Want More Handmaid’s Tale?

With the popularity of THE HANDMAID’S TALE, people are already talking about the debut dystopian book by Christina Dalcher called VOX. Read this book jacket copy….it sounds amazing!

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial–this can’t happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.

This is already being called a great book club choice, so make sure to get your name on the list as soon as you see it at your library, or pre-order a copy now. It’s probably going to fly off the shelves at the end of the summer.

Advertisements

Presidents and Books?

If you saw our unboxing video recently (I’ll link it below), you’ll know that THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING by Bill Clinton and James Patterson is a much-anticipated book by many of our readers. (And yes…Dennis Quaid reads the audiobook version!)

But there is another “presidential” book getting a bit of buzz, and it has nothing to do with Trump.

HOPE NEVER DIES by Andrew Schaffer is a thriller that puts Joe Biden and Barack Obama in the middle of a strange railroad death and the mystery that follows. Honestly, the Goodreads summary says it all:

Vice President Joe Biden is fresh out of the Obama White House and feeling adrift when his favorite railroad conductor dies in a suspicious accident, leaving behind an ailing wife and a trail of clues. To unravel the mystery, “Amtrak Joe” re-teams with the only man he’s ever fully trusted—the 44th president of the United States. Together they’ll plumb the darkest corners of Delaware, traveling from cheap motels to biker bars and beyond, as they uncover the sinister forces advancing America’s opioid epidemic.

Part noir thriller and part bromance novel, Hope Never Dies is essentially the first published work of Obama/Biden fiction—and a cathartic read for anyone distressed by the current state of affairs.

It’s going to be a series! The cover alone is worthy of picking the book up. Whether or not it will reach the heights of the Clinton/Patterson novel, we’ll have to see. But it looks like a lot of fun, either way.

Are you planning on reading either book? Let us know in the comments.

You can watch our unboxing video here.

Accessible Fun for ALL Readers

Summer reading is upon us…and for some, the idea isn’t exciting. When a child has reading issues (dyslexia, reading stress, visual impairment etc.), the thought of joining a summer reading program can be daunting, especially when that child has siblings who might be reading better.

We understand how frustrating this can be–for the child, and for the parents. No one wants to feel like they aren’t going to be able to keep up. We certainly don’t want that. We want every child who joins the TD Summer Reading Club to have access to books or materials that will entertain, educate, and keep them enthusiastic about reading throughout the summer.

The first amazing resource that we want to highlight is the TD Summer Reading Club website and materials. Each child who registers for the program at our library will receive a fun reading bag full of items to get them started. It will include a reading booklet, a fantastic bookmark, activity pages, reading challenges, and much more. All of the branded materials provided by the TD Summer Reading Club are available for children of all ages, contain both French and English versions, and have wonderful age-related activities.

http://tdsummerreadingclub.ca

The website has all of this available in a variety of languages, for all ages and interests, and we encourage everyone to visit it often once the program begins.

But if your child has reading issues, like the ones mentioned above, they also have special downloadable accessible booklets to replace the ones we include in the bags. There are booklets in Braille, audioversions, and booklets that are specially designed for those readers who have print issues. Ask us to print one for you, or show you how you can access them from home!

We have lots of other great accessible resources available this summer, too. Please watch for more posts, or ask us how we can help your child participate in a format that works best for them. We want EVERYONE to love summer reading as much as we do!

Forest of Reading™ Winners!

Last week, the winners for Forest of Reading were announced in Toronto. While our readers picked some of these, a few were surprises (although every single winning book was fantastic)! And the winners were…….

Blue Spruce:

Silver Birch Express:

Silver Birch Fiction:

Silver Birch Non-Fiction:

Red Maple:

Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators who won! We can’t wait until next year!

What Happens After?

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the characters in J.K. Rowling’s HARRY POTTER series after the series ended, you’re not alone. We lived with them through so many pages that we feel like they’re real people, and real people keep on living, right?

Thankfully, over the years, J. K. Rowling has given us little hints as to how she envisioned the characters to age. And just the other day, we came across a great compilation of all of her answers. If you’re a fan, take some time to read through “28 Things that Happened after the Harry Potter Books ended”.

 

The Passage

Justin Cronin’s very unique vampire trilogy is coming to FOX as a series. THE PASSAGE stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a federal agent who is in charge of protecting a young girl who is the test-subject for a government controlled virus. The virus could either cure all diseases, or bring down the entire human race, so as you can imagine, it’s a hotly guarded secret.

Cronin’s books follow the development of the virus across three very long but fascinating books, and FOX originally purchased the rights to the novels to be made into a film. With the success of recent books to television series, FOX has decided instead to bring it to the small screen, where they can probably stretch it out into a multitude of seasons. Great for fans of this series, fans of vampire tales, and also new watchers.

No word yet on starting dates, but if you want to get started on the books (because they’re always better), you might want to pick them up now. These books are LONG–like 600+ pages long…each. Get out that library card and download or check out one today.

Royal Weddings

If you have May 19th marked on your calendar, you’re probably already planning for the wedding of the year. Prince Harry will marry Meghan Markle, and the world will have a new royal couple to ooh and ahh over.

When Prince William married Kate Middleton, people around the world held Royal Wedding parties….some of them at 5am to watch the nuptials live on TV. (Okay, I’ll admit, I was one of them, and our party included royal scones, tiaras, and lots of British flags.) If you’re thinking of doing something fun with your friends or family for the special occasion this time, you might want to start planning. You only have 9 days left!

Good thing you belong to the library!  You can drop in and take out Hannah Schiedig’s FASCINATORS: 25 STYLISH ACCESSORIES TO TOP OFF YOUR LOOK, to get some inspiration. Your local dollar store is a great place to start, with cheap flowers, lots of bling, and feather boas to die for.

Or maybe you just want to read more about the newest member-to-be of the Royal family, Meghan Markle. Royal biographer Andrew Morton has put together his take on the actress turned (almost) Duchess, including plenty of photos from her childhood to the present. You can find MEGHAN: A HOLLYWOOD PRINCESS here at our library.

And if you don’t have quite enough inspiration yet, don’t forget, we have LOTS of great wedding planning books. You can get a few fun ideas for wedding parties/showers etc. to make your viewing party extra special. It’s going to be a fun day….we hope you enjoy it royally!