LibraryPoint Blog

Keep up-to-date with the latest news about the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

If you like A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

LibraryPoint Blog, Tracy McPeck, Shelf Life Blog, Literary Fiction

05/17/2013 - 8:52am

This readalike is in response to a patron's book-match request. If you would like personalized reading recommendations, fill out the book-match form and a librarian will email suggested titles to you. Available for adults, teens, and kids. You can browse the book matches here.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: "Raised in poverty by her unwed epileptic mother and married off early by the rich, elegant father who has always kept her at arm's length, Mariam would seem to have little in common with well-educated and comfortably raised young Laila. Yet their lives intertwine dramatically in this affecting new novel from the author of The Kite Runner, who proves that one can write a successful follow-up after debuting with a phenomenal best seller. As Mariam settles in Kabul with her abusive cobbler husband, smart student Laila falls in love with friend Tariq. But she loses her brothers in the resistance to Soviet dominion and her parents in a bombing just as the family prepares to flee the awful violence. Simply to survive, she becomes the second wife of Mariam's husband and is bitterly resented by the older woman until they are able to form the bond that serves as the heart of this novel. Then the Taliban arrive." (Library Journal Review)

If you like A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, you may also like these selections:

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Two parallel stories of fundamentalist Mormon polygamy unfold from the perspectives of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th rebel wife of Mormon founder Brigham Young, and present-day Jordan Scott, whose mother has been accused of murdering his polygamist father. Jordan enlists the help of supporters to uncover the mystery of who murdered his father, despite the fact he was excommunicated from the church when he was fourteen. In a similar vein, Ann Eliza Scott pressured the Mormon Church to ban polygamy, which was accomplished in 1890. The 19th Wife is a suspenseful, detailed look at polygamy in the past and present.

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
An intricate story of a Chinese mother and her American-born daughter.
Writer Ruth is struggling to care for her mother, Lu Ling, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Concerned over her mother's health and erratic behavior, Ruth reluctantly consents to have her mother's journals translated into English at Lu Ling's request. The translation uncovers an entire life unknown to Ruth, as Lu Ling's journey from innocent young woman to brave survivor unfolds. Lu Ling emerges from a background of family secrets and lies, heartbreak, and suffering in wartime China to establish a life in America.

View full post

Eight Cousins, or the Aunt-Hill, by Louisa May Alcott

19th century -- fiction, Boston -- fiction, Classics, LibraryPoint Blog, Orphans -- fiction, Virginia Johnson, Shelf Life Blog, Book Buzz Blog

05/16/2013 - 6:19am

Eight Cousins, or the Aunt-Hill, by Louisa May Alcott

Meet Rose Campbell, a pretty, thirteen-year-old girl living in 19th-century Boston. Just orphaned, Rose is taken to live with relatives—rich and kind but fussy aunts who feel very, very sorry for her. They treat her as if she is direly ill and have her half-convinced of it herself. Rose really is drenched in self-pity until she gets a visit from her Uncle Alec.

View full post

Union Church of Falmouth: The Power of Preservation

Abolitionists, Anthony Burns, Churches, Falmouth, History Feature Articles, LibraryPoint Blog, Moncure Daniel Conway, Stafford 350, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia Johnson, History & Politics, History Blog

05/15/2013 - 2:05pm

When the storm destroyed Union Church’s roof in 1950, there wasn’t much to be done about it. It had not been used since 1935, after all, and rebuilding a church requires a committed congregation. But churches are centers of the community, and during its lengthy, active history, Union Church was established as an important part of Falmouth’s past--and America’s, too. So, in an effort to preserve what they could, local people bricked up the narthex (the front of the church) to house a few things from years gone by, including a bell and a pew dating to just after the Civil War. What we see today is a slice of the original building, but that building has quite a history and what was preserved will soon be shared at the new National Museum of African American History on the Washington Mall.

View full post

Big Library Read from OverDrive

eBooks, LibraryPoint Blog

05/15/2013 - 11:35am

Thousands of library patrons around the world are participating in the first ever Big Library Read of an eBook, and you are invited to join in the fun. For the next two weeks, from May 15 - June 1, 2013, The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone will be available to everyone through OverDrive to check out and download onto all major devices - that's right, no holds! You can also read it through your browser via OverDrive Read.

Four Corners of the Sky is a "novel of love, secrets, and the mysterious bonds of families. Malone brings characters to life as only he can, exploring the questions that defy easy answers: Is love a choice or a calling? Why do the ties of family bind so tightly? And is forgiveness a gift to others...or a gift we give ourselves?"

Check out Four Corners of the Sky from OverDrive today with your barcode and pin!

View full post

Craig Claiborne’s Southern Cooking

Cookbooks, LibraryPoint Blog, Southern food, Virginia Johnson, Shelf Life Blog, Cooking

05/15/2013 - 8:33am

Legendary New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne wrote more than 20 cookbooks, but surely none could have been closer to his heart or his roots than Southern Cooking.

View full post

Susanna Kearsley coming June 5!

CRRL Staff, LibraryPoint Blog

05/15/2013 - 11:00am

Book cover of The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

CRRL Wins! You voted - thank you! - and we have won a visit from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Susanna Kearsley, known for her suspenseful, historical romances.

Meet Susanna at a wine and cheese reception at the Porter Branch on Wednesday, June 5, at 7pm, as she launches her newest book, The Firebird.

Sign up requested but not required - please call 540-659-4909.

As a former museum curator, Susanna brings her passion for research and travel to her novels, weaving together modern-day and historical intrigue. In her newest novel, The Firebird, heroine Nicola Marter was born with a psychic gift. When a woman arrives with a small wooden carving at the gallery Nicola works at, she can see the object's history and knows that it was named after the Firebird - the mythical creature from an old Russian fable.

Thank you to Barnes & Noble for providing copies of her books for purchase!

Haven’t read a Susanna Kearsley book? If you like Diana Gabaldon, Daphne du Maurier, or Audrey Niffenegger, you’ll love Susanna Kearsley. Check out one of these titles:

View full post

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

1970s -- fiction, 1980s -- fiction, 1990s -- fiction, Coming of Age -- fiction, LibraryPoint Blog, Mercy Sais, Shelf Life Blog, Literary Fiction

05/14/2013 - 7:03am

Summer is almost here and many children will be heading to camp. Most parents try to find a camp that will speak to their children’s interests or talents. In the year of the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation, six campers at an arts camp called Spirit-in-the-Woods decide to call themselves, with typical teenaged self-absorption, The Interestings. At camp, everybody gets a trophy for participation, but once they pass through the door into adulthood, who will be ones to keep up with their talents and who may be the one to show it to the world?

View full post

Fix it Yourself @ the Library

automobile repair, Car Maintenance, Featured Database, Kara Rockwell, LibraryPoint Blog, small engine repair, Home & Garden, Teen Blog, Articles & Databases Blog, Self-Help

05/13/2013 - 3:31am

It always seems to happen at the most inopportune time. You need to fix your car or small engine, but you don’t have a repair manual. What’s more, the library is closed. Don’t worry! Instead of waiting for the library to open and driving all the way there, you can get the same information at home using two of our online databases. Best of all, they are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Auto Repair Reference Center has information on cars including repairs, wiring diagrams, bulletins, and more. Small Engine Repair has information on all types of small engines, including outdoor equipment, motorcycles, tractors, and more.

View full post

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Elves, Humorous fiction, LibraryPoint Blog, magic -- fiction, Virginia Johnson, Shelf Life Blog, unRequired Reading Blog, Guys Read Too, Magical Mayhem

05/16/2013 - 11:35pm

"Irish businessman will pay large amount of U.S. dollars to meet a fairy, sprite, leprechaun, or pixie."

The ad was posted on the Internet. Indeed, it generated numerous fraudulent responses, but the person who placed it only needed one true lead for his purposes. He had studied all he could in the mundane world he inhabited, but he knew the important secrets of the Fairy would only be known by others of their kind. However, in Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer, the Irish businessman posting the ad did not mention that he was stupendously rich—and rather young. In his mind, the latter certainly did not signify.

View full post

If you like Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Book Match, John Gaines, LibraryPoint Blog, Shelf Life Blog, Fantasy

05/10/2013 - 12:43pm

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green: "John Taylor is not a private detective per se , but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines." (Book description)

Something from the Nightside is the first in the Nightside series. If you enjoyed this series, you may also enjoy these titles:

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves--creatures of dreams and nightmares--has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything. (catalog description)

The Devil You Know by Mike Carey
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghostbuster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle--but there's a risk: Sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London-- just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That's OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off... (catalog description)

View full post

LibraryPoint Blog

Library Basics

LibraryPoint