Tag Archives: Book Club Kits

#BookFaceFriday “The Perfume Thief” by Timothy Schaffert

 We’d let this #BookFaceFriday steal us away any day!

Nebraska’s very own Timothy Schaffert has just released his latest book, “The Perfume Thief” (Doubleday, 2021) and we just couldn’t wait to share it with you! This historical fiction novel, set in Paris at the beginning of WWII, is one of six Schaffert works NLC has available in our Book Club Kit Collection! This week’s #BookFace and Timothy Schaffert’s other books can be found on the NLC Book Club Kit webpage. This service allows libraries and school librarians to “check out” multiple copies of a book without adding to their permanent collections, or budgets. Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Meet the author and hear him talk about his work this Saturday, 4:30-6:00 pm, at Francie & Finch Bookshop in downtown Lincoln!

“[An] intoxicating blend of decadence and intrigue . . . Schaffert’s evocation of Paris and its wartime demimonde is sensual and alluring, but the heart of his novel is Clementine’s demonstration through her own adventures of how every life is its own heady perfume. . . This is a rich and rewarding tale, as original and unique as the handiwork of its eponymous character.”

 Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Sidekicked” by John David Anderson

We love a good back-to-school #BookFaceFriday!

Ahh, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and new erasers, makes us want to go out and buy school supplies! This week’s #BookFace is a reminder that a Book Club Kit is the perfect back-to-school supply too. This service allows libraries and school librarians to “check out” multiple copies of a book without adding to their permanent collections, or budgets. We have a great selection of kids/YA titles for you to choose from, like “Sidekicked” by John David Anderson (Walden Pond Press, 2014). Even better, this book club kit is available for your next read! You can search for books based on grade level, genre, the number of copies available, or keywords, helping librarians and teachers find great reads for their YA book clubs.

“From memorable characters to a complex yet accessible plot, this [is a] superhero story that any comics fan will enjoy.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah

The mountains are calling, and #BookFaceFriday must go.

Sometimes you find the perfect book club read, but if you’re really lucky, you find the perfect book club author. We think Kristin Hannah deserves such an honor. Her novels are hard to put down and full of great topics to spur discussion in your groups. NLC has seven Hannah titles in our Book Club Kit collection, including “The Great Alone” (‎Griffin, 2019). This book is available in both eBook and Audiobook formats in our Nebraska OverDrive Libraries collection, along with 16 other Kristin Hannah titles.

“There are many great things about this book…It will thrill her fans with its combination of Greek tragedy, Romeo and Juliet-like coming of age story and domestic potboiler. She recreates in magical detail the lives of Alaska’s homesteaders…and is just as specific and authentic in her depiction of the spiritual wounds of post-Vietnam America. A tour de force.”

Kirkus (starred review)

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 180 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 25,520 audiobooks, 32,303 eBooks, and 3,403 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s model is the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado! While we are very committed to getting the perfect #BookFace shot, we did not travel to Alaska for this week’s photo. Special thanks to my dad for waking up at the crack of dawn to stand on an overpass and hold a book for me.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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#BookFaceFriday “The Duke and I” by Julia Quinn

Is it steamy out here, or is it just #BookFaceFriday?

A rakish rouge, a scheming debutante, a mysterious gossip column…what could go wrong? Whether or not you spent your pandemic binging Bridgerton on Netflix, why not read the series that inspired it? The Nebraska Library Commission has the first book in the series, The Duke and I, by Julia Quinn (Avon Books, 2000) in our Book Club Kit collection. You can browse the other romances in our Book Club Kits collection by choosing Romance in the Genre dropdown.

Quinn is a consummate storyteller. Her prose is spry and assured, and she excels at creating indelible characters.”

Publishers Weekly, starred review

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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#BookFaceFriday “Furia: A Novel” by Yamile Saied Méndez

Calling all YA readers with this week’s #BookFaceFriday!

Attention! Attention, please! We have an announcement: Book clubs are not just for adults. That’s all, thank you for coming to my TED Talk. But seriously, here at NLC, we have Book Club Kits for a wide range of readers. From fiction to nonfiction, translated books to Nebraska authors, and kids chapter books to adult titles. One such YA title is “Furia: A Novel” by Yamile Saied Méndez (Algonquin Young Readers, 2020.) This title is a Reese Witherspoon & Hello Sunshine YA Book Club pick and was a recipient of the 2021 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Medal. Whether your a school librarian, teen advisory group, or just looking to facilitate a summer reading group, we’re here for you. You can search our Book Club Kits collection by grade level or by choosing Young Adult in the Genre dropdown.

Weaving rich cultural specifics and electric energy into her prose, Méndez crafts a dynamic, feminist narrative that commands attention from the very first line. At its core, this novel is a full-hearted love letter to Argentina and “incorrigible girls” everywhere, emboldening readers to stand up for themselves and chase the dreams they hold dear.”

Publishers Weekly, starred review

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s model is NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet! She’s our go-to model when a book cover needs a beautiful head of hair. Thank you, Amanda!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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#BookFaceFriday “Next Year in Havana” by Chanel Cleeton

Things are heating up with this week’s #BookFaceFriday!

As summer temperatures rise so does our search for the perfect summer read, and maybe the perfect summer drink. A Tequila Mockingbird or Margarita Atwood anyone? We think this week’s title “Next Year in Havana: A Novel” by Chanel Cleeton (Berkley, 2018) has excellent potential, and would pair perfectly with an ice-cold Cuba Libre. Even if you don’t leave your backyard this summer, you can still take a trip with this Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Find all the most recently added books with the Browse New Additions search tool. We can’t wait to see what all of our book clubs think of our newest additions.

“A flat-out stunner of a book, at once a dual-timeline mystery, a passionate romance, and paean to the tragedy and beauty of war-torn Cuba. Simply wonderful!”

Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s model is NLC’s Accountant, Laura Stueck! She might be the most important person at the NLC, because she’s the one who makes sure we all get paid!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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#BookFaceFriday “The Authenticity Project” by Clare Pooley

Sit back and relax with this #BookFaceFriday!

Every week the Nebraska Library Commission adds new titles to our Book Club Kits Collection! Some we purchase, some are donated by libraries and book clubs. We’ve recently gotten in some great titles, like “The Authenticity Project” by Clare Pooley (Penguin Books, 2020). From the Book Club Kits main page you can narrow your search to New Additions, browse by genre or subject matter, find copies of large-print or audio options, or dive into the list of read-a-likes we’ve compiled to help you find your group’s next book. Take a little time and explore all the Nebraska Library Commission’s Book Club Collection has to offer, we promise, you won’t be disappointed!

The Authenticity Project reads like a gorgeous box of chocolates: sweet, surprising and impossible not to love.  I found myself cheering, cringing, laughing and crying as I read this book and – above all – remembering the true value of community and human connection.”
—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s model is NLC staff member Chelsea Lemburg, she’s been working as our Library Innovation Studios Project Assistant but will be transitioning into her new position as Federal Documents Staff Assistant in July! We are so glad she’ll be staying with the NLC when the Library Innovation Studios grant is finished!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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#BookFaceFriday “The Soldier’s Wife” by Margaret Leroy

Hats off on this #BookFaceFriday, we salute you.

As we get ready to celebrate Memorial Day and the start of summer, we wanted to highlight some of the great war and veteran themed titles we have to offer. Titles just like “The Soldier’s Wife” by Margaret Leroy (Hachette Books, 2011) available as both an eBook on Nebraska OverDrive Libraries and in our Book Club Kits. We don’t just offer novels though, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries has a collection of over 500 Nonfiction Military reads for all of those history buffs out there too.

“Leroy’s beautifully rendered tale demonstrates how longing for normalcy during wartime can vanquish, even briefly, distrust and uncover common ground. Highly recommended.”

—Library Journal Starred Review

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 180 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 25,520 audiobooks, 32,303 eBooks, and 3,403 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo

I am #BookFace hear me roar!

Hearing stories by and about different cultures, countries, and people groups is one of the best parts of being a reader. Explore the Nebraska Library Commission’s Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) collections on both Nebraska OverDrive Libraries and in our Book Club Kits. Just one of many titles is “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: A Novel” by Cho Nam-Joo, and translated by Jamie Chang (Liveright, 2020) available as an eBook on Nebraska OverDrive!

“The book’s strength lies in how succinctly Cho captures the relentless buildup of sexism and gender discrimination over the course of one woman’s life. . . The story perfectly captures misogynies large and small that will be recognizable to many.”

Kirkus Reviews

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 180 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 25,520 audiobooks, 32,303 eBooks, and 3,403 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Asian American & Pacific Islander Book Club Kits

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage month! If you are looking for a book club selection that explores and honors AAPI experiences, we have added a genre category to our Book Club Kit page to make it easier. Simply choose “Asian & Pacific Islander Lives” in the Genre dropdown menu to see all the titles available for request.

In addition, new categories have been added for Native American Lives, Black Lives, and Latinx Lives. Our book club kit collection has over 1900 titles and growing, so there is something for every group. Is your preferred title checked out? Don’t forget to check our read-alike page for similar suggestions to tide you over while you wait.

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#BookFaceFriday “The Blind Assassin” by Margaret Atwood

This #BookFaceFriday is to die for!

Did you just binge the new Handmaids season and now you’re looking for an Atwood fix? Well, look no further. NLC has multiple Margaret Atwood titles available in its Book Club Kit Collection including, Booker Prize winning novel, “The Blind Assassin” (Nan A. Talese, 2000.) Nebraska OverDrive Libraries also has a large collection of Atwood titles available in both eBook and Audiobook format!

“Hauntingly powerful…. A novel of luminous prose, scalpel-precise insights and fierce characters… Atwood’s new work is so assured, so elegant and so incandescently intelligent, she casts her contemporaries in the shade.” —The Atlanta Journal–Constitution

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 180 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 25,520 audiobooks, 32,303 eBooks, and 3,403 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Ramona and Her Father” by Beverly Cleary

#BookFaceFriday is honoring a legend this week!

In honor of beloved children’s author, Beverly Cleary, and her recent passing, we wanted to highlight all of her wonderful books we have in our collections. One such title is “Ramona and Her Father” by Beverly Cleary (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1975), book four in the Ramona Quimby series. You can find it and five other Cleary titles in our Book Club Kit Collection. And don’t forget, the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries has forty-two Cleary titles available in both eBook and Audiobook format!

“Beverly Cleary’s Ramona and Her Father is a Newbery Honor Book and has been called “true, warm-hearted, and funny” by ALA Booklist. In this glowing edition with lively new illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers, Ramona’s spunky, generous spirit shines.”
Book Jacket

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 173 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 17,165 audiobooks and 28,972 eBooks. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Rules for Book Club Kits

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Children’s Blizzard”

Get blown away by this #BookFaceFriday!

January 12, 1888, began as an unseasonably warm morning across Nebraska… but that’s not how it ended. Today for #BookFaceFriday we have a tale of two books, both titled “The Children’s Blizzard,” and both about that fateful snowstorm. And yes, they are both a part of one or more of our collections. First, we have “The Children’s Blizzard: A Novel” by Melanie Benjamin (Delacorte Press, 2021) is brand new to our Nebraska OverDrive Libraries collection, and it’s available in both eBook and Audiobook.

“In this piercingly detailed drama, riveting in its action and psychology, Benjamin reveals the grim aspects of homesteading, from brutal deprivations to violent racism toward Native Americans and African Americans, while orchestrating, with grace and resonance, transformative moral awakenings and sustaining love.”Booklist (starred review)

Our second contender is “The Children’s Blizzard” by David Laskin (Harper Perennial; 3rd edition,2005.) A nonfiction title that is available in both our Book Club Kit Collection and as an eBook and Audiobook in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. 

“In The Children’s Blizzard, David Laskin deploys historical fact of the finest grain to tell the story of a monstrous blizzard that caught the settlers of the Great Plains utterly by surprise. Using the storm as a lens, Laskin captures the brutal, heartbreaking folly of this chapter in America’s history, and along the way delves into the freakish physics of extreme cold. This is a book best read with a fire roaring in the hearth and a blanket and box of tissues near at hand.” — Erik Larson, author of Isaac’s Storm and The Devil in the White City

Love this #BookFace & reading?  Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Code Talker” by Joseph Bruchac

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II” by Joseph Bruchac (Dial Books, 2005) is a part of the NLC Book Club collection! Even better, your book club can celebrate Veteran’s Day all month long with our book club search engine’s Category setting. Quickly find fiction and non-fiction books covering the topic of War and Military Service.

“Bruchac’s gentle prose presents a clear historical picture of young men in wartime, island hopping across the Pacific, waging war in the hells of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima. Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac’s tale is quietly inspiring…” —School Library Journal

Love this #BookFace & reading?  Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Leopard” by Jo Nesbø

It’s a cat and mouse game in this week’s #BookFaceFriday!

The eighth Harry Hole novel in the Nordic mystery series, this #BookFace title is a part of our Book Club Kits. This service allows libraries to “check out” multiple copies of a book. Check out “The Leopard: A Harry Hole Novel” by Jo Nesbø (Knopf, 2011). NLC has seven of Nesbø’s novels in our book club kit collection.

“In The Leopard, Nesbø deploys all the key ingredients of a cracking good thriller with expertise and verve. The ticking clock, the tension expertly ratcheted ever upwards, the changing scenery, the constantly shifting goalposts, and his effortless, triumphant outpacing of the reader’s ability to guess what’s going to happen will keep you gripped to the last page.” The Guardian (U.K.)

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s BookFace model isn’t exactly a staff member, but Kelly is our Library Development Director Christa Porter’s cat! She and her fellow kitty brethren, Logan, Luna, and Nushi, make purrfect bookface models. Just for fun, we decided to share their cute kitty faces, sans books.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Bookseller” by Cynthia Swanson

Reading is for everyone with #BookFaceFriday!

Nothing is as permanent as it appears . . . like this week’s #BookFace and our Book Club Kits. This service allows libraries to “check out” multiple copies of a book without adding to their permanent collections, or budgets. Check out “The Bookseller: A Novel” by Cynthia Swanson (Harper Paperbacks, 2016). This debut novel is a new addition to our book club kit collection and available for your next read!

What if? These words tantalize and haunt us. In The Bookseller, writing with a sharp-tinged empathic pen, Cynthia Swanson takes us on a startling journey where a woman is thrust into the alternative world that might have been, had she made different choices.” (Randy Susan Meyers, author of Accidents of Marriage)

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

This week’s BookFace model isn’t a bookseller or a giraffe, she’s our Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services, Sally Snyder!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday 2020 Challenge

It’s been quite a year with #BookFace!

Our 2020 challenge, #BookFace style! We decided to jump on the meme bandwagon and share some classic NLC #BookFace photos. Because no matter what’s happening out in the world, we’ve still got your back. Check out a few of our great services like:

And these are just the services we promote with #BookFaceFriday. Visit the Nebraska Library Commission main page to explore everything we offer!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Reading For Change: Anti-Racism Titles in Our Book Club Kit Collection

Earlier this week, the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture posted their Black Liberation Reading List. This is among many anti-racism reading lists publicized in recent days (here, here, and here) but I’m choosing to highlight this list because the Schomburg Center has focused on the Black experience, history, and culture for 95 years. Their list of 95 books includes both fiction and nonfiction.

If your patrons or book club groups are interested in these titles, we have a selection of them in our Book Club Kit collection:

You can find these books and similar titles for all ages on our Book Club Kit page: http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub/, by choosing “Black lives” in the Genre drop down menu.

We have also gathered a number of resources for library patrons and the general public to learn about social issues on NebraskAccess.

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#BookFaceFriday – “The Case of the Missing Books”

The game is afoot, it’s #BookFaceFriday!

Today we’re solving the mystery of the Nebraska Library Commission’s prodigious book club kit collection. Where do all of those books come from, you may ask? Well, we build our Book Club Kits one or two books at a time, sometimes buying from book sales, but also through donations. Is your library passing the time with some overdue weeding? Before you discard those extra books, take a look at the NLC Book Club Kits list. Increasing the number we have of each title allows us to service larger book clubs or split them between several book clubs at one time. We also accept donations of Children and Young Adult titles for our annual book drive benefiting the Salvation Army, the Center for People in Need, and the People’s City Mission. One such donated book is this week’s title “The Case of the Missing Books” by Ian Sansom (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2007.)

“[Sansom’s] fish-out-of-water dilemmas and encounters with kooky locals will resonate with Alexander McCall Smith fans” – Publishers Weekly

One of our Book Club Kit users recently sent us a kind note about the service.

Everytime I have space left in a book club kit box, I look to see what donations we have received that might match up with one of your book club kits. Appreciate all you do,” Lisa Flaxbeard – Bennington Public Library

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday – “This is Not the Tropics”

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya to #BookFaceFriday!

Since it snowed yesterday in much of Nebraska, this title couldn’t be more right. But unlike the fickle ways of Nebraska weather, NLC Book Club Kits never let you down. The Commission’s Book Club Kit service is still running like clockwork, and sending out titles like “This Is Not the Tropics: Stories” by Nebraska author, Ladette Randolph (University of Wisconsin Press, 2005.) While many library services have changed, we realize your book club groups may be functioning a little differently right now. But with book pick-ups and online group discussions, book clubs are still going strong. Of course with your health in mind, we strongly encourage you to keep any in-person book club meetings to ten people or fewer.

“Ladette Randolph’s stories sink their teeth into the deep Nebraska Midwest the way that Flannery O’Connor tore into the heart of Georgia. There’s a wonderfully sly, deadpan sweetness at work here, so that it may take a moment to realize how odd and twisty the stories are. Randolph seems like such a nice, earnestly polite young woman—and then suddenly your wallet is missing and she’s driving away in your car! These are beautifully crafty, beguiling stories: witty, wise, and wicked.”—Dan Chaon, author of You Remind Me of Me and Among the Missing

This week’s #BookFace model is one of our NLC Commissioners, Lois Todd-Meyer!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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