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What
Readers' Advisory staff have
read and
enjoyed |
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Locked Rooms by Laurie R.
King (mystery)
This eighth title in the Mary Russell and
Sherlock Holmes series is set in 1922 San
Francisco. Mary returns to her family home
for the first time in 10 years to finally settle
her family estate. It has been 10 years
since she left after the tragedy that took the
lives of her parents and brother. Coming
back, Mary is plagued with recurring dreams,
unable to sleep or eat well, and for the first
time since Holmes has known her, not in
control. Opening up the family home releases
many repressed childhood memories. During
this visit, someone shoots at Mary,
and Holmes believes something from the
family’s past is at the core. Without Mary’s
knowledge, he launches an intense investigation
utilizing the skills of Pinkerton agent Dashiell
Hammett and various Chinese arts. The key to
the puzzle goes back to the days following the
1906 earthquake and her father’s buried
secret. Finally, Mary herself realizes the
truth about her family’s tragic
deaths.
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Can
You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
(fiction)
Emma Corrigan is part Bridget Jones,
part Stephanie Plum. Living in London, Emma
is a junior marketing consultant for Panther Cola
and is hoping for a promotion.
Unfortunately, her fist solo assignment does not
go smoothly and, on her fretful flight home from
Scotland (she's convinced the plane is going to
crash), she ends up confessing her innermost
secrets to the handsome American sitting next to
her. As luck would have it for this hapless
heroine, she meets him later when he's introduced
as Jack Harper, CEO of Panther Cola, while touring
the company's British branch. Of course, he
remembers Emma -- and all her secrets!
Besides this terrible corporate surprise, Emma
struggles with her feelings for boyfriend Connor
and coping with her flatmates Lissy and
Jemima. The next few weeks bring emotional
turmoil for Emma as she encounters humiliation,
romance and, finally, trust. Readers looking
for humor and romance will appreciate Emma and
Jack.
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Breaking
Point by
Suzanne Brockmann (fiction)
Fans of Brockmann's
Troubleshooters series have patiently
awaited the continuation of the Max Bhagat-Gina
Vitagliano storyline, first introduced in her 2001
release Over the Edge. Gina is on a
plane hijacked by terrorists and relies on FBI
negotiator Max to help her through her
ordeal. Their relationship leaves his
orderly, work-centric world shaken and
stirred. But Max never told Gina Vitagliano
he loved her, and now it might be too late.
Their ensuing hot (then cold) romance finally ends
when Gina becomes fed up, leaving to volunteer
with an AIDS group in Kenya. When Max learns
that she has been killed in a terrorist bombing in
Germany, he immediately leaves to take charge of
the case. Thankfully, it's revealed that
Gina was kidnapped, not killed, and Max vows to do
whatever it takes to get her back. An
intricately plotted, adrenaline-rich tale of
suspense. With its realistically complex and
conflicted characters, intense sexual tension, and
edgy humor, this is Brockmann at her
best.
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Poisoned Pens
Thursday, Sept. 22 – 7:30
p.m.
Adult Classroom
Lucretia Borgia gave this method two thumbs
up! Fledging mystery writers can discover the
means to poison characters using a variety of
methods. Authors Luisa Buehler and Kelle Z. Riley
will guide us through the deadly doppelgangers in the
common garden and the "killer contents" in our own
homes. Seating is limited, so registration is
recommended.
A
Double Dose of Murder
Saturday, Oct. 8, 11
a.m. – 1 p.m.
Rasmussen
South
Popular
Chicago
mystery authors Julie Hyzy (Artistic License, Deadly
Blessings) and Michael A. Black (A Killing Frost,
The Heist) discuss the fine art of murder.
Copies of their works will be available for purchase and
signing at the event.
A
Coach’s Book (re)View – and Meet the Author!
Tuesday,
Oct. 25, 7 – 8 p.m.
Adult
Classroom
Finding
the right job, one that unleashes both individual
potential and one’s natural skills, can be difficult and
stressful. Join strategies coach Jerilyn Willin
and author Tom Siciliano for a lively discussion of
Shifting into Higher Gear: An Owner’s Manual for
Uniting Your Calling and Career by Mr. Siciliano and
Jeff Caliguere.
A
Coach’s Book (re)View
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 7 – 8
p.m.
Rasmussen North
The
notion of possibility can play a powerful role in every
aspect of our everyday lives. Join strategies
coach Jerilyn Willin for a lively discussion of The
Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and
Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin
Zander.
ShawChicago Theater
Company
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 7 - 8 p.m.
Audiovisual
Department
ShawChicago Theater Company presents A
Yuletide Carol, a warm and whimsical look at the
magic of Christmas. Using poems, modern stories and
wonderful seasonal classics like O.Henry's The Gift
of the Magi, A Yuletide Carol is a perfect
way to celebrate the holidays with family and
friends.
Adult
and Teen Winter Reading Program 2006
Spirit of
Reading
Sign-ups begin Dec.
16
American Indian
tribal narratives reflect a sense of events as occurring
in an extended, circular, unified field of
interaction. Native American narratives are
developed with the drama of constantly expanding meaning
in mind. Join us for a very special Adult and Teen
Reading Program, in conjunction with the American Indian
Center's Trickster Gallery (located in Town Square),
highlighting Native American authors and books with
Native American protagonists.
| Author Profile:
Harlan Coben |
 Harlan
Coben's books have been called "ingenious," "poignant
and insightful," "consistently entertaining," "superb,"
and "must reading." He is the first author to win
all three of the mystery genre's most coveted literary
awards: The Edgar Award, the Shamus Award and the
Anthony Award. His books have been published in
more than 22 languages.
His
critically-accalimed Myron Boitar series debuted in 1995
with Deal Breaker. Featuring star sports
agent Bolitar, Coben leavens
the intrigue with a surprise ingredient: humor. The end
result is a series that's as fun to read as they are to
solve, with distinct and colorful characters the reader
is always happy to visit with, again and
again.
Coben's books often start with a few pieces of
bad news and end with the closet door flung open to
reveal a few skeletons. Bolitar always finds himself
getting into trouble, via his clients or his own
past. What's endearing about Coben's books is the
author's willingness to have fun as he spins a
story. He might poke fun at the yuppie wardrobe of
Bolitar's partner, Win, or his gal Friday (and sometime
female wrestler) Big Cyndi's tendency to wear "more
makeup than the cast of Cats."
Coben
decided to give his Bolitar character a well-deserved
rest after seven books in the series. A lifelong
fan of William
Goldman's thriller, Marathon Man, as well as
Alfred Hitchcock, it wasn’t surprising that Coben turned
his writing talents to stand-alone thrillers. But
don’t think his books are about serial killers or
conspiracies in the highest levels of government.
Instead, his stories tend to be set in the calmer waters
of suburban America. And, according to the author,
“In that placid pool, a
splash can ripple and reverberate in ways far more
devastating and far more emotionally
resonant.”
First and
foremost, Coben says, he wants to write “a
page-turner. I want to keep you up at night. I want to
keep you glued to the page, pulse racing, heart
pounding, breathing shallow. I want there to be deadly
secrets. I want to surprise you.” And, indeed, he
does.
His
first thriller, Tell No One (2001) is the story
of a man who starts receiving email messages purportedly
from the wife he lost eight years before. Coben
has published 4 more stand-alone thrillers:
Gone For Good (2002), No Second Chance
(2003), Just One Look (2004) and The
Innocents (2005), all of which are almost
guaranteed to keep readers reading through the
night. "I want every book," the
author said in a 2001 interview,
"to really twist and turn. I love a book that
sneaks up behind you at the end and slaps you in the
back of the head."
Harlan Coben may be the only mystery writer to
have inspired the dubious endorsement, "Raymond Chandler
meets Bridget Jones" (as the Chicago
Tribune wrote about Darkest Fear). But it's
not hard to see what the critic means: Coben knows how
to create a good chase, but he is also adept at
generating laughs along the way.
Despite his success in the thriller genre, he
leaves open the possibility of a return of Myron and his
crew in future writings. The American edition of
The Innocents includes a Myron Bolitar short
story.
Coben was born in Newark, New
Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College a
political science major, he worked in the travel
industry. He now lives in New Jersey with his
pediatrician wife and their four
children.
For more information, check out the author's website
at: www.harlancoben.com
MAIN
DISPLAYS
| October |
Love on the Rocks |
| November |
Detecting Women |
| December |
Fireside Reads |
| January |
Spirit of
Reading |
MINI
DISPLAYS
| October 1 - 15 |
Senior Sleuths |
| October 16 - 31 |
Ghosts & Vampires |
| November 1 - 15 |
Naval Fiction |
| November 16 - 30 |
Bridget Jones and
Friends |
| December 1 - 15 |
Death Snow &
Mistletoe |
| December 16 - 31 |
Death Snow &
Mistletoe |
| January 1 - 15 |
Alternative
Histories |
STAFF PICKS
TABLE
This table includes an assortment
of titles read and enjoyed by library staff from the
various fiction collections (general fiction, mystery,
science fiction) within the department.
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The
following is a list of upcoming theatrical
releases based on novels, now playing or coming
soon to a movie theatre near
you: |
In Her Shoes
by Jennifer
Weiner
Shop Girl by Steve
Martin
Derailed by James Siegel
Bee
Season by Myla Goldberg
Zathura by Chris
Van Allsburg
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J. K. Rowling
Ice Harvest by Scott
Phillips
THe Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Brokeback
Mountain (based on the short story) by E. Annie
Proulx
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur
Golden
All the Kings Men by Robert Penn
Warren
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DID YOU KNOW....? (A
bit of trivia with a literary
bent) |
Even good books
can get bad reviews: When Anatomy of a
Murder by Robert Traver (the pen name of Michigan
Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker) was published in
1957, an anonymous book review in Time was none
too kind about the writing style: "Justice Voelker
knows the law and loves it, but his writing is as limp
as a watch by Dali. All vigils are 'lonely,'
vistas are always 'Sylvan.' Time 'slips by on
leaden wings.' Yet, despite the leaden feet of the
clichés, the book does move."
Dr. Seuss
(Theodore Geisel) wrote Green Eggs and Ham after
his editor dared him to write a book using fewer than
fifty different words.
Ernest Hemingway,
considered by many to be the voice that revolutionized
American letters, once said, "All modern American
literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called
Huckleberry Finn." On the flip side,
in his own time, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) labored
under the popular perception that his books were too
lowbrow. Twain never seemed to mind. He once
said, "My books are water; those of the great geniuses
are wine—everybody drinks water."
Quote of the
quarter (from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of
Being Earnest): "The good ended happily, and
the bad unhappily. That is what fiction
means."
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