Are you in the mood for a delicious story to savor this holiday season? One that is skillfully baked, flavorful, and not too heavy? Then sample Pie by Sarah Weeks and/or The Cheshire Cheese Cat — a Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright. These savory tales have a pinch of mystery and history, but family, friendship, and faith in oneself are the bread and butter of both books. Seasoned with laughter and garnished with a touch of magic make them tantalizing literary treats you won't want to miss. Feast upon Pie, and you will soon be drooling for a slice. If you are an intrepid baker, you can even attempt to create the culinary delights described because recipes are included with each chapter.

Marcel the shell with shoes on : things about me by Jenny Slate & Dean Fleischer-Camp ; paintings by Amy Lind — Marcel is a shell. He also has shoes. And just how does that work? Check out this fun, new picture book created by writer, actress and SNL alum Jenny Slate and her partner Dean Fleischer-Camp. The book is based on a short film made by the duo in 2010 that went on to win the grand jury prize at the 2011 New York Int'l Children's Film Festival. Big accomplishments for such a little creature!

Videos and images from the November 15 award ceremony are now available on the National Book Foundation website. John Lithgow, actor, writer, and musician was NBA Dinner and Ceremony host.

Salvage the bones: a novel by Jesmyn Ward

The swerve: how the world became modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Inside out & back again by Thanhha Lai

If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Chris Moore and Neil Gaimon try these authors:

• Piers Anthony
• Robert Asprin
• Tom Holt
• Christopher Stasheff
• Jasper Fforde
• Tim Scott

Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926-21 November 2011) award-winning author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series, has died of a stroke at her Ireland home. She was 85 years old. Ms. McCaffrey, the first woman to receive a Hugo Award for fiction and the Nebula Award, was named 22nd Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2005 and inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006. She was the first science fiction writer to make the New York Times Bestsellers List.

Edgar Allan's official crime investigation notebook by Mary Amato — There's a thief at Wordsworth Elementary School and Edgar is determined to find out who it is! But this thief doesn't just stop with the classroom goldfish. Soon other classroom items disappear, and the culprit is leaving poems behind for clues. A fun mystery that will surprise readers at how much fun poetry can be.

The perfect book for a book discussion is one that's not too easy, not too hard, that will hold the interest of a diverse group of readers and will also inspire a lively discussion. For additional book club resources check out CPL's Book Club in a Bag kits.

The true memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp

The tiger's wife: a novel by Téa Obreht

Canton Seniors Book Discussion group will meet on Wednesday, April 25 from 2:00-3:00 PM in Canton Public Library's Group Study Room A. Our book for April is:

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs — A heartfelt novel about female friendship and the experiences that knit us together — even when we least expect it.




Copies will be available at the March 28 Canton Seniors Book Discussion or ask for a copy following the March meeting at the Adult Department's Help Desk.

Salvage the bones: a novel by Jesmyn Ward was announced on Wednesday as the winner of the National Book Award for fiction. The novel — about a poor, rural African American family living in Mississippi and facing obstacles no less then Hurricane Katrina — was considered "a long shot, at best" to win the prestigious award according to a CNN article. Ward, herself a Katrina survivior, was surprised and delighted. Now on the radar, critics are quickly praising it as a "classical tragedy."

Canton Seniors Book Discussion group will meet on Wednesday, February 22 from 2:00-3:00 PM in Canton Public Library's Group Study Room A. February's selection is:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson — In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears, a pacifist father and an ardent abolitionist, his grandfather.

Canton Seniors Book Discussion group will meet on Wednesday, January 25 from 2:00-3:00 PM in CPL Group Study Room A. This month we are reading:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón — Eleven year old Daniel’s quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget. He discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written.

Check at the Help Desk for an available copy of The Shadow of the Wind.

Daughter of smoke & bone by Laini Taylor takes the paranormal romance genre and serves it up with a mad-cap creativity all its own. If I explained the plot it might sound ordinary: Tough as nails girl with unknown parents. Mysterious angel figure. Girl consorts with demons (or does she?). Forbidden romance ensues. But trust me, it's not ordinary. Scorpion mice, a wishmonger looking for teeth, castles inside of a cage. This is a fast paced read that is wholly original with a heroine that's easy to root for. My only complaint is that it ends just as it gets rolling, and the sequel's not out yet.

Has your book group considered reading a book and watching the movie?

The good earth [videodisc] by A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture

The good earth [kit] by Pearl S. Buck; introduced and edited by Peter Conn

To kill a mockingbird [kit] by Harper Lee

Lists, lists, and more lists. As 2011 draws to an end everyone seems to be creating "Best of" lists. For readers of all ages and tastes, holiday gift suggestions:

• Amazon's Best Books of 2011
• Kirkus Magazine
• Publisher's Weekly
• American Library Association/Notable Children's Books 2011

The National Book Awards 2011 will be webcast live from New York City on Wednesday, November 16 at 8:00 PM. Actor, author, and musician John Lithgow will host this year's award ceremony. No registration necessary. Check the National Book Foundation's website for more information.

Come in and take a look at the great new Japanese books we've added to the collection in 2011. Recently received titles include:

Inemuri sensei by Ijūin Shizuka

Idai naru shurarabon by Makime Manabu

Banbatsuki by Miyabe Miyuki

Sanpi ryōron kasahara masahiro no gohan no tomo 110: Kantansugiru umasugiru by Kasahara Masahiro

Have you tried Canton Public Library's online resources to find information about books, authors, reviews and read-alikes 24/7? Our database Books & Authors is a reader’s advisory tool available to Canton Public Library users via the library's databases. Canton library cardholders can create a free account in Books & Authors to create and save reading lists, access reviews or write a review for books in the database and much more. You can browse by titles, authors and genres; plus the Who? What? When? and Where? search allows users to get really specific in terms of finding just the right read.

With the much anticipated movie release of Janet Evanovich's One For the Money in January, 2012 fans of Stephanie Plum may enjoy listening to these authors.

Agatha Raisin and the quiche of death [sound recording] by M.C. Beaton

Merry Wives of Maggody [sound recording] by Joan Hess

Murder on a girls' night out [sound recording] by Anne George

If you're a foodie who enjoys listening to audiobooks and a fan of Joanna Fluke's Hannah Swenson's mysteries you might enjoy:

Death in paradise [sound recording] by Carolyn Hart

The merlot murders [sound recording]: a wine country mystery by Ellen Crosby

A dilly of a death [sound recording] by Susan Wittig Albert

Canton Seniors Book Discussion group will meet one week earlier this month on Wednesday, November 16 from 2:00-3:00 PM in Group Study Room A. This month's reading selection is:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett — In pitch perfect voices, Katheryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers, and friends — view each other.