Beach Reads Display

Skip the airfare and travel from the comfort of your lawn chair by reading one of the books from our summer non-fiction display.  In keeping with the summer reading theme, all titles are travel related.  Here's a list of the current titles included.  You are sure to find something to love!

Summer reading weekly winners recommend...

Adults in the summer reading program recommend a variety of books they are enjoying during the Have Book - Will Travel summer reading program. The following four entries are the first weekly winners in our gift card drawings. Each reader wins a $10 Target gift card!

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough
Find it in the catalog!
"It is an excellent prequel to Rex Stouts' fine series. Well written and finely observed. The language was crisp and the characters stayed in line with the original." -- recommended by David

Strand of Deception by Robin Carrol
LARGE TYPE MYSTERY CARROL
Find it in the catalog!
"It is a murder case where the forensic evidence is the main evidence to prove the one who comitted the crime is really the one who did it. Lots of technical stuff and a bit of romance thrown in."  -- recommended by Catherine

Blockade Billy by Stephen King
FICTION KING
Find it in the catalog!
"I couldn’t put the book down. The 'voice' that King uses to tell this story is easy to follow and made Blockade Billy a page-turner for me." -- recommended by Kelly

Inferno by Dan Brown
NEW FICTION BROWN
Find it in the catalog!
"Robert Langdon back for more adventures involving symbology." -- recommended by Keith

Recommended read: The Death of Bees

Warning: this book will not be for everyone. The Death of Bees, a debut novel by Scottish author Lisa O'Donnell, is written in internal monologue, or conversational style, with the three main characters' voice in short alternating chapters. Some words or phrases may be unfamiliar to an American reader, but in context, you'll be able to understand the meaning. I will also note, that the author does use profanity throughout, but it is true to the characters.

Marnie and her sister Nelly are left to fend for themselves after their parents' death. Marnie, soon to turn 16 (age of legal capacity in Scotland), wants to keep her sister with her, so she doesn't report their deaths. A horrible childhood is plainly stated by Marnie, but she only alludes to despicable actions on both parent's parts, so you are left to fill in the blanks. Their neighbor, Lennie, sees the girls struggling and becomes their defacto caretaker over time. As a group they try to protect one another from the suspicions of friends and family on the whereabouts of the parents.

You see events through the eyes of each character and it's interesting to see how each interprets situations. How age, past experience, and temperament color their perceptions. Your opinions of the girls and Lennie keep shifting with each new chapter. This is a character study more than a mystery, but there are a few bombshells along the way casually thrown in. The chronology is loose - the book is divided into each season for the year. Fans of Gillian Flynn (specifically her book Dark Places) may enjoy this book, as the structure and style is similar.

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
Find it in the catalog!

Recommended Reads: A Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs

 The Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate.
Call No.: FICTION BATE (Adult New Fiction)
Find it in the catalog!

Foodies looking for a funny and light beach read will love this new book by Dana Bate.   It follows 26-year-old Hannah Sugarman who seemingly has her life together.  She's a researcher at a Washington think tank (the Institute for Research and Discourse aka. NIRD) and shares a swanky D.C. pad with her politically ambitious boyfriend Adam.  However, Hannah despises her job and desperately wants to work as a chef, but her parents and boyfriend don't take her cooking ambitions seriously.  Also, her boyfriend is getting tired of her occasional big mouth and general way of being.  

When Adam dumps Hannah, she rents a garden apartment from Blake, a pirate talking aspiring politician whose frequently away on business.  Finally on her own and with encouragement from her friend Rachel, she decides to finally start an underground supper club (an unlicensed restaurant run out of someone's home).  But when her place floods before the first meeting, she decides to use her out-of-town landlord's apartment and barely used gourmet kitchen without his knowledge.  The supper club takes off and Hannah continues to use Blake's pad on the sly; a precarious arrangement as Blake is running for a local office on the platform to crack down on the illegal supper clubs.  Obviously at some point this is going to blow up in Hannah's face.  But in the meantime, she becomes increasingly good friends with Blake, who encourages her culinary aspirations. 

Hannah makes a lot of poor decisions in this book, mostly because of her desire to live up to other people's expectations, and she wrestles with guilt over using her landlord's apartment for her semi-illegal business venture.  But in spite of her mistakes, Hannah eventually learns to take charge of her own life.  This is a great book about growing up and finding your own path.   Being from the northern Illinois, I had an entirely different idea of supper clubs, a term which also refers to rural(ish) Midwest dining establishments with cocktails and very large portions.  However, it was interesting to learn about these clandestine dining clubs and the food sounded a lot better!  There are lots of drool worthy dishes in this book including a grilled cheese sandwich with smoked gouda and caramelized Asian pears and deep fried turkey leg confit.  Recipes are included at the end of the book. 

Summer reading starts today!

Adults! Teens! Kids! Stop by the Dundee Library or Randall Oaks Branch to sign up for this year's summer reading program Have Book - Will Travel, which runs through Saturday, July 13.

Adults

Sign up at the Information Desk or Randall Oaks Branch Library. Read four books between now and Saturday, July 13 to be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $100 Target gift card. We will also have additional prize drawings at the end of summer reading for a variety of Book Bundles grouped by genre, some including autographed copies. Plus, fill out Recommended Read entries to be entered into weekly drawings for $10 Target gift cards.

Teens
Sign up at the Information Desk or Randall Oaks Branch. Grades 6-8 are required to read 720 minutes (12 hours) and grades 9-12 are required to read 1200 minutes (20 hours) to earn a paperback book. At the halfway mark, teens earn a halfway prize. Teens may also fill out Recommended Read entries to be entered into weekly gift card drawings for $10 Target gift cards. Visit the Teen page or blog for lots of reading lists and recommendations, or follow DundeeReads on BiblioCommons!

Children
Sign up in the Children's Department or at Randall Oaks. Earn prizes and tickets for the drawings by doing your weekly reading, visiting the library, having or getting a library card, attending programs, and more. When you finish reading the number of minutes for your age group, you earn a free book. Visit the Children's page to see all the fun programs we have scheduled for the summer.