It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Christmas

The holiday themed books are starting to arrive. We have just received several new titles. All guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit. Most of these books are short, which is perfect for this hectic time of the year. So come in to the library, or reserve a book online, and checkout these new titles for the holiday season. Watch for more holiday books to arrive.

A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry

A McKettrick Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid

'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvik

Halloween Booooooooooks

Try one of these novels for Halloween.

Carole Nelson Douglas - Cat With an Emerald Eye

Stewart O'Nan - The Night Country

Nancy Pickard - Twilight

G.A. McKevett - Poisoned Tarts

Albemarle Writers' Group

Calling all writers in the Albemarle area interested in starting a writers' group.

Martha Harward is hosting an organizational meeting on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the downstairs Meeting Room at the Albemarle Library.

Fall Film Fare

• This fall there are a lot of movies showing up in theaters that are based on books. I know some people liek to read the book before seeing the movie and some people like to see the movie first. Which type are you?
  
  Check these movies/books out:
  
  The Duchess starring Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes, based on the book Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman.
  Miracle at St. Anna directed by Spike Lee based on the novel by James McBride.
  Choke starring Anjelica Huston based on the novel by Chuck Palahnuik.
  Nights in Rodanthe starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane based on the novel by Nicholas Spark. And set and filmed in Rodanthe, NC.
  Appaloosa based on the novel by Robert B. Parker and starring Viggo Mortensen, Rene Zellweger and Jeremy Irons.
  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
  Body of Lies starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe based on the novel by David Ignatius.
  City of Ember starring Bill Murrary and Tim Robbins based on the novel by Jeanne DuParau.
  The Secret Life of Bees starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
  The Road starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy.
  Twilight based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer.
  Gomorra based on the novel by Roberto Saviano.
  The Reader starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes based onthe novel by Bernhard Schlink.

There is still time to Register to Vote

Friday, October 10, 2008 is the last day to register to vote for this November's election. You can download the form from the Board of Election's web site http://elections.co.stanly.nc.us/voterregistration/index.html or you can pick up a form at any Stanly County Public library location - Albemarle, Badin, Norwood, Oakboro or Locust. Forms must be filled out, signed and returned to the Board of Elections located in the Stanly County Commons.

Join the Reader's Circle Book Club

The next meeting of the Readers Circle Book Club will be on Tuesday, October 21st at 11:00 am in the Albemarle library meeting room. New members are welcome to join us, and there are copies of the book available to be checked out. We will be discussing The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard. The publisher describes the book as: Three families and three friends, their worlds inexorably altered in the course of one night, must confront the ever-unfolding consequences in award-winning author Nancy Pickard's remarkable novel of suspense.

Aspen Gold Readers Choice Awards

For the second year I have been a judge for the Aspen Gold Readers Choice Awards for published novels. This annual award is sponsored by the Heart of Denver Romance Writers Association. I was sent a copy of the three finalists in the Historical Fiction category to read and score. Under their scoring system a 1-2 is Below Average, 3-4 is Fair, 5-6 is Good, 7-8 is Great and 9-10 is Outstanding. The books I had to read were: Untouched by Anna Campbell, Lady Be Bad by Candice Hern, and His Favorite Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren. I liked His Favorite Mistress the best. We are adding all three titles to the Albemarle collection so that you can read them, so please check them out, read them, and let me know what you think about them.

Banned Books Week

This week is Banned Books Week. Celebrate your right to read by reading a banned or challenged book. Check out the library's display of titles that have been banned or challenged. Have you read a banned book lately? Why do you think it was banned or challenged?

Hot Topic - The Wife

Writing a book about "the wife" has been good for authors. There have been lots of titles published over the years.

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
The Senators Wife by Sue Miller
Sunday Wife by Cassandra King
The Good Wife Strikes Back by Elizabeth Buchan
River Wife by Jonis Agee
The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

This year brings several more new titles about "the wife".

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Professor's Wives Club by Joanne Rendell

You can check out any one of the titles from the Stanly County Public Library. If you can think of any other titles with "the wife", please share with us. And if you've read any of these books, let us know what you thought about it.

Oprah's Newest Book Club Selection

On Friday, Oprah announced the newest book in her book club. It is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. The book jacket cover says this about the book: "Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm - and into Edgar's mother's affections." "Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires - spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward."

The library has several copies available for checkout.

Annual Friends of the Library Author Dinner

The Friends of the Stanly County Public Library are proud to announce that Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen will be the featured speaker at the Friends annual author dinner. Susan Gregg Gilmore has written for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Los Angeles Times, and the Christian Science Monitor. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and three daughters. This is her first novel. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

6:30 pm

Stanly Regional Medical Center's Family and Education Center

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.

Man Book Prize Shortlist Announced

The Man Book Prize is for novels written in English by writers from Britain, Ireland or the Commonwealth of former British colonies.

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.

It's Football Time

It's football time again. Friday night local games, Sunday afternoons in front of the TV and Monday Night Football. The Stanly County Public Library has lots of great football books for fans and football widows alike. We have everything from biographies of football players and coaches to warm love stories with handsome football heroes. Try one of these titles:

Just Too Good to be True by E. Lynn Harris

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to pat Tillman by Mary Tillman

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury

Don't Bet Against me!: Beating the Odds Against Breast Cancer and in Life by Deanna Favre

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Quiet Strength: the Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

September is Library Card Sign-Up Time

Get it.

• 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.

Summer Vacation

What does a librarian take on vacation? This has taken a lot of thought - I want to have enough to read, but I don't want to add too much weight to my bags.

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.

Movies at the Library

The library is showing movies this summer for kids and adults. A great way to save gas money and see a movie locally for FREE and be indoors out of the heat.

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.

Teens' Top 10

Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. If you read nominated books throughout the year, you’ll be ready to vote for your favorites during Teen Read Week, October 12 - 18, 2008. Readers aged twelve to eighteen can vote online anytime that week.

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!

June Book A Month Challenge

Knowledge
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).

Food for Fines Successful

Thank you to all of our library patrons who came into our libraries during National Library week and paid their fines with non-perishable food items. We were able to donate 254 pounds of food to the Stanly County Christian Ministries.

2008 Edgar Awards

At the 62nd Annual Edgar Awards ceremony, the Mystery Writers of America announced their 2008 winners. John Hart took home the Edgar for Best Novel for his sophomore effort, Down River. The Edgar for Best First Novel By An American went to Tana French for In the Woods.