A Summer's Reading

One of the interesting and pleasantly-challenging aspects of our work in libraries is to match a library user with the texts that he or she will most want to read, be it for research or entertainment.

If you intend to read for fun this summer, chat with us, check out our campus libraries’ Pinterest Board to "Summer Reads", revisit the 2014 "Book Madness" selection or try some of the tools, below. Each one of these additional resources enables you to explore a genre or factor a recommendation based upon authors, books or themes you already enjoy.

• Fiction Connection (and nonfiction connection)
• Novelry 
• Which Book?

Locate available copies of books on campus or within the UW-System by using the library catalog and its UW System search feature. The Madison Public Library, as part of the South Central Library System, is also an amazing resource for satisfying popular reading interests--search its catalog to locate items of interest.  (Subscribe to its MadReads Daily for book recommendations).

And, if you haven’t yet discovered it, Steenbock Library hosts its very own "Little Free Library" in which you can also freely exchange popular reading materials.

Free Summer Reading Club (for adults!)

When was the last time that you participated in a summer reading program?!  If you’re in town this summer, stop in to one of our Madison Public Library branches to register for its Adult Summer Reading Club, or, you can also register online. 

Log your finished reads, in person, at your local branch or do so online to qualify for weekly prize drawings beginning the week of June 17 (all summer reading clubs began June 1).  You can also browse by branch to see what other participants have been reading and enjoying--all the better to discover something new to add to your reading list.

In addition to the copies, you can check-out from our public libraries, do consult our campus library catalog, if more convenient, to find available copies of a desired read.

Vote Now! UW Book Madness

Let the voting begin!  Visit the UW Book Madness Tournament site to vote in Round 1.  Round 2 voting will begin on Saturday (March 22) at noon.

Thank you for submitting your brackets in advance. The most accurate bracket, post-voting in the final match-up, will win a gift certificate to the University Bookstore.  See the rules of play here.

Visit the site to learn more about the books in each division, including fun facts and stats.

Voting fine print:

• One vote, per person, per pairing!
• First round voting begins on Thursday, March 20.
• Voting for later rounds begins at approximately noon on these dates:

• Round 2: Saturday March 22
• Round 3: Tuesday March 25 (Sweet 16)
• Round 4: Saturday March 29 (Elite 8)
• Round 5: Tuesday April 1 (Final 4)
• Round 6: Sunday April 6 (Championship)

Book Madness

Let the Book Madness begin!  Fill out your brackets for the second, annual UW Book Madness Tournament!

Download or stop by a participating library (including Steenbock!) to pick-up and to return your brackets.  The most accurate brackets, post-voting in the final match-up, will win gift certificates to the University Bookstore.

All brackets must be returned by March 18 in order to qualify; one submission per person.  Click here to read the complete rules of play.

Beginning March 20, you will be able to vote online for which book in each pairing will advance.

Visit the site to learn more about the books in each division including fun facts and stats that may influence your picks.  The divisions this year are: Books in the Movies, Books on TV; Glass Half-Full, Glass Half-Empty; Required Readings, Guilty Pleasures; Stars’ n Stripes, Union Jack.

#UWBookMadness

What we've been reading...

Are you looking to dig into some reading (apart from your required texts)?  If so, take a break and consider the list of titles generated by campus librarians (and via Pinterest) during their annual book discussion.  Use the book list to find something to distract you from the local wintry scene or to take with you as you venture out from campus for the winter semester break.

And, not to be outdone, our student staff has also generated a favorites list.  Visit the Pinterest board, "Our Favorite Books" to discover more reading selections.

Consult with your campus or public libraries to find available copies.

• UW-Madison Library Catalog
  (Don’t forget the option to borrow from UW System Libraries!)

• LinkCat, South Central Wisconsin Library System Catalog (and check-out its “Don’t Miss Lists)
• WorldCat (find library copies nationally, some internationally)

Wicked Reading

Ever wonder what goes bump in the night?  Feed that imagination with a selection of the creepy books haunting the shelves of campus libraries.  The SpookyUW Pinterest board exhibits some popular titles suggested by library staff--and guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.  Click on each cover to pursue the link to campus library holdings.

For more fun library discoveries, follow our boards: UWMadLibraries or Steenbock Memorial Library!

Book Discovery Tools

One of the interesting and sometimes challenging aspects of our work in libraries is to match a library user with the texts that he or she will most want to read, be it for research or entertainment.

If you intend to also read for fun this summer, chat with us, check out our Pinterest Boards, or try some of the tools, below. Each one enables you to explore a genre or factor a recommendation based upon authors or books you already enjoy.

Fiction Connection

Novelry (New! Sign up for its July launch)

Which Book?

Goodreads and Shelfari (for those who appreciate the added social networking)

Locate available copies of books on campus or within the UW-System by using the library catalog and its UW System search feature. The Madison Public Library, as part of the South Central Library System, is also an amazing resource for satisfying popular reading interests--search its catalog to locate items of interest. 

And, if you haven’t yet discovered it, Steenbock Library hosts its very own "Little Free Library" in which you can also freely exchange popular reading materials.

Bury Yourself in a Good Book!

When was the last time that you participated in a summer reading program?!  I remember many summers of my childhood in which I fervently ticked off a list of reading to redeem for acknowledgement and prizes.

But, why should the kids have all the fun?!  If you’re in town this summer, stop on in to one of our Madison Public Library branches to register for its first Adult Summer Reading Club, or, you can also register online. 

Log your finished reads, in person, at your local branch or do so online to qualify for weekly prize drawings beginning the week of June 17 (all summer reading clubs began June 1).

You can also browse by branch to see what other participants have been reading and enjoying--all the better to discover something more to add to your reading list.

A Cozy Winter's Reading...

Are you looking to dig into some reading (apart from your required texts)?  If so, take a break and consider the list of titles generated by campus librarians during their annual book discussion.  While you wait to dig out, use the bibliography to find something to distract you from the anticipated local wintry scene.

Consult with your campus or public libraries to find available copies.

Handy links:

UW-Madison Library Catalog
Don’t forget the option to borrow from UW System Libraries!

LinkCat, South Central Wisconsin Library System Catalog

WorldCat (find library copies nationally, some internationally)

Everything has a Story, WBF (Nov 7-11)

Feeling a bit lost and looking to find a great read to bring you home?  If so, discover what you have been missing by seeking out the annual Wisconsin Book Festival.

The theme for the book festival this year is that of "lost and found" and how writers and their readers might interpret what are often deeply personal instances of either condition. 

Featured authors include: Ayad Akhtar, Jerry Apps, Dean Bakopoulos, Kambri Crews, Edwidge Danticat, Beverly Gordon, Patricia McCormick, Michael Perry, and Richard Russo among many others.

• See the full list of presenters
• View the festival events guide
• Download a Program and Schedule

Do also plan to visit College Library's Open Book Cafe on Saturday (November 10) for an exhibit of printed matter including posters, stickers, zines, journals and books.  This "Dane County Print Explosion" is sponsored by the Wisconsin Book Festival, the Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative and College Library.  For more information, click here.

An Evening with Lauren Redniss (Oct 15)

Save the date to attend the free, Go Big Read author event.  Author Lauren Redniss’s public presentation is scheduled for October 15, 2012 beginning at 7:00 PM in Varsity Hall, Union South.

Interim Chancellor David Ward and a review committee of campus faculty, staff and students selected Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout as the 2012-2013 common book selection for the UW-Madison campus. The Chancellor had invited the review committee to consider those nominated titles that explored aspects of "innovation" and "discovery". With its imaginative and luminous composition, Radioactive more than satisfies that charge as it examines the love, work, and legacy of Marie and Pierre Curie.

"Go Big Read" is UW-Madison’s common book program where students, staff and the community are invited to read the same book, then participate in a variety of related programs in-and-out of the classroom.

• Visit the author’s site for the book.
• Submit a question for the author event.

For additional information about how to access the book--including alternative formats, click here.

No tickets are required for the author event; it is FREE and open to the public. Doors will open at 6:00 PM.

Travel Reading

Would you like to recommend a particular travelogue or story that examines the highs and lows of the travel experience?

If so, UW-Madison Libraries are looking for your recommendations about great reads. This week, post your favorite travel account on the Libraries’ Facebook page to be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 UW Bookstore gift card.  Some suggestions, thus far, have included Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Into the Wild, and A Room with a View.  What will you suggest?

Keep visiting our sites. Throughout the summer, the Libraries will be making additional calls for your recommendations about great summer reading.

Summer Camp Reading

Be it campy or about camp, what would you recommend?

UW-Madison Libraries are looking for your recommendations about great reads (or even films)!  This week, post your favorite camping read (or film) on the Libraries’ Facebook page to be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 UW Bookstore gift card.

Keep visiting our sites.  Throughout the summer, the Libraries will be making additional calls for your recommendations about great summer reading.

Summer Reading, Road Trips

On the road again!

UW-Madison Libraries are looking for your recommendations about great reads!  This week, post your favorite "road trip" read on the Libraries’ Facebook page to be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 UW Bookstore gift card.

Keep visiting our sites.  Throughout the summer, the Libraries will be making additional calls for your recommendations about great summer reading themes.

Summer Reading

What have you been reading lately?

UW-Madison Libraries are looking for your recommendations about great reads!  This week (by Friday), post your favorite beach-worthy read on the Libraries’ Facebook page and be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 UW Bookstore gift certificate.

Stay tuned.  Throughout the summer, the Libraries will be making a call for more suggestions on various summer reading themes.

Lab Lit

What do you get when you infuse creative writing with lab culture of the micro-and-macroscopic kind? If you are suitably curious, then browse Lab Lit—intended for scientists and non-scientists alike—that, through fiction and non-fiction, looks to shed light on the world of science, scientists and their creative spaces—be that the research lab, library, office or anywhere that inspiration happens.

Lab Lit is edited by Dr. Jennifer Rohn, cell biologist with University College, London. She is also a part-time novelist and science communicator. The site welcomes material from interested readers and writers (see the guidelines for contributors). Be amazed and amused!

What staff has been reading lately...

One of the fun requests that we receive at our library reference desk is for suggestions to meet recreational reading interests. If you ever struggle to come up with what to read next (apart from required texts), consider a list of titles generated by campus library staff.

Use our list to find something to engage you during the winter break or to discover that gift of a "little something" for friends and family.

Consult with your librarians for additional recommendations and to locate available copies from campus or public libraries.

• UW-Madison Library Catalog
  Be sure to consider UW System search and borrowing options!

• LinkCat, South Central Wisconsin Library System

• WorldCat (find library copies nationally, some internationally)

Wisconsin Book Festival (Oct 19-23)

Save the date! Do you look for opportunities to feed the mind and to stir the soul? If so, consider sampling the bountiful harvest of author presentations and book discussion forums that comprise the annual, fall Wisconsin Book Festival.

The theme for the book festival this year is that of "voices" and how writers and their readers might share a discourse--both literal and literary.

Featured authors include: Diana Abu-Jaber, Dean Bakopoulos, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Jeffrey Eugenides, Myla Goldberg, and Parker Palmer, among many others.

• See the full list of presenters.

• View the festival events guide.

The Friends of UW-Madison Libraries is among the festival sponsors.

Do Nothing but Read Day (Aug 6)

Enough said! Tomorrow is "Do Nothing but Read Day"--the brainchild of two UW-Madison alumni. And, as far as this librarian is concerned, no coaxing is required to devote some time to reading interests. As per usual, I am engaged with several texts simultaneously and look forward to making my way through some Forna, Ondaatje and Patchett.

Consult with your librarians for reading recommendations and to locate available copies from campus and public libraries.

What to Read Next

One of the interesting--and sometimes challenging--activities in librarianship is matching a library user to the texts that he/she will most like to read, be it for research or entertainment.

If you intend to read for entertainment this summer, you may wish to speak with your librarian or try some of the resources, below. Each resource enables you to explore a genre or factor a recommendation based upon authors or books you already enjoy.

• Fiction Connection

• Which Book?

• Reader’s Robot
  

Locate available copies of books on campus or within the UW-System by using the MadCat catalog and its UW System search feature (or try the Forward catalog interface) . The Madison Public Library, as part of the South Central Library System, is also an amazing resource for satisfying popular reading interests--search its LINKcat catalog to locate items of interest.