Booklovers Blog

Archived Blog Posts
(earlier posts back to 2007)

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New Large Print Titles

Summer 2022

You can explore and reserve books in the library system catalog by following the cover or title links below.


Featured Titles

Summer 2022 New Large Print Titles - To highlight at top of page with covers: - Chrysalis - Lincoln Child Red on the River - Christine Feehan A Face to Die For - Iris Johansen Biscuits and Gravy - William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone The Boardwalk Bookshop - Susan Mallery Tracy Flick Can't Win - Tom Perotta Nightwork - Nora Roberts The House Across the Lake - Riley Sager Our Country Friends - Gary Shteyngart Four Aunties and a Wedding - Jesse Q. Sutanto



Additional Titles to Consider...



June and July Fiction:
August Fiction:
June, July, August Non-Fiction:

Comments? or Questions?


October 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in October 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in September 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in August 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


July 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in July 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in June 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


New Large Print Titles

Spring 2022

You can explore and reserve books in the library system catalog by following the cover or title links below.


Featured Titles

The Candy House - Jennifer Egan Greenwich Park - Katherine Faulkner Caramel Pecan Roll Murder - Joanna Fluke Robert Ludlum's The Treadstone Transgression - Joshua Hood The Baxters - Karen Kingsbury Robert B. Parker?s Revenge Tour - Mike Lupica The Summer Getaway - Susan Mallery Death of the Black Widow - James Patterson and J.D. Barker What a Dog Knows - Susan Wilson



Additional Titles to Consider...



March & April Fiction

Coming in May Fiction

Nonfiction
Comments? or Questions?


May 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in May 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


April 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in April 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in March 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in February 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


January 2022 Titles

The following titles are due out in January 2022.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


December 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in December 2021.

Please use the links below to place your holds once items become available in the RCLS library system:

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


New Large Print Titles

November + December 2021

The following large print titles are due out in November and December 2021.

You can explore and reserve books in the library system catalog by following the cover or title links below.


Featured Titles

Stranger in the Lifeboat - Mitch Albom Mercy - David Baldacci Her New Story - Laura Bradford Better off Dead - Lee Child Enemy at the Gates - Vince Flynn Oh William! - Elizabeth Strout


Additional Titles to Consider...

Fiction

Nonfiction
Comments? or Questions?


November 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in November 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


New Large Print Titles

October 2021

The following large print titles are due out in October 2021.

You can explore and reserve books in the library system catalog by following the cover or title links below.


Featured Titles

Cul-de-sac - Joy Fielding Crossroads - Jonathan Franzen The Third Grave - Lisa Jackson We Are Not Like Them - Christine Pride and Jo Piazza Foul Play - Stuart Woods


Additional Titles to Consider...

Fiction

Nonfiction
Comments? or Questions?


October 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in October 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in September 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in August 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


New Large Print Titles

July 2021

The following large print titles are due out in July 2021.

You can explore and reserve books in the library system catalog by following the cover or title links below.


Featured Titles

Dream Girl - Laura Lippman The Shadow - James Patterson The Sanatorium - Sarah Pearse Survive the Night - Riley Sager Nine Lives - Danielle Steel That Summer - Jennifer Weiner


Additional Titles to Consider...

Fiction

Nonfiction
Comments? or Questions?


July 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in July 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in June 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in May 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


April 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in April 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in March 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in February 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Best Books of 2020

Our Booklovers web guide has been updated with a variety of "best book" lists for 2020.

Explore fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and more, and discover new and interesting authors along the way!

These "Best Books of 2020" links include lists from...
Please follow this link to begin exploring the lists.

When you see an author or title that interests you, please call our Reference librarians at 341-5461.

If we own an item, and the item is ready to be checked out, we can reserve it for curbside pickup when we're open.

Our list of holiday hours and closings are available at this link.

If the item is available at another library, our librarians can check to see if that item can be sent to Thrall for eventual curbside pickup.

We wish you and your familiy a safe, joyful, and peaceful New Year!
Comments? or Questions?


January 2021 Titles

The following titles are due out in January 2021. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2020 National Book Awards

This year's winners and finalists have been announced by the National Book Foundation.

You can follow the links below to explore winning titles and authors in the Thrall/RCLS library catalog, where you can also check availability or reserve items:

Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Young People's Literature


You can also explore previous finalists and winners (by year) via this link.

For more about the National Book Awards, please follow this link.
Comments? or Questions?


Holiday 2020 Titles

The following titles are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


December 2020 Titles

The following titles are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


November 2020 Titles

The following titles are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Louise Glück "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."

More from NobelPrize.org:
News Coverage
Library Items - Thrall + RCLS books by Louise Glück:
Other Websites about Louise Glück:
Comments? or Questions?


October 2020 Titles

The following titles are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2020 Titles

The following titles are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Starting Monday, July 13th:

Expanded Access to Library System Materials!

Starting Monday, July 13, 2020, Thrall patrons can place requests on items from Thrall as well as these RCLS libraries through the online catalog: Once items have arrived, you will be notified.

For more details on curbside services, please follow this link.

If you have any difficulties finding items or placing holds on items, please feel free to call Reference (Mon. - Fri. 9:30 AM - 4 PM) at 341-5461.

You can also ask us questions online!

We look forward to hearing from you!
Comments? or Questions?


July 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2020 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced!

You can follow any of the title or author links below to explore this year's winners in the library system catalog.

Once RCLS libraries reopen, you can use these links to check availability or place holds.

You might also like to explore our OverDrive collection for winners and finalists in electronic formats.


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama
For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


POETRY 2020 - Part Four
Celebrating
National Poetry Month

April 2020

Part Four: Becoming a Poet


Welcome to Part Four of our month-long celebration of National Poetry Month!

If you've missed our earlier posts, please follow these links:
Part One,   Part Two,   Part Three

In this final part, we're going to turn you into a poet!

Well, at least we're going to try!

Perhaps you've written some poetry in the past, or had a vague sense you could but never acted on it.

The truth is EVERYONE can be a poet. Yes, everyone! With a little knowledge, effort, persistence, and belief in yourself, you can do it! You can write poetry!

All of our thoughts are valid. All of us have experiences, histories, dreams, preferences, realizations, ideas, emotions, people we met/know/knew, things we learned and lost, situations that changed our lives, unique perspectives no one else precisely shares.

As individuals, these rich ingredients and aspects enable us to speak on a wide range of topics in ways only we can know and say.

These particular and powerful thoughts and expressions help make poetry such an endlessly fascinating and insightful enterprise: everyone potentially has a variety of things to say, ranges of styles and preferred words to phrase those ideas, and points of view that can express things in new light and from fresh angles.

Beyond being individuals, we are also members of communities, which in turn are part of towns/villiages/cities and states and countries and the larger world.

We exist in various times and conditions in the larger timeline of human history. We go different places, interact with diverse arrays of persons, organizations, and conditions.

This gives even further personal context to who we are, what we've seen, what we know and imagine, and all that informs us dynamically throughout our lives and everyone we encounter. Our influences can influence others as well.

With all that in mind, each of us already has "what it takes" to be a poet - inspirational memories, knowledge, occurrences, creative impulses, and aspirations to draw upon once we attune ourselves to that spectrum with inclinations to write and express as we could, given enough patience and perseverance.

Once you realize this, the only thing you need next is some basic awareness of how poems work. We have three free publications that can help you get started:
There's not much technical stuff to memorize when you're just starting out. It does help to be familiar with a few basic concepts, such as stanza (what you could consider a "paragraph" in a poem), rhythm (patterns of accented/unaccented syllables in words as you read a poem aloud), and rhyme scheme (how words in some poems can sound alike, or not, at the end of each line in a poem).

Instead of studying glossaries of such "literary terms" and "poetic devices," perhaps the best way to "know how poems work" is simply to read good poems by known poets.

In Part Three of this series of posts, we highlight Poets.org and The Poetry Foundation: these are two of the best websites to begin reading poems and, if you like, learn more about poetry itself.

Many readers new to poetry are surprised - when they really look at a famous poem close up - how simple yet effective it can be. Sometimes people with say, "I could have written that!"

And, there would be truth in that: you could have written something like that, but, in all likelihood, you might have chosen other words and ways to voice those thoughts.

One stellar example of simple, honest, direct poems, is this one by Emily Dickinson, a certified master of wit and brevity:

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell!
They 'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

(source: Project Gutenberg)


What a great poem! It's conversational - as if the "speaker of the poem" (the narrator, like in a story) is talking directly to us. It's at once personal, engaging, real, and enjoyable.

There are many other fine examples out there in both classic and contemporary poetry. Since poetry today can take a wild variety of forms, it can be easier and less daunting to start out with classic poems.

Classic poems also offer us some appreciable understanding of what it is to be "timeless poetry": what makes a poem so wonderful, so universal in what it says, and how it says it, that it can still be enjoyed decades or hundreds of years after it was written.

When you're ready to begin writing, don't pressure yourself to produce a poem. You'll see that will come naturally in time.

Just grab a notebook, some paper, a pen or pencil - or you can start up your word processor (such as the free LibreOffice or OpenOffice, or something simpler like WordPad or Notepad on Windows) and start putting your thoughts down into words.

Having a dictionary and a thesaurus around can be very helpful. Sometimes we'd like to use a word but are not quite sure as to its meaning, or spelling, or usage. A good dictionary solves that fast!

Good dictionaries also give us some history of the word - its "etymology" - and that can help us understand those words, how they were formed, and even what they may have first meant when they first came into existence.

Other times, we might have a sense of what we want to say, and we'll write something down, but the words don't quite seem right.

There are almost always "better" ways to express ideas. You will know best, in time.

For now, a thesaurus can work wonders, reminding you - or revealing to you - comparable words (synonyms).

If you don't have a dictionary or a thesaurus, no problem! We have a directory of, as Shakespeare's Hamlet once said... There you can easily find dictionaries and thesauri online (such as Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com) and some other things you might find helpful, such as rhyming dictionaries.

Eventually, as someone new to playing the piano develops more familiarity and confidence and begins to be able to play a song all the way through, so it will be with you and your poetry: eventually, through persistence and belief in yourself and your ideas and expressions, you will be able to put words on a page in such a way that it will become a poem.

Do this every day, or every week, or any chance inspiration strikes (and it will, once you allow it), and you can have enough poems to fill up a notebook!

But, now what? You reach this point, having poems you're pretty proud of, poems that sound and feel great when you read them aloud, but what do you do next?

Perhaps you have no interest in publishing them. Maybe they're too personal or you aren't ready for the world to read them. No problem!

You might consider sharing them first with one or several of your closest friends. If you feel more comfortable and encouraged in doing that, perhaps you will reconsider the prospect of publication.

How do you publish poetry? There are several routes you can go: Self-publishing used to be a bit of a controversy years ago, since, before the Internet, the only way poets could ever achieve wide recognition was to get published multiple times in notable literary journals. For many readers and critics, this is still a preferred path for aspiring poets, since it maintains a sense of competition (your book of poems versus dozens to hundreds by other poets) and evaluation (a publisher decides your work meets a publication's standards).

One thing to be aware of are "vanity presses" and any publications inviting you to be published as long as you agree to buy their books. These offers may have the potential to be mostly for-profit operations where quality is not necessarily a prime consideration or even a requirement. They make money, your poem gets published. Everyone feels good, for a while, and for some people that is enough, to see their name in print (hence the "vanity" of this form of publication).

Wherever you submit, be sure to read their guidelines very carefully, be alert as to any restrictions, possible submission or reading fees, response times, whether or not they allow you to submit your poem elsewhere simultaneously, whether or not they will consider poems which have been published elsewhere (e.g. online).

Be especially intent to determine whether "all rights" remain yours after any publisher published a poem of yours - that your poem has the potential of being publishable elsewhere someday.

The Writing section of our Ready Referece Center includes websites featuring calls for manuscripts with various content preferences, requirements, along with any other special considerations or directives.

Ultimately, you will have to decide which route is best for you, when the time comes for that.

For now, just write! Express! Luxuriate in the power and beauty of words!

Permit yourself to be inspired and inspiring!

Let your poetic mind and heart and soul soar!

Believe in your voice, its relevance and validity, that it deserves to be read and heard!

Become the poet you always had the potential to be!

Set the poetry already inside you free!
Comments? or Questions?


POETRY 2020 - Part Three
Celebrating
National Poetry Month

April 2020

Part Three (of Four)


Welcome to Part Three of our month-long celebration of National Poetry Month!

If you've missed our earlier posts, you can find them here (Part One) and at this link (Part Two).

In this part, we're going to take a tour of some very notable poetry websites - ones so good you'll want to revisit them again and again!

First, we're going to take a look at the Academy of American Poets website (poets.org).

This is one of the most complete and valuable poetry websites online. You can use it to...
  • search for poems by title, keyword, or the name of poem. If you scroll down their page, you can also filter results by a variety of criteria, including topics, themes, and poetic forms.
  • search for poets by first and/or last name
  • read the poem of the day - a great reason to revisit this website daily! You can also register at their website to receive a poem every day in your e-mail.
  • search "materials for teachers" - includes some definitions of literary terms, lesson plans, essays, and more
And, of course, they also have a dedicated National Poetry Month page where, among many other things, you can read...
Next up is The Poetry Foundation. In addition to being the publisher of the magazine Poetry, they are "an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture." Established in 2003, they " evolved from the Modern Poetry Association, which was founded in 1941 to support the publication of Poetry magazine."

With that kind of history, and their critically-acclaimed Poetry publication, you can see why this indeed is a "notable poetry website" you will want to check out repeatedly.

Like Poets.org, PoetryFoundation.org enables you to search for poems or poets.

You can also use their Explore Poems search to discover poems by topics or themes.

They also offer an impressive amount of content, including... Amazing, right? Definitely a website to bookmark and revisit along with Poets.org!


Now, this third website is technically a "database" where you can search for articles - but not just any articles: these are some of the most in-depth and insightful explorations of poems and poets you may ever find!

It's Poetry for Students, something members of Thrall can access for free when they log in with their library card numbers (without any spaces).

Poetry for Students is part of the larger "Literature for Students" portal, but it truly stands on its own, as you'll see.

The official description states this databases "features discussion and analysis of poems of all time periods, nations, and cultures" and "provides an overview of the poem and discussion of its principal themes, images, form and construction."

Wow. Just let that soak in for a moment: "all time periods, nations, and cultures." Do they really live up to that claim? Yes!

In fact, Poetry for Students is one of the most sought-after reference works by students in high-school and college because it has such a reputation for being comprehensive and incredible when it comes to providing "literary criticism" (scholarly commentary and analysis of literary and poetic works).

Now, once you log in, you'll see several book cover images. Simply click or tap the Poetry for Students cover to begin.

After this, don't fret to much about what you'll see next. At first sight, the list of multiple volumes running off the page might be daunting.

NOT to worry! There's a simple "Search within Series" search box off to the right side that instantly renders all those volume instantly searchable!

In that box, you could search for a poet, such as Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost, or for a kind of poem, such as a sonnet, which will show you articles about famous sonneteers including William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Pablo Neruda, among others.

You could also search for a poem, if you know it's title (e.g. "Hope Is the Thing With Feathers" or "The Road Not Taken") - be sure to put quotes around the title so search results remain relevant.

"Hope Is the Thing With Feathers" is a great example of how in-depth Poetry for Students gets: that's a 12-line poem (three stanzas, four lines each), and the main article on the poem is FOURTEEN PAGES LONG.

These articles REALLY get into it! In fact, most articles offer background about the poet, perhaps some related history, and then you'll get a line-by-line summary of the poem along with explorations of themes in the poem.

As if that's not enough: you'll also get a closer look at the poetic style employed, a Critical Overview (which often offers deep and valuable insights), and more, such as a list of sources cited in the article as well as a "For Further Study" section.

You can download PDFs of articles as well when you click/tap their icon located above the article where there's a downward arrow pointing at a rectangle.

So that's three websites, so far. Our tour of poetry can't possibly stop here, right?

Poetry is not a street or a town or a state or a country or even a world: it is a veritable multicultural multiverse of thought and expression!

We're just getting started. When you are ready for more, please follow this link for our Poetry menu (www.thrall.org/poetry) - another good website to remember, bookmark, and revisit!

There you'll find some of the Poetry Guides we mentioned in Part One and Part Two of our four-part Poetry 2020 series.

We hope you enjoyed this online tour of notable poetry websites! Please stay tuned: Part Four is coming very soon!
Comments? or Questions?


Getting Back to the Future...

Future Title Watch - March, April, May 2020
...as in Future Title Watch!

Many readers look to our monthly Future Title Watch publication, where they can discover new fiction and nonfiction releases and plan ahead for their next reads.

If it's been a while, and you'd like to catch up, you can follow this link and download PDFs of any monthly issue you'd like.

As you'll see, we've published quite a few issues over the years! And there's good reason for going back to other issues you might have missed: most issues highlight both fiction and nonfiction authors, enabling you to learn a little about their writing styles as well as some of their most popular titles.
Comments? or Questions?


Listen to This!

We've created an online collection of highly-recommended eAudioBooks over at the RCLS OverDrive eBooks service, which is free to members of Thrall!

Selections include both fiction and nonfiction titles, and you can use the "filters" at OverDrive to further limit topics:
Most eAudioBooks can be listened to immediate right within your Web browser - no downloads necessary! They "stream" just like online videos elsewhere and simply require a live Internet connection when you access them in that manner.

To access OverDrive, please have your library card handy and log in with your library barcode number (without spaces).

When prompted for your PIN, that will be the last four digits of your telephone number when you registered for a library card, unless you changed it.

Titles which are listed as "available" can be borrowed and viewed immediately.

For those titles which are curently checked out to other readers, you can add yourself to a wait list by following the "Place a Hold" link for any given item.

For even more eAudioBook possibilities, you can follow this link for a list of topics at OverDrive.
Comments? or Questions?


May 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Beyond the Bestsellers

Spring 2020 Edition

Three Ways to Enjoy!

Our latest Spring 2020 edition of our popular quarterly publication is available, and in three different ways!

Use any or all of them to discover new and interesting titles and authors often not found on limited "bestseller" lists!

Online Edition (includes title + author links to the library catalog:

Beyond the Bestsellers - Spring 2020 - Online Edition


Downloadable / Viewable / Printable PDF (the one normally available in print at Thrall):

Beyond the Bestsellers - Spring 2020 - Print Edition PDF


Thrall OverDrive eBook Collection (borrow or place holds and read electronically):

Beyond the Bestsellers - Spring 2020 - OverDrive eBooks Collection


Enjoy!
Comments? or Questions?


POETRY 2020 - Part Two
Celebrating
National Poetry Month

April 2020

Part Two (of Four)


Welcome to Part Two of our month-long celebration of National Poetry Month!

If you're relatively new to poetry, we know it can be a challenge to try to figure where you might just "jump in" due to the enormity of poets and poetry styles out there.

No worries! We have an easy two-page guide called "Meet the Poets" you can download to begin learning about some of the more popular and "accessible" (easy to understand) poets you might want to explore first.

For example, there's the ever-popular Maya Angelou, whose down-to-earth, honest, and eloquent voice resonates throughout everything she has written, in her critically-acclaimed fiction and biographies and especially within her memorable poetry.

There's also Billy Collins, a contemporary poet who was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 - 2003. He specializes in turning ordinary words into clever poems which can be insightful, humorous, and bittersweet.

Emily Dickinson is a name even non-poetry-readers know. She ranks among the most popular poets of all time for very good reasons, among them her ability to capture moments and emotions in a few words which can leave lasting impressions on readers.

Matso Basho, a 17th century Japanese poet, wrote "haiku" poems - very short poems (most often presented in 3 lines, 17 syllables per poem, with 5 on the first and last lines and seven in the middle line). Like Dickinson, he was an expert at capturing observations and feelings, often while meditating on nature or specific experiences. Haiku poems can say and mean a lot in a few words!

Mary Oliver, winner of both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, shares much in the nature-oriented tradition of Basho and writes to be easily understood like Dickinson. Oliver also wrote a variety of essays, which often accompany her poems in collections of her published writings.

Robert Frost is another name known even to those who've not read his poems. As of 2020, he is still the winningest poet of all time when it comes to Pulitzer Prizes. He won four times! Why? Because his classic tone, delivered through ordinary language, made reading his poems easy and a joy for generations of readers, even as he never shied away from serious thoughts in some of his poems.

For even more...
You can also follow any of these links below to explore these poets at either the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, Project Gutenberg (free eBooks online), or (where available) RCLS OverDrive eBooks you can read right in your Web browser (Thrall or RCLS library card required): Missed Part One of our National Poetry Month Celebration? You can find it at this link.
Comments? or Questions?


POETRY 2020
Celebrating
National Poetry Month

April 2020

Part One (of Four)


April is National Poetry Month, that special time of the year people across the U.S. are invited to contemplate the beauty, power, insight, and comfort poems can bring into our lives with just a few well-chosen words.

Many readers already have a place in their hearts for poetry. Others, understandably, not so much. How we first encountered poetry helped shaped our lifelong perceptions of it.

For some, those experiences began - and prematurely ended - with poems as relatively frustrating reading assignments: purely academic exercises which focused on technicalities such as "poetic forms" (different kinds of poems), "imagery" (things described), "meter" (word rhythms), "rhyme schemes" (how a poem rhymes line to line), or interpretations - figuring what a poem meant, or could mean.

Such concepts, too quickly introduced, can reduce poetry reading to a tedious chore. Poetry, itself, is not nearly that demanding.

Yes, it's a fact: some poems are difficult! Some poets do like being elusive, challenging readers to strain after meanings.

Classic poems, written in earlier styles of present-day languages, raise other challenges. The sonorous near-perfection of a Shakespearean sonnet can be unreachable if we're not familiar with how poets wrote in earlier times.

Modern and contemporary poems can, at times, present similar difficulties, especially "free verse," which might not even resemble what some readers expect when they think of poetry: free verse is where poets can get wildly creative, abandoning rhyming and rhythms in favor of something new.

The great news here is that the poetry world is big enough to be inclusive for everyone! There is - quite literally - a poem for each and every reader out there, including you - words that will resonate in ways you will personally appreciate and remember.

Whether you've never quite developed a love for poetry or you simply haven't had time to return to reading poems, we invite you to download these free publications we created to help you develop - or rediscover - your appreciation of all things poetic:
If you're ready and interested in expanding your poetic knowledge, we invite you to download these free and informative PDFs: With each week in April we'll be exploring more about poetry and poets.

We hope you enjoyed this first segment, and we invite you back to this blog next week for Part Two of our four-part Poetry 2020 series.

You might also like to visit our National Poetry Month website for more poetic possibilities! Enjoy!
Comments? or Questions?


BookPage: April 2020 Edition

BookPage

April 1, 2020

Many of you enjoy the monthly publication BookPage, which is made available in print at the library.

Since Thrall, and public libraries in general, are closed currently due to the pandemic, BookPage is making its April 2020 edition freely available online: We're grateful to BookPage for doing this, and we hope our booklovers enjoy this digital edition.

That said, we look forward to seeing you all again back at the library as soon as that's possible!
Comments? or Questions?


April 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


January 2020 Titles

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


December 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Christmas 2019 Fiction

Some festive tales to get you into the holiday spirit!



Christmas eBooks Also Available!

Comments? or Questions?


2018 + 2019 Nobel Prizes in Literature

The Nobel Foundation recently named both the 2018 and 2019 winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature:

For more about the Nobel Prize in Literature, please follow this link.

See also our 2019 Nobel Prizes in the Sciences post in our Science & Technology blog.
Comments? or Questions?


November 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


October 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


A New Poet Laureate for 2019

In June 2019, the Librarian of Congress appointed Joy Harjo as the new Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

In addition to her critically-acclaimed career as a poet, it is also noteworthy to mention the Library of Congress describes Joy Harjo as "the first Native American poet to serve in the position."

The Library of Congress has this to say about Joy's writings:

"Joy Harjo has championed the art of poetry - 'soul talk' as she calls it - for over four decades.... To her, poems are 'carriers of dreams, knowledge and wisdom,' and through them she tells an American story of tradition and loss, reckoning and myth-making. Her work powerfully connects us to the earth and the spiritual world with direct, inventive lyricism that helps us reimagine who we are." (source)


Please follow this link for official information from the Library of Congress.

For Further Exploration...

You can learn more about Joy Harjo through the following links:
Related news coverage:
Other Websites:
Comments? or Questions?


July 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


April 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


January 2019 Titles

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Also check out our Christmas 2018 titles post below!

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Christmas 2018 eBooks

Do you read eBooks? (If not, did you know it's a free service to members of Thrall/RCLS?)

We invite you to explore our RCLS/OverDrive eBook collection of Christmas titles.

You might also like to browse Christmas 2018 Fiction - in print - by following this link.
Comments? or Questions?


2018 National Book Awards

This year's winners and finalists have been announced by the National Book Foundation.

You can follow the links below to explore winning titles and authors in the Thrall/RCLS library catalog, where you can also check availability or reserve items:

Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Young People's Literature


You can also explore previous finalists and winners (by year) via this link.

For more about the National Book Awards, please follow this link.
Comments? or Questions?


December 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Also check out our Christmas 2018 titles post below!

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Christmas 2018 Titles

Some titles to get you into the holiday spirit!



Also check out: our online collection of Christmas 2018 RCLS/OverDrive eBooks.
Comments? or Questions?


November 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


October 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


July 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2018 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2018 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced!

You can follow any of the title or author links below to explore this year's winners in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama
For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


April 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


"Best Books" of 2017

The following titles have been selected as among the "best books" of 2017 by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and others.

You can follow each title or author link into the library catalog to check on availability or to reserve items.


Nonfiction



Fiction



For further exploration:
Comments? or Questions?


January 2018 Titles

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


December 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Christmas 2017 Titles

New Christmas titles!

Comments? or Questions?


November 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


The 2017 Nobel Prize
in Literature

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro, "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world."

You can read the offical announcement by following this link.

For further exploration...

From NobelPrize.org:
News Coverage
Library Items - Thrall + RCLS books, etc. by or about Kazuo Ishiguro:
Databases Available at Thrall (also available to members of Thrall remotely - log in with your library card #):
Comments? or Questions?


October 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


July 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


A New Poet Laureate

On June 14, 2017, the Librarian of Congress appointed Tracy K. Smith as the new Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

In 2012, Smith won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for Life on Mars.

The Library of Congress has this to say about Smith's writings:

"Her work travels the world and takes on its voices; brings history and memory to life; calls on the power of literature as well as science, religion and pop culture. With directness and deftness, she contends with the heavens or plumbs our inner depths-all to better understand what makes us most human." (source)


Please follow this link for official information from the Library of Congress.

For Further Exploration...

You can learn more about Tracy through the following links:
Related news coverage:
Other Websites:
Comments? or Questions?


June 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2017 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced!

You can click any of the links below to explore this year's winners in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama


For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


April 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


January 2017 Titles

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


"Best Books" of 2016

The following titles have been selected as among the "best books" of 2016 by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and others.

You can follow each title or author link into the library catalog to check on availability or to reserve items.

Alternately, you can follow this link to explore this list visually by book cover.


Nonfiction



Poetry



Fiction



For further exploration:
Comments? or Questions?


2016 National Book Awards

This year's winners and finalists have been announced by the National Book Foundation.

You can follow the links below to explore winning titles and authors in the Thrall/RCLS library catalog, where you can also check availability or reserve items:

Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Young People's Literature


For more about the National Book Awards, please follow this link.

You can also explore previous finalists and winners (by genre) via this link.
Comments? or Questions?


Christmas 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Comments? or Questions?


December 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


November 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


The 2016 Nobel Prize
in Literature

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to singer/songwriter Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

You can read the offical announcement by following this link.

For further exploration...

From NobelPrize.org:
News Coverage
Library Items - Thrall + RCLS books, etc. by or about Bob Dylan:
Other Websites:
Comments? or Questions?


October 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction




Poetry

Comments? or Questions?


September 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


July 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Posted: April 18, 2016

The 2016 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced!

You can click any of the links below to explore this year's winners in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


National Poetry Month 2016

April is National Poetry Month!

This year, perhaps you will consider...

Becoming a Poet!

Ever wanted to write a poem but didn't know where to start?

It's easier than you think! Here are some suggestions to help you begin:

Books you can borrow within the library system...
Even more books exist under these subjects in the library catalog: Need some help with rhyming? Rhyming dictionaries also exist!

You can always ask a librarian about any of these topics!

Some websites you can visit to learn more about poetry...
Some Helpful Tips for Your Consideration...
For a printable version of this information, please follow this link (PDF).
Comments? or Questions?


April 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


January 2016 Titles

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Exciting News for Patrons
with Print Disabilities


An announcement from New York Public Library (NYPL):

A new partnership between NYPL and Bookshare serves patrons with print disabilities anywhere in New York State. Any library throughout the state can help their patrons get free access to over 370,000 accessible ebooks/eAudiobooks from home.

A print disability can be a visual impairment (including legal blindness or age-related vision loss), a physical impairment that affects the ability to hold a book or turn pages (such as Parkinson's, CP, arthritis, paralysis, etc), or a reading disability such as dyslexia that is physically based.

Of course patrons with print disabilities can still use the wonderful National Library Service (professionally-narrated audio books, magazines, and players delivered to the patron's door free through the mail, web download, or mobile app).

They can now also take advantage of Bookshare: an online database of accessible e-books that will read themselves aloud with the computer or mobile device's voice, while highlighting enlargeable text onscreen. There is no wait or hold queue and patrons can request titles to be added.

Bookshare usually charges a fee for non-students, but the new partnership makes it free to all NYPL library card holders.

If you live, work, or pay taxes in the State, you can get an NYPL library card without having to come into a branch.

Once you have an activated card, call 917-ask-nypl to get the free Bookshare promo code.

Possibly helpful are these very short videos about understanding print disabilities and Bookshare:

More information about what is offered and how to sign up is available at nypl.org/printdisabilities. Questions on the details of using Bookshare can go to their help center at www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center.
Comments? or Questions?


December 2015 Titles

Posted: November 20, 2015

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction




Fiction




Christmas Stories


Explore and enjoy these recent or forthcoming holiday titles...

Comments? or Questions?


November 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2015 Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Svetlana Alexievich. "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time" (source)

For more about the author, her writings, and the Nobel Prize:
Additional News Coverage:
You can also follow this link to browse books by Svetlana Alexievich ["Aleksievich"] in our local library system (RCLS).

See also:
Comments? or Questions?


New U.S. Poet Laureate

Juan Felipe Herrera is our latest United States Poet Laureate. He is "the first Hispanic American to be named" to this position (source).

Herrera previously served as California's state Poet Laureate. His appointment follows recent Poets Laureate Charles Wright (2014-2015) and Natasha Trethewey (2012-2014).

You can read about Herrera's appointment in the Library of Congress's press release.

The Library of Congress also provides an online guide to Juan Felipe Herrera and his works.

For further exploration:
Comments? or Questions?


October 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in August. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


July 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in July. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


June 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


May 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Posted: April 20, 2015

The 2015 Pulitzer Prizes for "Letters, Drama, and Music" have been announced!

You can click any of the links below to explore this year's winners and finalists (for Fiction, History, Biography, Nonfiction, and Poetry) in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama
Music
For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


April 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in April. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


March 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in March. Please use the links below to place your holds now.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


February 2015 Titles

The following books are due out in February. Please use the links below to search the library catalog and to place requests as items become available.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


The Best Books of 2014

The following fiction and nonfiction titles (adapted from lists provided by EarlyWord.com) have been selected by three or more book review journals as being among the "best books" published in 2014.

Locate books in the library catalog by clicking their title. You can also follow author links to explore potential other works available by each author.

You can also browse this list visually via this link.


Best Fiction of 2014




Best Nonfiction of 2014


Additional "best of 2014" reading lists can be found in the Book Lists section of our online guide for Booklovers.
Comments? or Questions?


January 2015 Titles

Posted: December 22, 2014

The following books are due out in January. Please use the links below to search the library catalog and to place requests as items become available.

Nonfiction




Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


December 2014 Titles

Posted: November 18, 2014

The following books are due out in December. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction




Fiction




Christmas Stories

Comments? or Questions?


November 2014 Titles

Posted: October 27, 2014

The following books are due out in November. Please use the links below to search the catalog and place your requests now.

Fiction




Nonfiction

Comments? or Questions?


2014 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 10, 2014

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Patrick Modiano, a French author, "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation."

Please click here to read the official award announcement at NobelPrize.org.

To learn more about Patrick Modiano and his writings, please see these links:

See also our other posts on the 2014 Nobel Prizes in...
Comments? or Questions?


October 2014 Titles

Posted: September 23, 2014

The following books are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Fiction




Nonfiction

Comments? or Questions?


September 2014 Titles

Posted: August 21, 2014

The following titles due out in September are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Fiction





Nonfiction

Comments? or Questions?


August 2014 Titles

Posted: July 22, 2014

The following titles due out in August are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


New U.S. Poet Laureate

Posted: June 30, 2014

From the The Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress:

"Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Charles Wright to serve as the 20th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. He will follow Natasha Trethewey, who served two terms in the position, and give an opening reading at the Library on September 25th."


You can browse books by Charles Wright available in the library system through this link.

For further exploration...
Comments? or Questions?


July 2014 Titles

Posted: June 24, 2014

The following titles due out in July are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


June 2014 Titles

Posted: May 19, 2014

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


May 2014 Titles

Posted: April 24, 2014

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Posted: April 17, 2014

The 2014 Pulitzer Prizes for "Letters, Drama, and Music" have been announced!

You can click any of the links below to explore this year's winners and finalists (for Fiction, History, Biography, Nonfiction, and Poetry) in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama
Music
For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


April 2014 Titles

Posted: March 27, 2014

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


March 2014 Titles

Posted: February 28, 2014

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


February 2014 Titles

Posted: January 28, 2014

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


January 2014 Titles

Posted: December 23, 2013

Please use the links below to place your requests for these upcoming titles.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Holiday Titles

Posted: November 21, 2013

The following are new holiday tiles for 2013. Please use the links below to place your requests.
Comments? or Questions?


December 2013 Titles

Posted: November 21, 2013

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


November 2013 Titles

Posted: October 30, 2013

The following books due out in November are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: October 28, 2013

The theme of our latest adult book display is Canadian Literature.

This standing book display can be found between our New Books section and the library catalog computers.

We invite you to browse and borrow any titles you find interesting!

You can also follow these links to explore popular Canadian authors (and some of their notable works) in the library system catalog...
or these links to browse the following topics in the catalog:
You might also enjoy exploring these book lists created and voted upon by Goodreads users:
Comments? or Questions?


2013 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 10, 2013

The 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Alice Munro, described by the Nobel committee as a "master of the contemporary short story."

Please click here to read the official award announcement at NobelPrize.org.

If you would like to explore works by Alice Munro within the library system catalog, here are some links:
Some additional links you might enjoy...
Members of Middletown Thrall Library can access additional information (e.g. articles, biography, literary criticism) through databases accessible both within the library and at home.
Comments? or Questions?


October 2013 Titles

Posted: September 27, 2013

The following books due out in October are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Poetry

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: September 5, 2013

The theme of our latest adult book display is Jewish Literature.

This standing book display can be found between our New Books section and the library catalog computers.

We invite you to browse and borrow any titles you find interesting!

You can also follow these links to explore related items in the library system catalog:
Comments? or Questions?


September 2013 Titles

Posted: August 29, 2013

The following books due out in August are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


August 2013 Titles

Posted: July 26, 2013

The following books due out in August are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


July 2013 Titles

Posted: June 28, 2013

The following books due out in July are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


June 2013 Titles

Posted: May 29, 2013

The following books due out in June are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: May 17, 2013

Our latest adult book display highlights fiction from or about Latin America.

This standing book display can be found between our New Books section and the library catalog computers.

We invite you to browse and borrow any titles you find interesting!

You can also follow these links to explore related items in the library system catalog.
Some more topics to try...

Comments? or Questions?


May 2013 Titles

Posted: April 23, 2013

The following books due out in May are sure to be popular. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Pulitzer Prizes 2013

Posted: April 19, 2013

The 2013 Pulitzer Prizes for "Letters, Drama, and Music" have been announced!

You can click any of the links below to explore this year's winners and finalists (for Fiction, History, Biography, Nonfiction, and Poetry) in the library system catalog:


Fiction
History
Biography & Autobiographies
Poetry
General Nonfiction
Drama
Music
For more winning books and authors...
Comments? or Questions?


Beyond the Bestsellers:
Spring 2013

Posted: April 10, 2013

Our latest edition of Beyond the Bestsellers is now online!

[Beyond the Bestsellers: Spring 2013]


Beyond the Bestsellers is where we highlight new and interesting authors and books not necessarily found on bestseller lists.

Perhaps your next favorite book is just a few clicks away!
Comments? or Questions?


National Poetry Month

Posted: April 10, 2013

April is National Poetry Month!

We invite everyone to take a few moments to celebrate the expressive power and beauty of words.

Please click here to explore our National Poetry Month activities and resource guide.
Comments? or Questions?


April 2013 Titles

Posted: March 27, 2013

The following titles are due out in April. Use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


March 2013 Titles

Posted: February 22, 2013

The following titles are due out in March. Use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


February 2013 Titles

Posted: January 25, 2013

The following books are due out in February. Use the links below to place your requests.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: January 4, 2013

Notable Books of 2012

Our standing book display, nearest to the library entrance and our New Books section, features many of the most notable books of 2012 (as recently reported by The New York Times).

We invite you to explore this display and to check out any books you find interesting!

For more "best of 2012" book lists and reading possibilities...
You might also want to check out...
Comments? or Questions?


January 2013 Titles

Posted: December 29, 2012

The following books are due out in January. Use the link below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: December 6, 2012

Our Towns

Exploring Localities & Lives
through Regional Fiction

Our latest book display for adults features a variety of American regional fiction.

The book display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse related materials in and beyond the library system through the links below:


Regional Fiction in the Library System


You might also like to try browsing regional fiction titles by state:

Comments? or Questions?


December 2012 Titles

Posted: November 28, 2012

The following books are due out in December. Use the link below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Christmas
Comments? or Questions?


National Book Awards 2012

Posted: November 15, 2012

The finalists and winners for this year's National Book Awards have been announced!

You can use the following links to explore the winners and finalists in the library system catalog.

Fiction

Winner Finalists

Nonfiction

Winner Finalists

Poetry

Winner Finalists

Young People's Literature

Winner Finalists

For more information...
Comments? or Questions?


November 2012 Titles

Posted: October 28, 2012

The following books are due out in November. Use the link below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 11, 2012

The latest recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature is Mo Yan, a Chinese author.

Mo Yan, whose real name is Guan Moye, is said to be the first Chinese national writer * to win this prestigious literary award.

His pseudonym (pen name) "Mo Yan" translates to "don't speak."

For more information on this writer and the Nobel Prize, please see these links:

(* Gao Xingjian, an émigré Chinese writer/artist/critic left China for France in 1987 and was granted French citizenship in 1997. He later won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature.)
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display: "Pages in Flames"

Posted: October 1, 2012

Our latest book display for adults features classic and contempory books which were once challenged, censored, banned, or burned.

Our display coincides with the American Library Association's own "Banned Books Week" awareness campaign, which runs from September 30 to October 6, 2012.

During this period, ALA and libraries worldwide work to "draw national attention to the harms of censorship" (source).

Libraries exist for many essential reasons, including to protect democracy, freedom of speech, and to advocate and afford everyone an equal opportunity and the intellectual freedom to read and research information.

The book display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse related materials in and beyond the library system through the links below:
Comments? or Questions?


October 2012 Titles

Posted: September 24, 2012

The following titles by popular authors are due out in October. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


September 2012 Titles

Posted: August 28, 2012

The following titles by popular authors are due out in September. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: August 17, 2012

Now on display is a collection of science-fiction and fantasy novels and short story collections.

There are a wide variety of styles and themes, including dystopian fiction, macabre weird tales, and gender politics, with aesthetics ranging from clean high-technology, to gritty steam-punk.

This rotating display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse some related books and videos in the online library system catalog by clicking on any of these topics:
Comments? or Questions?


August 2012 Titles

Posted: July 25, 2012

The following titles by popular authors are due out in August. Use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: "First Novels"

Posted: July 10, 2012

Our latest adult display features works of fiction by first-time novelists.

This rotating display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse some debut works (novels and short story collections) in the library system catalog by clicking on any of these topics:
Also check out our Beyond the Bestsellers guide, which often features debut novels and emerging authors!
Comments? or Questions?


July 2012 Titles

Posted: June 22, 2012

The following popular titles are due out in July, please use the links below to place your requests now. Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


U.S. Poet Laureate 2012

Posted: June 7, 2012

The Library of Congress has just appointed Natasha Trethewey as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States.

You can read the Library of Congress' press release at this link.

The Library of Congress has also prepared a brief guide to the poet and her works.

Among other honors, Natasha Trethewey also was appointed Poet Laureate of Mississippi for 2012 and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

You can click here to search the RCLS library system for works by Natasha Trethewey.

Additional information on this appointment can be found at the following links:

Past "Poets Laureate" and current State Poets Laureate can be explored via these guides from the Library of Congress:

For an even wider selection of notable and award-winning poets, please visit our:
Comments? or Questions?


June 2012 Titles

Posted: May 25, 2012

The following books are due out in June. Please use the links below to place your request now.

Comments? or Questions?


On Display:
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Posted: May 11, 2012

Our latest adult display features books about America's great national pastime: baseball!

From the history of the sport and biographies of famous players to fictional stories and more, our display offers something for baseball fans as well as any readers interested in intriguing tales inspired by the game.

This rotating display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse some related books and videos in the online library system catalog by clicking on any of these topics:



For event more baseball items...

Comments? or Questions?


May 2012 Titles

Posted: April 26, 2012

The following books by popular authors are due out in May. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Get Poetic!

Posted: April 17, 2012

While poetry is indeed perennial, ever in season, April is National Poetry Month, a time when our nation commemorates poets and all forms of verse.

This April, we took some extra steps in hopes of inspiring you to celebrate the power and beauty of poetry - and perhaps even to write some poems of your own!

On our home page you will find (on the "Literature" line) a new "poetry" link. This leads to a new menu where you can access poetry eBooks, poetry criticism, online archives, our own poetry catalog, daily poems, rhyming dictionaries, and more!

You can also reach this menu directly by going to www.thrall.org/poetry

Realizing not everyone is keen on poetry, we created a new downloadable/printable guide:
This guide is intended to be an invitation to a celebration of words and ideas - or, to mix up our metaphors a bit, a friendly "road map" into the wide and wondrous world of poetry.

We start off with some reasons you might want to introduce (or reintroduce) poetry into your life. (Trust us, there are many!)

We include a few poetry terms you might find useful as well as some fairly "easy-to-understand" poets you might like to begin with before moving on to some classic and more challenging / thought-provoking poems (also listed).

On the second page of our guide you'll find some poetry reading tips and some suggested books on reading - and writing - poetry.

If you haven't read poetry in a while - or at all - perhaps our guide can help you discover some great new writing and feel some fresh inspiration!

Free printed copies of "Getting into Poetry" (and our "Looking for Poetry" guide) are also available in the library.

Also consider...
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...
"Transformed: Stories & Studies of Change"

Posted: April 17, 2012

Our latest adult display features books involving change - from life-changing stories (fiction and nonfiction) to how-to guides on transforming yourself, your home, and your world.

This rotating display is located on the library's first floor, near the library catalog computers and stairs to the second level.

You are welcome and encouraged to check out any of the books on display!

You can also browse some related books and videos in the online library system catalog by clicking on any of these searches:
For even more items on personal transformation, please click here for a list of self-help subjects in the library catalog.
Comments? or Questions?


April 2012 Titles

Posted: March 26, 2012

The following popular titles are due out in April. Please use the links below to request them now:

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


March 2012 Titles

Posted: February 27, 2012

The following popular titles are due out in March. Please use the links below to request them now:

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: "As I Recall..."

Posted: February 16, 2012

Our latest book display for adults is

As I Recall

Memorable Memoirs

This book display, located on the first floor (near the library catalog computers), features a number of interesting and insightful memoirs.

We invite you to explore this display and check out as many titles as you like!

For more memoirs in the library catalog, please click here to search for memoirs or click on any of the recently published memoirs below:
Some more possibilities:
Comments? or Questions?


February 2012 Titles

Posted: January 29, 2012

The following books are due out in February. Use the links below to place requests.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


January 2012 Titles

Posted: December 23, 2011

The following titles due out in January 2012 are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


December 2011 Titles

Posted: November 18, 2011

The following titles due out in December are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction

Fiction

also...


Some Christmas Titles to Consider!
Comments? or Questions?


November 2011 Titles

Posted: October 28, 2011

The following titles due out in November are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: October 7, 2011

Our latest book display for adults is

Altogether Austen

Celebrating the Works & Inspirations of Jane Austen

This book display, which is located on the first floor (near the library catalog computers) features works by, inspired by, or about Jane Austen.

We invite you to explore this display and check out as many titles as you like!

You can also use the following links to explore Jane Austen items in the library system catalog and on the Web:

Library System Catalog


Websites & Ebooks

Comments? or Questions?


2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 6, 2011

The latest recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature is Tomas Transtromer, a Swedish poet, writer, and translator.

For more information on this poet and the Nobel Prize, please see these links:
Comments? or Questions?


October 2011 Titles

Posted: September 26, 2011

The following titles due out in October are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: September 12, 2011

Our latest book display for adults is

Call of the Quest

Heroic Journeys & Adventurous Tales

This display, located on the first floor, near the library catalog computers, features a variety of true and fictional accounts of quests for many different things, such as power, perfection, freedoms, rights, justice, meaning, peace, wealth, understanding, philosophical or spiritual enlightenment, mathematical solutions, other worlds, truth, and more.

We invite you to explore this display and check out as many titles as you like!

Additional titles relating to the theme of "quests" can be found under these subject headings in the library system catalog:

Comments? or Questions?


September 2011 Titles

Posted: August 26, 2011

The following titles due out in September are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


A New Poet Laureate

Posted: August 12, 2011

On Wednesday, August 10, 2011, American poet Philip Levine became the Library of Congress' latest poet laureate.

Among other honors (such as the National Book Award), Philip Levine won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His published poetry collections include: (Note: Click on the above titles to find them in the library catalog.)

For more details about the award, please visit these Library of Congress links:

For more information about the poet, please see these resources:
Comments? or Questions?


August 2011 Titles

Posted: July 26, 2011

The following titles due out in August are sure to be popular. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


July 2011 Titles

Posted: June 24, 2011

The following titles are due out in July. Place your requests using the links below.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


June 2011 Titles

Posted: May 26, 2011

The following notable titles will be published soon. Please use the links below to check the library catalog and place your requests now!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


World Literature Collections

Posted: May 5, 2011

We recently enriched our literature collections with more classic and contemporary works of literature from around the world.

Sample titles include:
To browse even more world literature titles within the entire library system:
Comments? or Questions?


May 2011 Titles

Posted: April 26, 2011

The following notable titles will be published soon. Please use the links below to check the library catalog and place your requests now!

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Pulitzer Prize Winners for 2011

Posted: April 18, 2011

The Pulitzer Prize winners for 2011 were announced today.

Winning works and authors include the following (click a title to search for it in the library system catalog):
Please click here for the complete list of 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners.
Comments? or Questions?


National Poetry Month

Posted: April 15, 2011

April is National Poetry Month. The Academy of American Poets describes the purposes inspiring this nationwide observance:

"Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture." (source)


You can participate in these poetic proceedings in a variety of ways, including right through our website:
Some Internet highlights to check out:
We also invite you to come to the library and browse our circulating poetry collections and poetry criticism reference works.

Some notable and recent poetry titles include:
If you are an active member of Thrall or any RCLS library, you might also want to:
For additional downloadable titles (no library membership required), the Project Gutenberg website offers a number of poetry texts in a variety of electronic formats.

The LibriVox website offers downloadable audio of poems read by different persons.

Younger aspiring poets might also want to visit the Poetry section of our "Ref Is Ready" guide for "Magnetic Poetry" games and more.

On Thursday, May 5, 2011, at 7 PM, Middletown Thrall Library will be showing a feature film inspired by the life of the major Romantic poet John Keats. Please call (845) 341-5454 (ext. 5479) for the title of that film. Attendance is free, and light refreshments will be served.

We hope these resources and activities will help inspire you to gain an expanded awareness and appreciation of the power, beauty, and relevance of poetry. Perhaps you will even consider writing some poems of your own some day!
Comments? or Questions?


Currently on Display...

Posted: April 4, 2011

The theme for our latest adult book display is:

Of Blossoms and Harvests

Gardening Stories & Guides


This display, located on the first floor near the stairs, features fiction and nonfiction books about gardening and gardeners.

We invite you to browse this display and check out any items that interest you.

For even more selections relating to these themes, please try one or more of these library catalog subject searches:


For even more topics in the library catalog as well as Web resources, please explore the Gardening section of our Ready Reference Guide.
Comments? or Questions?


April 2011 Titles

Posted: March 25, 2011

The following titles by popular authors are due out in April. Use the links below to place your request now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


New Book Display:
"Reflections of Her"

Posted: March 10, 2011

The theme for our latest adult book display is:

Reflections of Her: Exploring the Worlds of Women


This display, located on the first floor near the stairs, features a variety of books relating to women's interests, issues, studies, and history.

We encourage you to visit this display and check out items of interest to you.

For even more selections relating to these themes, please try one or more of these library catalog subject searches:


Please also check our Women's History information guide for even more library and Web resources about women.
Comments? or Questions?


March 2011 Titles

Posted: February 18, 2011

The following books by popular authors are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Book Displays:
"Entering Elsewhere"
and "To Whom It May Concern"

Posted: January 28, 2011

The theme for our two latest adult book displays are:
The first display is located on the first floor just outside the office of our Head of Reference. The second can be found on by the stairs and adult library catalog computers.

As always, we encourage you to come down, browse, and borrow as many books you like from these displays.

For additional selections generally relating to these themes, you might want to try one or more of these library catalog search links:

Letters - Real & Imagined



Stories Set Around the World

Comments? or Questions?


February 2011 Titles

Posted: January 25, 2011

The following books by popular authors are due out in February. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


January 2011 Titles

Posted: December 22, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in January. Please use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


December 2010 Titles
+ Holiday Fiction

Posted: November 23, 2010

The following titles by popular authors are due out in December. Use the links below to request them now:

Nonfiction
Fiction
2010 Holiday Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Book Display:
"Food for Thought"

Posted: November 3, 2010

The theme for our latest book display is

"Food for Thought: A Flavorful Feast of Facts and Fiction"

Located by the stairs, this rotating display contains a delicious variety of true and fictional stories, recipes, and much more.

If you find something you like, we encourage you to check it out!

At home - or in the library - you can explore related books through these subject headings in the library catalog:


An extended menu of library catalog topics as well as websites can be found in the Cooking section of our Ready Reference guide.

Also available throughout the library system: current and past issues of popular food and cooking magazines. Examples include:

Please click here to browse even more cooking and food-related periodicals in the library catalog.
Comments? or Questions?


November 2010 Titles

Posted: October 25, 2010

The following titles by popular authors are due out in November. Use the links below to request them now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2010 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 7, 2010

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Mario Vargas Llosa (English).

This Peruvian novelist, essayist, and journalist authored numerous literary works. Among his better known books are:
Please click here to read the official Nobel Prize announcement.

Additional information can be found at these links:
Comments? or Questions?


October Titles

Posted: September 30, 2010

The following titles are due out in October. They are sure to be popular, so use the links below to place your requests now!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Beyond the Bestsellers - Fall 2010

Posted: September 28, 2010

The latest electronic edition of Beyond the Bestsellers is now online.

Beyond the Bestsellers is a quarterly publication Thrall publishes in an effort to highlight interesting authors and titles often not found on bestseller lists.

Our online edition now has its own RSS feed, which you can subscribe to and receive automatic updates via your Web browser or RSS reader.

Links in the RSS feed lead directly into the library catalog, where you can check which titles are available or try to reserve them.

Print editions of Beyond the Bestsellers are available at the library.
Comments? or Questions?


As Storms Subside:
Stories after Wars

Posted: September 16, 2010

Long after military conflicts subside and the prospect of peace has been restored, at least tentatively, many soliders return home only to face entirely new struggles with stress, readjusting to normal life, memories of what took place, and more.

Their stories reveal the long-term human costs of warfare, the psychological scars remaining long after any physical wounds have healed.

This touching topic has also been fictionally explored by numerous authors throughout the years. Here are some titles you might want to consider:
More novels under these subject headings can be found throughout the library system:
See also this related post in our Health and Wellness blog: PTSD & Returning Soldiers.
Comments? or Questions?


September Titles

Posted: August 30, 2010

The following titles are due out in September. They are sure to be popular so use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: From Page to Picture - Books Become Movies

Posted: August 5, 2010

Our latest display features books made into movies.

Titles include literary classics as well as contemporary works.

You can also follow these links to browse film adaptations within the library catalog:
Comments? or Questions?


August Titles

Posted: July 28, 2010

The following titles are due out in August. They are sure to be popular so use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


New "All the Best!" Page

Posted: June 30, 2010

Our recent blog post got us thinking:

What if you could quickly access all of these historically "best" and contemporary "bestseller" titles from one convenient page?

The result is a new "All the Best!" page.

Previously, this link took you straight into the library catalog, where you could browse New York Times fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists as well as Netflix selections.

You can still do that, of course :-)   but now you have some more options!

From the new page you can also browse a menu of major award-winning works and authors throughout history as well as notable contemporary fiction and nonfiction.

You can reach the menu through our home page as well as our library catalog entry page.

We hope you like the new page and that it inspires you to check out some truly great books!
Comments? or Questions?


July 2010 Titles

Posted: June 25, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in July.

Use the catalog links below to place your requests today!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


All the Best!

Posted: June 9, 2010

If you are in the mood for a great book, be it a classic, a critically-acclaimed work of fiction or nonfiction, or simply anything written by an award-winning author, you can browse some suggestions (and quickly search the library catalog) in just a few clicks right at our website!

Looking for literary classics? Try our Literature Explorer:
How about major award-winners, such as Pulitzer or Nobel Prizes, or Caldecott or Newbery Winners?
In our Booklovers guide you will find a directory of websites highlighting award-winning titles and authors in a variety of genres.

If you're just looking for contemporary bestsellers, then here's your link!

If you'd like to go beyond the bestsellers, we can take you there whenever you're ready!


Wishing you all the best - in your readings and in life!
Thrall's Reference Department


Comments? or Questions?


Now on Display: Porch Stories

Posted: June 7, 2010

Our latest book display for adults is Porch Stories: Tales of Small Town Life.

Located by the stairs, this rotating display contains a dynamic variety of books and authors you might really enjoy. If you find something you like, we encourage you to check it out!
Comments? or Questions?


June 2010 Titles

Posted: May 26, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in June.

Use the catalog links below to place your requests today!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


May 2010 Titles

Posted: April 27, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in May.

Use the catalog links below to place your requests today!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Pulitzer Prize Winners for 2010

Posted: April 16, 2010

The Pulitzer Prize Winners for 2010 are:
Comments? or Questions?


You May "Burn" this Book

Posted: April 9, 2010

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the technical name for what you are permitted to do with something like an eBook or audio file.

Because each publisher offers a variety of titles and editions in different formats (electronic text or audio) and because each of those titles can have its own set of terms (which tell you what you can or cannot do), it is up to the user - you - to make an effort to learn what your options are whenever working with digital files.

Thankfully, this is quite easy to do with eBooks and eAudio available within the RCLS library system.

Here's how it works:
Read that section - for each item - carefully to determine whether you may, within the time you are allowed, "burn" (record) an eAudiobook to a CD or transfer it to an MP3 player, print parts of an eBook text, and so on.

As these are items that you are borrowing from the library system, you are expected to comply completely with the specified DRM terms and copyrights.

Simply put, this means you cannot keep any item beyond the time you were allowed to borrow it.

For more information, please check out these links:
To explore other sources of downloadable eBooks, please see the eBooks section in our Booklovers guide.

You might also want to read our other blog posts on eBooks:
Comments? or Questions?


April 2010 Titles

Posted: March 26, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in April.

Use the catalog links below to place your requests today!

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


eBook Issues to Consider

Posted: February 19, 2010

The recent surge of interest in eBooks provoked much curiosity as well as technical questions among readers.

To help you answer some of these questions, we prepared some free flyers at the library as well as at our website.

The world of eBooks can be exciting and useful, especially for readers who travel, yet, just as is true of digital music, technical questions and deeper considerations can linger.

For example, purchasing a regular book (in print) is often not the same as buying an eBook: the eBook is a computer file you have purchased the rights to access and transfer to your computer (or your portable media player, if that is permitted).

"Permission" is a key concept in digital music and book files: depending on where you acquire a file, that file can be subject to certain terms, such as whether or not you can transfer an audio eBook to an MP3 player.

The technical name for these permissions is Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM is typically defined by both legal terms and technological limitations.

Since even the same publisher can publish a variety of files with different DRM terms, you can begin to see how difficult (and possibly frustrating) it can be for users to deal with, particularly if they are avid readers!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has prepared a document outlining potential issues and questions eBook users might want to consider before investing in an eBook reader or eBook titles:
EFF also maintains a Digital Books Issues page, where you will find coverage of current eBook issues in the news (as provided from EFF's consumer-rights-oriented perspective).

For additional information on the topic of digital books, here are some library catalog subject links you might want to explore: You might also want to visit the eBooks and eReaders section of our Booklovers guide as well as our earlier blog post on eBooks.
Comments? or Questions?


March 2010 Titles

Posted: February 17, 2010

The following new books due out in March are bound to be popular. Use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


February 2010 Titles

Posted: January 26, 2010

The following books by popular authors are due out in February. Please use the links below to check reviews and place your requests now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


January 2010 Titles

Posted: December 23, 2009

The following books have been recently published or are due out by the end of January 2010. They are sure to be popular so use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: Fireside Fiction

Posted: December 22, 2009

The theme for our latest rotating book display (located near the adult library catalog computers) is

Fireside Fiction: Stories for Long Winter Nights

The next time you come to the library, please feel free to visit our display and check out as many titles as you find interesting!
Comments? or Questions?


eBooks & eReaders

Posted: December 3, 2009

For several years now, our library system has offered free access to eBooks. Middletown Thrall Library offers a steadily increasing number of electronic books and Virtual Reference materials online for its patrons.

As more of our readers begin to weigh the possibilities and pitfalls of reading electronically, we continue to develop all our collections (print, electronic, audio, etc.) to meet your needs and reading preferences, be they digital or bookbound.

Our Booklovers Web Guide contains a wealth of reading resources, news, and other information for readers in any medium.

The newest section in our Booklovers guide features eBooks and eReaders.

If you're already an e-booklover, then you might appreciate browsing some of the many free sources of eBooks or learning more about eBook formats and related news.

If you are new to eBooks, you can browse some of the websites there to learn more about eBook readers, read reviews and comparisons of eReaders, and also get an idea of what is freely available to you (as a member of Thrall or any RCLS library) right through our own library system.

If you'd like to get into electronic books but aren't ready yet to buy an eReader, an MP3 player for eAudiobooks, or a computer, you might want to look into our growing selection of Playaway titles.

Playaways are very small, simple-to-use digital audio books. You check them out and return them just like regular books, and they are very easy to use: you literally just press Play!

If interested, please stop by our Reference Department, and we'll show you where you can find them. You can also click here to browse some (but not all) Playaway titles available throughout the library system.

Comments? or Questions?


December 2009 Titles

Posted: November 21, 2009

The following books have been recently published or are due out by the end of December. They are sure to be popular so use the links below to place your requests now.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


November 2009 Titles

Posted: October 22, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in November. You can use the links below to browse the catalog or place your requests.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2009 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 8, 2009

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Herta Muller.

The Nobel Foundation posted the official announcement and a video at their website.

For more informaton:
Comments? or Questions?


Read.gov

Posted: September 28, 2009

The Library of Congress' Center for the Book has created a new website in support of the National Book Festival and to promote reading: There are some really unique offerings here for all ages, such as: For more details, please read the Read.gov press release or click here to visit Read.gov.

Also check out our previous blog post: National Book Festival: Author Podcasts.
Comments? or Questions?


October 2009 Titles

Posted: September 23, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in October. You can use the links below to browse the catalog or place your requests.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Armchair Adventures

Posted: September 18, 2009

Thrill-seekers, adventurers, escapists, explorers, lovers of travel stories, daring dreamers: come one and all to see our latest rotating book display: Armchair Adventures!

(Everyone else is invited, too!)

On this display (located near the adult library catalog computers) you will find adventurous works of fiction and nonfiction, tales of other worlds, swashbucklers, real life heroes, trailblazers and globetrotters, navigators of unknown lands, and more.

If you can't get to the library, or if you can't wait to start your own adventures, here are some library catalog subject links to get you started:

You should also check out the latest addition to our Book Lists for Booklovers: Regional Reads and Travels.

Happy reading!
Comments? or Questions?


National Book Festival: Author Podcasts

Posted: September 11, 2009

In support of the 2009 National Book Festival, the Library of Congress has posted a series of informative and entertaining podcasts (audio/video broadcasts online) featuring popular and best-selling authors commenting on their careers as writers and readers.

Click here to hear or download (MP3 format) interviews with authors including David Wroblewski, George Pelecanos, James Patterson, Jon Scieszka, Junot Diaz, Lois Lowry, Nicholas Sparks, and Rickey Minor.

Interviews from previous years are also online: For more on this national celebration of books, authors, and readers, please click here to access the National Book Festival website, which includes a young reader's toolkit.
Comments? or Questions?


September 2009 Titles

Posted: August 26, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in September. Use the links below to place your requests now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


August 2009 Titles

Posted: July 27, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in August. Use the links below to place your requests now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: "Great Book!"

Posted: July 10, 2009

Our latest display features some of the "best of the best" titles and authors from celebrity and critic's recommended readings lists.

There you will find an interesting variety of critically-acclaimed and personally treasured works of fiction, nonfiction, from classics to contemporary writing.

Online, in our Booklovers web guide, we recently created a Book Lists section, where you will see suggested reading for topics including: We also invite you to check out Reader's Advisory Center at Reference, where we have dedicated guides (offering advice according to reader's age, themes, or genres).

On top of those shelves you will also see a number of free bookmarks you can take. Many of these bookmarks also contain reading suggestions!

If you're in the mood to make some suggestions of your own to other readers, you can use our free (and anonymous) RAVES! service to share your love of reading with other readers looking for the next "great book."
Comments? or Questions?


July 2009 Titles

Posted: June 26, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in July. Click below to request them now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


eBooks for iPods, Sony Readers!

Posted: June 18, 2009

OverDrive, the media transfer tool used for the library system's eBooks and eAudio books, reports the following good news for iPod and iPhone users:

"With OverDrive Media Console v3.2, the vast majority of OverDrive WMA Audiobooks can be transferred to the iPod and the iPhone!"

Follow this link to learn more about the latest software and downloads for Mac and Windows users.

At the RCLS eFiles website, there is also news about Sony Reader-compatible eBooks:

"Introducing eBooks in the EPUB format! We are delighted to announce the addition of Sony Reader-compatible eBooks in the EPUB format to this catalog! Offering small file sizes and the ability to resize text so that it neatly and instantaneously reflows on the screen, the EPUB eBooks available at this site can also be enjoyed on Windows and Mac computers using Adobe Digital Editions."

For more on EPUB eBooks, please click here. This link leads to a list of EPUB eBooks.

Follow this link to learn more about the latest software and downloads for Mac and Windows users.

You can learn more about our free eBook service by following this link.
Comments? or Questions?


June 2009 Titles

Posted: May 22, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in June. Click below to request them now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: Family Portraits

Posted: May 1, 2009

Our rotating book display (near the adult catalog computers) has a new theme:

Family Portraits: Stores of Families Large and Small

Here you will find fiction, from literary classics to contemporary works, focusing on families and family life.

We invite you to check out as many items from this display as you like the next time you visit the library.

You can also click here to browse our RAVES! Readers Advisory service for reader-recommended books involving the theme of "family" in some way.

If a title in RAVES! interests you, you can check the catalog to see if it is available and even reserve it, if you like.

If you know of a good fiction (or nonfiction) book about families (or any other theme, for that matter!), please feel free to submit your recommendation to RAVES! right now so other readers might consider reading it.

If you would like to see what else is available within the library system catalog, click here to search for "family - fiction" in the catalog.
Comments? or Questions?


World Digital Library Online

Posted: April 30, 2009

Back in April 2007, we blogged about the Library of Congress' intention to create a new online archive of writings and other cultural treasures from around the world.

The World Digital Library is now a reality!

Library of Congress announced the achievement in its blog:

"The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and 32 partner institutions today launched the World Digital Library, a website that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world. The site - located at www.wdl.org - includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs."

Click here to read the Library of Congress blog post in its entirety.

You can click here to access the World Digital Library.
Comments? or Questions?


May 2009 Titles

Posted: April 29, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in May. Click below to request them now:

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Da Vinci Code Fans Rejoice

Posted: April 21, 2009

Dan Brown has completed his Da Vinci Code Trilogy.

The Lost Symbol is due out on September 15th and will feature Robert Langdon from the Da Vinci Code and its prequel Angels and Demons.

Look for a record in the catalog in the near future.

The movie version of Angels and Demons, directed by Ron Howard, will be released in theaters on May 15th.

For more information on Dan Brown, his books, and the movies, you can visit the author's website: DanBrown.com
Comments? or Questions?


April 2009 Titles

Posted: March 27, 2009

The following books by popular authors are due out in April. Click below to request them now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


New Display: Yes You Can!

Posted: March 13, 2009

Our rotating book display (near the adult catalog computers) has a new theme:

Yes You Can! Adventures in Optimism, Hope, and New Beginnings

Here you will find decidedly positive fiction and non-fiction works that promise to uplift, inform, and inspire you in all areas of life, from personal considerations to professional aspirations.

We invite you to check out as many items from this display as you like the next time you visit the library.

You can also click any of the subject links below to browse (and reserve, if you wish) even more thematically-related topics and titles available throughout the library system:


Comments? or Questions?


March 2009 Titles

Posted: February 23, 2009

The following books of interest are due out in March 2009.

Please use the links below to put your requests in now.

Nonfiction

Fiction

The following titles are first novels that are receiving a lot of attention.
Comments? or Questions?


February 2009 Titles

Posted: January 27, 2009

The following books of interest are due out in February 2009.

Please use the links below to put your requests in now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Two More Displays:
Our Favorite Children's Stories, Edgar Allan Poe

Posted: January 27, 2009

In addition to our "Best of 2008" display we have two other displays:

In the library's lobby you will see a wonderful display celebrating favorite children's stories.

Inside the library, near the Reading Room entrance (near Reference) you will see another display highlighting the literature of Edgar Allan Poe.
Comments? or Questions?


On Display: "The Best of 2008"

Posted: January 16, 2009

The new theme for our rotating book display (located near the adult library catalog computers) is "The Best of 2008," a collection of notable fiction, nonfiction, and biography titles published in 2008.

Titles on display were selected from a variety of "best of 2008" lists, such as those published by Library Journal, The New York Times, Booklist, National Public Radio, and Publisher's Weekly.

Some "Best of 2008" lists can be browsed in a binder located by the display. A librarian can help you locate any items in these lists which might interest you.

You are encouraged to check out (or reserve) as many titles as you like!

Here is a brief and random selection of titles, any of which you can click to locate (and reserve, if you wish) in the library catalog:
Comments? or Questions?


January 2009 Titles

Posted: December 25, 2008

The following books of interest are due out in January 2009.

Please use the links below to put your requests in now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?

December Titles

Posted: November 20, 2008

The following books of interest are due out in December.

Please use the links below to put your requests in now.

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


Simplify Your Life

Posted: November 14, 2008

Now on display near the adult library catalog computers:

Simplify Your Life: Exploring the Essentials of Well Being

Here you will find a variety of books that can help you get back to basics, enjoy more of life, and rediscover some of life's hidden treasures and pleasures through personal reflection, meditation, and reducing the clutter and chaos in your life.

Here is a sampling of some of the many titles on display. You can click a title to check on it in the library catalog or to reserve it:
If you would like to explore more items like these in the library catalog, please click on any of these related subject headings:
Comments? or Questions?


New in November

Posted: October 29, 2008

The following titles by popular authors have been recently published or are being released in November. You can use the links below to place requests.

Non Fiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2008 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 9, 2008

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio.

You can read about it in the press release at the Nobel Prize website.

Click one of the "PDF" links when you reach the Nobel website. PDF documents can be viewed with the Adobe Reader.

For more informaton about this author and his works:
Comments? or Questions?


New Book Display: America Votes

Posted: October 7, 2008

Our rotating book display (located by the library catalog computers on the first floor) has a new theme:

"America Votes: Politics Past and Present"

Here you will find an interesting array of nonfiction works from our collection. Each title on display connects with politics throughout America's history, including the U.S. Presidential Election.

We hope you enjoy the new display, and we encourage you to check out any items that interest you.

At our website we cover the current run for the U.S. Presidency in our Election 2008 guide.

You can also try these links to browse related item in our library catalog:
Comments? or Questions?


October Publications

Posted: September 26, 2008

The following titles come out in October. Use the links below to place your requests in the catalog!

Nonfiction

Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


September Selections

Posted: August 25, 2008

The following titles due out in September are bound to be popular. You may use the links below to place requests in the catalog.

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


A New Literature Information Guide

Posted: August 20, 2008

Literary booklovers, we have wonderful news to share with you!

Thrall's Literature information guide on the web has been thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded.

Our new guide contains two sections:
In the "Literature in the Library" section you will find categories including:
The "Classics in the Library Catalog" link leads to our Literature Explorer, where you will find convenient links to popular literary authors and titles.

Clicking on any link in that area will direct you to the library catalog, where you can:
In the "Reference Materials" section our guide alludes to a number of materials you may consult in Middletown Thrall Library's Reference collections.

Thrall has extensive volumes of literary criticism and many other reference materials covering all modes and movements of literature. We also have a number of comparable items in our circulating collections (in the 800s aisles).

The "Databases" section in our guide describes and directs you to some of the most powerful literary research and discovery tools available to members of our library. Log in with your Thrall library card number and enjoy high quality information written and reviewed by scholars!

The "Literature on the Web" section of our Literature guide highlights some of the best and most interesting literary websites out there.

Topics in this section include:

American Literature, Authors on the web, Awarded Books, Blogs/Discussions, Classical Literature, Comparative Literature, Criticism/Literary Theory, Databases, eBooks/eTexts, Drama, English Literature, Essays, History, Jane Austen, Literary Journals, Literary Terms, Novels, Poetry, Quotations, Short Stories, Study Guides, Literary Trivia, William Shakespeare, and World Literature.

We encourage you to explore this truly epic resource and discover (or rediscover) some true literary treasures!
Comments? or Questions?


When You're in the Mood

Posted: August 1, 2008

Inspired by 1001 Books for Every Mood by Hallie Ephron, Ph.D., our latest rotating book display ("When You're in the Mood") arranges select books from our collections according to specific moods.

Whatever you're in the mood for -- a good laugh, a good cry, to be swept off your feet, to escape to faraway lands, to be encouraged, shocked, or astounded -- you will almost certainly find something interesting to read here!

The display is located by the adult library catalog computers.

We invite you to check it out and borrow as many titles as you like the next time you visit the library. As you do so, more titles will be added in the coming weeks.
Comments? or Questions?


A New Poet Laureate

Posted: July 29, 2008

Kay Ryan is the latest person to be granted the title of Poet Laureate by the Library of Congress for 2008-2009.

You can read about this development in the official press release.

What does it mean to be Poet Laureate? The Library of Congress website explains what the position means and entails.

If you would like to learn more about Kay Ryan, here are some sites: If you'd like to learn more about previous persons named to the post, the Library of Congress has a list of past poet laureates.

You can also click here to find some books by Kay Ryan in the library catalog.
Comments? or Questions?


August Beach Reading

Posted: July 25, 2008

The following books by popular authors are due out in August. You can place requests for them using the links below:
Comments? or Questions?


Random Reads!

Posted: July 18, 2008

Finding something "new and interesting" to read can sometimes present a formidable challenge.

Even with all the great books and authors available, sometimes it can be difficult to choose, especially if you don't know where to begin to look or if you don't have a strong sense of what you'd like to read next.

This is definitely an area where Thrall's Reference Department is more than happy to try to help you!

Over the years we have created print and electronic publications (such as Beyond the Bestsellers and Future Title Watch), services on the web (such as RAVES! and a library catalog Subject Explorer), and rotating thematic displays in the library to help you come into contact with new and notable books and authors.

We also established a dedicated and substantial Reader's Advisory Center right at Reference, so you can locate authors and books similar to those you enjoy.

Throughout the year we host various book discussions, bringing new and familiar faces together to enjoy some amazing stories and storytellers.

On our website we also have a place where you can request your very own personalized reading plan.

We also have this blog and its corresponding Booklovers web guide.

As you can see, we are altogether serious about putting good books in your hands!

Today, we're giving you another option, a fun way to discover authors, titles, and topics on your own: Random Reads!

By going to www.thrall.org/randomreads or by clicking on the "Random Reads" link in the "Booklover's Lane" section of our home page, you can instantly explore a variety (in the truest sense of the word!) of writers, works, and topics.

If anything interests you, just click on it! Don't like what you see? You can ask for another group of selections! It's fast, easy, and fun.

Random titles are drawn from our RAVES! database. Additional topic and author links take you right into the library catalog, where you can browse items available throughout the entire library system.

If you see something you like in the catalog, you can attempt to reserve it. We can show you how that works if you've never done that before.

So, the next time you find yourself wondering what you will read next, please consider giving any of these services a try and remember: you can always come to our Reference Deparment for reading recommendations or other helpful tips. You can also call us at 341-5461 or ask us over the web.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, and happy reading!
Comments? or Questions?


July's Hot Titles

Posted: June 20, 2008

The following books by popular authors are due out in July. You can use the links below to place requests for them now:

Nonfiction

Fiction

Madeleine Wickham also writes the Shopaholic series using the name Sophie Kinsella.
Comments? or Questions?


"Of Thee I Sing"

Posted: June 9, 2008

"Of Thee I Sing: Stories of America as Told through Fiction" is the title of our current rotating display of books.

Located by the library catalog computers, this display features a number of novels, works of historical fiction, and other stories relating to life in America, from the past through the present.

We invite you to browse this display and check out any titles that interest you.

While here, also be sure to visit the traveling Benjamin Franklin Exhibit located in our Reading Room (until July 25, 2008)!
Comments? or Questions?


June Fiction & Nonfiction

Posted: May 29, 2008

The following are new books by popular authors due out in June. You may use these links to place requests for them now:

Nonfiction Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


May Fiction

Posted: May 1, 2008

The following are new titles by popular authors due out in May.

You can locate titles in the library catalog and place reserves by clicking the title links below.

Comments? or Questions?


April Fiction & "Spring Selections"

Posted: March 28, 2008

April Fiction

The following titles by popular authors are due out in April. Requests may be made now using the links below.

Spring Selections

At the library we have a fresh book display located near the new books area. It's called "Spring Selections." There you'll find a seasonal blend of fiction and nonfiction.

We invite you to come and check out any titles you find interesting!

Comments? or Questions?


The Virtual NewsStand

Posted: March 19, 2008

We have created a new area at our website called the Virtual NewsStand.

The Virtual NewsStand offers a clickable list of many popular publications we currently subscribe to at Thrall. These publications include popular magazines, journals, newspapers, and newsletters.

The primary benefit of this list is that you can, from one page, access our most popular periodicals in up to three locations: the publication's home page on the web, issues of publications listed in our library catalog, and, wherever available, articles or abstracts from the publication indexed in our general article databases.

There are three kinds of links you will find:

You can click here to visit our Virtual NewsStand!

Links to the NewsStand are also available on our home page and Current Interests guide.
Comments? or Questions?


March is Women's History Month

Posted: March 6, 2008

March is the nationally designated month in which we have an opportunity to reflect on and honor the historic achievements of women throughout history.

Thrall maintains a web guide to help you locate information on this essential topic - not just for a month but throughout the year.

Our Women's History Month web guide highlights information available within our library system as well as select sites on the web.

There are many more sources available to you at the library, such as specific biographies and other historical works that you can read and check out. Our librarians will be happy to help you find all the information you need!
Comments? or Questions?


Displays for Mystery Lovers

Posted: March 5, 2008

"Solving a Mystery" is the latest theme for our rotating book display near the adult catalog computers at the library.

Explore hardboiled detective, amateur sleuth, cozy, historical, and contemporary mystery series titles arranged by series for your reading pleasure.

While at the library, also check out our entertaining "The Butler Did It!" mystery display across the way, near the information stand.

If you've been looking for something new and exciting to read, now's your chance!
Comments? or Questions?


Books Due Out in March

Posted: February 28, 2008

The following is a list of books by popular authors due out in March. The links below will lead to the library catalog so that you can place your requests now:

Nonfiction


Fiction

Comments? or Questions?


Newspaper Archive

Posted: February 25, 2008

Middletown Thrall Library is pleased to announce it has a new subscription to the Internet-based Newspaper Archive service.

This subscription enables you to search - for free - any old local area Middletown newspapers back to the 1800s up to the 1970s.

You can also locate articles in other newspapers from other states indexed in Newspaper Archive.

Click here to access the service through our Databases page. Click the "Newspaper Archive" link to log in with your Thrall library card number.

If you are at the library, a librarian will be happy to direct you to a computer where you can begin your Newspaper Archive research.

Once logged in, you can use the simple or advanced search modes. Advanced searching lets you limit your searches to a date range and/or a specific region (e.g. city and/or state).

If you don't already have it, you will need the free Adobe Reader to download and display newspaper pages.

We hope you enjoy this new service. Remember, if you have any questions, all you have to do is ask!

Comments? or Questions?


Romance Stories

Posted: February 4, 2008

Our latest book display in the library is "Romance Stories," a selection of romantic fiction titles you might especially enjoy during this Valentine's Day holiday.

You are invited to browse these titles and check out any of them that might interest you.

You can also click here to browse the Romance fiction category in our library catalog or click here to find some romance titles featured in our RAVES! reader's advisory service.

Comments? or Questions?


February Fiction

Posted: January 31, 2008

The following works of popular fiction are due out this month. Request them now!
Comments? or Questions?


Best Books of 2007

Posted: January 7, 2008

Happy 2008! A new display featuring the "best" books of 2007 is currently being featured by the new book section of the library.

These books were selected according to lists such as New York Times Notable Books for 2007, Library Journal's "Best Books of 2007," and Time Magazine's Top "10 Fiction and Nonfiction Books of 2007."

When the American Library Association (ALA) releases their notable books list, those titles will be added to the display.

A companion binder including all the lists is available for browsing at our Reader's Advisory Center, which is located right at the Reference Department.
Comments? or Questions?


New Books for the New Year

Posted: December 20, 2007

Put your requests in for these titles now as they are sure to be popular!
Comments? or Questions?


Romance Blogs

Posted: December 4, 2007

If you enjoy reading blogs and romance, the following websites will be a sweet treat for you:
Comments? or Questions?


Universal Digital Library (UDL)

Posted: December 3, 2007

One of the most ambitious digitization projects is now partly accessible over the Internet: The Universal Digital Library: A Million Book Collection Hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.

The project's mission is intended "to create a Universal Library which will foster creativity and free access to all human knowledge." Currently one million texts are said to have been digitizized between 2006 and 2007. In ten years they hope to make ten million books available.

You can read more about their project on their "About Us" page

At the moment, as of this post, you might experience some delays or web browser time-outs when trying to reach the website (www.ulib.org) due to so many people around the world trying to access it at once. Once you do get in, you will be able to search and browse for texts.

Displaying texts from the UDL requires special plugins for your web browser. You should find links to those downloads once you reach the home page of www.ulib.org.
Comments? or Questions?


Due Out In December

Posted: November 28, 2007

The following titles by popular authors are due out in December:

Nonfiction
Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


New Books for November

Posted: November 1, 2007

The following new titles are due out in November:

Nonfiction Fiction
Comments? or Questions?


2007 Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted: October 11, 2007

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Doris Lessing. You can read more about this at the Nobel Foundation website. The formal announcement is available in PDF form (Adobe Reader required), along with videos of the announcement and a link to more resources to learn about Doris Lessing.

To locate items in the library catalog by Doris Lessing, please click here.

You can learn more about this author and her writings through the Literature Resource Center database, which is freely accessible to Thrall cardholders.
Comments? or Questions?


Out in October

Posted: September 28, 2007

The following books by popular authors are due out in October.

Bridge of Sighs is Richard Russo's first novel since he won the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls in 2002.

World Without End is a sequel to Ken Follett's blockbuster bestseller Pillars of the Earth.

In Home to Holly Springs, Karon writes about Father Tim's return to his childhood home.

The Almost Moon is Alice Sebold's first novel since The Lovely Bones.

Comments? or Questions?


Conflict and Character

Posted: September 12, 2007

To accompany a display honoring local World War II veterans, a new book display entitled "Conflict and Character: Stories and Studies of World War II" has been established.

Located by the library catalog computers on the first floor, this display features works of fiction and nonfiction. We hope you have the opportunity to browse the many titles on display and to check those out that interest you.
Comments? or Questions?


September Titles

Posted: August 31, 2007

The following books due out in September are bound to be popular. Put your request in for them now.
Comments? or Questions?


A New Poet Laureate

Posted: August 2, 2007

The Library of Congress has announced the next Poet Laureate will be Charles Simic.

You can read their announcement at this link.
Comments? or Questions?


Finished with Potter?

Posted: August 1, 2007

If you recently finished reading J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and are interested in continuing your reading adventures and discovering comparable stories and themes, consider these titles and authors:
Click on any of the above author names or titles to search for them in the library catalog. Some entries include summaries, chapter excerpts, and reviews, which can help you decide if the book is something you'd like to read.

Some other "if you like Harry Potter" lists exist on the web:
Even more reading recommendations can be found easily using these free services: In addition to this you can also come to the Reference Department and browse our extensive reader's advisory materials, which include many easy-to-use directories arranged conveniently by reader interests and genres as well as age groups.

You can also ask any of our librarians to show you how to locate reading suggestions using any of these available services. Reference can be reached by telephone at 341-5461. If you have Internet access and an e-mail account, consider taking advantage of our Ask a Librarian service.
Comments? or Questions?


August Beach Reading

Posted: July 27, 2007

Need a book for the beach? Look for these titles to be out in August: Click titles to check if they are available in the library catalog.
Comments? or Questions?


Spirituality Guide

Posted: July 9, 2007

A new guide at Thrall.org highlights informative spirituality websites as well as information available at the library, including print materials, and article databases. Click here to go to the web guide.
Comments? or Questions?


Playaways, MP3 Players

Posted: July 9, 2007

As more readers express interest in electronic formats such as eBooks and eAudio, we continue to expand and modernize our collections and your ability to access those new items. Thanks to Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc., we will soon be making "Playaways" and MP3 players available for borrowing. "Playaways" are self-contained and simple-to-use electronic audio books. It's easy: Just plug in your headphones and press play!

While "Playaways" are perfect for those of you who are new to electronic audio books, computer users may be more interested in our circulating MP3 players, which can be used along with Overdrive's Media Console to transfer e-audio titles you have requested through our eBook service.
Comments? or Questions?


Summer Selections

Posted: July 9, 2007

Reading's always in season, but if you have a little extra time this summer, consider catching up on some books you've always been meaning to read!

At Thrall we have a new book display called "Celebrity Favorites." This display features titles chosen by local area "celebrities," including local authors and journalists, entertainers, and legislators. These people were asked by our Library Director to share with us their favorite adult and/or children's books. Some additional favorite titles were selected by Thrall staff members.

Still looking for something good to read? Consider these suggestions...
Comments? or Questions?


Pre-Overdue Notices

Posted: July 9, 2007

If you are a member of Middletown Thrall Library and are currently registered to receive e-mail notifications, a new service is now automatically being provided to you for free! This new service, known as Pre-Overdue Notices, sends you e-mail reminders when one or more items are due to be returned soon to the library, which can help you avoid costly overdue fines!

Another benefit is that materials returned on time can be made available to other patrons more promptly. If you have Internet access but are not already signed up for our free e-mail notification service, you can go to our library catalog and click the "register for e-mail notices" button.
Comments? or Questions?


July's Hot Titles

Posted: June 25, 2007

The following fiction titles due out in July by favorite authors are bound to be hot. Place your holds on them now! Check out the Summer 2007 edition of Beyond the Bestsellers now available in print at the library. An electronic edition is also available at our website.

Please consider adding an entry to Raves for anything you read. You don't necessarily have to rave about it -- you can express your disappointment as well. Let's share what we read!
Comments? or Questions?


FictionConnection

Posted: May 23, 2007

FictionConnection, a product of the company that provides the Books in Print database (which you have free access to through Thrall's subscription to that service) is now accessible at home to members of Thrall Library.

FictionConnection is a "reader's advisory" database that offers you reading suggestions based on titles, authors, or topics you like. You can also check to see if a title in their database is in the library catalog.

If this sounds familiar, it might be because you've already discovered Thrall's own free reader's advisory service called RAVES!, which has allowed you to do just the same as well as recommend books you have read and comment on books others have "raved" about. If you haven't had the chance to check out RAVES! yet, now's your chance!

You can find links to both FictionConnection and RAVES! on our databases page at Thrall.org.

By the way, Books in Print: Patron Edition is now part of FictionConnection and is available there once you log in. You can still access BIP Professional at the library.

Novelist is a another potentially helpful database you can use when trying to find similar authors or titles running in a series.

Also worth mentioning: by the Reference Department we have built an entire mini-library of reader's advisory books just for you! Arranged primarily by genre, these specialized books contain suggestions for readers of all ages. Titles in genres such as historical fiction, science fiction, romance, literary classics, westerns, mysteries, young adult books, and more await your discovery!

Throughout the year Thrall also publishes a guide called "Beyond the Bestsellers" in print and on the web to help you discover more of what you may like by featuring titles not necessarily found on bestseller lists.

But wait, there's more! :-) In the library we have a rotating book display featuring items from our print collections. Books on display are selected according to themes. For example, for May the theme is A Sense of Humor.

If that doesn't suit you, how about your very own reading plan? That's right! You tell us exactly what you like, and we'll provide you suggestions!

With all these wonderful tools, you'll never run out of ideas of what to read next! If you do, our librarians are ready to help you branch out and find new and interesting things.
Comments? or Questions?


June Blockbusters

Posted: May 7, 2007

These new books are due out in June. Click a title to check for it in the library catalog: *Richard Bachman is a pen named used by Stephen King. Blaze, written thirty-five years ago, but never published, was recently rediscovered by King. King has edited and rewritten parts of this "sweet, but sad and suspenseful" crime novel.
Comments? or Questions?


A Sense of Humor

Posted: April 27, 2007

"Know your own happiness."
- Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Happiness often makes for brighter and better days, wouldn't you agree? Well, have you read anything that made you smile or laugh out loud lately? We all could probably use a giggle or two every so often to keep our lives in balance and egos in check.

With that in mind, we invite you to come to the library and browse our latest book display, "A Sense of Humor." We have some titles here that are almost guaranteed to make you smile :-)

Located near the library catalog computers, this display features titles spanning the spectrum of humor, from downright silly to thought-provoking.

While you're at it, you can also check our library catalog for more titles yet to help you cheer up. Click these any of these links to browse the catalog by subject: affirmations, amusements, comedians, comedy, comedy films, contentment, happiness, humor, jokes, joy, satire

If you're in the mood to explore the deeper side of happiness and related topics, you can try any of these catalog searches for more titles: depression, happiness (psychology), positive thinking peace of mind, relaxation, self-acceptance, self-actualization, self-deception, self-esteem, self-evaluation, self-perception, self-realization, success

Not long ago we prepared a special publication for anyone interested in Self-Help information. You can access that special guide here to help you possibly discover more paths to inner happiness.

The American Psychological Association (APA) also offers a variety of interesting articles on the topic of happiness at their website. Below are some examples: Elsewhere on the web you might consider visiting HelpGuide.org's Humor and Laughter: Health Benefits and Online Resources.

Even more articles on health and well being exist in our article databases (especially in the Health and Wellness Resource Center) and our Health blog.

We hope this all goes to show how far we are willing to go here at the library just to put a smile on your face. Be happy, be well, and remember we're always here and eager to help you find things to make your life more informed, enjoyable, and fulfilling!
Comments? or Questions?


World Digital Library

Posted: April 25, 2007

The Library of Congress has announced its intentions to assist in the creation of what is being called The World Digital Library.

This project plans to make multilingual resources freely available: "significant primary materials from cultures around the world, including manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, architectural drawings, and other significant cultural materials."

The World Digital Library is said to be created in hopes of promoting "international and inter-cultural understanding and awareness."

You can read more about this undertaking at their About page.
Comments? or Questions?


2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Posted: April 16, 2007

The 2007 Pulitzer Prizes have been named.

The following titles in their respective categories were awarded:
Fiction: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Drama: Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire
History: The Race Beat by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanof
Biography: The Most Famous Man in America by Debby Applegate
Poetry: Native Guard by Natasha Trethewe
General Nonfiction: The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Music: Sound Grammar by Ornette Coleman

Click any of the above titles to see their entries in the library catalog.

Ray Bradbury and John Coltrane also received special recognition for their achivements.

You can read more about the Pulitzer Prizes at the official website.
Comments? or Questions?


Celebrity Reading List

Posted: April 16, 2007

Gardiner Public Library has published it's most recent edition of its annually updated "Celebrity Reading List" called "Who Reads What."

The list goes back to 1988. An index of celebrity names is also available to help you find out what your favorite celebrities like to read.
Comments? or Questions?


New Einstein Biography

Posted: April 14, 2007

Einstein: His Life and Universe is a newly published biography written by Walter Isaacson, who also wrote Benjamin Franklin: An American life.

To check the library catalog for either title and, if you want, to be added to the waiting list, click either of the above links. Included in the catalog information are reviews from major journals to help you learn more about these works.

There are more biographies on Albert Einstein by other authors that are available in the library catalog.

You can also learn more about Einstein (along with many other people in history) by accessing the Biographical Resource Center or doing an "Einstein" search in Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book Encyclopedia, which are freely available to members of Middletown Thrall Library.

If you're feeling a little more adventurous and are curious about Einstein's theory of relativity and his other work you can jump to the Sciences section of our Ready Reference web guide.

There are also many other related items in print, on CD and DVD throughout the library system that can help quench your thirst for knowledge about this influential thinker or any of his theories and writings.
Comments? or Questions?


Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

Posted: April 12, 2007

The memory of novelist and essayist Kurt Vonnegut lives on in his writings.

To learn more about this writer, check out his listings in the Biographical Resource Center database or click here to view some books written about him.
Comments? or Questions?


30 Ways to Celebrate

Posted: April 11, 2007

The Academy of American Poets has at their website a list of up to 30 different ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month in April.

There are many related titles available in the library catalog for you to explore.
Comments? or Questions?


Oprah Bookclub's latest selection

Posted: March 28, 2007

Oprah's Book Club has posted their latest selection, The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

If you are interested in this book, you can click here to find it in our library catalog and even request the book be reserved for you if you want. Regular print, large print, audio cassette and CD formats are currently available.
Comments? or Questions?


Coming out in May

Posted: March 28, 2007

Several popular authors have new books coming out in May. Click a title to check for it in the library catalog: *Khaled Hosseini wrote the Kite Runner. This new novel has received excellent reviews.

In most cases these books may be requested now through the library catalog or by telephoning the Reference Department at 341-5461.
Comments? or Questions?


Harry Potter's Final Chapter

Posted: March 26, 2007

The seventh and final book in the popular fantasy series Harry Potter will be published on July 21, 2007.

At her website, writer J. K. Rowling reflects on how she feels about concluding her series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Scholastic.com has updated their website with some information about the book and some activities to help entertain fans until the release date.

While true fans will undoubtedly purchase their own copies of the book, there will be multiple copies available throughout the library system once the book is published. A placeholder for the title is already listed in the library catalog, and you can even try to place a reserve to get in early on the waiting list for it!

You can also search the catalog for related titles if you're interested in catching up on this series or reading other books about it.
Comments? or Questions?


NEW Tolkien Book to be Published

Posted: March 26, 2007

J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, will have a new book coming out in April 2007: The Children of Húrin. The story is said to take readers back "to a time long before The Lord of the Rings, in an area of Middle-earth that was to be drowned before ever Hobbits appeared."

Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, finalized the incomplete manuscript.

You can read more about this book from the Tolkien Estate website and Tolkienlibrary.com.

Did you know there are many more titles under Tolkien's name other than just The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Follow the link to discover more works, including his epic work The Silmarillion.
Comments? or Questions?


"Audio Wizard" from Random House

Posted: March 15, 2007

Are you going on a long trip or planning a family vacation? Do you listen to audio books? Random House publisher offers something called the "Audio Wizard" which promises "to take the guesswork out of finding the right audiobook for your next family vacation."

Did you know...?
The audiobook collection at Thrall continues to grow, offering titles from Random House and other publishers. Did you know as a member of our library you have free access to e-audio books as well? If your computer supports it and your Internet connection is fast enough, you can be downloading and enjoying audiobooks this very moment!
Comments? or Questions?


HarperCollins Introduces "Browse Inside" Feature

Posted: March 15, 2007

HarperCollins is now offering something called "Browse Inside" so you can preview what a book is like before purchasing it.

Here's HC has to say: "Browse Inside is the digital experience of flipping through the pages of a book to get a sense of it. Ultimately, each book in the HarperCollins catalog will have the Browse Inside link."

The service is apparently still under construction, but already some titles are available for previewing. To learn more about this you can visit HarperCollins.com.

Did you know...?
Many titles in our library catalog contain chapter excerpts and reviews, which also enable you to preview materials before borrowing or requesting them.

Also remember: if there's a book that you find you might like, from HarperCollins or any other publisher, you can check our catalog or, if we do not own the item, you can suggest we consider purchasing it.

Comments? or Questions?






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