A HIGHLY PERSONAL GUIDE TO FINDING BOOKS ONLINE
AND AT OUR GREAT READERS’ ADVISORY IN REFERENCE AT THE LIBRARY
Let’s level with ourselves. We are addicted to reading and our search for that special book that suits our fancy at that moment is not necessarily a spur-of-the-moment decision. Very often the search itself satisfies in a way we can’t quite describe.It’s fascinating, it’s fun to look at the covers, to read the reviews. It gets to be a whole hobby all by itself.
For those of you who have now gotten a rudimentary grasp of the computer, wait until I introduce you to the online book lover’s havens – places to discover books, music, that in the rush of life might have gone undiscovered. We will look through just a few together now with more to come in future issues of this newsletter.
Our book sale maven, Helene Cox, and I go directly to two Canadian bookstore sites at least once a week - sites that we find too good to be true. www.McNallyRobinson.com and www.chapters.com have great layouts, making it easy to delve into your favorite genres. They list reviews, top sellers, recent award winners, and best of all, we find that we gravitate to that special section of Canadian authors by province (of all things). Personally, we think that it is a crime that the really great books by Canadian authors rarely gravitate to the States. We have the answer to that problem: we put them on reserve at our library and get treat after treat!!
If you are interested in authors and their worlds, www.literarytraveler.com will have you caught up in Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter, Graham Greene’s Saigon, Peter Mayles’ Provence – just to name a few. The beautiful, descriptive writing pulls you into the places they have lived and traveled to, and must be slowly savored -- so look when you are not rushed! This is a wonderful site.
Pull up the famous Portland Powells bookstore – www.powells.com - and sign up for their “Review A Day” to be sent to you by e-mail. The reviews are eclectic, a smattering of older and the newer books, and what a way to brighten your morning! Nothing can be finer than Powells to start your day!!!
For readers who want to do their searching at the library, the reference librarians offer a readers’ advisory service. All you have to do is tell them what books or authors you are looking for and they would be pleased to print out a raft of reviews to better make your choice. Want to do it on your own? One of my favorite titles (!) is 100 One-Night Stands: A Book Lovers Guide (001.73MAJ PB). With authors John and David Major as your passionate, intelligent guides to 100 wonderful books, you can make an informed choice. Look at the book for their witty and enjoyable descriptions alone as they are a delight! Love mysteries but need help? 100 Great Detectives (823.0872/ONE) will start you off in the right direction. Who said detective work isn’t easy?
There are a host of others that I promise will fulfill just about any
quest you have while using our library. Stay tuned for a future issue of
the newsletter for some wondrous ones!
- Joan Larsen