Several major publishers do not currently support a public library lending model for eBooks, including Simon & Schuster, MacMillan and Scholastic. For example, we are able to purchase Twilight novels as eBooks since they are published by Random House but not the Hunger Games series which is published by Scholastic. At this time we are unable to purchase any Vince Flynn titles in eBook format. Why do we have some titles in a series available as an eBook or audiobook and not others? When possible, the complete series of an author’s backlist is purchased.  However, since not all publishers currently support a library lending model, it can cause some unfortunate gaps in our eBook and audiobook collections. Janet Evanovich’s titles are an example; her first 16 numbered titles were published by MacMillan so eBooks are not available for libraries to purchase. Smokin’ Seventeen and Explosive Eighteen are published by Bantam which are available for purchase and are in our eBook collection.

The Pen/ Faulkner Award is a national prize that honors outstanding works of fiction by American writers each year." The winner will be announced in March, 2012. Past winners.

The British Science Fiction Awards short list was announced recently. Sometimes there's a lag before these books get released state-side and/or added to library collections. Top 5 Nominees for Best Novel include:

The Islanders by Christopher Priest
Embassytown by China Mieville
Osama by Lavie Tidhar
Cyber Circus by Kim Lakin-Smith (available as eBook only in U.S.)
By Light Alone by Adam Roberts (not available in U.S.)

The winner will be announced in April at London's Eastercon!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since I read Gloria Naylor's wonderful novel, “The Women of Brewster Place.”  Now I’ve had the hard pleasure of reading an equally powerful story by an author deserving of more recognition, Stewart O'Nan .  "Everyday People” is the story of an African-American neighborhood in Pittsburg, one that has lost its center and suffers the urban decay plaguing too many of our minority-intensive communities.  The story follows the lives of a half dozen characters ranging from a wheelchair-bound graffiti artist to an elderly woman who’s lost children to violence, to a young woman struggling to balance motherhood with college to an Italian ice-cream van driver who has served the neighborhood for decades.  O’Nan has an uncanny ability to lend reality to the characters he invents.  I missed them all for a week after finishing the book.  The last line of this book, by the way, is one of the best I’ve read in years.    

According to one list I found, the top 5 best selling manga titles are One Piece, Dragon Ball (the original series is out of print but there is a U.S. retelling), Kochikame (not available in the U.S.), Slam Dunk and Naruto.

Even though he can't swim, Monkey D. Luffy vows to become King of the Pirates once he sets out on his row boat to find the legendary treasure One Piece.

Obtaining a Dragon Ball (there are seven total) becomes the quest of young Goku once he leaves his home in the forest.

You can't find Kochikame here in the U.S., but the comic mishaps of middle-aged cop Kankichi Ryotsu have been entertaining Japanese audiences since 1976.

Slam Dunk tells the story of awkward bruiser Hanamachi Sakuragi, rejected by over 50 girls until the fearless Haruko brings basketball into his life.

Read Naruto to follow the adventures of the orphan Uzumaki Naruto as he tries to graduate from ninja school despite the terrifiying force that hides within him.

What do the Wanderer, the all Black Tank Battalion, and the Homestead Grays have in common? They are all small parts of the rich history of African Americans. The pages of these titles bring Black History to life!