Book Tips for Travelers

Travel brings with it a change in your daily routine. Whether you're on the road for fun or for business, you're bound to have at least a little free time, which, if you're a book lover, translates to reading time. As a lover of both books and travel, I thought I'd share some of the tips I've learned over the years for the upcoming summer travel season.

 Switch it up! Tackle your To Be Read list

• A vacation is a great time to read a book you wouldn't usually, whether it's the sort of serious reading that demands extra attention or something light and fluffy you'd otherwise feel guilty taking time off to read.

Busy schedule? Try short stories

• Short story collections are great for when you'll only have 30-minutes or so at a time to read between everything else because you can usually read an entire story in that time!
• Added bonus, an anthology will let you sample multiple authors to see if you'd like to read their full-length novels when you have more free time.

eBooks: the easiest way to bring the entire library with you

• Already on the road? Our OverDrive collection of eBooks and downloadable audiobooks are available anywhere you have internet access.

Audiobooks: the only way to read a book while you're driving a car

• MP3 audiobooks let you listen to an entire 12+ hour audiobook on only two discs.
• In addition to our OverDrive collection, we have even more downloadable audiobooks available through One Click Digital.

Paper Books: the only books you don't have to stop reading during take-off and landing

• Nothing beats a paper book for reading in bright sun, and you never have to worry about recharging!
• They're easy to swap among friends and family, which is how I've discovered some of my favorite books.
• Don't want to risk one of your books or a library book? The Friends of the Library always have books for sale on the library's second floor, and the prices can't be beat!

Digital Magazines: we've got those too

• Check out the latest issue on your tablet or smartphone with your library card through our Zinio app.

Long Trip? Suspend your holds

• Been waiting for the latest James Patterson or Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Don't lose your spot, suspend your holds until you get back, and yes, we can do this for you over the phone.

~Sarah, Adult Services

New Item Tuesday

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Staff Review: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, book 1) by Rick Riordan

Are you a Rick Riordan fan?  Do you impatiently wait for him to publish his next book?  I am, and I do!  I LOVED the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series.  Riordan does an amazing job of bringing the Greek (and Roman) gods to life, giving them personality and making them relevant in the modern world.  These books are informative and incredibly fun.  I had a hold on The Hidden Oracle, I think I was number 3 on the list.  The book came out, I decided I couldn’t wait and I bought it.  I’ve read it twice already, and then I went back and re-read the two previous series about the Greek gods.  Yes, I’m obsessive.  Anyway, on to The Hidden Oracle.  Please be warned that this post will contain spoilers from previous books. 

At the end of The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus, book 5), Zeus expressed his displeasure with Apollo by sending him…somewhere.  Apollo just disappeared and nobody knew what happened to him.  To be fair, he is immortal so I’m pretty sure Percy and crew didn’t really give him a second thought.  Well, 6 months after the events of The Blood of Olympus, Apollo has fallen to Earth.  He is mortal, a 16- year-old boy, he no longer has 8-pack abs and he has ACNE!  The horror!  Oh, and in his pocket is a wallet that says his name is Lester.  When it comes to punishing Apollo, this time Zeus isn’t messing around. 

Apollo appears in a back alley somewhere in New York City.  He is promptly attacked by some hooligans and is saved by a young girl named Meg. She appears to be about 12.  Apollo decides that he is in her debt and must do her bidding since she saved his life.  He also realizes he needs help and the best place to get said help is Camp Half-Blood.  He makes his way to Percy’s apartment and from there to Camp Half-Blood.  When he arrives at camp, all is not well. All of the oracles have gone silent.  There hasn’t been a prophecy since the battle with Gaea.  The oracles are Apollo’s thing so he now knows it is up to him to figure out what is going on.  To make matters worse, half-bloods are disappearing from camp.

Apollo isn’t really a likeable guy.  He is full of himself, spouts haikus all the time and truly believes the world should revolve around him.  But, he isn’t quite as cold and heartless as many of the Greek gods and as the book progresses he makes great strides towards becoming more “human”.  Two of the campers who disappear are children of Apollo and he is truly concerned about their well-being.  He genuinely likes them and they in turn treat him kindly even though he is no longer an immortal god.  He also expresses great concern for Meg and takes his self-induced servitude towards her very seriously.  I can’t wait to see how this series progresses.  There is, of course, the mystery of what happened to the oracles and the big bad is revealed. 

Rick Riordan tweeted that we will catch up with all the main characters from the previous Greek books.  What role will they play in the story?  Well, you will just have to read the book to find out. 

A few notes: 

• Early on Percy mentions that Annabeth is in Boston dealing with some family issues – have you read The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard, book 1)?  Those family issues are kind of a big deal. 

• Did everything that happened to Nico in all the previous books just break your heart?  Well, this book made my heart swell to 3 times its size, just like the Grinch.  Nico is happy y’all…and it is about dang time! 

•  A co-worker of mine is listening to The Hidden Oracle on audio. She highly recommends it because the reader (Robbie Daymond) does an excellent job of portraying Apollo's lack of understanding of the mortal world and his ever growing humanity.  

I'm giving this on 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I'm deducting half a star due to not loving Apollo as a lead character, yet.   

~Amy, Adult Services

Nine Mysteries You Should Read for the Pun of It

One of the fun parts of my job as a librarian here at Carnegie-Stout is selecting the new mystery books, which means I get to sit in the workroom and giggle at all of the terrible puns. If you don't read many mysteries, you might not be familiar with the cozy mystery sub-genre. Cozy mysteries tend to be lighter in tone and less violent (though there will still be murders to solve). The main character in a cozy mystery is usually an amateur sleuth who has a day job as a baker, a pet sitter, or a baker who specializes in dog treats, but spends their free time investigating crimes.

I've gathered together a list of some of our newer mystery novels with especially clever titles. Check one out for a fun read on a relaxing summer weekend!

Nine Mysteries You Should Read for the Pun of It:

And Then There Were Nuns by Kylie Logan

B&B owner Bea Cartwright has taken on the responsibility of taking meals to ten visiting nuns, but the peace of the retreat is shattered when one of the nuns is found at the water's edge--murdered. And when a second nun is killed, Bea and the other members of the League of Literary Ladies start to wonder about eerie parallels with the Agatha Christie mystery classic And Then There Were None. 

Breach of Crust by Ellery Adams

Socialite Beatrice Burbank hires Ella Mae to teach the tasty tricks of her trade to the members of the Camellia Club, but when Bea's body is found floating in Lake Havenwood Ella Mae must find the killer.

Fifty Shades of Greyhound by Sparkle Abbey

It was a killer party. Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach’s favorite pet therapist, is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. The champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends a stranger in their midst is dead. 

For Cheddar or Worse by Avery Aames

Lara Berry, pretentious cheese whiz, pompous bestselling author, and pungent critic whose extra sharp tongue can crumble a reputation, has been murdered, and Charlotte Bessette is determined to clear her friend's name of the crime.

Foreign Éclairs by Julie Hyzy

White House executive chef Ollie Paras has served plenty of meals to foreign dignitaries from around the world. But someone is ready to serve her an ice-cold dish of revenge... 

Laying Down the Paw by Diane Kelly
When a raging tornado hits Forth Worth, Megan's squad car is flipped over-and her devoted police dog, Brigit, is not amused. But that's not all that's upside-down. The streets are littered with looters-and members of a violent street gang-and no local business is safe. It's time to get back on all fours and see that the job of protecting the public is done.

Silence of the Lamps by Karen Rose Smith

Business has never been better for home stager Caprice De Luca, until her main rival is found bludgeoned to death with one of his grandmother's antique Tiffany lamps. Now, Caprice must act fast to illuminate the truth before a cold-blooded killer puts her lights out next...

Tea with Jam and Dread by Tamar Myers
Deciding that the PennDutch Inn needs to go more upmarket, Magdalena Yoder is delighted to welcome the Earl and Countess Grimsley-Snodgrass and their family as honoured guests. But, as Magdalena is about to find out, the Grimsley-Snodgrasses are by no means the easiest of guests, and at the same time she has to contend with the discovery of a mummified corpse trapped in her elevator shaft.

Thread and Gone by Lea Wait
Angie investigates after a piece of embroidery the Mainely Needlepointers identified as possibly knitted by Mary, Queen of Scots, is stolen and the lawyer who was safeguarding the precious antique is murdered.

~Sarah, Adult Services

New Item Tuesday

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The Great Reading Challenge: Read a Classic!

"Read a classic novel" is one of the categories in C-SPL's Great Reading Challenge. I decided it was time to read Light in August by William Faulkner, which my son has been urging me to read. So I read it and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.  

Light in August may be the grimmest, darkest, most harrowing novel I have ever read. Written in 1932, it examines issues of race, gender, religion, and social class in the American South -- and not in any way that makes you want to re-locate. It's Southern Gothic on steroids. I'm not sure I can recommend it except to say that Faulkner is brilliant, he writes like some higher order of angel (a dark angel, that is), and if you like Cormac McCarthy, you may very well like Faulkner.

If you'd like to check off the Classic Novel box but don't want anything that makes you lose the will to live, here are a few more-upbeat suggestions:

Middlemarch, arguably the greatest novel in the English language,
is George Eliot's masterpiece. The novel examines the lives, struggles,
failures, and redemptions of a fascinating network of characters inhabiting the Midlands town of Middlemarch as the industrial age approaches. Its centerpiece is Dorothea Brooke, a beautiful and intelligent young woman seeking a life of significance at a tough time for women. (George Eliot, by the way, was a woman.) At 800-plus pages, this one is not for the faint of heart but it's worth every minute of the effort.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, who was Charles Dicken's good friend, is often called the first detective novel in English. The Moonstone's crime is the theft of the Tippoo diamond after the fall of Seringapatam in India in 1799. The Indian element imbues this very British, very Victorian novel, told by way of letters, with an exotic and sinister atmosphere. There's a great cast of characters and as with all good Victorian reads, romance is definitely in the air (or will be once the villain is identified).

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is surely one of the world's most beloved novels. It's one of those classics nobody gripes about having to read. That's because it's got everything: a Gothic atmosphere, an evil orphanage, a clever, bright, unconventional heroine (she's neither gorgeous nor splendidly wealthy), a brooding lord of the manor, a romantic competitor who is lovely and rich, a catastrophic fire, something sinister and creepy in the attic, and more! The intelligent and witty dialogue between Jane, a mere governness, and Mr. Edward Rochester, master of Thornfield Hall, makes for some wonderfully gripping (and, dare I say, romantic?) reading.

~Ann, Adult Services