Novel Realities Book Discussion July 8 at Sharon Forks Library The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Anxiety-inducing global conflicts, overpopulation, and food scarcity weigh heavy on the mind of draftsman George Orr who believes that his nightly dreams impact reality. Guilt-stricken and terrified by the power of his subconscious, George self-medicates in an attempt to ward off sleep. When George's drug use is discovered, he's forced into a psychiatric treatment program under the care of psychiatrist and sleep researcher Dr. William Haber. 

Like everyone else, Dr. Haber is certain that George is delusional and forces him into an experimental sleep therapy. Even after awakening to a world altered by Dr. Haber’s suggestions during their session, George is unable to convince his therapist that anything has changed. Still, Dr. Haber is so fascinated by George's disorder that he decides to test his new patient's abilities.  

Introducing: BYO Book: Dialogues at Denmark

 

With a new library comes new and exciting programs! The Denmark Library is hosting a new program series called “BYO Book: Dialogues at Denmark”. The group meets once a month on Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Unlike other book clubs, BYO Book meets to discuss a chosen topic instead of a single book title. This program is ideal for those who love reading, but reading is never a requirement! If you like learning about new subjects and are interested in getting new book recommendations then this is the place for you too. 

Staff Picks: Small Town Stories

I grew up in a midwestern suburb but spent each summer visiting my grandparent's rural home in Southern New Jersey.  Small towns are great for biking on country roads past picturesque farms and woodlands, exploring nature, buying farm-fresh corn at roadside vegetable stands, and spending long lazy days swimming or just enjoying the sunshine. When you aren't the one stacking hay and shucking corn, the relaxed pace of small town living offers extra time for my favorite pastime of all - reading. I still enjoy reading stories about the lives of people living in small towns. 

Stories set in small towns are on display this month at Sharon Forks Library but they don't all focus on the idyllic side. Check out Delilah S. Dawson's Bloom, a dark fantasy about a woman whose life takes a very strange turn when she makes a new friend at a local farmer's market, Jane Harper's Exiles, a mystery set in South Australia's wine country, Olga Tokarczuk's award-winning Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, or the Ray Bradbuy classic, Dandelion Wine. 

What are your favorite books set in small towns? 

Novel Realties Book Discussion: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

 

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Many books about time travel focus on fixing the past or averting disaster. In Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, changing the past is a moot point—you can’t change it even if you try. But that doesn’t stop people from attempting it. And when amateur time travelers invariably get stranded in a time loop of their own making, time travel repairmen are called in to set them free. 

Fixing time machines for users trying to alter their past gives time machine technician Charles Yu (a character named after the book's author) a unique perspective on human nature and time manipulation. 

Fans of science fiction stories that raise provocative questions about human nature and highlight the humor in fanciful possibilities will appreciate this witty novel. If you enjoy the classic science fiction stories of Douglas Adams, Philip K. Dick, and Kurt Vonnegut, you'll love How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. 

FCPL's Novel Realities Book Club will discuss this unique How to Guide, the implications of time travel, life with a visionary entrepreneur, and why so many time travelers try to kill their own fathers or relive the worst moment of their lives. 

Please join FCPL's Novel Realities book discussion on Thursday, May 9th at 7 p.m. at Sharon Forks Library. There's no knowledge of quantum physics required, and time travelers are welcome to attend. 

As part of FCPL's Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage series, this month's Novel Realities discussion will showcase speculative fiction by Asian and Asian American authors like Haruki Murakami, Matthew Salesses, Kōbō Abe, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, and Sayaka Murata.   

Novel Realities Book Discussion The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a new spin on the H.G. Wells classic novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. We will discuss The Daughter of Doctor Moreau at the next Novel Realities book discussion group at the Sharon Forks Library on Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m.

The story takes place in 19th century Mexico, specifically on the Yucatán peninsula, an area so remote that it was often referred to as an island. There we find Carlota Moreau, the young, dutiful daughter of the doctor who spends his time creating animal-human hybrids to further his scientific pursuits. 

Staff Picks: Mushrooms of the Southeast by Todd F. Elliott and Steven L. Stephenson

 

Often when I’m going for a hike, one of my top concerns is the weight of my pack. Water is the heaviest thing I carry, and I have to make sure to take more than I need because I invariably end up needing more than I expect. Georgia’s heat and humidity are no joke. Typically, a book is the last thing you want to take on a hike. They’re heavy and can’t get wet, and when you’ve gone twelve miles without pulling the thing out, you regret packing it in the first place (I know because I’ve been that person). But isn’t there a way you can still learn about what you see along your hike?

Using an app, such as Seek by iNaturalist, is usually the best way to identify species you may encounter on your hike. That said, finding the species of a fungi on an app like Seek is very difficult! Fungi tend to be less distinctive between species by looking with the naked eye or with a camera. Instead I’ve found success with guide books on my fungus focused forays. 

I highly recommend Mushrooms of the Southeast by Todd F. Elliott and Steven L. Stephenson. This book has a great sorting tool (called a dichotomous key), detailed descriptions, full-color images, a glossary and index, a very helpful introduction, and drawings to illustrate the parts of a mushroom. Another thing I love about this book is the ruler on the back cover! If you’re looking for a guide book on fungi, plants, or even insects, a ruler is an excellent built-in tool. Any time I am looking to invest in a guide book, I like to see what is available first. Checking out a book before you pick the guide you want is always a good call, so run to your local library and see what they have.   

Staff Picks: Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

 

Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

British novelist Tom Rob Smith is best known for writing fast-paced spy thrillers set in Stalin's Russia like Child 44, The Secret Speech, Agent 6, and the psychological suspense novel, The Farm set in rural Sweden. Smith makes a departure from realistic fiction with his latest novel, Cold People, a thought-provoking, post-apocalyptic story of human survival set on the most inhospitable place on Earth. 

Cold People begins with an alarming premise. Advanced alien invaders give humanity a grim ultimatum–relocate to Antarctica within thirty days or perish. 

It’s interesting to see how various countries decide who to transport to the barren continent and the unusual survival techniques they invent in order to build communities in the frozen land. Basic existence changes drastically as the displaced people of Earth adopt new diets, habitats, and even family structures.    

While some colonists prioritize freedom or community, others–recognizing the danger of extinction–take drastic measures to speed up human evolution before the colonies die out. But their ground-breaking scientific advances in genetics have disturbing origins and dangerous outcomes. 

Novel Realities Adult Book Discussion at Sharon Forks Library -The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

 

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Think back to when you were a teen or preteen and all the changes and drama that took place as you were coming of age. Now imagine coming of age during a possible apocalypse. That is the premise of Karen Thompson Walker’s book The Age of Miracles. The novel is a beautiful blend of coming of age story and apocalyptic fiction. We  recently discussed The Age of Miracles at our Novel Realities book club.  If you enjoy speculative fiction and fiction that reaches beyond the normal realm, please join us for future Novel Realities discussions on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Sharon Forks Library. 

Staff Picks The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

From the first page, The Girl With the Louding Voice broke my heart. I had put off reading it for this very reason–I thought this book would leave me feeling emotionally spent. The incredible thing about this book, however, was that the author's exquisite prose and powerful characters took me through that heartbreak and left me feeling like the world can, at the same time, be a beautiful and hopeful place. 

Book Explorers: A Book Club for Kids in Grades K-3

Please join us at Book Explorers, a book club for kids in grades K-2 at the Cumming Library on Tuesday, February 28 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Older siblings are welcome to attend!

This month's featured title is Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Willie Bentley was a self-taught scientist who photographed thousands of individual snowflakes in order to study their unique formations. We will read the book aloud, discuss it, and then dive into hands-on activities like making snow, creating art with puffy snow paint, and designing your own unique snowflakes using manipulatives.

Registration is not required, but you may register here if you wish to receive a reminder email.

Holly

Youth Specialist

Cumming Library

#WeKnowBooks

Novel Realities - A Speculative Fiction Book Club for Adults at Sharon Forks Library

Forsyth County Public Library is excited to announce a new evening book club for adults that focuses on speculative fiction genres like science fiction, fantasy and horror.  Novel Realities will meet on the second Thursday night of each month starting in February to discuss books that explore interesting improbabilities and impossibilities. 

All discussions will take place at the Sharon Forks Library at 7:00 p.m. Read more for the upcoming titles we will be discussing at Novel Realities.

Book Explorers: A Book Club for Kids in Grades K-3

Book Explorers is a book club for kids in grades K-3. Older siblings are welcome to attend. We will read aloud the featured title, Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo followed by discussion and hands-on STEAM activities related to the book.

Learn about Mary Blair, a pioneering Disney artist who loved color, and then try your hand at Color STEAM activities like Rainbow Candy Experiments and Walking Water Colors.

This program will take place at the Cumming Library on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Registration is not required, but you may register to receive a reminder email.

Staff Picks:The Editor by Steven Rowley

 

The Editor by Steven Rowley

Though his lifelong dream is coming true, first-time author James Smale feels out of his league when a major New York publisher offers to buy his manuscript and former First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis becomes his editor.  

The fictional manuscript, based loosely on Smale’s own family, drives a wedge between his own mother, who doesn’t want her personal life shared, and his hope to better understand his family.  

Set in 1990s New York, The Editor offers a fascinating glimpse of traditional publishing, the editorial process, late 20th Century culture, U.S. politics, and modern family dynamics. Like Rowley’s other bestselling books, Lily and the Octopus and The Guncle, The Editor uses humor and insight to thoughtfully portray characters dealing with loss. 

Novel Diversions Reads Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reads

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Journey to the 1960s music scene, where ambition and talent collide with temptations. 

Author Taylor Jenkins Reid crafts an unforgettable story, weaving a colorful tapestry of the 1960 music industry and rock-n-roll scene. The story is an oral history of how an up-and-coming singer-songwriter and a rock band meet, create chart topping music, and fall apart. Written as a transcript, each character, bandmates, friends, and managers, gets a chance to tell their version of events, revealing how the band reached its peak and what really led to the band’s break-up.

Book Sleuths: Cul-de-Sac by Joy Fielding

Book Sleuth’s September book is Cul-de-Sac by Joy Fielding.

This gripping psychological thriller from Fielding focuses on the occupants of five identical two-story homes on a cul-de-sac in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It is set in the two months leading up to a Fourth of July weekend when simmering resentments finally boil over. 

OverBOOKed to Read: The Library Book by Susan Orlean

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

On April 19, 1986, fire broke out at the Los Angeles Central Library. It took 60 fire companies over seven hours and 3 million gallons of water to finally "knock it down." Temperatures inside reached 2,000 degrees. Twenty-two people were injured and 400,000 volumes were destroyed, with another 700,000 damaged by smoke and water. To date, it remains the largest library fire in America and many believe it was deliberately set. If you don't remember hearing much about it at the time, there's a reason. The Los Angeles Central Library burned just as news was coming out of the Soviet Union of a nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.

OverBOOKed to Read: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

The Widows of Malabar Hill, the first book in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series, transports you to another time, another place, and another culture. Set in Bombay in 1921, Perveen Mistry is the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family and one of the first female lawyers in India.

Page Turners to Read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson, brings to light a little-known footnote in history.

The hardy folks of Troublesome Creek have to struggle for everything to survive―except for books. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome Creek has its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike anyone else’s. Not everyone is accepting of Cussy’s family or of the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any kind of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachians and suspicion as deep as the holler.

Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, deep hope, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere―even back home.

Join the Page Turners book group for a discussion of this title on Tuesday, March 22, at 10:00 a.m. at the Sharon Forks Library. Page Turners meets at 10:00 a.m. every third Tuesday of the month.

You may also enjoy The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes, which also features the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project. The novel focuses on a group of Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians and their friendships, struggles, trials, and triumphs as they deliver books to the most remote areas of the Kentucky Mountains.

I hope you will read and enjoy both of these books featuring this little-known piece of history. The library carries both of these books in print, Large Print, and CD Audio book, as well as downloadable eBook and eAudio formats.

At FCPL, #WeKnowBooks!

Jeanne McMahan
Information Specialist MLIS
Sharon Forks Branch

OverBOOKed to Read: Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady

Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady

In this dramatic thriller, Karen returns to her childhood home in Nova Scotia after her mother's death to handle her affairs and manage the care of her developmentally-disabled older sister, Kelli. Taking on a caregiver role was not something Karen had planned on or wanted to do. In fact, she and her mother, Irene, had a big argument years earlier because Irene insisted on keeping Kelli at home and caring for her there, rather than sending her to an institution.

Luckily (or maybe not), one of Kelli's caregivers, Trevor, steps in to help. Officially, Trevor's job is to accompany Kelli on a walk twice a week. As Karen gets overwhelmed with her caregiving duties, Trevor starts taking on more responsibilities. However, he also keeps coming by unannounced and using his key to get into the house. Pretty soon, Trevor's help starts to feel manipulative and he's also adamant that he knows what's best for everyone involved.

Join the overBOOKed book club for a discussion of this title on Thursday, March 17, at 10:00 a.m. at the Cumming library. OverBOOKed meets at 10:00 a.m. every third Thursday of the month.

The eBook and eAudiobook versions of Watching You Without Me are available through Libby. Anyone with a Forsyth County Public Library card can sign up for a free Libby account. Sign up for a free card today to start enjoying FCPL's digital catalog from wherever you are!

Jen
Information Specialist
Cumming Library
#WeKnowBooks

OverBOOKed to Read: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Murder. Voodoo. Revenge. Furious Hours tells the story of a killer, his murder, and a series of trials almost too bizarre to believe.

The Reverend Willie Maxwell had a reputation in Alexander City, Alabama. An African American preacher who also worked as a wood pulper, he was known for always wearing a suit, his elegant way of speaking, and for his charming manners. Throughout the 1970s, he also acquired a darker reputation among the locals. When the police found his wife's body in a car on a country road and discovered that he had taken out a number of life insurance policies on her, they began to investigate.