Geeking the Library

Yes, geeking is now a verb and in this case, an excellent one. SavannahNow.com features an article about a new public awareness campaign called "Geek the Library" - it's sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Click here to read the article online - you might be surprised by how something so geeky can warm the heart. To learn more about "Geek the Library" - visit www.geekthelibrary.org.

50 Books for Our Times

Newsweek has published a very wide-ranging list of books they consider "for our times." Click here to see the list. Kudos to them for listing Georgia's own Flannery O'Connor.

Celebrating 60 Years of Publishing

Weidenfeld & Nicolson is celebrating 60 years in the business - no small feat in today's electronic world. Here's an article in the Guardian UK featuring founder George Weidenfeld.

Details, Details

Curious about the July book club selections mentioned in the previous post? Visit the authors' websites by clicking the links below.

Mary Doria Russell

Margaret Maron

July Book Club Selections

Start reading! Here are the July selections for Noonday Nosh and the Mystery Book Club. Please call the Roswell Library at (770) 640-3075 to reserve a copy as soon as possible.

Noonday Nosh Book Club
July 21st @ 12 Noon
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell

Mystery Book Club
July 28th @ 6:30 p.m.
The Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron

Dr. King's Books to be Reprinted

The eloquence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be made available to a new generation of readers with the reissue of several long out of print titles. For more details, read about it in the Guardian UK.

August Book Sale

Mark your calendars for our upcoming book sale! The sale will be held in the library's meeting room and in the Friends' Book Corner. Sale hours are as follows:

Preview Party for members (new members may join at the door)
Friday, August 21st
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Regular Book Sale
Saturday, August 22nd
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Foodie Alert: Book Club Cookbooks

Here's an interesting website: www.bookclubcookbook.com Take a look at the selection of novels featuring recipes and other food-related themes. A free subscription to their newsletter, Book Bytes, is available. (Thanks to JS for this tip.)

AJC Decatur Book Festival

The AJC Decatur Book Festival will be held Labor Day weekend. Click here to visit the official website to see what's coming up!

Summer suggestions from Nancy Pearl

More recommendations, this time from NPR commentator and Librarian Nancy Pearl. Click here to read her suggestions, courtesy of NPR.

Summer Reading from the Telegraph UK

The Telegraph UK offers a suggested list of books they've reviewed over the last year. It's a nice blend of fiction and non, including a few American titles. Click here to read the article. Please note that some titles have not yet been published on this side of the pond, but will be soon.

Three Cheers for Ray Bradbury

Author Ray Bradbury is fund raising for the H. P. Wright Branch Library, a Ventura County Public Library that may have to close because of budget cuts. Mr. Bradbury has always been a strong supporter of public libraries. Read the NY Times article here.

A Belated Bloomsday

A thousand apologies for letting Bloomsday (June 16th) slip by without proper acknowledgement. Here's a link to a poignant NY Times Opinion about James Joyce, grandfathers and finding yourself and your family deep inside literature. Enjoy.

Mystery Book Club Meets Next Tuesday

Time to finish that book! The Mystery Book Club meets Tuesday, June 23rd @ 6:30 p.m. at the Roswell Library. The June selection is Brat Farrar by the late, great Josephine Tey.

Author Gary Pomerantz Visits the Carter Library

Gary Pomerantz, author of Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, will speak at the Jimmy Carter Library on Monday, June 22nd. He will discuss his newest book The Devil's Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age. For more information, please visit the Carter Library's website.

Tonight's Computer Class Has Been Canceled

Tonight's Computer Class, Introduction to Facebook and Twitter, has been canceled. The Roswell Library is currently experiencing computer problems and the computers are down. IT is working hard to solve the problems as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvience and appreciate your patience. As soon as this class is rescheduled, we will post a notice on the Blog and Facebook.

Which Literary Character Would You Take to the Beach?

The June 14th edition of the Washington Post featured an article asking current authors which literary character they'd take to the beach. Click here to read the interesting answers! After you read this article, take a look around at the other summer reading articles in the Post's Book World.

Noonday Nosh Book Club Meets Tomorrow

Noonday Nosh meets Tuesday, June 16th @ 12 noon. The June selection is The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. See you there!

More Summer Selections

NPR continues its summer series of book recommendations. The most recent is an eclectic list from three independent booksellers. Click here to visit NPR's website - get your pencil ready!

So many book formats, so little time

Do you read books using a Kindle, an iPhone, or other e-reader? Perhaps you prefer hardback over paperback, or maybe books on CD. Nowadays, there are many varieties in which to read or listen to books. Ann Kirschner has taken 4 of these formats to task using her book club's recent selection, Little Dorrit (Charles Dickens), and has written eloquently about the joys of ... well ... reading. Click here to read her article in the June 12th edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

A Somber Birthday

Today is the birthday of Anne Frank. She would have been 80 years old. Where would we be without diaries like hers? Her first-hand account of life in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands is life-changing.

Click here to visit the official Anne Frank website.

June Newsletter Online

The June issue of the Friends' newsletter is now online. Click here to visit the Newsletter page on the Friends' website. You'll learn about Summer programs, special programs, and more!

Noonday Nosh Book Club meets next Tuesday

Time to finish that book! Noonday Nosh Book Club meets Tuesday, June 16th @ 12 noon. Our selection this month is The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. Ms. Jackson visited the Roswell Library back in January. She is a delightful and funny speaker - check out her blog, Faster Than Kudzu, at http://www.joshilynjackson.com/mt/.

Upcoming Computer Classes

The Roswell Library is offering free computer classes this month. Reservations are required for all classes because space is limited. Here's a list of upcoming tutorials:

Introduction to Facebook and Twitter
Tuesday, June 16 @ 6:00 p.m.

Introduction to Computers
Monday, June 22 @ 10:00 a.m.

Introduction to Word
Tuesday, June 23 @ 10:00 a.m.

Introduction to the Internet
Wednesday, June 24 @ 10:00 a.m.

Introduction to Email
Thursday, June 25 @ 10:00 a.m.

Blogging for Everyone
Tuesday, June 30 @ 6:00 p.m.

For information about these and other upcoming programs (many sponsored by the Friends), visit our website at www.forl.net.

The World's 10 Best Bookstores

Oh, to travel the world ... bookstore hopping. In case you cannot do so, read this article in the Irish Independent and see what you're missing. Sad to say, it looks like they left the Friends' Book Corner off the list. Maybe next time.

Marilynne Robinson wins the Orange Prize

American author Marilynne Robinson (Gilead, Home) has won the Orange Prize for her novel, Home. The Orange Prize is a British award for works of literature by women. Click here to read an article in the Telegraph UK. For more information about the award, visit http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/home.

"New" Agatha Christie Stories

Two unpublished Poirot short stories have recently been found in Agatha Christie's home in Devon! Click here to read the article in the Guardian UK.

Short Stories and Novellas

Cynthia Crossen's latest Book Lover column in the Wall Street Journal features a Q & A about short stories and novellas. For those too tired to read a huge tome at night, Crossen suggests a few novellas and short stories to read to satisfy the pleasure reading hunger. Click here to read the column.

Fiction Shop with Author David Fulmer

Author David Fulmer will speak at the Roswell Library on September 12 @ 2:00 p.m. He is currently teaching writing workshops called Fiction Shop at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur. The summer session of Fiction Shop will start on June 22nd and end on August 10th.

Classes meet Monday evenings, 6:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. in the Reading Room at Eagle Eye Book Shop (on North Decatur Road). Arrangements for vacation absences are in place.

Now in its third year, Fiction Shop is an intensive program designed for fiction and non-fiction writers who want to improve and expand their skills. The goal is to develop, improve, and refine the essential components of the craft: settings, dialogue, characters, plotting, and the other critical narrative skills.

David Fulmer is the author of six novels with Harcourt Books, including the critically-acclaimed and award-winning Storyville series.

For more details, visit DavidFulmer.com/shoppage.