Monday, January 26, 2009

February Not Fiction Book Discussions


On Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Main Library and again on Thursday, February 19 at 11:00 a.m. at the West Ashley Branch, the Not Fiction Book Discussion groups will continue an exploration of questions inevitably evoked by January's book for discussion, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, with Deep Survival by National Geographic Adventure magazine contributing editor Laurence Gonzales. The subtitle of Gonzales' book neatly sums up the most pressing of these questions: "Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" in a survival situation, whether it be an unexpected mountaineering accident, a routine yet high-pressure landing by a jet pilot on the deck of a military aircraft carrier, or perhaps some of the more common "survival" situations such as a divorce, the loss of a job, or an economic downturn. Gonzales shares some common traits of survivors and also some rules for adventure. He draws these traits and rules, as well as the harrowing stories he uses to illustrate them, from a variety of personal narratives, analyses of disasters, and scientific studies of how the human brain responds to stressful situations. After reading Gonzales' book, do you feel you are better prepared to survive? Share your thoughts--and survival stories--with us in person at one of our discussions or here on the blog.

Monday, January 12, 2009

New Online Book Clubs at CCPL

Charleston County Public Library has just launched an Online Book Clubs service that delivers books electronically. Each day, Monday through Friday, the library will email subscribers a portion of a book that takes about 5 minutes to read. You'll be able to read two or three chapters from a book during the week. If you like a book, you can check it out of the library. Each week the library will feature new books. With 7 book clubs to choose from, there's something for everyone: Fiction, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, Business, Inspirational, Teen, and Mystery.

Starting today, you can sign up for the service at our web site, http://www.ccpl.org/, and click on the Online Book Clubs logo on the left side of the page.