Author Spotlight: James Patterson

Today's post is about one of my favorite authors. His writings are diverse, intense and not always expected.

BIO: James Patterson was born 1947 in Newburgh, NY. Graduated valedictorian of his class in 1965. He claims to be a reluctant reader while he was in high school but majored in English at Manhattan College. He never planned to be a writer, “that seemed to presumptuous of me”. After graduation from college he landed a job as a junior copywriter but quickly advanced in his career becoming a CEO of a major New York advertising firm. All the while he continued to write in his spare time.

A contributor to Publishers Weekly called Patterson "always a generous author (lots of plot and intrigue) if not a stylish one." In 2008, Patterson announced plans to develop his novels into computer games. For more information visit his website http://www.jamespatterson.com/

Among my favorites:

Alex Cross Series        

The Beach House

Maximum Ride

Link to more books by James Patterson on our shelves

Read a review by Ethan W. The Jester

"James Patterson." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Biography In Context. Web.
          7  Mar. 2013.
James Patterson Author Biographies. Ezine Articles, Oct. 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.
     <http://ezinearticles.com/ ?James-Patterson---Author-Biographies&id=3036955>.

Author Spotlight: Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher has been working with kids and writing about them for a really long time. He has been a teacher, school principal, a child and family therapist, and of course a writer, since the 1970's.

Most of the time his fiction has two common elements. Dudes with issues and sports. His main characters have had to deal with anger, abuse, racism, dying young and whole range of other seemingly impossible situations. Sports helps most of them deal with their issues.The stories are intense page turners that don't pull punches when talking about tough issues or portraying teenagers just like they are. But most of his writing has an element of humor as well.

In an interview with School Library Journal, Crutcher was asked why he writes about teenagers. His answer was:

"Adolescence is often the first time people see that they have some influence over their world.... And that's a natural place to tell the story because, in my own memory, the heat was really turned up then. One of the reasons I write about older teenagers is that they're on the edge of having to live their lives themselves. Those initial decisions they make are really important. In my history I was lied to about what came next. I heard too many fairy tales" (SLJ, 2000)

Crutcher is also a tireless champion in fighting against censorship, often speaking out about the issue.

His new book Period 8 is coming out at the end of March. In the meantime, here is a list of titles we currently have in the LRC.

Novels

F Crutcher,C Angry management : three novellas.
F Crutcher,C Chinese handcuffs.
F Crutcher,C The crazy horse electric game.
F Crutcher,C Deadline.
F Crutcher,C Ironman
F Crutcher,C Running loose.
F Crutcher,C The sledding hill.
F Crutcher,C Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes.
F Crutcher,C Stotan!
F Crutcher,C Whale talk.

Non-fiction

 B Crutcher,C  King of the mild frontier : an ill-advised autobiography.

Short Stories

F Crutcher,C   Athletic shorts : six short stories.

SC Connections    Connections : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults.  

SC Dirty    Dirty laundry : stories about family secrets.  

SC On   On the fringe.  

SC Owning     Owning it : stories about teens with disabilities.  

SC Sports Pages     The sports pages.  

SC Time  Time capsule : short stories about teenagers throughout the twentieth century.  

SC Ultimate    Ultimate sports : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults.  

Author Spot Light: Nicholas Sparks

Did you know…Nicholas Sparks holds a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do and a track and field record at the Univesity of Notre Dame?

Did you know…After selling the rights to The Notebook, the first thing he bought was a new wedding ring for his wife?

Did you know…Nicholas Sparks and J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) are the only contemporary authors to have a novel spend more than a year on both the New York Times hardcover and paperback best-seller lists?

A jack of all trades, Nicholas Sparks has worked as a waiter, real estate appraiser. pharmaceutical rep and bought and restored homes. Above all he has mastered writing love stories with an unexpected twist. "All of my novels have a basis in my own life. I write love stories with roots to Greek tragedies. Only romance novels have a guaranteed happy ending. I write love stories."

The Note Book, 1996 *
Message in a Bottle, 1998 *
A Walk to Remember, 1999 *
A Bend in the Road, Warner Books, 2001.
Nights in Rodanthe, Warner Books, 2002. *
The Guardian, Warner Books, 2003.
The Wedding, Warner Books, 2003.
True Believer, Warner Books, 2005.
At First Sight, Warner Books, 2005.
Dear John, Warner Books, 2006. *
The Choice, Warner Books, 2007.
The Lucky One, Warner Books, 2008. *
The Last Song, Warner Books, 2009. *
Safe Haven, Warner Books, 2010.
Best of Me, Warner Books, 2011.
Memoir (With Micah Sparks) Three Weeks with My Brother, Warner Books, 2004.


This weekend why not rekindle the love in your life by checking out one of the above titles from the LRC. If you are in the mood for a movie try one of Nicholas Sparks inspired stories on DVD from your public library.

Author Spotlight: John Green

John Green is a contemporary author born in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 24, 1977. He graduated Kenyon College in 2000 with a double major in English and religious studies.  After graduating from college, Mr. Green worked as a chaplain at a children’s hospital which helped him understand teenagers better. He also has worked for Booklist Magazine and at National Public Radio.  His first novel, Looking For Alaska, published in 2005, won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2006.  He wrote Abundance of Katherines in 2007. He wrote Paper Towns in 2008 Mr. Green also recently wrote The Fault in Our Stars. He is also coauthor, with David Levithan of the book Will Grayson.  Mr. Green currently lives in Indiana with his wife, his son, and his dog, Willy. 

F Green,J
Green, John. The Fault In Our Stars
Hazel Lancaster has stage IV cancer which has always been terminal but she has survived so far. At a cancer support group she meets another cancer survivor, Augustus Waters. Hazel wants to travel to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author to find out what happens in a book with an ending that is uncertain. Augustus is eager to help Hazel with her quest. This story looks at the questions of life, love, and death based on the experiences of these two characters.

F Green,J  
Green, John. Paper towns
Quentin “Q” Jacobsen has known and been in love with his next door neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman for most of their lives. When Margo comes to Quentin’s window during the middle of the night requesting Quentin to help her with pranks of revenge Quentin feels like he doesn’t really know the girl next door. Margo is even more of a mystery when she disappears, and now it is up to Quentin and his friends to follow the clues Quentin believes will lead to finding Margo. Are the clues really for that purpose?

F Green,J
Green, John. Looking for Alaska
Miles “Pudge” Halter leaves his home in Florida to attend Culver Creek Boarding school in Alabama. He makes friends, including the gorgeous, funny clever and self-destructive Alaska Young. As he falls for her, Miles starts to drink and smoke, two things he would have never done before. Troubled Alaska is hiding painful secrets, but when Miles tries to help her, he may lose her forever.

F Green,J
Green, John. An abundance of Katherines
On Graduation day, Colin Singleton a former child prodigy, is dumped by a girl named Katherine (the 19th different Katherine to dump Colin). Feeling down and rejected, Colin goes on a road trip with his best friend Hassan to find a mathematic formula that can predict the outcome of relationships and move Colin to a genius status.

Author Spotlight: Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin is a novelist and screenplay writer who has written three novels for teenagers (so far) and has had several screenplays optioned to be made into movies. Growing up, she loved to type on her grandmother's typewriter. She started writing plays at around age 8 and always thought she would grow up to be a playwright, not a novelist. She is a graduate of Harvard  and lives in New York City.

F Zevin,G
Zevin, Gabrielle. All These Things I've Done.
Anya Balanchine's dead father was the head of Balanchine Chocolate and the head of one of New York City's most notorious crime families. It is 2083 and chocolate has been outlawed. When the crush worthy new boy turns out to be the new district attorney's son, she might have to choose between her family or true love.

F Zevin,G
Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere.
When she wakes up on a cruise ship that she doesn't remember boarding, Liz Hall thinks she is having a strange dream. But it's no dream. She has died and is going to a place called Elsewhere, the place you go when you die. It looks and feels just like Earth, except you can't die and you age backwards from the age at which you died. She was only 15. How will she live the rest of her life?


F Zevin,G
Zevin, Gabrielle. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.
Naomi Porter has amnesia. When she wakes up in the hospital after a nasty fall, she can't remember the past four years of her life. As she puts together the story of who she was before the accident, nothing makes sense. What did she ever see in her boyfriend Ace? What  was so great about being  the co-editor of the yearbook? Are we the sum total of our memories and experiences or are we something more?