Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at a modern literary tale of family life in rural Newfoundland, a charming memoir about familial culture clashes, and a new book in a long-running Canadian murder mystery series.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Canadian Ennui, Heartwarming Memoirs, and Canadian Murders, Eh”
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at a prestigious annual literary collection, a standalone mystery from one of the most popular crime writers working today, and a profile of the Los Angeles library system.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Short Story Anthologies, Standalone Debuts, and Libraries”
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at a touching tale of things lost and things found, a history of how women won the right to vote in the United States, and a Gothic series about a 19th century woman with an unusually comprehensive knowledge of anatomy. . . .
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Lost Items, Successful Suffragettes, and Proper Gothic Murders”
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
Whilst I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. . . .
I was first introduced to Edgar Allan Poe as a child. I don’t remember how I acquired it, but somehow I got my hands on a collection of his poems and short stories, and they became instant favorites. For many years afterward, when I was feeling stressed out or overwhelmed, I would flip to “The Raven,” and despite the fact that it is not in any way intended as relaxing, I always found it therapeutic.
Well, this week (January 19th) marks his 199th birthday, and there is no better way to celebrate the wonderfully unusual, macabre, and creepy world of Edgar Allan Poe than by revisiting his work.
Some writers spend years working painstakingly on one book. Other authors, meanwhile, seem to effortlessly churn out several a year.
For readers, waiting years for the next book can be agonizing, but it can also be frustrating to read something that seems hastily thrown together. For that reason, every reader (and writer, for that matter) definitely has their preference, with some militantly spurning series and others who think that, well, the more, the merrier. (Personally, I’m in the middle. I enjoy a good series, but I’m also not much of one for the seemingly never-ending ones, with a couple of notable exceptions, because I quickly lose interest.)
This month at the library, we’re celebrating those merrier writers, those with long-running series, by highlighting their holiday entries. The good news . . . if you like what you read, there’s plenty more!
Continue reading “Oddly Specific Genres: The More, The Merrier”
Are you ready to unleash your writing superpowers? That’s the theme of this November’s NaNoWriMo, the annual writing challenge that requires participants to write a novel in the span of 30 days.
Think you couldn’t write a book in 30 years, let alone 30 days?
Well, if these decidedly non-author celebrities can write fiction, why can’t you?
Continue reading “Oddly-Specific Genres: If They Can Write A Book, So Can You!”
The dog days of summer are here! For many of us, this means it’s time to stay inside and binge watch some TV. But did you know some of the best of those great TV shows you love are actually adaptations of books? It’s true!
Everything from epic fantasies (Game of Thrones) to historical romances with a science fiction twist (Outlander) to dystopian social commentary (The Handmaid’s Tale) to modern Western mysteries (Longmire) to supernatural comic books (Preacher and American Gods) are adapted for television now.
And if you think the adaptation craze on television is going to be ending anytime soon, well, think again.
Below are some books to start reading now, so when the television adaptations they are based on hit DVDs or the screen soon, you’ll be ready.
Special thanks to Mary-Esther for giving me some excellent suggestions for shows highlighted in this post!
As always, follow this link to our online library catalog to learn more about these items.
It’s that time of year again!
And by that time of year again, of course, I mean Books in Bloom.
We hope you’ll join us on May 21st in Eureka Springs at the Crescent Hotel for another afternoon of books and author talks.
Like last year, we’re giving you the scoop on who will be there, so you can get a head-start reading some of the offerings from this year’s authors.
Continue reading “Oddly-Specific Genres: 2017 Books in Bloom Authors”
There’s a mystery sub-genre for all occasions and tastes. Literally. You want to read a mystery with food in it? There’s an entire sub-genre devoted to it. You want to read a mystery that involves some hardcore knitting? There’s an entire sub-genre devoted to it. You want to read a mystery that involves cute dogs and cats? Well, this post is for you!
Personally, as much as I enjoy mysteries, I’ve never really delved into these types of mystery sub-genres.
I’ve already talked about my hopeless track record in regard to food and mysteries.
Knitting and needle-crafts in general are not my friends, so that’s just not even an option.
But it’s really kind of odd that I’ve never gotten into pet mysteries because I really do like pets, specifically dogs. I’m currently owned by a 3-lb. Chihuahua named after a Roman emperor.
Even beyond my own personal enjoyment of animals, one of the first books I remember loving as a child featured pet detectives (sort of)–Bunnicula. Granted, they were paranoid and not always terribly competent pet detectives, but that was a huge part of their charm.
So, if like me you’re a newbie to the world of pet cozy mysteries, here’s a roundup of introductory titles to this oddly-specific genre.
Continue reading “Oddly-Specific Genres: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs!”
Happy New Year and welcome to the first installment of our new monthly series, Oddly-Specific Genres!
Last year, we hosted the 2016 Library Challenge, which was pretty intense. This year, we decided to take a more relaxed approach and are instead inviting you to step into a new genre in 2017…or really 12 new genres, one per month. And we don’t want people to get bored so we’ve come up with sub-genres, or perhaps sub-sub-genres (what I have termed “oddly-specific genres”) to tempt you to take that plunge. The library will be displaying books in that month’s Oddly-Specific Genre each month, and I will be highlighting some here and on our Facebook page. Read along with us and let us know with your comments on the blog or on our Facebook page. Prizes will be in store for those in the Berryville area that conquer at least 10 of these this year!
As winter begins to take hold, there is no better way to start off than with an escape to the fjord side…yes, you guessed it, Scandinavian murder mysteries, aka Nordic Noir (which just happens to be one of my personal favorites.) I’ve talked about my love for Scandinavian fiction here before, but what I love about the books in this genre are their highly atmospheric settings and their psychological insight. Most of the authors I’ve read in this genre are skilled at combining police procedurals with thrillers, and even though these books can be fast-paced, they also tend to be more character-driven than a lot of other mysteries.
With that being said, let the Scandinavian crime spree commence!
Continue reading “Oddly-Specific Genres: Exploring the Fjord Side”
Berryville Book Buzz 