“What are you reading?” has to be one of the most popular questions heard at the Waterloo Public Library.  Customers are always curious about what other customers and staff are reading, and what books are generating the most interest. 

Listed below are the most-requested book titles at WPL (up to  May 11, 2012). 

To learn more about placing holds, click here.

1. Fifty shades of Grey - E. L. James
2. The hunger games - Suzanne Collins
3. Catching fire - Suzanne Collins
4. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
5. Lakeland : journeys into the soul of Canada  - Allan Casey
6. Quiet : the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking - Susan Cain
7.  The house I loved - Tatiana de Rosnay
8.  Insurgent -  Veronica Roth
9.  The last boyfriend - Nora Roberts
10. I’ve got your number : a novel - Sophie Kinsella
11. The headmaster’s wager -  Vincent Lam
12. Lone wolf : a novel - Jodi Picoult
13. The power of habit : why we do what we do in life and business - Charles Duhigg
14. The sins of the father - Jeffrey Archer
15. Backfire: an FBI thriller - Catherine Coulter
16. City of lost souls - Cassandra Clare
17. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris
18. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection - Alexander McCall Smith
19. Behind the beautiful forevers - Katherine Boo
20. Why men lie - Linden MacIntyre

Date: Thursday, May 31

Time: 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Place:  Community Room, John M. Harper Branch, 500 Fischer-Hallman Road North

Cost:  Free

Synopsis:  The film, “Heya Fawda” — Arabic for “It’s Chaos” — is a rare, frank look at police torture, corruption and political oppression in Egypt that rights groups say is widespread.  “It’s Chaos” was directed by 82-year-old Youssef Chahine, and Khaled Youssef.

The movie is in Arabic, with English subtitles.

Join us for this special movie night presented by WLU and WPL.

Waterloo Public Library (all locations) is closed on Monday, May 21 for Victoria Day.  Regular hours resume May 22.

Click here to view holiday hours for 2012.

Note:  the Main Library is now closed on  Sundays until October 14.

Click here to learn more about “After Hours” returns.

Join us on Tuesdays, May 8 to June 26, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm for an engaging reading circle.

Children ages 6 to 12 are helped with their reading skills in an interactive and friendly environment.

Books & Games is offered in partnership with Frontier College.

Waterloo Public Library is creating a community cookbook titled “Fact. Fiction. Feast.”, and wants your recipes & favourite book titles!

Simply email your favourite recipe(s) along with the title(s) of your favourite book(s) to shall@wpl.ca.  For those not on email, recipe forms may be picked up at the Main Library, the McCormick Branch, and the John M. Harper Branch.

“We are accepting all sorts of mouthwatering recipes.  Appetizers and Beverages, Salads and Soups, Vegetables, Main Dishes, Breads, Desserts, and Canning.” says Waterloo Public Library’s Sandi Hall, “We will also have a Special section to include recipes that may not fall under a specific category, like candy.”

There is no limit on the number of recipes one person/family submit, however, it is up to the discretion of the library as to how many are included in the final printing from each person/family.  The goal is to have 500 recipes submitted from members of the community.

Monies raised from the sale of Fact. Fiction. Feast., which is expected to go on sale October 1, will support a refurbishment of the popular children’s picture book area at the Main Library.

For more information, visit the “Fact. Fiction. Feast.” blog.

The deadline to submit recipes is: May 30, 2012

Do you want to learn more about using the library’s online resources? The Main Library is hosting a series of fun and informative workshops. You are welcome to attend one or all of the workshops and bring your own laptop computer. Registration is required.

May 28th: Language Learning and Translation Tools

During this one-hour workshop we will discuss and use several language learning tools including the Mango languages database, language kits, and other free online language resources

June 4th: Reading and Health Resources

During this first half of this one-hour workshop we will discuss several online resources for book lovers including the NoveList Plus database. For the second part of the workshop we will look at online health resources.

Please contact Christine Brown for additional information or to register telephone: 519-886-1310 ext. 146 or email: cbrown@wpl.ca

Want to know what our staff are reading?  Visit the WPL Reads blog.

At WPL Reads staff post what they’re reading, suggest other good reads, and share what’s going on in the book world.  Fiction. Non-Fiction. New reads, some older books, and even a few DVDs here and there.

New entries are posted every few days, so check back often!

(l to r) Amy Rola, Scotty James, Bensen Carter, Jojo Worthington.

Waterloo Public Library would like to congratulate Jojo Worthington on winning the WPL Songwriting Contest for Teens with her song, “Amadeus. Amadeus. Amadeus.”

WPL also congratulates 2nd place Amy Rola (”Dancing in the Sunset”) and 3rd place Safe As Houses (”Sink My Boat”).

This contest was held in celebration of National Youth Arts Week. For a list of all contestants,click here. 

Photos from the awards event on May 5 are posted on Flickr.

We would like to offer special thanks to our judges:  recording artist Scotty James, Steve Lehmann (director of KW Glee) and music manager, John Ioannou.

We would like to thank our sponsors 91.5TheBeat, Renaissance School of the Arts, Grand River Music Centre Ltd., Words Worth Books, The Octave Music Centre and Long & McQuade.

For more information, visit the contest’s official blog.

Lakeland, by Allan Casey, is the One Book, One Community (OBOC) selection for 2012.

Author events will take place in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and Baden from September 25 to 27.  Full details of the author events, as well as other programs taking place locally over the summer, will be posted on the OBOC website.

To learn more about Allan Casey, and to view a list of handy resources for readers of Lakeland, visit www.oboc.ca. 

If you have questions about One Book, One Community, please contact Christine Brown at cbrown@wpl.ca or 519-886-1310 ext. 146.

Join us for stories, songs, crafts…and lots of fun!

DATE: Saturday, June 2, 2012
LANGUAGES: Chinese and English
TIME: 2:00pm—2:45pm
PLACE: Main Library, 35 Albert Street, Waterloo

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please call the K-W Multicultural Centre 519-745-2531 or click here for more information.