Gerry’s Favorite Space Operas Part II.

The Prefect is the latest instalment in Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space Universe.  We are unique in Avon Lake that we have a copy long before its US publication date (because I couldn’t wait and bought one in Canada, if you must know!)  We also have all the others in the series for anyone wanting to start at the beginning.

It really doesn’t matter where you start… the tales cover a 400 year span of humanity in space and given the nature of interstellar travel (years and years and years!) the timespan makes sense. 

This is a police investigation that turns into a horrifying battle against an inhuman enemy, as something not quite human tries to take over a loosely-knit civilization of 10,000 orbiting habitats and impose some order “for our own good” and by any means necessary. 

Reynolds fuses scientific possibility (mostly based in reality, but with some major advances in AI, nanotech, biotech and fusion power generation) with an imaginative cast of characters, political manuevering and intrigue, snappy dialogue and sets it against a backdrop of a billion-year struggle between life and nonlife (or post-life “things”) in our galaxy.  I am so glad he quit his day job (at the European Space Agency) to write full-time.  

 Visit his website here.

See what else we have for you here.

Armchair Adventure

Consider this: Americans walk 1.4 miles per week.  In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson (Bill Bryson’s homepage ) beckons sedentary armchair adventurers to hike the Grand Daddy of all trails; the Appalachian Trail.  From the comfort of your living room, immerse yourself in the trail’s history, development, flora, fauna and challenges (filtering coffee with toilet paper).   

Cool off with a hike to New Hampshires’s Mount Washington which boasts of  world record wind speeds  of 231 miles per hour.  It’s curiously extreme weather is due to weather systems from Canada and the Great Lakes.  Bryson’s wit and humor combine to enhance the adventure. 

Libraries of the Rich and Powerful

What do Michael Moritz and Phil Knight read? What are the favorite business titles of the business greats? Not what you might expect:

NY Times: CEO Libraries Reveal Keys to Success

Beach Reads

Last summer, we asked our readers for their favorite beach reads. We got a nice list, with books for all ages. Now that beach season has returned, and now that we’ve got this blog with which to talk about books with you, we’re posting the list, hoping you’ll find your next favorite, and that you’ll pass on a recent favorite through a comment on this blog.

In our adult collection:

• The Shell Seekers by Rosalind Pilcher
  •  ”excellent book”
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
  •  “must read”
  • if you’ve read this one, check out his latest: A Thousand Splendid Suns
•  anything by Janet Evanovich
• the Holy Bible
  • We have many editions available, call number 220.5
• The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich
  •  ”but be prepared to cry!”
• Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
• Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
• Beach Road by James Patterson
• Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
• Map of Bones: a Sigma Force novel by James Rollins
• Cellophane by Marie Arana
• Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
  • currently on order for our collection
• A Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven
• Telegraph Days by Larry McMurty
  • “one of his best - but read all of his!”

In our Young Adult collection:

• Mates, Dates and Chocolate Cheats by Cathy Hopkins
  • “a great book”
• Starlight: Warriors, the New Prophecy book 4 by Erin Hunter

In the Children’s Department:

• Buster Catches a Wave by Marc Tolen Brown
  • “good book”
•  Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman
  • “…a good storie! and the water and sand. I’m 4.”
•  The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck
  • “It is excellent!”
•  Inkheart by Cornelia Caroline Finke

So tell us,  what do you recommend for the beach this summer?

Harry Potter Update

Number 7 hits at midnight everywhere. At our library, hard-cover and books on CD will be available Saturday morning when we open.

If you have already reserved one (and you did so in time), we will call you before we close today.

We will also have a dozen Hot Picks for the taking.

UPDATE: Large Print may not be available until August 15th!

Reserve your copy here.

We’re Going Live!

Hopefully, in the near future, you will be reading this blog.  It is created and maintained by interested staff to keep you informed of interesting things going on here.  We welcome your feedback and comments; however, comments will be moderated before being posted. 

One thing you may be interested in:  we have updated our electronic database selection.  The page can be found from our home page or here.  We have kept the ones you have come to rely on, and added the following:

ALLDATA (Car Repair Information)

ANCESTRY.COM (Genealogy)

CULTUREGRAMS (good for country reports)

TUMBLEBOOKS (animated children’s books)

With the exception of the last one, these need to be accessed inside the library only because of license restrictions.

Ask us about any or all of these, in person, by phone (440-933-7710) or by email (refdesk@avonlake.lib.oh.us).