Community Corner

Summer Reading Picks from the SBPL

Patch asked the librarians of the South Brunswick Public Library to offer up some suggestions for your summer reading pleasure.

As July winds to a close, we asked the librarians from the South Brunswick Public Library to offer their picks for the best books to read while your relaxing by the pool or at the beach.

Adults: by Head of Information Services Mary Donne

Empire Falls, by Richard Russo 2001

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From Jacket Notes:

  • Richard Russo--from his first novel, "Mohawk," to his most recent, "Straight Man"--has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning  novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country. Miles Roby, a decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills, by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons and daughters, living and dead, rich and poor alike. Shot through with the mysteries of generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.

Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner, Published 2008

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From Jacket Notes:

  • Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness." The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, Published 2005

From Jacket Notes:

  • "New York Times"-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line. In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances. Intense, hilarious, provocative, and moving, "A Long Way Down" is a novel about suicide that is, surprisingly, full of life. 

Teens: by Teen Librarian Saleena Davidson

  • Glimmerglass by Jenna Black -- an exciting fairy adventure (grade 8 and up)
  • Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith -- experience what it's like to try living in two worlds simultaneously (grade 9 and up)
  • Spies of the Mississippi by Rick Bowers -- a non-fiction look at some people trying to stop the civil rights movement (grade 7 and up)
  • Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce -- a humorous look at the next phase of the space race (grade 5 and up)
  • Red Glove by Holly Black -- Part 2 of Curseworkers, and a mystery/dark fantasy where those with talents are aligned with the mob and the criminal underworld (grade 9 and up)
  • Berona's War by Anthony Coffey -- a graphic novel fantasy that looks at the real costs of war, very cute and also very deep (grade 7 and up)

Kids: By Children's Librarian Susanna Chan

Picture Book:

  • How to make an Apple Pie and see the World by Marjorie Priceman. Call #: J E PRI. Since the market is closed, the reader is led around the world to gather the ingredients for making an apple pie.
  • LaRue Across America : Postcards from the Vacation by Mark Teague. Call #: J E TEA. Mrs. LaRue takes a cross-country drive with her hospitalized neighbor's cats and her own dog, Ike, who keeps the cats' owner informed of their misadventures through a series of postcards.
  • My Mother’s Sari by Sandhya Rao. Call #: J E RAO. A young girl reveals all of the ways in which she can use her mother's sari, a long stretch of cloth that forever binds them together.

Fiction:

  • The Emperor's Painting : A story of ancient China by Jessica Gunderson. Call #: J FIC HIS SERIES. When painting master Lin Cho falls ill and cannot complete his painting for the emperor, his arrogant assistant Han Li attempts to complete the painting for him.
  • The Amazing Mexican Secret  by Josh Greenhut. Call #: J FIC BRO. Confident that Stanley can succeed where international spies and thieves have failed, Stanley's mom who loves to cook mails him to Mexico to get a secret herbal ingredient that she must have. Part of Flat Stanley's worldwide adventures.

Tween Fiction:

  • Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. Call #: TWEEN FIC NYE. When Liyanne Abboud, her younger brother, and her parents move from St. Louis to a new home between Jerusalem and the Palestinian village where her father was born, they face many changes and must deal with the tensions between Jews and Palestinians.
  • Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher. Call #: TWEEN FIC FLE. When Marjan, a crippled girl, joins the Sultan's harem in ancient Persia, she gathers for Shahrazad the stories which will save the queen's life.

Graphic Novel:

  • Lewis and Clark by Rod Espinosa Call #: J 917.804 ESP GRAPHIC NOVEL. Graphic novels aren't just for superheroes! Lewis and Clark have been plucked from history books and their lives and accomplishments have been depicted in informative nonfiction graphic novels.

 Non-Fiction:

  • Mightier than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys retold by Jane Yolen. Call #: J 398.209 WORLD. A collection of folktales from around the world which demonstrate the triumph of brains over brawn. 
  • The Hive Detectives : Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns. Call #: J 638.1 BUR. Bees don't just produce honey. Your food supply depends on them. Apiarist Dave Hackenberg's bees have a busy travel schedule, pollinating around the United States from February to July. So when Dave inspected four hundred of his hives and found that the bees had simply vanished, a dream team of bee scientists got to work.

Have any good summer reading picks? Tell us in the comments.


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