Tag: Chronicles of Narnia

Davenport’s Favorite Book

- Brenda Leave a comment

The votes are in!

According to the PBS Great American Read, America’s all-time favorite novel is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee!  If you read my first blog post about the Great American Read, you know that To Kill a Mockingbird is also my personal favorite. I was thrilled when I learned the results in the Grand Finale episode. Host Meredith Vieira shared that it started out in the number one spot since the day voting began, and it never wavered.

You may now be wondering what is Davenport’s favorite book?  Ever since PBS kicked off the first episode of The Great American Read on May 22, 2018, we’ve had a display featuring these books at each of our three Davenport Public Libraries. We put out a ballot box, asking for your favorites. I also took votes in the form of responses to my blog posts about the Great American Read.  In all, 124 votes were submitted. The favorite book among Davenport Public Library users is (drumroll, please)…

Harry Potter! Earning just shy of 13% of all votes, the bestselling series by J.K. Rowling was the top pick of voters at Main, Eastern and on the blog. (Fairmount showed no clear favorite, but submitted 26 votes for 23 different books.) Second favorite overall was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, with almost 9% of the votes. In third place was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, with a solid 6% of votes. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen took fourth place with almost 5% of votes. We had a four-way tie for 5th place – Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte’s Web, Memoirs of a Geisha and To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you’re wondering about any titles from the Great American Read list that was not mentioned here, I have tagged to this blog each book title that received at least one vote from our wonderful Davenport Public Library patrons.

Thanks for voting and keep reading through the list!

 

June is Audiobook Month

- Rachel Leave a comment

Now that the school year is over, many people are going on vacation.  If you are going on a roadtrip soon, you might want to consider listening to an audiobook.  The miles can fly by while you enjoy listening to a fantastic book.  And if your family cannot agree on listening to one book, try Playaways.  Playaways are MP3 devices that have books loaded on them.  All you need to do is plug in your headphones and push play!  We even provide the batteries for them.

Need some ideas on an audiobook to check out?  Below are some suggestions or ask one of our friendly librarians for help.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
harry potter stone

Jim Dale narrates all seven of the Harry Potter books and he is THE BEST voice actor!  Somehow, Jim Dale is able to create a different voice for each and every character in the Harry Potter series which makes it so entertaining and easy to listen to in the car (and it is hard to shutoff the car when you reach your destination because the story is so good).  The Harry Potter series is full of fantasy, mystery and life lessons.  It will please everyone in the family.

 

bad beginningThe Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events Series) by Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket’s series of books about the forever unlucky Baudelaire children is deliciously narrated by Tim Curry, who does the readings for all 13 of the books in this series. The misadventures for the children start in this book when their parents die, and throughout the first novel “the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.” A great elementary school listen.

 

lion, witch, wardrobeThe Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis

Originally published in 1955, this classic story has delighted children for decades.  During a game of hide and seek, four children go through a wardrobe and find themselves in the magical realm of Narnia.  Only the Good King Aslan can defeat the dark magic of the White Witch.  An adventure story full of danger and thrills.

 

charlie chocolate factoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

If you are a parent of young children, there is a good chance that you read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when you were a child.  Introduce your children to Roald Dahl’s factory that is full of whimsy and full of perils to those children that are naughty.  Remember the Oompa Loompas?  The river of chocolate?  And who could forget the flying glass elevator? People of all ages love this story.

 

lightning thiefThe Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

I love the Percy Jackson books and you will understand why they are so popular.  Percy Jackson discovers that he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, which makes him a demigod.  He learns that he is not the only one that has a Greek god or goddess for a parent when he goes to Camp Half-Blood.  But a prophecy foretold that a child of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades would decide the fate of Olympus.  And now somehow has stolen Zeus’ lightning bolt and everyone suspects Percy.  A great series full of adventure that is interesting for the whole family.