What library directors are reading

I asked North Suburban area public library directors what they'd been reading, and here's what they said:

"I dusted off an omnibus of the G.K. Chesterton Father Brown mysteries," said Harry Bork, director of the Fox Lake Public Library. "The first Father Brown story, 'The Blue Cross,' introduces the unassuming, round-faced, bespectacled Norfolk priest, soon to take a rightful place among the great detectives of English literature. Over 50 Father Brown short stories were eventually written between 1910 and the 1930s, all in an elegant style, with alluring titles such as 'The Three Tools of Death' and 'The Salad of Colonel Cray.' The plots turn ingeniously, often with stunning surprise endings. There's some moralizing woven into the stories - Father Brown is a priest, after all. Some of the tales are definitely of their time, but if writing has gotten better over the many years since these stories were written, I haven't seen it."

"This summer I've read the most fiction I have in years!" said Mary Pergander, director of the Deerfield Public Library. "I really enjoyed Sarah Ash's fantasy sci-fi trilogy, 'Tears of Artamon.' Even though the motifs include dragons and kingdom rivalries, there was much that related to leadership and character as well. I like books I can read on two levels."

Pergander continued, "For weekends I enjoyed Victoria Laurie's Ghost Hunter series ('What's a Ghoul to Do,' and 'Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend'). The main character seems to be based on a grown up Nancy Drew who becomes a ghost buster. The author is a ghost detective in real life. Both novels were short, sassy and fast moving reads."

Kaye Grabbe, director of the Lake Forest Library reported reading Cynthia Ozick's short story collection, "Dictation: A Quartet."

"Ozick is a superb writer and this collection is lighter in theme than I've come to expect," Grabbe said. "Now I'm listening to John Updike's 'Terrorist: A Novel.' Updike is my favorite living American writer and I never miss one of his books. This one is an attempt to understand how a person can live in our culture and yet not be part of it."

"For summer fun I listened to Adriana Trigiani's 'Rococo,'" Grabbe added, "a very funny tale of a Jersey Italian family, told by Bartolomeo di Crespi, the brother, uncle, nephew and friend of an outrageous East Coast bunch. But the best thing I've read all summer was Stephen Carter's new novel, 'Palace Council.' It's long, but just as rewarding as his first book of the African-American upper classes, 'The Emperor of Ocean Park.'"

Elizabeth Crane, director of the Round Lake Area Public Library District has also been listening to books.

"My great summer mystery read has been the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. It's about a Victorian, female archeologist working in Egypt," Crane said.

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director of the Zion-Benton Public Library District in Zion recommends "Looking for Anne of Green Gables, A Biography of L.M. Montgomery," and "Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All."

"It's my nominee for the most intriguing title of the year," Hilyard said. "It's about an American who marries a Maori."

Many of my most enjoyable reading experiences have come from suggestions by colleagues and family. I look forward to diving into a few of the books introduced by our NSLS directors. But soon, I'll be looking for the next good book. If you've got a book to recommend for me, please write me at slong@nsls.info.