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Tag Archives: bookface
#BookFaceFriday “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” by Robert K. Massie
It’s the reign of #BookFaceFriday!

Happy Woman’s History Month! “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” by Robert K. Massie (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2012) is a narrative biography that delves into the story and history of Catherine the Great.
It’s available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries and is currently featured in the “Woman’s History” curated collection, along with many other novels highlighting woman throughout history.“[A] meticulously detailed work about Catherine and her world. . . . Massie makes Catherine’s story as gripping as that of any novel. His book does full justice to a complex and fascinating woman and to the age in which she lived.”
— Historical Novels Review
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Very Bad at Math” by Hope Larson
You can always count on #BookFaceFriday!

Everything is adding up! This week’s #BookFace, “Very Bad at Math” by New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award–winning author Hope Larson (HarperAlley, 2025) is a colorful middle grade graphic novel. Verity “Very” Nelson can do it all, except math! All seems lost until a teacher helps her discover the truth: Verity has dyscalculia, a learning disability that causes her to mix up numbers.
“Graphic novelist Larson has aimed her latest story at middle-grade readers who…will make a lot of readers feel seen. A solid addition.”
—Booklist
The Nebraska Library Commission receives a large number of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. You can see some of her favorites of the past year in the recent NCompass Live webinar episodes: Best Teen Reads of 2024 and Best Children’s Books of 2024.
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “The Dream Lover” by Elizabeth Berg
#BookFaceFriday come rescue me!

This #BookFaceFriday is a dream come true! At the beginning of “The Dream Lover” by Elizabeth Berg (Ballantine Books; Reprint edition; 2016), Aurore Duplin is leaving her estranged husband and life behind to move to Paris and pursue her dream of becoming a writer under the new name of George Sand.
We have 3 copies for your reading group to borrow in our Book Club Kit collection, and you can also find it in ebook format in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries.“Fantastic . . . a provocative and dazzling portrait . . . Berg tells a terrific story, while simultaneously exploring sexuality, art, and the difficult personal choices women artists in particular made—then and now—in order to succeed. . . . The book, imagistic and perfectly paced, full of dialogue that clips along, is a reader’s dream.”
— The Boston Globe
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Birding with Benefits” by Sarah T. Dubb
Is that a #BookFaceFriday I see?

The sun is shining and the birds are flying! If the springtime weather has you in the mood for romance then this #BookFace has you covered! “Birding with Benefits”, Sarah T. Dubb’s debut novel (Gallery Books, 2024), follows divorcee Celeste on her “year of yes” which leads her to John, the shy but sensitive birdwatcher.
It’s available as an eBook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and if you’re looking for more contemporary rom-coms the featured “You Turn My Pages” curated collection available on OverDrive is the perfect place to look!“The slowly simmering romance that blossoms between plucky heroine and heart-of-gold hero results in some love scenes that are as hot as the desert sun in July.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Birding with Benefits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, Reading, Rom-Com, romance, Sarah T Dubb
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#BookFaceFriday “The Cold Cold Ground” by Adrian McKinty
What’s cooler than being cool? #BookFaceFriday!

Brrr!!! I don’t know about you, but this weather makes me want to stay indoors and curl up with a good book, like this week’s #BookFaceFriday, “The Cold Cold Ground” by Adrian McKinty (Blackstone Publishing, 2019). It’s the first book in the Detective Sean Duffy mystery series.
Available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, along with the rest of the series and several other titles of this Edgar award-winning author.“A fascinating look at everyday life in Northern Ireland during ‘the Troubles.’ The protagonist is clever and funny, the interaction of the police and various factions is eye-opening, and the mystery is intriguing, with an unexpected twist at the end.”
— RT Book Reviews
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Business Casual” by B.K. Borison
We’re head over heels for #BookFaceFriday!

Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re in the mood for love, you’ve come to the right #BookFaceFriday! “Business Casual” by B.K. Borison (Berkley, 2024), is the fourth book in the Lovelight series of contemporary romantic comedies.
It’s available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, along with the first 3 books in the series as eBooks. They are currently featured in the “You Turn My Pages” curated collection available on OverDrive.“The way Borison softly weaves together a friends-with-benefits and opposites-attract romance, while also incorporating Charlie’s ADHD and people-pleasing and Nova’s perfectionism, will keep readers starry-eyed as they imagine visiting the beloved small town of Inglewild…This final and fourth book in the “Lovelight” series, after Mixed Signals, is a knockout.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged B.K. Borison, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, Reading, Rom-Com, romance
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#BookFaceFriday “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt
This #BookFace could go on and on forever!

Can’t stop, won’t stop with this week’s #BookFaceFriday! First published in 1975, “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,2007) was an early Golden Sower nominee and is still a mainstay in classrooms across the country.
We have 11 copies for your reading group to borrow in our Book Club Kit collection, and you can also find it in audiobook format in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. It’s only one of many book club kits school and public libraries can borrow for their school-aged reading groups. You can browse our collection by genre, grade level, or keyword search; use the keywords “Golden Sower” to find all the titles we have that have won or been nominated for the award. Best of all, loan periods are flexible to meet your group’s needs!“Rarely does one find a book with such prose. Flawless in both style and structure, it is rich in imagery and punctuated with light fillips of humor. The author manipulates her plot deftly, dealing with six main characters brought together because of a spring whose waters can bestow everlasting life. . . . Underlying the drama is the dilemma of the age-old desire for perpetual youth”
— The Horn Book Magazine
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- 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!
#BookFaceFriday “Sonny Boy: a Memoir” by Al Pacino
Say hello to my little #BookFaceFriday!

This #BookFaceFriday wants to make you an offer you can’t refuse! “Sonny Boy” by Al Pacino (Penguin, 2024), is an intimate journey into the life of a Hollywood legend, with its highs and lows, and all the drama in between. Hoo-ah! It’s available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and is only one of many performing arts biographies and autobiographies available on OverDrive.
“The rare celebrity memoir that’s also a literary read. As funny as it is reflective, it shares stories behind Pacino’s hardscrabble upbringing, classic films and journey to icon status.”
— People Magazine
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Al Pacino, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Celebrity Memoir, Memoir, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, Reading, Sonny Boy
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#BookFaceFriday “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan
Fortune smiles on the #BookFace!

Jump for joy, it’s #BookFaceFriday with “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan (Ballantine Books, 1989)! Now considered a “modern classic”, Tan didn’t have high expectations for her first novel.
Decades (and numerous awards) later, she can joyfully admit she was wrong; her debut was a bestseller that is still a book club “best bet” today! Read Mackenzie Marrow’s excellent Book Club Spotlight review to find out even more about this title and its legacy. We have 14 copies for your reading group to borrow in our Book Club Kit collection, and you can also find it in eBook format in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries “Joy Revolution” curated collection.“Wonderful…a significant lesson in what storytelling has to do with memory and inheritance.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- 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!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Amy Tan, Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, Ebook, Joy Luck Club, Novel, Reading
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#BookFaceFriday “First Dog’s White House Christmas” by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello
You can keep the Christmas lights up till January with this #BookFaceFriday!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Nebraska Library Commission! As you’re setting up all those new tablets, Ereaders, and phones that were unwrapped on Christmas morning, don’t forget to download the Libby App and link your Library Card. You’re whole family can have access to free books through your library, and that includes picture books for your youngest kids like this week’s #BookFace “First Dog’s White House Christmas” written by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello, and illustrated by Tim Bowers (Sleeping Bear Press, 2010). It’s available as a an eBook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries: Kids & Teens, and can be found in the specially curated collection “Get Wrapped Up in a Good Book??: Juvenile Holiday Reads,” which is filled with holiday themed titles for kids and teens.
“In this wonderful picture book, the authors give readers a delightfully dog-centric picture of a Christmas gala at the White House. Readers will learn about Christmas traditions from many lands around the world, and they will also come to appreciate that though traditions might be different, the meaning of Christmas is the same the world over, if you are human or canine.”
— Marya Jansen-Gruber, Through the Looking Glass
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “All Wrapped Up” by Holly Smale
Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle it’s #BookFaceFriday!
Winter break is almost upon us and it’s the perfect time to get your kids set up to check out ebooks and audiobooks while they’re at home for holiday break. Even if winter weather ruins your regular trip to the library you and your kids can still enjoy new books like “All Wrapped Up: A Geek Girl Special” by Holly Smale (HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks, 2022). It’s available as an eBook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries: Kids & Teens, and can be found in the specially curated collection “Get Wrapped Up in a Good Book??: Juvenile Holiday Reads,” which is filled with Holiday themed titles for kids and teens.
“A feel-good satisfying gem that will have teens smiling from cover to cover, and walking a little taller after reading”
— Books for Keeps
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Unlucky 13” by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
This #BookFaceFriday can see the writings on the wall!

This week’s #BookFaceFriday isn’t superstitious at all! Happy Friday the Thirteenth, if you’re avoiding black cats, walking under ladders, or opening umbrellas indoors, this BookFace is not for you! Check out “Unlucky 13” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Grand Central Publishing, 2015) it’s the thirteenth installment in Patterson’s “Women’s Murder Club” series. San Francisco Detective Lindsay Boxer is hoping the luck is on her side in this murder mystery thriller. We think your luck is changing because it’s available as a an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and can be found alongside the entire twenty four book “Women’s Murder Club” series all on OverDrive.
“Those who haven’t read any of the novels in the Women’s Murder Club series are cheating themselves.”
— BookReporter.com
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast” by S.H. Fernando Jr.
Who is that masked #BookFaceFriday?

It’s your favorite #BookFace’s favorite #BookFace! Check out “The Chronicles of Doom: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast” by S.H. Fernando Jr.(Astra House, 2024). “MF Doom” was one of several alter-egos adopted by Daniel Dumile Jr., a prolific hip-hop artist that never appeared in public without a mask. It’s available as an eBook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and is only one of more than 100 biographies and memoirs about musicians.
“Fernando provides a comprehensive look at DOOM’s life and career, meticulously researched through interviews with the rapper’s many collaborators and those closest to the man behind the mask. His track-by-track breakdowns of DOOM’s albums will have sample spotters diving into their record collections. A perfect pairing with Dan Charnas’s Dilla Time (2022), this is an essential exploration into the world of ‘your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.”
— Carlos Orellana, Booklist (starred review)
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Biography, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, books, hip hop, MF Doom, music, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, rap music, Reading, S.H. Fernando
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#BookFaceFriday “Five Presidents” by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin
#BookFace for President!

“Decisions are made by those who show up,” quoting Josiah Bartlet, and ultimately Aaron Sorkin, we want to reiterate the sentiment to get out there and vote. With election day next week, we thought we’d give you a run down on a few of the resources available at the Nebraska Library Commission. Whether your looking for voter information like overseas voting, early/absentee voting, voter check, or just need help finding your polling place check out our NebraskAccess: Election and Politics webpage for helpful links. If you love a good presidential biography or memoir we have a large selection in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries collection, just search President! Or if you’re just looking to get away from it all we have a specially curated collection in OverDrive for “Political Fantasy.” Not to forget our large collection of book club kits includes many autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs, like this week’s #BookFace, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford” by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin (Gallery Books, 2017.)
“Hill’s humanity shines in the rich descriptions of the history he witnessed. The book gives nonpartisan insight about the human side of three Republican and two Democratic presidents. It discloses the huge protective challenges secret service agents face around the clock. Hill also reports many titillating personal events and shares candid views of the swarms of personalities that swirled around the White House.”
—Joseph H. Carter Sr. For The Oklahoman
Need a hand searching our collection? Here are some tips! You can browse our collection by genre or grade level, or use a keyword search to find exactly what your looking for. Still can’t find what you are looking for? Let us know and we’re happy to help.
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- 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!
#BookFaceFriday “A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer” by Maxie Dara
This #BookFaceFriday is a graveyard smash!

This week’s #BookFaceFriday is fully embracing spooky season! Join in with “A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer” by Maxie Dara (Berkley, 2024). This off-beat and humorous murder mystery is the first part in the author’s SCYTHE Mystery Series. It’s available as a an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and can be found in the specially curated collection “Monster Mash,” which is filled with Halloween, monster, or horror themed titles.
“Fun and lighthearted despite the presence of death, the characters are relatable and funny, and the paranormal aspects are balanced with the ordinariness of Kathy’s messy life. The ending fleshes out this creative premise and sets the book up for the next in a heartwarming series.”
— Booklist
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 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!
Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Breaking Rank” by Kristin D. Randle
Don’t let this #BookFace strong arm you!

Are your younger readers looking for a great book? Let us lend you a (tiny) hand in finding the right title! The Library Commission has a large collection of book club kits for children and young adults. Like this week’s #BookFace ,”Breaking Rank” by Kristen D. Randle (Turtleback Books, 2001), perfect for readers ages 12 and up; it’s a part of our Book Club Kit collection, with thirteen copies available for checkout. Diving into themes of peer pressure and independent thinking, this novel has been compared to The Outsiders, West Side Story, and Romeo and Juliet.
“This novel challenges stereotypes and stigmas when an unprecedented friendship develops between two teens of rival high school groups. “Randle is adept at conveying ingrained prejudices as well as the frustration and alienation that leads some youths to forsake the `straight’ world for a more friendly and accepting one of their own making.”
—Publishers Weekly
Need a hand searching our collection? Here are some tips! You can browse our collection by genre or grade level, or use a keyword search to find Golden Sower nominees and winners. If you need a large number of books for a whole classroom, limit your search to only those sets with enough books to meet your needs. Still can’t find what you are looking for? Let us know and we’re happy to help.
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- 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!
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services
Tagged Banned Books Week, Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, Breaking Rank, Kristin Randle, Novel, Reading, YA
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#BookFaceFriday “Healer & Witch” by Nancy Werlin
We’ll cast a spell on you with this #BookFaceFriday!

We’ve been at the Nebraska Library Association Conference this week connecting with Nebraska’s librarians and Library staff! Sally Snyder, NLC’s Children and Youth Services Coordinator, also had a table there full of her giveaway books, all available for libraries to take home with them. One of those books is this week’s #BookFace, “Healer & Witch” by Nancy Werlin (Candlewick Press, 2022). Perfect for middle grade readers, this coming-of-age YA novel is a fantasy and historical fiction story all rolled into one. All in all the perfect October read!
“Werlin’s first foray into middle grade is a thrilling and suspenseful experience; there are twisting reveals and adventure aplenty, though the story isn’t afraid to stop for lovely moments of
quiet contemplation and recollection along the way. A budding, respectful romance and hints of deeper powers will have readers hoping for a sequel. It’s well worth joining kind and clever Sylvie on her harrowing journey of discovery.”—Booklist (starred review)
This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems.
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services
Tagged Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, Fantasy, Halloween, Healer & Witch, Historical Fiction, Nancy Werlin, Reading, YA books
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#BookFaceFriday “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by Emily M. Danforth
This #BookFace is outstanding in its field!

Freed between the lines! That’s the theme of this year’s #BannedBooksWeek. We are celebrating with a banned #BookFace! The Nebraska Library Commission supports readers and the freedom to read so we make sure our various collections reflect that. “The Miseducation of Cameron Post: A Novel” by Emily M. Danforth (Balzer + Bray, 2013) has been banned or challenged in the US since 2014, less than a year after it’s publication, cited for “inappropriate language, not appropriate for middle school age students.” It won The Montana Book Award and was a finalist for both the Morris Award and a Lambda Literary award. Emily Danforth was born in Montana and received her Ph.D in English-Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln! A book is considered challenged when calls are made for it to be banned or removed from the public’s access. This is one of many banned or challenged titles NLC has available in our Book Club Kit Collection, titles like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Looking For Alaska by John Green, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, just to name a few. This week’s #BookFace and other banned 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. NLC also has several banned or challenged titles available to our Nebraska OverDrive Libraries.
“This finely crafted, sophisticated coming-of-age debut novel is multilayered, finessing such issues as loss, first love, and friendship. An excellent read for both teens and adults.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)
You can find more information about Banned Books Week and the fight against censorship at ALA.org/advocacy/bbooks! What are you doing to celebrate Banned Books Week? Let us know!
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
- These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
- Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
- Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
- 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!
Posted in Books & Reading, General
Tagged Banned Books Week, Book Club Kits, Book Covers, bookface, bookfacefriday, Lois Lowry, Reading, The Giver
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