October Audiobook of the Month

Over the last few month's I have been spotlighting dual narrators so I decided it was time for a change of pace. For October, I wanted an audiobook with a single narrator who excels in giving voice to multiple characters. And as we head towards Halloween and next month's Presidential election, it seemed like an appropriate time for a Horror tale that explores U.S. history from a unique perspective.

Check the For Listeners tab to find this month's audiobook, and don't forget to scroll up and down the page to find other titles for your listening pleasure.

October Display Ideas

Courtesy of the September issue of Book Display Ideas, a Library Aware e-Newsletter compiled by staff at NoveList:

• Feature ghost stories or horror novels this month since Halloween is October 31

• Twenty-five years ago, in October 1990, Rwanda’s civil war began, setting the stage for the horrific 1994 genocide.

• Dinosaur National Monument was established 100 years ago on October 4, 1915. It started with only 80 acres in Northeast Utah but now encompasses over 210,000 acres in both Utah and Colorado. Since kids more than any other age-group love dinosaurs, this would make for a great children's display

• If you didn't do a Saturday Night Live display earlier this year (the show marked this milestone with a prime-time TV special on February 15.), do one this month; the sketch comedy show first aired 40 years ago on October 11, 1975.

• October 18-24, 2015 is both National Friends of Libraries Week and Teen Read Week.

• J.R.R. Tolkien's final book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, was first published 60 years ago on October 20, 1955.

• Even people who aren't British know that the Battle of Trafalgar was an important day in world history. Trafalgar Day, October 21, is celebrated in various Commonwealth countries, and this year marks 210 years since the battle

• Celebrate the countries of the world -- the United Nations was founded 70 years ago this October, and October 24 is United Nations Day.

As mentioned in a post on August 3, celebrity birthdays can be great for creating fun displays. Choosing the Friday dates in October for a weekly display theme, here are some famous birthday ideas: 

• October 2 - Comedians: Groucho Marx, of the Marx Brothers and Bud Abbott, of the comedy team 'Abbott & Costello' 
• October 9 - Singer/songwriters: John Lennon of the "Beatles" and Jackson Brown
• October 16 - Literary stars: Noah Webster, compiler of first American English Dictionary and Oscar Wilde, playwright & poet
• October 23 - Sports figures: Pele, soccer player and Dan Flutie, football quarterback
• October 30 - Actors: Henry Winkler ('Happy Days') and Harry Hamlin ('L.A. Law')

Check out Holiday Insights for more Famous October Birthdays

Halloween Reading Traditions

It's the time of year for ghosts, ghouls, and scares, all to be topped off with Trick or Treat on October 31st! 

Were you aware that Karen Golab (GA) traditionally re-reads Ray Bradbury's classic novel Something Wicked This Way Comes every October? Karen's tradition got me to wondering ...

Do any other SCCCLD staff have a similar October reading habit? Do you re-read an old classic horror story? Maybe you just read / listen to / watch something scary to get in the mood for Halloween. [FYI ... there is also a very scary movie based on Bradbury's book which stars Jason Robards and has the marvelous Jonathan Pryce as a devilish Mr. Dark!]

If you're looking for some Halloween reading, consider one of the seven very scary titles, some old, some new, discussed in the following article: Great Reads: Horror Directors Who Became Authors from Booklist Online.

The district owns or has On Order all but one of these books! We owned copies of Fountain Society by Wes Craven at one time but unfortunately no longer and it is now Out of Print and sad to report, not available to reorder. You could request it through ILL though!

So what are YOU reading for Halloween? Use the Comments box and tell the SCCCLD staff all about it!