Books & Bagels will be discussing the popular book (and now movie) The Lightning Thief on Saturday, March 13 from 2-3 pm. Books & Bagels is for children in grades 4-6. We'll talk about the book, enjoy bagels and cream cheese, then have fun making origami creatures from Greek mythology. FREE!

I rarely have "Oh my God!" moments when reading a book, but I did when I read Audrey Niffenegger's latest work Her Fearful Symmetry. You might recognize the author's last name because she penned the best-selling novel (and movie) The Time Traveler's Wife. Her current work is about a set of twins, their extremely close relationship, their relationship with their

I must admit I first chose this book because of its lovely cover: a hummingbird noses a pretty pink flower on a background of lavender and green.   And the inside is just as sweet.  This book has been described as “Steel Magnolias” meets “The Help”, but I think it reminds me more of “The Secret Life of Bees”.

 CeeCee Honeycutt is twelve years old and has spent her life dealing with her mentally ill mother and absent father.  After her mother dies tragically, her great aunt Tootie sweeps in and takes CeeCee to live with her in Savannah .  Tootie is a rich widow, and CeeCee lives in the luxury of a gorgeous southern mansion, complete with a beautiful garden, a loving housekeeper who is a great cook, and an assortment of eccentric women friends of her aunt.

 This lacks the depth of “Bees”, though. Aunt Tootie is almost too good to be true, as is Oletta, her housekeeper.  Conflicts that arise are easily and perhaps unrealistically solved.  Even the annoying neighbor is not quite bad enough to deserve everyone’s hatred and the accident that befalls her – she’s stupid and silly, but not really evil.

And yet I found myself looking forward to picking up the book.  It was like grabbing a rocking chair on Aunt Tootie’s porch and observing her garden and lady friends -full of color and warmth and contentedness.

Prolific author Dick Francis passed away on Sunday at the age of 89. A champion jockey turned writer, Francis was best known for his horseracing thrillers. For a list of his books at the East Lansing Public Library click here.

New York Times Article.

Two boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric, are searching for the philosophers stone, a powerful object that would allow them to correct the mistakes of the past and return their bodies back to normal. Volume one sets the scene for the fantastical world of the Elric brothers, which plays off of the idea that, Alchemy, an advanced science, can transmute raw materials into real world objects. After their mother died, the Elric brothers become obsessed with alchemy, specifically human transmutation, which results in a horrible accident that causes Edward to lose his left leg and also his right arm in the process of saving his brother's life. Due to the laws of equivalent exchange, something of equal value must be lost to aquire a gain, which is why Edward needed to sever his own arm to affix his brothers soul to a suit of armor, effectively preventing his brother's death. So, giving up the idea of reviving their mother, the Elric brothers set out to search for the philosophers stone in hopes of restoring their bodies back to normal. All twenty two volumes of Full Metal Alchemist are available in our collection at the library, so stay adventurous and keep on readin' steampunk fans :)

J. D. Salinger, best know for his novel The Catcher in the Rye, died Wednesday at his home in New Hampshire.
Other works by Salinger at ELPL include Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey.

Also check out Dream Catcher by Salinger's daughter, Margaret Ann Salinger.

To read the New York Times article about Salinger click here.

This year's Edgar nominees for best novel are:

• The Missing by Tim Gautreaux 
• The Odds by Kathleen George 
• The Last Child by John Hart 
• Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston 
• Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett 
• A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn 

The Edgar Award honors the best in the mystery genre. For a full list of the nominees click here.

Author Helen Frost must be a genius.  In her new book Crossing Stones, not only has she written a beautifully sensitive portrayal of two Michigan farm families during World War I, but she has done it in a "cupped-hand sonnet" form.  This is a 14-line poem in which the first line rhymes with the last line, the second line rhymes with the second-to-last, and so on, so that the 7th and 8th lines rhyme with each other at the poem's center.  In addition, the poems themselves are arranged as "stepping stones", or as the flowing creek that separates the Norman and Jorgenson family farms.  However, this structure does not detract from the lovely language that envelops the reader and that draws the reader into this story of love, heartache, acceptance and friendship.  The book also imparts a lot of American history that is not seen in too much teen fiction - World War I and its aftermath, and the woman's suffrage movement.  Highly recommended.

One of the most popular novels of 2009, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, will be discussed at  Book Talk on Tuesday, January 26, from 7-8:30 pm.  The author, an acclamied short-story writer, has written his first novel - the story of Henry Lee, a recent widower, who relives his childhood in Seattle and his first love, Keiko, whose family ends up being relocated to a Japanese internment camp.

Guest speaker: Dr. Iwao Ishino will talk about his family's experiences in Japanese internment camps during WWII.

Best known for his Spencer detective series, Robert B. Parker wrote more than 60 books including westerns and young adult novels. His newest book Split Image will be available February 26, 2010.

New York Times Article

List of books in the East Lansing Public Library collection.

Take a look at some of the new books available in February.

Able One by Ben Bova
Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
Aunt Dimity Down Under by Nancy Atherton

The votes are in! BookBrowse.com has announced the 2009 BookBrowse Favorite Awards.  Over 4,000 votes were submitted, and the winners are...

• Overall Winner: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Booklist is where librarians go to read reviews.  Booklist has announced their Editor's Choices selections for the best books of 2009.  You're sure to find the very best reading on these lists.  Check them out!

Booklist Editors' Choices 2009

The Michigan Notable Books for 2010 were recently announced by the Library of Michigan.

Up to twenty of the most notable books, either written by a Michigan resident or about Michigan or the Great Lakes, are selected each year. The selected books are honored in the year after their publication or copyright date.   Each title speaks to our state's rich cultural, historical, and literary heritage and proves without a doubt that some of the greatest stories are found in the Great Lakes State.

Michigan is rich in good writers and the Library of Michigan is proud to honor and celebrate this wonderful literary heritage each year with a "Night for Notables" event and with the annual grant-funded authors' tour to libraries throughout the state (to be announced later).