Banned Books Week 2015

    The Banned Books Week National Committee has announced that  September 27- Oct 3, 2016  will be Banned Books Week.  This year the focus is on  YA literature. They have released the  ten most challenged books of 2014 and most of them were for teens.
    You can read more and check out the list at the School Library Journal Website!

Book review- Firecomb Manor

     Firecomb Manor ( Riordain, Harper Collins, 2015) pairs two characters : Alice ( 1933) and Elizabeth ( 1898) as they await the birth of Alice's first and Elizabeth second child.  Alice becomes pregnant by a married man  - her parents send her away  in shame,  Elizabeth struggles with her demanding , always angry husband  with his need to have a male heir. Elizabeth has been unable to hold on to many pregnancy's

    The novel begins with Alice in London , just 22 and finding her self pregnant. Her mother send her to Firecomb manor to an old  friend  who is the maid /caretaker of the place.  This is where she begins to read the diary of Elizabeth as it outlines her daily life.

    The chapters go between Elizabeth and Alice, as we learn about each of them. Alice learns about Elizabeth and feel a definite kinship with her  The ending appears to be  natural conclusion although endearing and  exciting, Alice decided what she will do with her life   providing us with a nicely wrapped package ending,

Whichbook

     Whichbook.com  is a UK based site, but still can be used by anyone who is looking for something different and new to read.   The interesting thing is when you find a book, it will give tabs  to buy ( links to Amazon and helps them support the site ) or  to borrow( links to local UK libraries) which is fun  and great for those in UK.

      Now back to the site: if you like to browse around different books  this is for you.  You can find similar books that match your choices.  WhichBooks offers choices  a bit different from regular genres  such as  mood, plot shape, emotion, types of main characters.
 
     There is a team of 70 people who create the entries about the books.  Theses people are real readers who love to read. They concentrate on books that most will not find by themselves. The books on the site are fiction and they are not Best Sellers.  They are lesser known but intriguing  titles.

    Use the MY lists tab to store books you come across that you want to keep track of.  You can also note on this Want to read/ Have read.  Also browse the author list and the guest lists/
    

Read it Forward.com

      Readitforward.com is a very interesting and exciting site. It is a great place to discover new books that have just been released . It is also a site where users can 'read it forward" and tell other readers when you discover a books that you absolutely love.

    On Readitforward , you can discover the next best seller even before it is out in books stores and libraries.  Weekly, there are behind the scenes  articles from authors and booksellers.
Also each week,  there is a Read it first giveaway. You can enter for a chance to win an advanced reader copy.

   There are two weekly newsletters that you can subscribe to: Read it forward book giveaways and what we are reading.  Other tabs on the main page to check out are: author essays, your reading life, bonus book content, and most read blog posts.

   Check this out and see if it is for you.
  

Helping readers connect with books!

   What can we do to help our readers connect with books? What kind of services can we offer?

   At our branches, we have several options that we do every month.  Our first and best  option is the brochure of new arrivals that is published at the beginning of each month.  This gives titles and also indicates  at which  branch  the books are located.  Also in each  branch, we have a dedicated section of the new arrivals so that make it easy for patrons to find the newest books!

  We also have similar 'new book " shelves in our juvenile and Ya section.  Our catalog is another way for readers to find and connect with new interesting books

 They can also view and select ebooks from our website and borrow them to their reading device.

 But our most interesting and effective way that we can  help readers connect with books and authors is through staff interaction. By talking about books( what they like, what we like) we can do indirect reader advisory  with our patrons.  The staff can provide ideas and suggestions  for the patrons,

What else do you do to connect readers to patrons? How do you help them connect with new books and authors?

Fictiondb

     Fictiondb is a great resource for those that love fiction. This site will   be valuable to librarians who are looking to expand their fiction and select books that readers will love to read.

    This is an easy to use tool that helps you discover a great book to read.  You can browse  author book list, series, reviews, and  author pseudonyms. There are also links on the main page to lots of interesting  content:  most popular authors,  essential reading lists,  if you like, try...,   and new fiction  (  has a monthly list of every new book with link to short description). There is also blog news, and  definitions of  different genres.

    Also on this site you can keep track of  your books and series that you have read in one convenient place. There is lots of information here that will help both readers and busy librarians.

My favorite book review sources part 3

 This is the last post about book review sources - I was trying to think of 10 all together but not sure  if I got to 10. Oh well.

  One of the most pleasurable ways to get reviews and recommendations is through some of my womens magazines that I get in the mail or at the store.   So here goes

  Good Housekeeping: is one of my favorites.  They almost always have an excerto of a new best selling book in the back of the magazine. This gives me a really good idea of what the book is about.  Then they also have  a list of similar reads with brief summaries.

 Woman's Day:  They have just started a new book club page. On this page they have recommendations from book clubs.  They include about 5 descriptive summaries of good books for groups can read .

All You is another my favorite magazines.  Every month they have a recommendations page which alwys have  at least one book, and also a good movie.

First for Women has a page:" The 6 paperbacks we are reading" Some are brand new , some are not but they have a good cross-section  of Types  and also good summaries and comments about  the books.

  Womens world  also has a nice page every month where they post a 'woman's world book club: giving a very brief summary of their new books and also a movie recommendations

My favorite book review sources - part 3

   Here are  three more sites / sources  I like to use to find recommendations / suggestions for book purchases.

   1. Kirkus- This is a great source to find out vast amounts of information about the best books out.  I especially like the book reviews, and the Kirkus star given to exceptional books. I find if I concentrate on the stars ( although I like to  read all the reviews ) I can get a good cross section of books .
  Tabs with quick links  also lead to Best of 2014, Best sellers, contests. and Kirkus TV. There are author  interviews , tops of the lists, and an email newsletter. There are also Author services to help authors promote their books.


   2. Library Media Connections .Com is a great source for staff looking for children's and Ya books.  There are reviews which are brief . The best part is the rating system: Highly Recommended, Recommend, and not Recommended.  
  Also you can find a few featured  articles and hot news that will be beneficial to school librarians.

3.  Booklist Online also offers some reviews on line even for those  who not subscribe. I like the best of lists that they provide.
  There is also a  lot of content you can view.  I find this extremely helpful when doing book orders.

The Perpetual Page Turner-Book Reviews

  The Perpetual Page Turner is a book blog with reviews of Ya literature, adult fiction, and some non-fiction ( travel and memoirs). This is not a serious  criticism type of blog. This has a very conservational  tone to its reviews.  There also are  blogs on books, and discussion about all things bookish. Some are even personal about the  author Jamie, and her husband Will.

  She has a review policy tab, also a special features tab. She also tells a rating systems for the books she reads and reviews. There is a tab that leads to her book discussions and readers can log in and respond.  There are also giveaways and featured articles.  Along the right hand side , there are also links to her current read, and find a new read, and get exploring  more books.

  So check this out if you want a more intimate style of book reviews.

The Staff Recommends

  This site provides recommendations to great and memorable books.  The staff receives books from publishers all over the US.  The staff then reads and decides if the title is worthy to be placed on the site. Only then does the publisher pay to have their books placed.  ( This is great advertising for great books!)

 The Staff Recommends  site reaches half a million readers and it help  readers to find a book they are bound to love.

  So to keep up with the latest and best  this is the site you want to  check out.  You can read reviews of their current picks.  Also check out their past selections which gives short review of many of their favorites

  

We be reading

Webereading,com is a mother and son website that is professional looking and very intriguing.  K is a mom whose goal is to get people reading.  Z is 1 a0 year old who also loves to read and he writes his own graphic novels.  A very talented pair to say the least.

  There is a review policy and tabs that link you to Ya & Adult fiction review, non-ficition reviews, picture and chapter books, and film reviews.

  You will find very interesting review that are fair but critical.  I find this to be very helpful. I also like the film tab because they compare books to films  which is very helpful in my DVD selection.

Becky's Book Review Blog

   Becky's Book Review Blog is a site that offers many reviews of her favorite types of books.  She provides reviews of books from children to adults, mostly Ya to Adult. Becky loves to read and her mission is to promote reading/ Her focus on reviews will help Ya's , parents, teachers, and librarians to keep up with the best books.

   She gets books from publishers, the library, and the bookstore. She updates her blog at least 5 times a week.  She writes a review for every book she completes. She does not however complete every book she starts.  Her claim is promote the  love of reading and to connect books with readers. And yes, she has a library degree.  There is an extensive book review policy. She also offers tips on "operation Actually Read Bible" which encourages all to read the bible verses and keep track of it.

Gnooks- Discover New Authors

  Gnooks is a community bases system of the gnod engine.  On this site you can discover new authors , discuss your favorites and learn new titles that are similar to your favorites.

  The gnod engine also provides similar links to music, movies, and art.

  There is a search block for Gnods suggestions when you can impute your favorite authors. The site will give you a list of  suggestions of authors and titles to try.

   Under the "Map Of Literature" block you can type in an author. The site pulls up a 'wordle" of authors that write similar styles to your favorite.  The closer the name is to your favorite the more similar they are to the style and genre. When you click on an author it takes you to another 'wordle" of authors.

  The literature forum gets you into a discussion of a certain author and their works  The latest discussions are listing on the right hand side of the main screen.

  If you want to participate in all the functions of the site you need to be registered and logged in. They use Florke as the systems that provides members with the discussion community.

RA For All - great Blog!

   The blog I  just discovered is "RA for All" and it is a great resource for public librarians who want information on good reads for their patrons.  Part of the mission of this blog is to help librarians in their quest to provide advice to both fiction and non-fiction readers.

  The author provides links, lists , and news about Readers Advisory.  He teachers a class in Readers Advisory( Dominican U- Graduate School of library and Information Science.) so he also shares some of his students work.

   There are also book review,s and links to other book review blogs to provide even more reviews.

 On the right hand side, three are links to book discussions, links to ideas for elementary librarians,( Sturdy for Common Things)  and other blogs with interesting content and book reviews.

The content here is interesting , informative , and addictive. I think you will find a lot of content to give you ideas and inspiration!

Bookish

  Bookish is a great site that gives readers expert book recommendations. The mission of
Bookish is to engage readers with more stories , books, and authors,\.

  Bookish features great content about both new and notable books  Through this site you can read reviews , check ratings  , and read a sample.  If you are registered you can 'add to  your bookshel' and purchase books in various formats.

  You can get recommendations  to great reads by typing in titles, and then Bookish leads  you to other titles that are similar  or by the same author.

  You can also search by subject( cooking, children's, biographies,mysteries, romance, and Ya just to name a few.

  Check out down at the very bottom of the page  to just browse.  There are further recommendations lists of best sellers , and prize winning books.  I think you may find Bookish  an extremely valuable resource for both librarians and  book lovers.

Early Word Part 2

     More on Early Word!  This site is awesome and provides so much great information about the best and upcoming new books.  On the left hand side t, there are so many categories to select from: audio books, book events, books and movies,  fiction lists. ideas to steal, librarians in the news,  non-fiction lists,  to name just a few.

     As always, there are links on the left to the archives for each month.

   Now to the right!  We have links to best seller list which are invaluable to the the busy librarian selecting  reviews and recommendations.  There is also an awards list that will also help in collection development.  There is a Coming Soon section that showcases all the newest books that are arriving in the coming weeks and months.


  There are links to library reads, movies and TV tie ins based on books( and even links to trailers of the new show or movie.  Also there is a listing of links to publishers catalogs.

   The more you look at Early Word , the more  you see  how much it has to offer!  So keep checking out this great resource!

Ficiotn -L Books Lists

  FicitonL is an electronic mailing list that is devoted to Readers Advisory topics.  There are book lists, book discussions, bibliographies, and a wide variety of library related topics.

  This site was developed for librarians dealing with readers requests for good reads.  Created by the staff of the Morton Grove Public Library,( Morton Grove, IL) this is a great service to librarians and staff.

  Subscribers can receive  single or many messages when a posting appears. There is an archive of postings available which dates back to the beginning of the fiction L list.

  I have used this listing to see  titles listing of different genres, author listings, and also  character listings when a question arises about  books with certain types of characters.

   Fiction L

Stop - You're Killing Me!

   "Stop - you're killing me" is an extensive website for mystery fans.  This also includes crime, thriller, spy and suspense books.  They list over 4000 authors and give a chronological list of their titles!

  This site is extremely helpful top people who want to read their books in the order that they titles were written.

   Searching for an author is easy, just click on their first letter of their last name and you will find an alphabetical listing. You can also search by characters if need be in the same manner.

  On the left hand side there are links that take you quickly to: new additions( hardcovers, paperbacks & audio books)  Also included  on the side tab are: book reviews, read alikes, and various indexes.

  There is a newsletter you can sign up for.  And there are monthly Give ways! Plug in you email to the books you want to win- you will be enrolled in the sweeps.

   So if you are a mystery fan, head over to " Stop you're Killing me" ! You will be glad you did!

Early Word.Com- Part 1

       The slogan for Early Word is :News for Collection Development and Reader's Advisory Librarians.

       This site is one to visit everyday! It is so helpful in my quest to get the newest and best books for my patrons.  Each day they post articles about books that Librarians need to know about.

      Every Thursday , the site highlights the best seller lists.  Each Friday, there is a 'New Title Radar' which alerts librarians about titles that re ' in the news', new titles by popular authors, and a  watch list  of titles that may take off.

      There are also alerts about books being made into movies. Numerous other features worth mentioning" Gallery Chat: done a monthly basis where librarians chat about the new books not yet published.   Author Chat  which is frequently held with authors about their titles.

  Of course , there are  also book previews, Best book and Award lists, Coming this Month, and Best seller lists.  For Children's and Ya librarians , check out Nancy Perls- Book Lust and  Lisa Von Drasek " Early Word Kids"

Esstablishing Routines- Floor time Part 4

There are many other activities that I do during floor time: Yes I want to be available to assist patrons and help them find answers to questions.  However , since I am never sure when that may occur I have some routines that I do while I am waiting for patrons to need help.

 One of the  first things I do on a daily basis is check the bathrooms for needed items and I keep my eyes open for anything I think may need attention.  I will also straighten shelves, put in book supports,post flyer's, and rearrange brochures in the stands.

 Another item I do at least once a day is straighten up the newspaper stand, and check on the magazines.  I have an old magazine rack which always needs straightening.

 During "floor time" I will also keep my eye out for  bulbs that need replacing, plants that need watering, and  anything out of place that needs to be put back right.

 Also during floor time, I can fill the copiers with paper,  work on book displays,  and  go over items with my staff that need to be addressed.

So "floor time" is a busy time but I can be on deck to help patrons and also get a lot accomplished!