#ShelfLife - June 30, 2017

The countdown to Independence Day is on! If you're looking for great books to read as you celebrate at the beach or in the backyard, you've come to the right place.

This week's #ShelfLife selections include a powerful non-fiction book about the science of popularity, a book of historical fiction set in 1950s Appalachia, popular books about frogs for kids, and a link to tips from The New York Times on how to raise your children to become readers.

Please remember that all FCPL branches will be closed on Tuesday, July 4, but our eLibrary is always open at www.forsythpl.org.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend reading wonderful books. Leave a comment below to tell us what you're reading and your book could be featured on our #ShelfLife feed on Instagram next week!

No matter how old you are, there's a good chance that the word "popular" immediately transports you back to your teenage years. Even as adults we all still remember exactly where we stood in the high school social hierarchy, and the powerful emotions associated with our status persist decades later. This may be for good reason. Our popularity affects our DNA, our health, and our mortality in fascinating ways we never previously realized. More than childhood intelligence, family background, or prior psychological issues, research indicates that it's how popular we were in our early years that predicts how successful and how happy we grow up to be. But it's not always the conventionally popular people who fare the best. Find out why when you check out POPULAR: THE POWER OF LIKABILITY IN A STATUS-OBSESSED WORLD by Mitch Prinstein, on library shelves this month. #ShelfLife #popular #MitchPrinstein #psychology #nonfiction #bookstagram #amreading #librariesofinstagram #ReadingWithoutWalls

A post shared by Forsyth County Public Library (@forsythpubliclibrary) on Jun 27, 2017 at 8:32am PDT

Need to repair your lawn mower this summer? Don't stop at the repair shop, go to the library! The Small Engine Repair Reference Center has a full collection of Clymer repair manuals and full-text reference books with original photos and illustrations for more than 25 years of engine models. Access it for free at www.forsythpl.org with your library card. #ShelfLife #eLibrary #eResources #eReference #nonfiction #fridayreads #fridayrepairs #gardensofinstagram

A post shared by Forsyth County Public Library (@forsythpubliclibrary) on Jun 23, 2017 at 11:26am PDT

This week FIRE IS YOUR WATER by Jim Minick arrives on library shelves. Set in the Appalachia of the 1950s, this book is a perfect candidate for your Reading Without Walls challenge. Twenty-year-old Ada Franklin is well known for her faith healing, but after a devastating fire in the Franklins' barn, Ada cannot cure the burns on her mother's hands. Her powers came from her strong belief in God, which the fire has challenged. Will Burk, an admitted agnostic, shows up to help rebuild the barn with his constant companion, Cicero, an injured raven he rescued after a fierce rainstorm. Ada's future falters until another tragic blaze revives her powers and transforms her friendship with Will into a deeper love, despite their differences in faith. #ShelfLife #ReadingWithoutWalls #summerreading #fireisyourwater #theblueberryyears #jimminick #appalachia #fiction #southernwriter #appalachianwriter #bookstagram #amreading

A post shared by Forsyth County Public Library (@forsythpubliclibrary) on Jun 22, 2017 at 9:32am PDT

Each time we walk by the children’s non-fiction section we notice a few more gaps in the shelves holding books about amphibians (and insects and reptiles, too!). Our patrons must love their froggy friends! If your child would like to read about frogs this summer, check out this selection of fiction and non-fiction books that would look lovely on your summer reading log (from top left): FINKLEHOPPER FROG CHEERS by Irene Livingston, FABULOUS FROGS by Martin Jenkins, FROGGY GOES TO THE LIBRARY and FROGGY GOES TO SCHOOL by Jonathan London, FROG GIRL by Paul Owen Lewis, and FROG SONG by Brenda Z. Guiberson. #ShelfLife #fridayreads #frogs #summerreading #fcplstories #amreading #fiction #nonfiction #kidlit #forsythreads #librariesofinstagram #frogsofinstagram

A post shared by Forsyth County Public Library (@forsythpubliclibrary) on Jun 26, 2017 at 9:14am PDT

The Books section of THE NEW YORK TIMES is one of our favorite places to find new books, new authors, and literacy news. This week we discovered a guide written by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo entitled “How to Raise a Reader” that offers simple reading tips that are easy for parents to practice as their children grow. For the benefit of busy parents who may not be able to read the entire guide in one sitting, we’ve summarized tips for infant, toddler, and preschool stages of development on our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten blog at goo.gl/4s4oyP. To read more of THE NEW YORK TIMES ONLINE, log in with your library card account and enjoy free remote access to articles, videos, and customizable stock reports wherever your are. #ShelfLife #1000books #1KB4K #kidlit #childrensbooks #earlyliteracy #reading #nyt #libraryperks #librariesofinstagram

A post shared by Forsyth County Public Library (@forsythpubliclibrary) on Jun 28, 2017 at 8:51am PDT

Meet Libby, a new app for OverDrive eBooks

Libby is a new app from OverDrive that is intended to make borrowing and reading eBooks from our OverDrive library easier for patrons. The app is available from the App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft (for Windows 10).

Libby works both as an addition to and as a replacement for the current OverDrive app. Any eBooks you check out in OverDrive will also appear in your Libby app, and vice versa.

You can read your OverDrive eBooks in the Libby app or transfer them to a Kindle device, if you prefer. When you read in Libby, you can adjust the Reading Settings to change the text size (called Text Scale) and lighting. Users can also choose different book designs, such as OpenDyslexic, that make it easier for patrons with dyslexia to read.

Another advantage of Libby is that you can use the app with multiple library cards from the same library system or from different library systems. This feature is helpful for parents that want to check out eBooks for their children or for those that patronize more than one library system. It’s simple to add cards to your account, just select Library Cards in the menu. If the library cards you want to add are from different library systems, select Switch Library first, and then follow the prompts.

If you need assistance with Libby, please visit the Ask Us desk at any FCPL branch.

Book Buzz - a Book Club for Adults - Thursday, July 13th at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman 

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman is a courageous war story (WWII) of how a zookeeper and his family help hide and ultimately save many people from the Nazis in Warsaw, Poland. Everything is centered around the main villa at the Warsaw Zoo where the family lives and tries to maintain some semblance of normalcy during war. The author takes you on a journey of courageous feats in which individuals and families are hidden on their way to and from safe houses around the city, oftentimes hiding in the attic, secret tunnels, and even animal cages. She will tell you their stories along with others involved in the Underground and Resistance within the Warsaw Ghetto. Intermingled with these stories are tales of animals the family cared for both before and during the war.

The movie was just in theaters earlier this year, did you get to see it? How did the movie compare to the book? The book is always better, isn’t it? We would love to hear your thoughts, either way.

Come join our Book Buzz Book Club on Thursday, July 13 at either 1:30 p.m., or at our new Twilight Book Buzz time at 6:30 p.m. to discuss this title.

Joan Dudzinski
Collection Support Supervisor