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ALA Notable Books
The American Libary Association considered these books to be important works of literature. How many have you read?
Romantic Suspense
Do you enjoy reading a fast-paced story about a strong heroine with elements of action, nail-biting suspense, and romance? The popularity of these novels has catapulted Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen, Elizabeth Lowell and Sandra Brown onto the best seller lists. Check out our featured reviews and see why this genre has such a following.
Against All Odds: Stories of Survival
These are often gripping tales brimming with inspiration, so take a moment to check out some of our recommended stories of survival.
Featured Review:
 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
You will laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously, when you read this book, and you must read this book! Christopher Boone is the narrator. Christopher is brilliant mathematically, his chapters are assigned only prime numbers. He knows all the countries and their capitals but he cannot understand the simplest human emotion. He doesn’t like to be touched. Christopher Boone is autistic. When Christopher finds one of the neighborhood dogs impaled on a garden fork, he applies the logic of Sherlock Holmes, (his favorite fictional character,) to solve the crime. Mark Haddon has scored a huge hit with this very creative, refreshing story. Haddon gives us a small glimpse of the challenges of autism and a book that people will be talking about for years to come.
John Hope Franklin is the Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University. Here is an excerpt from his review of The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois:
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois was published one hundred years ago! I first read it more than seventy years ago and now I read at least portions of it each year. There is something in it for most readers, most of the time. I especially like his essays "Of Our Spiritual Stirrings", "Of the Meaning of Progress", and "Of the Faith of Our Fathers." He closes with "Hear My Cry, O God the Reader, vouchsafe that this my book fall not still-born into the world-wilderness." It did not!
Read more Celebrity Reviews
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A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and educator, Ron Rash has received numerous awards for his poetry and fiction and currently holds the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. A few of his awards include the Appalachian Writers Association’s Book of the Year, the O. Henry Prize, the Southeast Booksellers Association Fiction Award, and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction.
His first novel, One Foot in Eden, was the 2002 winner of the Novello Press’s Literary Award, chosen for publication from more than 100 manuscripts. Novello Press is an imprint of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Rash grew up in Boiling Springs, N.C., in the foothills of the Blue Ridge chain of the Appalachian Mountains. He graduated from Gardner-Webb College and Clemson University. Currently, he lives Clemson, South Carolina.
Read our Ron Rash Interview
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This month we honor Erin N., Children's Manager at Independence Regional Library, who is a valued Reader's Club contributor. She is a frequent reviewer of books for both adults and teens. Here are her thoughts on reading and writing reviews:
"I’ve always been an avid reader. I do occasionally read to gain knowledge, but my main goal for reading is pleasure. For me, reading is an escape from day-to-day life.
Because I’m a children’s librarian, I spread my reading time among books for children, young adults, and adults. When it comes to books for young people I try to read a wide variety because I want to be able to recommend the right book to any child I work with. Some of my favorite children’s and young adult authors are Andrew Clements and Chris Crutcher for realistic fiction, Gordon Korman for adventure, and Libba Bray and Cecily von Ziegesar for fantasy. (I mean, really, those Gossip Girl books are pure fantasy!)
My adult reading tends to be heavy on realistic fiction. I don’t feel the need to be as well-read in all the areas of adult literature. As an Anglophile, I read a lot of British novels, like the classics by Jane Austen, as well as “chick lit” by authors like Anna Maxted and Sophie Kinsella. I also belong to a book club, which is great for challenging me to read titles that I might not have picked up on my own. Some of my favorite book club reads have been Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund.
My one frustration with reading is that I can never seem to find enough time to read all the books that I want to read. I have rows of books on my bookshelves and stacks of books I’ve checked out from the library waiting to be read. I even keep a notebook where I write down titles of books when I receive suggestions from friends or read positive reviews.
I only review books for Reader's Club that I truly love and think that other readers will also enjoy. I like sharing my love of reading with others and putting great books in the hands of other readers. Reader's Club is a great way to do that at a global level!"
Thanks, Erin!
Read Book Reviews by our Featured Reviewer
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