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Thorndike Press Staff Recommendation

January 5, 2016October 26, 2015

Posted on October 26, 2015

Thorndike Press wouldn’t be the leading Large Print publisher if it weren’t for our staff. We are passionate about what we do — which is providing the best overall experience we can for our customers and readers. Additionally, at Thorndike Press we put the “V” in voracious when it comes to reading and loving books!

Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz is the story of two childhood friends, Madeline and Daphne, who experienced a terrifying attack and have done their best to move on with their lives. Madeline runs a chain of luxury hotels and Daphne is a designer. But the secret that they share reunites them as adults and they journey back to a small island off the coast of Seattle, the site of their childhood trauma. Using Nancy Pearl’s Readers Advisory methodology, let me tell you about the doorways that I found most appealing. I was drawn to the character of Madeline, a successful career woman who struggles with intimacy and lost track of her childhood friend.

Love, passion, humanity – yes, please!

September 30, 2015September 29, 2015

Unexpectedly, she saw a man standing on the sidewalk looking right at her. He was tall, with blond hair, and broad across the shoulders. He was also handsome; watching him stirred something in Olivia, a feeling that while unfamiliar was far from unwelcome………..

–Excerpt from Take Me Home by Dorothy Garlock

Romance novels have the same effect on their readers – stirring passion, happy memories, dreams, and, as public librarians know well, demand for more titles. Far more than the province of lonely women, romance titles attract readers of all ages with their lively story lines, adventurous plots, and exploration of all aspects of human emotion and experience.

Readers’ Advisory: Banned Books Week, Sept. 27 – Oct 3, 2014

February 26, 2018September 26, 2015

By Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read. It began in 1982, when there was a sudden uptick in the number of books being challenged in schools and libraries. An astounding number of challenges happen each year (307 reported in 2013, according to the Office of Intellectual Freedom!), and Banned Books Week is a way to celebrate the value of open access to information (1). It is important to point out that of those 307 challenges, few of them were actually banned. The diligence of teachers, librarians, and informed citizens ensured the freedom to read in most situations.

Pick and Grin. Subscribe and Smile. Choose and Wallow.

September 3, 2015August 13, 2015

Whatever way you look at it, when you choose a large print subscription to continually update and refresh your collection, you’ll be glad you did. How? Well, we can think of 36 ways. Thorndike Press has 36 different plans to suit your patrons’ interests: from African-American titles to Christian Fiction to Gentle Romance to Westerns — and everything in between.

What Lies Beneath the Bestsellers: Mine the Gems!

February 23, 2018August 6, 2015

High-demand, bestselling titles meet the immediate needs of a large group of patrons. They’re the sparkly gold dust that attracts attention and draws in readers. But beneath that top layer of new titles are the “midlist” titles – the majority of all published works. In this group is where emerging authors, alternative and esoteric titles, and a much broader selection of works live. These are the titles chosen by libraries focused on providing a rich collection that encourages readers to look beyond the “shiny” titles.

New Read Alikes for Old Classics

August 13, 2015July 29, 2015

By Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly

Remember in high school and college when you were assigned classic fiction reading? Those titles are classics for a reason. They have stood the test of time and are still assigned reading in many classrooms. Some of my personal favorites were The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, and Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I remember thinking that there were such profound ideas in those novels, and soaking up every metaphor and every turn of phrase. As an adult, I am interested in these same profound ideas and great writing, and I think that there are a lot of books published in the last ten years or so that make great read alikes to those classic novels. Let’s start with my favorites.

Historical Fiction Recommendations from Joyce Saricks: New and Popular in Large Print

February 26, 2018April 15, 2015

Forget the “Columbus sailed the ocean blue” mnemonic devices and dusty history books. If you want to experience history with dimension and humanity, turn to historical fiction.

Help Patrons Get Ahead of Movie Releases by Stocking Up on Large Print

June 11, 2018March 11, 2015

Before they were stars…soon-to-be movie blockbuster titles available in large print!

Ahem…and cue the announcer! “IN A WORLD dominated by video and movies, a plucky group of librarians dares to put large-print books into the hands of readers starved for stories in the most readable format available.”

Fiction, Schmiction. How About Some Reality?

June 11, 2018February 23, 2015

Thorndike large print memoirs and biographies

Some readers crave fiction. But a growing number of readers are hungry for nonfiction. In fact, a recent analysis of circulation data from libraries around the country revealed phenomenal growth of circulating nonfiction over the last 20 years. Why? Well, here are two possible reasons:

Outta-This-World Titles for Sci-Fi Fans… in Large Print

June 11, 2018January 6, 2015

Science fiction is often called the “literature of ideas.” It tells the story of humanity with unparalleled imagination and often stimulates powerful insight into the human condition by exploring grand “what if” scenarios.

Books like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and Animal Farm introduced science fiction broadly to American audiences and it quickly became a popular literary genre. Since then, interest in science fiction has grown immensely, as readers of all ages are drawn to the genre that allows us to explore other worlds from the comfort of home.