Summer Blockbusters, August 4th, 2011

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 February 2012 03:09

PRESS RELEASE: For August 10, 2011 Release

TO: Marion Star & Mullins Enterprise
FROM: Marion County Library
CONTACT: P. Alan Smith, 423-8300
SUBJECT: Library News Column, By P. Alan Smith, Director

You wouldn’t know it by looking at a thermometer, but summer will soon be drawing to a close. However, summer’s blockbuster books keep coming! This month we have new novels from some of the biggest names in fiction. Check these out:

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, by Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries, also known as the Sookie Stackhouse Novels, have taken the world by storm. After being chronicled in eleven novels and more than a dozen short stories, not to mention the hit TV series True Blood, Harris’ fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, has taken on a life of its own.

In The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, Sookie herself takes readers on a tour of her world. You will prowl around the werewolf and were-panther communities, browse through her best friend Tara's dress shop, belly up to the bar in Merlotte's, where Sookie works, and get must-have Bon Temps recipes, including Caroline Bellfleur's famous chocolate cheesecake.

The Companion is perfect light summer reading for fans of the Sookie novels or True Blood. If you’ve read everything in this series, try Harris’ Harper Connelly series, featuring a character who can sense the memories and location of the deceased – a perfect setup for a mystery novel. Or my favorite, the Aurora Teagarden series, featuring a plucky, diminutive librarian who solves murders in a small town.

The Ballad of Tom Dooley, by Sharyn McCrumb
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley… The folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains after the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his beautiful, married lover accused of murdering the other-woman; the former governor of North Carolina spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the prisoner on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved.

With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened—and may also bring belated justice to an innocent man. What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal was transformed by the new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. Tom Dula and Ann Melton had a profound romance spoiled by the machinations of their servant, Pauline Foster.

Bringing to life the star-crossed lovers of this mountain tragedy, Sharyn McCrumb gifts understanding and compassion to her compelling tales of Appalachia, and solidifies her status as one of today's great Southern writers.

Be sure also to pick up the other books in the Ballads series, including The Ballad of Frankie Silver and The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter.

In addition, August will see new titles from such giants as W.E.B. Griffin, James Patterson, Jude Devereaux, and more. Visit our catalog to find out more about any title – go to www.marioncountylibrary.org and click “Library Catalog” at the top of the page.

So sit a spell, relax, and treat yourself to one of these great new titles. And remember, if a popular title is checked out, we can hold a copy for you. Just ask for a request slip at any of our three branches.

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