 |
|
Tales from the Front Counter
March is Read Across
America month. You'll likely see a
variety of events going on at your local libraries and book stores. The Book Mouse hosts the Third Annual Dr.
Seussathon on March 7 as its Read Across America activity. The Starved Rock Reading Council is our
sponsor. StreatorReads has selected Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and
David Oliver Relin as their community-reads book. For more info on all the activities
related to this go to www.streatorreads.com.
Three Cups of Tea
has been a popular pick for book clubs nationally. The top 10 book club picks in the Illinois Valley area for 2008 are the
following: Kite Runner, Thousand Splendid Suns, Teacher Man, Nineteen Minutes,
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Memory-Keepers Daughter, Astrid and Veronika,
Loving Frank, Book Thief, and Little
Heathens.
Lastly, I want to thank the many (16 and counting) book
clubs in our area who support our store with their book purchases. I truly believe that book clubs are one of
the reasons that independently-owned book stores like the Book Mouse are hanging
in there. Also, I always have the best
chats with club members who come in the store and share their literary finds
with me.
Read on!
Eileen Fesco
Book Mouse Owner
Three Cups of Tea is
at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man
really is changing the world-one school at a time.
|
|
Turning the Pages
Here's what our staff are reading. Select one of these staff favorites and receive 20 % off your purchase. |
Eileen's Picks
NUCLEAR JELLYFISH
by TIM DORSEY
I
lived in Key West for five years and discovered the world of Florida
novelist Tim Dorsey. If you like Carl Hiaasen I believe you'll like
his more twisted "literary cousin," Dorsey.
Reading Dorsey's books is
like riding an Orlando amusement park ride: one of those roller
coasters that rocks precariously close to the edge and then dips and
turns both you and your accompanying stomach upside down.
Serge, the
"creative" serial killer is back. He's cruising around Florida
creating a website for Florida
visitors by stopping at many eclectic
sites and then recording his observations and advice for future
tourists. Of course, along the way he takes care of road trash by
eliminating them in very creative and a bit nauseating ways - imagine
what expandable foam could do to a body?! He, too, is being stalked. Who
will end up at the end of the ride in one piece - read on!
THE LEISURE SEEKER
by MICHAEL ZADOORIAN
Ella
is dying of cancer and her husband of 50 years has Alzheimer's. Before
the end comes Ella loads up their RV, the Leisure Seeker, and with John
at the wheel they head out of Detroit toward Route 66 for one last
grand road trip to Disneyland.
Against
doctor's orders and without
consulting their family, Ella has decided that it's better to go out
strong than to stay and be prodded, scanned, and needled to death.
With her little blue pills to take away the "discomfort" and the slide
carousels to enjoy with John in the evenings they roam the great frontage
road of America.
John's precious moments of clarity during the trip
are treasures to both Ella and the reader. You'll fall in love with
feisty Ella and her observations on love, loss and a life well-lived. |
Rachel K's Pick
BILLY CREEKMORE
by SALLY NICHOLLS
Set
in the early 1900's, Tracy Porter portrays the hardships of a boy,
Bill Creekmore, as an orphan with the unusual yet sinful ability to
communicate with spirits.
Abandoned by his father, this motherless
boy is sent to live in the Guardian Angels Home for Boys. Billy
Creekmore's only glimpse of solitude is through Peggy, the cook, and
Rufus, his best friend.
The hypocritical and jagged Mr. Beadle, owner
of the orphanage, promises the boys a respectful life as glassworkers. However, Billy hears that life at the
factory isn't at all what they were promised. Fearing for his life,
Billy forms a plan to escape only to be saved by a mysterious stranger
who claims to know him.
This enticing tale dramatically takes off into
a world of uncertainty and adventure. Although the book is juvenile
fiction, all readers will be engulfed by Billy's unfortunate life, but
will also be grateful to know that Billy will find his home and
happiness in the most unusual place.
|
|
Josh's Pick
ASPHO FIELDS
by KAREN TRAVISS
The gears of war turn as the Pendulum War wages on
for more than 80 years. The planet of Sera is pushed to the breaking
point when one side is near completion of the next super weapon, the
Hammer of Dawn; a laser-guided satellite capable of raining death and
destruction down upon its chosen targets.
A story
by Karen Traviss, "Aspho Fields" is based
on the bestselling game Gears of War. Excitement waits at
every turn as the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) starts running
out of time! Learn more about those few words that Carmine spoke on
that fated helicopter, "Are you Marcus
Fenix? Thee Marcus Fenix?! The one who fought at Aspho
Fields?!" And discover what makes us all a hero,
but hurry up! The clock is ticking.
|
Rachel H's Pick
ENVY
by ANNA GODBERSEN
The third book in the Luxe series,
"Envy" is a look at the lives of socialites in turn-of-the-century New York. Secrets, love and lies are all
part of this world which on the surface seems glamorous.
Diana wants her love back, but he has married Penolope to
protect Dio's honor. The biggest secret however, is the one about Elizabeth that, if expressed, will ruin her family
forever. |
Maria's Pick
PERFECT CHEMISTRY
by SIMONE ELKELES
Brittany
Ellis has a perfect life, or so it seems. Her mother is always upset,
her dad is never around, and her sister's handicap just adds to her
frustration.
When
Brittany gets paired with Alex Fuentes, the boy from the wrong side of
town, as her lab partner, her life takes a drastic turn.
While working on their chemistry project the two
realize they share a special bond that sparks a new romance. The only
problem is that their new found love is unacceptable in their suburban
homes. Can they change the minds of everyone around them and get them
to understand.
|
Peggy's Pick
LARK AND TERMITE
by JAYNE ANNE PHILLIPS
"People
who don't know Termite get nervous around him. They look away, but
everyone who does know him wants to give him something. The fact is,
once they know he's not the emergency he might appear to be, they find
an excuse to be near him. He doesn't demand anything or communicate in
the usual way, but he somehow includes them in the way he pays
attention, in his stillness. It's how people feel when they look at
water big enough to calm them ... The first time I put my ear to a conch
shell, it was as though I could finally hear the sound Termite lives
in."
This is how Lark, a girl of 18
growing up in a West Virginia
backwater, describes her brother. Termite is 9 and can't walk or speak,
but he has a spiritual connection to the soldier-father who died the
night he was born and whose dying moments the boy seems to channel.
Lark shares the narration with Termite, the soldier Robert Leavitt
and her aunt Nonie, who are woven together by quirky family ties. The chapters are
pulled together by Phillips' sumptuous and lyrical prose. When Phillips gets you to where she's taking
you, she dishes up a surprising plot twist, but the real treat is in the journey, not
the destination. |
|
Look for more staff picks on our
website:
http://www.bookmouse.org
|
|
| |
|
820 LaSalle St.
Ottawa, IL
(815) 433-7323
bookmouse@sbcglobal.net
Books for All
&
All for Books!
|
Seuss on the Loose
The annual Dr. Seussathon is
SATURDAY, MARCH 7,
FROM 1 to 3 p.m.
There will be a readers theater performance, games, a sing-a-long, snacks and prizes.
THE CAT IN THE HAT
AND HORTON WILL VISIT, TOO.
|
WCMY 1430 Book Club
Last Tuesday of the month.
9:20-10 a.m.
Toddler Time
3rd Saturday of the month.
10:30-11 a.m.
Wine, Cheese and Mystery
3rd Wednesday: Join a mystery writer (or two) for an evening of wine, cheese and discussion.
Dungeons and Dragons
2nd & 4th Fridays. 7-10 p.m.
Teen Book Club
Last Wednesday of every month.
4 p.m.
Heritage River Writers
poetry group
2nd & last Wednesdays: 6:30 p.m.
|
|
Many faces
of the
Book Mouse
You'll never know what you might see at the Book Mouse. Perhaps an
author autographing his novel, one of the many Book Mouse Friends
enjoying a good read, Sonny the Book Mouse Cat browsing through the
selections, friends costumed for the holidays or even favorite characters like Cat in the Hat or Horton
of Who fame coming alive. There's never a dull moment at THE BOOK MOUSE!
|
THANKS FOR SHOPPING
AT AN INDEPENDENT
BOOK STORE
Here's What You
Just Did!
1) You kept dollars in our economy
2) You embraced what makes us unique
3) You created local jobs
4) You helped the environment
5) You nurtured community
6) You conserved tax dollars
7) You created more choice
8) You took advantage of our expertise
9) You invested in entrepreneurship
10) You made us a destination
|
Don't see a favorite title
on our shelves?
|
|
