Showing posts with label links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label links. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Literary Links: Test Your Mettle

Here at abcreads, we love a challenge. Curiosity killed the cat and we want to know what the cat wanted to know! We like finding the answers to all kinds of questions, even if it's just "How well do you know the lands of The Lord of the Rings?" In that vein, here are some literary links to challenge your mind, whether it's by determining which character you would get if you crossed Mark Darcy and the Vampire Lestat, or with an app to get you speed-reading.

Literary Death Match [NPR]
"Picture this, a group of writers - quiet, bookish, solitary - duking it out in a fight to the death. That's the idea behind Literary Death Match, a performance series that pits authors against each other - not physically but through readings from their own books."
 
Character Math [Book Riot]
"What literary character is the result of the following equation?"

Opening Sentences from Great Novels, Diagrammed [Open Culture]
The author has never understood sentence diagramming. How about you?

Read a novel in 80 minutes? There's an app for that [CBC News]
"If you've always wanted to read War and Peace, but thought you'd need to be some sort of superhero speedreader to make it through Tolstoy's lengthy tome, then a new app might offer you a sense of hope."

25 Bookish Quizzes [Book Riot]
What's Your Reading Personality? What Literary Character Are You? Can You Name The Books From Their Closing Lines?

Book Quizzes [The Guardian]
Quizzes include: Food in Fiction; How much do you know about James Bond creator Ian Fleming?; Fantasy teen fiction; Raymond Chandler.

Reading Bingo Challenge [Retreat by Random House]
"We’ve created a printable bingo card with 24 reading challenges! Join us and challenge yourself to read more, to read more widely and to have fun doing it all!"


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Literary Links: In Conversation

Do you ever catch yourself eavesdropping on someone's conversation?  Generally that's not considered socially acceptable, but we've found some links that allow you to do just that.  Whether it's Judy Blume and Lena Dunham talking about books, current chart-topper Lorde having a casual confab with the editor of Rookie, or a chance to watch the librarian with the mostest interview some great authors, we hope you'll find something you'll enjoy eavesdropping on!

Judy Blume and Lena Dunham Curate a Reading List for You
"Dunham and Blume spoke about many topics, like growing up, sexuality, feminism, writing, being frightened, and respecting childhood. But the real highlight is when they talk about reading. The two speak about how writing has influenced their coming of age in the world, and their description of books is delightful."

Super Heroine: An Interview with Lorde [Rookie interview with editor Tavi Gevinson]
"In which we talk about songwriting, Tumblr, Taylor, Beyoncé, Kanye, Raymond Carver, haircare, clothes, insecurity, crying on planes, and…pretty much everything."

Every year, the Lannan Foundation does their Readings & Conversations series, which "brings nationally and internationally recognized poets and writers to Santa Fe to read and discuss their work in a public setting".  Past events have featured Michael Ondaatje with Carolyn Forché, Lydia Davis with Ben Marcus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with Binyavanga Wainaina, and Don DeLillo with Mark Danner.  You can find this year's schedule on their website.

Selected Shorts: The Stories of Alice Munro
Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood in conversation via Google+ Hangout On Air.

Book Lust with Nancy Pearl
"Seattle's own 'action figure librarian' and best-selling author Nancy Pearl sits down each month with top writers from around the country for conversations about books and the process and art of writing."

'The Wall Street Journal' Launches Book Club
"The Wall Street Journal has introduced a book club that is led by authors. Every month a guest host picks a book by another author and then acts as a guide for readers on Twitter. Book club participants can ask questions through the social network using the hashtag #WSJbookclub."

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Literary Links: End of Year Round-Up

2014 is just around the corner, but we haven't said goodbye to 2013 just yet! At ABC Library, our year has included the introduction of Zinio and Pronunciator eResources, the 3M Cloud Library has expanded our downloadable offerings, and on December 11th there was a groundbreaking for a new library at Central and Unser.  Meanwhile, renovations continue on our North Valley Library, which suffered fire damage earlier this year.  If, like us, you're hard-pressed to remember the events of the last 12 months, we've compiled a few lists, "Best of..." and otherwise, to refresh your memory of the highs and lows of the past year.

2013's Best Cookbooks

Our Favorite Science Books of 2013

Best Adult Books 4 Teens 2013

15 Best Albums of 2013

Best Movies of 2013

Best Audiobooks of 2013

The Best of the Best Books List: 2013

Notable Deaths of 2013

20 Best Lists of 2013

The 11 Most Influential Animals of 2013

Top 10 Best of 2013 Lists of 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Literary Links: April is...


Each month of the year is dedicated to a variety of monthly observances, local, national, or international, to make you aware of specific causes, health concerns, forms of expression, and the like.  Here are some of April's most notable observances!  Click on the linked word to find items about these topics in the library catalog via a subject search, or click on "lucky dip" below the observance for a random recommendation.


Autism Awareness Month
    lucky dip

International Guitar Month
     lucky dip

Jazz Appreciation Month
     lucky dip

National Humor Month
     lucky dip

National Kite Month
     lucky dip

National Poetry Month
     lucky dip

Friday, February 8, 2013

Literary Links: Book Suggestions and More!


The American Library Association's Listen List
The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration seeks to highlight outstanding audiobook titles that merit special attention by general adult listeners and the librarians who work with them.


The American Library Association (ALA) gave the Louis Shores Award for Achievement in Book Reviewing to the Next Reads team from NoveList. Have you signed up for a Next Reads newsletter through ABC Library yet?  Sign up for our e-newsletters and get great book suggestions by email, and you can limit to your favorite genres. We'll deliver reading lists right to your inbox along with new gems, bestsellers, and related titles.


Have you visited our Collections guide yet?  It's an easily navigable page that rounds up lists of (and links to) collections available at our libraries and online - from "search the catalog" to eResources to Special Collections!


Looking for a list of this year's Caldecott and Newbery Award winners?  We've got them - and more - just visit our Book Awards - Books for Kids subject guides!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Literary Links: Best Books of the Year

As the year winds to close, we are inundated with "best of 2012" lists.  Here are a few of our favorite book lists so far!

Amazon's Omnivoracious blog has a series!  2012 Best Books of the Year: Recommendations by Authors

Best Art Books of 2012

Michiko Kakutani's 10 Favorite Books of 2012 (also check for fellow New York Times' reviewers Janet Maslin & Dwight Garner's lists)

Atlantic Wire: Books We Loved in 2012

Slate: Staff Picks of 2012

Brain Pickings: Best Science Books of 2012

Best Children's Books of 2012

O Magazine: Best Books of 2012


What were your favorite books of 2012?  Do you have a go-to best-of list?


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Literary Links

Cloud Atlas Author David Mitchell: Adaptation is Translation
Find this book and others by David Mitchell in the library catalog

Read Today's Word at A.Word.A.Day
Find A Word A Day: A Romp Through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English by wordsmith Anu Garg in the library catalog

Downton Abbey 3 premieres on January 6, 2013!
Find Downton Abbey related items in the library catalog here and here and here

The Rumpus Book Club Interviews Jami Attenberg
Place a hold on Attenberg's The Middlesteins in the library catalog

Nerdy Book Club's Top 10 Read Alouds of 2012

Eight Best Bits of John Taylor's Duran Duran Tell-All
Place a hold on In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran in the library catalog

Literary Fiction is a Genre: A List

What do you think about "Out of Touch: E-reading Isn't Reading" from Slate.com?

Read "The Eye", a short story from Alice Munro's collection Dear Life
Place a hold on the book in the library catalog

David Foster Wallace on "The Nature of Fun", an excerpt from Both Flesh and Not: Essays
Place a hold on the book in the library catalog



Monday, December 5, 2011

Literary Links: This Day in History in the Library Catalog

December 5 is the 339th day of the year  in the Gregorian calendar. There are 26 days remaining until the end of the year.

On December 5th...


In 1830, 1837, and 1890, works by Hector Berlioz premiered.

In 1901, Walt Disney, the pioneer of animated cartoon films and founder of the Disney theme parks, was born.

In 1933, national Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.
 
In 1974, Monty Python's Flying Circus is last shown on the BBC.
 
In 1978, Sam Shepard's Pulitzer-winning play Buried Child premiered in New York City.

In 1994, Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.


December 5th birthdays

Little Richard

Joan Didion

Calvin Trillin

J. J. Cale

Margaret Cho


Historical Birthdays

Martin Van Buren

Christina Rossetti

George Armstrong Custer

Fritz Lang

Otto Preminger


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Literary Links

Beverly Cleary at 95: A Talk With the Author Who Created Ramona Quimby

The 10 best literary picnics
Read about the best fictional picnics from Picnic at Hanging Rock to The Wind in the Willows!
 
George R. R. Martin: The wildly popular fantasist on three science fiction mainstays
 
George R.R. Martin answers your questions
 
Literary Games for Bored Book Nerds
From the Bartlett's quotations game to a Chaucer-inspired board game.  Note: some of these games involve drinking some cocktails, so these games are mostly for bored adult book nerds.
 
Tina Fey's rules of improv will make your book club better
 
Christian marketplace bestsellers
 
Roald Dahl stories to be on millions of cereal boxes
 
The Great Readalike. If You Like This…You’ll LOVE That! (podcast)
"Ranging from Scandanavian noir and vampires, to paranormal science fiction and tea party-versus Obama-party political discourse, hear from a panel of librarians who will tell you what books you’ll love, based on what you already like!"

Romance Books We Love
 
Laugh Yourself Cool: 5 Funny Books To Beat The Heat


 
AWARDS
 
Locus Awards: Winners
 
Rita & Golden Heart Awards: Winners
 
Macavity Awards: Nominees
 
Thriller Award: Nominees


Thanks, in large part, to The Reader's Advisor Online Blog for these links!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Literary Links for Summer Reading

Summer's here, & with it the lists of recommended reads for the "beach" (or wherever you'll be lolling away your hot summer days).  Here are some lists recommended by The Reader's Advisor Online:

Books to Bury Yourself In

Indie Booksellers Target Summer's Best Reads

Women's Summer Fiction

Men's Summer Fiction

10 Books That Will Fry Your Mind This Summer

11 excellent novels for summer reading

Summer fiction: around the world in 24 books

& of course, in honor of our Summer Reading program, "One World, Many Stories/Un Mundo, Muchas Historias", there are also "Novel Destination" booklists created by the staff to consider!  Challenge yourself to read around the world, or across the states, with these two collections of booklists. Each list gives facts about the country or state in question, the library call numbers for nonfiction, and selected literature to read. Another option might be the website Bibliotravel "for books that take you away". Also, check out the library's Booklists for Adults & Teens, Monster Mashups, &  Sherlock Holmes Universe.  Don't forget to share what you're reading in the abcreads book banter forums!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Royal Wedding

We've caught a bit of royal wedding fever here at abcreads.

Check out some royal wedding related items in the library catalog!

Here are a couple of links you may enjoy:

The Royal Wedding (official page)

Today Show's Wacky Royal Wedding Memorabilia

BodenUSA's Conjugal Compendium
(includes downloadable Wedding Broadcast Bingo!)

HuffPost Style's Royal Wedding: A Complete Guide

The Royal Wedding: William & Kate

Royal Wedding app from iTunes

Yahoo's Royal Wedding blog (sign the guestbook!)

Anglophenia's Royal Wedding Insider (they have a countdown widget!)

edfm's Royal Wedding page



The Union Flags are already hung along Regent Street in London in celebration!  Closer to home, the Cherry Hills Library will be having a Royal Wedding Party on Thursday, April 28, from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served and the wearing of millinery is encouraged (wear your own or make your own fascinator at the party).  There will also be a craft for guests under the age of 10.  You can register for this event online or at the library's Information Desk.


Local purveyors of high tea enchantment St. James Tearoom will have their Royal Wedding Celebration on the evening of the 29th.

Here's a nod to those of you who might not be so enthused by the upcoming nuptials:


Sunday, March 13, 2011

Literary Links

10 Literary Novels for Genre Readers
"There are plenty of guides to gateway books for literary readers to discover SF/F, but very few to introduce primarily genre readers to literary works they would find enjoyable. And so, in the spirit of reconciliation, I've compiled this short list of books that fill the gap between speculative and so called realistic fiction."

The Indie Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bestseller List (February 23rd)

2010 Agatha Awards Nominees
The 2010 Agatha Awards will be given for materials first published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2010 (January 1-December 31), either in hardcover, as a paperback original, or e-published by an e-publishing firm. The Agatha Awards honor the "traditional mystery."

15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"

Books That Rocked Your World at 16 But Fall Flat Now
"[T]hese are a few of the books that knocked you off the roof when you were a kid, that fall flat to re-read right now (plus a few suggestions on grown-up alternatives)."

Cult Books That Need to Be Adapted for the Big Screen
"It’s been a big few weeks for cult novels getting their own film adaptations. A New Yorker profile of Guillermo del Toro earlier this month provided a window into the preparations for the director’s version of the H.P. Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness. Over the weekend, we got out first glimpse at the unintentionally hilarious-looking, Tea Party-approved Atlas Shrugged movie. And yesterday, the news broke that Michel Gondry is taking on Ubik, one of Philip K. Dick’s weirdest books. All of that got us thinking about some of our favorite cult novels that are dying for big-screen adaptations. Check them out, and add your own..."

Fictional Feasts: Mouth-Watering Moments of Literary Gastronomy
From turducken to hot chocolate with chicken sandwiches.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Check This Out!

I like to check out the Guardian's book section periodically--there's always something interesting. Here are a couple of today's tidbits... --Interested in what they're reading across the pond? Check out this list of 250 Most Borrowed Titles from UK Libraries 2008-09. Three of the top four titles belong to James Patterson. --There's a new book about Emily Dickinson out in the U.K., & this review makes an interesting read for scholars of Dickinson. --Rules for Writers: This is a new series they're doing, with writers like Hilary Mantel, Roddy Doyle, Zadie Smith, & Sarah Waters weighing in. Here are Margaret Atwood's rules. --Also check out their quizzes on literature & current events! They even have an online bookclub!