New Arrivals

Some of the new books received at the Chandler Library:

Adult mystery
The Hanging Tree: A small-town investigator tries to uncover the truth behind an apparent suicide, but it's his own past that haunts him.
Bagpipes, Brides, and Homicides: All Liss wants is a simple white wedding, but her mother wants all the Scottish regalia. What can cause more drama? Maybe a murder to investigate?

Adult nonfiction
The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet: Get more vegetables in your diet the tasty way - with this collection of veggie burgers inspired by flavors of the world.
Almost a Psychopath: Do you know someone who is highly manipulative, shallow, or a pathological liar? Learn to recognize the signs and deal with these difficult people.

Juvenile fiction (kids' chapter books)
Zac Power: Shockwave: Zac has 24 hours to save the world... and clean his room. Can he stop a LaserBlaster poised to destroy all mobile networks around the world?
The Adventures of Jo Schmo: Dinos Are Forever
Jo is an ordinary fourth-grader, until she receives a mysterious package with a superhero cape inside and joins the family business of fighting bad guys.

Book Review: Gone Girl

On Nick and Amy's fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. In the investigation that follows, Nick admits lying to the police, and a diary is discovered that details Amy's growing fear of her husband. But what really happened the day Amy disappeared?

Gone Girl is a novel that alternates between Nick and Amy's voices, but nothing is as it seems. Lies build upon lies and secrets are discovered, so that this tale of a slowly crumbling marriage becomes a fascinating web of deceit and insanity. What is Nick lying about? Is Amy as naive as she seems? The questions - and the suspense - keep building to the very end. -Michelle (Sunset)

Back to School

It's back to school for the kids. Looking for materials to help with their schoolwork? Visit the Kids' Place page on the library website.

You can find booklists for K-6, research databases and ebooks in subjects like science and state reports, links to AR Book Finder and the Grand Canyon Reader Award, and more. And everything is free and available from home, even when the library is closed. Just visit chandlerlibrary.org, hover your mouse over the green MY LIBRARY tab, and choose Pages For: Kids.

Please note: there are no regular storytimes at the Chandler libraries in August. Check our calendar of events for special events in August. Storytimes will resume in September.

Summer Reading - The Last Week!

Summer Reading at the library ends on July 28. You have one more week to read, pick up your prizes (kids and teens), and enter the grand prize drawings (teens and adults).

Here are some suggestions that have been read by other library members in the adult summer reading program:
Animal Vegetable Miracle
Before I Go to Sleep
Halfway to the Grave
The Paris Vendetta
The Sins of the Father
Sonoma Rose
Steve Jobs
Swamplandia
Up Close and Dangerous

Retro Reads: Emma

It took me a while to become a Jane Austen fan, having slept though several movie adaptations of the classic writer's novels. That changed when I saw the wonderful BBC miniseries Emma, the most recent screen version of Jane Austen's 1815 novel, and I decided to take a look at the original.

Emma Woodhouse is the pampered daughter of a country gentleman, living a carefree life "with very little to distress or vex her." When her former governess gets married and moves away, Emma takes credit for having introduced her to her husband, and to entertain herself in a now lonely house, Emma decides to pursue matchmaking full-time. Absurd situations ensue when Emma meets Harriet - a young woman with a great deal of beauty but little in the way of money, family, or sense - and embarks upon the project of preparing Harriet for society and getting her paired off. But Emma proves to be as ignorant as Harriet in matters of romance. Like many novels of its time, Emma moves slowly compared to modern stories, with more dialogue than action. Its charm unfolds gradually in the voices of the utterly innocent Harriet, Emma's hypochondriac father, and Emma herself, whom Austen described as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like" but who becomes irresistible in her own way.

You can find Emma and hundreds of other classic books in our Always Available ebook collection, part of the Greater Phoenix Digital Library. Download them to your home computer or transfer them to an EPUB-compatible reader. You will need to download Adobe Digital Editions to access the ebooks. For the Always Available books, you will need to click the Download button, then save the file to your computer (make note of its location). Open Adobe Digital Editions, then choose Library - Add item to library. The Always Available classic ebooks do not expire and do not count against your checkout limit, so you can check out as many as you want and keep them for as long as you want.
-Michelle (Sunset)

Book Review: Calling Invisible Women

It's no surprise that middle-aged women feel invisible: taken for granted by their husbands and children, no longer turning heads on the street as young women can. But what happens when one of them actually becomes invisible?

Calling Invisible Women is Jeanne Ray's entertaining new novel, following the plight of Clover Hobart as she wakes up one morning to discover she has disappeared. What will her best friend think? Will her husband ever notice? And what does a major pharmaceutical company, maker of three popular medications that Clover takes, have to do with it? Ray's prose is charming, her tale is inspiring, and middle-aged women will be nodding in agreement. - Michelle (Sunset)

Closed July 4 - More summer reading ideas!

All four libraries will be closed on Wednesday, July 4 for Independence Day. Regular hours will apply the rest of the week.

Keep reading for the library's Summer Reading Programs! Kids, teens, and adults can enter and read for prizes or grand prize drawings, between now and July 28.

Here are some suggested titles, which people have enjoyed for the adult summer reading program:
Alex Cross's Trial
Destined
Great Gatsby
No Safe Place
Plum Spooky
State of Wonder