What We Are Reading Now

  Suddenly, the Cider Didn’t Taste So Good by John Ford

 This book has a long and intriguing title that you won’t soon forget. Written by retired Maine Game Warden, John Ford, it recounts with sincerity, and a keen mind for details, his many years with the warden service. Each chapter reads like a short adventure story. He is at times humorous, other times sentimental. He is a wonderful storyteller who has an uncanny ability to laugh at himself. I am on the lookout now for where he is doing his next book talk. I have been told that he is just as wonderful a storyteller in person as he is on paper.

Summer Reading Lists

The sunny weather is finally here! And so begins the lists for summer reading!

Amazon: Summer Reading for All Ages

Publisher’s Weekly: Best Summer Books!

NPR: Summer Books 2013

USA Today Book Buzz: Top 30 books to check out this summer

The Washington Post: The innovator’s 2013 summer reading list

Redbook Magazine: Hottest Beach Reads of the Season

Goodreads: Best Beach Reads

More lists to follow!

June Book Club Books

The GPL book clubs are reading the following books for June:

Afternoon Book Club
Thursday, June 20 at 2:00 pm
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Evening Book Club
Wednesday, June 12 at 6:45 pm
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

New members always welcome!

 

What We Are Reading Now

   Looking for Alaska by John Green

I have decided that when I need to take a break from heavy reading, I would knock books off the NPR Top 100 YA book list. This is how I was introduced to John Green and his wonderful novel, Looking for Alaska.

If I had to put this book into a category, I would call it a coming of age story. Although, I feel that is inadequate because it is so much more than that. With characters that are somehow as equally simple and accessible as they are complex, Green weaves a story that will linger with you long after you close the cover.

As I was preparing to blog about this book and sing its praises, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the New York Times has done it for me. Looking for Alaska is number five on the list and has been on the list for a total of twenty weeks. This was Green’s first novel, published in 2005. It first appeared on the NYT list in 2012. Not too bad for a debut novel! I can’t wait to read more of Green’s novels, several of which are also on that Top 100 List that I am picking away at.

Maine Readers’ Choice Award Finalists

Check them out!

 

  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

 

  The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

 

 

  A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

 

View the long list of nominees at the Maine Readers’ Choice Award website!

What We Are Reading Now

 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

It has spent 42 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The premise of this book is simple. A woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary. She is just, gone. The spotlight of suspicion turns on her husband. Could he be a killer?

 

I anxiously awaited my turn to read this popular book. And I soon learned that the plot is anything but simple. I hadn’t read a lot of reviews, but instead had heard by word of mouth that this was a must read book. I’ll say this; it was one of the better written books that I have read. Flynn has a unique and compelling writing style that just sucks you in. However, I was really frustrated with the ending.

 

Regardless, I am glad that I read it. It was definitely worth a read. At the very least I now know what everyone is talking about. I also read recently that Reese Witherspoon just bought the movie rights. Wonder how this will translate onto the big screen?

 

Maine Reader’s Choice Award

If you are looking for a great new read, check out the list of contenders for the newly created Maine Reader’s Choice Award. Take a peek at the list and leave your comments. The winner will be announced in October.