Good Reads & Views

Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
Fiction

Eloise “Weezie” Foley and BeBe Loudermilk are at it again.  This time, BeBe meets rich and handsome Ryan Edward Millbanks, or Reddy as he calls himself.  Reddy is too good to be true, which BeBe soon discovers after Reddy disappears with everything she owns.  After talking to her lawyer, BeBe learns that Reddy is a con man who has swindled more than just BeBe out of everything they own.  With the help of Harry the hotel manager, Weezie, her granddaddy, and some new friends she meets along the way, BeBe is determined to get back everything that Roy Eugene Moseley, also known as Reddy, has stolen from her.  Join them on their mission to take back everything that rightly belongs to them.

 

Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Frazier Nash
Nonfiction

Written initially as a Ph.D. dissertation prepared under the direction of Merle Curti at the University of Wisconsin and first published in 1967, Nash’s analysis in successive editions about changing attitudes toward wilderness from the 18^th century to the present have had almost as much impact on environmental conservation as the writings of John Muir and Aldo Leopold.  Now a professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he established the first such department after he joined the faculty in 1966, Nash and his colleagues have trained hundreds if not thousands of undergraduates and graduate students who went on in a variety of careers in environmental conservation.  The most recent 4^th edition in 2001 added sections on “The Irony of Victory” and “The International Perspective.”  Descendant of an early Canadian river explorer, Nash also published books about his experiences as a commercial guide on Western whitewater rivers.

Burn by Nevada Barr
Fiction

Barr’s most recent novel featuring National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon has her recuperating in New Orleans with her friend Geneva, a blind singer at the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park.  When Anna sees a strange neighboring lodger named Jordan sneaking away in the dark she follows him and finds herself involved with Clare, who fled from the police in Seattle and was suspected of murdering her husband and two children in a house fire.  Convinced by Clare’s anguished explanation that she believes her husband’s import business included young children destined for a brief life in sexual slavery in New Orleans bordellos for pedophiles, Anna tries to help but cannot risk informing police or FBI for fear Clare would be taken away before her children are found. The climax in an upscale establishment for wealthy perverts involves complicit police on the take. Once again Anna along with Clare barely escapes with her life.   Along the way Anna through Barr expresses her repugnance with some horrible activities that may actually be happening somewhere, if not in New Orleans.

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray
DVD

Back before airport security really existed, skyjackings were frighteningly frequent. The D.B. Cooper case, in November 1971, was one of the most notorious skyjackings, because of the way the criminal escaped. After Cooper delivered a bomb threat and held a flight attendant hostage, he parachuted out of a low-flying 727 with the $200,000 he had demanded from the airline. And even now, 40 years later, Cooper’s never been found. After receiving a tip, author Geoffrey Gray decided to pick up the trail and try to learn the identity of the elusive D.B. Cooper. Along the way, he describes the strange mythology that has grown up around this bizarre case.

Fireproof 
DVD

Lt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage - never leave your partner behind - it's a natural instinct. But when it comes to marriage, it's another story. After a decade together, Caleb and Catherine have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. As the two prepare for divorce, Caleb's dad asks his son to try The Love Dare experiment. He commits to the challenge. Now he will have to attempt to love his wife while avoiding God's love for him. He will need to be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person who is no longer receptive to his love.

Flywheel
DVD

The first movie written and directed by Alex and Stephen Kendrick (Fireproof).  A dishonest used car salesman turns his life around, after he is caught deceiving customers and must return their money. The DVD includes deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, and a special message

Facing the Giants
DVD

A high school football coach with a history of losing games faces not only the pressures from a group of fathers wanting him fired, but also the possibility that his wife can never have children. When he turns to God, will his prayers be answered?

The Fighter
DVD

Micky Ward is a struggling boxer long overshadowed by his older brother and trainer, Dicky, a local legend battling his own demons. Their explosive relationship threatens to take them both down. However, the bond of blood may be their only chance to redeem their pasts, and, at last, give their hard-luck town what it's been waiting for: pride.

The Next Three Days
DVD

Life seems perfect for John Brennan until his wife, Lara, is arrested for a murder she says she didn't commit. Three years into her sentence, John is struggling to hold his family together, raising their son and teaching at college while he pursues every means available to prove her innocence. With the rejection of their final appeal, Lara becomes suicidal and John decides there is only one possible, bearable solution: to break his wife out of prison.

Electric Horseman
DVD

Robert Redford plays an ex-world champion cowboy, reduced to huckstering breakfast food in a suit studded with flashing lights. Jane Fonda is a chic, sharp member of the electronic media, a TV newswoman who'll do anything to get a good story. When Redford rides out of a Las Vegas casino into the desert astride his sponsor's living symbol, a multi-million dollar racehorse, Jane is determined to discover why. She manages to pursue him one step ahead of the police, but by the time they reach a remote rendezvous high in the Utah mountains, she is in love with both the cowboy and his convictions.

A Good Year
DVD

Max Skinner is a highly successful investment broker with no time for life outside of his job. When his estranged uncle dies, Max inherits the chateau and vineyard in France where he grew up. His first intention is to sell the vineyard as quickly as possible, but after spending unexpected time at the vineyard, he discovers a part of himself that he thought he had lost and experiences romance and a blossoming new love affair with a beautiful French woman that changes his life forever.

Green Hornet
DVD

Britt Reid is a rich playboy with a direction-less life. After his father dies, Britt inherits his vast media empire where he meets employee, Kato. The two realize that they have a chance to do something worthwhile with their lives by fighting crime, so Britt becomes the Green Hornet. With the help of Britt's secretary, the two begin hunting down Benjamin Chudnofsky, the man who controls LA's gritty underworld. But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

Rabbit Hole
DVD

Becca and Howie Corbett are returning to their everyday existence in the wake of a shocking, sudden loss. Just eight months ago, they were a happy suburban family with everything they wanted. Now, they are caught in a maze of memory, longing, guilt, recrimination, sarcasm and tightly controlled rage from which they cannot escape. The journey is an intimate glimpse into two people learning to re-engage with each other and a world that has been tilted off its axis.

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
Fiction

Wolf Hadda has it all: money, success, prestige, a beautiful wife and a daughter he dotes on. Then the police arrive at his doorstep with a search warrant and arrest him. Trying to escape from custody, he ends up in a traffic accident that leaves him badly injured and in a coma. After serving years in jail for pedophilia and financial shenanigans, and having lost his business, his money, and his wife, he convinces the prison psychiatrist that he should be released. Back in his father’s house in Cambria, Wolf plots revenge on the people who put him in jail and destroyed his life. This suspenseful stand-alone psychological thriller - by the author of the Dalziel and Pascoe detective series – might appeal to fans of Minette Walters and PD James.

Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health by Gene Stone
Nonfiction

This guide - companion piece to the critically acclaimed documentary film of the same title - provides practical advice on how the change to a whole-foods, plant-based diet could save you from heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Included are 125 recipes for a diet rich in unprocessed fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and entries on how this diet benefits not just humans, but animals, the environment, and our future. Contributors include T. Colin Campbell (Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell), Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (Director of the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute), Dr. Neal Barnard (founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) and others also featured in the film.

Once Upon A River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Fiction

Free spirited 16 Year old Margo Crane suffers the death of her beloved grandfather, abandonment by her mother and rape by a relative. After the violent death of her father in which she is complicit she loads her boat with supplies and her rifle and leaves her rural Michigan river community to find her mother. The river has always been her sanctuary yet it is a dangerous place for a young woman traveling alone and Margo has to use all her skills to survive. This is a violent but inspiring story of survival.

Chop Suey: a Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States by Andrew Coe
Nonfiction

Chinese food has been present in the U.S. for two centuries, but initially stereotypes were common (such as the consumption of rats) and early travelers to China were averse to eating even the most formal ceremonial meals. By the mid-1800s Chinese immigrants arrived because of the Gold Rush and to work on the railroads, and they were immediately subject to prejudice, including American revulsion towards their food. Eventually, the cultural elite of New York and other large cities developed an appreciation of “exotic” ethnic cuisine, and eating a bowl of “chop suey” was equated with sophistication. While Chinese food continued to be “Americanized,” President Nixon’s 1972 visit to China and televised banquet with Premier Zhou Enlai helped to broaden our palates. Coe provides an engaging culinary history of the integration of two cultures, including the foggy origin of “chop suey” – often incorrectly considered to have originated in the U.S. – in Cantonese seaports.

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Fiction

Before starting to read this book, clear your schedule—it’s hard to put down! Each morning, Christine wakes up and cannot remember anything about her past, due to a brain injury. In order to avoid having to re-learn everything about her life each day, Christine begins writing in a journal, so she can remind herself of the facts she discovered. One day she awakens to find that she has written, “Don’t trust Ben”—which is a terrifying statement, because Ben is her husband. As Christine, a highly imperfect narrator, tells her story, it’s impossible to know who to trust and what to believe. A fantastic psychological thriller.

Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World by Yu Dan, translated by Esther Tyldesley
Nonfiction

University Professor Yu Dan, who is also a media advisor to many of China’s regional television stations, set out to present the wisdom of Confucius (Kong Fuzi, 孔夫子) in a less scholarly and more accessible way to the Chinese people – her book started as a series of lectures on Chinese Central Television – but it became an unexpected bestseller, selling over 10 million copies. Although Confucius’ Analects are often interpreted as maxims of behavior, Yu Dan interprets them in a more personal way, focusing on developing integrity and wholeness (the Chinese word for heart, xin (心), can also be interpreted as “heart-mind” or “being”). Because Confucian thought has had such an overwhelming influence on Chinese society, culture, and government for more than two millennia, it is particularly relevant as China is evolving in a more materialistic fashion and forging new relationships with the West.

Bad Intentions by Karin Fossum
Fiction

A depressed young man takes a leave from a mental hospital to spend a weekend with his lifelong friends at a lakeside cottage. They go out for a late night boat ride and the young man suddenly jumps out of the boat and drowns. His friends seem to know why he was upset and feel the need to cover their tracks. They tell the police that he wandered away during the night and must have fallen into the lake. Inspector Sejer senses something is wrong but finds no solid evidence of wrongdoing.  When one of the young men is reported missing his suspicions deepen and matters quickly culminate in an unexpected way. A deeply moving story about how hard it is to hide from the truth and the power of guilt to destroy a person.

The Faerie Hills by Susan McDuffie
Fiction

When a little boy disappears while searching for faerie gold in the Scottish Hebrides, a lot of old secrets get dragged into view. In 1373, being stolen by faeries is considered a perfectly reasonable explanation, but searcher Muirtech MacPhee suspects trouble closer to home, and he finds it. Plenty of it. But will any of it lead him to the missing boy? If you like this one, try also historical mysteries by Cora Harrison and Peter Tremayne.

Master of Shadows by Mark Lamster
Nonfiction

In his day, an acclaimed artist could go anywhere, and Peter Paul Rubens took ruthless advantage of his entrée to the royal courts of his world. Blockades by the warring Dutch and Spanish were strangling his native Antwerp, France & England kept making things even worse, and he was determined to do everything he could to craft a peace which would allow his home to become prosperous again. Round and round the courts he went, trying to reconcile the indecisive Phillip of Spain, the all-too-decisive Cardinal Richelieu of France, art lover Charles I of England, and the contentious Dutch republic to a peace none of them really wanted, except on their own terms. A fascinating look at behind-the-scenes diplomacy and art.

Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer
Nonfiction

Pat Tillman was not a typical looking Professional Football player.  In fact throughout his life, people told him that he would never have a career in football past high school.  He was determined to play football in college and then the NFL.  He proved to everyone that he could not only play football at the college level, but that he was one of the top players for his position.  He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the last round of the draft and again had to prove that he belonged on the team.  The events of September 11, 2001 changed his perspective on life.  He wanted to do more, so he enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan.  The author of this book gives a detailed description of events that took place leading up to American presence in Afghanistan and events that took place while Tillman was serving there.

Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews
Fiction

Regina Foxton has a boyfriend, her own cooking show, and finally owns her own home.  Things couldn’t be better for the cooking star, until she learns that her boyfriend has had an affair.  This affair resulted in Gina’s show being canceled.  Desperate for a job, she agrees to a cooking showdown with Tate Moody.  Tate happens to be extremely handsome and the host of his own Southern cooking show.  Sparks fly between the two hosts and they fight their way through three cooking challenges on their way to having their own show on the bigger TCC network.  Who will win the cooking show challenge, quiet, reserved Regina Foxton, or the handsome, outgoing outdoorsman Tate Moody?

Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe
Biography

The party game is “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” but this book makes you realize you could easily play a version called “Six Degrees of Rob Lowe.” During his years as a teen and adult actor, he’s met a lot of big names in Hollywood, and he’s probably six degrees of separation from all the others. While the name dropping and anecdotes about his fellow stars are enticing, Lowe’s own story itself is interesting. He discovered his love of acting early in life, and his passion for his work is evident. He also addresses the difficult parts of his life, including his parents’ divorce when he was young, and his own substance abuse and treatment. Lowe tells his story in a conversational tone, which makes his story a pleasure to read.

Violin Dreams by Arnold Steinhardt
Nonfiction

Steinhardt, first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet and international concert soloist for over forty years, provides a fascinating account of his progress from first lessons in Los Angeles, study and teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, the background and history of the increasingly valuable violins he was able to purchase and play as his career advanced, stories about early violin makers and great violinists, his love for Bach’s sonatas and partitas for unaccompanied violin, and especially his increasingly proficient performances of the Chaconne, fifth movement of Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D Minor.  One thing that helped his interpretation: a scholar suggested that he learn to dance the movements of the partita and demonstrated them for Steinhardt, since the Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, and Chaconne were all based on early dances, some so fiery and lusty that they were banned at one point in Spain.  A CD of the Partita No. 2 is included.

The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass
Fiction

Percy Darling, a retired reference librarian from Harvard University, faces a kaleidoscope of complications decades after the tragic death of his first wife. His quiet life in a historic farmhouse near Boston is abruptly changed when one of his daughters asks to use the barn as a site for a new child-care facility called Elves and Fairies. After years of loneliness he is attracted to the mother of one of the children, and she soon faces complications herself from breast cancer and a previous relationship. One of the popular teachers who helps build a magnificent tree house for the children is gay and fears revealing this because of loss of a previous position. And Percy’s grandson, an outstanding student at Harvard, gets involved in what turns out to be an eco-terrorism group whose next publicity exploit turns disastrous. All of this is handled deftly by Massachusetts author Julia Glass, winner of the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction.  Her previous novels include The Three Junes (2002), The Whole World Over (2006), and I See You Everywhere (2008).

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Fiction

Is the “object of beauty” a painting or Lacey, a exquisite young woman who uses her increasing knowledge of art and her sexual allure to climb her way through the New York art world from a menial position at Sotheby’s auction house to enough wealth from her sale of a Maxfield Parrish painting of her grandmother to open her own art gallery.  Both…but much more.  Martin writes an absorbing account about the rarified world of collectors, galleries, auction houses, and artists over a twenty year period as prices rise and tastes change from old masters to pop to anything goes provided auction sales go stratospheric.  But then there is a crash.  Not only the World Trade Center towers, but the Wall Street Crash.  And suddenly galleries and collectors discover that the values of high-priced art works and the status of an artist can fall along with the values of foreclosed homes.  Everyone is affected, including Lacey.  At least for a while.

The Magic of Digital Landscape Photography by Rob Sheppard
Nonfiction

Drawing on years of experience as columnist and the editor of Outdoor Photographer Magazine, Sheppard provides a clearly written and superbly illustrated guide for beginning and intermediate photographers using Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras.  Included are chapters on gear, camera settings, responding to different types of light, composition, and special techniques for improving your views of sky, water, mountains, forests, flowers, and prairies.  See also The Magic of Digital Nature Photography by Rob Sheppard and The Magic of Digital Close-Up Photography by Joseph Meehan.

The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock
Nonfiction

Raised for a position in the English court, Mary Granville was instead sold off in marriage to a drunken old man. Escaping into widowhood, her life improved, and her second marriage was happy. But only after she was widowed a second time did she begin her life’s work at the age of 72—a series of beautiful flower collages she called her “mosaicks.” Crafted from cut paper, paint, and ink, these spectacular images attracted the attention of the notables of the day, and in the end brought her the court position in which she no longer had any real interest, except that it allowed her to continue creating her mosaicks.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Fiction

The only remaining druid, Atticus O’Sullivan, tells people he’s 21. He doesn’t mention that he’s counting in centuries. He and his dog Oberon have been hiding from Irish god Aenghus Óg in Arizona, a place with few of the wooded areas which allow access to Other Realms. But his cover is fraying, and not even his attorneys (the vampire covers nights, the werewolf covers days) can argue away a ticked-off Love God in league with a coven of witches. And with all the commotion, the police are beginning to wonder…If you like this one, try also Kelly McCullough’s Webmage series.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
Fiction

This prequel to the reknowned Miles Vorkosigan series shows how Miles’ parents fell in love, but you can read it as a complicated space opera of two conflicting planets clashing over wormholes and interstellar territory. Commander Cordelia Naismith of Beta Colony is on a scientific research mission when she is taken prisoner by Admiral Aral Vorkosigan (dubbed “The Butcher of Komarr”) of Barrayar. She expects to dislike him but soon finds he is an honorable man who treats her with respect and honesty. Caught in a web of interstellar conflict, the two former enemies come to trust one another exclusively. If you like this sweeping space opera, try Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro, the Dune series by Frank Herbert or the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

The Art Of Eating In: How I Learned To Stop Spending And Love The Stove by Cathy Erway
Nonfiction

Disgusted by too many mediocre restaurant meals, Cathy Erway decided to stop eating out and blogged about it under the title 'Not Eating Out in New York'. She discussed recipes, discoveries, and chronicled how much money she saved by preparing all of her own meals. Now she’s written a book about the experience, and it’s a fun memoir by an adventurous cook, full of cooking fests, food, friends, and fierce felines. Even if you don’t decide to duplicate Erway’s experiment, you might come away from this book with a few good recipes or an itch to cook at home a little more often. If you like this book, try Julie and Julia by Julie Powell or The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
Fiction 

Book seventeen of the much loved hilarious series of Stephanie Plum, New Jersey bounty hunter.  In this installment dead bodies are turning up in shallow graves in the same lot where her cousin Vinny’s bond office burned to the ground.  With the help of Joe Morelli and Ranger she tries to find out why her name is connected to the killings, all the while dealing with the regular cast of characters and some new ones including Lula, Grandma Mazur, Grandma Bella, her mother, Mooner, Connie, a dancing bear  and an old high school football star who is divorced and back in town and eager to cook for Stephanie.  Explosive Eighteen is due out November 2011.

From this Moment On by Shania Twain
Nonfiction

In this autobiography of singer Shania Twain she tells the story of her life from growing up in rural Canada, raising her younger siblings after her parents tragic death in a car accident, her rise to fame as a singer, and her painful divorce.  After her divorce Shania Twain went on a path to self discovery, to heal and make sense of her own life and in the process she married a trusted friend.  She spares no details in this book which will provide wisdom and hope.

Vanity Fair’s Presidential Profiles: Defining Portraits, Deeds, and Misdeeds of 43 Notable Americans—And What Each One Really Thought about His Predecessor edited by Graydon Carter
Nonfiction

Beautifully illustrated by Mark Summers, the artist best known for the Barnes & Noble author drawings, this book contains a portrait of each president in profile. There is also a written profile—a very brief, 1-page biography of each president—accompanying each drawing. The brevity of the write-ups required the contributors to cut to the chase. Despite the limited word count, the profiles contain fascinating, often surprising facts. For example, John Tyler was the only president who was not given a state funeral. (Why? Because he was a member of the Confederate House of Representatives at the time of his death.) This is a great book to dip into, but it’s also hard to put down once you’ve begun reading.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
YA Fiction

Tally Youngblood dreams about becoming Pretty in just a few weeks on her 16th birthday. Then she befriends Shay, who likes herself just the way she is and doesn’t want to become Pretty. When Shay leaves just before the two of them turn 16, Tally has to bring Shay back in order to become Pretty herself.

I liked a lot of the futuristic elements in the story, especially the magnetic hoverboards and the views about the “Rusties,” the name given to the people who lived before the great catastrophe. Although Tally is not always easy to like, she redeems herself through some heroic actions. If you like this book, there are three more in this series, and you might also like Delirium by Lauren Oliver and  Matched by Ally Condie. For a very different take on body image, take a look at Read My Hips: How I Learned to Love My Body, Ditch Dieting, and Live Large by Kim Brittingham.

The Japanese Grill: From Classic Yakitori to Steak, Seafood, and Vegetables by Ono Tadashi
Nonfiction

If you’re looking for a barbecue cookbook with a twist, give this a try.
In Japan years ago, I sampled lots of fantastic Japanese foods, including tasty treats served at tiny grills in cramped alleyways. Japanese cuisine has become more popular in America, but a few favorites from that long-ago trip are still not available in restaurants here, so this cookbook was a revelation. There are mouthwatering recipes for vegetables, meats, fish and more, and the ingredient list won’t make you run for a Japanese dictionary. I even found recipes that might come close to the barbecued tofu skewers with miso sauce in Kyoto and the yakitori from Tokyo.

For more recipes, take a look at Asian Grilling: 85 Satay, Kebabs, Skewers and other Asian-inspired Recipes for Your Barbecue by Su-mei Yu.

Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions by Paul and Lori Hogan
Nonfiction

This comprehensive and well-organized guide provides a plethora of information and advice about the range of possible care situations faced by the elderly. The stages are: Aging in Place, Family Care, Senior Centers and Adult Care Centers, Nonmedical Care at Home, Medical Care at Home, Retirement and Independent Living Communities, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing Homes, Hospice Care. It also covers the role of the caregiver, family relationships (and conflicts), financial planning, and funeral/bereavement issues. The authors are experienced advocates for seniors, and are the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the world's largest provider of nonmedical care for seniors.

The Death of Captain Cook: a Hero Made and Unmade by Glyndwr Williams
Nonfiction

In 1779 Captain Cook anchored his ship, HMS Resolution, at Kealakekua Bay on the big island of Hawaii during the Makahiki new year/harvest festival. Any wars were suspended during this time, while priests processed clockwise around the island carrying an image of the god Lono (Akua Loa, a long pole with a strip of tapa cloth and other flourishes attached). Some said that the masts, riggings, and sails of the Resolution resembled Akua Loa, and Cook initially sailed in a clockwise direction around the island, so he was treated as a possible incarnation of Lono. After the ship’s initial departure the foremast was damaged, so Cook returned to the island to make repairs. This was unexpected (and perhaps unwelcomed) by the Hawaiians – Makahiki was now over. Tensions arose which eventually led to Cook’s death on the beach. This modest scholarly read covers the events leading up to the explorer’s death, and provides an engaging cultural study of the changing reputation of Cook’s status as a hero through the following centuries.

Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to 'Zuiki' Taro, a Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow Edibles by Eric Toensmeier
Nonfiction

Adventurous gardeners will appreciate the exhaustive list of over 100 species of vegetables profiled in this book. There are quite a few veggies that can be grown like perennials, no need to replant every year. Asparagus and rhubarb are two of them, but there are many others you might or might not have heard of before. The author discusses the pros and cons of perennial vegetables and general information in part one, then goes on to individual plant profiles in part two. Pests and diseases are discussed, as is information on propagating, harvesting, storing, and using the various vegetables. The third part lists vegetables by climate profile and also gives further recommended reading resources and options for how to find plants and seeds for the more “eclectic” varieties.

 

The Ice House by Minette Walters
Fiction

Three women living together in an old country house provide ample fodder for gossip to the townsfolk, and even more so when a faceless dead body is found in the old ice house on the property. Could it possibly be the cad of a husband of the lady of the manor, who disappeared 10 years prior, as the Chief Inspector thinks? And was it murder or not? And why do all three women seem to be hiding something? Readers who enjoy the literary style of P.D. James and the psychological elements of some Ruth Rendell novels might want to give Minette Walters' books a try.

Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics by Richard Hoffer
Nonfiction

The year 1968 was met with a large amount of social and political difficulties in the United States.  Most of these difficulties surfaced before the start of the 1968 Olympic Games that were to be held in Mexico City.  This book takes a look at a number of different athletes that performed in those games.  It talks of their preparation for the games, which were going to be held in a city with a very high altitude, of which most of the American athletes were not accustomed to.  The book chronicles the athletes’ arrival at the Olympic Village, the events they competed in, the awards ceremonies they were a part of, the trip home, and life after the Olympic Games for some of the athletes.  In addition to the games, there was also the possibility of a boycott by most of the American athletes. Some protests were carried out, and others never made it that far out of fear of getting in trouble or having their medals taken away. 

Princess In Training by Meg Cabot
Fiction

Princess Mia already knows that her sophomore year of high school will not be the same as her freshman year, and school hasn’t even started yet.  In the first place there are a few changes that Mia has to get used to.  One change is her boyfriend, Michael, now attends college and won’t be at school every day.  Another change is her friend Boris, who ended last school year, looking a little odd and with a broken heart over her best friend and his girlfriend Lilly.  This year Boris has undergone some major changes including a new girlfriend.  Another change is the dreaded Geometry class.  Mia barely made it through Algebra last year, how is she ever going to pass Geometry?  Also, Lilly, has nominated Mia to be the new student council President where she must run against her rival, Lana. Will Princess Mia be able to handle the pressure and change that comes with being a Princess and passing the 10^th grade?

The Gallows Bird by Camilla Lackberg
Fiction

When a woman is killed in a car accident and smells of alcohol, Fjällbacka (Sweden) detective Patrik Hedstrom assumes that it is a case of drunken driving. But when friends insist that the woman never drank and the autopsy shows signs of bruising around her mouth it is clear that it was murder. At the same time a reality TV show is being filmed in the city and one of the participants is found murdered. Patrik finds evidence that the two homicides are linked and that there is a pattern of similar deaths over a period of time in different parts of the country suggesting that there is a serial killer on the loose. Interesting, suspenseful and unpredictable.

 

 

A Bad Day for Scandal by Sophie Littlefield
Fiction

Stella Hardesty’s reputation for renegade justice is becoming too well known around her hometown of Prosper, Missouri and she is faced with a dilemma when a former resident comes back into town with a body in the trunk of her car and contacts Stella to take care of the disposal. Though Stella desperately needs the money, she refuses. But then the woman threatens blackmail, and before Stella can make a decision she ends up a suspect when the woman and her brother go missing.  Stella and her assistant Chrissy have to dig deep into the woman’s past all while keeping everything secret from the sheriff who does his best to keep Stella out of trouble in spite of her activities. A light and feisty adventure.

Christy by Catherine Marshall
Fiction

In this good, old-fashioned, coming-of-age novel, Christy Huddleston is a 19-year-old teacher who is called to teach in a small mission school in Appalachia in 1912. After having lived a sheltered existence, the harsh living conditions of her students’ families at first appalls her, but gradually she comes to terms with the difficulties they face and is able to recognize the beauty that coexists with the hardships. Over the course of the novel, Christy weathers a crisis of faith, discovers her place in the life of the community, and falls in love.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, Read by the author, with Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, John Hodgeman, Catherine Keener, Edward Norton, Keanu Reeves, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, and John Slattery
CD Audiobook 996.9 VOW

Sarah Vowell brings her unique deadpan delivery to her reading of her latest well-researched but also very personal book. She focuses on the history of Hawaii, particularly the arrival of New England missionaries in the 1820s until its annexation in 1898 and statehood in 1959. Many intriguing stories are brought to life: a Hawaiian princess conflicted about marrying her brother (as with their European counterparts, Hawaiian royalty traditionally married their close relatives); the founding of elite Punahou School (President Obama's alma mater); the colorful Walter Murray Gibson, who founded a Mormon colony (he was later excommunicated for misappropriation of funds) and then got involved in Hawaiian government after befriending the King. Although Vowell is definitely the best person to narrate her own work, her voice borders on monotone. It has been wisely broken up by having extended quotations narrated by an all-star cast, including Academy Award-nominee Edward Norton cast as President Grover Cleveland, Mad Men's John Slattery portraying author Ernest Hemingway, and Keanu Reeves as David Malo, one of the early native converts to Christianity and an author of Hawaiian history.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
996.9 VOW

The author’s latest historical tour traces the origins of American imperialism from the arrival of the first Western missionaries to Hawaii in the 1820s (just after the death of Kamehameha I, who had unified or conquered all the islands, depending on one’s point of view) until the "orgy of imperialism" in 1898, when America annexed Hawaii and invaded Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. With her usual dry wit and anecdotal style, Vowell details the lives of the New Englanders sent to save the native’s souls, – there were an estimated 300,000 native Hawaiians when Captain Cook arrived in 1778, decreasing by 100 years later to about 40,000 due to disease and starvation – their conflicts with the more colorful sailors and whalers who came ashore, and follows their descendants who ran the sugar plantations and politically maneuvered the “Republic” and eventually annexation.

When the Killing’s Done by T. Coraghessan Boyle
FIC Boyle, T. Coraghessan

Boyle, a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California, depicts a suspenseful conflict between the National Park Service’s need to kill invasive species of animals that destroy native flora and fauna on the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara and animal rights activists who strongly believe that it is wrong to kill any animals at all.  Alma Boyd Takesue is a biologist in charge of the Park Service’s successful campaign to eliminate non-native rats on one island and the following campaign to kill feral pigs on another island so that native foxes and birds whose eggs were devastated by the pigs can be reintroduced.  Local businessman Dave LaJoy leads a fictional offshoot of PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in daily demonstations, lawsuits, and even illegal efforts to circumvent the NPS.