Just for Fun Friday: Worst Planets to Live On

Science fiction is a pretty neat genre filled with all kinds of wonderful other worldly utopias.  But not all planets are full of fun and games.  Check out Flavorwire's list of Science Fiction's 10 Worst Planets to Live On.  Do you agree with the planet that got top billing?

Approximating the College Experience in 10 Books

This recent article from Flavorwire provides a tongue-in-cheek list of 10 books that simulate the college experience, from economics to sex to religion to classic literature.  All of them are available through your Community Library, so if you're looking for a humorous, low-budget version of "higher education," check one out today!

Yuppie Lit

With summer well upon us and BMWs literally driving through Mastic-Shirley area on their way to the Hamptons, why not read some yuppie-inspired lit?  Flavorwire has compiled this list of books about the (often sickeningly) well-to-do.  Have any additional suggestions?

Top Ten Schadenfreude Picks

If the Great Recession has you down, try one of these ten books (featured in this article from Flavorwire) and laugh at someone else's economic distress. In Model Home, enjoy the delicious irony of an upper-class investor whose bad move in the real estate market forces him out of his elite gated community and into one of the substandard homes he himself once developed. In The Craiglist Murders, an interior designer takes the Robin Hood concept to the next level & seeks brutal revenge on rich Manhattanites. In both Union Atlantic and This is Where We Live, the characters deal with loss of income and potential home foreclosure. This One Is Mine tells the story of the discontented wife of a rock star, while Insignificant Others (available via interloan from other Suffolk County libraries) is the story of a 50-something gay software engineer's depressing project to create a list of his disappointments. In The Hole We're In, a working-class church-going Texas family struggles to keep it together as the bills mount; by contrast, The Recessionistas (described by some as Gossip Girl for adults) tells the story of a family at the opposite end of the wealth spectrum who is also adversely affected by the Great Recession. The Privileges tells the story of a wealthy couple of newlyweds who are keen to climb the social ladder. And Fight Club, while written in the 1990s, may resonate with readers who are now working longer hours with less pay.

Uplifting Stories for a Rainy Day

It's been gray & rainy in the Shirley area this week; lift your spirits by curling up with your favorite hot beverage and one of these books from your Community Library (recommended in Flavorwire's article "10 Uplifting Books for Lonely People"). Got any uplifting book suggestions of your own? Share them in a comment!

Snowed in? Curl up with these winter reads.

The snow in the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley area is slowly melting, but winter still has us in its frosty grip, so make like a bear and hibernate (with a good book, of course)! This article from Flavorwire gives some excellent suggestions for snowy-day reads; you'll be grateful for your warm, snug home when you read about these wintery settings. Click the book covers to see the catalog record & reserve a copy! Have your own snowy-day reading suggestions? Please leave comments!