Has your book group tried our Book Club in a Bag kits? Each kit has 8 books, a resource guide with book discussion questions, author information, and articles relating to the book. A complete list of kits is available at: Book Club in a Bag. To reserve a kit for your group, contact the Adult Reference Desk at (734) 397-0999.

An unfinished life [Large print kit] by Mark Spragg

Water for elephants: [kit] a novel by Sara Gruen

Want to find out what library eBooks are all about? Are you perplexed by the number of eReaders on the market and wonder how they would work with the library eBooks? Come join us for this eBook Basics class to be held on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 10:00AM. Registration is open now.

A complete list of the Agatha Christie Awards 2011 winners and nominees is available at Malice Domestic.

Best Novel: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Best First Novel: The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
Best Non-fiction: Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran
Best Short Story: “So Much in Common,” by Mary Jane Maffini, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine — Sept./Oct. 2010
Best Children’s/Young Adult: The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith

Charlaine Harris, author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse series AKA True Blood on HBO, will speak at the Michigan Theater on Monday, May 16 at 7:30PM. Ms. Harris will sign copies of her latest Sookie Stackhouse book Dead Reckoning. Tickets can be purchased at TicketWeb.com or by calling (866) 468-3401.

Ms. Harris is brought to you courtesy of Michigan Theater and Nicola's Books.

We are in the process of withdrawing our Playaway audiobook collection. If you are looking for a good audiobook, many titles are available in other audio formats. Click on a link to browse our newest

• Children's Books on CD
• Teen Books on CD
• Adult Books on CD
• Adult on MP3CD

Need help finding what you're looking for? Our librarians are ready to assist you.

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) has announced the nominees for its 2011 Thriller Awards. Winners will be announced during ThrillerFest VI, to be held at New York City’s Grand Hyatt Hotel from July 6 to 9. For a complete list of the nominations go to ITW's website.

Best Hardcover Novel

The reversal: a novel by Michael Connelly

Edge: a novel by Jeffery Deaver

If you love medical mystery suspense fiction:

One grave too many: a Diane Fallon forensic investigation by Beverly Connor

Except the dying by Maureen Jennings

Déjà dead by Kathy Reichs

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

Are you a fan of Louise Rennison's book series that began with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging? If you are, you may have been disappointed when she published her last book in the series in 2009. That is why I was so excited to hear that she is beginning a new series revolving around the misadventures of Georgia's younger cousin, Tallulah Casey! Withering Tights is due to be released on June 28, 2011 and promises to be just as fun and hilarious as the previous books. And if you haven't read any of the books, and want to feel good and laugh out loud, give them a try!

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating, better known as author HRF Keating, died on March 27 at age 84. He was one of Britain’s leading detective story writers and the inspired creator of Inspector Ghote. Mr. Keating was the Crime Fiction Critic for The [London] Times and past president of The Detection Club.

Keating received the George N Dove Award in 1995 and the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature in 1996. On his eightieth birthday in 2006 members of the Detection Club honoured him with an anthology, Verdict of Us All. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1990.

The staff at Canton Public Library is a diverse group and our reading picks reflect this…

Candyfreak: a journey through the chocolate underbelly of America by Steve Almond

Unaccustomed earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Is your book group looking for a good read?

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

The other Boleyn girl by Philippa Gregory

The piano tuner by Daniel Mason

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Note: Tickets for this event are sold out as of Thursday, April 7, 2011.

Tickets for the 2011 Everyone's Reading author, Michael Connelly's talk are still available. He will be speaking on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30PM at The Berman Theatre at the Jewish Community Center (6600 West Maple Road West Bloomfield Township, MI 48322). The Lincoln Lawyer, a Mickey Haller book, was chosen as Metro Net Library Consortium's 2011 Everyone's Reading selection.

In recognition of Women's History Month:

Cleopatra: a life by Stacy Schiff

Livia, Empress of Rome: a biography by Matthew Dennison

American rose: a nation laid bare: the life and times of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott

And furthermore by Judi Dench

The Mystery Writers of America have announced the 2011 nominations for the Edgar Awards. A complete list of the nominees is available on the MWA website. The awards will be made on April 28, 2011 at the 65th Annual Mystery Writers of America Edgar syposium held in New York City at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Best Novel Nominees

Rejoice, all iPad users! Our eBook supplier OverDrive has just released a free app for iPhone®/iPad® v2.2

iPad users will now enjoy custom designed graphics whether they are reading an ePub eBook, listening to an MP3 audiobook, or browsing the OverDrive Media Console Library. The app supports landscape and portrait orientation. A new calendar icon displays the number of days left until the title expires.

The free app can be installed on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch® devices running iOS (v4.0 or newer). The updated app is available from:

• App Store
• http://www.overdrive.com/software/omc

Canton Public Library's Book Club in a Bag offers a wide variety of reading selections for book clubs. Each kit has 8 copies of the book, resource material for the leader, and a sign out sheet for members. Book Club in a Bag kits can be reserved by calling the Adult Reference Desk at (734) 397-0999.

Pope Joan: a novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross

The other Boleyn girl: a novel by Philippa Gregory

Epic fiction, defined as novels that cover a span of time (often centuries) and are focused on a specific geographical location, and sagas series, defined as lengthy novels (often historical) that focus on the characters and families over a certain span of time, are large and expansive. They'll carry you to a different time and place. Give these a try:

Roses by Leila Meacham

The princes of Ireland: the Dublin saga by Edward Rutherfurd

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Spider bones by Kathy Reichs

61 hours: a Reacher novel by Lee Child

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

With the free OverDrive Media Console app for iPhone, iPod Touch and Android, you can download both ePub eBooks and MP3 audiobooks directly to your device.

• Combines eBooks and audiobooks into a single app
• Enables over-the-air downloading
• Streamlines the browse, checkout, and download experience on your phone

Go to your Apple store or Android Market under apps for Books & Reference to find the free app and download library books on the go!

Joe Gores (1931-2011), author of the Daniel Kearney and Associates (DAK) series died on Monday, January 10. Mr. Gores was a three-time winner of the Edgar Award, won the Maltese Falcon Award (Japan's highest award in the mystery field), and was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. In addition to his novels, he wrote scripts for Kojak, Remington Steele, and Magnum, P.I.