The Second Floor Librarians

Right after the Christmas rush but before the demands of the New Year I find myself being drawn to books that force me to reconsider my choices. I’m not referring to those books that fit the typical New Year’s resolution ticket, but rather ones that depict a lifestyle far different than my own. First on [...]

I’m reading the slow-to-start, but deeply engrossing new magnum opus by the famed Haruki Murakami titled 1Q84.  This dark and bizarre novel is supposedly loosely related to George Orwell’s 1984.  Having not read the Orwell classic, I delayed my anticipation to devour the new  novel until I could read it.

Click on the picture at left to get to Booklist’s Top 10 Crafts & Gardening books of the year.  Want other hand picked titles and well-written book reviews?

I asked some of the Adult Services Librarians to share their favorite books from 2011.  The list that follows is an interesting and eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction and includes some titles that are new to me and maybe to you as well.  Happy reading!

Just recently I watched my dad coach his high school soccer team to their second state championship.  After giving their all through 110 minutes of regulation and overtime, the team persevered and narrowly won the gold in penalty kicks. It capped off an amazing season, filled with highs and lows, excitement and sports drama. And [...]

I recently heard an NPR story about the new book, The unconquered, which tells of a tribe of several thousand people in the Amazonian rainforest that has never had contact with modern civilization.  My curiosity aroused about the Amazon region, I browsed the catalog and found  these three additional books that are similar in scope [...]

I like this time of year for curling up with a book.  It’s partly the rain and short days that make this appealing, and partly the need to take a little break from the frenzied holiday season.  Why not escape into the past with a good historical novel?

While we have a book club group that meets every third Wednesday at the library, we understand not everyone is able to attend at that time. In an effort to expand our book club offerings, we have an online book club, offered in partnership with DearReader.com, that previews different titles each week. It has grown [...]

“In Flanders Fields” by Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, [...]

Here are some great public domain horror ebooks in multiple formats for your Halloween ereading pleasure! Clicking on the book title will yield the ebook. In addition, I have included audio adaptations, where available.