Appetizing Reads

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Forsyth County Public Library is happy to announce our newest book club for adults, Appetizing Reads.

Our October book selection is Force of Nature by Jane Harper. It's the story of a corporate whistle-blower who goes missing during a team building exercise in a remote, forested region of Australia. Office politics, greed, fear, and long-held resentments provide each member of the group personal motives to want Alice Russell out of the way. Could one of her coworkers have something to do with her disappearance?

Please join us on Wednesday, October 9th at Zoe’s Kitchen in The Collection for appetizers and a riveting discussion of this atmospheric mystery.

Appetizing Reads 
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 7 p.m.
Zoë's Kitchen at The Collection 
410 Peachtree Pkwy., Suite 260

Seeking the Perfect Setting for Reading this Season

When I’m reading books (usually fiction, and usually nothing resembling bestsellers), the setting is very important to me. And for me, setting is not just about where the characters live, but where I’m reading. My very favorite place to read is curled up in a papasan chair on my screened porch, surrounded by (but not within biting distance of) critters.

In the Distance, by Hernan Diaz, is set in the American West of the mid-19th century. A Swedish boy named Håkan and his older brother are immigrating to America and get separated, leading to a memorable journey and a unique reading experience. Justin Souther of Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, where I purchased the book, writes that “while In the Distance can be read as a revisionist western—and totally enjoyed and chewed on as such—what makes Díaz’s book truly exceptional is how far beyond a simple genre it goes. A beautiful, thoughtful, and often heartbreaking exploration of lonesomeness, the simple confusion of just living, and the magnificent need for human connection.”

In the Distance was published by a nonprofit literary publishing house called Coffee House Press, which has a great mission statement: “Coffee House Press creates new spaces for audiences and artists to interact, inspiring readers and enriching communities by expanding the definition of what literature is, what it can do, and who it belongs to.”

I looked up Coffee House Press in the library catalog to see if I had read more of their books, and I have. Stephen Florida, by Gabe Habash, has a title that evokes the Sunshine State, but like In the Distance it’s also set west of the Mississippi, in frigid North Dakota.

Michael Schaub of NPR paints a good picture of the main character: “Who is Stephen Florida?  It's a little hard to say. He's an orphan who maybe hasn't yet come to terms with the death of his parents in a car crash. He's an obsessive with poor impulse control. He's possibly the best college wrestler in the state of North Dakota. He's an unapologetic megalomaniac…He's hard to know, but he's also one of the most unforgettable characters in recent American fiction.”

In addition to their publisher and their setting of the American West, these two novels both speak to my need for books that are not formulaic or predictable and introduce me to characters I haven’t encountered before.

Submitted by:

Stephen Kight

Deputy Director

Forsyth County Public Library

Your Opinion Counts in FCPL's World Languages Survey

Forsyth County Public Library is seeking public input on the development of its World Languages collection in an online survey starting today and ending on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.

"We survey our patrons periodically to better understand what they need and expect from their library; but, in cases like this, we also want to hear from Forsyth residents who aren't current library cardholders," explains Deputy Director Stephen Kight.

FCPL's World Languages collection already includes books in Hindi, Mandarin, Spanish, Tamil, and Telugu. Now the library wants to know if Forsyth residents are interested in reading in additional languages.

"We're inviting people who don't use the library to take this World Languages survey because we want to know if language is a barrier to their use of the library. If we offered materials in a certain language, would more individuals become library patrons so they could check out those materials?" asks Kight.

About the World Languages Collection

Forsyth County Public Library serves a vibrant and diverse community of patrons and hopes to make reading enjoyable and accessible for everyone in the Forsyth community. In fact, adding books in languages other than English has been a priority for the library and its patrons since the early 2000s.

The Cumming Library launched the World Languages collection in March 2003 with the first books in Spanish. Additional Spanish collections were added to the Post Road Library in October 2016 and the Hampton Park Library in April 2019.

Following a 2016 survey of patrons regarding additional languages, new shelving space was dedicated to collections in Hindi, Mandarin, Tamil, and Telugu when the Sharon Forks Library was renovated and expanded in March 2018.

More Free Language Learning Resources

In addition to offering books in languages other than English, Forsyth County Public Library also provides access to free language learning tools.

For example, the Mango online language learning program helps English speakers learn more than 60 other languages. Mango also can be used by speakers of other languages to learn how to speak, read, and write in English.

FCPL's Muzzy online language learning program also teaches English and other foreign languages, but the lessons and vocabulary are tailored to children in preschool and elementary school.

All library card holders are eligible to access these free services at the library, at home, or from a mobile device by logging into the library's website with a library card account.

To browse the World Languages collection, access language learning programs, or apply for a library card, visit the library's website at www.forsythpl.org.