Hi there Summer Readers! I hope you guys are having a great time reading and having fun. Are you looking for an award-winning book to fulfill one of your activity spaces on your log? Try the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award! The ALA website describes the award by saying, "The Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year." Just click here to be taken to the ALA website to see the list of Geisel Award winners and runners-up! The 2010 winner is Benny and Penny in the Big No-No by Geoffrey Hayes. Happy Reading!

The numbers are in!
The top five most downloaded titles from CPL's eBook collection for April 2010 are:

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr
3. Die Trying by Lee Child
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Caught by Harlan Coben

I love Victorian mysteries, movies, non-fiction or anything with that flavor or set in that time period. A trifle romantic, a bit goth, always prim and proper up front, but underneath...ooh, so mysterious! Here is a list of titles, some classics, but most not so well known.

Fiction

Kept : a Victorian mystery by D.J. Taylor

Death at Whitechapel : a Victorian mystery by Robin Paige

Defend and betray by A Victorian Mystery Featuring Inspector Monk by Anne Perry

Mrs. Jeffries and the missing alibi by Emily Brightwell

Silent in the grave by Deanna Raybourn

As a long time fiction reader who recently has been reading primarily nonfiction, I love the way details spark my interest and lead me on a bread crumb path to the next book. Listening to Mrs. Astor regrets about Brooke Astor's decline made me wonder what happened to her son, Tony. A quick Power Search of our databases found several current articles.

I also wondered about Vincent Astor's second wife, Minnie, who apparently set him up to marry Brooke. So I picked up The sisters, a bio of the 3 Cushing sisters — who all married very, very well. Minnie's sisters Babe and Betsey had beautiful homes which were at least partially decorated by the celebrated firm Parish-Hadley (who also designed Brook Astor's famous library). CPL doesn't own the book I wanted, Parish-Hadley, but no problem — I had it sent here from MelCat.