The Library’s spotlight is on Literary Award Winners and Finalists!
Spotlight on Literary Award Winners and Finalists
Linda Bono
That’s right, “Literary Awards—Winners and Finalists” is the current theme for the Featured Books Shelf (FBS) in the Robson Ranch Library. There’s lots of variety in the genres on display—highlighted books run the gamut from the expected fiction, history, and biography to “romantasy” (who knew that was even a genre!). Hardcovers, paperbacks, large print copies, and books on CD are included in the mix. The FBS definitely offers something for everyone! Award-winning books will be highlighted throughout the months of September and October. Be sure to come in and check it out! Stop by often, because the display will be changed frequently. We have over 150 titles on the curated list!
The Featured Books Shelf is a new offering in the library. The shelf kicked off with Celebrity Picks as the theme for May/June. Historical Fiction followed for July/August. In November, the FBS will proudly honor our veterans, and December will offer holiday-themed materials. We encourage patrons to tell the volunteers on duty how they feel about the FBS and share suggestions.
So, what can you expect to find on the current FBS?
We’ve got recent releases and classics represented. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography, King: A Life, by Jonathan Eig, as well as the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Biography Finalist, Larry McMurtry: A Life, by Tracy Daugherty, are included on our list. We’ve also got A Bell for Adano, by John Hersey (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1945), and the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1961). To Kill a Mockingbird also holds the distinction of having garnered the #1 spot in The Great American Read sponsored by PBS in 2018, which, through a lengthy Internet vote, sought to identify America’s Best-Loved Novel. You might be interested in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983. Or maybe you’d like to read one of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize Winners in Fiction: The Nickel Boys (2020) and The Underground Railroad (2017). How about David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 (1978 National Book Award Winner in History)?
Perhaps Goodreads Choice Awards will interest you. We have scoured our shelves to find what books we have in our collection from the Top 10 in their genre from 2019 to 2023. That’s where you’ll find the 2023 #1 Best Romantasy book Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros, as well as the 2023 #1 Best Humor book Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond, by Henry Winkler. Are you looking for a Mystery/Thriller winner? You might consider The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (#1 in 2019), The Guest List, by Lucy Foley (#1 in 2020), The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave (#1 in 2021), The Maid, by Nita Prose (#1 in 2022), or The Housemaid’s Secret, by Freida McFadden (#1 in 2023).
Jane Scholz will present the September book talk on An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.
Save the Date
Nancy Hale
Save the date of Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. for a book discussion at the Robson Ranch Library in the CATC building. Everyone here at Robson Ranch is invited to join us. You do not need to be a member of the Friends of the Library to attend; however, we are always recruiting new members.
Our next book talk will be presented by Jane Scholtz. The book being discussed will be the 2022 bestseller An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong.
In this book you will explore our world through the senses of non-human living creatures. You will be fascinated by how animals perceive the earth. The author will show how these various living species connect us with sight, sounds, and vibrations from electric and magnetic fields.
Although our Robson Ranch resident Jane Scholtz reports she has no degree in biology or animal husbandry, she has a vast knowledge about animals. Much of her animal education was by hands-on life experiences while working as a docent at the Washington, D.C., zoo for 16 years. She states that her love for animals drew her to read this book after she read the New York Times review.
Being a nature lover myself, I am looking forward to this interactive book discussion. Jane will be sharing an additional bit of wisdom about interesting animal behavior that she learned on her very recent African adventure.
This book talk promises to be very interesting, and you will surely learn something new. Please set aside Sept. 18 for this great talk. If for some reason you will be unable to make it to this talk, remember, we will have one more book talk this year in October. The date, presenter, and topic will be announced soon.