Memphis Reads Archive

The Memphis Public Library & Information Center sponsors book clubs at many branches and at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Here's a list of the titles that will be discussed in June. For a book club's contact information, click the link for that branch or call (901) 415-2700.

30-Minute Book Club

Cossitt Branch Library
Wednesday, June 20, 12:00 p.m.
Book selection: Cross by James Patterson [Memphis Reads review]

Book Lover's Book Club

East Shelby Branch Library
Tuesday, June 19, 1:30 p.m.
Book selection: Choose any book by author Nancy Bartholomew [author website]

Central Readers' Club

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Monday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.
Book selection: Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards [Memphis Reads review]

Cordova Book Club

Cordova Branch Library
Tuesday, June 19, 12:00 p.m.
Book selection: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult [description]

North Renaissance Men's Book Club

North Branch Library
Saturday, June 16, 2:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Whatever Happened to Daddy's Little Girl?: The Impact of Fatherlessness on Black Women by Jonetta Rose Barras [description]
Learn more about the Renaissance Men's Book Club

North Women's Book Club

North Branch Library
Saturday, June 23, 2:00 p.m.
Book Selection: The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner by Andrea Smith [description]

Second Saturdays Book Club

Highland Branch Library
Saturday, June 9, 1:30 p.m.
Book Selection: The Innocent Man by John Grisham [description]
Learn more about this book club

Whitehaven 4th Monday Book Club

Whitehaven
Monday, June 25, 7:00 p.m.
Book Selection: The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier [description]
Learn more about this book club

Nonfiction/Food

Philip Williams reviews THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.

"What shall we have for dinner?" This is the seemingly simple question Michael Pollan explores in The Omnivore's Dilemma. Today, many people have no idea where their food comes from, how it is grown, how it is distributed and how it is processed. They have no idea of the impact that industrial food giants like Conagra and Archer Daniel Midland have on what we eat or how these companies have created what Pollan calls an "industrialized food chain" dependent on petroleum-based fertilizer and pesticides. The industrialized food chain is also dependent on the pharmaceutical industry for the antibiotics needed to keep alive animals raised on "factory farms" in cruel and inhumane ways. Pollan explores the industrialized food industry in his book, the organic food industry (which in many ways is not as different from the industrialized food industry as many might think), food produced on small farms using what Pollan calls "sustainable agriculture," and food obtained through traditional hunting and gathering methods. The Omnivore's Dilemma is thought-provoking to say the least and it certainly makes the reader aware of the health, environmental, and moral considerations that consumers now face when they decide what to eat.

Philip Wiliams, Cordova Branch Library

Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams

June


Film: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Everything Fantastic Four
Everything Silver Surfer

Film: Nancy Drew
Everything Nancy Drew

Film: 1408
Short Story 1408 appears in Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

Film: A Mighty Heart
Book: A Mighty Heart: the Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl by Mariane Pearl

Film: Evening
Book: Evening by Susan Minot

Labels: Books and Movies, Coming Attractions

The winners of the 2007 Nebula Awards were announced earlier this month at the 2007 Nebula Awards Weekend held in New York City.

Nebula Awards can be won for science fiction or fantasy novels, novellas, novellettes, short stories and scripts published in the United States. Works are voted on annually by active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.

The categories are divided up by word count (Short story 1-7,499; Novellette 7,500-17,499; Novella 17,500-39,999; Novel 40,000+ words) and scripts are eligible from a variety of medias including film, radio, television and others. Awards have been presented annually since 1965.

Without further ado, the winners are:

Novel - Seeker by Jack McDevitt
Novella - Burn by James Patrick Kelly
Novellette - Two Hearts by Peter S. Beagle
Short Story - Echo by Elizabeth Hand
Script - Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt based upon Diana Wynne Jones' novel.

The SFWA also awarded the Andre Norton Award to Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier. This is the second year that the SFWA have awarded the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction or fantasy books.

Visit www.sfwa.org for more information.

Your book club can win prizes, meet bestselling authors, and obtain resources to promote reading, sharing, and lively debate. Register to win at any Library location each time your group reads and discusses a book.

One book club per branch will:

• Win a Book Club in a Bag with books and resources to help your book club share thoughts and opinions.
• Win a personalized READ Poster, similar to the Denzel Washington and Orlando Bloom posters you see at many libraries.
• Win tickets to attend a BOOK CLUB EXTRAVAGANZA on Saturday, August 25 (up to 10 members per club). The half-day event features best-selling authors for the free luncheon, keynote address and conference calls. The Extravaganza also includes workshops, door prizes and giveaways. Book Clubs who won either the Book Club in a Bag or the Read Poster will still be eligible to win tickets to the Extravaganza.
  

Tell Me A Book! is made possible by a grant from Mid South Reads and The Assisi Foundation.

Labels: Tell Me About A Book

Fiction/Suspense

Beth reviews I HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE (Simon & Schuster, 2007)

Mary Higgins Clark’s new novel begins with six-year-old Kay Lansing’s first visit to the Carrington estate. Her father, the landscaper, has told her numerous stories about the mansion. Kay, being a normal six-year-old, must investigate her favorite story—the hidden chapel located in the historic seventeenth-century manor house that had been transported stone by stone from Wales in 1848. Later that same evening, the Carringtons host a formal dinner dance and their son, Peter, drives their neighbor, Susan Althorp, home. The next morning Susan cannot be found and is never heard from again.

As the years pass, Peter is still "a person of interest" in the Susan Althorp case. It doesn’t help matters that his pregnant wife was found drowned in their swimming pool. He is now the head of the family company and is living a quiet life out of the public eye when Kay, now a librarian in Englewood, approaches Peter about using the Carrington mansion for a fundraiser.

After their initial meeting, Kay and Peter have a whirlwind romance and marry in a quiet ceremony. Following a wonderful honeymoon, they return to live in the Carrington mansion. Their happiness is disrupted when a sensational magazine article forces the police to reopen the case of Susan Althorp’s disappearance. Her body, found on the Carrington property, only darkens the cloud of suspicion around Peter. When a second body is found on the property, even Kay begins to doubt her husband’s innocence. And yet she may hold the clue to saving him...but can she remember the day she snuck into the chapel? Who else was in there with her?

If you enjoyed Two Little Girls in Blue then you’ll love this one! Mary Higgins Clark hits it right on...romance, suspense, murder.... I finished this book just a day after I started it! It’s definitely a page turner!


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Beth, Suspense

Nonfiction/Workers and Working

Philip Williams reviews FOR HERE OR TO GO: Life in the Service Industry by Leah Ryan

Leah Ryan, the author of For Here or To Go, earned a Master's in Fine Arts and is now a teacher. But Ms. Ryan worked for years in restaurants and in restaurant kitchens. She experienced first-hand the drudgery of service industry jobs and of having to live from paycheck to paycheck. In For Here or To Go, Ms. Ryan has collected essays, interviews, diary entries, and short stories by men and women who work in the service industry. The writers recollect the daily grind at some of the worst jobs in America. In some ways, Ryan's book is depressing and disheartening because of the conditions that these people have to endure, but there is also humor. There are even inspiring stories about people who, despite working crappy jobs, manage to survive and be happy.


Philip Williams, Cordova Branch Library

Also recommended: The highly-acclaimed NICKEL AND DIMED: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Labels: Nonfiction, Reviews by Philip Williams

Fiction/African-American

Jessie Marshall reviews THE SHIRT OFF HIS BACK by Parry A. Brown (Strivers Row, 2001)

Terry Winston is happy with his life as the devoted single father of eleven-year-old twin daughters, Alisa and Ariana. Even with the help of his mother and sister, taking full parental responsibility while still a college student was very challenging for him. Now life seems to have leveled out for Terry and his children. He has a good job and a satisfying relationship with Jackie, the single mother of two-year-old twins. Marriage seems to be the next step. The situation changes abruptly when Catherine, the mother of Alisa and Ariana, reappears to fight for custody of the girls she abandoned at birth. Her true motive is to present a better image to her family-oriented employer in order to secure a promotion. Once again, with the support of his family, Jackie, and his best friend, Roland, Terry determinedly battles to expose Catherine’s selfish plan and to keep his daughters in the loving home he has created for them.

Many readers will find this character-centered story appealing. The plot focuses on contemporary issues involving family, friendships, and romantic relationships. The book is written in a conversational style and contains familiar characters with whom readers might identify.

On the web: http://www.parryabrown.com/


Jessie G. Marshall, Business and Science Department

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Jessie Marshall

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of "Star Wars," Daniel Wallace, author of reference books about the landmark film, will visit the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library for two events on Monday, May 14.





4:00 PM
BOOK TALK
WYPL Studios
Join us for a live taping of an interview with the author. "Book Talk" is a nationally-syndicated radio program where authors discuss their latest books. Seating is limited.

6:00 PM
STAR WARS ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Meeting Rooms A, B, and C
Daniel Wallace shares insights into the Star Wars phenomenon. There will be a silent auction to benefit the Library's Science Fiction collections. Books for sale and signing courtesy of Davis-Kidd Booksellers.

Monday, May 14
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3030 Poplar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111
(901) 415-2700

Labels: Library Events and Programs, Science Fiction, WYPL

Do you love the unique sense of place in Southern fiction?

Check out the "Southern Reading Challenge," sponsored by book critic and librarian Maggie of the blog Maggie Reads. Its runs from June 1 to August 31.

Each week she will draw "from participants' names, and the winner will
receive a Southern (Mississippi) made product." The challenge will have its own blog (with photo illustrations by Maggie) where you can share your reading experiences.


Here's how Maggie defines the Southern Reading Challenge:

I looked around at the time period for other challenges and I would like to set this challenge during the months of June, July, and August. Our most hot and humid time, dare I say, our most Southern time. For this challenge you will need to read 3 Southern books. Having read The Road will not qualify you for the challenge. (Yes, Cormac McCarthy is a Southern author and the father/son travel to the south, but the setting is post-apocalyptic. Can you imagine me running around trying to get a picture of ashen destruction?) The books must contain a Southern setting by a Southern author!

Not familiar with reading challenges? In the world of book blogs, these challenges are issued by a blogger or group of bloggers to encourage reading. In order to join in, you agree to read a certain number of books during a set time period. You sign-up through a "comment" to the original blog post or by linking to the post from your own blog.

Reading challenges are often organized around seasons, themes, genres, etc.

Of course, this is all done in good fun. No one is policing who reads what. In fact, participants often blog about their reading experiences (good and bad).


Want to find more reading challenges? Wendy from California, who describes herself as a "ravenous reader always looking for the next reading challenge," has several listed on her blog A Novel Challenge.

Labels: Blogs

Fiction/Fantasy

Beth reviews FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE by Kim Harrison (Harper Collins, 2007) (fifth in a series)

If there is one way to get me to read a book, it’s through eye-catching cover art. And Kim Harrison’s first hardcover book definitely has that! I had not read any of the previous four books in this series (ok, so I really didn’t know this was a series) but that fact didn’t make it (too) confusing. The magic represented in this book isn’t what I’m used to--no Harry Potter or Anita Blake here--but the magic and its "rules" made sense quickly. I can’t wait to go back and read the first four!

Rachel Morgan, a witch and the alpha female of a wolf pack, possesses "the Focus," a 5,000 year-old demon-crafted Were artifact that enables non-Weres to become Weres quickly. Perhaps admitting she has the Focus could stop the current gang wars but it could also create a battle to the death among many species. Along with her male partner Jenks, who is a pixie, Rachel solves Were serial murders. She also deals with demons and vampires (including both her roommate/female partner Ivy and the man she is dating, Kistin)!

With a master vampire, Piscary, walking free from the jail that she helped place him in and the demon Algaliarept able to walk during daylight hours, Rachel knows that things are changing...but are they changing for the best?


Books in this series:

Book 1: Dead Witch Walking

Book 2: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

Book 3: Every Which Way but Dead

Book 4: A Fist Full of Charms


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Fantasy, Reviews by Beth

Labels: WYPL

May

This month Spider-Man returns to the big screen. In addition to characters introduced in earlier films, Spider-Man 3 will feature fan favorites such as Venon, Sandman, and Gwen Stacy. Check out some graphic novels or other materials to find out more about these characters.

Film: Spider-Man 3
Everything Spider-Man

Labels: Books and Movies, Coming Attractions