Join the West Valley Book Club on October 12 at 6:30pm at West Valley Branch Library as we discuss The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. That's quite the mouthful, right? This month's book club selection is about another very special book club:

Starting in 1946, the letters that make up this cleverly constructed novel provide a vivid snapshot of England after World War II. The book's first entry comes from a young author named Juliet Ashton, who sends a note to her publisher saying that she's tired of writing about the war. But when Dawsey Adams, a farmer in Guernsey, comes across Juliet's name in a book and urges his neighbors to contact her with stories about the German occupation, her attachment to the conflict seems destined to continue. The letters written to Juliet from the warm-hearted, eccentric inhabitants of Guernsey recount various wartime events—some horrific, some humorous—that occurred while the Nazis occupied the English Channel island, including the birth of the unlikely book club known as the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (From Bookpage.com).

Check out this interview with co-author Annie Barrows (also the author of the popular Ivy & Bean children's series) for more information about this book:

Do you enjoy reading and discussing what you read?  If the answer is yes, the Edenvale Book Club is the club for you! Come to the fireplace area of the Edenvale Branch Library on Wednesday October 5, 2011 at 6:00 pm. This month, the Edenvale Book Club will discuss Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. Everyone is welcome.

This book is available in a variety print formats:

Hardback

Paperback

Large Print

Korean Fiction

「千江有水千江月」出自佛家偈語 「千江有水千江月，萬里無雲萬里天。」江不分大小，有水即可映照月光。天空有雲，雲上是天，萬里天空便都是青天，兩句都說明天地相容，講究自然之心，一切不必苛求。

「千江有水千江月」是蕭麗紅著名的小說之一，1980年獲得《聯合報》長篇小說首獎。蕭麗紅在嘉義布袋鎮出生、長大，故鄉的民俗風情對蕭麗紅自有深厚影響。書中描寫親情也描寫愛情，以布袋蔡氏家族為敘述中心，透過大家庭的人物與生活點滴，把台灣家庭中的親情、生活、規矩、及地方風土民情描寫的淋漓盡致，正如作家齊邦媛評的:「書中處處是民間傳說之美。」

蕭麗紅的作品雖不多，但受到一般社會大眾的歡迎，以作品「千江有水千江月」而言，有學者極為推崇，也有學者抨擊這本書以極度感情式、唯美式的筆調去擁抱舊式的純情男女、缺少對日趨複雜兩性關係的反省。但蕭麗紅文字平實、洗鍊，情景生動，寫出了鄉土之美，人情之善，今天重私利的社會，大家若能返璞歸真，回歸人的厚重真樸，亦有何妨。

此小說的英文版 A Thousand Moons on a Thousand Rivers，有興趣的讀者亦不妨借來一看。 

I am rediscovering a forgotten delight: reading short stories. I am always looking for something to read during quiet times and a short story can easily be read in one sitting. I have been known to nod off while reading a novel, but never while reading a short story. A well written short story moves right along and leads the reader on to a conclusion within an hour or less. Find a good collection of short stories and start reading. If one story is not so great, well, move on to the next. You are bound to find at least one stellar story that will rock your reading world.

I recently read an outstanding collection of short stories written by Elizabeth Berg. It was displayed at Pearl Avenue Branch Library. The cover and title caught my eye: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  Now that title spoke to me. Thoughts of chocolate, donuts, cake, ice cream, lasagna and other assorted high caloric, yummy, fat laden comfort foods swirled through my mind. What a fantasy to ponder! I grabbed the book from the display and checked it out. At first glance I thought the book in my hands was a novel, but I quickly discovered this was not so after finishing the first story: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  I devoured that story faster than a bag of potato chips and smiled and laughed throughout the reading of it. My appetite was whetted and so I moved on to the second story and then the third until a few days later I had read and mentally digested all 13 stories in this delectable collection. 

The full title of Elizabeth Berg’s short story collection is The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation. While an element of food is present in most of the stories, there is a touch of rebellion sprinkled throughout.  I would not characterize this collection of stories as “Chick Lit,” but the theme of the collection is  women and their inner lives. Elizabeth Berg has an easy writing style that connects with readers. I often found myself on the verge of laughter or tears while reading a story.  Through her fine storytelling Berg explores the different stages of women’s lives. There are challenges, frustrations, joys, sacrifices and disappointments that season every woman’s life, and Elizabeth Berg has illuminated them brilliantly. So, get yourself a bowl of ice cream, a slice of pie, or some chips and dip and settle in with The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted (book or CD ) for a banquet of delicious stories.   

West Valley's monthly book club is still going strong! Some of our members have been coming regularly for many years, but new members are always invited to join in on the literary fun and conversation. Members take turns suggesting titles for the group to read and discuss at the next meeting, which results in an interesting and diverse array of selections. Yesterday evening's discussion was centered around the classic My Antonia, but next month we're switching gears to Southwestern mystery with Tony Hillerman's The Shape Shifter. This was Hillerman's last novel in his award-winning and prolific Navajo Tribal Police mystery series before his passing in 2008. I haven't read it yet, but according to Wikipedia, the plot involves "a Navajo rug, a suspicious fire, a threatening phone call, and fruitcake." If that doesn't sound mysterious, I don't know what does.

Request your copy today (also available in large print and audiobook) so you'll be ready to join us next month on September 14, 6:30-7:30pm in the West Valley Branch Library Community Room as we discuss The Shape Shifter.  

¡Buen Viaje! We are arriving at our last international destination for our series of “You Are Here” summer reading lists for teens. Before we head home with our cool souvenirs and many more stamps in our passports, we are exploring the rich history, mythology, and culture of Central and South America in this week’s list of titles.

San José Public Library’s Summer Reading Celebration ends tomorrow, but we hope that you’ll continue to explore the world through the many materials the library has to offer. Thanks to all of you that participated this year, and congratulations to all of the winners! Enjoy the rest of your summer…We hope that your next “You Are Here” destination will be at your local library, but not before enjoying a restful night’s sleep in your own bed, which is always the best part of returning from vacation, right? :)

You Are Here: Central & South America

Chasing the Jaguar by Michele Domínguez Greene

After having unsettling dreams about the kidnapped daughter of her mother's employer, fifteen-year-old Martika learns that she is a descendant of a long line of curanderas--Mayan medicine women with special powers.

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende

When fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his individualistic grandmother on an expedition to find a humanoid Beast in the Amazon, he experiences ancient wonders and a supernatural world as he tries to avert disaster.

Go and Come Back by Joan Abelove

Alicia, a young tribeswoman living in a village in the Amazonian jungle of Peru, tells about the two American women anthropologists who arrive to study her people's way of life.

Keeper by Mal Peet

In an interview with a young journalist, World Cup hero, El Gato, describes his youth in the Brazilian rain forest and the events, experiences, and people that helped make him a great goalkeeper and renowned soccer star.

The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango

Living in a village in Ecuador, a Quechua Indian girl is sent to work as an indentured servant for an upper class "mestizo" family.

Useful Fools by C.A. Schmidt

A fifteen-year-old Peruvian boy, whose mother runs a clinic for poor village children, becomes caught up in the war after Senderistas bomb the clinic, killing his mother and throwing his family into turmoil.