We know that sometimes learning how to use a new device can be tricky, so give us a call if you need a little help!  The library’s phone number is 815-942-6880.  Happy reading!

2011′s Best Celebrity Tell-Alls

Six Graphic Novels That Will Draw You In

Five Brilliant Biographies

2011′s Top 5 YA (Young Adult/Teen) Novels

2011′s Best Historical Fiction

The Year’s Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Buying an Ereader: A Checklist
How to Pick an Ereader This Holiday Season

Whichever e-reader you choose, remember that the Morris Area Public Library has a free downloadable e-book service that works well with all e-reader formats!

Sanctus by Simon Toyne

A man throws himself to his death from the oldest inhabited place on the face of the earth, a mountainous citadel in the historic Turkish city of Ruin. This is no ordinary suicide but a symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is witnessed by the entire world, but few understand it. For charity worker Kathryn Mann and a handful of others in the know, it is what they have been waiting for. The secretive fanatics that live in the Citadel suspect it could mean the end their deepest secret – and they will kill, torture, and break every law to stop the secret from getting out. For Liv Adamsen, New York crime reporter, it begins the next stage of a journey into the heart of her own identity. At journey’s end lies a discovery that will change everything.

While not exactly ground-breaking, Sanctus is an enjoyable and entertaining read. What sets this particular book apart from others of its ilk is the location (Ruin, Turkey) and that the reader learns somewhat early on that the secret pre-dates any organized religion. The pacing of the writing keeps you wanting to keep going to see what will happen next. For those looking for an easy and quickly-moving book, give this one a try.

Fiction
The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Nonfiction
The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism by Deborah Baker
Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution by Mary Gabriel
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss (contact the library at 815-942-6880 to see if this is available elsewhere)

Poetry
Head Off & Split by Nikky Finney (contact the library at 815-942-6880 to see if this is available elsewhere)
The Chameleon Couch by Yusef Komunyakaa
Double Shadow by Carl Phillips
Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems: 2007-2010 by Adrienne Rich
Devotions by Bruce Smith

Young People’s Literature
Chime by Franny Billingsley
My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson (contact the library at 815-942-6880 to see if this is available elsewhere)
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

If you’ve been debating which Kindle to get for this new service, here is the link to a flowchart from theunderstatement.com to help guide you through the many available features and functionality until you choose the right Kindle for you.

Happy reading!

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

To read the summary of this book, one might believe it to be a humorous sci-fi story. The reality is that this is a science, sci-fi, and literary novel. The story is deep and sad in its exploration of self-imposed isolation, interesting and sometimes heady in its exploration of the science of space-time and self-others/ self-self relationships, and surprising in its highly literary writing style. Moments of humor punctuate the story at just the right moment and in just the right dosage to keep things from being too heavy. This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys literary, science, or sci-fi books.