Author Archives: Lisa Kelly

Recently, the Pulitzer Prize committee made headlines when they did not select a winner for the fiction category.  This award has a long and storied history “honoring excellence in journalism and the arts since 1917.” First things first, how do you properly pronounce the name of this award? According to the Pulitzer FAQ the correct pronunciation is “PULL it  sir.” Now, how about selecting one of the Pulitzer titles for your book club to read? Here are the titles we have in our collection with the year they were awarded the prestigious honor:

2007 The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 6 copies
2006 March by Geraldine Brooks, 8 copies, 1 audio
2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo, 11 copies, 1 audio
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham, 15 copies
1983 The Color Purple by Alice Walker, 5 copies
1972 Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, 21 copies
1947 All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, 13 copies
1932 The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, 10 copies

Please use this request form to let us know if you’d like to borrow any of these titles!

Sitting with a group of neighbors, I decided to celebrate National Library Week by asking everyone to share a library story – any story – that had to do with an experience they had in a library. I did not specify age or location. Here are the results: A story about a stereotypical librarian who preferred order to patrons caused one of my neighbors not to check out books as a child. A story of a librarian who let young children read whatever they wanted to, no matter the content contrasted to a story of a librarian who called home to check with the parents before checking materials out to my neighbor as a young girl. One woman smiled from ear to ear sharing the story of the absolute wonders of a bookmobile and the joys of visiting each week in a rural setting. Another story was from a woman who loves to check out books but has difficulty returning items on time so library fines are a constant issue. Yet another neighbor shared that the library helped her with replacement values for items that were broken in a move so she could fill out forms for insurance – a good story as it was a reference testimony! My favorite story of the morning was a gentleman who admitted he isn’t a frequent user of libraries but he did become a literacy volunteer as an adult and met with his student in a library. He was paired with a young man who was a husband and a father but was unable to read. After three years of tutoring with my neighbor, both their lives changed. The last session concluded on Valentine’s Day and my neighbor encouraged his student not to forget to get his wife a Valentine card. The new reader replied, “I WILL! And this year I will be able to pick a sentiment that says what I really feel because now I can read.” What do libraries mean to the people around you?

If you’re a fan of Masterpiece on Sunday evenings, PBS is providing resources to integrate their programming into a book or a film discussion group in your library. PBS has “provided all the tools you need, including the NEW Book and Film Club Handbook (PDF), plus guides with discussion questions, background info, activities, and even recipes. If you’re an educator, don’t forget to check out over 30 Masterpiece Teacher’s Guides.”  Downton Abbey fans are still talking about season 2 so take this opportunity to integrate this wonderful programming into a library discussion.

The Omaha Public Library started its first mother-daughter club about five years ago and now sponsors at least three, said Sarah English, youth services coordinator for the library system.  Read more about it here: http://www.omaha.com/article/20111023/LIVING/710239889

Does your library sponsor such a book club? How has it worked in your community?

Fans of Masterpiece Theater are now enjoying a trilogy of movies featuring books written by Kate Atkinson.  Three of her books from the Jackson Brodie Series have been adapted to screen starring Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The Patriot) as a Private Investigator living in Edinburgh.If you’ve missed the first episode, you can watch online here.  Check out background interviews and additional information on this series at the PBS website.

What does your book group mean to you? What books have you struggled to read? Do you REALLY have to have food when you discuss a book? Take a look and see what people who belong to and lead book groups have to say about their book clubs in Nebraska:  http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/resources/national-reading-group-month.html

Would you like to add your comments? Send them to Lisa Kelly and I’ll be happy to post them. Happy Book Group Month!

For those fans of Masterpiece Mystery, we are now being treated to Series 3 of Inspector Lewis. The Lewis series is a spin-off from the popular Inspector Morse Series also set in Oxford. The actor Kevin Whatley reprises his role as Robbie Lewis who was formerly Morse’s Sargent. With his promotion to Inspector, Lewis is now working with DS Hathaway as played by Laurence Fox. These series are based upon the mysteries by Colin Dexter. Here is the listing of the Morse books from our books in series database. Enjoy!