From the Library Director

As we highlight the READ posters and celebrate local
readers, I thought I would share some of my favorite
reads with you.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I learned a great deal from this book: history, politics, and leadership. I found the presidential nomination process of the day fascinating. Lincoln’s ability to work through incredibly
difficult political situations was inspiring. Even though I knew how the book would turn out, I began to understand why he is the great man so beloved by so many. I listened to this one on CD, and after I was done, I missed Abraham Lincoln on my commute to work.
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Colllins (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) This is the story of a futuristic North America where 12 districts are ruled by “The Capitol”. The Capitol rules with an iron fist and maintains its power with an annual death match that pit two teens drawn by lottery from each of the districts in a fight to the death. All of the novels have strong characters and a compelling story.
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (Also The Revenge of the Spellmans, Curse of the Spellmans, and The Spellmans Strike Again) This is a laugh out loud series about a dysfunctional, but loveable, family of private investigators who spend more time investigating each other than doing business.
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I read this series to my daughter, and now I am reading it to my son. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed the books because it has been fun for all of us (even the second time around ). As I recently sat next to my daughter at the midnight premier of Deathly Hallows part 2, I was excited to share the experience with her. She reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the week before the premier. We have these wonderful conversations that compare the books to the movies. At 3:00 am we stood in the kitchen and reread the last the last chapter together and discussed it. Anything that gets kids that excited about reading is fantastic in my eyes.
Whether you read for information, for fun, to create experiences with your children, it doesn’t matter …
READ!
Audrey Betcher, Rochester Public Library Director