The Edge: a summer reading club review

Catherine Coulter, well known for her romantic novels, once again proves in The Edge she is a master of mystery and suspense novels. FBI agent "Mac" MacDougal journeys to the Oregon town of Edgerton to be with his sister following a car wreck that has placed her into a coma. His sister Jilly disappears shortly after his arrival. Mac searches for answers and helps local law inforcement in trying to solve an unusual murder of a local resident. Mac's journey in finding his sister becomes hair raising. Coulter has writter a novel that keeps the reader burning the midnight candle.

Written by Sherry Woods, Southwest Page turners member

Kindred in Death: a summer reading club review

Kindred in Death: J. D. Robb's futuristic Lieutenant Eve Dallas continues her battle against killers. This time it is the daughter of one of the high rank officers in the New York PSD who is found murdered. A series of grizzly murders having the same MO lead Lt. Dallas and her sidekick Detective Peabody down a nightmarish path that mirrors some of her own past. With the aid of her charismatic husband and unusual group of friends, the team unravels the master plan to take out beloved family members of the persons responsible for the perceived death of the killer's mother.


Once more, Robb makes the the year 2060 come to life. This book is a must for Robb fans.

Written by Sherry Woods, Southwest Page turners member

Divine Justice: a summer reading club review

Divine Justice: Once again, Baldacci’s Camel Club participates in attempting to save one of its members that has been marked for death. John Carr going by his alias of Oliver Stone finds himself the deadly target of a man he had previously worked with. In an attempt to protect those he knows, he leaves everyone and everything behind. He creates a new alias for himself. In the new life that he makes, his inbred sense of righting wrongs leads him into new danger. He calls out to his former acquaintances to assist in the downfall of a corrupt group of murderers. Instead, he finds himself in a situation that he will be unable to extricate himself.


Read on to discover if it all ends in a place of no return. This is a page turner in the best Baldacci tradition.

Written by Sherry Woods, Southwest Page Turners member

Corsair: A summer reading club review

Corsair by Clive Cussler 2009: One-legged Juan Cabrillo captains the Oregon, a sophisticated and fortified ship disguised as a derelict five-hundred and sixty foot freighter. As always, Cussler’s novels are based on events that happened hundreds of years earlier. Cabrillo is asked to unofficially hunt for the downed Secretary of State whose plane crashes on the way to an important peace conference in the Middle East. The roller-coaster adventures of the Oregon and its crew make the excitement of a James Bond seem dull in contrast.
Can Cabrillo and his crew find the Secretary and save the Peace conference? Read on as the historical past does indeed affect the present.
Written by Sherry Woods, Southwest Page Turners member

Eat, Pray, Love: a summer reading club review

Eat, Pray, Love: I chose to read this book because I saw the movie preview and was interested to know why Elizabeth chose to visit Indonesia etc.
Overall this book is easy to read but confusing and long-winded at some parts. I grew up from a Far East country and some of the materials she was explaining in the book were questionable. However there were many information she mentioned, I was able to confirmed that they were true.
Because the writing was long-winded and boring at some parts, it took me a long time to finish reading. There were several chapters I was very tempted to skip but decided against it. However I did find myself feeling 'obligated' to finish reading it just so I could move on with another book.

Review by Annie G.

Photos of Summer Tea Party on FB

If you took your kiddo to the Summer Tea Party hosted by the Woodland West Branch and held at the Dottie Lynn Recreation Center, I've uploaded a few photos of the event to our Facebook. A wonderful time was had by all, as you can tell from these smiling faces. Who doesn't love a tiara and Little Debbie snack cakes?

Summer Tea Party Photos!

And we would love for you to become our fan on Facebook!

The Cardturner: a summer reading club review

I checked out this book on the cover/title alone. I am an avid cardplayer, so I was very curious about this book. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the book was about the game of bridge, a game that I have been curious about for some time but could never find anyone who knew how to play. The story is about a young adult named Alton, who is hired by his blind uncle to turn cards for him so that he can continue to play cards despite going blind. It was a nice story and all, but I was more impressed by all the bridge talk. I feel like I have learned a little about the game!

Angie B.

Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockman

Dark of Night: The Troubleshooters are back in action as Decker deceives the others by faking Nash’s death in an effort to divert attention elsewhere. Decker finds the Troubleshooter’s receptionist Tracy has strength of her own to battle the deadly forces. Brockman’s romantic suspense is a good read! The deadly action keeps you turning pages to see what happens next. For Troubleshooter fans, this is a must read full of action.
Written by Sherry Woods, Southwest Page Turners member

Take advantage of Audiobook Month

June is Audiobook Month and what a more perfect way to celebrate the spoken word than checking out the audiobooks and downloadable collections available at the Arlington Library?

As a child, I loved being read to by my parents and grandmother. A few years ago, I rediscovered my childhood love of listening through audiobooks. Now I am always listening to a book! They are great for when I am cleaning house, making dinner, doing laundry, and working in the yard. In addition, they are the perfect way to pass the time while stuck in traffic commuting to work or on long car trips.

Stories come alive through the wonderful narration of some amazing artists. My favorite is Jim Dale. He is narrator of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and is currently the reigning king of audiobooks—he was the first inductee into the Audie Awards Hall of Fame. Even if you have read these books, you should listen to them. Dale makes the characters of Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Professor Snape (my personal favorite) come alive using voice inflection and accents.

Another personal favorite is Kate Fleming who read under the pseudonym Anna Fields. I was introduced to this artist through her narrations of Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s novels but she has read for many other authors as well. Sadly, Kate Fleming passed away in 2006 but her voice lives on through her wonderful storytelling.

Another of my favorite readers is Davina Porter. Her narration of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series will have you speaking with a brogue and planning a trip to Scotland. On the other hand, if you like being lulled by the sound of a dulcet and smoky British voice, listen to Neil Gaiman’s narration of his Newbery winner, The Graveyard Book. Last but certainly not least, are C.J. Critt and Lorelei King. They are the fabulous readers of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels and they will have you doubling over with laughter.

As a bonus: listening to audiobooks counts towards your adult summer reading log!!! So get ready, set, listen.

Daddy Time at the Southeast Branch!

If you are a daddy, an uncle, or even a grandfather bring your little one to the Southeast Branch Library for our brand new fun and interactive story time with Mr. Bob and Mr. Eric. Daddy Time is for ages birth to 24 months only and is a definite must for the busy man who wants to spend some extra equality time with his little one.

Daddy Time will be held on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. during the months of June and July. Last day for Daddy Time is July 20th, so don't miss out!
A couple photos from our very first Daddy Time:

Nora: A Summer Reading Club Review

 Nora by Diana Palmer

I enjoyed reading Nora. It had good descriptions to read about socialites, cowboys, and what it might have been like to live in poor conditions on farms and plains. I liked the main characters because they were young, capable of mistakes, and had senses of humor.

Ngan Dinh

Tithe: a summer reading club review

Tithe is a whole new take on the faerie world. It is much darker than the other faerie tales. The human world in the book has both the good and the bad. Kaye is a rebel. She is being used as a pawn in both faerie courts. This book is really breathtaking.

Juanita S.

Consumer Reports

Arlington Public Library subscribes to the print version of Consumer Reports. It located at the reference desk and can be used for inhouse use. We often get asked if we subscribe to the online edition. We do not subscribe to the online edition, however, we do provide access to Consumer Reports through our Online Databases.

To access Consumer Reports from home, click on "Research Tools," the third black box on the left hand side of our homepage. Under "Database Quick Links," choose "EBSCOhost." Make sure

"MasterFILE Premier" is checked, and hit continue.

Under "Limit your results," there is a "Publication" field. Type "Consumer Reports" in that Box. There is an option to limit by publication date, if you happen to know exactly what issue you need (for example, Consumer Reports generally feature cars every April). Or, you can simply type your desired search term (say, vacuum cleaners).

This is kind of hard to see, but hopefully it will help give you a general idea how to form your search.

Remember, if you mention to a staff member that you used a database, you can get an additional entry into the Adult Summer Reading Club (after you read 3 books to get entered in the program).

8 Serious Summer Reads

Have you spent too much of your reading time lately with books you think might be more of the quick and fun and less of the intellectually stimulating? NPR's Morning Edition recently featured selections from three booksellers. While the authors of these books aren't exactly Christopher Moore or Janet Evanovich (two of my personal favorites, actually), they come highly recommended. These titles are weighty, more demanding than a typical beach read, would make great book club selections, and are also available at the Arlington Public Library.

A Day for Night Frederick Reiken	Big Machine by Victor LaValle	Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming	The Postmistress by Sarah Blake	The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon	Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann

Summer Reading Club Begins!

Its the first day of Summer Reading Club and I am already rarin' to go. I have a list of books that I plan on reading during the summer and we will see how many I actually get through. Last year I read 25 books and the year before 40. With that amount of books you know I'm not reading War and Peace, but I promise you that I enjoy every one of them.

I also wanted to let everyone know about the fabulous prizes you could win if you join the summer reading club. First you get a fridge magnet for the many, many receipts you get from the library telling you when your items are due. And second, you get an entry into our drawing which has many great prizes to choose from, some which were donated from local businesses (and a couple from library staff!) and others procured through the generous donations of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library. So check out the prize packs listed below!

Penguin Books 75th Anniversary Contest

Despite how poor it meant I would be in coming months, one of my favorite things about college was purchasing my books for class. I was a Creative Writing major, but I took a great many Literature courses in edition to my writing workshops. This meant I purchased lots of novels, poetry collections, and short story anthologies. Penguin was often the publisher of a lot of the classics I purchased, so I have fond feelings toward them.

In honor of their 75th Anniversary, Penguin is hosting a contest where you can write a short, 250-word essay on your favorite out of a list of 75 books. The prize? All 75 books from the list. You can't beat that.

Penguin Books 75th Anniversary Contest

Also, follow the Penguin time line to see how the company grew.