The Bookshelf

My mini-review:

Highly recommended to dog lovers, whether you have your own pup or not. It is nicely written and should appeal to a wide audience of “animal” people. The author is a cognitive scientist, but you don’t have to be knowledgeable of this field to enjoy the text and style. There are many interesting facts, and several new ideas are covered, as well as some old. Ms. Horowitz gives you insightful ways to think about your dog. I know that I will be thinking about this book and the contents for a long time. I am certainly considering my four-legged companions in a different light!

Get the book from the Library.

Here are some things I learned as I was listening to the audio, while walking my pups Strider and Arwen:

1. My dogs and I – we are not a pack unit, rather a benign gang.

2. When Arwen tries to chase after a rabbit, seemingly forgetting that I’m at the other end of the leash, I have been temporarily replaced as the motivational meat source (aka the one who provides dinner and snacks – at that particular time, poor me).

3. My dogs are social opportunists.

4. The pups really LIKE “smell” walks & we should do more of that.

5. The fire hydrants are canine bulletin boards.

6. Strider & Arwen observe me very closely. And I thought they were just napping .

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

(and on audio)

Teen romance with a twist: 17- year-old Jessica is learning that she has a different life than she thought. Jessica is really a vampire princess and she is the head of her clan, expected to marry the hunky leader of a rival vampire family – thus ensure peace… Yeah, this was a lot of fun to read. It’s not serious stuff, which is why I liked it so much. Jessica is experiencing a lot of “typical” coming of age transitional/identity realizations, etc. There is much humor in the novel mixed with truthful themes and on-target observations about teens. I can see why copies of this book are always checked out from the Library. It is not a Twilight wannabe. However, it is a good one to recommend to those that have read all the Stephenie Meyer books and need something else. I look forward to more from author Beth Fantaskey.

This is my “beach book” list (part 1 teens and kids). Yes, these are written for a younger audience. But I enjoyed them. All are light reads and recommended. The 39 Clues series is my favorite so far.

The Sword Thief (39 Clues, bk. 3) by Peter Lerangis, audiobook

One False Note (39 Clues, bk. 2) by Gordon Korman; audiobook

The Maze of Bones (39 clues, bk. 1) by Rick Riordan; audiobook

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn; audiobook

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn; audiobook

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan; audiobook

The Magician (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Famel, bk. 2) by Michael Scott; audiobook

The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flam, bk 1) by Michael Scott; audiobook

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot; audiobook

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler; audiobook

Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison; audiobook

Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison; audiobook

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale; audiobook

Cupcake by Rachel Cohn; audiobook

The Princess Plot by Kirsten Boie; audiobook

This is my “beach book” list so far (part 1, adult fiction). I recommend all to those who enjoy breezy reading. The selections include chick lit, romances and some light mysteries.

And in no particular order:

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler; audiobook

The Secret by Julie Garwood; audiobook

A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey; audiobook

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; audiobook

The Accidental Florist by Jill Churchill; audiobook

The Fixer-Upper by Mary Kay Andrews; audiobook

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews; eaudiobook via Overdrive

Don’t You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn; audiobook

The Wedding Trap by Tracy Anne Warren; audiobook

You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister; audiobook

Paper Butterfly by Diane Wei Liang; audiobook

Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook; audiobook

Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham; audiobook

By now I’m sure many of you have heard about Twitter. Thanks to extensive media coverage and an endorsement from Oprah, its popularity has surged in unimaginable levels. In April the microblogging site received more visitors than both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

So why are we talking about Twitter on a reading blog? It turns out that many of your favorite authors are tweeting regularly. If you’re a Tweeter (you can follow us @skokielibrary), you can keep tabs on your favorite authors, see what authors they’re talking too, and get some unique insights into their lives. A few examples:

• Fantasy author Neil Gaiman recently won the Newbery Medal for his youth novel The Graveyard Book. He’s also written a number of books for adults, including future classic American Gods. Follow Neil @neilhimself.
• In addition to the popular Princess Diaries series for youth, Meg Cabot is also famous for contemporary chick lit, including the Queen of Babble series. Follow her @megcabot.
• Harlan Coben is known for his pulse-pounding mystery novels, and his novel Tell No One was just adapted into a thrilling French film. He’s tweeting @harlancoben.

You can find the full list of 100 literary Tweeters courtesy of tech blog Mashable. Who are your favorite author Tweeters? Is there anyone you’d like to see on Twitter? Let us know in the comments.

If you liked watching the miniseries  Lost in Austen on PBS, here are a few book recommendations.

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale -  audiobook

Pride & Prejudice junkie/Darcy obsessed, Jane Hayes is given a vacation to Pembrook Park – an exclusive resort where people pretend to live like Jane Austen characters.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler – audiobook

After a night of immersing herself in all things Jane Austen (medicine for a very bad day), 21 st century Courtney Stone wakes up in 1813 England. She now occupies the body of Jane Mansfield, a 30-year-old unmarried  gentle lady.

And for ages 12 and up, try:

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman – audiobook

Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, 15-year-old best friends Julie and Ashleigh deck themselves out in antique  gowns, crash an elite boys’ school dance, and look for their “Mr. Darcy”.

For more ideas, don’t miss our Jane Austen Lives On! booklist.

BTW, the DVD Lost in Austen is ordered for the Library. Reserve it now!

See a related Studio post.

Shelf Awareness, an e-newsletter for booksellers and librarians, has a regular author interview called Book Brahmin (kinda like the questionnaire on Inside the Actors Studio, but less snooty). One of my favorite questions is “Book You’ve Faked Reading.” Author Susan Wiggs copped to lying about reading Proust’s Swann’s Way in French, while librarian Vicki Myron (writer of Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World) admitted that she faked reading Shakespeare.

One recent survey in Britain found that two out of three people lied about reading (Orwell’s 1984 was fibbed about most often). The book I faked reading was Nausea by John-Paul Sartre. I was taking a 20th-century European Lit class in college and trying to impress the graduate assistant (it didn’t work). So what are the books you’ve faked reading?

Julia Quinn

Although Miss Quinn has been a successful author for quite some time, I have only recently discovered her wonderful books via audio. I’ve enjoyed everything that I have listened to so far and look forward to more CD releases. For those wondering, these are light, historical romances with some obvious nods to Jane Austen. The stories have humor and strong female characters. They are on the chaste side, i.e. no long descriptions of lovemaking or rough stuff. (At least the ones that I have listened to, but probably all have a similar style.)

For biographical info and more, see the author’s official website. She sounds like a really cool person!

Here is a list of books that I have listened to and can personally recommend, not only because they are well-written, but the narrators are excellent and the overall production quality is high.

It’s in His Kiss

The Lost Duke of  Wyndham

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

On the Way to the Wedding

When He Was Wicked

Be sure to see a complete list of Julia Quinn books owned by the Library.

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

I think that this one of the best mystery series that I’ve read in a long time. Taking place in post WWI England, the author clearly does her research. There is a strong sense of time, location, social tone and historical accuracy.

A nurse during the war, Maisie now has her own business. After years of study and apprenticeship, she works as a psychologist and private investigator. This might seem like an unusual profession, but it really makes interesting reading. Maisie is a complex, vulnerable, independent, and smart character. I find her very refreshing.

Here is a list of the titles, in case you want to read (or listen) in order. I started in the middle and then went back to catch the ones that I missed. That worked out OK.

Maisie Dobbs: A Novel, audiobook

Birds of a Feather: A Novel, audiobook

Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, audiobook (includes a bonus author interview)

Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, audiobook (includes an bonus author interview)

An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, audiobook

Among the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, audiobook

For more info, check out our Mystery Authors You May Have Missed profile.

Here are a few of my favorite authors and books that have helped lighten the load.

Meg Cabot – Known for her teen/Jr. high books (who can forget the Princess Diaries series), Ms. Cabot has also written several books for adults. Yeah it’s chick-lit city, but fun stuff! I recommend these titles:

The Boy series:

The Boy Next Door, audiobook

Boy Meets Girl

Every Boy’s Got One

The Heather Wells series:

Big Boned, audiobook

Size 12 Is Not Fat

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, audiobook

The Queen of Babble series

Queen of Babble, audiobook

Queen of Babble in the Big City, audiobook

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched, audiobook

This one is not part of a series – She Went All the Way

Jasper Fforde – All his books are very clever. I love the idea that well-known literary characters have independent lives beyond the fictional world.

The Nursery Crime Series:

The Big Over Easy, audiobook

The Fourth Bear, audiobook

The Thursday Next series:

The Eyre Affair, audiobook

Lost in a Good Book, audiobook

The Well of Lost Plots, audiobook

Something Rotten, audiobook

Nick Hornby – His books are great, IMHO. He catches the humor of everyday life, mixed with a little obsessiveness and oddity. A few of his books have been made into movies. If I had to pick two favorites, I would go with High Fidelity (audiobook) and About a Boy (audiobook).

Alexander McCall Smith – A lot of people have read the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books (wonderful series!!), but I also recommend the 44 Scotland Street series and the Isabel Dalhousie Sunday Philosophy Club series. These are quirky and endearing, with a wonderful flavor of Scotland.