New "50 Book Challenge" Suggestions

Bernardsville Library "50 Book Challenge" for 2011 has reached the half-way mark, and participants recently shared some of their reading suggestions. 

Ape House by Sara Gruen is a standout among the 50 Book members.  One reader proclaimed Ape House to be the best book she's read this year and found it "astonishing, gripping, upsetting and triumphant."  She notes that the author "explores the colorful eccentricities of humans and animals through their interactions with each other, leaving us questioning which is the more humane."  Another book, Ransom, by Australian author David Malouf, was praised for its lyricism.  Ransom retells/reimagines the encounter between King Priam and Achilles in Homer's epic poem, "The Iliad."

Readers of suspense might find some of the following books enjoyable.  For instance, Olen Steinhauer's plot in The Tourist forces a retired  CIA agent back undercover despite his new career circumstances and family demands.  Daniel Silva's art-themed book, The Rembrandt Affair, was deemed "a page-turner with lots of great characters, imaginative plot and great prose."

Two Scandinavian mysteries were also noted: The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason, and The Snowman by Jo Nesbo.  One reader states that in The Draining Lake, "a human skeleton surfaces in the bed of a lake near Reykjavik that's been mysteriously draining away, which set the stage for the present-day-to-cold-war back and forth mystery."  Another reader notes that while The Snowman "is a thriller with a deeply creepy serial killer," reading all those snowy winter scenes helped keep her cool during these sultry summer days.

For nonfiction readers, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor was proposed as an interesting and dramatic book recounting the sudden onset of a massive stroke experienced by the author.  She describes in gripping detail what her symptoms felt like, noting just how quickly she became incapacitated, barely able to call for help.  Taylor, a neuroscientist, takes the reader through her convalescence, offering insights as to what helped her make such a good recovery.

Try some of these books for your summer reading.  There's still a month left!

Reflections on the 50 Book Challenge

The first year of Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge has drawn to a close, but a new year means a new challenge!  The kick-off meeting for the next 50 Book Challenge will take place in the library on Saturday, January 22nd at 3:30 p.m., with Karen Vaias once again leading the program.

For those readers who participated in the 2010 Book Challenge, it's  time to reflect on what the challenge has meant to them and how it has affected their reading choices. Several participants shared their insights through the following comments: "I undertook this challenge to actually GET myself reading again, and to think about what I was reading, and to that end, it has been very helpful. What I found myself doing, however, was "cheating" a bit, in terms of engaging with harder, more thought-provoking books."  Another reader notes the same behavior in that she was not as selective in her choices as she used to be.  Perhaps the competitive spirit drove these readers toward books they knew they could finish rather than longer texts.

One reader stated, "I love fiction, but I discovered new books in Spanish and English that I really enjoyed. I had neglected for about 20 years reading books in Spanish, but now I try to read some during the year."  Several challenge participants discovered Young Adult literature to be very appealing, and others enjoyed listening to recorded books (for the narrators as much as for the stories.)  In addition, the simple act of keeping a reading journal proved beneficial to many people. For one participant, reviewing her journal enabled her to see how these reading choices related to her emotional or intellectual needs over the past year. She noted that her books truly reflected a year in her life.

Patrons Have Been Reading...

Here's a sampling of some of the books our patrons have been reading this summer.  Among the contributors are several members of the library's 50 Book Challenge.

Adrienne writes: "I've tortured myself reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.  It's part philosophical, part political (about the effect the events of 1968 had on people), and part emotional - a love story.  The first 100 pages were tough, but I kept going and actually wound up liking the book."  On a lighter note, Adrienne also reports, "I'm reading a very interesting book by Ruth Reichl, Garlic and Sapphires, about her early days as food critic for the NY Times.  Reichl disguises herself, and falls into character, to avoid recognition by the restaurant owners so she can enjoy a meal and write a review about the food and service as an ordinary person.  Her characters will make you laugh and her dining experiences will make you hungry."

Tish listened to Sherman Alexie's YA novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and writes:  "I highly recommend the recording.  Alexie reads it himself, and his sing-songy Indian-accent delivery is like performance art.  Hilarious and heartbreaking.  I have also listened to two funny books on CD that I can recommend: I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, and Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline.  Both are collections of short essays, and both had me weeping with laughter."

Carol relates that she has listened to An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon which was narrated by Davina Porter.  Carol says "Ms. Porter has narrated the entire Outlander Series of which this is the seventh book.  With her British accent and Scottish brogue Davina creates the perfect atmosphere for a love story which takes place in two different centuries.  I have truly enjoyed this series and was disappointed to hear I will not see the next book until 2013!!!"

Finally, Ronald shared a link to comments he made regarding Richard A. Clarke's new book, Cyber War.

Recent Reading Choices from the 50 Book Challenge for 2010

Participants in Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge have been busy reading a wide variety of books - both new and old, fiction and nonfiction. 

Certain titles keep cropping up such as Ian McEwan's Saturday, which was well received, and Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, a book of self-help principles on the nature of happiness. Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo elicited the most responses, some of them very positive, but a few quite negative.  Several readers thought the level of violence was unexpected and gratuitous, but others found the character, Lisbeth Salander, so intriguing that they could overlook other failings in the book. 

Audiobooks are permitted in the Challenge, too. Among these, An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon was highly recommended for both the story and the skill of the narrator, Davina Porter.  Another Challenge participant loved listening to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Less well-known, interesting books read by the Challenge participants include Yiyun Li's The Vagrants about China after the Cultural Revolution and The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy by Judith Pearson.  This last book was said to be a very exciting read about female heroism in the diplomatic world.

While the 50 Book Challenge for 2010 is now half over, new members are welcome to join in the reading fun.  We invite book lovers to challenge themselves to their own personal reading goal. For more information, come into the library or visit our Web site to sign up.

50 Book Challenge to the Rescue

What do you do when adversity "takes you down" - at least for a while? In the case of this blogger with a nicely broken wrist, there's not much else to do but read, and so I have plunged single-handedly into Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge for 2010.

As luck would have it, someone recommended a good book to me the very night before my accident, so when I returned from the E.R., I took up Immaculee Ilibagiza's memoir, Left To Tell, a tale of her great faith and survival during the Rwandan genocide. There's nothing like reading about harrowing and unimaginable suffering to put one's own whimperings into perspective.

Finding that misery really does love company, I rushed on to disaster stories next. How exciting was The Lost City Of Z, by David Grann, about a failed expedition to the Amazon which sought to locate a mythical archaeological site in the early part of the 20th century!

Why not read about a shipwreck next?! Being lost at sea had to be worse than nursing a broken bone, and, yes, it certainly was in Nathaniel Philbrick's, In the Heart of the Sea. This nonfiction book is based on accounts of two survivors of the whale ship Essex which was stove by a whale - yes, I learned a new word, too, (stove) -  in 1820.  Herman Melville also thought the original accounts of this shipwreck made for a good yarn since he used the Essex story as a framework for Moby Dick. One thing leads to another, it seems, so I, in turn, reread the atmospheric parts of Melville's Moby Dick.

By now it was time for some heartwarming animal stories. I recommend Making Rounds With Oscar by David Dosa for those who love cats and for those who are caregivers or relatives of Alzheimers patients. The physician author gives gentle, good advice that could help families to accept the slippery slope of this disease. He also recounts the story of the hospice cat, Oscar, who unfailingly appears at the bedsides of those patients about to die. For a lighter but equally touching animal story, I tried The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery. Who couldn't love a dear little runt of the litter, but who would guess the piglet would grow into a 750 pound hog with a gift for companionship? This was a very sweet tale within a curly tail.

It was then that I picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel. How circular my reading had now become!  My earlier books about faith and suffering, shipwrecks, storytelling, and animals all came together in this one curious piece of fiction. 

I think those of you who participate in a dedicated reading routine such as the 50 Book Challenge will also find patterns emerging in your book choices and in the notions expressed by your authors. You, too, will delight in seeing how ideas and themes can be written and rewritten in so many wondrous and diverse ways.

~Evelyn  Fischel

The "Challenge" Is On - What Are You Reading?

Read any good books lately? 

If you are participating in the 50 Book Challenge at Bernardsville Public Library, you may have read one or two by now.  The Challenge, which asks you to read 50 books in one year, has now begun. Participants have been given reading logs and instructions, but there's still room and time for others to join the group.  Please access our information about the 50 Book Challenge on this blog or on the library's Web site and become a member, too!

Back to the initial question:  What are you reading this year as part of the 50 Book Challenge?  The comments link at the bottom of this posting offers you the opportunity to list some good (or bad) books you've read and to express your opinions about them. You may also write a more extended review which I will post on this blog at a future date. Please consult Karen Vaias, 50 Book Challenge leader, for details.

Turning 50 Isn't So Bad

Fifty never looked so good! Join the 50 Book Challenge at Bernardsville Public Library for a fun way to challenge yourself to read 50 books in one year. This new program is designed to inspire you to finish those half-read books and to seek out interesting new material available at the library. Read any book of your choice! You may read fiction and nonfiction or listen to audiobooks, if you prefer. You may even include graphic novels. All you have to do is register for the program, pick up your reading log, and get started!

To make this as convenient as possible for you, reference librarian Karen Vaias has organized a kickoff party at 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 23, to be held in the library. Karen will explain the program at this time and help you set up your reading log. A selection of free books will be available and refreshments will also be served.

If you can't make the kickoff, please refer to the library's new 50 Book Challenge Web page. It is most comprehensive and informative. The Web page gives you great links to online resources and reading ideas, and you'll be able to print out your own reading log or create one online. Don't like to do things online? Just come into the library and register for the 50 Book Challenge at the circulation desk.

Although this is meant to be your own personal reading challenge, program participants will be invited to meet several times during the year for shared encouragement and discussion. If you achieve your goal of 50 books in 2010, your name will be entered into a drawing for prizes at year's end. Whatever your goal may be, this supportive program will help you attain it. Don't be afraid to turn "50."