"Where there is no imagination there is no horror."
~Sir Arthur Conan DoyleIt's that time of year again! Halloween is the perfect excuse to come into the library to find a thrilling ghost story to read to your children or to pick up that Stephen King novel you've always wanted to read. Please also join us for our Author's Night (Thursday, October 21, at 6:30 p.m.) with Kathleen Kent, who will discuss her national bestselling novel about the Salem Witch Trials, "The Heretic's Daughter." It's guaranteed to get you into the spirit of the holiday.
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
SO COLD THE RIVER I love Halloween because it gives me an excuse to be scared, well, just a little scared (I'm kind of a wimp). I chose a new release out of the horror genre in hopes that it would provide me with some night reading that would raise a few goose bumps and make me check under the bed. However, I was disappointed in the scare factor of “So Cold the River.” The writing was good, the main character likable, and the setting realistic. I spent time in Indiana for college, so the frequent mention of Bloomington and Indiana University was fun, so any Indiana natives will most likely enjoy that. But it just wasn’t that scary. The story tells of a down-on-his-luck movie director, Eric Shaw, whose career is a wreck and who now resorts to putting together video montages for funeral services. A woman hires him to travel to a resort town in southern Indiana to tell the story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a wealthy nonagenarian. The only clue she gives him is an old bottle of mineral water, for which the area was famous. Shaw ingests some of the water and begins to experience frighteningly vivid visions. Along with the visions come killer headaches, for which the only remedy is to drink more mineral water. He teams up with a scholar from Bloomington, Kellen, who is also investigating Campbell Bradford, but they quickly figure out that they are researching two different men. Kellen’s Bradford was a truly evil man who ruled the valley during the era of Prohibition and the Great Depression. Shaw begins to suspect that Bradford’s spirit is fighting to wreak havoc once more, so Shaw and Kellen must solve the mystery of the two Bradfords before that happens. By Michael Koryta, Call #: F KOR
FICTION HARDCOVER
THE REVERSAL, by Michael Connelly. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) The defense lawyer Mickey Haller and the L.A.P.D. detective Harry Bosch join forces against a child-killer.
Call #: F CON
FALL OF GIANTS, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $36.) Five interrelated families from five countries are caught in the upheavals of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Book 1 of the Century trilogy.
Call #: F FOL
FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of “The Corrections.”
Call #: F FRA
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $25.99.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.
Call #: F SPA
SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK, by David Sedaris. (Little Brown, $21.99.) The humorist looks at human nature through stories with animals as characters.
Call #: F SED
DON'T BLINK, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. (Little Brown, $27.99.) After a gruesome murder in a New York steak house, a reporter finds himself involved in a war between the Italian mob and the Russian mafia.
Call #: F PAT
PAINTED LADIES, by Robert B. Parker. (Putnam, $26.95.) Spenser’s latest assignment is to provide protection during the ransoming of a stolen painting.
Call #: F PAR
PROMISE ME, by Richard Paul Evans. (Simon & Schuster, $19.99.) On Christmas Day, a woman with family problems meets a handsome, mysterious stranger.
Call #: F EVA
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
BAD BLOOD, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) Virgil Flowers is summoned to investigate a monstrous multigenerational conspiracy.
Call #: F SAN
LEGACY, by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte, $28.) A writer’s stunning family discovery leads to Paris, the French aristocracy and a mysterious Sioux ancestor.
Call #: F STE
GETTING TO HAPPY, by Terry McMillan. (Viking, $27.95.) Revisiting the four women from “Waiting to Exhale,” 15 years later.
Call #: F MCM
ROOM, by Emma Donoghue. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) A mother’s prison is her young son’s entire world.
Call #: F DON
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
OBAMA'S WARS, by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) How decisions were made on the war in Afghanistan, the campaign in Pakistan and the fight against terrorism.
Call#: 973.932 WOO
EARTH (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart and others. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by "The Daily Show."
Call#: 818.602 STE
AT HOME, by Bill Bryson. (Doubleday, $28.95.) The evolution of private life as exemplified by the houses we live in.
Call#: 643.1 BRY
PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS, by Bill O'Reilly. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama. Call#: 973.932 ORE
WASHINGTON, by Ron Chernow. (Penguin Press, $40.) A biography of the first president.
Call#: BIO WAS
THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”
Call#: 523.1 HAW
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
TORMENT, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99.) A novel about the nephilim, the children of humans and fallen angels. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F KAT
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
CLOCKWORK ANGEL, by Cassandra Clare. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster, $19.99.) Victorian England proves a treacherous place. (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F CLA
LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The teenage werewolves of "Shiver" face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F STI
BIG NATE: IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF, written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce. (Harper/HarperCollins, $12.99.) Wherever Nate goes, trouble is sure to follow. (Ages 8 to 12)
Call #: J F PEI
THE SEARCH FOR WONDLA, written and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. (Simon & Schuster, $17.99.) Eva Nine, who lives underground, surfaces to escape danger. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F DIT
TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13)
Call #: J F RUS
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
~Harper LeeOctober gives us the chance to reflect on and celebrate the importance of books and reading in our lives. It is National Book Month, so the Southlake Public Library encourages you to come in and choose a classic or new release. October is also National Reading Group Month, so if you need recommendations for your book club’s newest pick, we are here to help!
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR Critics have hailed Goodman as the modern-day Jane Austen, and while I do not agree with that comparison, I still enjoyed her writing. The story of the actual cookbook collector is just a part of this complex tale, which includes several different characters and story lines. It centers, though, around two sisters and their lovers living in Silicon Valley. At the beginning of the story, Emily, the older sister, is on the cusp of her computer business going public and is seriously involved with a similarly successful businessman. Her sister, Jessamine, is a philosophy major and vegetarian do-gooder committed to saving the California redwoods. She has begun working for a rare book dealer, George, who harbors a secret crush on his newest employee. George soon discovers an exceedingly rare collection of cookbooks, which he asks Jessamine to catalog. The novel charts the rise and fall of the price of Emily’s stock, which provides an appropriate metaphor for the ups and downs of young adult life as the characters struggle to decide what job to take and whom to marry. While the events of the dot com crash and September 11th loom large at the end of the novel, the author does a good job of keeping the suspense even though the reader knows what is coming. It is a novel about living life and not just contemplating it and recognizing the importance of family and love in their many forms. By Allegra Goodman, Call #: F GOO
FICTION HARDCOVER
FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of “The Corrections.”
Call #: F FRA
SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $25.99.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.
Call #: F SPA
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
BAD BLOOD, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) Virgil Flowers is summoned to investigate a monstrous multigenerational conspiracy.
Call #: F SAN
MINI SHOPAHOLIC, by Sophie Kinsella. (Dial, $25.) Keeping a surprise party on budget has domestic perils.
Call #: F KIN
WICKED APPETITE, by Janet Evanovich. (St. Martin’s, $27.99.) A dangerous man needs Elizabeth Tucker’s help to find an ancient power source.
Call #: F EVA
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
SANTA FE EDGE, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) A murder in a golfer’s hacienda brings Ed Eagle a new client.
Call #: F WOO
GETTING TO HAPPY, by Terry McMillan. (Viking, $27.95.) Revisiting the four women from “Waiting to Exhale,” 15 years later.
Call #: F MCM
THE POSTCARD KILLERS, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) An N.Y.P.D. detective joins a Swedish reporter in a search for the killer of young couples in Europe, including his daughter and her boyfriend. Call #: F PAT
WARLORD, by Ted Bell. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The counterspy Alex Hawke races to stop a madman from murdering the British royal family.
Call #: F BEL
LOST EMPIRE, by Clive Cussler with Grant Blackwood. (Putnam, $27.95.) Sam and Remi Fargo, a husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team, pursue an important relic.
Call #: F CUS
APE HOUSE, by Sara Gruen. (Spiegel & Grau, $26.) Bonobos disappear from a research laboratory and turn up on reality TV, to the consternation of a scientist who studies them; from the author of “Water for Elephants.”
Call #: F GRU
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
EARTH (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart and others. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by "The Daily Show."
Call#: 818.602
THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”
Call#: 523.1 HAW
PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS, by Bill O'Reilly. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama. Call#: 973.932 ORE
SH*T MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.
Call#: 818.602 HAL
WHITE HOUSE DIARY, by Jimmy Carter. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) The diary Carter kept during his presidency, with annotations.
Call#: 973.926 CAR
EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END, by Ingrid Betancourt. (Penguin Press, $29.95.) Betancourt, a Colombian presidential candidate at the time, was kidnapped by leftist guerrillas in 2002 and held for six years.
Call#: 986.106 BET
CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY, by David Limbaugh. (Regnery, $29.95.) A political indictment of the Obama presidency.
Call#: 973.932 LIM
THE WAVE, by Susan Casey. (Doubleday, $27.95.) Giant oceanic waves and the scientists and surfers who love them.
Call#: 551.463 CAS
A JOURNEY: MY POLITICAL LIFE, by Tony Blair. (Knopf, $35.) A memoir by the former British prime minister. Call#: BIO BLAIR
CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOKS
BATS AT THE BALLGAME, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) Bats, the mammals, swing bats, as in baseball. (Ages 3 to 6)
Call #: E LIE
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
CLOCKWORK ANGEL, by Cassandra Clare. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster, $19.99.) Victorian England proves a treacherous place. (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F CLA
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
LINGER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic Press/Scholastic, $17.99.) The teenage werewolves of "Shiver" face a new test of love and loyalty. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F STI
RECKLESS, written and illustrated by Cornelia Funke. (Little, Brown, $19.99.) Boys and beasts in a dark place called Mirrorworld. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: YA F FUN
