In Memoriam

Walter Dean Myers
From the Tuesday, December 30th issue of Shelf Awareness: 

"As the year comes to an end, we'd like to honor a few of the authors we lost in 2014.

Former U.S. poet laureate Mark Strand, "whose spare, deceptively simple investigations of rootlessness, alienation and the ineffable strangeness of life made him one of America's most hauntingly meditative poets." He was named poet laureate in 1990 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1999 for Blizzard of One.

Novelist Kent Haruf, who wrote quiet, moving novels that take place in the fictional town of Holt, Colo. His novel Plainsong (1999) was a finalist for the National Book Award, and his most recent book,Benediction (2013), was on the shortlist for this year's Folio Prize.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, who wrote nearly 50 books, including The Egypt Game (1967). The New York Times described her as having "mined memories of little demons at the foot of her childhood bed to spin tales of wonder, mystery and suspense that beguiled two generations of children and young adults."

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and political scientist James MacGregor Burns, "who wrote voluminously about the nature of leadership in general and the presidency in particular." He wrote more than 20 books, including Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom (1970), which won both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award.

Memoirist and poet Maya Angelou, "whose landmark book of 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings--a lyrical, unsparing account of her childhood in the Jim Crow South--was among the first autobiographies by a 20th-century black woman to reach a wide general readership.

"Walter Dean Myers, beloved and deeply respected children's book author. In a career spanning over 45 years, he wrote more than 100 books, including two Newbery Honor books, three National Book Award finalists and six Coretta Scott King Award/Honor-winning books.

P.D. James, the beloved mystery author and creator of Commander Adam Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray, who famously said, "When I first heard that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, I immediately wondered: Did he fall--or was he pushed?"" 

Click here to access the article.

Join the Book Discussion!

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal
The Community Library will be holding a book discussion of The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal on Monday, January 19th between 2PM and 4PM. 


Two hundred and sixty-four Japanese wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in his great-uncle Iggie’s Tokyo apartment. When he later inherited the netsuke, they unlocked a far more dramatic story than he could ever have imagined.


From a burgeoning empire in Odessa to fin de siècle Paris, from occupied Vienna to postwar Tokyo, de Waal traces the netsuke’s journey through generations of his remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century. With sumptuous photographs of the netsuke collection and full-color images from de Waal’s family archive, the illustrated edition of The Hare with Amber Eyes transforms a deeply intimate saga into a work of visual art. (Publishers Summary)

Registration begins today! Call 631-399-1511 x240 or click here to reserve your spot!

Google's Top Book Searches for 2014

Check out what books were most "Googled" this year! Click here to read the full article about which people, books, and tech gadgets were searched the most in 2014!
Boy,Snow,Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Boy,Snow,Bird

Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn
Blood Will Out

Savage Harvest by Carl Hoffman
Savage Harvest

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
City of Heavenly Fire

Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
Flash Boys

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Invention of Wings

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
All the Light

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Words of Radiance

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Yes, Please

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
Capital in the 21st

Best Christmas Books of All Time

Enjoy this adorable infographic created by NinjaEssays.com and have a wonderful day!

Best Christmas Books of All Times

Not Sure What to Read Next?

Spend a couple minutes perusing the book lists that have been compiled by the Community Library's librarians. Please stop by the reference desk with any questions!




LibraryReads: Librarians Announce Their Favorites

Want to know which books librarian's across the country love? As shown in the November issue of Library Journal, listed below are the top ten. Click here to view the article.
Us by David Nicholls


Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Moral Heart by Robin LaFevers

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The Forgers by Bradford Morrow

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Laurie R. King

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

Us by David Nicholls
While on a month-long European vacation, a mild-mannered scientist (with a hidden sense of humor) tries to repair his marriage and his relationship with his teenage son. By the best-selling author of One Day(Publisher Summary)

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
Duncan West, fascinated by Lady Georgiana, is determined to reveal all of her dark secrets, most notably, her secret identity as Chase, the founder of London's worst gaming hell. (Publisher Summary)

Lives in Ruin by Marilyn Johnson
A look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they search for clues to humanity's past. The book also examines the arduous, non-glamorous working conditions that they face as well as what drives them to do this very important, yet often tedious, work. (Publisher Summary)

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
Detective Bosch has been assigned a new partner, Lucia Soto, with the hope that she will glean some of his expertise. The team follows difficult leads in a case involving a victim who dies from complications from a bullet wound sustained years earlier. By the best-selling author of The Black Box(Publisher Summary)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
The powerful conclusion to the His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith's worst fears are realized when she discovers that, despite her lifelong desire and training to be an assassin, she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress; which will mean being forever shut up in the convent of Saint Mortain. (Publisher Summary)

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes
The year is 1946, and World War II is over. In Sydney, Australia, four women join hundreds of other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England to face their unknown futures. (Publisher Summary)

The Forgers by Bradford Morrow
When Adam Diehl, reclusive rare-book collector, is found dead in his home, his sister, Meghan, and her lover, Will, a convicted literary forger, begin receiving threatening letters from someone who knows secrets about the death, as well as Will's past. (Publisher Summary)

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Laurie R. King
In the follow-up to the nationally bestselling A Study in SherlockLaurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger present a stunning new volume of original stories. (Publisher Summary)

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron
In this twelfth installment of Stephanie Barron's Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Jane investigates the suspicious death of a Yuletide reveler during Christmas time at the ancestral home of the wealthy Chute family. (Publisher Summary)

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet
A couple experiences mermaids, kidnappers and mercenaries while honeymooning in the Caribbean. By the Pulitzer Prize-finalist author of Love in Infant Monkeys(Publisher Summary)

Warm Up With Tales of Winter Love

These romance novels are the perfect way to warm up on a cold winter night - check out the Community Library's latest additions below!
Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Susan Meier

Her Holiday Family by Winnie Griggs

The Cowboy's Pride and Joy by Maureen Child

Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
While dealing with a wealth of family issues, Maddie Townsend, jobless and newly single, finds herself the talk of the town when her son's baseball coach declares his love for her. (Publisher Summary)

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Susan Meier
When entrepreneur Ricky Langley offers Eloise Vaughn the help she needs, in exchange for her attending twelve Christmas parties as his date, she can't refuse. Yes, Ricky's handsome, and devastatingly charming, but this is about business. If only her racing heart would get the message! (Publisher Summary)

Her Holiday Family by Winnie Griggs
Reserved widow Eileen Pierce never considered herself the kind of woman who was cut out to be a mother. She wouldn't know what to do with one child, much less ten. But when handyman Simon Tucker is stranded in town with a group of young orphans at Christmastime, she discovers she can't just turn them away. (Publisher Summary)

The Cowboy's Pride and Joy by Maureen Child
All former marine Jake Hunter wants is peace and quiet. But when his business-minded mother sends her assistant Cassidy Moore from Boston to see him about a long-standing family dispute, chaos ensues. Their attraction rages out of control as a snowstorm strands them on his Montana ranch. (Publisher Summary)

Divergent Series: Insurgent Trailer Released!

The official movie trailer for Insurgent has been released! 

Best of the Best: Nonfiction

As promised, below are Publishers Weekly's top picks for non-fiction in 2014! For more information or to place a hold, click on the book cover.
Burning Down the House by Nell Bernstein

Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles M. Blow

Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg

Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard by John Branch

The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation by David Brion Davis

John Wayne: the Life and Legend by Scott Eyman

The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Giridharadas

On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City by Alice Goffman

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson

Garden of Marvels by Ruth Kassinger

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

Tennessee Williams: A Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh by John Lahr

Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermione Lee

Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man by Thomas Page McBee

Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local-and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy

The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos

The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Regan by Rick Perlstein

Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt

Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War by Helen Thorpe

A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren