Wicked Reads for Halloween

Looking to get in the Halloween "Spirit"? Here are some eerily, strange and horrifically, creepy reads that will make your skin craw and the hairs on the back of your neck stand tall.

The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Best of Poe: Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado and 30 Others by Edgar Allan Poe
The Little Stranger by Sara Waters
Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 
Carrie by Stephan King
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Daylight Gate by Jeannette Winterson
The Shining by Stephan King
Long Island Oddities: curious locales, unusual occurrences and unlikely urban adventures by John Leita & Laura Leita
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Sorry by Zoran Drvenkar
The Right Hand of Evil by John Saul
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
The Skull Beneath the Skin by P.D. James

See a wicked read you'd like to try? All above titles are available in our collection.  Stop by, give us a call, 631-288-3335 x114/118 or request it online through our online catalog.

Hey Book Clubs! What are you Reading?

October is National Reading Group month.

Here is a list of the top ten books published this month that libraries across the country are loving.

Click to print top ten Library Reads flyer for October

For More information about Library Reads please visit their website at Libraryreads.org

Book Review

In Broken Places
By Michele Phoenix

I was so please to have had the opportunity to read In Broken Places by Michele Phoenix. I had not read her previous title, but look forward to picking it up shortly. In Broken Places was such a gratifying read. Phoenix’s writing style and her ability to craft a truly compelling story kept me reading and has me now recommending it to everyone looking for a new literary voice.

I really liked how each character brought a new depth to the story Phoenix tells. Like a main character should, Shelby guides you deeper and deeper as you meet her broken spirit. She truly has a shaded perspective of who she is and what she has to offer. This damaged vantage point is because of her abusive father and her dysfunctional childhood which she shared with her older brother. As a reader you sincerely feel Shelby’s hardships as she struggled to find herself worthy of giving and receiving love. Her need for sarcasm when feelings got to close is a true defense mechanism and her own personal character flaw; thus, making Shelby’s character even more believable. Through the story you witness Shelby’s self-destruction as she internally battles to change for her daughter. As Shelby realized her burdens aren’t as heavy as she believes them to be, she hooks you and from then on you cannot help but rooting for her. If you try and put the book down, you're at a loss, you have no choice but to finish. In Broken Places is a unique story of an all too well feeling many individuals feel all too often. With insight and clarity, Michele Phoenix tells an absorbing tale of genuine, unconditional love, the strength to overcome one's past and the tenderness of wounds that we all carry with us. It’s a hard read not to enjoy.

Click on the image link above to view a book trailer of In Broken Places. Book trailer provided by YouTube.com

Banned Books Challenge

Calling All Readers!!!

What a wonderful event Hachette, Reading Group Guide and McNally Jackson Books have planned for reader.  On Saturday, September 7th bask in literary heaven while you meet authors and experience an opportunity to mingle with other book lovers.  Tickets are $50 and include lunch and book bag. Visit http://www.mcnallyjackson.com/hachette-reading-group-day for registration info.

WellRead Reader's Pick

Above All Things

by Tanis Rideout

Set in 1924 in post-World War I Cambridge and on the cliffs of Mount Everest, Above All Things is a truly adventurous tale of one's love.  Written in alternating perspectives, George and Ruth Mallory, retell the story of their love and the devastation on their family, which George causes due to his obsession with conquering Mount Everest.  This debut novel is a gripping, historical tale composed of two interlocking themes - love and extraordinary adventure.

For George and Ruth Mallory will there be redemption amid their divided devotions? George is a husband and father of three.  He leaves his wife and children in Cambridge to fuel his passion, a third attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and be known to the world as the first to surmount its high peaks. While his wife and children are a world away, at home awaiting his fate.

This story is not just about the relationship between a husband and his wife nor is it about just a mountain or one's failure or even one's loyalty. Above All Things is about what two people can endure for each other, it's about faith and honor, it's about one's duty, and the guilt or shame one feels.  Tanis Rideout's debut novel has a air of timelessness woven though its words.  It is clear that Rideout's characters are driven by their deepest desires and need to be loved,regardless of their successes and short comings.  Read Above All Things with an open mind and you'll be sure to look at the world a little differently when you've finished.

Thank you Pat B. for your WellRead Reader's Pick.

Click on the links below to view other titles you may like if you enjoy this pick.

Books About Wives of the Famous

Mount Everest

Win an "Author's First"

For those readers who have visited the reference desk and have been inquiring about the Author's Firsts display titles; here is a list, with covers, of the titles available to win if you join our Westhampton Free Library Adult Summer Reading Club.  The more you read the more chances you have to win. Happy reading!!

Fakebook by Dave Cicirelli

(Pub date: September 2013)

The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd

(Pub Date: August 2013)

Hammett Unwritten by Owen Fitzstephen

(Pub Date: February 2013)

The Center of the World by Thomas van Essen

(Pub Date: June 2013)

Naked by Betsy Franco

(Pub Date: November 2013)

Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas

(Pub Date: September 2013)

The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

(Pub Date: October 2013)

Knocking on Heaven's Door by Kathy Butler

(Pub Date: September 2013)

Loteria by Mario Alberto Zambrano

(Pub Date: July 2013)

Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel

(Pub Date: September 2013)

The Blood of Heaven by Kent Wascom

(Pub Date: May 2013)

The Returned by Jason Mott

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Grammarian by Annapurna Potluri

(Pub Date: February 2013)

Appletopia by Brett T. Robinson

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonert

(Pub Date: October 2013)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

(Pub Date: October 2013)

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

(Pub Date: September 2013)

Wash by Margaret Wrinkle

(Pub Date: February 2013)

The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman

(Pub Date: August 2013)

The Hope Factory by Lavanya Sankaran

(Pub Date: April 2013)

Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

(Pub Date: June 2013)

The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy

(Pub date: October 2013)

Tomorrow-Land by Joseph Tirella

(Pub Date: January 2014)

*P.S. These titles have also been ordered for the collection so check the New titles shelf or ask a librarian next time you visit.