Snippets from the Shelves

Summer will be here before you know it and the Fiction Department is gearing up for another great season full of prizes, games and activities. The Summer Reading Club will run from June 2nd through August 8th with a drawing on the last day for many great prizes. Patrons may submit up to one entry per day when checking out fiction books. There will also be weekly activities for young adults and additional prize give-a-ways they can enter, plus an end-of-summer party with fun, food and games. While waiting for the activities to start, here are some new arrivals to try.

For the more literary minded, we have Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut. This posthumous book contains twelve short stories collected and introduced by Vonnegut’s son. The Last Chicken in America by Ellen Litman is a book of twelve interconnected stories about the struggle of Russian-Jewish immigrants living in a Pittsburgh neighborhood trying to adapt to an American way of life. Unaccustomed Earth, by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, is a series of stories continuing the theme of Indians in America that she explored in previous novels. River of Heaven, by Lee Martin, spins a story of complex relationships between friends, family and 50 years of secrets.

Mystery lovers will want to try A Carrion Death, a new mystery set in Botswana, by writing duo Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip collectively known as Michael Stanley. Mma Ramotswe is back in The Miracle at Speedy Motors, the ninth installment of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith. For history buffs, The Disagreement by Nick Taylor, set during the Civil War, takes us through the life of one young man as he makes his way during this difficult time.

Don’t forget to sign up for prizes whenever you check out a book - the more you enter the better your chances of winning!