The Bookshelf

Summer Reading ends this Saturday, July 31.  Thus, if you have not done so already, turn in your reading log to the Readers Services Desk in order to qualify for the grand prize drawing.

The grand prize winner will receive two tickets to the Northlight Theater and a $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory.

Our third and final contest of the summer centers on famous true crimes and criminals.  So, in order to win a $10 gift card to Boston Blackie’s, you need to correctly answer the following questions about real life mysteries.

You must be a Skokie Public Library card holder to enter and win. Just send an email with your name, library card number, and the correct answers to askrs@skokielibrary.info. The contest will end July 31 at 5 PM. The winner will be drawn at random from the correct entries. If no one answers all the questions correctly, the winner will be pulled from those entries with the most correct answers. The winner will be notified by email and the prize will be held at the Reader’s Services Desk. Good Luck!

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NPR is offering listeners (and readers) a chance to vote on the 100 best thriller books of all time.  While I think the list is a little too heavy with recent publications, there are lots of wonderful books to choose from on this list.

You get 10 votes, but, as we know from Chicago elections, the best way to insure your favorites win is to vote early and often.  NPR will announce the winners on August 2.  Even if you do not vote, browse their list for some excellent book suggestions…or stop by the Readers Services Desk for even more great thriller recommendations.

NPR’s Killer Thrillers Poll – Vote For 10

The Amazing Book Caper Summer Reading program continues at the library. This summer reading mystery theme also extends to our second Bookshelf Blog contest of the summer. Identify these mystery characters or mystery authors and win a gift certificate for free Panera Bread for a year.

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Readers Services is very excited to announce that Adult Skokie Library card holders can now check out a Sony eReader at the Readers Services Desk. We have 10 Sony Readers (Touch edition) available to check out on a 2 week loan.  A mixture of fiction and nonfiction titles are preloaded on the Reader and, by checking out the Reader, you will have the opportunity to read all the latest and hottest best selling books.  Both check outs and check ins will be done at the RS desk, so that the reading experts can help guide you with this new reading format.

Unsure if the Reader is for you?  Ask at the RS desk for further details or watch this short video for further information.

The Amazing Book Caper Summer Reading program continues at the library.  This summer reading mystery theme also extends to our first Bookshelf Blog contest of the summer.  So, in order to win a $10 gift card to Boston Blackie’s, you need to correctly match the fictional detective with the city that most of their adventures take place.

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Our Summer Reading program, The Amazing Book Caper, starts today!  Adults and Teens can sign up at the Readers Services Desk and only have to read 5 books from June 1st to July 31st to qualify for a t-shirt (while supplies last) and to  be entered into the drawing for the grand prizes.

Adults and Teens will also have a chance to enter every book they read into our weekly prize drawings. Each week there will be a different wonderful prize, so make sure to stop by the Readers Services Desk to enter.

Besides the exciting grand and weekly prizes, readers of this blog will also have a chance to enter contests for even more prizes. We will have 3 contests from June to July, so check this blog often for the opportunity to enter and win. One winner per contest.

Have a great summer and happy reading!

I love the legend of Robin Hood and I am excited to see the new Robin Hood movie this weekend; so I thought I would share with you some of my favorite books about this famous outlaw hero.

Nancy Drew, the girl detective who has served as inspiration for countless generations of girls, turned 80 at the end of last week.   As someone who has a collection of vintage Nancy Drew books and has read all the books in the series, I can’t tell you how excited I am to see one of the my favorite characters celebrated.  The publisher is issuing an 80th anniversary edition of The Secret of the Old Clock – complete with bonus materials.  Be sure to visit the Nancy Drew page from Penguin publishers- it has a complete lists of her books, wallpaper for your computer, trivia, and much more!

The Mystery Writers of America gave out their version of the Oscar, The Edgar, last night. Congrats to all the winners: 
Best novel: The Last Child by John Hart
Best first novel: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff Read the rest of this entry »