May 30, 2009 Saturday
Be an artist @ your library!
Kid’s Craft Day and Summer Reading Program registration begins 10 am to 3 pmDownstairs Meeting Room!
All children welcome!
Open house style arts and crafts!!
Refreshments and fun!!!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Finding A Good Mystery
Hello to all,
How to find new mysteries and keep track of all those pesky series…
Here are some of my favorite tools:
A wonderful webpage is www.stopyourekillingme.com. Not only do they have author, title and characters listed they have location index, job index, history index and so much more. Do you want to read a mystery set in Alaska in during an August heat wave, love mysteries with a medicinal edge to them, have been hunting for a book about a psychic interior decorator- here are the answers. A great site to explore that includes awards winners, upcoming publications, author links and book reviews.
Another tool I love is a list-serv named Dorothy-L, www.dorothyl.com
Here a eclectic collection of readers, authors, book sellers, librarians, wanna be authors and quirky characters post their views of the mystery book world (sometimes we segue to films also). I receive these postings once day in digest form. New authors can be discovered here. And a wide range of views on a mix of mystery books, publishing business, and other book/mystery topics.
Good Reads a quick and almost painless way to record what you have read and what you are planning to read. In the past to track my reading and my purchasing of books I have keep lists in composition books, used various book journals, used word/access/excel documents and wrote what I read on planner/calendar. My findings tell me I like reading much better than writing or list making. But I do like to know if I have read book # 7 in a series or do I need to interlibrary loan it. Good reads is easy to use and you can keep it simple.
My final tool is interlibrary loan. Your library can borrow items for you from almost any library. Here at PCL we do not charge for this service (we do limit you to 1 request per week) What a great way to share resources.
Dale
How to find new mysteries and keep track of all those pesky series…
Here are some of my favorite tools:
A wonderful webpage is www.stopyourekillingme.com. Not only do they have author, title and characters listed they have location index, job index, history index and so much more. Do you want to read a mystery set in Alaska in during an August heat wave, love mysteries with a medicinal edge to them, have been hunting for a book about a psychic interior decorator- here are the answers. A great site to explore that includes awards winners, upcoming publications, author links and book reviews.
Another tool I love is a list-serv named Dorothy-L, www.dorothyl.com
Here a eclectic collection of readers, authors, book sellers, librarians, wanna be authors and quirky characters post their views of the mystery book world (sometimes we segue to films also). I receive these postings once day in digest form. New authors can be discovered here. And a wide range of views on a mix of mystery books, publishing business, and other book/mystery topics.
Good Reads a quick and almost painless way to record what you have read and what you are planning to read. In the past to track my reading and my purchasing of books I have keep lists in composition books, used various book journals, used word/access/excel documents and wrote what I read on planner/calendar. My findings tell me I like reading much better than writing or list making. But I do like to know if I have read book # 7 in a series or do I need to interlibrary loan it. Good reads is easy to use and you can keep it simple.
My final tool is interlibrary loan. Your library can borrow items for you from almost any library. Here at PCL we do not charge for this service (we do limit you to 1 request per week) What a great way to share resources.
Dale
Friday, May 8, 2009
Teen Summer Reading Program at the Putnam County Library!
Express Yourself @ Your Library
Calling all teens! Area teens are invited to “Express Yourself @ Your Library”, the Putnam County Library’s teen summer library program, June 1st-18th. Teens are invited to come to the library and read for prizes, as well as to take part in special events offered throughout the month, including our “One Summer, One Book” event.
Special events this summer at the Cookeville library will include a Guitar Hero tournament, creative writing sessions, jewelry-making, and many more crafts and activities. Beginning May 18th, teens in middle school and high school can register for the summer program and to attend these free events. Teens will also be given activity logs to record any books they read and library events they attended in order to earn points toward prizes. Teens who attend all PCL teen programs will receive a special prize!
At our final program event, the “Express Yourself” party on June 18th, we’ll host our book club discussion of the “One Summer, One Book” title How to Steal a Dog, and afterwards provide pizza, video games, and suggested reads for the rest of your summer. Contact the Cookeville library to RSVP at 526-2416.
“Express Yourself @ Your Library” teen summer library program is sponsored by the Friends of the Putnam County Library and by a donation from Dr. Lisa Whiteaker.
“One Summer, One Book”
Teens all across Putnam County will be reading the same book this summer! By participating in the Putnam County Library’s teen summer library program “Express Yourself @ Your Library”, teens will have the opportunity to read the same book, and at the end of this summer’s events, participate in a discussion of the book with others just like them! The book selected for this year is How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor. In this book teens will read about Georgia Hayes, a girl desperate to hold her struggling family together who is inspired after she spots a poster offering a $500 reward for the return of a missing dog. All she has to do is "borrow" the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward!
Upon registering for the teen summer library program at any library location (Cookeville, Baxter, Monterey, or Algood) teens will receive a registration packet and a free copy of the book. Contact your local library branch for registration dates and book discussion dates.
Book Talks
Hello to all,
This Tennessee rainy weather has been keeping me out of my gardens but on the plus side has made for extra reading time.
Although I enjoy many types of mystery novels and short stories this weekend historical mysteries hit the spot along with some home made vegetable soup.
The three books I read last weekend were:
Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery “Murder on Washington Square” Book 4
Rhys Bowne’s The Molly Murphy series “Murphy’s Law” Book 1
Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher “Murder on the Ballarat Train” Book 3
Each of these authors is accurate with historical details and nuance of the locations. Thompson and Bowne books are placed in New York City at the turn of the century (1901)
The protagonists are strong, likeable, and independent young women from very different backgrounds. Thompson’s heroine, Sarah Brandt is an upper class young woman that has turned her back on her privileged upbringing and has chosen instead to work as a midwife. In “Murder on Washington Square” Nelson, the son of Sarah’s friend and neighbor is afraid he has gotten his mistress in a delicate condition, and asks Sarah to talk with the woman.
In “Murphy’s Law” Bowne’s heroine Molly Murphy is newly emigrated from Ireland. Molly left in Ireland after the local laird’s son attacked her. Molly, fearing arrest, made her way to London to become lost in the big city. Through a series of events she makes her way to NYC and the Ellis Island immigration station.
Both authors show the tension, hopefulness and rough conditions of the immigrants in New York at that time and since both women become friends with a local policeman the corrupt Tammany Hall politics scene is part of the backdrop of these quick pace mysteries. I enjoy that in each series historical figures like Teddy Roosevelt, NYC Police Commissioner are brought in as part of the background of the stories.
Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher (fry-knee) is an Australia flapper in the 1920’s. Phryne is wealthy, fashionable, strong and independent. She has many talents including being a pilot and is versed in the martial arts. In “Murder on the Ballarat Train” Phryne and Dot, her servant and friend are napping during the trip. She wakes up to a car full of chloroform fumes.
When she pulls the emergency brake to stop the train and breaks the windows to let fresh air the real reason for the diversion is found.
Learning about the roaring 20’s down under is great fun and while Phryne is a bit more outrageous then Molly or Sarah, all three women’s stories include a wonderful sense of time and place with a diverse mix of supporting characters who entertain and educate the reader about life in the early 20th century.
Dale Stapp
This Tennessee rainy weather has been keeping me out of my gardens but on the plus side has made for extra reading time.
Although I enjoy many types of mystery novels and short stories this weekend historical mysteries hit the spot along with some home made vegetable soup.
The three books I read last weekend were:
Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery “Murder on Washington Square” Book 4
Rhys Bowne’s The Molly Murphy series “Murphy’s Law” Book 1
Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher “Murder on the Ballarat Train” Book 3
Each of these authors is accurate with historical details and nuance of the locations. Thompson and Bowne books are placed in New York City at the turn of the century (1901)
The protagonists are strong, likeable, and independent young women from very different backgrounds. Thompson’s heroine, Sarah Brandt is an upper class young woman that has turned her back on her privileged upbringing and has chosen instead to work as a midwife. In “Murder on Washington Square” Nelson, the son of Sarah’s friend and neighbor is afraid he has gotten his mistress in a delicate condition, and asks Sarah to talk with the woman.
In “Murphy’s Law” Bowne’s heroine Molly Murphy is newly emigrated from Ireland. Molly left in Ireland after the local laird’s son attacked her. Molly, fearing arrest, made her way to London to become lost in the big city. Through a series of events she makes her way to NYC and the Ellis Island immigration station.
Both authors show the tension, hopefulness and rough conditions of the immigrants in New York at that time and since both women become friends with a local policeman the corrupt Tammany Hall politics scene is part of the backdrop of these quick pace mysteries. I enjoy that in each series historical figures like Teddy Roosevelt, NYC Police Commissioner are brought in as part of the background of the stories.
Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher (fry-knee) is an Australia flapper in the 1920’s. Phryne is wealthy, fashionable, strong and independent. She has many talents including being a pilot and is versed in the martial arts. In “Murder on the Ballarat Train” Phryne and Dot, her servant and friend are napping during the trip. She wakes up to a car full of chloroform fumes.
When she pulls the emergency brake to stop the train and breaks the windows to let fresh air the real reason for the diversion is found.
Learning about the roaring 20’s down under is great fun and while Phryne is a bit more outrageous then Molly or Sarah, all three women’s stories include a wonderful sense of time and place with a diverse mix of supporting characters who entertain and educate the reader about life in the early 20th century.
Dale Stapp
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