TitleTales

Cozy Mysteries: by Debbie Cross

Adult Special Topics—5/28/10
Okay, Okay, I confess, I love a good mystery. From Nevada Barr to Kathy Reichs, from Patricia Cornwell and Michael Crichton to James Patterson and David Baldacci, the more hard boiled the better. I love tracking down the clues, following the twists and turns until the murderer is unveiled. In fact when watching a mystery on TV my husband will often say “Okay Nancy (Drew)”.

One day my sister called asking if I had read the Southern Sisters by Anne George yet. She had already decided which sister each of us represented. That was all it took. I became a fan of the cozy. It’s not that I’ve given up on my hard-boiled mysteries, but that I’ve found room for cozies as well. From a hair–raising journey with Stephanie Plum, Grandma Mazur, Lula and all of her love interests to meeting Lucky, I enjoy a nice quiet rainy afternoon curled up on the couch with a cozy. I look forward to helping my favorite librarian, Miss Zukas, solve her next murder; following Dixie Hemingway protecting and defending the next unsuspecting victim; and meeting my next favorite author and protagonist such as debut author Deborah Coonts and her new novel Wanna Get Lucky. I hope you will join me in my adventures.

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Fantasy, Faeries & Magic: by Kathy Simonetta

Juvenile & YA Special Topics—05/28/10
Fantasy stories enable readers to expand their imaginations more than any other genre. In fact, fantasy is a vital element of play and critical to creative thinking. It’s one of my favorite forms of literature. It’s been around a long time and is available for people of all ages. Within this category is a variety of sub-genres including those that are romantic, comic, dark, mysterious, heroic, epic, modern, and/or alternative. Let’s not forget fairy tales. Within the last few decades a number of fine authors have begun novelizing them. Donna Jo Napoli, Gail Carson Levine and Robin McKinley are three of my favorite authors who create wonderful, full-length novels containing exceptional characterization and plausible alternatives to familiar stories. E. D. Baker in her fun–filled story The Wide Awake Princess tells the tale of Sleeping Beauty through the eyes of her younger sister. Other new fantasies follow other paths. Paul Crilley’s The Invisible Order includes elements of time travel and faeries. In Victoria Hanley’s Violet Wings the 12-year-old protagonist is a fairy. The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone is a contemporary story with a twinge of magic. The protagonist of Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta embarks on a perilous journey to fulfill his destiny. Some stories take place in future societies, like Joni Sensel’s The Timekeeper’s Moon. In others, humans become magical creatures or learn that they have magical powers. There are enough choices available to satisfy anyone’s fantasy craving and perhaps to convert a few skeptics.

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