Today marks the first day of Summer Reading! While summer reading often invokes memories of programs and activities for children, DBRL has versions for all ages. This year our theme is “Build a Better World,” and we’re hoping to inspire you to build a better personal world and better your community. The library will be hosting a number of fun programs to spark your excitement.
Take a peek at our website for the full list of Adult Summer Reading programs. We’ve also put together a couple of lists that feature people and communities that improve their world. There is a fiction list, and a nonfiction list — enjoy!
You can sign up for the Adult Summer Reading program here, and you’ll be entered in our weekly drawings for a bookstore gift card. You can also submit book reviews, and in doing so, get extra entries for the gift card drawings. Starting later this month, we will be publishing the best book reviews here on the Adults Blog.
Get reading and reviewing, and remember to consider what you can do to build a better world!
It has been 100 years since his birth, but John F. Kennedy remains a popular historic figure. People are fascinated with his privileged upbringing and the complicated politics of his presidency. His abbreviated life continues to inspire books, televisions series and movies. If you’re interested in reading more about this man who managed to leave a lasting mark on this country despite his short life, the library offers a large selection of interesting titles.
Before he was president, Kennedy showed promise as a leader when PT 109, the torpedo boat he served on, was downed by a Japanese Destroyer in the South Pacific. The ship’s surviving crew was stranded on an island, and Kennedy risked his life several times, swimming miles through the ocean in search of both food and escape from the island. “PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy” by William Doyle explores how Kennedy’s experience shaped him from a spoiled, wealthy youth into his destiny as the inspirational war hero who beat the odds to win the presidency. Continue reading “Remembering Our Fellow American, John F. Kennedy”
There’s a lot of new talent coming to shelves near you this month! Check out these promising works by debut authors.
“The Scribe of Siena
” by Melodie Winawer
While going through her brother’s Tuscany estate after his death, neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato is drawn into her brother’s research about the Black Death. She discovers the journal and paintings of Gabriele Accorsi, an artist who was at the heart of a 700-year-old plot to destroy the city of Siena.
Confronted by an image of her own face in one of his paintings, Beatrice is pulled back in medieval Italy only a few months before the plague sweeps across the country. And when Beatrice meets and falls in love with Accorsi, she is forced to decide in which century she truly belongs.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: May”
Each month, we host Facebook Friday Recommendations online. You can get personalized recommendations — all you need to do is find our Facebook Friday post and comment with two or three books or authors you like, and we’ll help you find your next great read! Here are the recommendations from May 2017.
Request: My favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut. I loved “Cat’s Cradle.” I recently finished the “Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and I am currently obsessed with Elena Ferrante’s The Neapolitan Novels. Continue reading “Facebook Friday Archives- May 5, 2017”
Imagine, if you will, you are a gentleman of means. Sure, your silks are a bit tattered, your fainting coach is worn and your butler may indeed be a figment of your imagination, but your snack cabinet is robust, and your butler’s compliments are as flowery and flattering as they are unceasing. Still, you seek greater means. “Why should I not have a zeppelin and an army of carrier pigeons?” you ask yourself.
So you explore the typical avenues for the gathering of wealth. There’s the lottery. You could shoot dice in an alley. Perhaps show up at a billionaire’s home claiming to be a long-lost cousin. But you are not good at the lottery, lack the athleticism for dice play, and find that billionaires hate their cousins. You turn to the last refuge of aspiring wealth-hoarders: the fiction section of your local library. You stalk the shelves, looking for the secrets to getting filthy rich, and do so with a willingness to acquire that wealth anywhere in the world. You look at the titles of several books, frustrated that their authors are clearly uninterested in helping you achieve your goal of subverting the United States Postal Service via a fleet of birds transmitting stamp-less messages. Then, after a few minutes of browsing — time you are beginning to think would have been better spent researching which relatives billionaires care about — eureeka! “Eureeka!” you shriek, to the dismay of everyone else in the library, after reading the first five words of the title you clutch. “How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.” The last two words give you pause. You’d prefer to get rich in the United States. Your joy is muted. Your subsequent hurrahs are only heard by those near you. Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Mohsin Hamid”
This summer we challenge readers of all ages to “Build a Better World.” Our Summer Reading theme motivates us to build, tinker and engineer, and it encourages us to help our community and our environment. To celebrate this theme, I’ve compiled a list of books to inspire you and your family to construct better reading skills and demolish the summer brain drain!
Registration for Summer Reading begins on June 1.
For Ages 0-5
Construction is hard work! After a long day of building and play, it’s time for the vehicles in Sherri Duskey Rinker’s “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” to tuck in for the night. Have fun rhyming while helping Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Bulldozer and the other construction companions finish their work and settle into sleep.
Have you ever messed up when creating a work of art? Don’t despair! 
“Beautiful Oops!” by Barney Saltzberg will teach your how to turn your “oops!” into a “whoopee!” Did you rip your paper? Turn the tear into alligator chompers! Did you spill your paint? Make the blot a silly animal! Every mistake, if looked at positively, can create a beautiful new work of art. Continue reading “Literary Links: Summer Reading”
I love to read, and gravitate toward heavier tomes (both in content and 
length). I tend to read quickly, so I need a book to be long so that I can marinate sufficiently into its world. Since I have a had a child, however, those long books have gone unread in favor of articles and blog posts with titles like “The 10 Things Nobody Tells You about Swaddling” or “How to Pick the Best Sun Hat for 15-Month Old.” Taking care of a baby or toddler means my attention always needs to be divided between him and whatever task I am attempting to complete. I need to concern myself with form over (or, in addition to) content. I usually use DBRL’s Overdrive app to check out short story and essay collections. Continue reading “Infographics: Great Books for Folks Who Are Busy”
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but so far, all we’ve got is more rain. I’m not too upset about it though, because there are a ton of great books coming out this month. And nothing pairs better with a rainy day than a good book! This month’s LibraryReads list includes heartwarming reads, some psychological fiction and a couple of great science reads. Check out the full list of recommendations from librarians from across the country.
“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman
“I loved this book about the quirky Eleanor, who struggles to relate to other people and lives a very solitary life. When she and the new work IT guy happen to be walking down the street together, they witness an elderly man collapse on the sidewalk and suddenly Eleanor’s orderly routines are disrupted. This is a lovely novel about loneliness and how a little bit of kindness can change a person forever. Highly recommended for fans of “A Man Called Ove” and “The Rosie Project” — this would make a great book club read.”
-Halle Eisenman, Beaufort County Library, Blufton, SC Continue reading “May 2017 LibraryReads: Books Librarians Love”
John Steinbeck said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.’”
That’s right; our state produced the father of American letters. And don’t think we don’t know it. Take a look at our state map: Mark Twain National Forest, Mark Twain State Park, Mark Twain Cave. Never mind that Samuel Clemens (Twain’s real name) moved away as an adult and did his writing in other locations; it’s obvious his Missouri boyhood influenced his career. A visit to the cavern now named after him leaves no doubt it was the setting for Tom Sawyer’s underground adventures. Continue reading “Literary Day Trips”
Here is a quick look at the most noteworthy nonfiction titles being released in April. Visit our catalog for a more extensive list.
TOP PICKS
“Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002” by David Sedaris
A collection of personal favorite entries from over forty years of keeping a diary reveal the bestselling author’s unique way of observing the world and the inspirations behind many of his best essays.
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The well-known astrophysicist provides a succinct guide to the universe, clearly explaining what we should know in order to be conversant in everything from quantum mechanics to the search for life on other planets.
Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: May 2017”
