If you stop by any Hennepin County Library this summer, you will be floored by the number of book clubs available for children and teens. At many locations, it's a long-standing institution and enthusiastic kids of all ages sign up early to make sure they're included. This is great, you may be thinking, but what about those of us a little older?

Hennepin County offers a variety of book clubs for adults that you may not know about. Take, for instance, the Mystery Adult Book Club at Nokomis or the Last Word Book Group at Southdale. These thriving reading communities may not be as noticeable as their young counterparts, but are no less successful or enjoyable for their members.

Ask your local librarian if your library has an Adult Book Group or if you could help to start one. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends and share great books while you're at it!

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America just nominated their fellow writers in the following categories:

Novel
Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon
Tina Connolly's Ironskin
N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon
Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Drowning Girl
Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamour in Glass
Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy
Kelly Barnhill's Iron Hearted Violet
Holly Black's Black Heart
Leah Bobet's Above
Libba Bray's The Diviners
Sarah Beth Durst's Vessel
Rachel Hartman's Seraphina
Alethea Kontis' Enchanted
David Levithan's Every Day
Guadalupe Garcia McCall's Summer of the Marioposas
China Mieville's Railsea
E.C. Myers' Fair Coin
Jenn Reese's Above World

See the complete list on SFWA.

I like to read the New York Times Arts Beat blog to find out about best selling great titles I should be reading. Here's a quick run down of some mentioned in the past couple of months.

Bill Willingham's Fables
Robert Kirkman's Invincible
Ema Toyama's Missions of Love
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis
Peter David's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower
Yuuki Kodama's Blood Lad
Tadashi Agi's The Drops of God
Osamu Tezuka's Message to Adolph

In the midst of a blustery Minnesota winter, reading indoors where it's warm and cozy is hard to beat. Consider creating a book list of your favorite titles (or limit your list to a theme or category) on Bookspace -- it's so easy. Here's a list entitled Books Way Too Good to Miss. Avid readers will enjoy your suggestions during Winter Jackets.

OverDrive offers videos to help you get started using digital material, including mobile devices, ebooks, and audio material.

If you're an avid reader, David Baldacci is a name you may have heard a few times. You know he's written a lot of books (about 35, according the Hennepin County library catalog), that people who read him seem to be obsessed with getting his latest title and maybe even that his first bestseller, Absolute Power, was made into a hit movie with Clint Eastwood. But if you don't know much more than that and aren't sure if this superstar author is right for you, here's the breakdown:

Name: David Baldacci
Genres: Suspense, political/legal, thrillers
Popular series written by Baldacci: Camel Club, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell
What makes him stand out: as Newsweek writes,"In these stressful times, Baldacci offers a break—and people who care about books should care about him."
Where to start: Baldacci offers many titles that stand-alone, including Total Control, The Winner and The Simple Truth. If you'd like to get into one of his five series, ask your local librarian for help finding the first title.

And check out our Bestseller Express service for the latest Baldacci titles and skip the long wait!

Yearn for an epic love story? Hanker for a four-hanky romance? Find your heart's desire on BookSpace Romance from Contemporary to ChickLit to Suspense.

Read, Learn, Explore and Enjoy!