Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl has landed with a big splash onto summer reading lists.  Critics galore applauded her first two books, Sharp Objects and Dark Places, so Gone Girl’s success is no surprise.

Amy and Nick Dunne’s fifth anniversary promises to be a romantic night filled with perfectly wrapped presents and renewed vows of devotion.  Without warning, Amy disappears and all clues point to a guilty, cheating Nick.  A familiar plot, but Flynn stretches it wide.  She takes the concept of the unreliable narrator — a character who tells the tale, is part of the tale, but who completely fools himself as the reader comes to understand exactly what’s going on —  and ramps it up.  Both husband and wife tell their stories alternately: two unreliable narrators.

The book has an element of noir, girl noir actually.   You know film noir:  black and white, thirties or forties, disheveled PI alone in shabby office, chain smoking and nipping at the office bottle, single light bulb hanging overhead.  In strolls incredible babe who needs his help, and it’s all over for him.

Writers such as Gillian Flynn are turning this convention 180 degrees out. Like the men, these women are often being duped, and like the men, they have been around.   The difference is that they take charge.  They might have been kicked around, but these chicks are kicking back. They act like men in their unabashed pursuit of sex, yet reveal a certain vulnerability.  Aren’t these the qualities that drew so many to Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

Gone Girl combines unreliable narrators and girls “kicking butt and taking names.”  What could be better?  For more books like Gone Girl, click here.

Summer vacation season is underway.  One way to gather information about your vacation destination is to read a travel guide.  The library carries several series.  Here are descriptions of a few of the more popular travel guides.

Fodor’s
Fodor’s offers comprehensive guidebooks.  Some features include background information of the location; tips on safety, tipping, and climate; websites for further information; and color photos and maps.  Hotels and restaurants are listed for a range of prices from inexpensive to expensive.  A star rating system indicates when something is “Fodor’s Choice” or “Highly Recommended.”

Frommer’s
Like Fodor’s, Frommer’s is a comprehensive travel guide.  Frommer’s also uses a star rating system for hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns and regions.  Frommer’s has a Best of section to highlight particular aspects of a location.  Hotels and restaurants  are listed as “Very Expensive”, “Expensive”, “Moderate” or “Inexpensive”.  There are maps and some photos.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet guides originally catered to backpackers and budget travelers.   They have expanded to include more mainstream travelers but still with an emphasis on budget travel.  Most hotels and restaurants listed are in the inexpensive range.  Founded in the 1970s these guides provide “advice on traveling sustainably and responsibly” (from lonelyplanet.com).     There is some focus on safety and legal issues for each location.  Other travel guides that cater to budget travelers are Rough Guides and Lets Go.

Insight Guides
Insight Guides feature beautiful color photographs.  The focus is on history and culture of the destination.  The practical information for hotels, restaurants, etc. is gathered at the end of the book. This is a good choice if you want in-depth background information about your destination.

DK Eyewitness
Eyewitness Travel Guides are highly visual.  Guides include history, culture and attractions.  They use  many photographs and illustrations along side descriptions of the destinations.   The practical information on accommodations, restaurants and shopping is in the “Travellers’ Needs” section, and there is a “Survival Guide” section for travel tips.

Other travel series that can be found in the library include Access, Rick Steves, Off the Beaten Path,  Explorer’s Guide, Moon, National Geographic Traveler and Rough Guide.  Each guide has something different to offer.  The best way to choose a travel guide is to determine what type of travel you want to do, then come to the library and browse the options available. And, have a terrific summer vacation.

Books on Tap for 20 & 30somethings: Join us at the Tap House Grill on Monday, August 13 at 8 pm for a lively discussion of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Step out, cool down, meet new people, talk books, and relax with a drink and a bite to eat!

Never Let Me Go is a coming-of-age story like no other. Kathy H recalls her growing up days at Hailsham, an English boarding school in the countryside. It sounds idyllic, except that the students at this school were all born with a specific purpose: They are cloned in order for their organs to be harvested when they are in the prime of their lives. This is a dreamlike tale of psychological suspense with a dystopian twist.

Pick up your copy of Ishiguro’s book today at the Information Desk on the second floor — and then we’ll see you at the Tap House Grill on Aug. 13! Happy reading!

Mary Kay A., Instruction & Business Outreach Librarian

Have you had the experience of revisiting a place of your youth, feeling like a giant in your childhood kitchen perhaps?  Or have you returned to a beloved book, and asked yourself, I  liked this? Really?

For years I always responded, when asked, that my favorite book when very young was Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.  I recalled an engaging plot, endearing characters, and never questioned my choice.  I also never re-read it.   I stumbled across it the other day while playing with the Gutenberg Project (www.gutenberg.org) and wondered how it would compare with my warm and fuzzy memories.

Understood Betsy, published nearly one hundred years ago and still in our library’s print collection, has lost none of its charm. The author draws the reader into the story as if she were sitting by the fire telling the tale. Our heroine is frail, tiny, orphaned Elizabeth Ann raised in the city by two fussy, clucking female relatives whose life’s work is to protect Elizabeth Ann from, well, everything.  When one of them falls ill, she is whisked off to a farm in the wilds of Vermont under the dubious care of hercountry cousins.  Cousin Ann and Aunt Abigail are kind, but matter-of-fact and Elizabeth Ann is expected to perform tasks she never dreamt of – arranging her own hair, walking to school by herself, churning butter!  In time she becomes Betsy, confident, capable, and understood.The term “empowering” is somewhat hackneyed these days, but apt in characterizing this old book.

I can see why I loved it and how it was important. Take a little stroll down memory lane.  One resource is the Gutenberg Project, a digitalized library of full-text public domain books designed for use on almost any device.  Hmmm . . . I’m thinking White Fang!

-Eileen, Reader’s Advisory Librarian

In a recent post, we shared the program for our upcoming festival, BookFest, which is this Saturday. For those of you who have never heard of BookFest, it’s annual festival of books in Downtown Glen Ellyn featuring emerging, local, and acclaimed authors. This year, there’s a free continental breakfast, an authors’ tent featuring dozens of emerging writers, a children’s picture book author, a children’s chapter book author, a ladies’ luncheon highlighting four delightful female novelists, a book pitching master class, a New York Times bestselling keynote presentation by David Finch, and a program for teens and their families. What a day!

Click here for a full program and information about lunch tickets (note that most programs are completely free of charge).

If you’re unsure which of our great programs to attend, never fear! Your friendly GEPL staff have read all of the featured authors’ books and have created wonderful video reviews for your viewing pleasure. Check them out below; they’re listed in BookFest program order:

Children’s Picture Book Presentation at The Bookstore

Various titles by Jim Aylesworth, reviewed by Robin

Children’s Luncheon at Glen Oak

Stealing Magic by Marianne Malone, reviewed by Ridgeway

Ladies’ Luncheon at GEPL

The Fates will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard, reviewed by Heidi

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich, reviewed by Susan

A Bitter Veil by Libby Fischer Hellmann, reviewed by Eileen

The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy, reviewed by Beth

Keynote Presenter at GEPL

The Journal of Best Practics by David Finch, reviewed by Heidi

Teen Program at the Asian Pearl

The Princesses of Iowa by M.Molly Backes, reviewed by Heidi

BookFest is just one week from Saturday. This year, there are dozens of emerging authors, great featured authors, two luncheons, and a New York Times-bestselling keynote speaker. Check out the program and visit bookfest.org for full details.

Program

Ladies’ Luncheon Details & Menu
Buy tickets for the ladies luncheon. | View details about the ladies luncheon.
Boxed lunches will be provided by The Patio and will cost $10. Each lunch box includes your choice of sandwich, a bottled beverage (soda, water, tea), a side salad and a dessert. The three sandwich options are turkey, roast beef, and vegetable.
Children’s Luncheon Details
Buy tickets for the children’s luncheon. | View details about the children’s luncheon.

The children’s luncheon will be held at Glen Oak Restaurant this year.  Tickets are limited to 30 attendees total. Author Marianne Malone will be in attendance to discuss her second book, Stealing Magic. All menu items are based on Malone’s book and its characters.

At least one member of each party in attendance at the children’s luncheon must purchase a copy of Marianne’s book, for a total luncheon ticket price of $30. All other members of each party will only pay $12 for the luncheon.

Children/Tween Summer Reading Sponsors

Teen Summer Reading Sponsors

Barone’s Pizza
Vertical Endeavors
Flour Barrel

Adult Summer Reading Sponsors

Pam Withers at keenreaders.org writes:

“Here’s the best-kept secret about reading buddy programs: The teens who saunter into a room wary of reading to some restless youngster, typically end up gaining as much as their “little reading buddy.” They gain self-confidence, reading skills, academic growth and a new desire to read. Why? Because they thrive on having someone look up to them, and they’re able to read easy books that boost their own confidence; sometimes backing up to an easy book is just what a struggling pre-teen or teen reader needs, but won’t do on his own.

With just 15 hours of reading buddy contact, one group of fourth and sixth graders in Oregon gained the equivalent of more than 2.5 years in reading abilities (rainbowreaders.com). Even students with as few as five hours of contact gained the equivalent of a year and a half.”

And according to a U.S. Department of Education study reported by Teacher Vision:

“Improvement in academic performance amongst those reading below grade level: Reading buddies, 25%; others, 12%

Improvement in classroom behavior amongst poor readers: Reading buddies, 16%; others, 3%

Poor readers who said they often or always enjoyed reading: Reading buddies, 55%; others, 31%

After one school year, “both teacher reports and student self-reports found significant gains in reading attitudes, self-esteem, library use and academic performance.” (source)

Book Buddies

The Glen Ellyn Public Library supports national summer reading initiatives with a variety of programs including tracking minutes read for prizes, book discussions, and literature sharing activities. However, the best motivation for reading is the personal interest of another person. For this, the library offers a special program with a personal touch called Book Buddies.

Book Buddies matches a Middle School student with a reader age 4 through grade 5. Each week at a mutually chosen time, the paired students choose the books they want to share and pick a comfortable location in the Youth Department. For 30 minutes they enjoy reading together.

For the younger student this is an opportunity to practice reading, an essential part of the skill retention necessary for school in the fall for all levels of students. In addition they build a relationship with an older student role model who can encourage their interest in a variety of subjects and library use.

For the Middle School reader it is a volunteer opportunity that can be added to a resume for later jobs. They benefit from sharing their interest and skills with an upcoming learner and their own interest range will be widens as they choose books they will both enjoy.

Forms to take part in Book Buddies are available now in Youth Department. The program begins with orientation on June 8.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian

Want to sign up for and track your summer reading progress online? Here’s how:

Don’t forget to pick up your summer reading sign up prize at the library after you sign up!