come up with your own title that somehow relates to the theme of “Heart”. Leave a comment and let me know what title you pick and leave a short review if you feel like it. My choice is going to be easy this month – a romance novel.
Romance
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer
Heart of Honor by Kat Martin
Be Still my Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks
What a Lady Wants by Victoria Alexander
Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney
Alphabet Weekends: Love on the Road fro A to Z by Elizabeth Nobel
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Love Letters From a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle
Other Genres
Blood Lie by Daniel Kalla
Heart of the World by Linda Barnes
Lover’s Knot by Emilie Richards
Dark Dreamers by Christine Feehan
The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
The Guy Not Taken: Stories by Jennifer Weiner
Legendary Lovers
Casanova in Love by Andrew Miller
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Memoirs of Cleopatra: a Novel by Margaret George
Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Heart of a New Nation by David Price
Medicine
Every Second Counts: The Race to Transplant the first Human Heart by Donald McRae
The Alarming History of Medicine: Amusing Anecdotes from Hippocrates to Heart Transplants by Richard Gordon
Walk on Water: a Pediatric Surgeon’s Journey by Michael Ruhlman
Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living: Heart Disease
Books with “Heart” in the Title
The Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Heart Full of Soul: and Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way by Taylor Hicks
Where my Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson
Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Passionate Heart by Christopher Phillips
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
New Oprah Book Selection
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
January BAM Challenge Theme
Katie, over at http://bamchallenge.wordpress.com/ offers suggestions of titles you might want to read. You aren't limited to these suggestions, and may read any book you feel has to do with the theme of "Time". Here are some suggested titles:
Time Travel
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
When I Fall in Love by Lynn Kurland
Brasyl by Ian McDonald
Historical Events, Places and People
The War: an Intimate History, 1941-1945 by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
The Hundred Years’ War AD 1337-1453 by Anne Curry
The Dynasties of China: a History by Bamber Gascoigne
The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli by Richard Aldous
Historical Fiction
Annette Vallon by James Tipton
City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling
The Seanachie by Bob Huerter
Daughter of the Sun by Barbara Wood
The Religion by Tim Willocks
Fiction Set in Historical Times
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Wilbur Smith
The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
Epic Fiction
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Science of Time
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Nature of Space and Time by Stephen Hawking
Travels in Four Dimensions: the Enigmas of Space and Time by Robin Le Poidevin
The New Time Travelers: a Journey to the Frontiers of Physics by David Toomey
A World Without Time: the Forgotten Legacy of Godel and Einstein by Palle Yourgrau Time Titles
Five O’Clock Shadow by Genie Davis
Five O’Clock Lightning: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the Greatest Baseball Team in History, the 1927 New York Yankees by Harvey Frommer
Midnight by Dean Koontz
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The One O’Clock Chop by Ralph Fletcher (YA)
The Two O’Clock War: The 1973 Yom Kippur Conflict and the Airlift that Saved Israel by Walter J. Boyne
No Girl Needs a Husband Seven Days a Week by Nina Foxx
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (YA)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA)
The Worst Hard Time: the Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Hasn't Katie put together a fabulous list? Remember, you don't have to read one of these books, you can read anything you want that has to do with "Time". I plan to read Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. I'll post a review sometime this month. And if you read a "Time" book, post your review in the comments section.
Book A Month Challenge
Monday, January 07, 2008
The Complete Jane Austen

Friday, January 04, 2008
Movie Matinee
Books have always been made into movies for the big screen. Come to the library during January to see just a few of those books that have been made into movies. Everyone is welcome to attend.Saturday, December 29, 2007
SCPL Will Be Closed
Friday, December 28, 2007
From the Page to the Big Screen

- Register and receive a book light
- For every book you read, enter the weekly prize drawing for a movie night prize
- Read four books - one of which must be a book to movie - and be in the final drawing for a DVD player.
- Attend a movie matinee
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Holiday Closings
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Vicki Lane--Appalachian Mystery Writer

The Friends of Stanly County Public Library will feature mystery writer Vicki Lane at the Albemarle Library on Thursday, January 17 at 6:00 p.m. Lane has received excellent reviews for her mystery series set in the North Carolina mountains. Lane's sharp eye for detail gets put to good use in her Appalachian series. At 53, Elizabeth Goodweather has been a resident of Asheville, N.C., for more than two decades, operating a small farm with her nephew Ben. Hear Lane discuss her heroine and the inspiration for her series.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
2008 Book Club Schedule Available

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Newest Oprah Selection
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Coming to the Badin Branch Library

Thursday, October 25, 2007
Fall Book Sale
Friday, October 12, 2007
Author Mark Ethridge
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Nobel Prize for Literature Announced Today
The library has two of her books available:
a biography, Under My Skin
and a novel, Ben, in the World : the Sequel to the Fifth Child
Friday, October 05, 2007
Oprah Picks New Book Today

From Publishers Weekly:
The ironic vision and luminous evocation of South America that have distinguished Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize-winning fiction since his landmark work, One Hundred Years of Solitude, persist in this turn-of-the-century chronicle of a unique love triangle. It is a fully mature novel in scope and perspective, flawlessly translated, as rich in ideas as in humanity. The illustrious and meticulous Dr. Juvenal Urbino and his proud, stately wife Fermina Daza, respectively past 80 and 70, are in the autumn of their solid marriage as the drama opens on the suicide of the doctor's chess partner. Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, a disabled photographer of children, chooses death over the indignities of old age, revealing in a letter a clandestine love affair, on the "fringes of a closed society's prejudices." This scenario not only heralds Urbino's demise soon afterwhen he falls out of a mango tree in an attempt to catch an escaped parrotbut brilliantly presages the novel's central themes, which are as concerned with the renewing capacity of age as with an anatomy of love. We meet Florentino Ariza, more antihero than hero, a mock Don Juan with an undertaker's demeanor, at once pathetic, grotesque and endearing, when he seizes the memorably unseemly occasion of Urbino's funeral to reiterate to Fermina the vow of love he first uttered more than 50 years before. With the fine detailing of a Victorian novel, the narrative plunges backward in time to reenact their earlier, youthful courtship of furtive letters and glances, frustrated when Fermina, in the light of awaking maturity, realizes Florentino is an adolescent obsession, and rejects him. With his uncanny ability to unearth the extraordinary in the commonplace, Garcia Marquez smoothly interweaves Fermina's and Florentino's subsequent histories. Enmeshed in a bizarre string of affairs with ill-fated widows while vicariously conducting the liaisons of others via love poems composed on request, Florentino feverishly tries to fill the void of his unrequited passion. Meanwhile, Fermina's marriage suffers vicissitudes but endures, affirming that marital love can be as much the product of art as is romantic love. When circumstances both comic and mystical offer Fermina and Florentino a second chance, during a time in their lives that is often regarded as promising only inevitable degeneration toward death, Garcia Marquez beautifully reveals true love's soil not in the convention of marriage but in the simple, timeless rituals that are its cement.
Monday, October 01, 2007
October is National Reading Group Month
Celebrate National Reading Group Month by joining a local book club. The Stanly County Public Library system has three ongoing book clubs that welcome new members:
- The Albemarle book club will meet on Tuesday, October 16th at 11:00 am to discuss Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
- The Locust book club will meet on Friday, October 19th at noon to discuss Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard.
- The Norwood book club will meet on Tuesday the 8th at 6:30 pm.
If you already belong to a book club, take time this month to celebrate your accomplishments as a club. Share with all of your friends how wonderful book clubs are, and encourage them to join your book club or one that meets at the library.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New York Times Best Selling Fiction

- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
- Dark Possession by Christine Feehan
- Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
- The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks
- Play Dirty by Sandra Brown
- The Quickie by James Patterson
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
- Away by Amy Bloom
- Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson
- Power Play by Joseph finder
- The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury
- Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
- Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson
- The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva
Noted titles:
Songs Without Words by Ann Packer
Friday, September 21, 2007
Area Author Events

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Remembering 9/11 in Fiction
Monday, September 10, 2007
52 Ways to Use Your Library Card

- Get to know your librarian, the ultimate search engine @ your library.
- Update your MySpace page.
- Research new job opportunities.
- Find a list of childcare centers in your area.
- Learn about local candidates for office.
- Pick up voter registration information.
- Check out your favorite graphic novel.
- Pick up a DVD.
- Get wireless access.
- Participate in a community forum.
- Find out how to navigate the Internet.
- Prepare your resume.
- Get new ideas for redecorating your house.
- Get a list of community organizations.
- Attend a lecture or workshop.
- Hear a local author reading his/her latest novel.
- Join a book discussion group.
- Attend story time with your child.
- Get homework help.
- Look up all kinds of health information.
- Research the purchase of a new car.
- Trek to another planet in a sci-fi novel.
- Call the reference desk if you have a question.
- Research your term paper.
- Learn about the history of your city, town, or family.
- Decide which computer to buy using a Consumer Guide.
- Check your stock portfolio.
- Read a newspaper from another town.
- Borrow or download an audiobook for your next road trip or commute.
- Use the library's resources to start a small business.
- See a children's art exhibit.
- Volunteer.
- Find a new recipe.
- Ask for a recommended reading list for your kids.
- Make photocopies.
- Get a book from interlibrary loan.
- Enroll your child in a summer reading program.
- Take a computer class.
- Hear a poetry reading.
- Read the latest fashion magazines.
- Check out a book.
- Trace your family tree.
- Check out a special collection of rare books.
- Check out a legal question or issue.
- Find out how to file a consumer complaint.
- Learn about home improvement.
- Borrow some sheet music.
- Lear how to use a database or computerized catalog.
- Find the latest romance paperback.
- Pick up tax forms.
- Connect with other people in the community.
- Find a quiet spot, curl up with a book and enjoy.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"It's a Mystery" with Jim and Joyce Lavene



We will have several copies of their books for a door prize drawing.
Friday, August 03, 2007
U.S. Poet Laureate Named
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Book Club Sets Reading List
Here is what they will be discussing:
- August - The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
- September - Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
- October - Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
- November - Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- December - Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury
- January - Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Anthony Award Nominees
Best Novel:
All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming, St. Martins
The Dead Hour, Denise Mina, Little Brown & Co.
Kidnapped, Jan Burke, Simon & Schuster
No Good Deeds, Laura Lippman, Harper
The Virgin Of Small Plains, Nancy Pickard, Ballantine
Best First Novel:
Field Of Darkness, Cornelia Read, Mysterious Press
The Harrowing, Alexandra Sokoloff, St. Martin’s
Holmes On The Range, Steve Hockensmith, St. Martins
The King Of Lies, John Hart, St. Martin’s
Still Life, Louise Penny, St. Martin’s
The library does have copies of all of these titles - stop by and check one out. Please leave us a comment if you read one, or more, of these nominated books and let us know if you think it deserves to win.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Volunteers Needed!

- Satisfaction in providing a much needed and appreciated community service.
- Annual service recognition.
- Valuable and meaningful use of your free time.
- Develop new social skills.
To get more information or sign up, please contact Melanie Holles, the Outreach Services Librarian, at 704-986-3761.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Here's Your Chance to WIN a Free Book!

I recently received a free paperback copy of The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard from the publisher, Ballantine Books. The book was originally published in a hardback edition in 2006. The trade paperback edition has just been released.
I wasn't going to read the book because it's a mystery type book and it's set in Kansas. But I'm looking for good books for my book club to read and discuss next year, so I thought I would at least try this one. If you've had a chance to talk with me about books, you'll know that I don't like mysteries; and having lived in Kansas, I sure don't need to read books about it. But I loved this book! I actually had to stop myself from reading one night because I wasn't ready for it to end.
The novel is set in a fictional small town by Emporia, Kansas (where I went to graduate school). I had to keep reading to find out who the Virgin was that was buried in the cemetery (and causing miracles), and I had to find out who knew what and who killed her. The ending was very satisfying - not a happy ending like a romance novel - but all the bad guys are dealt with and the characters I liked all had closure.
I plan to suggest to my book club that we read and discuss this book next year. But I'm still looking for other great books for my club to read. If you'd like to win my free publisher copy of this book, please leave me a comment with a suggestion for other great books my book club might enjoy. I'll draw a name from all the comments on July 28th and send them the book.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Author Read-Alike: Jennifer Crusie

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Best Crime Novels
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Beynon Rees
*Echo Park by Michael Connelly
*Free Fire by C.J. Box
*The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst
*The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas
The Meaning of the Night: A Confession by Michael Cox
*Vicious Circle by Robert Littell
*Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
*The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
*The Zero by Jess Walter
And if none of the "best" books sparked your interest, then maybe one of these titles by rising stars will.
*Codex by Lev Grossman
*Still Life by Louise Penny
*Speak of the Devil by Richard Hawke
*Blood of Angels and The Last Goodbye by Reed Arvin
*The Sweet and the Dead by Milton T. Burton
*Sliver of Truth and Dead at Daybreak by Deon Meyer
*The Smoke by Tony Broadbent
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Albemarle Reader's Circle Book Club

- Tuesday, June 19
- 11:00 am
At 38, Jessie Maddox has a comfortable life in Glenville, GA, with Turner, the most reliable, responsible husband in the world. But after the storybook romance, "happily ever after" never came. Now why can't she stop picturing herself as the perfect Grieving widow?
Braselton's debut novel carries recommendations on the cover from Southern writing greats; Anne Rivers Siddons, Kaye Gibbons, and Lee Smith.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Aspen Gold Reader's Choice Awards



Thursday, May 24, 2007
New York Times Best Sellers - May 27, 2007
1 THE 6TH TARGET, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) In San Francisco, children and their nannies are disappearing, and Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club investigate.
2 SIMPLE GENIUS, by David Baldacci. (Warner, $26.99.) Two former Secret Service agents investigate a scientist’s murder while one battles her own demons.
3 THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION, by Michael Chabon. (HarperCollins, $26.95.) A detective investigates the murder of a neighbor in a Jewish settlement in Alaska.
4 THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN, by J. R. R. Tolkien. Illustrated by Alan Lee. (Houghton Mifflin, $26.) In Middle-earth, an evil lord wants to destroy his rival’s children.
5 I HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE, by Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster, $25.95.)
A woman marries a childhood acquaintance suspected of several murders.
6 THE WOODS, by Harlan Coben. (Dutton, $26.95.) A prosecutor must confront family secrets when new evidence surfaces about a murder and disappearance at a summer camp 20 years earlier.
7 RANT, by Chuck Palahniuk. (Doubleday, $24.95.)The “oral biography” of a serial killer.
8 NINETEEN MINUTES, by Jodi Picoult. (Atria, $26.95.) The aftermath of a high school shooting reveals the fault lines in a small New Hampshire town.
9 THE GOOD HUSBAND OF ZEBRA DRIVE, by Alexander McCall Smith. (Pantheon, $21.95.) The eighth novel in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
10 BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET, by Debbie Macomber. (Mira, $24.95.) More stories of life and love from a Seattle knitting class.
11 FOR ONE MORE DAY, by Mitch Albom. (Hyperion, $21.95.) A troubled man gets a last chance to reconnect and restore his relationship with his dead mother.
12 BODY SURFING, by Anita Shreve. (Little, Brown, $25.99.) A woman takes a job as a tutor and becomes involved in a wealthy family’s tensions and rivalries.
13 ALL TOGETHER DEAD, by Charlaine Harris. (Ace, $24.95.) Sookie Stackhouse, a New Orleans cocktail waitress, is swept up in the intrigue of a vampire summit.
14 BUDDHA, by Deepak Chopra. (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95.) A reimagining of the spiritual leader’s life.
15 UP IN HONEY’S ROOM, by Elmore Leonard. (Morrow, $25.95.) Marshal Carl Webster tracks German spies in Detroit in the closing days of World War II.
HARDCOVER NON-FICTION
1 EINSTEIN, by Walter Isaacson. (Simon & Schuster, $32.) A biography based on newly released personal letters.
2 AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM, by George Tenet. (HarperCollins, $30.) The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency looks back on his career.
3 PAULA DEEN: IT AIN’T ALL ABOUT THE COOKIN’, by Paula Deen with Sherry Suib Cohen. (Simon & Schuster, $25.) A memoir with recipes from the Southern cooking impresario (Food Network shows, restaurants, cookbooks, magazine).
4 GOD IS NOT GREAT, by Christopher Hitchens. (Twelve, $24.99.) Religion as a malignant force in the world.
5 ANIMAL-VEGETABLE-MIRACLE, by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver. (HarperCollins, $26.95.) The novelist and her family spend a year eating homegrown or local food; an argument for diversified farms and sustainable agriculture.
6 A LONG WAY GONE, by Ishmael Beah. (Sarah Crichton/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $22.) A former child soldier from Sierra Leone describes his drug-crazed killing spree and his return to humanity.
7 WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE?, by Lee Iacocca. (Scribner, $25.) The former C.E.O. of Chrysler protests the lack of political and business leadership on issues like health care and energy policy.
8 I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK, by Nora Ephron. (Knopf, $19.95.) A witty look at aging from a novelist and screenwriter (“When Harry Met Sally”).
9 PRESIDENTIAL COURAGE, by Michael Beschloss. (Simon & Schuster, $28.) Profiles of nine presidents who had the courage to make unpopular decisions.
10 KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL, by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson. (Random House, $24.95.) To aid Afghan women, an American runs a beauty school in Kabul.
11 THE BLACK SWAN, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. (Random House, $26.95.) The role of the unexpected.
12 TALES FROM Q SCHOOL, by John Feinstein. (Little, Brown, $26.99.) Inside the 200 5 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, which determines whether a golfer will have a slot on the PGA Tour, from the author of “A Good Walk Spoiled.”
13 THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.) The Illinois junior senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.
14 HOW DOCTORS THINK, by Jerome Groopman. (Houghton Mifflin, $26.) A doctor and New Yorker staff writer describes how doctors arrive at diagnoses.
15 MARLEY & ME, by John Grogan. (Morrow, $29.95 and $21.95.) A newspaper columnist and his wife learn some life lessons from their neurotic dog.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A Few Summer Reading Suggestions
Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg.
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. Also try the first two in this series, Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn.
Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy.
Queen of the Broken Hearts by Cassandra King (wife of Pat Conroy).
The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini. An Elm Creek Quilters novel.
Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith. Number eight in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Also try Right Attitude to Rain, number three in the Isabel Dalhousie Mystery series.
6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Also look for The Quickie to be published later this summer.
Blue Zone by Andrew Gross (former co-author with James Patterson)
An Unexpected Family by Joan Medlicott. A Covington novel.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Antique Sale & Appraisal Fair
Join the Friends of the Library on Saturday, June 9 for an Appraisal Fair at the Albemarle Library. Experts will appraise a maximum of two items per person for $5.00 per appraisal. Proceeds from the appraisals will be donated to the Friends of the Stanly County Public Library and the Stanly County Museum. This event will be held along with an Antique Sale downtown beside the Museum. For more information, call (704)986-3914.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
New York Times Bestsellers - May 20, 2007
1 SIMPLE GENIUS, by David Baldacci. (Warner, $26.99.) Two former Secret Service agents investigate a scientist’s murder while one battles her own demons.
2 THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION, by Michael Chabon. (HarperCollins, $26.95.) A detective investigates the murder of a neighbor in a Jewish settlement in Alaska.
3 THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN, by J. R. R. Tolkien. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Illustrated by Alan Lee. (Houghton Mifflin, $26.) In Middle-earth, an evil lord wants to destroy his rival’s children.
4 THE WOODS, by Harlan Coben. (Dutton, $26.95.) A prosecutor must confront family secrets when new evidence surfaces about a murder and disappearance at a summer camp 20 years earlier.
5 RANT, by Chuck Palahniuk. (Doubleday, $24.95.) The “oral biography” of a serial killer.
6 ALL TOGETHER DEAD, by Charlaine Harris. (Ace, $24.95.) Sookie Stackhouse, a New Orleans cocktail waitress, is swept up in the intrigue of a vampire summit.
7 THE GOOD HUSBAND OF ZEBRA DRIVE, by Alexander McCall Smith. (Pantheon, $21.95.) The eighth novel in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
8 I HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE, by Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster, $25.95.) A woman marries a childhood acquaintance suspected of several murders.
9 BODY SURFING, by Anita Shreve. (Little, Brown, $25.99.) A woman takes a job as a tutor and becomes involved in a wealthy family’s tensions and rivalries.
10 * NINETEEN MINUTES, by Jodi Picoult. (Atria, $26.95.) The aftermath of a high school shooting reveals the fault lines in a small New Hampshire town.
11 BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET, by Debbie Macomber. (Mira, $24.95.) More stories of life and love from a Seattle knitting class.
12 THE RIVER KNOWS, by Amanda Quick. (Putnam, $24.95.) In Victorian England, an investigative reporter and a wealthy Londoner feign a romance while they investigate a man they suspect of murder.
13 FRESH DISASTERS, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) Stone Barrington, the New York cop turned lawyer, tangles with a mob boss.
14 NO HUMANS INVOLVED, by Kelley Armstrong. (Bantam, $20.) A necromancer struggles to free the trapped ghosts of six murdered children.
15 DREAM WHEN YOU’RE FEELING BLUE, by Elizabeth Berg. (Random House, $24.95.) Three Irish-American sisters in World War II Chicago.
Monday, May 14, 2007
What to read this summer?
Recently the Charlotte Observer had a list of what books incoming freshman are being asked to read at some of North Carolina's colleges and universities. It's an interesting list of non-fiction and fiction titles. I wanted to share with you some of the titles. All on this list are available from the Stanly County Public Libraries.
- A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America" by Paul Cuadros.
- An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
- Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson
- The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions by Sister Helen Prejean
- When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
- The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Check out one of these books and discover what incoming college students will be reading and discussing. If you've read one or more of these books and want to share your opinion, please leave a comment.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Thank You


Thursday, May 03, 2007
Have You Heard?
May7, 2007
For your convenience, PC Reservation:
- Allows for public computers to be reserved up to 24 hours in advance eliminating time spent waiting while informing you exactly what time your PC will be available!
- Requires little staff intervention - all you'll need is a library card with a PIN number to begin a session!
- Permits you two sixtly-minutes sessions per day with unlimited 20-minutes extensions (as long as computers are available/unreserved)!
With Print Managemnt:
- We can be a greener library! By releasing only pages you want to print there will be less wasted paper! Better for you, better for the environment!
Optimal changes to serve YOU better!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Internet Computers are Unavailable
Once the new system is up and running, computer users will easily register for computer time at a designated terminal. The new system will also monitor printing.
Come back to the library on Thursday, May 3 and experience a new and improved internet computer session.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Historical Fiction: Women of the Bible
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, about the daughter and wives of Jacob
The Canaan Trilogy (Sarah, Zipporah, Wife of Moses and Lilah) by Marek Halter
The Women of Genesis series (Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel and Leah) by Orson Scott Card
Leaving Eden by Ann Chamberlin, story told by Na'amah, daughter of Adam and Liliath
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen by India Edghill, the story of Michal, daughter of King Saul
According to Mary Magdalene by Marianne Fredriksson
The Gilded Chamber: A Novel of Queen Esther by Rebecca Kohn
You can find these novels and more at the Stanly County Public Library.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
National Library Week

Thursday, April 05, 2007
Open Mike Poetry Night
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2007
Time: 7:00-8:00 pm
Other ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month:
- Check out and read a book of poetry.
- Memorize a poem.
- Recite a poem to family and friends.
- Visit www.poets.org
- Attend a poetry reading.
Friday, March 23, 2007
It's Time for the Spring Booksale
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Reader's Circle Book Club

Monday, March 05, 2007
Adult Winter Reading Program - Winner!
Friday, February 23, 2007
Free Genealogy Wokkshop

- Session I: Basic Genealogy
- Session II: Materials Preservation - including documents, photos and textiles
Sponsored by: Stanly County Public Library, Stanly County Genealogical Society, Yadkin River Patriots DAR, and the Stanly County Museum
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
New Date for the Best Books Program!
Please come and join me for the discussion of the Best Books of 2006. And, I hope you'll hsare your best, and worst, books of the year.
See you then-
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Best Books Program ReScheduled
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
It's Time for the Best Books Discussion!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Cathy Pickens will discuss her mysteries Southern Fried and Done Gone Wrong at the Albemarle Library on Thursday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. Friends of the Stanly County Library will sponsor this program as well as the book signing which will follow. Pickens' novels will be available for purchase. For more information, call (704)986-3766.
Reading in a Winter Wonderland
Starting on January 2, sign up at your local library - in Albemarle, Badin, Norwood, Oakboro, or Locust - and you will receive a special book mark. For each book you read, drop and entry form into the weekly drawing box and be eligible to win a limited edition library mug. All weekly entries will be eligible for the final drawing of a $25.00 gift certificate to Barnes and Nobel Bookstore.
This is the time to read some of the great books that have been published in the last year, or to pick up an old classic you've been meaning to read, and maybe win a prize!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Program Sponsored by the Children's Department
Homeschool Open House
January 12, 2007
at
10:00 AM
Stanly County Public Library
Meeting Room
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Resources for Book Groups
I have two special DVD's for book clubs to use. The first is Barbara Delinsky Talks About Writing & Books, and I also have At Home With Adriana Trigiani. Both authors have created these DVD's to help book groups discuss their books. These DVD's are available only to Book Group Network Members.
If your group would like to use one or both of these DVD's, or if you would like to register your book club with the Network, please give me a call at 704-986-3761.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Books to Warm Your Heart
The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverine
The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg
A Painted House by John Grisham
Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley
Friendship Cake by Lynne Hinton
A Common Life by Jan Karon
Patty Jane's house of Curl by Lorna Landvik
Where the Heart is by Billie Letts
The Ladies of Covington Send Thier Love by Joan Medlicott
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani





