Let’s read together in January!

so many books, so little time!

As we close out an interesting 2016, CMLE is moving ahead with our book groups! If you have time over your holiday celebrations, you might check out our latest additions to our book groups. As always, this is a low-key opportunity to read books; so read and join in the comments, read the discussion questions, or just read the book and think thoughts to yourself and chat with your colleagues about the latest picks. Whatever works best for you is fine! (We are library people; we just like to read!)

For the CMLE Professional selection, in January we are going with How to Win Friends and Influence People. It seemed like a good choice for January, when many of us are working on our New Year’s resolutions, and thinking about ways to improve our work lives. Dale Carnegie’s book is a classic, and can help to jump-start all of us in making new relationships. At CMLE Headquarters, building relationships around our system, and across the profession, is our main goal! So let’s all make this a part of our daily work.

Of course, we also have a “for fun” book selection in the Enjoying Books group. This month we are going with The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman. As always, our book pick has a librarian as the main character. We are moving through different genres each month, and in this literary fiction book you have the chance to look at all kinds of imagery of fire and ice. Have you read any of her other books? It would be interesting to see what kinds of themes and symbolism carry over across her many novels!

Enjoy your holiday! Enjoy your reading! And come back to us in January – ready to do some great library work!!

Literary Knitters

Image by Tatadbb. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

After many attempts, I have decided I am most definitely not a knitter. I really like the idea of it, the rhythm of it (if I ever mastered it) and I like to read books about people who knit. Being it appears winter may never end, it is possible knitting will continue a bit longer.Recently, I was delighted to see that the YALSA Hub had compiled a list of fictional knitters. Maybe pairing some fictional knitter selections along with non-fiction on the subject, could prove to be a popular display item. Throw in a few balls of yarn to lure the library cat in too, and you have a first rate display!
Check out the list of titles.

Libraries and Reading Love: Neil Gaiman Lecture

Image by moriza. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

If you love libraries, books and reading, you are in for a real treat! As I read the text of a  recent lecture by British author Neil Gaiman, I fell in love all over again with these worlds. The funding, politics, and expectations  in library land can feel brutal at times, and far from the love relationship many of us feel with books and the world of books and reading.  Lectures like this are a treat, a reminder, a breath of fresh air.  Gaiman’s talk reminded me of what initially caused me to want to be a librarian. He  talks about fiction as having two uses. First, he describes fiction as  being the “gateway drug to reading”, which is endearing. He goes on to describe how reading fiction also builds empathy, which helps us function as more than self-obsessed individuals. The first time I experienced total escapism, I was hooked for life! Throughout this piece, Gaiman brings home the important  role of libraries and librarians too. Not a short read, definitely not a sound bite, but an absolute must read!

2013 Reading List for Best Fiction by Genre!

According to the American Library Association (ALA), the Reference and Users Services Association (RUSA) has announced the selections for its 2013 Reading List. Annually, RUSA recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (including suspense, thrillers, and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and women’s fiction.

This year’s list includes novels that will appease even die-hard fans, as well as introduce new readers to the delights of genre fiction!

2013 Notable Adult Book List is Out!

Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selections for the 2013 Notable Books List!  

Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has selected an annual list of 25 important books for the nation’s adult readers. This list includes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books identified by RUSA members and readers’ advisory experts from around the country. Browse through the list to see which of these books you may want to buy or borrow for in your library.