Welcome to Book by Book!
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- July
- 9
Our new blog is here and I want to personally welcome everyone to my first posting. We will feature local book club participants talking about their monthly selections and encourage our online audience to read the books and jump in with comments. We will also highlight the local book scene from authors and publishers to libraries and bookstores.
“Book by Book” might suggest we can take up only one book at a time, but we readers understand that often you like to keep many books going at the same time. I mean, some days you want a little fiction, other days you want a dose of reality. Often, it is hard to tell which is which.
What’s on your summer reading list?
Let me know what you are reading now and what is on your “expect to get to” list for the vacation and summer moments, when choices often lean to more breezy books or longer tomes. I want to know why you want to read something and if something you tried met your expectations.
So fair, I have promised myself I would read “In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror” by Anthony D. Romero (executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union) and Dina Temple-Raston (a journalist) which details some significant civil liberties cases. The book was recommended by Putnam County resident and ACLU president Nadine Strossen. For a lighter read, I think I want to try “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen, a novel about a traveling circus that was a 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Fiction Winner from the Tarrytown-based American Booksellers Association.
Youngsters who need inspiration and a nudge should be urged to check out reading programs already underway at libraries in our three-county LoHud region. For details on these summertime programs or to find out more about your community’s library go to:
* www.westchesterlibraries.org for Westchester Library System * www.midhudson.org for Putnam libraries in the Mid-Hudson Library System * www.rcls.org for Rockland libraries in the Ramapo-Catskill Library SystemHappy reading  and let me when, where and what you are reading!
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 9th, 2007 at 4:32 pm by Barbara Nackman.
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Right, books then? Excellent blog topic. Hopefully we’ll get some good chatter. I guess I’ll be the first to comment. I’m currently taking on my first Philip Roth novel as we speak (I know, I know) in Portnoys Complaint. Would anyone who has read a lot of his works recommend this one as my first or should I be starting with Plot Against America or something else?
Also, I read The Kite Runner right after it came out and loved it. How’s Hosseini’s new one? Being a NY Times bestseller can be just as much about reputation as it is about the quality of the book. But I hope this one brings some different elements than The Kite Runner.
To Richard Stanley – I’m a big fan of Philip Roth. Like thousands of others. But I haven’t read Portnoy’s Complaint. I’ve picked up mainly his later works, like The Plot Against America, American Pastoral, The Human Stain, the one about his father (can’t remember the title), most recently Everyman. I can’t get enough of Roth and will keep mowing them down. Maybe my favorite is American Pastoral. Try it.
I’m happy to see this blog come along and would enjoy exchanging ideas on books and getting some recommendations on other writers.
In addition to library sites as guides, parents and younsters may be interested in looking at The Journal News Newspaper and Education Summer reading supplement available at LoHud.com/NIE. It was produced with the cooperation of the Westchester Lybrary System and underwritten by Commerce Bank.
Great comments from real readers! Thanks. It is real interesting to know what men, or at least two of them, are reading.
How about women out there? What’s on your reading list?
I am almost done with a John Irving book, Until I Find You. It is his 11th novel and nearly two years old at this point. I had never tried it because of its epic length, but when my husband gave it to me as a gift I began reading it. It took a while to get drawn into this book, but now I am hooked and sad that I am nearly finished. It is considered fairly autobiographical, though I am not sure which parts directly relate to Irving’s life.
I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and think it’s better than The Kite Runner, and I thought that was superb. Maybe it’s because I’m a chick, but this second one was so emotional and downright painful.
I’m anxiously awaiting the final Harry Potter book. It’s almost required reading as an elementary school teacher, that’s why I read the first one anyway so I could discuss it with one of my students. But I absolutely fell in love with the books. They’re simply wonderful.
I am fascinated with widespread appeal of Harry Potter books. I really like to understand why they have become so popular and hav encouraged so many teens and young readers to get into books.
I admit, I have never been a fan of fantasy books, Tolkien or any others, and Potter just doesn’t hold my interest. I guess I should take another stab at this Rowling series, but I am not sure if I should start at the beginning or just pick any book.
Any suggestions?
In my opinion the Harry Potter books appeal to children because they don’t talk down to them, they expect them to think and work for the story. Far too many children’s books treat kids like idiots and children don’t respond to that. They’re far smarter than most give them credit for.
And I think that appeals to adults as well. They are well crafted books, with many layers and complex relationships. I know I’ll be very sad to say goodbye to that world. It’s been a blast waiting in anticipation for the next chapter summer after summer.
If you want to start reading them and don’t want to start with book 1, you could always watch the movies for the first 2 simply to learn of the relationships and characters and some back story. Things start to get really involved in book 3. At that point, reading the books is required because the movies cannot capture the full story anymore.
The appeal of Harry Potter is that of Tolkien. Its fantasy. plus its about someone close to their own age so its a double bill.
The Patterson Library’s Summer Reading Program has gotten off to a terrific start! This week over 200 children attended our storytimes, movies, Fun&Games and life-size game of Clue. August will bring our family concert, “Bugs, Slugs & Beaver Chews – Wild Thing Tunes, Wild Thing Clues” with performer Tom Sieling, as well as our Annual Ice Cream Party for our participating families. We’re already planning our fall schedule. Look for our new knitting program in September, the return of our Mother/Daughter Book Discussion Group, as well as other surprises. You can keep up on what’s going on at the Patterson Library by visiting the Events Calendar on our website at http://www.pattersonlibrary.org Enjoy the rest of your summer and remember the 3 R’s – Read, Read, Read!!