Beach Read Challenge Update; SHINING GIRLS
Every year, reviewers tell us which title they think will be THE book of the summer. In some cases, they have been right (e.g., Gone Girl, and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
This year, when Janet Maslin declared The Shining Girls, (Hachette/Mulholland) by Lauren Beukes “a strong contender for the role of this summer’s universal beach read,” Cuyahoga P.L. buyer Wendy Bartlett, who was a bit skeptical, asked the library staff to get involved, read the galley and let her know if she should increase the library’s order. We asked you to join in with our The Summer Beach Read Challenge.
The upshot? Cuyahoga is sticking with their original order for the book, which came out this week. Staff reviews and the comments on EarlyWord have been mixed. Most like the main character, but think that this book, which involves both time travel and serial killers would have been better if the author had focused on one or the other.
Check your holds, however. Libraries we checked had waiting list of 10:1 on light ordering.
What is the Cuyahoga staff excited about? It’s a fall title, that has also recevied strong response on GalleyChat, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, (S&S, Oct). Below is Wendy’s annotation:
Need a laugh? Here’s the funniest book of the year. Don is a professor who thinks dating is a colossal waste of his time. (Think Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, and you understand the kind of guy Don is.) So with the help of his friends, he devises a questionnaire to find the perfect wife, and ends up helping someone completely unexpected. You’ll love this main character. Customers who liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Temple Grandin’s books will enjoy this light-hearted look at living with Asperger’s. It also reminded me of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, last year’s big Brit import. This book was released in the U.K. first and was a big hit (read the review in The Guardian). I think it’ll be a big hit here too; this will be a great reader’s advisory title.