Summer Reading Favorites

The Summer Reading Program is on at the Chandler Public Library! Kids, teens, and adults can register online for the program. Log your books online, then come in to the library to pick up the prizes you earn. The program ends July 27.

Take a look at what other library users are reading this summer:

Age is Just a Number

An amazing story of a dedicated Olympic athlete and what it takes to be the best. It's very inspiring for anyone who is no longer 20 years old and wondering if, with age, their "prime" and dreams are gone. -Tricia

Dream New Dreams
The widow of Randy Pausch, the famous "Last Lecture" professor, writes her own book with inspiring insight into the other side of cancer, the role of the caregiver. This is an easy read, very thoughtful, and just a wonderful experience. - Alexandra

The Fist of God
This book views the first war in Iraq from the British perspective. It is interesting to see the confusion regarding "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that may or may not have been present in Iraq. The intelligence gathering methods were new to me. - Kent

Helga's Diary
This is an excellent first person account of the concentration camps during World War II. Helga's Dairy survived because she gave it to her uncle, who hid it inside a brick wall, and it was retrieved after the war. It was hard to put down. - Liane

The Light Between Oceans
I really enjoyed this book. It makes you think about your moral compass and what you would choose when two contrasting choices both seem right. - Cami

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
"Adults follow paths, children explore." I downloaded the book at noon and couldn't put it down until I finished. This was not my typical "read." Engaging and imaginative. Loved it! - Marybeth

(Reviews have been edited for spelling and grammar.)

Book Review: The Dinner

Paul Lohman and his wife meet his brother and sister-in-law for dinner at an upscale restaurant. The evening begins with typical smalltalk and complaints about the high price and small portions of the food, but it soon becomes clear that there is nothing casual about this meeting. Paul and his brother have teenage sons, the boys have been involved in something serious, and Paul's brother wants to talk about it. Only gradually does it become clear what has really happened.

In The Dinner, Dutch author Herman Koch writes a novel of subtle suspense and deep secrets. What did the boys do, and why? Is Paul's wife trying to cover it up? Did Paul know about it? And did he have anything to do with it? The answers unfold slowly and with a growing sense of fascination and dread, as the author skillfully builds a study of a family where everything has gone very wrong. - Michelle (Sunset)

Summer Reading is here!

Summer is here and that means vacations, BBQs, and time to curl up by the pool or on the beach with a great book. Whether you're looking for a little learning or a little excitement, there are dozens of books headed to shelves near you that want to keep you entertained while you're relaxing in a summer breeze. See the links below to find the perfect beach read, or check out a few of our favorite reads from this year.

Summer Reading Guide from LA Times

Publishers Weekly Best Summer Reads

AARP Summer Reads

NPR Critics' Lists 

Science Friday Summer Reading List

Entertainment Weekly Must-Read List  

Staff favorites:  
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill  
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan  
The World's Strongest Librarian by Joshua Hanagarne  
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

New Arrivals

New at the Chandler Public Libraries:

Nonfiction
Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps
Tips for how to cook, handling money, and other grown-up things you should do even if you don't want to.

The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting
What the internet tot might say about how to raise kids.

Hungry Girl: Just Desserts
Yummy desserts under 200 calories.

Teen Fiction
The Rules for Disappearing
Meg's father doesn't want her to ask why they're living in Witness Protection, but she wants answers.

September Girls
Sam thinks he's going to spend the summer in a quiet beach town, but mysterious things are happening.

Kids' Picture Books
One Bright Ring
A little girl tries to find the man who dropped a ring in this counting book.

Ben Rides On
Ben loves riding his bike to school, but he does not like the school bully.

Jump!
Barb the cactus wants to see the country, and she knows just how to hitch a ride.

Closed May 27 - Check out our resources for readers

All four Chandler Public Libraries will be closed Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. You can still use some of our reading resources while the library's closed - take a look at our Books and Reading page on our website.

Try Novelist or Books & Authors to get suggestions for your next great read. (Note: these two resources require logging in with your library card and PIN numbers.) Find out what the next book is in your favorite series with the What's Next database. Get the scoop on your favorite mysteries with Stop You're Killing Me. Find lots of book lists at our Book Lists page, with links right into the library catalog so you don't have to do a separate search to place your holds.

Don't forget! The Summer Reading Program starts May 30. Pre-readers, kids, teens, and adults can read to get prizes. This year every participant must register online and log their books online, but kids can also pick up an optional gameboard on or after May 30. Visit the Summer Reading website for more information. And take a look at our calendar of events to see what special summer activites your branch has planned - magicians, crafts, author visits, and more!

Sorry, this year the Arizona Diamondbacks are not Summer Reading Program partners.

Book Review: Gulp

What makes whale skin delicious to the Inuit but gross to the average American? Why did an early 20th-century nutritionist encourage chewing each bite seven hundred times? Did constipation kill Elvis? Science journalist Mary Roach set out to answer these question in her new book Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. With a humorous and thoroughly engaging tone, she takes us through the process of eating and digestion, uncovering unusual bits of medical history (like the man whose colon, at his death, had a diameter of 28 inches) and interviewing doctors and researchers working with everything from saliva to fecal transplant (first performed in the 1950s, when, according to the doctor who pioneered the procedure, "...if we had an idea, we simply tried it"). You might not want to read this on your lunch break, but you'll probably discover that your digestive tract is more interesting than you ever imagined. - Michelle (Sunset)

New @ Chandler Library: ed2go

Update: ed2go is now Learn4Life. The same classes are available for free, but no passcode is required, just your library card number. Visit our Learn4Life page for more information.

Looking for free educational courses and career training programs?** You can now find them at Chandler Public Library! Visit our website to get started with ed2go, and get enrolled for classes on business, health care, computers and technology, languages, and more. All classes are free with a Chandler Library card and an enrollment passcode that you can get through the library's ed2go site. Most classes run for six weeks, two classes per week. Get more details and enrollment instructions at our ed2go launch page, or see this video tutorial on how to get started:

**Please note that ed2go classes do NOT carry college credit and will not show on any college transcripts.