CCJPL Book Chats

Highlighting new books and read-a- likes at Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library

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Favorite Books of 2014

Our staff has read some amazing books in 2014. Here are some of our favorite Adult Non-Fiction titles for 2014.

Adult Non-Fiction Picks

http://tinyurl.com/o6ehukn

Another staff favorite for this year.  "In Yes, Please, Amy Poehler offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book is full of words to live by."

http://tinyurl.com/lx74ksm

"In 2003, an independent film called The room ... made its disastrous debut in Los Angeles. Described by one reviewer as 'like getting stabbed in the head,' the six-million-dollar film earned a grand total of $1800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Ten years later, The room is an international cult phenomenon ... In [this book], actor Greg Sestero, Tommy's costar and longtime best friend, recounts the film's long, strange journey to infamy, unraveling mysteries for fans ... as well as the question that plagues the uninitiated: how the hell did a movie this awful ever get made?"

http://tinyurl.com/om682og

"Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passersby for their dollars. Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. THE ART OF ASKING will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love."

http://tinyurl.com/mad3tst

"Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies."

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Our favorite reads of 2014

Our staff has read some amazing books in 2014. Here are some of our favorite Adult Fiction for 2014.

Adult Fiction Picks

http://tinyurl.com/nrf9opb

This National Book Award Finalist was a staff favorite at the library. , "Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity."

http://tinyurl.com/lvsqq5t

"Alix Nico, a 19-year-old superspy for ExOps, a covert-action agency that shields the U.S. from its three greatest enemies--the Soviet Union, Greater Germany and the Nationalist Republic of China--uncovers a conspiracy that pushes her to the breaking point."

http://tinyurl.com/pdbzlew

'Big Little Lies follows three mothers, each at a crossroads, and their potential involvement in a riot at a school trivia night that leaves one parent dead in what appears to be a tragic accident, but which evidence shows might have been premeditated."

http://tinyurl.com/oc95qus

"On the alien, sunless planet they call Eden, the 532 members of the Family shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest's lantern trees. Beyond the Forest lie the mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it.John Redlantern will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will abandon the old ways, venture into the Dark…and discover the truth about their world."

http://tinyurl.com/m639fc3

"A hypnotic literary horror novel about a young boy trapped inside his own world, whose drawings blur the lines between fantasy and reality."

 http://tinyurl.com/pwyfj55

"Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins this debut novel about a mixed-race family living in 1970s Ohio and the tragedy that will either be their undoing or their salvation."

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Our Favorite reads of 2014

Our staff has read some amazing books this year. Here are some of our favorite Graphic Novels for this year.

Graphic Novels Picks

http://tinyurl.com/oufzhbj

"Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman?"

http://tinyurl.com/pwfhgvu

New parents Marko and Alana risk everything to raise their child amidst a never-ending galactic war. Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults."

http://tinyurl.com/nalph8u

"Named a "modern masterpiece" by The A.V. Club. Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all.."

http://tinyurl.com/m7h7f8q

"Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss. Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there.."

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Our Favorite reads for 2014

Our staff have read some amazing books this year. Here are some of our favorite YA choices

Young Adult Picks

http://tinyurl.com/ollbn9p

"A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah."

http://tinyurl.com/oy267ak

 "Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When they meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the two loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special kind of friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime."

http://tinyurl.com/lo3f95p

"In the latest installment of Maas' best-selling series, Celaena discovered long-held secrets not only about her heritage and destiny but also her immense inborn power. "

http://tinyurl.com/lmluvct

"In this funny and heartfelt coming-of-age memoir, debut author Aaron Hartzler recalls his teenage journey from devoted to doubtful, and the search to find his own truth without losing the fundamentalist family who loves him."

http://tinyurl.com/qzw64lr

"As her high school graduation draws near, Glory O'Brien begins having powerful and terrifying visions of the future as she struggles with her long-buried grief over her mother's suicide."

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WHEN SOMEONE SAYS THE LIBRARY IS A WASTE OF MONEY

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Our Favorite reads for 2014

Our staff have read some amazing books this year. Here are some of our favorite books for Children and Middle Schoolers 

Our Children/ Middle School Picks

http://tinyurl.com/lf3xxzd

"The Pigeon really needs a bath! Except, the Pigeon's not so sure about that. Besides, he took a bath last month!"

http://tinyurl.com/lkopttz

 "Juvenile delinquent and budding pyromaniac Max Segredo belongs in juvie hall. Instead, Max ends up on the doorstep of the heavily guarded Merry Sunshine Orphanage. Soon, Max and the rest of the students are sent on a mission to keep a dangerous weapon out of the hands of an international group bent on world domination"

http://tinyurl.com/n8b3e47

 "Young apprentice Lemony Snicket investigates a case of arson. He soon finds himself enveloped in the ever-increasing mystery that haunts the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Who is setting the fires? What secrets are hidden in the Department of Education? Why are so many schoolchildren in danger?"

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Happy Holidays from CCJPL! May you find plenty of books in your stockings and under your Christmas tree this year!

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…some small thoughts on something really big in my life. 

To Patricia Marwell, Addie Perotta, Sharon Waskow, the Scarsdale Public Library, the Queens Public Library, and the New York Public Library: thank you! 

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Super-great comic.

Maybe you recognize a bit of yourself in here?

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Stop the food fights! Read a Book!

As my co-worker has stated quite often, "The Hoildays make us crazy."  The Public Library recommends these books to help combat the potential stress that could happen as you gather together with your loved ones for Thankgiving.

http://tinyurl.com/pe65hy2

Sedaris's beloved holiday collection reminds ud that everyone's family is nuts.

"Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters and the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French."

http://tinyurl.com/pz4gawt

This fun mystery will help to remind you that your family is not that weird.

"Meet Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, private investigator. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman"

http://tinyurl.com/or3wzty

"Sibling rivalries, poison and a dead man in the cucumber patch. It is the summer of 1950, and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events. For Flavia, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw."

http://tinyurl.com/lyqfgda

"When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled, and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee begins a trip that takes her to the ends of the earth to find her."

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Wishlist. (x)

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No Shave November

We're celebrating "No Shave November" at the public library. Check out our selection of books featuring beared fellows.

http://tinyurl.com/mym767p

"Lenny Flem Jr. is the only one standing between his evil-genius best friend, Casper, and world domination as Casper uses a spectacularly convincing fake mustache and the ability to hypnotize to rob banks, amass a vast fortune, and run for president."

http://tinyurl.com/p7nxavq

"Whether it's a Handlebar, a Fu Manchu, or a Laser Loop, this illustrated guide will help men everywhere achieve the moustache of their dreams."

http://tinyurl.com/qfygxez

"Become a punk, a Victorian gent, a gnome, or even a pirate—all it takes is one of these 20 fantastic knitted disguises! The hilarious and fun-to-do projects include beards, moustaches, and different hairstyles."

http://tinyurl.com/q38t6qo

"On the island of Here, livin's easy. Conduct is orderly. Lawns are neat. Citizens are clean shaven--and Dave is the most fastidious of them all. Dave is bald, but for a single hair. He loves drawing, his desk job, and the Bangles. But on one fateful day, his life is upended...by an unstoppable (yet pretty impressive) beard"

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New Releases!

Stay warm and cozy as the cold weather moves in this week. Curl up with one of these great new releases at the library.

http://tinyurl.com/qdh7wqy

"A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life."

http://tinyurl.com/n8nbhx8

 "In 1920s London, with the Great War having left families decimated, spinster Frances Wray and her widowed mother realize that to continue living in their grand house on Champion Hill, they must take in boarders. But they hadn't bargained for the disruption caused by the young couple who move in, which leads to love, crime, and deep insight into the changing times."

http://tinyurl.com/m98ryda

"Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes, Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice"

http://tinyurl.com/ndkxzhv

"Tired of memoirs that only tell you what really happened?

Sick of deeply personal accounts written in the first person? Seeking an exciting, interactive read that puts the “u” back in “aUtobiography”? Then look no further than Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography!"

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Spooky Haunted Houses

With Halloween only a week away, the public library is celebrating by reviewing some spooktacular books and movies over the next few weeks.

Haunted Houses are a popular choice for most horror writers. "There’s something about the structure of a home and the proverbial door closing behind you, shutting out the daylight world you’ve left behind, that really gives us the chills." So in the spirit of all things spooky, here’s our list of some of our favorite haunted houses in books.

http://tinyurl.com/ppyczfq

"It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own."

http://tinyurl.com/ozvztnb

"This collection contains some of his most popular works of suspense, murder, and the supernatural. “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado” all center around a house of horrors."

http://tinyurl.com/nm7xfsr

Here is a house of ruin and rage, of death and deliverance. Here is where I live, not living. Here is always mine.

"Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors. Inspired by a true-crime story, Amity spans generations to weave an overlapping, interconnected tale of terror, insanity. danger, and death."

http://tinyurl.com/l2b6edn

"What begins as a clever, gothic ghost story soon evolves into a wickedly twisted treasure hunt in The Supernatural Enhancements, Edgar Cantero's wholly original, modern-day adventure."

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Ghost stories

The Halloween season is upon us! To help celebrate, the public library will  be reviewing some spooktacular books and movies over the next few weeks.

We're starting off with a selection of ghost stories.The best ghost stories can haunt on many levels. Here are some of our favorites.

 http://tinyurl.com/nveak8g

"Sylvie Mason's parents have an unusual job: they are demonologists who consult with their disturbed clients in their own basement. They are also highly, and unusually, religious. When the couple is murdered in a church after a mysterious phone call sends them out at night, dark secrets about their work haunt young Sylvie and her angry older sister, Rose.A creepy, but moving novel about love and loss.."

http://tinyurl.com/nm7aq5t

"Waters' darkly atmospheric novel is set at a decaying mansion in postwar England. This books hints that something wicked is afoot. It blurs the lines among psychological thriller, horror and ghost story. Is the family at the center of the book plagued by evil spirits? Is the narrator mad? Does it matter? The scares are very real."

http://tinyurl.com/ofse6ap

 "After Richard Walker dies, his embittered ex-wife and two sullen children arrive at his overstuffed mansion to claim their inheritance. The house also comes with two ghosts who exchange observations that no one can hear--until a new ghost starts communing with Walker's son."

http://tinyurl.com/l5u732m

"Imogene is young, beautiful . . . and dead, waiting in the Rosebud Theater one afternoon in 1945. . . .

Francis was human once, but now he's an eight-foot-tall locust, and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .

John is locked in a basement stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children, and an antique telephone, long since disconnected, rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

Nolan knows but can never tell what really happened in the summer of '77, when his idiot savant younger brother built a vast cardboard fort with secret doors leading into other worlds. . . .

The past isn't dead. It isn't even past."

http://tinyurl.com/p9cxynk

"This story about a haunted governess and her lonely charges in a remote country mansion is arguably the most famous ghost story ever written, with a shocker of an ending"

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Banned Books Week 2014

Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read, is here! This week highlights the value of free and open access to information. 

"Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 307 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2013, and many more go unreported."

To help celebrate Intellectual Freedom and the right to read, stop by our book display at the library and choose one of these banned or challenged books.

http://tinyurl.com/naq9pvu

Challenged: Promotion of smoking and drinking Political viewpoint, racism, violence

http://tinyurl.com/ovx2bbb

Challenged: Unsuited to age group

http://tinyurl.com/ohqpzko

Challenged: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

http://tinyurl.com/lsqls7n

Challenged: : Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

For more information and a complete list of frequently challenged books, please check out this website, http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

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Celebrate your freedom to read!  For more information, http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

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Back to school special

School is back in session. Do you feel nostalgic for number 2 pencils and lockers? Perhaps, the very thought of high school gives you nightmares. Our selection of books covers both the nostalgia and terror of school. Here are some of our favorites.

http://tinyurl.com/q6rf835

Friendship, murder, revenge, and class conflict collide in an upper-crust English school. As a new term gets under way, a number of annoying incidents befall students and faculty, escalating to murder.

http://tinyurl.com/l3ndglp

 A lush, sexy, evocative debut novel of family secrets and girls'-school rituals, set in the 1930's South. For her mysterious role in a family tragedy, a strong-willed 15-year-old is cast out of her home and exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes.

http://tinyurl.com/q5dwzo4

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

http://tinyurl.com/nxd7vks

When the high school cheerleading team takes over a soda vending machine's funds, which were previously collected by the pep band, Gabe Johnson, an overweight "band geek" tired of being called names and looked down on, declares war.

http://tinyurl.com/lu7tfxk

Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks.