Since Brooklyn Public Library offers free job search help, materials in over 50 languages, computer classes and cultural events, it’s obvious that BPL is about more than just books. But while the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn are taking advantage of free classes and events, we know that many of you still want book suggestions.

Enter our What To Read web page. It’s full of books in different categories such as NY Times bestsellers, crime titles, books for kids and timely topics. Visit our site for this info, or have it emailed to you.

Before you travel home for the holidays, take a look at some of the books we recommend from our Book Notes from the Underground list:

- Clinton's Secret Wars: The Evolution of a Commander in Chief

- Feminista

- The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants and the Cast of Players, Pugs and Politicos Who Re-Invented the World Series in 1912

- Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

The weather’s getting colder and there’s no better way to spend a cold winter night than to curl up in bed with a great book.  To satisfy your literary appetite our staff has come up with a list of their must reads for the month of October. Some of their favorites for this month include The Cry of the Sloth by Sam Savage, Hummingbirds by Joshua A. Gaylord and Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson by Wil Haygood.

To see the complete list, be sure to visit our website for booklists including Book Notes from the Underground. And if you’re still in the mood to talk books, you can join our online book discussion group.

What are you reading this month?

On Monday, October 5, the unimaginable occurred—a new Winnie-the-Pooh book hit shelves. It’s confusing enough that the author of previous Pooh books, A.A. Milne, has been dead for over 50 years, but suddenly a new character has appeared! Okay, I’m not truly up-in-arms about this, but people around the world have voiced strong opinions about adding Lottie the Otter to this classic children’s series.

Objections ring out when any classic is altered by its creator or, even worse, someone else. But voices get particularly loud when it’s a childhood classic. Take the soon-to-be-released film version of Where the Wild Things Are—I’ve heard a lot of trepidation from those for whom the iconic book was a pivotal early reading experience.

On the one hand, the belief is that a new generation of readers will discover these classic books if they’re introduced in a new way. On the other, isn’t what makes them classic the fact that they are a product of their time and have gone unchanged for generations? Which side do you fall on the issue—is Lottie welcome in Hundred Acre Wood? 

I love fall, and the month of October in particular—it has one of the best holidays: Halloween. BPL has got plenty that will entertain, shock and terrify you.

Neighborhood libraries host a variety of activities, from Halloween arts and crafts, spooky versions of board and quiz games, terrifying storytelling, and costume contests. Check our calendar of events for what’s near you.

If you’re looking to curl up with a horror story or movie, BPL’s got you covered there, too. We’ve got the newest movies, where you can find your favorite freak-out, whether it’s killer orphans, demons or psychos with tools. If you’re unsure, peruse 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die—and before you sit down in front of that DVD, it might behoove you to read How to Survive a Horror Movie. Write your own terrifying tale, or pick up a classic.

Or, read the book, then watch the movie, and compare! And you can do all of the above while wearing the costume you decorated in arts & crafts at your local library.

Have a creepy month! 

Jennifer Gilmore, author of Golden Country, likes writing and LOVES books.

When this Carroll Gardens resident isn’t writing an essay for the NY Times Magazine or working on a new forthcoming novel, you can find her reading her favorite titles.

Kids

The Sign on Rosies Door, by Maurice Sendak

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary

Many Moons, by James Thurber

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Black Tickets, by Jayne Anne Phillips

American Pastoral, by Phillip Roth

White Teeth, by Zadie Smith

Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie

The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers

 Find other reading lists on our website.