Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Two More Awesome Kits!

In April we added The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, and, The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler.



Tracy Memorial Library is hosting The Age of Miracles. Jo-Ann Roy asks that you email, or call 526-4656 ext. 2, to discuss borrowing options.

The Beginner's Goodbye is sponsored by The Friends of the Hopkinton Town Library, and is being hosted at the Hopkinton Town Library. To discuss borrowing the kit for your group, contact Karen Dixon at 746-3663.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Happy Dance Time!

If you've been on the NHAIS-ILL list recently, you've seen a rash of requests for The Paris Wife for book discussion groups. Well, we're pleased to announce that The Paris Wife is now a READS-TO-GO kit, as are The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, The Talk Funny Girl and Rules of Civility!

We now have 100 kit titles in NHU-PAC! A milestone! And a perfectly good reason to shout and dance!





The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, by Jenny Wingfield, is hosted by Epsom Public Library. Call 736-9920 to check on availability.

The Paris Wife, by Paul McClain, is hosted by Gale Library in Newton. Call 382-4691 to check on availability.

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles, is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Town Library, and is hosted by Ashland Town Library. Call 968-7928 to check on availability.

The Talk Funny Girl, by Roland Merullo, is hosted by Keene Public Library. Call 352-0157 to check on availability.

Each one of these books are highly discussable and should provide your group with a lively meeting!

--Diane



Monday, February 11, 2013

Recently Added

Our most recent addition to the RTG kit program is The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.


"At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big-league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended." (publisher description)

There was a lot of hype surrounding this book when it was first released, including an October 2011 article in Vanity Fair magazine. The article has been expanded and repackaged as a Kindle ebook, Vanity Fair's How a Book is is Born: The Making of The Art of Fielding, by Graydon Carter, which you can purchase for $1.99!

Between the characters, the plot, and the book "birthing" hype, there's enough discussable material to cover at least two book group meetings! And, I've heard that HBO is planning a series based on the book.

The kit is made possible by a generous grant from NH Library Association, and is being housed at the Effingham Public Library. Call Marilyn at 539-1537 to discuss borrowing the kit.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Our Recent Poll


Our poll is now closed. Here are the results:

The question: Would your book group be interested in a kit for the title Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion? Warm Bodies is a "zombie love story" with lots of discussion potential. It has been made into a film, which is opening in February.

Strong yes

3 (17%)

Yes with some reservations

1 (5%)

Probably not--I'm not sure if my group members are willing to step out of their comfort zone

7 (41%)

No

5 (29%)

No opinion

1 (5%)

So, things don't look good for Warm Bodies being made into a RTG kit, but, we still recommend it as discussable and as something a little out of the ordinary! There are at least 25 libraries in NH that own the book, so, unless your group is huge, you should be able to ILL enough copies. (But after the movie comes out, all bets are off!) Thanks to those who took the time to respond. --Diane

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Sense of an Ending--Now a Kit!

We start off the new year with a highly discussable title by Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending. A review in the New York Times calls it, "a mystery of memory and missed opportunity."

The RTG kit is hosted by the Stephenson Memorial Library in Greenfield. Call Gail or Kristen at 547-2790 to discuss availability for your book group.

Here's Julian Barnes speaking after he won the Man Booker prize in 2011:

Monday, November 19, 2012

Book Groups Rejoice!

Announcing these new kits:




















The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender.This kit resides at the East Kingston Public Library. Call 642-8333 to discuss availability.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. You'll find this kit at the Boscawen Public Library. Call 753-8576.

Both of the kits were made possible through a generous grant from New Hampshire Library Association. Many thanks to our parent organization!

Just a reminder: READS-TO-GO has its own Facebook page. Check it out and "like" us please!

Friday, November 2, 2012

A Fun Addition!



The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is now a RTG kit being hosted by Lincoln Public Library. If you are interested in borrowing the kit for your group call 745-8159 to discuss availability.

--Diane

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Our Newest Kit!



The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, has just been added to our list of nonfiction titles. The kit is hosted by Hampstead Public Library. Call (329-6411) or email Merrily Samuels (msamuels@hampstead.lib.nh.us) to reserve.

--Diane

[Note: I loved this book, and I hope others find it as fascinating as I did. The author's website has all sorts of interesting snail-related information including the actual sounds of a wild snail eating! --DM]

Monday, July 23, 2012

Caleb's Crossing Now Available

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is now available as a READS-TO-GO kit. The title is sponsored and hosted by the Hooksett Public Library. Call Mat at 485-6092 to discuss borrowing.

Monday, July 2, 2012

A Celebration!


We're celebrating the 4th of July this week, and, we're also celebrating the addition of four more RTG kits to the program!

The latest titles are:

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
This kit is made possible through a grant from the New Hampshire Library Association. It is hosted at the Baker Free Library, Bow, 224-7113.






The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.
This kit was sponsored by the Friends of the Bath Public Library, and is hosted at the Bath Public Library. Please call to book the kit, 747-3372.






State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
This kit is made possible through a grant from the New Hampshire Library Association. It is hosted at the Bethlehem Public Library. Please call 869-2409, or email lclerkin@bethlehemlibrary.org to book the kit.




The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.
This kit is made possible through a grant from the New Hampshire Library Association. It is hosted at Gordon-Nash Library, New Hampton, 744-8061.






We have remaining grant money from NHLA for one more kit. If your library has not hosted a kit and is willing to take on hosting duties, please contact me at dmayr@nesmithlibrary.org.

--Diane

Photo by David Hepworth.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Our Latest Batch of New Titles

You now have more than 80 RTG kit titles to chose from, including these three new additions:

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson. Of this historical novel set in postwar England, a New York Times review says,
It is Hodgkinson’s portrait of the primal bond between mother and child, her visceral understanding of the gorgeous, terrible weight of love mothers must carry, war or no war, secret or no secret, that leaves an indelible impression.
The kit is hosted by the Blaisdell Memorial Library in Nottingham, 679-8484.


Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. This historical novel set in early 20th century New York. The author has conveniently collected reviews of the book, along with links, here. The kit is sponsored by the Hillstown Co-op, and it is housed at the Weare Public Library, you can call 529-2044 or email wearelibrary@comcast.net to reserve.

[Note: if you're ever in Orlando, FL, be sure to visit the exquisite Tiffany Wing at the Morse Museum--it's even better than Disney World! And, it makes the reading of Clara and Mr. Tiffany more meaningful if you see the works that are mentioned in the book!]


Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante. Contemporary fiction about a women suffering from the slow progression of Alzheimer's disease. There's also a mystery involved! A New York Times review has a nice discussion of unreliable narrators, and ends with this, "The twists and turns of mind this novel charts are haunting and original." The kit is sponsored by the Merri-Hill-Rock Co-op and is housed at the Kimball Library in Atkinson, 362-5234.

Two out of the three new kits are sponsored by library co-ops. If your co-op might be interested in sponsoring a kit, please contact dmayr@nesmithlibrary.org to discuss.

--Diane

Monday, February 13, 2012

New Kit titles!











I may as well get the excuses out of the way...I haven't updated this blog in two months! The Nesmith Library has been migrating to the Polaris ILS and we've recently become part of GMILCS. We've been re-barcoding over 84,000 items. (We started after Thanksgiving and we're already close to 50,000!) So, I hope you'll forgive me for being so late in announcing our latest kit titles.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton is hosted by Lebanon Public Library. Call 448-2459 to discuss borrowing.

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Mayhew is hosted by Shedd Free Library in Washington. Call 495-3592 to discuss borrowing.

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is being hosted by Laconia Public Library. Call 524-4775 x15 to book the kit for your group.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton. The kit is sponsored through a grant from New Hampshire Library Association. It is being hosted by Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford. Call 673-2408, or email refdesk@wadleighlibrary.org to book the kit.

The Widower's Tale hosted by Davis Public Library in Stoddard. Call 446-6251 to discuss borrowing.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Santa Has a Surprise for You!


A new RTG kit!--A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. In a review, Janet Maslin of the New York Times has this to say:
Ms. Egan uses goon as a synonym for time, as in: "Time’s a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?" Taking some of her inspiration from Proust’s "In Search of Lost Time" as well as some from "The Sopranos," she creates a set of characters with assorted links to the music business and lets time have its way with them. Virtually no one in this elaborately convoluted book winds up the better for wear. But Ms. Egan can be such a piercingly astute storyteller that the exhilaration of reading her outweighs the bleak destinies she describes.

A Visit from the Goon Squad author, Jennifer Egan, was the winner of a Pulitzer Prize in April. And, it was announced that A Visit from the Goon Squad will be made into an HBO series in near future!

The kit is hosted by the Keene Public Library and is available on a first come, first served basis. Keene is hosting three kits and has decided that taking advance reservations doesn't work for the library. Please call Gail Zachariah at 352-0157 if you have questions.

Image courtesy Open Clip Art Library.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

One More Kit!

Due to a generous grant by New Hampshire Library Association, READS-TO-GO has another title to offer! It's Room by Emma Donoghue.

If you haven't heard about Room, it's the story of a young woman who was abducted and held capture for years. The woman has had a child by her abductor and she tries, to the best of her ability, to raise him in one small room.

To say this is a discussable book is an understatement! It should result in many thought provoking sessions around the state!

The kit is being hosted by the Lincoln Public Library. Call Carol Riley at 745-8159 to book the kit for your group.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Announcing...

The Emperor's Guest: Coming of Age Behind Barbed Wire During WW II in Indonesia by Titia Bozuwa, is now a kit. Titia Bozuwa gives a riveting account of her husband Gijs's WW II experiences. Gijs, whose father was Commander of the Royal Dutch Air Force in the Dutch East Indies, is separated from his family and interned with adults where he remains for the duration of the war.

This kit is sponsored by Gafney Library in Sanbornville. Titia Bozuwa is a New Hampshire resident and is happy to speak to library groups! Contact Beryl Donovan at Gafney Library, 522-3401, to arrange to borrow the kit, or to be put in contact with the author.