Reading Room Blog

I'm here in blustery, snowy Boston with about a thousand librarians and publishers gathered in the convention center to find out what books have won the prestigious awards for young people's literature.  There’s a buzz of speculation as people ask each other, “What do you think will win?” or “What is the book you gave your heart to this year?” 

When you think of Sherlock Holmes, do you think of a middle-aged man in a deerstalker cap, blowing smoke from a pipe and peering through a magnifiying glass while saying "It's elementary, my dear Watson"?

Many writers have tried to emulate, imitate and improve on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective tales.  Check out the book list "Sleuthing Sherlock Holmes" for many different portrayals of the Great Detective. 

If you're an aspiring writer or a lover of teen fantasies, you'll want to put the date, December 21st on your calendar. Local author, Maggie Stiefvater, will be visiting the Salem Church Library to talk about books and writing. Teens and adults are invited to drop in during our regular Lit Bistro time, 3:30-5:00. Ms. Stiefvater will be joining us from 4:00-5:00. Ms. Stiefvater is the author of two fantasy series. One of her books, Shiver, has been on the New York Times bestseller list.

 If you like Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas, you might also like these titles and authors.

Here are some other books which may remind you of "Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End".  

You may like books by Sharon Penman, who writes historical fiction about the same period. Try "When Christ and
His Saints Slept."   Also, "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco is historical fiction and a mystery. There is a series of mysteries about a medieval nun, Sister Frevisse, written by Margaret Frazer which is good, and a similar book is "Mistress of the Art of Death" by Ariana Franklin.

 If you liked  “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield, you may enjoy the following works:

Ghost Writer
by John Harwood
Victorian ghost stories and family secrets - guaranteed to kick your pulse up a notch.

Porter:
Friday, September 4 - Thursday, September 10 (Library closed Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7)
Friday, October 2 - Thursday, October 8

Salem Church:
Friday, September 18 – Thursday, September 24
Friday, October 16 – Thursday, October 22

Headquarters:
October 17–21, 2009: Fall BIG Book Sale

See more book sale dates.

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

I’ve built many wren houses since my wife and I moved to the country 25 years ago. It’s a good thing to do in the winter. At one point I had so many extra that in the spring I set up at a local farmers’ market and sold them for five dollars apiece. I say all this to assert that I am an authority at listening to the so small voices that Thomas R. Smith captures in this poem. Smith lives in Wisconsin.

Baby Wrens’ Voices

Since you like Sarah Dessen's book, This Lullaby, you might want to check out her other titles- we own nine other titles by her! Meanwhile, here are three other titles you might enjoy.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from
Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the
Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's
political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

This column originates on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and at the beginning of each semester, we see parents helping their children move into their dorm rooms and apartments and looking a little shaken by the process. This wonderful poem by Sue Ellen Thompson of Maryland captures not only a moment like that, but a mother’s feelings as well.

Helping My Daughter Move into Her First Apartment

This is all I am to her now:
a pair of legs in running shoes,