Tag Archives: Book Club Kits

#BookFaceFriday “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine”

Socially awkward never looked so good…

"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman BookFace

Calling all book clubs! Check out “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel” by Gail Honeyman (Penguin Books, 2018). If it’s good enough for Reece Witherspoon, it’s probably good enough for me. As a  NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, this is the perfect choice for your next read. I found Eleanor the perfect antiheroine, hilarious and awkward with a heartbreaking past. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and can be reserved for your book club to read today!

“Eleanor Oliphant is a quirky loner and a model of efficiency with her routine of frozen pizza, vodka and weekly phone calls with Mummy. [She’s] a woman beginning to heal from unimaginable tragedy, with a voice that is deadpan, heartbreaking and humorous all at once.” –NPR.org

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is NLC’s Interlibrary Loan Staff Assistant, Lynda Clause!

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “Fahrenheit 451”

This #BookFaceFriday is burning down the house!

This week’s #BookFace was an easy choice because it’s #BannedBooksWeek, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury (Random House, 1953), set in a future where printed books are banned and actively destroyed, it’s become a hallmark for Banned Books Week. Ironically, it’s also been banned and challenged itself, as recently as 2006. This classic novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, reserve it for your book club to read and discuss today!

“Brilliant . . . Startling and ingenious . . . Mr. Bradbury’s account of this insane world, which bears many alarming resemblances to our own, is fascinating.” —Orville Prescott, The New York Times

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Gabe Kramer, our Talking Book & Braille Service Audio Production Studio Manager!

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!

 

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#BookFaceFriday “Night Road”

This #BookFace is a long and winding road!

This week’s #BookFaceFriday is Night Road” by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press, 2011). Hannah is a New York Times bestselling author, who is known for her beautifully written stories. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and would be the perfect next read for your book club!

Night Road is one special book that can transform the lives of readers by influencing how they think about certain important life issues. The reader becomes a first-hand witness to the pitfalls of parenthood, mortality, heartbreak, guilt, life choices, grief, forgiveness, and much more. In short, the entire range of human emotions are explored in this…hopeful book about the triumphant power of the human spirit in the process of forgiveness.” ―New York Journal of Books

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Hollin Attendola, our new Talking Book & Braille Service Library Readers Advisor! Hollin is originally from the East Coast (New Jersey) but they’ve spent the majority of their life here in Lincoln. They earned their Bachelor’s degree in Literature out in Chadron, NE – a place they dearly misses. Hollin is a writer at heart, who hopes to have a book of their own on a library shelf someday (fingers crossed). And, to connect to the book title – a fun fact is you’ll never see them driving along a night road, as they absolutely cannot see in the dark! Welcome Hollin!

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!

 

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#BookFaceFriday “Big Stone Gap”

This #BookFace is going to leave a gap in our hearts!

"Big Stone Gap" by Adriana Trigiani BookFace

Any book with the opening line, “This will be a good weekend for reading.” sounds good to me. This week’s #BookFaceFriday is Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani (Ballantine Books, 2001). It’s reviewer’s use words like quirky, charming, spunky, sardonic and delightfully entertaining to describe this opening novel in a four book series. This novel is a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, and can be reserved for your book club to read today!

“Delightfully quirky . . . chock-full of engaging, oddball characters and unexpected plot twists, this Gap is meant to be crossed.” — People (Book of the Week)

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is our Communications Coordinator, Mary Jo Ryan! After 32 years at the Nebraska Library Commission, Mary Jo is retiring and starting a whole new set of adventures. I could say many things about Mary Jo, about how much we love her here and how much we will miss her, but I think I’ll just let her say goodbye herself:

“Thank you for the opportunity to do work that makes a difference. Some of it has been hard. Thank goodness for comfortable shoes. Some of it has been ridiculous. Thank you for sharing a laugh when that’s just the only thing left to do. But it has been my pleasure to contribute to all of it. The richness of the landscape of Nebraska literature is beyond anything I ever imagined. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to be a small conduit for sharing this bounty with others. Thanks for the memories…mjr”

Read the rest of Mary Jo’s goodbye as she signs off as editor in the most recent edition on the NCB News.

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!

 

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#BookFaceFriday “The Miniaturist”

Happy #BookFaceFriday everyone!

"The Miniaturist" BookFace

This week we took a little trip to seventeenth century Amsterdam with our #BookFace post. “The Miniaturist” by Jessie Burton (Ecco, 2015) follows eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman as she begins a life in Amsterdam. Take a little adventure yourself and request this kit for your next book club read! “Burton’s writing is expressive and descriptive. While her prose is rich, it does not overwhelm the story…This historical novel with its strong female characters will appeal to those who enjoy the haunting undercurrents of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind.” (Library Journal)

This week’s #BookFace model is Devra Dragos, NLC’s Technology & Access Services Director.

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “Looking for Alaska” & “Reconsidering Happiness”

We’ve got a double #BookFace for you today book lovers!

#BookFace Holly Woldt

I know the new year is supposed to be all about starting new goals and breaking bad habits, but we decided to put that off for one more week. Besides, my New Year’s resolution is always to read more books, and I was probably going to do that anyway.  This #BookFaceFriday we decided to indulge in a bad habit instead with John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” (Speak, 2006) and “Reconsidering Happiness” by Sherrie Flick (Bison Books, 2009). Both novels have 4.5 – 5 star ratings on Amazon and are available to borrow as book club kits through your library!

This week’s #BookFace model is Holly Woldt, NLC’s Library Technology Support Specialist. (P.S. we did not actually light up in the Library Commission, that would be against the rules.)

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “Holidays on Ice”

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission & have a Happy New Years!

#Bookface "Holidays On Ice"

When a novel just sounds like too much commitment, the perfect solution is David Sedaris’s collection of short stories! “Holidays on Ice” (Back Bay Books, 2010) covers all our favorite holidays with this great collection of witty stories. Check it out for your book club today!

This week’s #BookFace took a trip to Omaha to visit Aimee Owen’s Christmas Village!

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Myth of You & Me”

It’s #BookFaceFriday at the Nebraska Library Commission!

#BookFace "The Myth of You and Me"

We’re feeling all the warm-and-fuzzies with this week’s #BookFace. Settle in and get comfy with this book club selection. A story about friendship, loss, and love, with a little mystery thrown in, “The Myth of You & Me” by Leah Stewart (Three Rivers Press, 2006) has it all. “The novel unfolds at an unhurried, graceful pace, moving through flashbacks and memories.” – School Library Journal.

This week’s #BookFace models are NLC’s Government Information Services Librarian, Mary Sauers and her hubby Michael Sauers (Michael used to be NLC’s Technology Librarian, and is now Director of Technology at Do Space!) Talk about a library power couple!

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “Re-Gifters”

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission!

"Re-Gifters" by Mike Carey BookFaceI love this week’s #BookFace. It’s fun and festive, and since we don’t have a pile of presents here at the office, Aimee Owen volunteered the use of the pile under her tree. I also love that we get to highlight our amazing collection of Young Adult Book Club Kits. “Re-Gifters” written by Mike Carey,‎  and illustrated by Marc Hempel ‎ and Sonny Liew (Minx Books, 2007) is a great example! This graphic novel follows Korean American teenager Dixie through LA’s Koreatown. It’s a well-developed characters, plot, and setting make it perfect for dedicated comic readers and those new to the genre.

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!

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#BookFaceFriday “Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances”

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Nebraska Library Commission!

"Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances" BookFaceGet your book club in the holiday spirit with this fun #BookFaceFriday read! Join three bestselling authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle, as they weave an interconnected holiday story in “Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances” (Speak, 2008.) “Tender without being mushy, these carefully crafted stories of believable teen love will leave readers warm inside for the holidays.”—School Library Journal

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

This week’s #BookFace model is Janet Greser, NLC’s Computer Help Desk Support. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

P.S. Aimee Owen is a top notch paper snowflake maker!

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#BookFaceFriday “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Thanksgiving is officially over for another year. We’ve put on our stretchy pants, relaxed to watch some football, and are eyeing the leftover pumpkin pie. Maybe it’s time to indulge in something other than carbs. Get back to the basics with bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” (Harper, 2007). Join Barbra and her family on this food themed adventure as they “vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it”. Reserve this nonfiction narrative for your book club today!

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

This week’s #BookFace model is Nebraska Library Innovation Studio’s Staff Assistant, Cynthia Nigh, who also happens to be an avid cook and gardener. Check out our past #BookFace photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier” by Ann Packer

It’s #BookFaceFriday at the Nebraska Library Commission!

"The Dive From Clausen's Pier" BookFace PhotoHave you ever just packed a bag, and left? For a vacation? A road trip? What about to start a whole new life? In Ann Packer’s debut novel, “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier” (Vintage, 2003), main character, Carrie Bell, does just that. Reserve this intimate and emotionally thrilling novel for your book club today!

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

This week’s #BookFace model is Nebraska Library Innovation Studio’s Project Manager, JoAnn McManus. Check out our past #BookFace photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission!

BookFace: Uglies by Scott WesterfeldDid you know we offer YA titles in our Book Club Kits? Don’t miss out on Scott Westerfeld’s teen novel “Uglies” (Simon Pulse, 2011)! “Uglies” is the first novel in a three-part series that has more than 3 million books in print, has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and spent more than fifty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

You’ve seen this week’s #BookFace model before, you just might not know it. Information Services Librarian, Aimee Owen, is also our weekly hand model holding up all the books we feature. Check out our past #BookFace photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Broken For You” by Stephanie Kallos

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission!

Broken For You #BookFaceWe love highlighting Nebraska authors, especially those we offer in our Book Club Kits, like Stephanie Kallos’s “Broken For You” (Grove Press, 2004)! This national bestseller was a 2006 One Book One Lincoln finalist and a Today Show Book Club selection.

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

Our #BookFaceFriday model is Nebraska Library Commission’s Accountant, Tan Ngo. Check out our past #BookFace photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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