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Teens posts by Katie H
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Not THE holiday season, but it’s as good as the holidays for the book lovers out there—the start of the fall publishing season. Fall sees the release of the heavy hitters of publishers’ catalogs as award season ramps up and booksellers start to build stock—and buzz—for those holiday shoppers. Here’s what to look forward to for next month:
I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’d like to have Mary Roach in our high school science classes. Her ‘can-you-believe-this’ odd factoid interjections would likely liven up most classrooms while making those facts that teacher presents stick all the better.
Mystery devotees could long argue over what period represented the peak era of American noir/mystery writing, but it’s likely all would agree that the 1940s would be high on everyone’s list. With such luminaries as Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler, and Dorothy Hughes established and up and comers Mickey Spillane and Jim Thompson making their mark in the pulp magazines, the culture of World War II America was ripe for literary inspiration.
Single motherhood with the responsibilities of earning enough to support several generations—it’s a situation not unfamiliar to many modern women. It’s the situation Christine de Pizan lives in, but her world—1393 Paris—is far from modern in Tania Bayard’s debut In the Presence of Evil. As an educated woman, Christine is already something of an oddity, but growing up as both beloved daughter and widow of scholars employed in the French court has given her a chance to earn her living as a scribe and support her children and mother.
It was perhaps inevitable that the same year that sports stopped cold in its tracks, The Best American Sports Writing would mark its last year.
For a thousand year old castle, it’s certainly not the first time a violent death has happened within its walls. But it’s still shocking when Windsor Castle staff discover the body of a young Russian pianist in the wardrobe of a guest room deep within what is one of the most secure citadels in the world—and more so when that death is revealed as a murder. Her Majesty the Queen is of course horrified to hear the news—she had danced with the man only the previous night—but when police and MI-6 suspects that Russia is behind the crime with a possible mole, she knows what she has to do.
Alice Randall isn’t an author that typically is at the top of many readers’ lists, having written several solid quietly received novels in the past and a few nonfiction works. But her latest, Black Bottom Saints, proves that Randall deserves more attention and a place on to-read lists.
Browsing for ebooks in Overdrive just became a lot easier! Wisconsin’s Digital Library introduces its’ new Lucky Day ebook collection February 14, just in time for readers to find a book they love among the offerings of high demand, popular titles. Featuring over 2,400 in-demand titles across all age levels, Lucky Day books can be borrowed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Overdrive has announced the newest addition to its Big Library Read program with the young adult novel I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by debut authors Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. High school students Lena and Campbell aren’t friends. African American Lena has a plan for the future, a fine boyfriend and a sure sense of herself. Campbell, who is white, just wants to make it through her first year at a new school without incident.
As war overtook their home in Iraq in 2010, the al Rabeeah family sought a safe refuge. Their choice was the ancient and vibrant city of Homs in Syria. But within a year, their hope had turned into a nightmare as Homs became the epicenter of struggle against Syrian president Bashir al-Assad. Abu Bakr al Rabeeah was ten and one of eight children in the al Rabeeah family when the violence broke out, and witnessed the devastating siege of his new home before his family was able to finally escape to Canada.