Ask the Patch Pro: Local Book Experts Answer Your Questions

Our panel of experts are waiting in the comments to answer your questions about what to read and more in the latest installment of Ask the Patch Pro.

It's time for another edition of Ask the Patch Pro, where each week we tackle a different topic and open up the comments section for questions. Our team of experts stop in to help you out and answer your questions. This week we're talking about books. What books should you be reading? What are the hot books right now? Is there a classic book you just can't go without having read? What books should your kids be reading?Patch wants to help you get your questions answered, but we needed some help.  We've compiled a team of experts to help us out. Meet the experts:  

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Jordan Lanham

6:14 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013

Big thank you to all of our local book experts who helped us out today!   more ›

Maryland Heights Recommends Summer Novels

Here's what a few people from the community suggest for summer reading material.

What better way to spend a hot summer day than lounging on a lawn chair or blasting the air-conditioning while reading your favorite summer novel? We asked a few members of the Maryland Heights community what book they're either currently reading or they recommend. Here are their recommendations:  

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St. Louis Named 8th Most Literate U.S. City

A study from Central Connecticut State University places St. Louis in the top 10 most literate cities in the U.S.

A new study indicates book worms and bibliophiles populate St. Louis. Central Connecticut State University released a study today naming the top 10 most literatue U.S. cities. The study, according to the university's website, focused on newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and internet resources. Here's CCSU's top ten most literate cities: We're wondering how often you read. Do you always have a book open, or is it a rare occasion to paruse the library shelves?

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Lindsay Toler

9:27 am on Friday, January 27, 2012

I usually like fiction, but I'm reading "The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade." Some amazing, never-before-told stories!   more ›

A Perfect Reader: 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' Author's Books Availible at Thornhill and Bridgeton Hills

John Le Carré's books are available at libraries that serve Maryland Heights.

Movie houses across St. Louis are showing Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy—the new film based on John Le Carré’s novel of the same name. The movie has scored a number of positive reviews. The New York Times called the movie “superb,” and that it had “a mystery about mysteries within mysteries.” The Wall Street Journal's reviewer wrote “the manifold pleasures of this remarkable film are cool, but intense.” If you’re interested in reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or several other novels by Le Carré, local library branches have a selection available. Thornhill Branch of the St. Louis County Library Bridgeton Trails Branch of the St. Louis County Library The branches also have several movies and miniseries based on Le Carré’s works. Check the …

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Group Collects Books in Honor of Maryland Heights Boy Killed in Gun Accident

Books for Daniel is a group collecting books to donate to Pattonville School District.

Local residents are raising books in memory of Daniel Metz, the 3-year-old boy who was killed in a gun accident in July. Nicole Vandesteeg of Bridgeton is one of the group’s organizers. She said the group Books for Daniel has collected more than 700 books for Pattonville School District. The book drive started as a way for other children to cope with the loss of Daniel, Vandesteeg said. She and the other organizers knew the Metz family through a mothers' group, and many of their children played with Daniel before the accident.  The group’s first goal was 500 books. Now that it has surpassed 700, Vandesteeg said the group hopes to collect 1,000 books. Businesses are also getting in on the donations. The group’s website indicates that …

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Maryland Heights Recommends Summer Reads

We caught up with a few people from around the community to see what they recommend reading this summer.

The warm weather that's hit Maryland Heights recently makes staying indoors with the air-conditioning blasting or sitting poolside very attractive. But what can you do when you're lounging about on a hot day? One activity came to our minds: reading. We asked a few members of the Maryland Heights community what book they're either currently reading or they recommend.

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Teach on Speech

Challenging Books: Maryland Heights Parents Can Register Concerns

Throughout July, Maryland Heights Patch will publish articles that relate to the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment.

You can find Yankee Girl, by Mary Ann Rodman, in a Pattonville School District library. The novel deals with race issues and, in July 2009, the district received a complaint about the book’s inclusion. Banning books Book challenges are not uncommon in the United States. The American Library Association (ALA) reported 53 texts were challenged, restricted, removed or banned between May 2009 and May 2010. The books range from classics such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to comic books such as Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier. You can read the entire list here. Tim Pecoraro, Pattonville's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said library book and instructional material challenges are …

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Quidditch Canceled by Maryland Heights, Not Dementors or Evil Professors

The game based on Harry Potter books will be offered again by Parks and Recreation Department in the fall.

Quidditch has been canceled in Maryland Heights. Why cancel a league based upon the game in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books? Are too many dementors present? That would explain all the rain and severe storms in the area. Or maybe Prof. Dolores Umbridge is up to her old tricks? But it’s nothing that dramatic. Simply not enough people signed up to start a six-team league, said Angela Ament, recreation specialist for the Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department. “We had a couple of sets of single people—not full teams or anything,” Ament said. In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, quidditch is a witches and warlocks game played while flying on brooms. It’s been described as a flying version of a combined game of basketball and …

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Local Teachers Criticize Editing of Mark Twain

Pattonville High School teachers say that censoring Mark Twain’s work is not the answer.

The language used in Mark Twain’s writing continues to be controversial even after his death more than 100 years ago. In recent news, it was announced that the publishing company NewSouth Books removed the “N-word” from its edition of Mark’s Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Many critics have argued that censoring the book would change the overall context of the story. Others believe that leaving the “N-word” in Twain’s work would promote violence, bigotry and prejudice. Dr. Alan Gribben, professor at Auburn University in Montgomery, AL, proposed removing offensive language from Twain's work back in 2009, when he wrote an introduction for a NewSouth Book edition of The Adentures of Tom Sawyer, states NewSouth Books…

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The Transparent Editor

Read E-books from Maryland Heights Authors

Maryland Heights-based authors have books available for e-book readers.

Attention Maryland Heights book lovers who want to read e-books written by their neighbors — you're in luck! Several local authors have books available on the Amazon Kindle and other e-book readers. It's a safe bet some Maryland Heights-ers got a new Kindle for Christmas. Apparently Internet retail giant Amazon.com had a huge holiday success with its newest version of the e-reader. CNet reported more people turned on a Kindle for the first time and bought more books for the e-reader than on any other day since its release. So what can you read that was crafted locally? You could check out all five of Heather Brewer's teenage vampire novels on the Kindle. Sony's e-book store also has the series, as does Barnes & Nobel for its Nook e-book. …

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