A book lover's dating site

While going through my RSS reader (what would I do without you, Google Reader?) I saw one of my favorite librarian bloggers had posted about a new dating site. Now dating sites are something that librarians are well-versed in--and not because we're playing into the spinster stereotypes. Tons of people use dating sites, and a lot of the time we get questions about dating sites we may suggest, the safety of using one, and even help some people fill out their profiles (although we draw the line at coming up with your favorite activities beyond "long walks on the beach"). So it makes sense for me to post about this--after all, it would be safe to assume that most, if not all, of our patrons who come to the library and ask about dating sites enjoy reading books as well. So you might take a look at Alikewise, a dating service that matches you with your potential date based on books and authors. It just launched last month, so give it some time to pick up steam, but this one certainly has an interesting take on dating sites.

MW

Highest Paid Authors

Forbes published a list of the highest paid book authors from July 1, 2009-June 1, 2010. Does this make them the best authors? No but they certainly sell a lot of books or have big movie deals. Are any of these your favorites? SH

(Photo is from www.jamespatterson.com)

Top 10 Highest Paid Book Authors

1. James Patterson, $70 million
2. Stephanie Meyer, $40 million
3. Stephen King, $34 million
4. Danielle Steel, $32 million
5. Ken Follett, $20 million
6. Dean Koontz, $18 million
7. Janet Evanovich, $16 million
8. John Grisham, $15 million
9. Nicholas Sparks, $14 million
10. J.K. Rowling, $10 million

from Forbes.com

Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum News

If you haven't heard of Janet Evanovich or Stephanie Plum, you have been missing out on a lot of great laughs. Evanovich is the author of 16 Stephanie Plum novels, the latest being Sizzling Sixteen. Stephanie is a Trenton, New Jersey former lingerie buyer turned bail bondswoman/bounty hunter (for which she she has no training or skills) who is joined by a host of unusual characters

• Lula ( a plus sized woman and a former hooker)

• Connie (a secretary who carries an NRA card)

• Vinnie (owner of the bail bonds company who is married to the daughter of a mob boss)

• Grandma Mazur (Stephanie's Grandmother whose idea of a great social event is a "showing" at the local funeral parlor).

Evanovich also adds in two gorgeous males (Ranger--the man in black with special ops skills and Joe Morelli--a vice cop with ties to Stephanie from high school--who have a soft spot in their hearts for her. Stephanie has a knack for falling into criminal circumstances as she tries to make a living bringing in bail jumpers so is always in need of being rescued.

The big news is that One for the Money, based on the first book in the series, is currently being made into a movie with Katherine Heigl playing Stephanie Plum. It's still not too late to have some fun this summer. Start reading the Plum series now so you can be primed for the release of the movie in 2012. SH

Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay

What's getting more buzz than the new Jonathan Franzen novel? That's right, a young adult title. It's the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. Don't forget to come see the author, Suzanne Collins, at the Wellesley Free Library on August 31.

maf

Patricia Cornwell News

Fans of Patricia Cornwell and her best selling series featuring Forensic Pathologist Kay Scarpetta will be delighted to know that she has the first of two new books coming out called Port Mortuary. This 18th book in the series will be available November 30 but it is best to place your requests today as the list is continually growing. We have it available in print and on CD. Word is that the second book will feature the New England Aquarium, as she was seen there on August 5 doing research for the pending publication.

Port Mortuary not only introduces another high tech procedure, CT-assisted virtual autopsy, but reaches back to Kay's early life. It fills us in on her experience with Air Force when she enlisted to pay off her medical school debt. This is where she first experienced brutal killing cases which led later to her becoming an expert in forensic pathology and became linked with the FBI.

In case you did not know, Angelina Jolie signed on in 2009 to portray Kay Scarpetta in a proposed feature film endeavor. The movie will not be based upon one book but will pull events from the entire series. This is a disappointment because each book spends a great deal of time examining the crimes in great detail. No word on when filming will even begin. SH

Simon Prebble - Master storyteller

Chances are, if you enjoy listening to audiobooks, Booklist's 3rd annual Voice of Choice, Simon Prebble, is familiar to you. Having narrated nearly 500 audiobooks, and the recipient of 14 Audie nominations, his name is synonymous with a spectacular listening experience. Born in England, Prebble performed on stage and TV before moving to New York where he now records from his home studio. He succeeds in bringing out the emotions of each character through his various vocal talents including multiple accents, dialects, rhythm and "matching his tone to the author's
intention". Prebble reads a wide variety of genres but particularly enjoys psychological thrillers.

-DB

New Books for August

What are the popular fiction and mystery titles coming out in August? Here are a few:

Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

Postcard Killers by James Patterson

Body Work by Sara Paretsky

MAF

Play some awesome video games made by local designers!

These past couple of weeks we've been hosting a video game making workshop where budding game designers learned how to use the GameMaker 8 software to design and create their own video games. The software is freely available at http://www.yoyogames.com/, which has great tutorials for different types of games (maze, platform, 3D, etc.)--some of which were used to get us started! We began with an easy video game and then moved up to a maze-style game which allowed for each of the designers to impart their own special twist--different monsters, heroes, objectives, and layouts. If you'd like to check out the games created during the workshop, you can find them by clicking here. Keep in mind that they're still a work in progress, as each participant took their game files home with them to keep refining and building on the game. Enjoy!