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Youth Services Event on Saturday, Nov 21

Picture Book Artistry with Laurie Keller and Lori Eslick has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule the event for sometime in the Spring.

Donating to charity

Donating to charity:
From GovGab: If you have a little extra change in your pockets after you've finished all your holiday shopping, you might want to consider donating it to your favorite charity. Last year, charities made $307.65 billion from contributions, according to the Giving USA Foundation.

But before you write that check, do a little research to make sure the charity is legitimate.

The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance pulled together five important questions you should ask before donating.

1. Is the charity trustworthy?
2. How will your donation be used?
3. Is the donation tax deductible?
4. Is your donation useful to the charity?
5. Are you feeling pressured to donate?

These questions should help you determine if your money is going to a legitimate charity that will put it to good use to fund programs that you believe in.

If you're curious about how to list different donations for tax purposes, check out these tips.

So Many eReaders, Which to Choose?

So Many eReaders, Which to Choose?: From the BookBrowse Blog: "About a year ago, I wrote a blog about ebook readers and my
decision to purchase a Sony PRS-505. I have absolutely no regrets, and I still love my reader; I can no longer say, though, that I "wouldn't trade it for anything."



First, I'm thrilled, pleased and tickled to death that after decades of owning ebook readers I'm finally using a product that's likely to become part of the mainstream. I've got at least three obsolete devices sitting around for which I can no longer purchase books. I truly believe that ebooks are here to stay this time. You can't read an industry publication these days without seeing at least one article about the evolving ebook market. Ebooks are the only segment of the book industry whose sales have seen a dramatic increase during the recession, and I know at least half a dozen people who are asking for an e-reader for the holidays this year. (Not to mention the fact that I'm frequently seeing others with these devices on the bus; mine is no longer a novelty.)



The technology is changing rapidly, however, and the decision as to which reader to get and when to get it has become much more complex. When I was choosing one just last year, my options were really just the Kindle and the Sony e-Reader. Well, now Amazon has two versions of the Kindle available, and Sony has two with a third one due out later this year. In addition, Barnes and Noble's first digital reader, the Nook (where DO they come up with these
names!?) is now out and looks incredibly cool, with a split screen and color touchpad. (Some publications are already referring to it as "the Kindle Killer.") Apple, a company which seems to have cornered the market on sleek-looking devices that work well, is touting some sort of yet-to-be-seen tablet computer that they're planning to market as a book reader, too. I've also been using my Apple iTouch to read books via the free apps, and I think it
works surprisingly well; I've currently got five different reader apps on the device, including the Kindle Reader and the B&N Reader. If you already own an iTouch or iPhone, it's a great way to see if reading books electronically is something that suits you. (I also know many people who prefer "real" books and find the idea of reading on an electronic device simply abhorrent).



So how do you settle on an ebook reader, if you're thinking about getting one? In all honesty, I don't know of anyone who has regretted their purchase, whether they went with the Sony or the Kindle. I'm sure those people are out there, but I haven't run into one yet, so there may be no "wrong" decision (it's too early to know about the Nook, and I don't know enough friends with other types of
ereaders to be able to form an opinion). Whichever ereaders catches your eye, I strongly recommend you find a way to physically handle the devices you're considering, as that may swing your decision one way or the other (it was a major factor in my original decision). It's also a good idea to make a list of the features that are really important to you, and check to see where your chosen device stacks up. For example, if you are dead set that you want wireless
content delivery your options are more limited. It's essential that you do your homework; I do know of one person who had planned to check out electronic books from her local library, only to find her Kindle's proprietary format kept her from being able to do that.



Most importantly, though, realize that if you get and ebook reader now, there will be a better one coming out in six months; that's just the way it's going to be for a few years. You could wait, of course, but you could end up playing the waiting game forever, since the technology is constantly evolving and will do so for some time to come (similar to the way PCs improve dramatically every few
years). So my advice: Just go for it!



BookBrowse reviewer Kim Kovacs is an avid reader in the
Pacific Northwest. All those rainy days give her the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of books that span many genres.

Browse Kim's reviews."

Authors You Should Try: Cory Doctorow

Authors You Should Try: Cory Doctorow:

from the Book Group Buzz blog:

Even if you haven’t read books by Cory Doctorow, you probably know the name. His blogs, essays, and opinions seem to be everywhere, particularly in regards to digital culture, intellectual property, or technology. Doctorow almost always has an opinion, and whether or not one agrees with him, (like me, you’ll probably find yourself siding with him on one issue, against him on the next) it’s hard not to respect his passionate and eloquent arguments.

Because it takes on contemporary and near-future issues, Doctorow’s brand of science fiction will be relevant to readers who don’t normally read that genre. If you are interested in where technology is taking us, in the creative life, or in questions of intellectual property, you will find him worth your time.

My introduction to Doctorow came with Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, a light, fast look at a future where a kind of eternal life is available, where ad-hoc work groups of like-minded folk control the workplace, and collective public opinion is translated into the main kind of currency. Protagonist Julius joins an ad hoc at Disney World but is promptly assassinated. Ported into a new body but still wracked with a variety of personal problems, Julius must try to solve his murder, keep his ad hoc afloat, and navigate a love triangle.

Doctorow’s press reached new heights with last year’s Little Brother, a young adult novel about a tech-loving Bay Area teen in the near future. He and his friends are first captured, then released under heavy surveillance by the government after they are in the vicinity when a terrorist’s bomb destroys the Bay Bridge. While the protagonist, Marcus, may be a bit off-putting to some older readers, one can’t help but sympathize with his dilemmas. Shadow forces within the government use the terrorist act as an excuse for new levels of technological privacy invasion and control of citizens. Marcus chooses to fight back through a variety of digital means. The the resulting cat-and-mouse game between his youthful following and the homeland security folks is fascinating, scary, sometimes just too plausible.

Doctorow’s newest book is Makers. If put on a timeline, it would occur sometime between Little Brother and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, still in the near future, but set in a world where the economy has really bottomed out and many Americans are reduced to squatting in emptied malls. The book follows a group of close friends–business people, journalists, and most of all inventors–as they try to turn the shell of a dying Fortune 500 monolith into a nimble network of grass roots collectives who rapidly turn new ideas into marketable products. In particular, the book follows Suzanne Church, a middle-aged journalist turned blogger who decides to follow one of the best of the new collectives for a year. That decision begins her lifetime relationship with Perry and Lester, two creative geniuses. Events related to their first inventions in Florida tie the group to a local shantytown and an ongoing battle with the Disney corporation. Doctorow explores future battles between small and large companies, the impact of digital culture, the effects of future health supplements, the joys and defects of all things Disney, and myriad other subjects. Most exciting to me, Doctorow is learning to create more complex characters. Even if you don’t care much about the issues he explores, you’ll care about Perry, Lester, Suzanne, Kettlewell, Tjan, Francis, and Hilda. Like many driven, creative people, these characters are torn between committing to their latest pursuits and to long-term relationships. Along the way, I found many celebrations, many heartaches.

Give Doctorow a look. These books and his others are all quick to read. Even readers who don’t like them will find plenty of worthwhile ideas to engage them.

Devices: The best for audiobooks from an outside perspective

Devices: The best for audiobooks from an outside perspective: From the OverDrive eAudiobook Blog
Hiya fellow gadget geeks! Back in September, I posted about the top things to consider before you buy an MP3 player. I’m always on the lookout for any news device-related, and I was excited when I came across an informative article by a senior editor over at CNET. I encourage you to read the article, and as you do, keep in mind that the majority of audiobooks, both WMA and MP3, in your download collection from OverDrive are iPod®-compatible from a Windows® PC. The MP3 audiobooks are also Mac®-compatible and allow transfer to the iPod and other Apple® devices. Be sure to check out the handy chart that highlights his recommended audiobook devices.

What else do you want to know about devices or have to share about your own experience?

The Return of the Cracking Good Read

The Return of the Cracking Good Read:

From the OverDrive eAudiobook Blog
Genre books get no respect, but in her monthly blog post, guest blogger Cindy Orr says that could be changing.

“I don’t really like mysteries, but I really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” “I never read science fiction, but I was blown away by The Road, but then again, I guess that’s not really science fiction since Cormac McCarthy is a famous author.”

Statements like these are common from readers, and every time I hear someone make a similar point, I wonder why many of us feel a little guilty about reading what’s often belittled as “genre fiction.” The novel when it was first introduced, was by definition a popular genre. It was read by thousands of people and sold better than any other type of literature at the time. And the titles that sold the best were definitely not the ones that we call classics now. They included romances, adventures and inspirational stories, and they all centered around telling a good story.

E. M. Forster said in 1927 that “the novel tells a story.” But for the past few decades now, our literary prizes have gone to fiction that is all about beautiful language—so called “literary fiction.” Plot was totally sacrificed to style, and genre fiction was deemed unworthy even of nomination for national prizes.

In an article in the Observer recently, however, Robert McCrum marveled that we might be witnessing the “return of the cracking good read.” What does he mean by that? Story, story, story.

McCrum points out that the Booker Prize (the prize for the best contemporary fiction from Britain) had a list of nominees this year that leaned heavily toward historical fiction, and the winner, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, was a historical novel set in the time of Henry VIII. The Booker Prize is a literary thermometer of taste outside of the United States, and McCrum thinks that this year’s list shows that plot is coming back into its own.

I say it’s time for that in the United States as well. The real question is…does it matter if it’s a mystery, a fantasy, a historical novel, a romance or a literary novel as long as it’s excellent? Prize lists should reflect titles from the whole spectrum of fiction and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that we read for story if that’s what we enjoy.