Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe is a famous actor widely known for his roles on Parks and Rec, The West Wing, Brothers and Sisters, The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire and many other productions. 

As a child, Rob Lowe lived just doors down from Martin and Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez.  He had the opportunity to meet and gather advice from Cary Grant, Liz Taylor, Jim Belushi and countless other industry icons.  This autobiography is well written and while initially the phrase ’name dropper’ crossed my mind, I have to admit that the number of famous people he has met and worked with is quite astounding.  His story is one of ups and downs and just plain surviving in the movie business. 

I would recommend the audiobook in particular as it is read by Rob Lowe himself.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is a writer who grips your interest as soon as you begin reading one of her books. I read The House at Riverton a few years ago so when I saw The Distant Hours on the new book shelf, I grabbed it. Some writers tell a good story but their writing is mediocre. Morton, however, writes beautifully, tells an exciting story, and introduces characters that are unique and well-developed. The Distant Hours is partly historical fiction, some chapters taking place during WWII, others in modern times. It is also partly a mystery, who done it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it.

Russell Banks at PBS News

If you are anxious to hear from Russell Banks. Take a look at the interview that PBS news recently did with him while he discussed his latest novel, Lost Memory of Skin.
Russell Banks will be at the Warren-Newport Public Library on Monday, October 17 at 7:00 pm. Books will be available for purchase from the Lake Forest bookstore and he will be signing.

youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5_DMTs47Q]

Russell Banks–@ Warren-Newport Public Library

Bestselling author Russell Banks will be making his first appearance at the Warren-Newport Public Library on Monday, October 17 at 7:00 pm. Born in Massachusetts, he was educated in North Carolina but currently lives in New York.  He writes mainly fiction and has been translated into 20 languages that has garnered him numerous awards. His novel, Cloudsplitter narrowly missed out on winning a Pulitzer Prize. His work highlights the every day obstacles man must work to overcome, often showing the downtrodden but enabling the  resilence of man that is available. He will discuss his latest, Lost Memory of Skin, that shows the limbo experienced by one young man after finding himself judged a convicted sex offender. Trapped by guilt and foolish impulses, the Kid, must reconsider past choices and what the future may hold. This is an uncompromising and morally complex novel that probes our society’s mores.

Books will be available from Lake Forest Bookstore and Mr. Banks will sign.

Authors! Authors! Authors! Coming to a library near YOU

The Warren Newport Public Library has quite a few authors coming in the next couple of months. The following authors will be appearing at other local libraries.

Tuesday, October 11
Chris Bohjalian author of The Night Strangers
(Crown  $25.00, due October 4)
Waukegan Public Library at 6:00 p.m.
Call 847-623-2041 to reserve

Thursday, October 13
Young Adult Authors
Waukegan Public Library at 3:00 p.m.
Call (847) 623-2041 to reserve
Becca Fitzpatrick, author of Silence
(Simon and Schuster  $18.99, due October 4) and
 Moira Young, author of Blood Red Road
(McElderry  $17.99)

Saturday, October 15
Kate Gerlach
Cook Book Blogger Fremont library
1:00 PM

Monday, October 17
Russell Banks author of The Lost Memory of Skin (Ecco  $25.99, due September 27)
Vernon Area Public Library 11:30 (lunch included)
Call 847-566-8702 to reserve
Warren Newport District Library at 7:00 p.m.
Call 847-244-5150 to reserve

Tuesday, October 18
Author Ellen Baker
Keeping House
Lake Forest Bookstore Book Club
7:00 PM

Thursday, October 20th
Author Donia Bojan
Location: Lake Villa Library
1:00 PM                                        
1001 E Grand Ave
Lake Villa, Illinois 60046
(847) 356-7711
Refreshments servedby  Lake Villa Library
7:00 PM – Ela Library
http://www.eapl.org/

Monday, October 24
Book Club Event at the Arboretum Club
(401 Half Day Road, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089)
12:30 p.m. (lunch included, goody bag giveaway)
Sponsored by Vernon Area Public Library
Call 847-566-8702 to reserve
Panel includes Ellen Hopkins, author of Triangles
(Atria  $26.00, due October 18)
Amy Hatvany, author of Best Kept Secret
(Washington Square  $15.00)
Sarah Pekkanen, author of Skipping a Beat
(Washington Square  $15.00)

Monday, October 24
Ellen Hopkins, author of Perfect
(McElderry  $18.99, due September 13)
Stevenson High School at 7:00 p.m.
Call 847-566-8702 to reserve (Vernon Area Library District)

Thursday, October 27
Southgate Bookclub
Author Mona Simpson
My Hollywood
6:30 PM

Thursday, October 27
Young Adult Authors
Lake Villa District Library at 7:00 p.m.
Call 847-356-7711 to reserve
Ilsa Bick, author of Ashes
(Egmont  $17.99, due September 6)
Simone Elkeles, author of Chain Reaction
(Walker  $17.99)

Tuesday, November 1
Gilad Sharon, author of Sharon, the Life of a Leader (Harper  $29.00, due October 25)
Highland Park Public Library at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 3
Caroline Preston author of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt (Ecco  $25.99, due October 25)
Ragdale event at South Gate Cafe at 4:00 p.m. for tea
$30, advance registration required
Call Ragdale 847-234-1063 x201 to reserve

Saturday, November 5
Mystery Writers Panel
Waukegan Public Library at 1:00 p.m.
Call (847) 623-2041 to reserve
Tasha Alexander, author of A Crimson Warning (Minotaur  $24.99, due October 25)
Shane Gericke, author of Torn Apart (Pinnacle  $6.99)
Andrew Grant, author of Die Twice (Minotaur  $9.99)
Luisa Buheler, author of  Grace Marsden Mystery Series

Tuesday, November  8
John Flanagan author of Outcasts:
A Brotherband Chronicle (Philomel  $18.99,
due November 1)
Lake Bluff Middle School 11:00 a.m. (student event)
Warren Newport District Library at 4:00 p.m.
Call 847-244-5150 to reserve
Vernon Area District Library at 7:00 p.m.
Call 847-566-8702 to reserve

Wednesday, November 9
Laura Kipnis
How to become a Scandle
Highland Park Libary
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 12
Mystery Writers Panel
Vernon Area Public Library at 1:00 p.m.
Call 847-566-8702 to reserve
Raymond Benson, author of The Black Stiletto
(Oceanview $25.95, due September 5)
Michael Harvey, author of We All Fall Down
(Knopf  $24.95)
Jeffrey Small, author of The Breath of God
(West Hills  $15.95)

Wednesday, November 16
Maria Duenas
author of:The Time in Between
Lake Villa for a 1:00 PM program on

Saturday, November 19
Warren Newport District Library
Call 847-244-5150 to reserve
Mystery Writers
Sara Paretsky, author of Bodywork (Signet  $9.99)
Libby Hellmann, author of Set the Night on Fire
(Allium  $16.99)

Celebrate Banned Book Week

What do the books Hunger Games, Twilight, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian have in common?  They all made the top 10 most frequently challenged books list of 2010.  You can check out the lists by year from this link: uesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/index.cfm.  This list by the American Library Association will also tell you the reason for the challenge. Celebrate the beginning of Autumn by reading a banned or challenged book!

Acceptable Loss by Anne Perry

I love a good historical mystery and Anne Perry writes two of the best series around. I am partial to her William Monk/Hester Latterly series. The first, The Face of a Stranger, introduces William Monk, a driven but brilliant police inspector who has been involved in a serious accident and has lost most of his memories. Hester Latterly has just returned from nursing in the Crimean War and is trying to pick up the pieces of her life. Through the next 16 novels their relationship deepens and they team up personally and professionally. In Acceptable Loss, the body of a small-time crook named Mickey Parfitt washes up on the tide, no one grieves; far from it. But William Monk, commander of the River Police, is puzzled by the expensive silk cravat used to strangle Parfitt. Dockside informers lead Monk to what may be a partial answer—a floating palace of corruption on the Thames managed by Parfitt, where a captive band of half-starved boys are imprisoned. Though the investigation seems solved, questions about a past murder and blackmail surface to confuse the detectives. An amazing story about corruption, power and the ones who strive to make it safe. A great addition!

Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon’s hair may be grayer and he is certainly looking for a kinder and gentler life, but when he is called upon to fight against terrorism, he is fully involved. Portrait of a Spy is the eleventh in the series.

For Gabriel and his wife, Chiara, it was supposed to be the start of a pleasant weekend in London—a visit to a gallery in St. James’s to authenticate a newly discovered painting by Titian, followed by a quiet lunch. But a pair of deadly bombings in Paris and Copenhagen has already marred this autumn day. And while walking toward Covent Garden, Gabriel notices a man he believes is about to carry out a third attack. Before Gabriel can draw his weapon, he is knocked to the pavement and can only watch as the nightmare unfolds.

Gabriel and his team devise a daring plan to destroy the network of death from the inside, a gambit fraught with risk, both personal and professional. To succeed, Gabriel must reach into his violent past. A woman waits there—a reclusive heiress and art collector who can traverse the murky divide between Islam and the West. She is the daughter of an old enemy, a woman joined to Gabriel by a trail of blood. This is Daniel Silva at his best. He allows us to see into the very human heart of Allon and how he fights against evil and the killing of innocence.

Author of the Week–Tom Robbins

Thomas Eugene Robbins was born July 22, 1936. An American best-selling author of semi-comic, but often poetic stories that have strong social and philosophical undercurrents. His best known novel, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, was made into a movie starring Uma Thurman.

Born in North Carolina, his family moved to Virginia where Tom graduated from Hargrove Military Academy where he won the Senior Essay Medal. He enlisted in the Air Force and spent time in Korea. He eventually graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and ended up in Seattle working on a Master’s degree at the University of Washington. He continues to live in Washington.

Robbins continues to craft his quirky and ultimately optimistic novels of the search for the meaning of life, convinced that our culture remains as materialistic, conformist, and confused as ever. He once wrote, “social action on the political/economic level is wee potatoes. Our great human adventure is the evolution of consciousness. We are in this life to enlarge the soul and light up the brain.” He has written 9 books and 1 anthology.

War Horse

A new film will be out in time for the holidays called War Horse.  It is an epic film of friendship and loyalty between a boy named Albert and his horse Joey.  The story is told through Joey’s eyes as he is sold and used as a war horse during WWI.  I’m really looking forward to seeing this film.  It is based on the book of the same name by Michael Morpurgo and is directed by Steven Spielberg.