Ashley’s Comments (group member since Oct 24, 2016)

Ashley’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

Hello, all!

I apologize for the slight delay in posting this thread. Those three-day weekends always knock me off-kilter!

So, to poke a bit of fun at myself for posting this belatedly, I want to know about the times you were late to the book party. Is there an insanely popular book or series that you did not get into until after the craze?

For me, it was definitely Harry Potter. The first book was released when I was about eleven. At the time, I felt as though I was above a silly little book about wizards. I was reading mostly horror and gore as I entered middle school, and I turned my nose up at Harry Potter. It wasn't until the summer Harry and the Half Blood Prince was due to be released that I finally decided to read them. I blew through the first five over the course of a single weekend (with very little sleep!), and I have been a fan ever since.

I guess I am still late to the Lord of the Rings party, since I have not read any of those yet. It is on my to-do list (which grows longer by the day, so who knows when it will get read).

Where there any major novels or series that you did not read until after the hysteria? Do you wish you had jumped on the bandwagon sooner?

I am definitely that person when, given the option, will stay in my safe zone. I find what I love and stick with it. Every time I get on Netflix, I tell myself I am going to watch a new show - and every time I inevitably put on Breaking Bad or The Office. I am a creature of habit.

The same is true for books. While I enjoy finding new authors and new reads, there are several books/series that I fall back on when I just want something safe and familiar.

I will go through the Harry Potter series every few years. Right now, I am currently listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix read by Stephen Fry. I also make a point of reading some of my favorites at least once every two or three years. Those would include Slaughterhouse-Five, 1984, and The Things They Carried. Those are all a bit heavy, but I just love them so much and find myself wanting to fall back into the experience of reading them.

Do you have any books or series that you have reread multiple times? Do you have any sort of annual tradition involving rereading a book?

If Holmes was the one to tell this story, how do you think he would choose to tell it? Would it still be as suspenseful from his perspective? Do you think you would have reached a more accurate conclusion as to what was going on if he was the narrator?

(Question courtesy of Schmoop .)

Happy Monday, all!

I am always a sucker for a good celebrity memoir, but this isn't about that. I am looking at the fiction that well-known celebrities have written. Have you read any, and if so, what are your thoughts?

I recently read Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks and really enjoyed most of the short stories in the collection.

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak is a great book to read to kids. I didn't think that it would work as well as it did, but when I read it a few years back, the kids loved it.

I have also noticed a novel by Krysten Ritter called Bonfire that is currently on our new book display. I have not read it yet, but it looks like an exciting suspense novel.

So, what celebrity fiction have you read and loved? Or read and hated? Let us know!

Happy Monday!

A few weeks back, I posted a topic about nonfiction. One of my favorite types of nonfiction is true crime. I frequently find myself falling down the rabbit hole of online discussion forums and the Investigation Discovery TV channel.

There are several infamous unsolved crimes that are constantly being dissected. Theories fly around as to who could have possibly committed these heinous crimes. Up until recently, one of the cases that stumped most was that of the Golden State Killer. This was a person who committed multiple murders, assaults, and burglaries, but they could not pin him down. He went decades without being caught, leading to years of speculation. Michelle McNamara, wife of Patton Oswalt, wrote the book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, which was published posthumously two years after her untimely death.

Less than two months after the book was released, the Golden State Killer was identified through DNA and arrested. I have been reading everything I could on this case. I only hope that the other unsolved cases that plague me eventually find resolution.

There are many true crime books that I would recommend, but I'd be curious to see what others have read. I'll end with two that I have enjoyed recently - one solved and one unsolved. Pretty Little Killers: The Truth Behind the Savage Murder of Skylar Neese by Daleen Berry tells the unbelievable story of two teens who killed their best friend. True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray by James Renner is about Maura Murray's unsolved disappearance. I've seen several theories about what could have happened to her, but after 14 years, there are still no concrete answers. I hope one day to hear that she has been found, one way or another.

So, what are your go-to true crime books? Are there any unsolved mysteries that you find yourself drawn to?

Good Monday morning to all! We had some beautiful weather this weekend! (We also had a torrential downpour, but that was helpful in washing away some of the pollen.)

I've been in a bit of a mood lately, so I am looking to surround myself with good things. I love to laugh, so I am always on the hunt for a laugh-out-loud read.

My absolute favorite funny read is Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened. I read it when it was just a web comic, and I found those little illustrated stories both hilarious and 100% relatable.

Another good one is An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge by John O'Farrell. It is a history book covering the history of Britain up to 1945. (And if you are interested in more recent British history, he has also written An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain: or Sixty Years of Making the Same Stupid Mistakes as Always. ) This book is best read in small chunks, since it contains a huge amount of information that could be overwhelming in one go, but O'Farrell has a wonderfully British sense of humor that never fails to make me laugh.

So, let me know which books tickle your funny bone!

Happy Monday morning, all!

It is now officially April, and we are celebrating National Poetry Month! There are boards with magnetic poetry at each branch, and every week we will have a different poem challenge.

We are also having a poetry contest! Submit your original poem to any branch with a contest application (available on our website or at any Chesapeake Public Library branch) by no later than 5:00 PM on April 15th to be eligible for a prize. The winners will be announced on April 30th on the Chesapeake Public Library's Facebook page.

In honor of National Poetry Month, let's talk poems! I have never been the biggest poetry fan, but some of it speaks to me. For example, I absolutely love Langston Hughes, as well as the other Harlem Renaissance poets.

My favorite poem is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It is a long poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a British poet and one of the originators of the Romantic period. The poem is epic - a sweeping tale of a ship and its crew. The title mariner shoots an albatross that led the ship out of treacherous areas, and that is just the beginning of an exciting tale of curses, ghosts, and death. It includes the famous line, "Water, water every where,/Nor any drop to drink."

I first read the poem in my 10th grade English class. Even as we had to dissect and analyze the poem, I could feel the adventure in the story.

Are there any poems or poets that speak to you? Do you have a specific type of poem that you like? Let us know, and don't forget to visit your local Chesapeake Public Library branch and enter our poetry contest!

Good morning, everyone!

It has definitely been a very Mondayish Monday for me. I somehow managed to get out of my house and make the 30+ minute commute to work without my glasses on! I am able to see, mostly, but I can feel the strain already. Is it Friday yet?

I read an interesting conversation on Facebook that I thought I would bring over here. There are very few film adaptations that I prefer to the original books, but they do exist. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is The Hunger Games trilogy. When I first read them, I distinctly remember thinking that the books felt like a screenplay. I enjoyed them, but I felt as though they'd make better films than books. I did watch all of the films, and I liked them better than the books.

I enjoy Neil Gaiman, but I admit to liking the films for both Stardust and Coraline better than the books.

So, let me know - which movies are better than the books?

Happy Monday!

I went over to my aunt's house this weekend. The wind had done a number on her deck furniture. The picnic table was completely flipped over, chairs were scattered everywhere, and a small table with a glass top and tipped over and shattered. Something about the scene in front of me had me thinking it looked like something you'd find during the apocalypse.

I admit that dystopian fiction is my preferred genre, but I do enjoy a good post-apocalyptic novel. I have found many authors who were successfully able to convince me that the scenario they created is something that could actually happen. In Ashfall by Mike Mullin, the supervolcano lurking underneath the Yellowstone geysers erupts, causing a catastrophic crisis across the nation. Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It imagines a world throw into chaos after a meteor pushes the moon closer to the Earth and creates meteorological disasters around the globe.

And of course, we have our zombie novels. World War Z by Max Brooks provides an oral history on life after the zombie apocalypse. In Mira Grant's Feed, the cures for cancer and the common cold come at a terrible cost - an incurable infection taking over people and commanding them to feed, and the political ramifications of these new zombies.

Have you read any good post-apocalyptic novels? Do you prefer zombies? Plagues? Natural disasters? Robot uprisings? Let's talk about the end of the world!

I love looking through cookbooks! I actually have a bad habit of buying them and drooling over everything without actually getting around to cooking anything.

Happy President's Day! This is coming to you late because any time we have a holiday closure at work I completely lose track of my days.

President's Day got me thinking about good nonfiction. I am not a huge nonfiction reader; it has to be really captivating and essentially read like a novel for me to get invested in it. For me, that usually means it is a true crime book. I listened to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt and LOVED it. The audiobook narrator was amazing. I also really enjoyed Columbine by Dave Cullen and Going Clear by Lawrence Wright.

I can also get sucked into a good memoir. Some of the top ones on my list are Night by Elie Wiesel, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

What kind of nonfiction do you like to read? Have you read any good nonfiction books lately?

Kayzee wrote: "I was actually really into Mary Hahn Downing's dramas like Tallahassee Higgins and Daphne's Book. One Day at Horrorland was also one of my favorite Goosebumps books as well. I agree the Goosebumps ..."

We definitely take donations! Our Friends of the Library happily take donated items. You can drop them off at any library location.

I finally got rid of my Goosebumps books several years back, but I still have a fair amount of the Fear Street books. I will probably end up donating those soon, too, if I can get to them before my rabbit does! Not too long ago, he was roaming around the apartment. I turned my head for a moment, and next thing I knew, he had jumped into my bookshelf and was chowing down on one of the one of the books in the Cheerleaders trilogy from the Fear Street series.

Sorry for the late posting; it has definitely been a Monday!

My family and I were cleaning out my grandmother's attic a few weeks ago and stumbled upon some old Little Golden Books. It got me thinking about all of the books I loved as a kid. I had a massive collection of Little Golden Books. My favorites were The Velveteen Rabbit and The Monster at the End of This Book. My parents could read those to me every single night, and I would never tire of them!

My lifelong love of horror began when I started reading chapter books. Early on it was Goosebumps (with my favorite being One Day at Horrorland) and Mary Downing Hahn's Wait Til Helen Comes. I moved up to Christopher Pike and the Fear Street books shortly after - Remember Me being my favorite of Pike's and A New Fear being my favorite Fear Street. I've reread many of these books as an adult. While they don't quite hold up, I still love the feeling that floods through me. I strongly associate these books with being a carefree child, curled up in a window nook and furiously turning the pages so I can see what happens next.

What are your childhood favorites? Have you reread any of them as an adult?

Don't forget to head over and vote for March's book!

Happy Monday, all!

Despite my best intentions, I have not done a whole lot of reading lately. I've been cleaning my house, visiting friends and family, and attempting to tackle my neverending to-do list.

I'd like to hear your unpopular book opinions! Do you prefer e-books to physical ones? Do you think Katniss ended up with the wrong guy? Let's hear them!

I often go against the grain when it comes to thoughts and feelings about books, but I'd have to say my most unpopular opinion is that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was one of the best books of the series. Most people seem to rank it among the worst of the series because of Harry's constant angst, but I think that is what I love about it. you have this 15-year-old boy who has witnessed something terrible and is not believed by the majority of the wizarding world. He also has to contend with hormones and crushes and Professor Umbridge, arguably one of the more evil characters in the Harry Potter universe. The shouting and anger and frustration makes it much more believable to me. It would have felt inauthentic if Harry had stoically moved through this novel.

I currently have the audiobook playing in my car. It is slow-going, of course, since the book is massive, but I find myself enjoying it as much as I did the first time I read it. I would rank it as one of my favorites.

Another unpopular opinion, if my Lit classes in college are to be believed, is that Hemingway is highly overrated. I love the classics, but he is one that I could never get into!

Alright, it's your turn to discuss some unpopular book opinions!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Ashley, and I am a Librarian working in the Outreach Services Department at the Chesapeake Public Library. I am very happy to be joining the 52 Book Pick Up team this year!

I will read pretty much anything, but my favorites are contemporary young adult fiction, dystopian novels, classics, and true crime. Even though it is a nearly-impossible task, if I had to choose a single favorite book, it would be 1984.

When I am not working or reading, I can be found scouring thrift shops and antique stores for treasures, crafting with Perler beads, and hanging out with my cat and bunny.

I am glad to be here, and I look forward to joining in on the discussions!

So - Snowmageddon 2018! We are on day 5, and I am going stir crazy! I've picked up a couple of different books, but nothing has held my attention for the entirety of this unexpected break. I started with The Tenth Circle, then I tried The Casual Vacancy. Both are really interesting so far, so once I get back in my groove I am sure they will move along quickly.

How has everyone enjoyed the snow days? Were you curled up with a good book, or did you frolic in the snow?

It's been fun, but I am ready for it to melt away now so I can get back to the real world!

I am a huge Shakespeare fan, but even I haven't read the collected works. I am more of a tragedies and comedies girl; his histories don't do a whole lot for me. I love Hamlet and Macbeth for the good, solid tragedy. The Twelfth Night is fun. You can always read/watch a play version, then watch She's the Man to see it modernized. If you want something a bit more off the beaten path, I would try Titus Andronicus. It is his bloodiest work. There are people baked into pies!

His Dark Materials are AMAZING. I found pristine set in a charity shop in London a few years back, and they are some of my prized possessions. :)

I love John Steinbeck because his novels were part of the strong bond I had with my grandfather, but I admit that The Grapes of Wrath is not the easiest to get through. I would always pick Of Mice and Men as the better of his more famous novels.

I read The Lovely Bones when it first started to get buzz around it. I don't remember specifically why, but I recall that I was not fond of it.

Wuthering Heights and Dracula are both pretty solid classics. I'd actually like to read them again someday.

It's funny; I own two shirts from the awesome Out of Print clothing line , and they are both books from your list - 1984 and The Great Gatsby. 1984 is forever my terrifyingly prophetic favorite. I know The Great Gatsby isn't for everyone, but I've read it so many times (some for fun, some for class assignments) that I am pretty sure I can recite the whole thing aloud.

I think I read The Catcher in the Rye too late in life. If I'd read it as an angsty 13-year-old, it probably would have resonated with me. As it were, I just wanted to punch Holden in the face for the entirety of the novel.