New Providence’s Comments (group member since May 04, 2013)

New Providence’s comments from the New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group group.

Have you had a chance to download the free ReadSquared app and log the books you've read this month? Once you log 3 books, you'll receive a fun vinyl sticker for your water bottle or laptop, delivered by a NPML teen volunteer!

What has been your favorite book or books of the summer?

Mine has been Mythos by Stephen Fry, a charming retelling of Greek myths - and I'm looking forward to the second book in the series, Heroes, which came out this summer.


My sisters and I are reading our way through The Cazalet Chronicles from the 1990s - a modern classic that was made into a BBC miniseries.


Countering my lighter reading, my eyes have been opened by Stamped From the Beginning. It traces the history of racist ideas over the past 500 years that rationalized black enslavement, segregation and criminalization.


Let us know if you've read anything good lately!

You're going to read this summer anyway - why not earn prizes and maybe even win one of the grand prizes, a $25 gift card to NP Fuel or Bellariva?

Download the ReadSquared app or log your reading at ReadSquared to earn your prizes and fun virtual badges! Earn points even more quickly by completing missions and attending the library's virtual events this summer!

At 300 points (3 books), you'll earn a vinyl sticker for your laptop or water bottle. At 600 points (6 books), you'll earn a small tote bag with the library's name on it.

At 900 points (9 books), you'll be entered into the drawing for the adult grand prizes, a $25 gift card to Bellariva and a $25 gift card to NP Fuel!

Thank you to the Friends of the NPML for making our prizes and events possible this summer!

Don't know what to read next? Try browsing the library shelves or ask us to select 3 books for you! Contactless pickup of library materials is now available. We're even offering delivery of summer reading prizes this year, thanks to our teen volunteers.

We're also recommending Hoopla Digital e-books - a different theme every week. Looking for a good e-book in the Libby app? See what's available now. Don't miss and which will be available for the next month in Libby!

FYI, the book drops are open now, if you'd like to return your books!

I've been enjoying "The Cold Dish" by Craig Johnson - this is the first in the mystery series that the Netflix original series Longmire is based on. The characters like Walt Longmire, the sheriff, are great & the humor balances out the violence. There is a strong sense of place, beautiful Bighorn Mountain county in Wyoming. In addition to Netflix, I also heard of it through my alma mater's university library - their book group read "Wait for Signs" which are short stories from the same series. For me it's always the sign of a good mystery if a book group can discuss it!

Are you taking comfort in your favorite genres during quarantine? Or have you switched to books you wouldn't have normally read? I am getting over my distaste for ebooks and a latest-bestseller-only friend of mine has discovered Ellery Adams' cozy mysteries. Let us know what you've been reading!

Sangeeta wrote: "a SHOUT OUT to Lisa, Ellen, and everyone behind the scenes who is working to keep patrons informed and entertained with great Facebook posts, goodreads, and emails with book and to-do suggestions !..."

Thank you Sangeeta =)

Hi New Providence!

Let's take a break from the dystopian sci-fi novel that's our current reality and talk about what we've been reading!

I am racing through Ann Patchett's The Dutch House - the story of two siblings, and their relationship with the parents they lost -- with a villainness you'll love to hate.

The book group is listening to The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland. It's the story of how a small town came together to take care of stranded airline passengers after 9/11 shut down air traffic into the United States.

You can download the free audiobook for the Hoopla Digital app here: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/1...
Let me know if you want to attend the discussion by phone/video conference on May 7.

The library has added ebook suggestions to http://www.newprovidencelibrary.org (just click on Books and look under Recommendations)

You can also find more library ebook suggestions at https://catalog.newprovidencelibrary.org

What have YOU been reading?

Remember reading Barbarian Days, Sangeeta? Or maybe it was one you didn't get through. I loved it. It's about surfing. I knew nothing about surfing and had no interest but through this book, I realized there is a lot to it including terrain, weather, wind and type of board and style. It is also a chronicle of child-raising in the 60's and how mores around interpersonal relationships between men and women have changed. Beautifully written, thoughtful. Recommended but takes a little effort.

Sangeeta - Wave can be sad, but because it starts with the tsunami and works backward in time from there, it's also a celebration of life.

Have you seen the NY Times' list of the
50 best memoirs of the past 50 years?

Here are the ones the library owns:



I loved Wave & Fun Home. A Life's Work and The Year of Magical Thinking are going on my TBR list.

Do you see anything on the list that you loved?

OK...I have expanded my list here and will be busy for awhile. I did get a recommendation from a co-worker and loved the book called A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding. No, it's not about the UN. It takes place in Nagasaki directly before and after the bomb and follows the narrator and her husband and daughter. The author unwinds the story slowly and in flashbacks and the relationships are complex. I liked the insight into Japanese family life and war experience which we don't tend to hear.

Suggestions for beach reads? If they're in, I'll add them to the beach reads display at the library.

Read 3 books since mid-June? Pick up one of the following at the front desk:

$1 off the bookstore, $1 off fines, free DVD checkout, or cellphone wallet with NPML logo

You have until July 31 to read 3 books and earn your giveaway!

I am in search of a recommendation for a really good historical fiction book as a respite from the serious stuff I've been reading lately! Any suggestions out there?

Starting today through July 31, enter to win gift cards donated by these local businesses!

Bagel Cafe, Bellariva, Chopt, Cinemark, Coppolla, Linda's Creative Gifts, McDonald's, NP Fuel, Prestige Diner, ShopRite, Skin Deep, Trader Joe's, Unwind Yoga, Zita's

Earn a raffle ticket for each adult- or YA-level book you read, up to 6. Pick them up at the reference desk. This year, you select which gift card drawing(s) you want to enter!

Last day to collect your tickets and place them in the prize baskets is July 31. Winners will be contacted August 1.

Get your reading log here or at the reference desk.

After you read 3 books, pick up your choice of coupon at the reference desk: $1 off fines coupon, free DVD checkout, or a bookstore buck. Get your Universe of Stories bookmark too!

If you read anything you'd like to recommend to the rest of the GoodReads group, please mention it the comments!

Drum roll, please!



"To Kill a Mockingbird" won the Great American Read last night on PBS. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien were finalists as well.

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/results/

The library also has a winner to announce! All entries for "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the library contest were entered in a drawing for two tickets to the Newark Museum. Sangeeta's name was drawn. Congratulations, Sangeeta!

What's your opinion of the winning title and the finalist titles? Did you vote for any of them in the official PBS voting?

Why are we so drawn to these novels about other worlds? How do they help us gain insight into our own world?

Enter to win two free Newark Museum tickets! Comment below with the title that you think will win the Great American Read.

Once the winner is announced on TV on Oct. 23, we'll enter any guesses for the winning title into a drawing at the library for the museum tickets.

To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlotte's Web are in the lead at NPML. Here's what's been guessed so far at the library:

Funny, that's about how many on the list I have read too.

Has anyone else taken the quiz?
https://www.pbs.org/the-great-america...

What do our favorite books about villains, monsters, and evil forces tell us about ourselves and our darkest desires?

Enter to win two free Newark Museum tickets! Comment with the title that you think will win the Great American Read. Correct guesses will be entered into a drawing. So far these books have been guessed:



"Book List Journaling"
Tonight! Tuesday, October 2 from 7 pm to 8 pm
Write out "to read" or other book lists in bullet journal format. Examples, printables and Great American Read stickers will be provided. Please bring your own notebook and pen.

"Book Circle: New Fiction"
Tuesday, October 9 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Reader's advisor and librarian Sue Lipstein of the Morristown Public Library will recommend recently published books of interest to book groups. This program was made possible by the Friends of the New Providence Memorial Library. Please RSVP to npmlref@yahoo.com or call (908) 665-0311.

What books on the Great American Read list come to mind when you think of heroes and heroines? Why are we drawn to these books with heroic characters, and how do they bring us comfort, hope, and inspiration?

Plus: if you'd like to enter to win two free Newark Museum tickets from the library, list what title that you think will win the Great American Read below in the comments. Correct guesses will be entered into a drawing.

October is National Reading Group Month! Don't miss these events at NPML:

Tuesday, October 2 from 7 pm to 8 pm
"Book List Journaling"
Write out "to read" or other book lists in bullet journal format. Examples, printables and Great American Read stickers will be provided. Please bring your own notebook and pen.

Tuesday, October 9 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm
"Book Circle: New Fiction"
Reader's advisor and librarian Sue Lipstein of the Morristown Public Library will recommend recently published books of interest to book groups. This program was made possible by the Friends of the New Providence Memorial Library. Please RSVP to npmlref@yahoo.com or call (908) 665-0311.

Hi Karen,
You've been entered into the contest.

Karen wrote: "I think TKAM will win. I’ll go with you, Sangeeta, if Fifty Shades wins. I do painfully admit that Flowers in the Attic was the most profound thing I read as a 12 year old. I could never get throug..."