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July 30th, 2008
09:12 am - Meet the “Reading with the Rays” Street Team at the Clearwater Main Library
To celebrate the summer reading program, Reading With the Rays, a Tampa Bay Rays street team will visit the Clearwater Main Library, Mon. Aug. 4, 1 p.m. The Pinellas Public Library Cooperative (PPLC) and their partners, the Rays baseball team and the St. Petersburg Times' Newspaper in Education (NIE) created the Reading with the Rays program for elementary school-aged youth. To participate in the program, kids can pick up a game card at any PPLC public library or at Tropicana Field and start reading. Move around the bases to win great prizes. Complete the bases and make it to Home Plate and you will receive two free tickets to a Rays baseball game. For more information, call (727) 562-4970, ext. 5236.
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June 29th, 2008
11:54 am - Reading with the Rays!
Love the Rays? We all do. And now you can show your support through Reading with the Rays! Elementary school aged children can read books and win 2 tickets to an upcoming Rays game. Check it out @ your library!
For more information, click here.
Go Rays!
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June 25th, 2008
09:02 am - Summer Library Activities
The Clearwater Public Library System is hosting a variety of summer reading program activities. Highlights for the next week include:
Thursday, June 26, 2 p.m. Ronald McDonald will tell stories with songs and music. East Library, 727.669.1280 Monday, June 30, 6:30 p.m. Learn how to draw cartoons at a Cartooning Party. Clearwater Main Library, 727.562.4970, x 5236 Tuesday, July 1, 2 p.m. Magic Around the World with Lyndel features funny stories, music, and amazing magic. Countryside Library, 727.669.1290 Wednesday, July 2, 11 a.m. Karate demonstration with Walter Evans, learn techniques and see a wood block chop. North Greenwood Library, 727.462.6895 Thursday, July 3, 10 a.m. Family Storytime featuring stories, songs, finger plays, films and crafts. Clearwater Main Library, 727.562.4970, x 5236
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May 14th, 2008
04:33 pm - Sunshine State Readers for 08/09 are out
Check out the lists of Sunshine State Readers available from the Library!
Here's the list - click the title and find out if the one you're looking for is available. There's also links to easily printable lists available from the Clearwater Public Library System's Kids' Page!
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January 8th, 2008
05:55 pm - The Magic of Reading with Ben Franklin at the Clearwater Main Library
Children can learn about the life of Ben Franklin and how to make reading more fun at Clearwater Main Library, Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m.
Dr. Rich Davis travels the U.S. with his world-class program titled The Magic of Reading with Ben Franklin. His educational assembly program will delight children in grades kindergarten through 8th, as well as adults. Children will learn about Benjamin Franklin, his life, his achievements, and his love of reading.
Call (727) 562-4970, ext. 5236 for more information.
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August 23rd, 2007
10:56 am - Late Summer Staff Picks
Come check out what we're reading!
Linda -Beach
Match Me if You Can, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Despite the popularity of computer dating there still exist people whose (pricey, exclusive) job it is to help someone find the perfect mate. Annabelle Granger has inherited such a business from her grandmother and is determined to prove to her family that this time she will not fail at her job. Her first job is to help Heath Champion, a gorgeous, high-powered sports agent who is very picky in his search for the "perfect wife." It's soon obvious that Annabelle and Heath are meant for each other; the fun is in seeing how they come to that conclusion. To add to the interest, there's a subplot involving Annabelle's fierce business competitor, who has some issues of her own. A light-hearted story by a popular romance writer.
Shadows at the Fair; Shadows on the Coast of Maine; Shadows on the Ivy; Shadows at the Spring Show by Lea Wait. In this charming set of cozies, Maggie Summer is a college professor and a dealer in antique prints. (Her business is called 'Shadows' because the prints were often a source of news and a reflection of life in the 19th century or earlier.) While the widowed Maggie solves the mysteries, her thoughts increasingly turn to the idea of adopting an older child, (possibly because the author herself has 4 adopted daughters). In addition, we learn various antique "trivia": the history of matches, all about Victorian mourning artifacts, early drawings of Santa Claus, biographies of artists, etc.
In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
It's a bitterly cold December night in a small New York town when a newborn baby is left on the steps of an Episcopal church. Fortunately the priest (Clare Fergusson) finds the baby in time, and she and the police chief (Russ Van Alstyne) join forces to find the baby's mother, and soon, her murderer. And then there's another murder. Clare risks her life several times to help Russ solve the crimes. Despite the fact that he is married, it's obvious that there's a real attraction between these two interesting people. The first of a compelling, beautifully-written, exciting new mystery series.
Paula - Main
What am I not reading? Now that we have "Playaways" AKA Digital Books my life is complete with an array of entertainment. In the last week I've enjoyed listening to three books and am going on my fourth. These compact (fit in your back pocket) type of books are great to tag along on dog walks, the gym, commute to/from work, house projects and chores. It's addicting. I don't have to worry about downloads or my computer crashing. Just add a battery, pump up the volume and off I go!
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
This book is about a young girl raised in South Carolina during the Civil Rights movement. Her mother was killed when she was a little girl and all she has of her mother is a photo and a Black Madonna (from Tiburon, South Carolina). She helps her "surrogate mother" Rosaleen escape from a hospital. Rosaleen had been arrested and beaten by three racist men. They head to Tiburon, South Carolina, and live with three sister beekeepers. Come to find out they knew her mother and they share in her past. This book is sad yet funny and filled with feminine bond and compassion.
The Lovely Bones A Novel by Alice Sebold
This book is about a young girl who is brutally raped and killed by the neighbor. She watches her family, friends, and investigator from heaven. Her parents and investigator have figured out who the rapist and killer is, but it's hard to prove. As she narrates, the reader has a sense of what heaven may be like and makes the reader aware that loved ones return without us knowing. She also experiences intimacy through her best friends flesh.
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
This book is about a young girls parents struggling through their marriage. She is raped by her ex-boyfriends who is later found dead. Evidence has the young girl connected to the crime scene, but the truth tells us otherwise. The father's past leads the girl to Alaska as she tries to escape the law.
Jen - Main
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
A novel set in modern India about a wealthy woman and her servant who share a strong bond of friendship.
Shannon - Main
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.
Set against the backdrop of World War II and the Blitz in London, two lovers meet, have an affair, and unexpectedly fall in love. Beyond this standard formula, Greene throws in the question of faith: the very affair causes the woman to claim a previously non-existing faith in God, which ultimately tests the man's own atheism. Sound dry? Not So! Greene injects passion, jealousy and hatred into this unique love story. If you like the book, two movie versions have been made. The 1955 version starred Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson and Peter Cushing. A remake in 1999 starred Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea and Ralph Fiennes.
Kent - Main
Wigfield: the can-do town that just may not by Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Stephen Colbert
If you like the humor of the TV shows "The Colbert Report" and "Strangers with Candy" you'll like this satirical novel.
Try the digital audio player version (aka Playaway) performed by the authors.
Georgina - Countryside
Peony in Love by Lisa See, has turned me on to Chinese historical fiction. After reading her previous book, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I couldn't wait to read her next. I was not disappointed. I am reading Peony's last chapter and it is a superb read. A learning experience in Chinese culture as well as a chronicled awakening of feminism in the early women poets of China, See juxtaposes her story against an opera the protagonists watch and it flows seamlessly excelling in imagery and meaningful symbolism.
Tracey - Main
Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Written in the same light and engaging style as Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Blink by Malcom Gladwell, Gibert introduces the idea that what we think makes us happy really doesn't. We, as humans, spend a lot of time focusing on and preparing for some moment in the future in which we will be "happy." His thesis, that even though we engage in this activity (consciously and unconsciously), and attempt to control that future, we don't know who we will be or what we will be feeling then, so how can we prepare for and predict what will make us happy then.
An interesting and somewhat thought-provoking read.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
Amusing...isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind. The tale of a sex addict con artist whose daytime job is in a Colonial-period theme park and whose night job is choking in restaurants to pay for his mother's nursing home care. In typical Palahniuk style, it's at turns disturbing, insightful, interesting, funny and off-putting, but always worth reading.
Ann - Main
Our book group just read Light on Snow by Anita Shreve and we enjoyed it. This author generally includes themes of love and loss in her stories. In this she also explores family relationships, the responsibilities we have to one another through thick and thin.
A pre-teen Nicky Dillon and her father are starting a new life in rural New Hampshire following a family tragedy. As they finally settle into familiar routines, an unexpected "find" one snowy day encroaches on the natural order of their lives. When they stumble upon a newborn baby left abandoned in the woods, little do they realize the tempest that is about to follow.
Joanne - East
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich - silly and light
6th Target by James Patterson - typical Patterson
Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly - not finished yet
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - Chinese foot binding, etc. Other than the foot binding, a sweet book.
Bob - Main
The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes also La Storia by Jerre Mangione & Ben Morreale.
Lisa - North Greenwood
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
Before you say, "Yuk, another memoir about a bunch of barfly alcoholics", read this book. It was one I didn't want to end. This is the story of JR, a boy growing up fatherless in Manhasset, Long Island. He and his mother live with his dysfunctional grandparents with off and on with a house full of cousins and Uncle Charlie, a bartender at the local bar. This book poetically tells the story of JR's life, as a young boy listening to the airwaves searching for his father's voice, a DJ who left him and his mother, how JR grows older, follows his dream of going to Yale, falls in love, works as a copy boy at the New York Times, and of course, spends a lot of time with his "family" of friends at the bar...
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
A cub reporter, Camille, returns to her small Midwest Missouri hometown to cover a murder of a young girl. She stays with her mother, step-sister, and "father", while covering the story. Camille who has a history of self mutilation, faces her past, her unmotherly mother, her alien 13 year-old stepsister, twenty years her junior, who appears to be a girl scout, but is into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. While delving into the lives of her former neighbors and classmates, Camille becomes friends with a detective from outside assigned to the case. She discovers what appears to be the truth about her mother while trying to report on the case, being swept up in the past memories of her hometown and getting to know her sister and herself... A first novel by the author. I am looking forward to her second!
Laura - Main
I was just perusing my Entertainment Weekly's Fall movie preview issue, and they've made No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy into a movie. It was such an interesting book; it's exactly why I read fiction books. It set me down in the middle of this situation, and acquainted me with some terrifically compelling people. By sheer happenstance a man is running for his life from a complete psychopath, with a couple million dollars in a satchel from a drug deal gone bad in the middle of rural Texas. The story follows from the perspective of the killer, the cop trying to solve the many killings, and the guy on the run with the money. It was a fabulous book; it has the makings of a great movie too, in November (Coen brothers!) Seriously violent, but it's writing at it's best.
Nanci - Countryside
For a fun no brainer summer read , I liked Quickie, by James Patterson, it was recommended by a friend, I don't normally read him, but I did enjoy this, as it had lots of twists and turns and I had no idea where it was going. Lots of surprises and had my attention the whole time. TRY it.
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June 19th, 2007
04:33 pm
Tis that time of year again & here’s our staff picks for summer reading. Enjoy some of these hot reads! Pomegranate Soup - Marsha Mehran.
It's a fictional account of three young Iranian women, having lived during the "troubles" in Iran, they immigrate to a little town in Ireland, and open a restaurant. It's a very interesting slice of life, lots of probably pretty historically accurate events that occurred in modern-day Persia. And it includes recipes (another of those), opening each chapter. A fun read, along the lines of Chocolat. (Laura – Main) Claire Fontaine, crime fighter: a novel of life, death…and shoes - Tracey Enright.
When Claire Fontaine (sexy, single, glamorous and rich) gets a job as assistant to Harry Bennett, a (fat and sloppy) P.I., there are bound to be clashes. The two investigate the murder of a young woman (a probable victim of a serial killer) and visit everything from luxurious homes to the most disreputable of Los Angeles “dives.” While Claire’s questions frequently irritate Harry, she often comes up with good observations and gets more information by bonding with some of the people they question. Much as Claire wants to solve the murder, she also wants to become really involved with her handsome but mysterious neighbor. A stylish, humorous mystery with some dark edges. (Linda – Beach) Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz
After his kind & loving but somewhat mysterious uncle/guardian is killed, Alex Ryder, age 14, is recruited to follow in the man’s footsteps - as a spy! His first job is to find out why a wealthy man wants to give a magnificent computer, Stormbreaker, to every secondary school in England, and he risks his life over and over to find out the answer. At one point he thinks, “Whoever these people were, they had tried to run him down, to cut him in half, and to incinerate him. He had to find a way out before things really got serious.” But Alex does have some “high-tech” devices to help him, including zit cream a yo-yo, and a Game Boy that masquerade as something else. An exciting, action-filled, fun book, especially for boys. The first in a series. (Linda – Beach) The god of animals: a novel - Aryn Kyle. I really enjoyed this book. It is about a young girl who is growing up on a horse ranch. The relationships with family and people who pass though her life. (Nanci – Countryside) Riding lessons - by Sara Gruen. Annemarie Zimmer was a champion equestrian and Olympic contender until a tragic accident destroyed both her riding career and her beloved horse, Harry. Twenty years later, after losing her job and facing a divorce, she retreats (with her teenage daughter) to her parents’ horse farm. There she must deal with many issues: her father, dying from ALS; the rebellion of her troubled daughter; the difficulties in running the farm; the discovery (&subsequent obsession) of a horse that looks just like Harry; and the possible rekindling of a long-ago romance. Sequel: Flying changes (Linda – Beach) Neuromancer – William Gibson
One of the first in the cyberpunk genre, and often considered the archetypical cyberpunk work, this new classic follows Case, a drug-addicted, self-destructive, unemployed computer hacker. Having cheated a former employer who retaliated by damaging his nervous system, Case is no unable to use the tools needed to effectively hack – specifically the direct computer/brain interface. Case is “saved” from his destruction by Molly, who forcibly recruits him for an unknown mission, for a basically unknown employer, Armitage. Gripping and interesting, Neuromancer is one book you can’t put down. (Tracey – Main)
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May 2nd, 2007
09:22 am - Interesting Editorial in the Orlando Sentinel today
America's Death March Toward Illiteracy
Snip:
People who read books are different from other people. They're smarter for one thing. They're more sensual for another. They like to hold, touch and smell what they read. They like to carry the words around with them -- tote them on vacation, take them on train rides and then, most heavenly of all, to bed.
They're also a dying breed. And newspapers, apparent signatories to a suicide pact, are playing "Taps."
The news that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has eliminated its book-editor position -- causing much Sturm und Drang throughout the Southern literary community -- highlights the continuing demotion of books and literature in American culture. While an Internet petition circulates to reinstate Teresa Weaver as book editor, writers are expressing concern that they're losing their best vehicle for recognition.
What do you think? Are readers a dying breed? And if so, what does this mean for libraries, considering most people think of books when they think of us?
Worth reading & thinking about.
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March 19th, 2007
10:12 am - Book Club Engages Imagination and Intellect
Self-reliant thinkers and readers can attend Great Books adult book club to read and search for answers to fundamental questions raised by The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Thursday, April 12, 1:30 p.m. at the Clearwater Main Library. Call (727) 562-4970, ext. 5284 for copies of the text. No registration necessary. Clearwater library programs are a public service offered at no cost to attendees.
The Great Books Foundation is an independent, nonprofit educational organization with a mission to help people think and share ideas. The Foundation was established in 1947 to promote liberal education for the general public and extended its mission to children with the introduction of Junior Great Books. It has helped thousands of people, internationally, to begin their own discussion groups in schools, libraries, and community centers.
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July 1st, 2006
01:24 pm - Happy Independence Day
What more fun can you have than sitting back on the beach with a good book?
Beach reading:- Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Jack McCall, living in Rome with his daughter in hopes of finding peace after the suicide of his wife, is surprised by a visit from his sister-in-law. She draws him into a search for the one haunting secret in his family's past that can heal his anguished heart. (from bn.com) - The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
Gorgeous Nantucket is an island where memories are made, friendships begun, passions ignited. Now, during one unforgettable summer, the exclusive Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel will shape the fates of the men and women who walk through its doors. (from bn.com) - Beach House by James Patterson
Jack Mullen has everything going for him one summer, and then his brother is murdered and he has to search for his brother's killer. - Beach Road by James Patterson
Montauk lawyer Tom Dunleavy's client list is woefully small--occasional real estate closings barely keep him in paper clips. When he is hired to defend a local man accused in a triple murder that has the East Hampton world in an uproar, he knows that he has found the case of his lifetime. (from bn.com)
Kick back and read!
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June 11th, 2006
07:49 am - Book Feast!
Well, the summer reading program for youth and teens is in full swing, and you can get required reading lists here for various schools around the county, including the Sunshine State Readers lists.
Since the summer reading program focuses on the ties between books and food, here's an incomplete list of books with food themes:- Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl.
Follow the New York Times Restaurant Critic during her first year in that position. - Like Water For Chocolate</i> by Laura Esquivel
A woman comes of age and falls in love in Mexico and tells her story through the connection with food and the other women in her life. - Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson
The first in the Goldy Bear mysteries. Goldy takes control of her life and becomes a live-in cook after leaving her abusive husband and gets embroiled in solving the mystery of her friend Philip's death. - A Meal To Die For by Joseph Gannascoli
Benny Lacoco, gourmet chef with restaurateur ambitions who makes his living as a food fence is asked (ok, required) to prepare a last meal for a "client" who is being sent to jail. - Chocolat, Blackberry Wine, and Five Quarters of the Orange, by Joanne Harris
Considered her food triliogy, these three books explore the themes of life-changing events and the role of family and food in life.
So, check out food fiction and dig into a meaty story.
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April 26th, 2006
06:04 pm - What I'm reading...
I just sent an email to our staff asking what's on their nightstand. I haven't actually answered it myself, but seeing as how I need to do so, I'll put it here first:
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (this is my "go to" book and lives on my nightstand. If I don't like what I'm reading, I pick this up.
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. I'm only 25 pages into it, so I'll reserve judgement for now. I will say that it's a little slow to get started.
So what's on your nightstand????
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