Staff Picks: Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night by Jón Kalman Stefánsson

Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night by Jón Kalman Stefánsson

In a rural village in Iceland, a few hours from the capital of Reykjavík, the inhabitants cling to their lives and community while the world around them is changing. As in any small town, everyone knows each others' business and the story weaves in and out of many villagers' lives, exploring a range of human emotion, life-changing events, and turmoil. The village has its community dances, monthly astronomy lectures, and a new restaurant to amuse them and bring them together during the seasonal ebb and flow of daylight. As the town tries to retain its sense of community, a series of events unravels that change many of their lives forever, for better and worse. As the title hints, the Icelandic year is influenced heavily by the summer light and the coming of the near dark winter with little sunlight, which aptly reflects their shared joy and sorrow.

December 2021 Reading Challenge - Kids' Book Spotlight - Teen Collection

This month we challenge our patrons and staff to read a book from your "To Be Read" pile or give a book you didn't like a second chance. Finish off the year by reading a book from our Teen Collection that you have been meaning to read! Here are some selections from the staff at the Sharon Forks branch to get you started!

Teen Middle (Grades 6-8)

Pony

by R. J. Palacio

Twelve-year-old Silas is awoken in the dead of night by three menacing horsemen who take his father away. Silas is left shaken, scared, and alone, except for the presence of his companion, Mittenwool...who happens to be a ghost. When a pony shows up at his door, Silas makes the courageous decision to leave his home and embark on a perilous journey to find his father. Along the way, he will face his fears to unlock the secrets of his past and explore the unfathomable mysteries of the world around him.

Don't Tell the Nazis

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

It is June 1941 and after the brutal rule of the Soviets the people of Krystia's small Ukrainian village are inclined to look on the German invaders as liberators; but soon the Nazis start rounding up Jewish Ukrainians, and Krystia is faced with a terrible choice--risk everything by helping her Jewish friends and neighbors to hide, or save herself and her family by doing nothing.

Teen High (Grades 9-12)

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.

Replica

by Jenna Black

Sixteen-year-old Nadia lives a privileged life in the Corporate States, formerly the United States of America, but when her betrothed is killed and then wakes up in the replication tanks, the pair sets out to find a killer while keeping the secrets of human replication technology from the dangerous people who run their world.

If you need help selecting a book for any of our Reading Challenges, you can Contact a Librarian or visit the Ask Us desk of any Forsyth County Public Library branch.

Check back soon for information on the 2022 reading program for all ages!

Stephani Lindsey

Youth Specialist

Sharon Forks Library

#WeKnowBooks

OverBOOKed to Read: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

Minnie Cooper (yes, really) is convinced she is jinxed. Born on New Year's Day, 1990, she just missed out on the cash prize for first '90s baby born in London to Quinn Hamilton, who also managed to get the first name she was meant to have. Every New Year's celebration since has gone terribly wrong and Minnie traces all of her misfortune back to Quinn, a man she has never met.

December 2021 Reading Challenge - Kids' Book Spotlight - Juvenile Collection

This month we challenge our patrons and staff to read a book from your "To Be Read" pile or give a book you didn't like a second chance. Finish off the year by reading a book from our Juvenile Collection that you have been meaning to read! Here are some selections from the staff at the Sharon Forks branch to get you started!

December 2021 Reading Challenge - Kids' Book Spotlight - Easy Collection

This month we challenge our patrons and staff to read a book from your "To Be Read" pile or give a book you didn't like a second chance. Finish off the year by reading a book to your little ones that you have been meaning to read! Here are some selections from the staff at the Sharon Forks branch to get you started!

Staff Picks Dune by Frank Herbert - Adult Fiction

Dune by Frank Herbert 

Dune's impressive world-building weaves together a spell-binding tale of political rivalry, futuristic technology, intellectual puppet masters with super-human mental abilities, and a harsh desert environment populated by primitive tribes and gigantic apex predators.  

For a science fiction fan like myself, one of the most fascinating concepts in the series involves the Space Guild and its navigators who transform physically and utilize the spice harvested on Arrakis to steer ships across the universe by folding space. Dune Messiah reveals the odd and fascinating career pathway of one such navigator.  I'm equally intrigued by the mysterious Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.  Learn more about mental powers, mind control, and the scheming ways of the Bene Gesserit in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune.  And fans of swordmaster Duncan Idaho will appreciate his appearances in each of Frank Herbert's original Dune books. 

The unlikely story behind the publication of this classic science fiction novel is one of the best Cinderella stories in science fiction. Dune was originally published as a serialized story in Analog Magazine but was a hard concept to sell to publishers in the 1960s. In fact, twenty publishers rejected it. It's all thanks to Chilton Books of Philadelphia, a publisher of business magazines and automotive manuals who took a chance on the book, that this epic story has been entertaining readers for generations.  

Alicia Cavitt
#WeKnowBooks

Information Specialist

Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.

                

Library Limelight: Ross Weaver, Network Technician

Library Limelight is intended to be a quick read to help FCPL patrons get to know our librarians, staff, and volunteers. We hope you enjoy learning about the people who make our libraries great!

Ross and His Wife

Name: William Ross Weaver

Position: Network Technician
Location: Administrative Offices

Where is your hometown? 

Cumming, GA

How long have you been at FCPL? 

One year currently in this role, but I worked at Sharon Forks as a Collection Support Aide (CSA) in 2001. 

Why did you choose to work in a library? 

FCPL Reading Challenge - December 2021

December Reading Challenge

This month we challenge our patrons and staff to read a book from your "To Be Read" pile or give a book you didn't like a second chance.

We'd love to hear about the books you chose! Still catching up on previous challenges? We want to hear about those books too! 

Leave a comment on this blog post, join our conversation on Facebook, or @ us on Twitter!

#WeKnowBooks

If you need help selecting a book for any Reading Challenge in 2021, please Email a Librarian, or visit the Ask Us desk of any Forsyth County Public Library branch.

November Reading Recap

We challenged our staff and our patrons to read award winners or nominees.

Here are a few of the books we read:

• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow
• A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet

We're so glad to have you reading along with us and crushing your reading goals for 2021. Don't forget to check back soon for the 2022 Reading Challenge themes!