Thursday, June 27, 2013

More Summer Reading Suggestions

We are reposting Ellen's June 23, 2011 list of fun books to read in the summer because you can never have too many ideas for summertime escapism:

Why get on a wait list for this year's crop of beach reads, when last year's are on the shelves right now? Most of these come from Library Journal's list (note: this list is no longer available on the LJ website.)



Summer Shift by Lynn Kiele Bonasia
While trying to run the Cape Cod clam bar she owns, 44-year-old widow Mary Hopkins must rely on her diverse and dependable staff to weather the sudden death of a young waitress, her beloved great aunt's struggle with Alzheimer's, and Mary's own sense that life is passing her by.

The Summer We Read Gatsby by Danielle Ganek
Forced to set aside their differences when they jointly inherit a rundown cottage in the Hamptons, practical-minded Cassie and her dreamer half-sister Peck struggle to decide what to do with the house, which comes with a resident artist plagued by bad luck.

Thin Rich Pretty by Beth Harbison
Remembering their misfit teen years and the summer they lashed out at rich and spoiled Lexi, Holly and Nicola struggle to overcome insecurities to safeguard their ambitions and are shocked to re-encounter a down-on-her-luck Lexi, who harbors painful memories.

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand
After her daughter, Chess, breaks off an engagement and her fiance subsequently dies in a rock-climbing accident, divorcee Birdie Cousins encourages her younger daughter, Tate, and her sister, India, to join her and Chess on Tuckernack Island for a month, a time when deep secrets are soon revealed.

Summer in the South by Cathy Holton
Visiting old friend Will from college only to find him much more attractive and confident than she remembers, Ava becomes immersed in Will's Southern community and wonders if the local secrets she uncovers will estrange her from Will or strengthen their bond.

Dolci di Love by Sarah-Kate Lynch
After discovering that her husband has a secret second family in Tuscany, Lily Turner leaves New York and looks for a happy ending in a struggling Italian bakery with the help of the Secret League of Widowed Darners.

The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross
When Ansley Waller's fiance Parish cancels their upcoming wedding, Ansley decides to leave Dallas and make a fresh start. In a surprise move, she heads to New York City to live with her recently widowed grandmother Vivian, who gives Ansley an ultimatum: get a job or go home. Before long, she's opening up her own cupcake shop and even trying her hand at dating.

Looking for a Love Story by Louise Shaffer
Recently divorced, Francesca agrees to write a memoir on an elderly woman's parents who worked in vaudeville, and while researching the couple, Francesca starts to reexamine her own family and love life.
- Ellen

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Most Popular Titles This Year

The top ten most circulated titles at Berkeley Heights Public Library so far this year:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Racketeer by John Grisham
Notorious Nineteen : a Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich
Six Years by Harlan Coben
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Inferno by Dan Brown
The Husband List by Janet Evanovich
The Forgotten by David Baldacci
Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson

 Reading suggestions on the slat book display near the Circulation Desk

Friday, June 7, 2013

Summer Reading Suggestions on Pinterest



Summer Reading for Adults
It's almost the end of the school year. For students, parents, and librarians everywhere the end of classes means summer reading lists from school have been tucked into backpacks and posted on school websites so that children and young adults can maintain there literacy skills over the long summer vacation. But what about adults? Not to be left out of the feeling of reading fun over the vacation months, adult readers want suggestions about what to read during the summer too. Traditionally, summer reading for adults, often called 'beach reads,' and not to be confused with the Edith Wharton and Nathaniel Hawthorne tomes assigned to high-school students, are as light in theme and tone as they are heavy in weight. People want a good, long 'page turner' to while away the hours in the summer months. That's why the librarians at the Berkeley Heights Public Library have created a special 'Summer Reading' pin board on the popular website Pinterest. We will be adding images to that board and the nineteen other Berkeley Heights Library Pinterest boards all summer long, so check back often for your summer reading needs.
Pinterest.com/berkeleyheights
We encourage our library patrons to follow us, repin our pins, or just browse our summer reading book suggestions. You do not have to have an account to browse our Pinterest boards. If you want to learn how to use Pinterest, the library will be offering a class for beginners soon, date to be determined. Call the Reference Desk if you are interested in attending the class.

The library is also on the following social media sites where we put up book lists, brief reviews or reading suggestions from time to time.

So take a look at the librarians' book tweets and Facebook updates for reading ideas.

What books are on your summer reading list? Take a look at this beach reads post for some reading suggestions.