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New Reading Suggestion Program: Friday Fiction

Everyone is looking for a great book to read this summer - and the library is here to help!

We've transformed our popular "Now... It's Your Turn" program into the "Friday Fiction" reading suggestions group. With an emphasis on popular summer reads and new fiction, this program offers great tips, fun conversation, and great recommendations.

The first gathering is:

Friday, July 13, 2012 at 11 a.m.
Fireplace room in the Adams Building

Feel free to bring suggestions of your own, or just be ready to learn about great titles to read this summer.

Recommended Under-The-Radar Reads

Seattle Librarian Nancy Pearl recently appeared on National Public Radio to highlight a few great books she that felt might not get noticed by readers this summer.

The titles of each book are listed below, with links so you can request the book from the library's catalog (or request that we purchase it if we haven't already). If you'd like to read Nancy Pearl's description of the books, check out the story on NPR.

Finding George Orwell in Burma By Emma Larkin Check our Catalog	The Good Son By Michael Gruber Check our Catalog
Blood Harvest By S. J. Bolton Check our Catalog	Miss Hargreaves By Frank Baker Check our Catalog
Under Heaven By Guy Gavriel Kay Check our Catalog	Last Night in Montreal By Emily St. John Mandel Check our Catalog
The Lotus Eaters By Tatjana Soli Check our Catalog	Instead of a Letter By Diana Athill Check our Catalog Purchase Request Form
Words for Empty and Words for Full By Bob Hicok Check our Catalog Purchase Request Form

For help requesting one of these books from our catalog, or with placing a purchase request, please contact the Reference Desk. For more reading suggestions, check out our Reading Room page, and other book recommendations by Nancy Pearl.

Holiday Book Guide

The Youth Services staff of the library put together this list of books that would make nice gifts this holiday season. These books are divided up into type of book and age groups.

Following this listing, there are links to book guides from other sources around the internet to provide additional ideas.

Pop-Up Books

• ABC3D, by Marion Bataille
• The Castaway Pirates, by Ray Marshall, illustrated by Wilson Swain
• Brava Strega Nona!, by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart

Picture Books

• Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, by Emily Gravett
• The Little Bit Scary People, by Emily Jenkins
• That Book Woman, by Heather Henson
• Wave, by Suzy Lee

Ages 5-7

• Nicholas (series), by Goscinny & Sempe
• Keeping Score, by Linda Sue Park
• Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, by Lenore Look
• Owly (series), by Andy Runton

Ages 8-10

• Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate
• The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Jeanne Birdsall
• The Willoughbys, by Lois Lowry
• 100 Cupboards, by N. D. Wilson

Ages 10-12

• The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt
• Savvy, by Ingrid Law
• The Way We Work, by David Macaulay
• Alive: The Living Breathing Human Body Book, from DK
• Trouble, by Gary Schmidt

All Ages

• Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein and Ed Young
• Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, by 108 renowned authors
• The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry and illustrated by P. J. Lynch

Here are a few lists from other sources on the internet, listing their top book picks for the holiday season:

Other Book Gift Guides

• From the editors of Boing Boing: Kids Books, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, and Humor
• Recommendations from National Public Radio staff
• Suggestions from Book Store Owners, as interviewed on New Hampshire Public Radio
• First Lady Laura Bush's Family Favorites
• The New York Times' 10 Ten Best Books of 2008