Friday, October 31, 2014

I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks




As librarians, our job wouldn't be what it is without all of you, our beloved library patrons. Whether you're a librarian or a devoted library patron, there is no doubt that this book will make you chuckle while you're reading it. Compiled by Gena Sheridan, a public reference librarian, this book is just that..."a collection of crazy stories from the stacks." The author, in true librarian fashion, classifies the entries in terms of their Dewey Decimal number including such subjects as computers, reading interests and habits, human anatomy, and telephones.

These brief library anecdotes talk about interesting librarian/patron interactions, lost library books, and intriguing reference questions. If you're looking for a fast read, appreciate your local library (and its librarians!) take a little bit of time out of your day to read this book. It'll make you smile, shake your head, and go huh all at the same time. These are the things that library school surely didn't prepare us for.

And we promise, we're not collecting any stories.


Check out I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks @ the library! 
 

Friday, October 24, 2014

Lock In by John Scalzi


John Scalzi’s newest work, Lock In, explores the different themes of greed, disability culture and rights, and the role of government spending on society. In the near future a flu like virus, Haden’s syndrome, kills millions of people. Some of the survivors experience lock in where they are aware of their surroundings but cannot move their bodies. Other survivors become Integrators, those that can allow the locked in to use their bodies through computer implants to experience physical sensations. The lock in survivors also use “threeps,” or robots which they use in place of their physical bodies. FBI agent, Chris Shane, is a lock in survivor that uses a threep to investigate cases with veteran agent, Leslie Vann. They examine what appears to be a murder involving an Integrator, but what seems to be a simple answer becomes a more complicated question as their inquiry continues. The book is a clever mash-up of science fiction and police procedures with a wonderful “buddy” aspect between the two FBI agents.

Check out Lock In @ the library!

Friday, October 17, 2014

Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips


Annie is down on her luck, broke and off to the only place she can call home. Her home is also the last place in the world she wants to return to. Peregrine island, off the coast of Maine, should have held happy memories of her youth, however a near death experience at the hands of a close friend leaves her a bit scared, and not looking forward to her stay. With her mother's death, Annie's debts and her lack of jobs or housing, it looks like the Moonraker Cottage is the only place she can go this winter.

If it wasn't bad enough to be on this island in the dead of winter, now she has another issue to deal with, Theo Harp, the boy who broke her heart and almost killed her all those years ago. He's back on the island to write his next best seller, and morn for his own loss. Old friends, and some of the nicer locals help her find her footing, but how can she find her footing if she's always in the shadow of Harp House and Theo. Theo, who she should hate, but who may not be the bad guy she has him pegged as. Will the past be their undoing, or have they both changed enough to let the past stay in the past?

Fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips will enjoy the traditional banter between the two characters and the mysteries the pop up during her stay. The local characters are charming, and a bit disarming at the same time. Then there are Annie's puppets, who are always in her mind speaking, advising and warning her about what is going on in her life. Romance fans looking for a bit of substance behind the story will want to check out Heroes are My Weakness.



Friday, October 10, 2014

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix



At first glance, this novel looks like an Ikea catalog that someone snuck onto the library shelf.  This is entirely intentional.  Grady Hendrix tells the tale of Amy, Basil, Ruth Anne, Matt and Trinity and their jobs at Orsk, an Ikea superstore knockoff.  Amy is at the end of her rope.  She’s perpetually behind on rent and her roommates are threatening to kick her out.  And she thinks someone will be lowering the boom on her soul-crushing job at Orsk any day now.  Amy’s convinced that because she dropped out of college the only other job she could get would be something that pays minimum wage- which would land her back at home in her Mom’s trailer.  She’s hoping to get transferred back to a different Orsk location and hopes that if she can just avoid her manager, Basil, long enough she can return to the other store before getting fired.  But how to give Basil the slip when he seems to notice her every move?

The day the novel opens seems like any other: Amy is trying to avoid Basil while clocking into work.  But something is seriously wrong.  The escalators at the store are running backwards.  Seeing that Basil is distracted by trying to find a way to fix the employee entrance, Amy enters the store the long way hoping to beat him to her station.  Then strange thing number two happens: Amy notices a man in the store who is not an Orsk employee.  But the store hasn’t opened yet.  Before Amy can do anything about it, the guy disappears and Amy is cut off by Basil who needs her to shepherd a group of new Orsk trainees.  Later that day, Amy and another coworker, Ruth Anne, are called into a meeting with Basil.  Things are sliding downhill fast.  If he’s firing Ruth Anne, there is NO WAY Amy isn’t getting fired too.  An more than that, Ruth Anne is possibly the nicest, most dedicated Orsk employee Amy has ever met. 

After Amy starts the meeting by shouting at Basil that it would be an outrage to fire Ruth Anne, Basil assures the two ladies that he isn’t firing anyone.  In fact, Basil knows that Amy has applied for a store transfer and will make sure it goes through without a hitch- if they both help him with something and keep it a secret.  For weeks, damaged merchandise has been appearing after closing.  Things have gotten so bad that corporate is sending a team early the next morning to investigate.  Basil thinks someone is hiding in the store after closing and wreaking havoc.  All Amy and Ruth Anne have to do is stay for a secret night shift and help Basil sweep the store and find whoever is responsible.  And they’ll  get paid double over time. 

But things quickly spiral out of control.  A few minutes into their first sweep, Amy and Ruth Anne run into Matt and Trinity- two other Orsk employees who have snuck in after hours to try and document ghosts that they think inhabit the store.  This Orsk location was built on the same location where a very creepy prison once stood.  Matt and Trinity are convinced that if they can capture the souls of the restless prisoners on tape, they’ll be sure to get a TV deal with Bravo.  Things turn from creepy to deadly in the blink of an eye and now Amy wonders if she’ll even make it out of the store alive.

Just in time for Halloween, check out this great new horror novel with a unique style, Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix is filled with equal parts humor and fright.

Check out  Horrorstör @ the library!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Next: A Novel by James Hynes


Kevin Quinn is suffering a midlife crisis. Unhappy with his job, his girlfriend and his life in general, he has decided to interview for a new job. Telling no one of his plans, he takes a one day trip, leaving Ann Arbor, Michigan, early in the morning for an afternoon job interview in Austin, Texas. During this long day, Kevin has basically three things on his mind—the many possibilities of a terrorist attack, pursuing any beautiful woman who crosses his path, and the random events of his life that led him to take this chance at radical change. Once in Austin, Kevin has many hours to wait until his afternoon interview. He wiles away the time by stalking (rather innocently) several women who attract his attention, eventually meeting one, a doctor, who generously helps him when he trips and falls while pursuing her. Despite his shallow and self-absorbed pre-occupation with his own wants and needs, Kevin is a likeable guy. The examination of his life is filled with honest criticism as well as funny and to-the-point observations about American culture. Despite his somewhat risky behavior during his day in Austin, Kevin manages to arrive for his appointment clean, composed and on time. But he is not prepared for what happens while he waits for his interview. Events take an unexpected turn and the NEXT part of his life does not turn out as expected.

Check out Next @ the library!