Gone by Mo Hayder won for best novel, while Bent Road by Lori Roy won for best first novel. In non-fiction, best Fact Crime award went to Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. Congratulations to all the winners!

Molly Weston received a Raven Ward for her work promoting mysteries, including her blog Meritorious Mysteries

Also worth mentioning, The Ellery Queen Award went to Joe Meyers for his reviews of mysteries in the Connecticut Post. Be sure to check out his entertainment blog, and follow him on Twitter (@joesview)

While the LA Review tends to focus on more literary works and serious review, they do so in an interesting and entertaining way. Take their review of Tiger, Tiger, Margaux Fragoso’s memoir, with its subtitle “The Pervert’s Point of View.” Or the essay “Man is not Cat Food.” Clearly, these writers have a sense of wit and humor.
Check it out!

Firstly, as I’ve mentioned before, I follow @neilhimself on Twitter, and not only is he amazing, intellectual, and entertaining - but he also gives wonderful tidbits of information like the fact that he has just finished writing a new book! He is (according to recent tweets) now typing it into its second draft, so it may be some time before we see it on our shelves, but that makes it no less exciting. But speaking of Neil Gaiman, did you know that he recently interviewed Stephen King (another one of my all-time favorite authors in the universe)? Well, he did. My brain almost exploded from the awesome when I heard it was happening. In case the same is happening to you, you can read the interview here.

So, my next bit of news is about Stephen King, of course. King has been revisiting things lately it seems: his newest release, Wind Through the Keyhole, brings us back to Mid-World (from the Dark Tower series), and the sequel to The Shining, called Dr. Sleep, is set to be published next year. Apparently, what Mr. King is working on now continues this trend, getting back to his real horror roots, and is something we should all be excited for. Joyland is about an amusement park serial killer. Joy indeed!

Keeping with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror theme, the nominees for the Hugo Awards were announced were recently announced, as were those for the Nebula Awards. Both include some amazing works worth checking out.

Also in awards-related news, the nominees for the 16th annual Webby Awards were announced and voting is now open. This is great place to find out about unique, entertaining, and educational websites, blogs, apps, and more. Some of my favorites include Draw A Stickman, Dear Potograph, and Yelp (the website as well as the app).

OK, so hopefully I’ve given you enough fun tidbits to explore for the day to help you get through this beautiful Friday!

While some “do-overs” were more entertaining than others, the whole book moved at a fast enough pace that any which didn’t capture my attention were quickly through, and even those had enough humor to keep me entertained. I was afraid this material might be stale - too much Billy Madison, say - but I felt that Hemley’s take was in the end quite original, and the lessons learned were valuable and touching. And it naturally leads one to wonder what “do overs” they might like to undertake in their own life….

As a side note: I read this as an e-book while on a trip. If you don’t already know that the library has ebooks available for your Kindle, Nook, ipad, or other digital devices, then let me tell you this is great! Stop by the library and ask us, or visit our online digital catalog!

Stylist Magazine has put together a great little interactive collection of the 100 best opening lines from books. Just click on a book cover, and the first line will be displayed along with the book’s information. From Vonnegut to The Bible, each first line has worked to draw audiences in, capture our minds, and make us wonder. This is a great way to revisit these gems, or experience them for the first time (plus, what other collection will you find that contains both Vonnegut and The Bible?).

The article is also full of fun links to other collections, such as the top 50 movies ever made, the best 100 closing lines of books, and 50 of poetry’s most poignant lines. Hours of fun, and mind growth, for all!

John Waters tells his young self to “be angry now…because when you get older it isn’t so attractive,” Stephen King warns young Stephen to “stay away from recreational drugs,” and Rita Rudner simply tells her past self to bring a sweater when she goes to a concert. Many of the writers tell their past selves to invest in Google, Apple, Starbucks, etc. when they come along. And so very many pen messages urging their young selves to believe in and accept themselves, be less depressed and critical, and to just plain enjoy life.

I recommend anyone pick up this book and see not just what treasures hide inside, but also be inspired to write a letter to some former incarnation of yourself - be it when you were 16, 5, 21, or 50 - think of a time when you could have used advice, reassurance, love, or a good smack side the head, and write it. It’s a sort of cathartic exercise, which is exactly what the editor, Joseph Galliano, says it should be. I hope it was for these celebrities, who sound as though they had every bit as much pain, fear, and angst as the rest of us did as teenagers.

[note: If you haven't read the books yet, however, I do recommend you stay away from this article as it contains spoilers. (Oh, and - what are you waiting for?! Read the books! They're definitely worth it!). And maybe just try out the site where you can find out your own Hunger Games name (which, honestly, is a really great blog you should probably check out anyways).]

If you’re interested in reading more about the possible meanings behind elements of The Hunger Games, check out the new book we just added to our collection Katniss the Cattail.

Though none of these explanations come from Collins herself, they are interesting to explore. Did Collins even mean to pack so much symbolism and depth into her series? Who knows? But it’s fun to ponder all the same.

The main character, Sari, begins the book as a girl of 14. She is an outsider in her village, considered peculiar and perhaps cursed. But when World War I begins and the men leave to fight, Sari finally finds connections with the other women, many of whom have been chronically abused and subjugated by their husbands. The village changes dramatically as these women find their new freedoms to be intoxicating. But when the men begin to return, they are not happy with the changes. Sari’s own fiance, Ferenc, lashes out at her and, fearing for her life, Sari must decide what to do, for herself as well as other women in the village.

What I think drew me to this book was that while it is a work of fiction, it was based on a true story. The Angel Makers of Nagyrév were a real group of Hungarian women. They intrigue me, and this book tells a fictional rendering of what could have happened in a very believable way.

This site caught my eye in a tweet by @randomhouse, and I thought I would share it with all of you! Yummy-books.com is a blog where chef Cara combines two of my favorite things - books and food! She takes scenes from literature and creates recipes from them. Most recently, she posted a Hunger Games Baked Alaska!

While the images of her detailing how to carve up a pig head (a la Lord of the Flies) may be a bit much for some, there is enough wonderful writing and recipes on the pages to be worthy of exploration past this point. Such as the Sometimes a Great Notion Maple Brown Butter Baked Apples (clunky to say, delicious to eat!), or the Anne of Green Gables Raspberry Cordial (alcoholic, unlike Marilla’s), or the Jane Eyre Cardamom Seed Buns. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

The first is a really outstanding fan-created guide to American Gods, called Only The Gods Are Real. Neil himself has praised the site, and rightfully so. It includes an abundance of information on the gods, geography, and other tidbits from the book. I could spend hours here reaping the benefits of someone else’s research (and have!). I highly recommend visiting the gods section, and the geography page is also worth a visit.

If that isn’t enough fun for you, I’d also like to put up a link to Neil Gaiman’s web site and put in a plug for you to follow him on Twitter @neilhimself

And, finally, though only loosely related, I’d like to add one of my favorite little Neil Gaiman sites. This site was developed when the movie version of Coraline released, and includes a fabulously fun interactive page where you can give a photo of yourself (or a loved, or even not-so-loved, one) button eyes! How fantastic is that?!

P.S. - though it won’t be for quite some time (not before 2013 by all accounts), HBO appears to be planning to produce a series based on American Gods