Raisins From the Granola

You enter the library and there are ALL THOSE BOOKS!  Where to begin?  What do you feel like reading? Don’t worry, suggestions are all around you:

First, the big oak a-frame right in front of you usually has a theme-based display (right now, gardening and backyard livestock).  On the back are random selections by our readers’ advisors and staff.  If none of those appeal to you, on the bottom shelf of the a-frame are several loose-leaf notebooks. There lies a wealth of titles:

• Award Winning Books, including the New York Times “100 Best Books of the Year” for several years back. On most of the lists, the library’s holdings are marked.
• A Readers Advisors’ favorites notebook.
• “Out of the Stacks” – Reviews of books from the Brattleboro Reformer by Calista Kristensen, whose recommendations kept our borrowers happy for many years.

A little further on, under the light paperback collection, is another set of notebooks. They contain all the “For Love of Books” columns from the Brattleboro Reformer since 1996, written by many different local people about many different books and expanded subjects.

Perhaps you want to choose your books before you even set foot in the library.  The catalog has a tab called “Brooks Books”, which includes various staff picks and theme bibliographies plus links to every award list, from the Agatha Award to World Fantasy.  You’ll find those links hiding way down at the bottom of the page in blue type.

And then there is NoveList.  NoveList is one of the treasures you will find behind our “Resources” button on the Library’s web page. NoveList only deals with fiction, but you can search it by author, title, theme, genre, series, awards.  If you have read the last book by a cherished author, go to “Read Alikes” in Novelist to find similar writers and/or titles.  Explore NoveList even if you know exactly what you want to read; it’s an adventure.

Ready to check out?  Well, there on the circulation desk is the N.Y. Times Bestseller list. Many of the titles have waiting lists, but this is the chance to put yourself in line for the hot books;  just ask, or put a hold on the title from home.  If you would like pointers on how to do that, a staff member will be happy to help you.

“So many books, so little time”, as they say, but here at the library you can pick the raisins out of the granola with help from every side.  Enjoy!