Even though spy thrillers are not my cup of tea, I took a chance with The Expats by Chris Pavone. Kate Moore is a CIA agent and her husband Dexter does not know that little tidbit about his wife. Dexter, a banking security consultant, announces they must move to Luxembourg. Kate is happy to leave behind her undercover job and devote herself to their two young sons. However, she begins to suspiciously view their new friends in Luxembourg and soon she even questions her husband's actions. Kate investigates and the plot becomes more complicated. She enjoys being back in spy mode but things come to a feverish climax as Kate and Dexter manage so many deceptions. Do they even know each other?  Pavone's debut novel is a very entertaining page-turner.

What do Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson, Mickey Mantle, Hack Wilson, Toni Stone, and Roberto Clemente have in common? Their careers are all a part of the rich history of baseball.
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If you’re one of the many adults who are hooked on The Hunger Games, you’ll find some similar reading ideas on our new If You Liked...The Hunger Games book list.

Or maybe you have a reader too young for this dark story? KidLinks provides great suggestions with If You Like The Hunger Games for the under 12 set.

The Horror Writers Association is awarding the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century this year, and the panel of distinguished judges have selected these short-listed titles out of a field of 35 books:

The Soft Whisper of the Dead by Charles L. Grant (not in the library collection)
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

The winner will be revealed later this month. We'll keep you posted!
NOTE: And the winner is...I Am Legend by Richard Matheson!

The library has growing collections of titles available for kids & teens to enjoy on their reading devices.  For kids we are mainly purchasing fiction.  For some out of print titles we have found that we can sometimes get an eBook version even if the physical format is no longer available.  There is not as much available in non-fiction or picture books in an eBook format but we continue to look for topics and titles that are of interest to our patrons. We are purchasing teen titles when they are available in an eBook format.  Unlike many adult titles the eBook versions of many teen books are not available until the physical version is published.  This can cause a delay in availability for some titles. As with the adult eBooks there are several large publishers that do not currently have a lending model for libraries.  However, there are still many eBooks of interest that are available in our library collection!

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay are two of my favorite novels by one of my favorite authors, Michael Chabon.  My latest foray was into Gentlemen of the Road, a rollicking, old-style adventure that kept me both amused and engaged.  I am blown away by Chabon's breadth of style and creativity.  This novel reads like those childhood adventures (Arabian Nights, Adventures of Tin-Tin) you read late into the night with a flashlight.  Travel with Zelikman, a cranky physician with a strange taste in hats, and ex-soldier Amram, a beast of a man responsible for most of the clever (often hilarious) quips, as they make their rootless way through the Caucasus Mountains, circa A.D. 950.  Historical fiction?  More like hysterical fiction!

Barnes & Noble announced the 2011 winners of their Discover Great New Writers award.  Winning the nonfiction award is Kosher Chinese, the memoir of an American Jewish Peace Corps volunteer serving in Guiyang, China.  Check it out!