It’s Back to School season, and no matter how long ago you graduated, this time of year beckons us to settle into a new routine, and create new habits.

Since Reading Resolutions is all about our reading habits, there’s no better time than September to tackle a literary classic. It might be a book you read in school and loved. It might be one you didn’t like as a student, but want to give another try. It might be a book first published hundreds of years ago– or twenty years ago. It might be a graphic novel, or even a childhood favorite.

You see, literary classics don’t have to be old, boring, or hard to read. They can be suspenseful, or scary. Some are even funny! Here are a few suggestions  from our online literary classics catalog that might surprise you. To place one on hold, give the title a click. Find more great reads by browsing the catalog, or come into the library and check out the new Reading Resolutions display in the Adult Services Department. Old favorite, or new discovery…the choice is yours.

Jurassic Park (1991) by Michael Crichton – What happens when an entrepreneur decides to create the world’s most astonishing theme park, full of genetically-cloned dinosaurs? If you’ve seen the movie, you already know things go horribly wrong. The novel packs all the action and thrills of the film, but is also full of fascinating scientific detail that make a Michael Crichton novel like no other.  The New York Times calls it “full of suspense.” Jurassic Park is a classic by a one-of-a-kind author at the top of his game.

 

 

The Dark Knight Returns (1986) by Frank Miller- Time Magazine calls The Dark Knight Returns one of the Top 10 Graphic Novels of All Time, in a reboot of one of the greatest comic book heroes ever created. Ten years after the Dark Knight’s retirement, Gotham City has gone to rot.  Mysterious millionaire Bruce Wayne must resurrect his crime-fighting alter ego Batman against a new generation of criminals. He’s joined by a new Robin, a young girl named Carrie Kelley, who is every bit the equal of her predecessor.

 

Ramona the Pest (1968) by Beverly Cleary- A childhood classic, this is the story of kindergartner Ramona Quimby, who is determined to make her mark. When her efforts to be the best kindergartner EVER backfire, she’ll do anything to salvage the school year.  Joined by her sister Beezus, her best friend/worst enemy Henry Huggins, her long-suffering parents, and a green-haired doll named Chevrolet, Ramona’s laugh out loud adventures make this a book a timeless favorite.

 

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) by John Berendt- A classic read for true-crime fans, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is more than the story of a murder; it’s a depiction of one of America’s most unique cities, Savannah, Georgia. The sprawling cast includes society ladies, drag queens, gigolos, debutantes, and a voodoo priestess, all offering their perspective on a mystery that gripped the city for a decade.

 

Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch- From true crime, to fictional, this dark, creepy novel was inspired by legendary serial killer Ed Gein and became Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous film. Motel manager Norman Bates lives with his mother in an old house behind the Bates Motel. Too bad Mother has been dead for twenty years. When a beautiful, and desperate young woman checks into the Bates Motel, Norman’s tempted. Good thing Mother, and her butcher knife, are there to protect him.

 

 

Don’t forget to update your Reading Resolutions page in Beanstack by highlighting this month’s activity badge, to be entered into our end of the month drawing for a $10 gift card. Need help? Give us a call!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether its an epic excursion on the high seas, a journey to the deep woods, mountain tops or the land down under, reading can take you on an unforgettable adventure!

Though summer is winding down, you can still enjoy a wild reading getaway, with our August Reading Resolution challenge, The Great Outdoors.

In addition to real-life stories of wilderness exploration and survival, Westerns, and classics such as James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, or Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, you can choose romantic beach reads, horror, thrillers, science fiction, and literary fiction titles. Non-fiction books are a great choice too; including those addressing climate change, marine biology, botany, and other topics related to the natural world.

Here are a few suggested titles:

Literary Fiction

News of the World by Paulette Jiles – In the aftermath of the Civil War, an itinerant news reader is offered fifty dollars to bring an orphan girl, who was kidnapped and raised by Kiowa raiders, from Wichita Falls back to her relatives in San Antonio. Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous.  Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.

 

 

 

 

Relationship Fiction

Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe- In the summer of 1974, Charleston socialite Olivia “Lovey” Rutledge takes refuge from social pressures, and her philandering husband at her family’s rustic beach cottage. There, she pursues her passion for studying loggerhead sea turtles, earning her the nickname, Turtle Lady. When biologist Russell Bennett visits to research the loggerheads, their shared interest and knowledge brings them together, and blossoms into love, forcing Lovie to an agonizing decision.

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Fiction

 Atlas of a Lost World: Travels In Ice Age America by Craig Childs- A vivid travelogue through pre-history, that traces the arrival of the first people in North America at least twenty thousand years ago, and describes the artifacts that tell of their lives and fates. Atlas of a Lost World chronicles the last millennia of the Ice Age, the violent oscillations and retreat of glaciers, the clues and traces that document the first encounters of early humans, and the animals whose presence governed the humans’ chances for survival. A blend of science and personal narrative reveals how much has changed since the time of mammoth hunters, and how little. Across unexplored landscapes yet to be peopled, readers will see the Ice Age, and their own age, in a whole new light

 

 

 

To help you find more books, we’ve created a special online catalog.  Our monthly Reading Resolution display in the Adult Services section has plenty of suggested reads as well. For even more outdoorsy books, be be sure to check out the Hot Days/Cool Reads display near the Reference Desk. Don’t forget to to track your Reading Resolution reads in Beanstack, so you’re eligible for our monthly prize drawing, and for our large drawing at the end of the Reading Resolution Challenge. Not sure how? Give the Adult Services department a call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July’s Reading Resolutions theme is more than a trending hashtag. #OWNVOICES is a broad description for stories of marginalized people, told by authors from those same groups. It’s not only about celebrating diversity in our communities, and our reading choices,  it’s also a way to gain new perspectives and appreciation for those who have been traditionally under-represented.

Our #OWNVOICES online catalog includes fiction and non-fiction written by authors of color, LGBTQ, immigrants, and those with disabilities. The books cut across genre, and include everything from contemporary rom-coms, to hilarious memoirs, science fiction, thrillers, and more. Read on for genre-based suggestions:

If you love romance, try You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria. After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez returns to New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy. A casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez, who is worried about his career after his last telenovela character was killed off. A disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had, so Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. Rehearsal leads to kissing, kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. Will the media spotlight on Jasmine destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret?

Horror fans won’t want to miss Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic.  After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Noemí is an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

A gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood is the sinister setting for Alyssa Cole’s best-selling thriller, When No One Is Watching. Sydney Green’s  beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block–her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised. When does coincidence become conspiracy? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other–or themselves–long enough to find out before they, too, disappear?

Groundbreaking science fiction author Octavia Butler’s  work has proven to be chillingly accurate, and her dystopian “Parable” books depict climate change, political extremism, domestic terrorism and more. In The Parable of the Sower, (1993) in 2025, Lauren Olamina and her family live behind the walls of their defended enclave, where Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of others try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.

Comedian Jessi Klein’s memoir You’ll Grow Out of It offers-through an incisive collection of real-life stories–a relentlessly funny yet poignant take on a variety of topics she has experienced along her strange journey to womanhood and beyond. These include her “transformation from Pippi Longstocking-esque tomboy to are-you-a-lesbian-or-what tom man, ” attempting to find watchable porn, and identifying the difference between being called “ma’am” and “miss” (“Miss sounds like you weigh ninety-nine pounds”).

Want more suggestions? Stop by the display in the Adult Services department, or ask a staff member for help. And don’t forget to  count your Reading Resolutions books toward Summer Reading!