…to all our readers, from everyone at PlanoReads.

We hope you’ll enjoy the long holiday weekend with family and friends.

PPLS will be closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 24, 25 and 26.

All libraries will reopen on Sunday afternoon, December 27, at 1 p.m.

Today’s post is from Annie at Parr Library:

Looking for presents for the bibliophile in your life?  A book signed by the author might fit the bill. Debbie Macomber will be signing her second nonfiction book, One Simple Act:  Discovering the Power of Generousity on Tuesday, December 1, 7 pm, at Legacy Books, Plano’s independent bookstore at 7300 Dallas Parkway,  972-398-9888, www.legacybooksonline.com.  And Sarah Palin will be town that same week, promoting Going Rogue: An American Life.  The details of her booksigning Friday, December 4, from 11 am to 2 pm at Legacy Books can be found here on their website – www.legacybooksonline.com.

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

Book With No Title…Yet: Possibly a Memoir but More Likely just a Bunch of Crazy Fiction by Erik Knapp

I mentioned a while back that I was going to participate in the National Novel Writing Month event and I thought, because I am largely an ego-maniac, that you all would like an update on said participation.  To jog your memory, the National Novel Writing Month event is a deal where you sign up on the website and agree to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  This tallies out to be 1, 667 words a day (I’m doing that from memory so if my math is off, there you go).  It’s all about the writing, moving forward and not worrying about such concepts as proofreading, plot and, in at least my case, intelligibility.  It was under those guidelines that I started my story.

I settled on the idea of a Candide-esque sort of story thinking that the modular nature of it would fit in pretty well with the need for speed.  I could take my hero anywhere or anywhen I wanted and it would at least be semi-plausible.  I gave him a partner on his journey so I could fill space with dialogue and also, thanks to a tip from Blackswan one of my fellow bloggers, I gave him an arch-enemy and dogged pursuer in the form of celebrated French actor Gerard Depardieu.  From there, off we went!

Today is November 16th and according to my math I should have over 25,000 words written.  I am sorry to say that according to this expectation my participation can only be considered an epic fail.  At least it would be if I were just concerned about word count (which is technically exactly what I should be concerned with).  However, I have discovered what I consider to be the secret joy in this event.  It’s the anticipation of the whole thing, the world of possibilities that opens up in your mind when you decide to give it a try; that has been the fun part for me.  I’ve had some technical difficulties this month trying to get it done and I sincerely doubt I will get all 50,000 words in there unless I decide to go all Jack Nicholson in The Shining on myself (which has been suggested).  But that doesn’t really matter to me…I plan to keep plugging away at it until the end of November and see what I can do and where I am and then keep going until it’s done.  I actually like the story I’ve come up with and I am interested in seeing where it goes.  So, technically you could say, barring some unforseen miracle or sickness that  gives me about 7 straight idle days, my participation wasn’t a full success.  I, however, would have to respectfully disagree.

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall is the 2009 winner of the Man Booker Prize.

It is described on the Man Booker website as “a truly great English novel,” and is the story of Thomas Cromwell, an adviser to King Henry VIII, who must confront the political chaos that ensues after the king’s decision to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Cromwell is depicted as a complex, powerful, and enlightened figure in a historical period that still fascinates us today.

Wolf Hall had been the frontrunner on the short list, but surprised many in being named the winner; apparently, it is unusual for the favorite to win the top prize.

The novel is currently on order in PPLS, and has a short list of holds. For more information on the prize and author, see the Man Booker Prize website at www.themanbookerprize.com.

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

National Novel Writing Month

Some of you may know that November is National Novel Writing month and here is a website and an opportunity to challenge us all.  I know it’s just September but this is such a cool idea I thought you all might need some extra time to wrap your brains around the concept.  For ten years now the NaNoWriMo folks have been giving people the opportunity to complete that one task that seems to be a part of all our make-up…write our own novel.  All you have to do is join (it’s free!) and all that is required is for you to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  It may sound daunting, heck it may sound impossible, but I for one am going to give it a try and I would encourage all of you to join me!

“No plot, no problem,” thats the motto and I can tell you from experience that the single toughest obstacle to writing anything, is finishing that sucker up.  Completion is the goal here; write, write, write; you have the rest of your life to edit but for 30 days just go FORWARD!  It doesn’t matter what you write…just that you write and tell a story; if the story makes sense, GREAT!  If the story needs some massaging when you’re finished, hey, are any of us REALLY all that busy in December anyway?  Besides, it’s always easier to edit what is already on paper than what exists only in our hopes and imaginations.

Check out the site, see what they offer in terms of support and encouragement; if it seems too much to tackle then no problem, nothing lost but a couple minutes.  However, if you decide to give it a whirl, I will be right there with you!  Look me up, I will be writing in the D/FW region under “bariumcrunch.”  I thought I might come up with a more clever pseudonym to write my first novel but I decided to save all my imagination for November, I have a feeling it’s going to come in handy.  Good luck and see you on the other side!

The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize for Fiction was announced this week.

The six books on the shortlist are:

The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt

Summertime by J. M. Coetzee

The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is the only title on the list currently available  in the United States and in PPLS.  A. S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book and Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall are on order. PPLS also owns other books by all of the authors on the list except Adam Foulds.

Publication in the United States of the titles by Coetzee, Foulds and Mawer hasn’t yet been announced.

British critics consider this a very strong shortlist. The current favorite to win the prize  is considered to be Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. The winner will be announced on October 6.

For more interesting information, visit the Man Booker Prize website at http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/thisyear/shortlist.

26th ANNUAL BOOK SALE

Plano Centre

 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway

Plano, TX 

First Nighter Sale
Thursday, July 30
6-10pm
Entry fees: $5 Individual
$10 Family

Free Admission
Friday, July 31
9am-9pm

Saturday, August 1
9am-1pm

Books, DVDs, CDs, audio & video tapes—all $2 or less!

SEE YOU THERE!

Today’s post is from Cathe at Davis Library:

Bestselling novelist Jane Green will appear in Plano on Thursday, July 9.

Ms. Green, the author of Dune Road and The Beach House and other novels which have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, is sponsored by the St. Andrew Author Series at Plano’s St. Andrew United Methodist Church.

The free event begins at 7:30 PM, and will include a book-signing after the author’s talk.

Here are the details: 

Jane Green at St. Andrew United Methodist Church

Thursday, July 9, 7:30 – 9 PM

5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano  75093

Festival Hall – Park in North Parking Lot, off Mira Vista Drive

For more information, call 469-385-1815.

Today’s post is from Annie at Parr Library:

HBO is beginning a new series on Sundays at 8 pm — The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

Bringing to life Alexander McCall Smith’s series about the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, and Botswana’s first and only female-run detective agency, are the following actors: Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe; Anika Noni Rose as Grace Makutsi; and Lucian Msamati as JLB Matekoni.

The series premiers Sunday, March 29, with a two-hour episode directed by the late Anthony Minghella and shot on location in Botswana.  For more information, visit the show’s website at www.hbo.com/no1ladiesdetectiveagency.

And if you’re interested in reading more about Precious, her agency and her friends, PPLS owns copies of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and later volumes in this popular series.

Christian Book Expo, March 19 – 22, 2009 at the Dallas Convention Center, will have more than 200 Christian authors signing books and speaking.  There’s a wide range of authors and subjects being discussed.  The Expo even provides a KidZone for kids from young to young teens.

If you enjoy meeting authors of your favorite Christian/Inspirational books, this is the place to be.  Some of the authors include Max Lucado, Janette Oke, Beverly Lewis, Deeanne Gist, Tracie Peterson, Terri Blackstock, Jerry Jenkins, Sheila Walsh, Mike Berenstain (Berenstain Bears series for kids), Denver Moore and many more.

Go to www.christianbookexpo.com to see everyone that will be there and all the scheduled events.