The July 13th issue of Newsweek magazine contains an article mentioning 50 significant books that we should all be aware of.  To quote the editor: " What we do need, in a world with precious little time to read (and think), is to know which books-new or old, fiction or non-fiction - open a  window on the times we live in, whether they deal directly with the issues of today or simply help us see ourselves in new and surprising ways".  Check out the complete list at www.newsweek.com/id/204300  Some titles

Isn't that a catchy title? This is a great resource if you are looking for a good book to read. 1001 Books You must Read Before You Die is available at several branch libraries and is a reference tool at Central (you can't take it out but you can use it in the library).

You know, when The Calling  first came out in hardcover last year, I heard nothing but rave reviews. It was voted one of the best mystery books of 2008 by Publisher's Weekly.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't grab a copy sooner. What a fantastic read!

Did you know that the library offers reader's services? Basically this means library staff can help you find your next great read! We have some wonderful tools, both in print and online that can help us to help you. Ask us to show you NoveList, a powerful

Recently I did a display on debut novels because lately, I've enjoyed seeking out and reading authors who have published novels for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of debut novels out there. It's wonderful to discover a new author to follow as well. Would you like to try a few? Here are a couple of titles I've really enjoyed:

There are certain books that I return to regularly because each time I read them I discover something new. I recently re-read Possession by A.S. Byatt, winner of the Booker Prize in 1990, and found myself yet again swept up in this amazing story.

As well as being social gatherings, book clubs are a great way to share thoughts and feelings about a variety of fiction and non-fiction. Most book clubs have their members read the same title for their meetings, and discuss it at a subsequent meeting. But I belong to a unique book club where we’ve bent the traditional rules a bit. In my book club each member reads a different book and presents their favourite at each meeting. It’s an absolutely fantastic way to generate a reading list that can go on forever, or rather, as long as you hold meetings!

Apologize, Apologize is the story of Collie Flanagan, his brother Bingo (both named after dogs, breaking the family traditio

You have seen it on our website and heard about it from friends. Now is your chance to learn how to access the thousands of audiobooks available for downloading to your MP3 player, iPod, CD or computer. Join us for a one-on-one introduction to accessing these materials. Find out more and sign up online.

One of my favourite jobs as a librarian is to recommend fiction to readers. Did you know that library staff can help you find your next good read? In our fancy library terms, we call this Reader's Advisory. Any time you can't seem to find a good book to read, please don't hesitate to ask your friendly library staff for some help, no matter what genre you might read. That's not to say that we all read every single book and/or genre out there. But we do have some wonderful tools to help us recommend books to our patrons. Another great tool that is literally, at your fingertips are