What We Are Reading

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler

2010-04-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Emotionally detached Liam Pennywell has just lost his schoolteacher job when the novel opens. He immediately downsizes by moving to a cheaper apartment, where an assault and head wound has Liam become obsessed with the blank space in his memory surrounding the time of the head injury. His somewhat estranged but pretty typical modern family complicate his life just as he is becoming drawn into a relationship with a women whom he hopes can help him with the missing piece of memory. This is vintage Tyler where we really get inside the off beat, pale and underachieving characters and the less than perfect webs of connections between people. The novel is literary and interior with character being the strongest component. It is good for those off days when you don't want action or bubble gum reading. Tyler still manages to satisfy me with her quirky but familiar people where, dare I confess, I always recognize aspects of myself as well as others.

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by Jack Prelutsky

2009-08-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

As I come to the end of maternity leave, I realize that I've read very little in the way of "grown up" books this summer.

However, I did discover a great book that both Eleanor (that's the little one) and I both enjoyed. It's The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by Jack Prelutsky. This TOME (it's huge) of poems includes works from Lewis Carroll (the guy who wrote Alice in Wonderland), Roald Dahl (the guy who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), William Blake (a crazy 18th century dude), and even popular nonsense rhymes like the ones everyone sings on the playground and can't remember who wrote them.

Eleanor loved the poems. Or I think she did. She smiled a lot, and often they lulled her to sleep. I sure liked them. Here's one of my favorites:

The Night is a big black cat

The Moon is her topaz eye,

The stars are the mice she hunts at night,

In the field of sultry sky.

- G. Orr Clark

For parents, kids, or lovers of poetry, I'd highly recommend this book.

What I Thought I Knew

2009-07-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Usually, biographies are not my cup of tea. Honestly, I brought this one home because it was relatively short and I hoped I would have a chance to actually finish it. Here's the scoop: Alice Cohen, a middle-aged freelance actress and writer begins experiencing strange symptoms and after months of tests and examinations is eventually diagnosed with cancer. During a CAT scan, her doctor discovers that she is in fact, six months pregnant. While she adores her adopted daughter, Alice (who has been told she was infertile her entire life) is horrified. She has had no prenatal care, drank gallons of Italian wine on a recent vacation, and has taken hormones throughout her pregnancy. Alice is tortured by the decision to carry her child to term; she considers adoption and abortion. Her memoir of these months is peppered with lists she composed to help her cope - each entitled "What I know." Alice's story brought me to laughter and tears - it was honest, engaging and quite unforgettable. You'll want to share this one!

Great Stuff for Expectant Parents

2009-05-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've always known the library is a great place to get information - I get to work at the library each day and see all the cool stuff we have, after all. But in getting ready for my own baby, I was SO impressed once again at all the GREAT stuff you can find at your local library. I might have spent a fortune on all the items I've checked out about babies - instead, I got it all with my library card.

So I just have to share a few of my favorite finds:

Reading Magic by Mem Fox - My mother passed this book on to me when I first started working at the library. It's all about how reading aloud to children - and babies - will change their lives forever. It's been great for my job, but took on new significance as we prepare to have a child of our own with whom we can read every day - even from day one!

DVDs - There are some awesome movies for expectant parents, like...

In the Womb - a National Geographic special that follows from conception to birth. FASCINATING!

Prenatal Yoga - I loved this workout. Always consult a doctor on such things, but this was really nice. It's tailored to every part of the pregnancy, even the end, when you can barely move.

Baby Name books - the library hase TONS. My favorite was The Best Baby Names in the World. This book was organized by country of origin, which made it easier to follow than simply a long list starting with "A." (My eyes always glaze over by the time I reach the B's.) I also got a kick out of The Baby Name Wizard, a great website which a fellow librarian showed to me.

Medical Advice - There is no substitute for your doctor's advice, but it was SO helpful to have What to Expect When You're Expecting on hand. A librarian also put me on to MedlinePlus, a website maintained by the National Library of Medicine. I used that site a lot to look up quick questions from home or just browse useful websites.

Consumer Reports - It's amazing to me how much gear there is for babies. I kept wondering, "Is this really necessary?" and more importantly, "Is this actually safe?" The library has back issues of Consumer Reports magazines, which let me look up baby gear. There's also a Best Baby Products guide written by the makers of Consumer Reports. It's really helpful in guiding you through the wild and wooly world of car seats and pacifiers.

Cookbooks - I'm not cooking for baby yet, but when I am, I know the library has lots of books on Baby Purees and other foods. For myself, I was able to use the library's many cookbooks to figure out how to eat a little healthier. It really helped with morning sickness, too.

Parenting Advice - Everyone has advice for new parents. But there are some really great books on parenting for new and expectant parents. Will I find this advice at all useful for MY child? I'm not sure. But I'm sure glad I had so many books to look at to get an idea of what to expect.

And last, but certainly not least, I found some really great children's books at the library. I can't wait to share them with the little one. And best of all, when I'm tired of reading the same kids books over and OVER again, I can come and find new ones here.

So, to all you expectant parents (and grandparents) out there - Good Luck!

Orphanage, by Robert Buettner

2009-04-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

The first book of five military sci-fi, space opera series. I picked up and read Orphanage and got hooked pretty quickly. Comparable to some of the Elizabeth Moon books.
Jason Wander, the main character, starts out as a lowly corporal and ends up a general by the end of the book. Basically, mankind's first meeting of aliens, and it's not a good one. The Slugs park on Ganymede and start dropping large chunks of rock onto Earth's larger cities, totally destroying some of them. Earth's beleagured military sends an attack force to try to destroy the Slugs; only problem is it's been decades since any spacecraft have been needed, so it ends up being a patched up, roughly put together force with little chance of success. The main characters mostly end up hanging around through most of the rest of the series, so there is a nice continuity to the series. Easy, enjoyable, basic sci-fi.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

2009-03-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

This Seattle author's first novel is a treat! The premise is familiar if not predictable: diverse, likeable characters gather for a weekly cooking class and come away with more than good recipes. Members of the ensemble wend their various ways (via some lip-smacking edibles) from despair to hope, from grief to consolation, from stodginess to passion. What elevates this from a pleasant story to a delectable read is the author's luscious, loving rendering of each act of...cooking! From (killing) crab to white on white cake; from pure olive oil to tiramasu; from red sauce to chocolate; each element and every morsel is described with sensuous celebration. Mouth-watering, heart-warming...what more do you need? Warning: Don't read this without some food or drink within reach.

The Echo Maker by Richard Powers

2009-03-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Set in Nebraska along the Platte River, this award-winning novel is a masterful, lyrical weave of cranes and brains, consciousness and memory, science and love, fame and forgetting. It's the story of Mark, a young man who survives a serious, mysterious accident, but with a brain injury that makes him believe that his sister, Karin, is an imposter. She appeals to a famous neurologist, Gerald Weber, who agrees to consult in order to see the rare syndrome for himself. The author brings to vivid life these three characters and a motley crew of Mark's friends and caretakers. The pages of this book are dense with the marvels of human brain science, the plasticity and tyranny of the mind, and the ways we humans perceive ourselves and each other. One mystery gets solved as a dozen more are revealed. Love it or not, you won't regret reading this book.

This is Your Brain on Music The Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin

2009-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

In this scholarly, yet accessible book, the author who is a former rocker/producer/studio engineer turned neuoroscientist explores the connection between music and it's many aspects, and the human brain. The book is pretty wordy-not one that most of us will be able to read in a few nights, but to me quite enjoyable, especially seeing as I am not only a musician, but also a music educator. Levitin explores such things as how composers exploit the way our brains make sense of the world, why we emotionally attach ourselves to the music we listened to as teenagers, why 10,000 hours of practice, not talent, makes a virtuoso, and how insidious jingles and other tunes get stuck in our heads. He also argues that music is not an evolutionary accident, but is fundamental to humans, maybe even more so than language! All in all a pretty mind blowing piece of work!

The World Turned Upside Down, edited by: David Drake, Eric Flint, and Jim Baen

2009-01-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is an anthology of short Science Fiction stories. It was put together by the editors as a collection of stories that had had the most impact on them when they were growing up as teenagers and got (and kept) them interested in Science Fiction. I loved almost all of the stories, and have read several through the years. I had been yearning to read some of the old time type of sci fi stories like I used to read when I was younger myself, and this book did not let me down!
Both Drake and Flint are currently sci fi writers and Jim Baen is a publisher of note with Baen Books being a stalwart of sci fi paperback book publishers through the years. I especially enjoyed reading the prefaces and afterwards for each story, as it explained why each title was chosen, and also reminded me of my younger years as a teen starting to get into sci fi.
743 pages, with 29 pretty darn good stories. Highly enjoyable and recommended!

Watt's the buzz?: understanding and avoiding the risks of electromagnetic radiation, by Lyn Mclean

2008-09-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ever gotten a headache or felt a hot spot on your temple while talking on your cell phone? Thinking about buying a home close to or underneath power lines? Is your home located next to a power substation? This book explains how all electrical appliances, wiring, cell phones, computers and more produce electromagnetic radiation (EMR), and the link between the exposure to EMR and health problems, which has been accepted at the highest levels of the scientific community. The book is clear and concisely simple to read and understand. It also summarizes many scientific studies and has a whole chapter on how to minimize health risks. A must read for this day and age!

The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

2008-09-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

What a great book! I just finished this book and then handed it off to the first friend I ran into, telling her she just had to read it.

In The Cater Street Hangman, a series of grisly murders shock an affluent neighborhood of London. Everyone in Cater Street would like the pretend that one of the "criminal classes" is to blame, rather than face the growing realization that the killer is likely living in their midst. Family relationships crumble and unpleasant lies are brought to light as the investigation brings out everyone's secrets.

At the center of the novel is the beautiful but outspoken Charlotte Ellison. Her strange mix of candor and compassion generally bewilders people, but it also earns her the respect and admiration of Inspector Pitt, the policeman assigned to the Cater case.

The novel is brilliantly paced and wonderfully told - a delicate balance of mystery, romance, historical fiction, thriller, and even, morality tale. Interestingly, Perry tells the story from the Ellison family's point of view - rather than following the Inspector around on his inquiries. The result is a crime story told from the point of view of the people left in the dark and confused - more a story about what crime, secrets, and violence does to people than a simple whodunnit.

And yet, for all the bleak coldness of the Victorian setting, there is a strange sort of hopefulness to the novel - a firm belief that true love really can blossom in any circumstances between two worthy people and that the truth really is freeing to the soul, if only we would seek it.

Snare, by Katharine Kerr

2008-08-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Snare is an epic Science fiction novel with some fun and strange twists...basically the decendants of Islamic fundamentalists, and the decendants of scientists whose ancestors arrived on the planet Snare over 800 years ago by accident , are constantly battling the alien natives, and sometimes each other and no one really knows why, or why they must follow strange and bizzarre customs. Through an epic journey into intrigue, war, and adventure, one of the books' heros Ammadin, who is a Spirit Rider/Healer goes on a Spirit Quest to ultimately find out the real truth of the story of how they all arrived there.
Snare was a fun, well written and easy read that kept me wanting to go back to for more adventure to see what was around the next corner/adventure.

Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn

2008-08-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

On a recommendation from a friend, I picked up Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince, the first in a series. The story is classic fantasy, centering around the politics and family drama of several royal clans as they vie for power and peace.

Rohan, the young prince of the desert, is generally considered bookish and shy, but the reserved scholar actually has an ingenious plan to secure his country's peace, in spite of some rather dangerous neighbors. He also knows a secret about the desert dragons, a secret that just might change the balance of power. But complicating matters considerably is the arrival of his betrothed, a witch. When the prince and his fiancee fall in love at first sight, it will take all their wits - and will - to pretend otherwise, because the prince's plan rests on fooling the world that he plans to marry someone else.

The story is remarkably well-written (having read enough very incomprehensible prose passing under a fantasy publisher's label, I can say this is sadly an exception rather than a rule with fantasy), containing vivid, motivated characters, complicated and yet realistic events, and a fully realized system of magic.

My only complaint would be that this fantasy is very...well, unfantastical - for a fantasy. Sure it's set in another world and with magic and dragons, but it reads like historical fiction. Everything felt - to me - rather scientific. There is not really a higher plane or even much philosophizing - just politics. (This is unfortunate because fantasy is made for philosophizing. Just look at Harry Potter.) For myself, I like fantasy - and books in general - to have a certain sort of seinsucht to them - just a little something more.

But if you like your fantasy gritty, realistic, and mightily historical, then Dragon Prince is a great place to start.

Airhead by Meg Cabot

2008-07-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

When I tried to explain the plot of Airhead to my husband, he just looked at me with this really weird eyebrow raised look of total disinterest and disbelief. I admit, the plot sounds ridiculous:

A gawky tomboy named Em has her brain transplanted into the body of teen supermodel Nikki Howard.

See, I told you it sounded ridiculous. The set up for how that unlikely event comes about is even more ridiculous. Still - and this is the beauty of Meg Cabot's writing - this totally implausible story is increcibly fun. The characters are well drawn, particularily the video-gaming feminist Em, who is trying to re-adjust to the fact that she's now expected to be passive and girly (something she never was) without loosing her own identity inside a borrowed life (and body).

In addition to the fact that her body is now totally different, Em also has to deal with the fact that she's mobbed by fans everywhere she goes (poor thing), her old crush doesn't remember her (poor thing), and 3 other gorgeous guys are all in love with her and fighting over her (poor thing). Oh, and her employer seems to be stalking her. But as it all this takes place in a world of poparazzi, Manhatten lofts, designer clothes, and gorgeous guys, we find ourselves torn between pitying Em and envying her. And we imagine what we might do in her shoes.

Again, that's the beauty of Meg Cabot's books - I always find myself totally caught up in the story. The only problem with this book was that I was so caught up in the story that I suddenly reached the end and the story wasn't finished. There's going to be a sequel - possibly several. So, overall, good story - totally fun beach reading - and now I will have to wait until Meg writes more...

Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds

2008-03-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

A patron had turned in a paperback by this author at the library that I was working in and it looked like it might be something I might be interested in reading. It was! I enjoyed it so much that I got on the catalog and found this (and more) by this author. Reynolds' writing is fun to read and I found myself constantly going back to earlier sections where he had made some small reference to a subject that just happened to come up and be important later.
This book follows the adventures of Tanner Mirabel, a security operative, as he searches for a low-life, postmortal killer. The plot is quite complicated and weaves around and back and forth. The book is consistently startling and Reynolds uses plenty of cutting edge biology, alien intrigue, AI's and other sci-fi tricks. A mighty good read for any genre.

Seeds of Time, by Kay Kenyon

2008-01-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

I had never read anything by Kay Kenyon before this book and was quite pleased with her writing style. This, being her first book, got me caught up almost immediately. Another Science Fiction book, which if you have read any of my other postings, you should know is my favorite type of fiction.
It's pretty much of an adventure, with the main heroine character being Clio Finn, a Dive pilot, someone capable of guiding a ship into the time stream. Earth is on her last legs (because of all the problems plagueing her right now). Clio is a Green, who would do anything at all to save her beloved Earth, and on a trip through time she and her crew find a lush planet that Clio would like to bring back some seeds from to regreen the Earth. Unfortunately, those seeds could either halt the planet's immanent demise and/or destroy it's entire civilization.
The characterization is very believeable, as is the science behind the fiction. I just found another book by this Washingtonian who resides in Wenatchee and am eagerly anticipating using some of my sleep time to dive into wherever it may take me.

The Martial Arts Book by Laura Scandiffio

2007-12-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to recommend some good books on martial arts for kids. In the past, I was rather disappointed with most offerings. They were boring, commercial, talked down to kids and said nothing about ninjas. Clearly, not what the kids were looking for.

The Martial Arts Book, however, is just as comprehensive as its title suggests. It surveys the major styles of martial arts and their history, covering a lot of ground in a short, wonderful volume. Frequently martial arts books (especially those for children) have little information, are too sugar-coated, are too commercial, or are clearly biased towards one art over another. This book, however, presents all the different styles of martial arts in a fair and equal manner. The maps, pictures, and asides do an excellent job of untangling the often confusing history of martial arts. The authors do not make light of martial arts myths, either - they realize that martial arts history is as much legend as fact and that to ignore the legends is to ignore a rich history. The legends told in the book are some of the classic tales of martial arts.

Kids interested in martial arts will eat this book up. They will love seeing how how ninjas, monks, samurai, pirates and farmers gave rise to the martial arts of today. They will also love the colorful pictures and engaging layout. Parents will appreciate the emphasis on peace, compassion, and on growing internally as well as externally. Teachers will appreciate the accuracy of the information, the historical context it will give to their students, and the frank treatment of the "westernization" of martial arts.

I, personally, am impressed with how much information was packed into such a short volume in such an engaging manner.

Conquering the Impossible: my 12,000-mile Journey Around the Arctic Circle, by Mike Horn

2007-12-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

This guy is pretty crazy! The book starts out shortly after Mike is done with his last crazy journey, which was to circumnavigate the globe around the equator. He did this on foot and in a sailboat. He decides to do this same thing around the Arctic Circle, but has no prior arctic experience whatsoever, so he hooks up with 2 people who are planning to cross Greenland by foot and after a few days they are stuck in their tents for 2 weeks because of horrendous weather and they give up on the project. Mike Horn decides he's now got enough experience to do a warm-up journey before the big one around the circle. How about a solo journey from the northernmost tip of Europe to the North Pole? With his (very little) experience he does go off on his next adventure towards the North Pole and on it he manages to get frostbite on the ends of all his fingers which ultimately makes him cancel the rest of the trip and get rescued. Back in civilization the doctors cut off the last joint of most of his fingers and thumbs and tell him he needs 2 full years of healing before he should expose his damaged fingers to extreme cold so what does he do? He plans and takes off on his trip around the Arctic Circle 4 months later. It's actually a well written and amusingly entertaining book about a guy with an amazing amount of drive.

The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden

2007-12-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

This review was written by Colville Library patron Ron Warsher, who specially requested this book from the library.

This is definitely a leading-edge book, almost fantasy, and hard to believe all of what it claims. Still, I'm really glad that the library chose to go ahead and purchase it.

The author looks at issues that most people (serious researchers included) ignore, due to the difficulty of integrating these insights into our normal models of how the universe works. Braden has been an explorer in the area of free energy for a number of years (which is what drew my interest initially), but this book is a bit afield from that. He stretches the mind, re-defining what may be possible.

The chapters begin with relevant quotes to get the mind THINKING. Two examples:

"Time is not at all what it seems. It does not flow only in one direction, and the future exists simultaneously with the past." - Albert Einstein [and Braden repeats this idea later in the chapter with another Einstein quote: "The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."]

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." - Soren Kierkegaard

It is easy to think of such ideas as "oh, clever" and then rush on with normal life. It is more difficult to ask "What is the import of these thoughts? What might the world really be like if we give these insights full standing in our thoughts?"

I cannot describe here the full extent of what Braden calls the divine matrix that connects the whole world instantaneously; but it deserves a place in our thoughts. Mind-stretching books are certainly appropriate for libraries to carry. Braden's interpretation of modern physics may or may not stand the test of time, but the journey itself is worthwhile. Thank you for making that journey possible.

-Ron Warsher

Beowulf

2007-11-24T11:09:00.001-08:00

I went and saw the movie version of Beowulf, expecting it to be dreadful. I was quite surprised to find that I actually liked it, but more than that, I liked it AND the movie was a faithful retelling of the original epic poem.

Sure, they added a bit of plot that wasn't there (a good addition in my opinion), but I was pleasantly surprised to see how interesting a story Beowulf could be. I had liked Beowulf, but in a sort of "I have to read this for English class and what do you know? it isn't half bad" sort of way.

Anyhow, the movie made me want to re-read the poem, so I pulled out the nice, new Seamus Heany (read, Irish poet laureate) translation. The book is full of men drinking, men boasting, men getting attacked by a giant man/monster-thing, hero-man promising to kill said monster, hero-man fighting monster, hero man being brought low by his own pride. It's not a happy poem or movie by any stretch of the imagination, but its quite good.

Neither the movie nor the book will appeal to everyone, but if you liked the movie Beowulf, try the poem on for size. It's a relatively short read and you'll be astonished and how faithfully the movie follows the book. And if you remember the poem from English class and don't cringe at the thought of it, you may find the movie oddly compelling.

(Movie rated PG-13, by the way, for violence (the "bone breaking" part is straight out of the poem) and nudity/sexuality. The book is generally categorized as high-school/college reading.)

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Gonn and Hall Iggulden

2007-11-15T15:36:00.001-08:00

You may have heard about the controversy surrounding this book's title or the controversy about the fact that it lists a pocket knife and matches among the supplies a boy should never be without. If the idea of pocket knives and matches and secret ink made from urine sound cool to you and not disturbing, then you need to check out this book.

The Dangerous Book is a book full of all those sorts of boy-scout, Saturday afternoon in the backyard kind of things that people blame video games for destroying. Such as...

* Backyard ballistics
* Guide to pirate flags
* A grammar guide
* A list of famous battles (so you can use those backyard ballistics properly)
* How to make a bow and arrow
* Secret codes and cyphers
* Guide to bugs
* A list of good Shakespearian insults and 10 poems you ought to know
* How to make traps
* How to skin and cook a rabbit
* First Aid
* Useful Latin phrases
and, of course:
* Girls

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

2007-11-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

Always looking for new authors and books, a friend from B.C. recommended trying this author and when I looked in our Public Access Catalog I found several offerings including one I had already read! Spin was written in 2005 and is a science fiction novel about 3 friends. In their teens, a planet-spanning shield that blocks out the rest of the universe appears. The book basically tells the story of the next 30 years of their lives, during which around 300 billion years pass outside the shield because of an engineered time discontinuity. Many things happen and much speculative science is thrown around. Spin is a psychological narrative and a cosmological meditation and several other things in between. Wilson's characterization is rich and believable, and the ideas keep coming at a ripping pace. I'm busy looking in the catalog for another book by Robert Charles Wilson as soon as I post this.

The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia

2007-10-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Tell me you didn’t love Project Runway. When I saw the pilot show, I was totally hooked. My mom Tivo-ed it so we could watch together as the designers on the show battled it out to see who could come up with the best styles.

From the Project Runway’s most terrifying judge, Nina Garcia (the one who is always right but is totally harsh), comes The Little Black Book of Style. Garcia reveals the secrets of real style: style which never changes, despite the ups and downs of fashion.

Garcia’s biggest style secret is so obvious, it may surprise you (especially coming from a woman whose whole life is built around telling people how to dress). The Little Black Book is a frivolous, lightweight, 1-afternoon read, and it’s totally perfect for getting inspired if you tend to look in your closet and go, “bleah.”

Why Good Things Happen to Good People

2007-10-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

When I saw the title of this book, I first thought I’d misread it. Isn’t it that BAD things happen to good people? Surely being a good person doesn’t make your life good, right? Well, while bad things do sometimes happen to go people, the crazy thing is that scientific research is finding that being good actually improves your life.

Obviously, the book does not say that ONLY good things happen to good people. But what studies have found is that good people live overall good lives. Loving, giving people bounce back from tragedies more quickly. They live longer, are healthier, and rate themselves as content and happy. Teens who give are less likely to get into trouble, less likely to suffer depression, and more likely to continue to give as they grow older.

With all the books out there on criminals and psychopaths, I found it so refreshing to read a book on the study of unconditional love. Not only is the research well done, but the writing is interesting and engaging. If you are intrigued by the concept that good giving leads to good living, then I highly recommend that you check out this book.

A practical handbook for the boyfriend : for every guy who wants to be one, for every girl who wants to build one / Felicity Huffman & Patricia Wolff.

2007-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

A patron told me he had read this book at night to his wife and that they got a lot of entertainment out of it. He recommended it highly, so I checked it out and took it home. I laughed my face off several times! I really enjoyed the vintage pictures at the start of each chapter, also. Among the many things a guy can learn from this book are: How to apologize without really apologizing, How to survive her driving, How to avoid talking about your "feelings", How to pretend you have "feelings", How to charm the pants off of her (literally), and How to convince her farting in bed is a sign of your commitment...as you can tell this book takes a humorous approach, yet I actually learned many things for real, and also confirmed many things that I had only had a gut feeling about. For men and women alike, I definately recommend this book for some fun and educational reading!

The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries - Whitney's summer reading list

2007-07-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

Dorothy Sayers, the author of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, is worth a novel in her own right. An unconventional woman of the 1920’s, she got an Oxford degree when few women did so and went on to support her family by working as a writer. In her lifetime, she was best known for her works on theology and her popular “Guiness is Good for You” beer ad campaign. Posthumously, she’s best known for her mystey novels, the Lord Peter Wimsey series.

The fictional Lord Peter is the second son of a duke, and as such, has little to do all day long except be very rich. To stave off boredom, he turns to sleuthing. Though to all outward appearances, Lord Peter appears a rich nitwit, he never misses a clue and always catches the crook. Think of him as a well-dressed Columbo with an Eton-bred British accent.

Every one of these novels is a delight. While the reader may guess the culprit early in the game, Sayers writes such interesting characters and twisting plots that it’s fun to follow the story all the way to the end. I once heard someone say that her books are not so much whodunits and whydunnits. The real question is not who is guilty, but how they were motivated and, more importantly, how their guilt can be proved in a court of law.

Later in the series, Lord Peter meets the mystery writer Harriet Vane, who becomes his love interest and partner in (solving) crime. While the Lord Peter novels can be read out of order, I would recommend reading at least the Harriet Vane/Lord Peter novels in order.

Novels:
1. Whose Body? (1923) – Dead nude in a tub.
2. Clouds of Witness (1926) – Lord Peter’s whole family is suspect of murder
3. Unnatural Death (1927)
4. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928) – No one noticed when the old general died
5. Strong Poison (1931) – Introducing the accused – and love interest – Harriet Vane #1
6. Five Red Herrings (1931) – Murder while on holiday in Scotland
7. Have His Carcase (1932) – Harriet Vane returns - Harriet Vane #2
8. Murder Must Advertise (1933) – well, it must
9. The Nine Tailors (1934) – The bells toll for the dead
10. Gaudy Night (1935) – Harriet Vane visits her Oxford Alma Mater – and encounters a vicious prankster - Harriet Vane #3
11. Busman’s Honeymoon (1937) – Lord Peter and Miss Vane tie the knot – and solve a murder - Harriet Vane #4
12. Thrones, Dominations (1998) - not finished by Sayers -- completed by Jill Paton Walsh
13. A Presumption of Death (2002) - written by Jill Paton Walsh, based loosely on The Wimsey Papers

And if you still can’t get enough, try one of the short story collections:
Lord Peter Views the Body (1928)
Hangman’s Holiday (1928) also contains non-Wimsey stories
In the Teeth of the Evidence (1939) also contains non-Wimsey stories

60's! A Catalog of Memories and Artifacts, by John and Gordon Javna

2007-06-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

If you are a Baby Boomer and grew up in the '60's, you will really enjoy this book! It is chock full of memorabilia and photos. Cars, TV, Fashion, Politics, Food, Toys, Music. It's all there to peruse. I got a lot of laughs and great feelings while reading this book. 237 pages of flashbacks!

One Man's Wilderness, by Sam Keith from the journals and photographs of Richard Proenneke

2007-06-12T17:09:00.001-07:00

I watched the DVD we have here in the Library called Alone in the Wilderness, and had recommended it to several patrons when one day a patron returned this book and explained that it was the book that went with the movie. I was quite elated to be able to go further in depth into Dick's experience in the Alaskan wilderness.
At age 51 Dick dropped out of "real life" and went to Kodiak Island and built a small log cabin. This book is mainly about his first year there; building the cabin, the constant chain of nature's events that kept him company, and his first winter. The writing in the book is like a diary, some days entries are short and some long. His writing is at times quite prosiac and certainly had the effect of bringing me there to almost experience what he did. Many have dreamed his dream, but Dick followed through with it and he stayed to become a part of the country. Check out the DVD too!

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, by P.D. James

2007-05-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't read a murder mystery in a while, and P.D. James was a good choice. Her novels are chock full of detail: she manages to capture characters in just a few vivid sentences and drives the action along so smoothly that you will find yourself hooked before you know it.

In London in the late 60's, Cordelia Gray suddenly finds herself the sole proprietor of Pryde’s Detective Agency. Desperate for money, she takes the first case offered to her, even though (as everyone seems compelled to remind her) detective work is an unsuitable job for a woman.

Cordelia is employed by a wealthy Cambridge scientist to find out why his son committed suicide. But as simple as the investigation seems, she quickly unearths a number of ugly secrets. Soon, it becomes clear that Cordelia is not dealing with a suicide, but a murder.

And Cordelia may be the killer’s next target.

The deserter's tale : the story of an ordinary soldier who walked away from the war in Iraq / Joshua Key ; as told to Lawrence Hill.

2007-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have a good friend who is now stationed in Bagdad and he recently came home for a couple of well deserved weeks away from there, and while he was home we talked about what is going on over there. After he went back I read this book and it corroborated many of the things that he told me. This book is written by a young man who was a patriot and believed in his president, but after a couple months of taking part in house raids where they blew the doors off houses and went in and took all males over 5' tall out and sent them away to who knows where, searched for terrorists, weapons of mass destruction and other weapons while basically trashing the whole house and never finding anything except the usual automatic weapon for self defense, he started to ask himself questions and eventually came to the belief that the only terrorists he saw were himself and the other troops there. He vividly describes many horrifying experiences that he either took part in, or witnessed on a daily basis. After 7 months he was given 2 weeks leave to visit his wife and kids back home and he found that he just could not go back. The second half of the book is about going AWOL and finally getting safely into Canada. After reading this book I was a bit reluctant to believe it all, but remembering the things my friend had described and shortly thereafter watching a DVD in the library system called The Ground Truth, I believe. The book itself is an easy read, not extremely well written, however I highly recommend reading it as it may change your perspective on the realities of this "war". Check out the DVD too while you are at it!

Immersed in Verse by Allan Wolf

2007-04-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

National Poetry Month is almost over, BUT BEFORE WE GO, I wanted to share this AWESOME book.

Immersed in Verse was recommended by the School Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2006. I can see why. The book's full title is "An Informative, Slightly Irreversent, & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life."

And it truly is. Immersed in Verse gives great advice to poets (and writers of all kinds), on how to get ideas for writing, how to revise, the importance of always carrying a notebook with you, and is chock full of great example poems, written by everyone from Langston Hughes to Byron to Sylvia Plath to Shakespeare.

This book really has it all. I looked through this book and thought "If only I'd had this books YEARS ago!" This book has in it everything I learned (often on my own) over the past 20 years on writing. (And I majored in Creative Writing!) Technically, this book is a teen book, but I would recommend it for anyone (but especially teens), who are interested in writing. It has all the best lessons and advice all in one place.

If you are a writer (and remember: anyone who writes is a writer) or you are someone who encourages young writers, you MUST take a look at this book.

Alpha, by Catherine Asaro

2007-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across Asaro while looking for something new in the SciFi realm of our library system. My first book was this one, Alpha, where I thoroughly enjoyed her captivationg style of writing which is very rich in characterization and liberal use of high tech SciFi ideas. She also integrates all of this with romance. Alpha is an AI (artificial intellingence) android with evolving intellince who is six feet tall and beautiful, undistinguishable from a human female, who flies jets and wields a machine gun, among other things. I went back and read the prequel to this called Sunrise Alley. Both of these books delve heavily into Asaro's extrapolation of current artificial intelligence theories and the ethics thereof. Can artificial intelligence or evolving intelligences become human?
An easy reading thriller that makes the reader ask themselves many questions, in a writing style as attractive and persuasive as Elizabeth Moon.

Spychips : how major corporations and government plan to track your every move with RFID / Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre.

2007-04-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty disturbing book to me as it basically documents (with a huge amount of footnotes) the history and future of master planners' strategies to spy on Americans without their knowledge or consent using radio frequecy identification chips, which can be made so small as to not even be detected by the human eye. There are different types of chips, in all sizes, that can perform different functions, including broadcasting your location and all types of information that can be stored on them. Examples of RFID chips now currently being used are like the ones some pet owners have had embedded under their pet's skin that contain information about the pet, including it's owner's name and contact information that can readily read with a special scanner similar to ones used at the grocery store and libraries, and most new cars that have GPS in them also have a RFID chip. The book goes into the possible ramifications of the unrestricted use of RFID chips. The two women who wrote the book are just concerned suburban housewives, who have so far managed to foil some of the master planners' strategies. If you are concerned about "Big Brother" and keeping your personal freedoms this is a must read.

April is National Poetry Month!

2007-03-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's that poetry is often associated with flowers and there are a lot of flowers in April. Then again, many poets are decidedly un-flowery.

At any rate, today I saw a book by one of my favorite poets and just thought I'd blog, in no particular order, some of my favorite books of poetry that I'll be re-reading in April.

1. Collected Poems, by Wendell Berry: If you've never read Wendell Berry, you're missing out. A farmer from Kentucky, Berry does all his farming by hand. This is reflected in all of his poems, which have deceptively earthy and simple quality to them. They sound just like an old friend talking, but if you read more closely, there's amazing music in the words.

2. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, ed. by Jack Prelutsky: This book says it's "for children," but don't let that fool you. This is one of the finest collections of poetry around. From nursery rhymes to poets by the masters, this volume is so wonderful, you won't want to let it go.

3. 5 Poets of the Pacific Northwest: As the title says, this book contains the work of 5 contemporary northwest poets, whose writing often reflects the landscape they

4. Selected Poetry, Gerard Manley Hopkins: You'd thinkVictorian Jesuit priest would be kind of stuffy, but Hopkin's poetry is full of passion and sincerity, especially in an age of formalism and tradition.

That's a few of them anyhow. Take a look through the poetry section - it's in the 811s and following in the Dewey system. It's HUGE! We have TONS of poetry - have fun with it this April, and all year 'round.

Graffiti world : Street Art from 5 Continents by Nicholas Ganz

2007-03-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Graffiti world is not a book to read: it's a book to look at carefully.

With amazing pictures of graffiti, murals, and public art from all around the world, this book takes spray-paint to a whole new level. Anyone who appreciates art, especially funky graphic art, should take the time to look through this book.

The South Beach Heart Program, by Arthur Agatston

2007-02-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Written by the well known and reknowned author of the South Beach Diet books this book is a 4 step plan that can help save your life. Part 1 of the book is about our health care system that relies way too much on procedures to fix things that happen such as a heart attack or stroke, and why doctors are paid more to treat disease than to prevent it. Angioplasty and Bypass surgery are a multi billion dollar industry in the USA. In part 2 he presents his Heart Program which is designed to identify and prevent problems before they become life threatening. There is much about the newest and latest research about the how and why of heart attacks. If you have a family history of heart disease, or have high cholesterol/high blood pressure, you need to read this book!

No Shortcuts To The Top, by Ed Viesturs with David Roberts

2007-02-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

I LOVE to read books about high mountain climbing, especially in the Himalayas, so this book was a natural for me to jump into. I've read about Ed Viesturs many times in other books and magazines, however Ed started out with a pretty low profile. I knew that he had relocated to the Seattle area, and I knew that he was going for climbing all the world's 8,000 meter mts. (there are 14 of them), and I knew that he climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen, but until the last few years there just wasn't much written about Ed because of his low profile.
The book is mainly an autobiography with a little about growing up and the bulk of the writing is about his climbing career with the emphasis on the climbing experiences on the 14 8,000'ers, as he calls them throughout the book. Ed was genetically gifted for climbing in the "Death Zone" as his body utilizes the sparse amount of available oxygen better than most people and he works hard to train and get to the mountains he loves to climb. I rather enjoyed getting to know more about Ed and his accomplishments. It was a very easy read, with plenty of exciting moments! If you like to read mountain climbing books you are sure to enjoy this one, too.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

2007-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

I confess: I saw the movie before I read the book. Howl’s Moving Castle was made into a beautiful, fascinating film by Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki. After seeing the movie, I went to track down the book it is based on. The book (of course!) is even better than the movie.

Both the book and the movie follow the story of Sophie Hatter, who accidentally offends the evil Witch of the Waste. The witch turns Sophie into a 90-year-old woman and Sophie wanders off into the wilds to break the spell. She soon stumbles upon a magical moving castle that belongs to the mysterious Wizard Howl.

Sophie soon finds herself in an adventure involving a missing prince, a turnip-headed scarecrow, finding husbands for her younger sisters, two fire demons, a lost sorcerer, an enchanted dog, a king’s command, falling stars, mermaids, a very messy house, finding true love, and missing poetry homework.

Howl’s Moving Castle was one of the most enchanting books I’ve read in some time, and I highly recommend it to any fan of fairytales, stories about wizards, magic, or any fan of quirky British storytelling.

Tempting Faith by David Kuo

2007-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

I usually read children’s fiction and avoid political non-fiction like the plague. But this book caught my eye and I’m glad I read it. It is different than the other exposes out there. It appeals to (as in, it makes an appeal to) all Americans, regardless of religion or political affiliation.

Tempting Faith is by turns a political expose and a very moving memoir of one man’s life. David Kuo worked in Bush’s office of Faith-Based Initiatives, campaigning for aid to small charities. Kuo began by believing he could use politics to bring money to under-funded charities across America. In the end, however, his department accomplished little and he left the White House disillusioned by politics.

The power of Kuo’s book comes not from his insider views on corrupt politics (though there is plenty of that), but rather from the lack of bitterness or anger in his writing. Though full of irony, his story has none of the barbs that so many political books do. Kuo writes as a man completely free from all concern for his reputation or career because, well, he is. He gave up on politics when he discovered he has a brain tumor and could die at any time. As Kuo himself writes, his health showed him what was important in life. Instead of trying to use politics to support charitable causes, he got involved with charities himself.

I think the most powerful part of the book is when Kuo writes about how, post 9/11, all the White House staffers got together, discussing how to get prayer meetings and candlelight vigils organized. Then they looked up and discovered the obvious: Americans had done all those things on their own. They hadn’t needed an initiative or an executive order to care about their fellow countrymen – they just did.

The Stonehenge Gate, by Jack Williamson

2006-11-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

The latest sci-fi novel by old school sci-fi author Jack Williamson. It's a pretty quick read that puts forth the plot and story in a fun and older type of sci-fi kinda way. It's reminicsent of some of the older Heinlein books, which made me go back to read a bunch of his older novels.
Four poker buddies discover an ancient artifact in the Sahara that is a gateway between planets, linking distant worlds to earth. The book is their adventures trying to figure it all out and stay alive. A somewhat adventurous mystery in a sci-fi format for all ages of reader!

Bernie Whitebear, by Lawney L. Reyes

2006-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Living on land that was once part of the north half of the Colville Confederated Tribes' Reservation and the homeland of the Sin Aikst Native Americans, I was drawn to read this book to find out what it's all about. It is basically a biography of his whole life. Bernie was raised on the Reservation, and the book gives an interesting view of growing up there pre and post Grand Coulee Dam. It spends some time describing Bernie's youth, and more about all the amazing things he did for all Indians, as an adult. He was quite an interesting person! From his humble beginnings on the Colville Res, he eventually became an activist and spokesperson for Indian rights, especially the displaced Indians who ended up in the Seattle area. An interesting read about a great and unique man.

The Last Season, by Eric Blehm

2006-10-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is a who done it kind of mystery, only it's not fictional. It is the true story of Randy Morgenson, an incredibly aware, intelligent, solitary backcountry ranger who spent 28 seasons in Sequoia, Kings Canyon National Park patrolling the wilderness. Randy spent more time wandering the Sierras than did John Muir. Blehm's writing is quite captivating as is the storyline. It's an amazing adventure that had me hooked from the first few pages. One day Morgenson goes missing and the storyline follows one of the largest Search and Rescue missions where many suspected either suicide or foul play. The writing weaves in and out of the search and rescue along with the biography of Randy Morgenson that takes readers far into the world of backcountry rangers and the high Sierras. I wasn't sure who done it until it is revealed at the very end of the book. A fascinating read which was quite difficult to put down.

Tiger by Jeff Stone

2006-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

A secret Shaolin temple is attacked by a traitorous monk in this adventure fiction set in 17^th century China. Only 5 young monks live through the attack, each relying on their specialized animal style of kung fu to survive. The first book in the series tells the tale of Fu, the tiger, as he tries to take back the ancient scrolls that were stolen from the temple.

This series is fun and fast-paced, sure to appeal to anyone who likes adventure stories, but especially to those with an interest in martial arts. Put a copy on hold soon! – the local kung fu and tae kwon do students have all gotten hooked on this series.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

2006-10-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

A somewhat-sequel to Ella Enchanted, Fairest tells a Snow White-like story with a twist.

Aza has the most beautiful voice in all of Aorthea. But Aza’s face is not so lovely. One day, Aza finds a magic mirror, which shows her a beautiful reflection of herself. Is the mirror just full of lies and tricks? Or can Aza really become that pretty? And more importantly, how far is Aza willing to go to become the fairest of them all?

Solviva, by Anna Edey

2006-09-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

An amazing book about Anna's vision and commitment to living sustainably and as close to in harmony with nature as possible for her. Starting in 1976 she discovered little by little, methods of sustainable building, composting waste on small and large scales, and ways of living using today's technology and knowledge that reduce pollution and waste and at the same time reduce cost of living and improving quality of life and security anywhere on earth. She lives on Martha's Vineyard and her home and greenhouse need no external heat besides the sun and yet remain well over 70*, and provide her with an income and literally tons of fresh vegetables and greens, even in the dead of winter. Full of color pics and illustrations, and instructions to help others to learn to live sustainably. A truly amazing book and woman!

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

2006-08-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Orlando begins his life as a privileged nobleman of the Elizabethan age. He meets Queen Elizabeth, consorts with princesses and poets, falls in love, falls out of love – you know, the usual things dukes do.

Then – rather strangely – Orlando suddenly turns into a woman. Then, perhaps more strangely, he/she goes on to live for 300 years, surviving through Jane Austen’s times, the Victorian age, and right on into the Roaring 20’s.

Sounds odd? Well, it is. But the book is also laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly thought-provoking. Virginia Woolf uses her “biography” of Orlando’s life to take on all sorts of interesting questions about love, life, and the war of the sexes with her signature wry wit. Orlando is a bizarre classic, but a classic all the same.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

2006-07-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Many people have, no doubt, already discovered this wonderful series. But I’m new to reading Garth Nix, so I was thrilled to find out about this great fantasy novel. Nix’s book is filled with all the elements of classic high fantasy, yet the story is also original and hauntingly real.

Though Sabriel grew up in the relatively modern-day land of Ancelstierre, she was born north of the Wall in the magical Old Kingdom. Her father is a necromancer there, making sure that the spirits of the dead stay dead – and don’t come back to plague the living. When Sabriel receives word that her father is missing, she sets out to find him. Along the way, she must pass through the Old Kingdom - a magical world full of danger, mystery, and long buried grudges.

I have not read high fantasy in a while, and Sabriel was a welcome return to my favorite genre. The book, in my opinion, did have one slow part - namely, the few chapters when Sabriel is traveling alone, before her interesting traveling companions show up. That bit aside, this story is one I’d recommend to any fan of high fantasy who has not yet discovered Garth Nix.

The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks

2006-07-01T15:45:00.001-07:00

The reality of this book is a bit scary. It explores the Big Brother theory quite deeply and in a 21st century way.
Maya is a Harlequin, who are raised with one purpose in life: to defend Travelers, who are unique people who have the ability to travel to other realms and they are the people who through time have been able to help bring about changes in humanity. The Tabula are sworn to kill all Travelers and Harlequins in order to control the world.
The book is a literary treasure filled with religious and literary reference from around the world and across traditions. It is a book for book lovers who will be intrigued by finding all the reference, yet the story is strong enough to capture the imagination of even the most casual of readers.
The main premise is that there is a war going on in this world, but it is a war that most are unaware of. Like all wars there are two sides, The Harlequin's and the Tabula or as they prefer to be called `The Brethren'. The Harlequin's are warriors committed to protecting the Travelers; Travelers are people who have the ability to send their life energy from their body and travel to other realms. They are lonely isolated people who live to serve. The travelers often become gurus or healers or prophets. The traveler's after returning from a different plane of existence return changed and their views of life challenge other people to look at their own lives and to seek something more. The Tabula on the other hand want to control the world. They want to have control over every person's life.
I had a very dificult time while I was away from this book because I was always thinking about it and when I could get back to it. I am very much looking froward to the next 2 in the trilogy.

The Mediator: Shadowland by Meg Cabot

2006-06-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

Suze sees dead people.

However, unlike the little kid in The Sixth Sense, Suze isn’t scared of ghosts. She finds them annoying, really. They come to her all the time asking for help, trying to resolve problems so they can pass on into the afterlife.

So when Suze moves from New York to Carmel, she figures its time to take a break from specters and enjoy the land of palm trees and sunny beaches. Then she finds the ghost of a very handsome cowboy living in her bedroom and the ghost of a psycho cheerleader possessing her new school. Looks like Suze has her work cut out for – again.

Suze does for ghosts what Buffy did for vampires: she talks nice for a while, but if the ghost gets nasty, she just might have to get a little rough. These books are perfect summer reading – funny, engaging, and just a little bit spooky.

P.S. - This series was written under two names: Meg Cabot, and Meg Cabot's pen name, Jenny Carroll. Kind of confusing, but just so you know....

The ultimate indoor games book : the 200 best boredom busters ever! by Veronika Alice Gunter

2006-06-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

The great outdoors are calling, so there's really no reason to be bored this summer. But just in case you DO find yourself surrounded by bored kids, or if you're a bored kid yourself, then this book is for you.

This book is full of great games, made all the more fun by their simplicity and adaptability. Some are old standbys, but many are new, or new twists on old favorites. Although some games may not find an audience (I was never allowed to play Hot Lava in our house - something about not climbing on the furniture), the book is so full of great ideas that you're sure to find something to fit your family and keep them entertained.

The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic by Dave Luckett

2006-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

This book was specially requested by a library patron, and I’m so glad he thought to tell us about it. Dave Luckett’s first book of the Rhianna Chronicles is sure to delight fans of fantasy, or anyone looking for a great book to read this summer.

Rhianna Wildwood lives in a world filled with magic. Nearly everyone uses magic for everyday chores, like cleaning or farming and every child in the village attends school to learn magic. Rhianna, however, is the worst student in school. Every spell she does goes wrong. Then, a real wizard comes to town and discovers that Rhianna isn’t bad with magic – the trouble is, she’s too good. She’s the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen – and her power may get her into trouble.

This short book reminded me both of Ella Enchanted, with its fun, spunky heroine, and of the Harry Potter series, with its magic school and everyday use of magic. My only complaint is thatI wanted the book to be longer so I could read more about Rhianna and her adventures. I hope Mr. Luckett writes many more books in this series, because I can’t wait to read more.

The Wish by Gail Carson Levine

2006-06-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

When Wilma’s two best friends move away, she goes from having friends to being invisible, and then from being invisible to becoming the most unpopular, most teased girl at her school. So when a kindly fairy offers her a wish, Wilma wishes to be the most popular girl in her jr. high.

Instantly, everyone loves Wilma – they have to. But then, Wilma realizes that her wish has a loophole – and her fairytale is about to end. The question is, who will still like Wilma when the spell is broken?

Half Magic by Edward Eager

2006-06-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Edward Eager’s Half Magic is a wonderful book, and I find myself eager (pun intended) to discover the rest of his works. Half Magic is an older book, set in the 1920’s, but the story is remarkably timeless.

One summer, four siblings find a strange coin on the sidewalk, a coin that grants wishes…sort of. The coin only grants HALF of every wish. So if you wish you were a hundred miles away, you’d be fifty miles away. If you wished to be on a desert island, you might find yourself only in a desert. It doesn’t take long to see that half a wish leads to twice as much trouble.

In the end, the children must band together to undo the mistakes of their wishes. With plenty of wry humor, crazy magic and terrific characters, Half Magic is a book that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Facing Rushmore by David Lozell Martin

2006-05-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

A skewed vision, yet pertinent considering the current immigration debate, Martin’s novel is one endless diatribe against the “white man” and yet for all that, is warm hearted and fantastic or at least, I hope it is only a fantasy. I sailed through this story with its odd, relatively action-less plot, continuous dialogue and incredible vision. More than you may want to know about our history with Native Americans, this is nonetheless, a challenging, exciting story.

CHRISTMAS JAR! by Jason Wright ~A TRUE MUST READ~

2006-05-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Do you want a fast but inspirational book to read???? This book was so touching to my heart, I had to share it with all 4 of my girls (ages 13-20). We all read it with a box of tissues near by. The book has few pages but each page leads up to a leaving a powerful impact when you are done reading. Keep in mind our family has truly been challenged by this book and have set new family traditions. How about you?

"Hope Jensen (fitting name) has a lot of probing questions to answer: None knows where it came from? Whose money was it? How and was I to spend it? Should I save it? Maybe, pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen to receive this? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me... "

Her reporter intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.
Newspaper reporter Hope uncovers the remarkable secret behind the "Christmas Jars", glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously left for people in need. But along the way, Hope discovers much more than the origin of the jars. When some unexpected news sets off a chain reaction of kindness, hopes greatest Christmas Eve wish comes true.

Search for the Golden Moon Bear by Sy Montgomery

2006-05-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

I don’t usually read non-fiction, and especially not books on biology. So it must have been the big, friendly picture of a bear on the cover of this book that led me to pick it up. Though the book is slower-paced and took me a long time to read, I’m glad I read it.

Search for the Golden Moon Bear follows its title pretty closely. Sy Montgomery, the author, and a biologist friend hear strange reports of a golden moon bear in the region of Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. Until then, the only known moon bears were deep black. Could this be a new species? In the scientific world, that discovery would be nothing short of amazing. Braving a landscape rife with landmines, unstable governments, poachers armed with AK47s, illness, dangerous methods of transportation and bug-ridden hotels, they travel the back roads of Southeast Asia, looking for this elusive golden bear.

This book is very hard to sum up: at times philosophical, at times a funny travelogue, Montgomery brings Southeast Asia and its jungles and cities alive in her prose. One thing I very much appreciated was that this book is not simply an environmental polemic. Montgomery writes about poachers and conservationists with equal respect and understanding. Like a true scientist, she describes, as much as possible, without condemning. The result is a fascinating journey of discovery into one of the lost corners of the world.

SURVIVE!: my fight for life in the High Sierras by Peter DeLeo

2006-04-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

A very interesting and tough book to put down. It starts with the author piloting a small plane with two friends as passengers on a sightseeing trip in the California Sierras. A wind shear hits the plane and it crashes, the rest of the book describes DeLeo's incredible trek through the cold and snowy wilderness, with minimal clothing, no food or water, 16 broken bones, and an amazing driving desire to save himself so he can save his friends who were injured more severely than he and stayed with the plane. After 50 miles and 13 days he finally walks out of the wilderness and back into civilization. A compelling read!

Spinning Through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214 by Helen Frost

2006-04-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month, so I found myself in the poetry shelves and decided to try a volume. "Spinning Through the Universe" is a short novel of poems written from the perspectives of the students, teacher and custodian of Room 214, an average classroom in an unnamed school. The poems range in subject from new kittens and lost bikes to home troubles, homelessness, and larger issues of identity and friendship. Though the year is not easy for the students of room 214, the genuine caring that they have for one another is touching and uplifting.

In addition to creating diverse voices for each of the characters in Room 214, Frost also demonstrates her talent as a poet by using many different and sometimes difficult styles of poetry. Everything from haiku and sestina to a crown of sonnets show up in the work. An index explains each of the poetry forms used in the book and gives suggestions on how to write each form of poetry.

The Beast in the Garden by David Baron

2006-04-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

You may have read my review on the book Ghost Walker by R. D. Lawrence. This is another book about cougars that was recommended by Regan for me to read to further my knowledge and understanding of cougars. It's been an interesting winter and spring interacting with the cougar research folks in the area, and learning the particulars of the two mama cougars who frequent my ranch. This book documents what happened in and around the city of Boulder, Colorado in the late 1980's. The city itself being very "green" with a majority of it's residents open minded and pro wildlife. The city acquires thousands of acres of land surrounding it as a greenbelt and refuses to allow hunting, which enables the deer population to skyrocket. Deer in people's yards are commonplace. Cougars make a comeback and their population also booms, and soon cougar sightings are common, also. Then domestic animals start disappearing from suburban homes, and then the cougars become habituated to humans and lose their fear of them. What happens next is inevitable. A great nonfiction read written by a science reporter for NPR, it certainly broadened my knowledge and understanding of cougars. Highly recommended read for those of us who live in cougar country.

Runner, by William C. Dietz

2006-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Imagine a far future where many planets whose one time technological advances have deteriorated, including the automated planet shuttles, have fallen into disrepair. Jak Rebo is a runner, a person who gets paid to travel and deliver goods, messages, and in this case, a 10 yr old boy who may be the next spiritual leader, makes an epic journey in his effort to deliver the boy to a different planet. A mix of SF, fantasy, and high and fun adventure awaits you in this hard to put down read of 424 pages. Deitz, is a seasoned SF writer from the Seattle area.

Dating is Murder by Harley Jane Kozak

2006-04-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Many of us have been looking in vain for someone to compete successfully with Janet Evanovich and her spicy Stephanie Plum series (One for the Money, etc.). On a different coast—California rather than New Jersey—and without the plausible excuse for running into bad guys—Plum works for a bail bondsman--Kozak’s graphic artist Wollie Shelley still manages to find the laughs, the unusual situations, and a supporting cast of likeable characters just like Plum. She has a cockeyed view, which is both funny and human—“the term “think tank” brought to mind people sitting around in swimsuits, dangling their feet in water as they pondered grave issues of international importance”. Maybe it won’t take you as long as it did for Wollie to smell out the bad guy but while you are dashing around LA she will keep you entertained.

Tea with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson

2006-03-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

Tea with Jane Austen is an interesting concept book: it discusses Jane Austen's life and world with well-researched detail. The focus of this slim volume is the British tradition of tea time, and particularly Jane Austen's love of tea.

Full of interesting facts (such as the dark side of the tea-trade) and strange old recipes, Tea with Jane Austen is a book with a very specific appeal. If you like Jane Austen and the history of the regency period, you may find this book very interesting. If such historical anecdotes do not interest you, this book may not be your cup of...well, you know.

Outside the Not So Big House, by Julie Moir Messervy and Sarah Susanka

2006-03-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

I bet I’m not alone in thinking: hmm…now that the snow has melted, what on earth should I do with the yard? Thank goodness for the library. There are tons of books on gardening and landscaping available, including the new Outside the Not So Big House, written by the creators of the Not So Big House books.

A useful tool for dreaming big but building small, Outside the Not So Big House offers insight into architectural and landscape design. The book is lovely to look at, with many beautiful pictures of showcase homes and gardens. Using these showcase homes as examples, authors Susanka and Messervy give the reader an architectural vocabulary to use when talking about what he or she most wants in a potential home landscape. Whether creating a sheltered space from which to enjoy a view or a well-laid path to guide guests through the garden, the reader learns what elements of landscape design most appeal to the human eye.

Practically speaking, though, Outside has some drawbacks. The book focuses primarily on landscaping new homes or doing complete renovations of older homes. Folks interested in making minor changes to their existing house and yard may find the book does not address their particular concerns. Also, most of the landscapes ideas featured in the book are extremely expensive. In short, this book is fun to look at for ideas, but offers less in the way of practical advice for the average homeowner.

The Ghost Walker by R. D. Lawrence

2006-03-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

After a visit to my remote ranch home by a group of researchers from WSU doing a study on cougars who informed me that they have been tracking two different female cougars, each with kittens, via radio collars, and that they have been calling my mountain their home for the last few months, I figured that I should bone up on cougars. After a few chapters I remembered reading this book shortly after it was published in 1983. It is a great account of the fall, winter and spring when he left civilisation behind to further his study on cougars by living in the wilderness about 90 miles from Revelstoke, B.C. Chock full of facts about the wild cats, I learned enough to continue to feel comfortable wandering the wilds of my homeplace. Besides being fact filled, it is a wonderful story of the wilderness and all his adventures through the 10 months he spent there without ever seeing another human.

Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer

2006-03-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

This is a fun, fast moving SciFi novel. Jake Sullivan has a problem with his blood vessels in his brain which he inherited genetically from his father who became a vegetable because of it. Jake jumps at the chance when the technology comes to be able to transfer his conciousness into an android form, while his old "real self" goes to retire on the far side of the moon and finds a new cure for his problem, the new Jake falls in love with another mindscaned android on earth. While a major court case to determine if mindscanned people are actually legally who they used to be, the old Jake wants to go back to earth and resume his old life. As you can imagine there are a few complications...

The Hype About Hydrogen

2006-02-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

by Joseph J. Romm

Joseph Romm administrated multiple facets of hydrogen and transportation fuel cell research for the Department of Energy during the Clinton Administration. So, when can we expect hydrogen powered vehicles as the primary transportation on our nation’s highways? Not very soon.

Romm addresses the technological, economic and infrastructure impediments in clear, simple language, and provides us with a thorough perspective of hydrogen technology. Hydrogen is the most plentiful element on earth, and is also the smallest and lightest in molecular terms. A kilo of the stuff has the same amount of energy as in a gallon of gasoline, however, to store sufficient amounts for practical use, either space or weight impracticalities are quickly apparent. Because of its’ small molecular size, Hydrogen under pressure readily escapes seals and containment, and to make matters worse, it is highly combustible. Hydrides, chemical attachment to powdered metals, provide for safe storage, but a compact car would require a fuel tank that weighs 600 lbs., just to go 200 miles.

Along with the technological limitations, the cost of fuel cells in limited production is also prohibitive. Mass production would quickly bring down the per unit price, however, a huge financial investment would have to be made at great risk. Because once you have a fleet of hydrogen cars, where do you fuel-up? Potentially displacing technologies make developing an infrastructure to deliver hydrogen an equally risky venture.

How do you transport the stuff over large distances? Liquefying it takes a lot of energy, special transport tanks, and you still have the evaporative escape rate addressed earlier. If you develop a distributed model of hydrogen production, what materials will you use to produce it: a steam reformation process utilizing methane? You still produce lots of carbon emissions. How about electrolysis of water? Where does the electricity come from? Almost 70% of electricity in the USA is produced by burning fossil fuels.

Add to the mix political impediments supporting the perpetuation of a petroleum economy, a lack of funding and support to pursue development, and you quickly reach an irreconcilable dilemma. Romm thoroughly covers the challenges associated with the development of a hydrogen economy. Additionally, he provides educated insight into the direction our energy production will move, along with projections of carbon emissions and the resulting consequences. Sobering.

The Princess Diaries (Volumes 1-4) by Meg Cabot

2006-02-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

Mia Thermopolis couldn’t be more embarrassed. Her mother is dating her Algebra Teacher; the boy she loves doesn’t know she exists and, guess what? - Mia just found out she’s a princess.

These popular novels are full of drama and humor. Though Disney made a movie out of the series, don’t expect the books to be anything like it. Grandmere, the queen of Genovia, more resembles an evil stepmother than Julie Andrews, and Mia does not make a flawless ugly-duckling-to-swan transformation in just one make-over. Instead, her coming-of-age is far more awkward and, consequently, engaging.

The books are truly addictive, but at the same time, I found the characters were hard to like. Mia is highly insecure and selfish, and unlike the movie, she is not very endearing. The other characters, like Mia’s best friend and her awful Grandmother, are even less likable. Though the concept is intriguing (hmmm…what would I do if I were a princess?), the execution of that concept is a little less than regal.

The Sisters by Robert Littell

2006-02-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

Complexity is Littell’s trademark in his fasincating CIA-based novels. And that’s what I like about them. Nothing is straight forward, nothing is what it seems, and everything has purpose and meaning, although perhaps not the purpose or meaning that they say. The Sisters was originally published in 1986 so the battle is with communists, but Littell's knowledge of Soviet Russia and the Cold War mentality of the CIA ring very true. Great characters—all with their own twitches including a young women named Kaat who collects words that begin with the letter ‘a’—and imaginative spins on the world as we know it—or perhaps only think we know, Littell delivers a bizarre world of spies and spying. Sign on and, of course, tell no one what you know.

Blueprint For Action

2006-02-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

by Thomas P.M. Barnett, PhD.

This is a peculiar perspective of achieving world peace through war, environmental degradation and socio-political homogeneity. Frightening in its’ purview because Thomas Barnett is a Harvard PhD., and advises the Pentagon.

War has a new construct: we have the “Leviathan” force that brings a nation to its’ knees, and then a “SysAdmin” force that wins the peace. The “SysAdmin” component is analogous to disaster relief. A myriad of agencies convoke to restore infrastructure and services to the disparaged community. We can evaluate this competency by looking at the Katrina rebuilding, or the reconstruction of Iraq. Barnett does find fault with the “SysAdmin” effort employed by the U.S., however, in my opinion he spends too little time understanding the cultural differences that preclude such an altruistic hypothesis.

Before a nation can clean up their environment, they must develop a strong economy through exploitation, depletion and denigration of their resources. Then they can have enough money to clean things up. This is one of the new “rule sets” contained in “silos” of information. Perhaps we could conduct a survey by hanging out a bunch of “How are we doing” signs?

Third world developing nations are referred to as “Gap” states and economically developed first world nations are the financial nucleus of the “Core” states. By bringing the “Gap” into the “Core” and uplifting all those billions of people to a standard of living comparable to ours, we will eliminate the motivation for war. How nice! Never mind that we need four planet earths to accommodate that level of consumption. Barnett explains that we are not looking at the history of earth and the human species in the right manner. “Statistically” things have always improved, more people than ever are eating on a daily basis, there is less war, and there is more wealth generated and distributed around the globe than ever before.

Yes! And a race car can be going top speed, just before it runs out of gas. The hypothetical underpinnings of this book absolutely have merit, however, some serious comprehension of the finiteness of our ecosphere, the harbinger of global warming and the accounting realities of our consumption attributes need to be factored in to realistically redefine the parameters of what is possible, and what is unrealistic.

Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered

2006-02-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

by Gary Paulsen

Absolutely, without a doubt, the funniest book I have ever read, re-read, and read again. An eleven year-old young man loses his parents to alcoholism, and goes to spend the summer on his relative’s Minnesota farm.

Knute Larson is the taciturn patriarch of this farming family. His wife Clair and daughter Glennis nurture their boys with plenty of love, discipline and most importantly cooking. Farmhand Louie is an original, and then there is Harris. Irrespective of the nature of animals, the laws of gravity and the prospect of physical harm, Harris is Tarzan, Evil Knevil, a rodeo rider, a Spanish bullfighter and in all likelihood would have been a hero of World War II, were he not nine years old. He is fearless.

Whether it is attacking the “commie-Jap” porcine residents of the farm, fending off the psychopathic rooster, Ernie, or surviving Buzzer, the sociopath disguised as a lynx, Harris leads his cousin on a series of adventures that are too crazy to have been made up. I can’t help but feel Gary Paulsen is writing a bit of his autobiography here.

You’ll see. Maybe the episode of the electric fence will convince you. Or perhaps the roped rigging designed for intra-farm travel, after having read a Tarzan comic will be the tipping point. But the phrase, “We’ll have to wait till they go to town” will remove all doubt as Harris and his cousin resurrect a bicycle in the image of Lazarus, appropriate the gasoline engine from Claire’s outdoor washing machine, and motorize and pilot the beast into immortality.

Freakonomics

2006-02-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

by Steven D. Levitt

Wow!

Take a trip through the irresolvable abyss of sensitive social issues, and prepare yourself for answers that will challenge so much of what you think. Whether it is a fresh insight on parenting - what works and what doesn't - or how Roe vs. Wade shaped our current urban demographics, there is an array of conclusions that topple the status quo.

Steven Levitt, a world renowned economist who teaches at the University of Chicago, applies economic methodologies, principles and mathematics to bring us to the edge of reasonable quantitative analysis.

Expertly discerning between correlation and causality, and showing us how he got there, Levitt shows us a new way to consider the world. Absolutely deserving of its’ place on the “Bestsellers” list.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

2006-02-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

At first glance, Avalon looks like any other high school. There are your popular kids, like Will the quarterback, Lance, Will’s best friend, and Jennifer, head cheerleader and Will’s girlfriend. And then there’s Elaine, the new girl. She’s tall and geeky; her parents are professors of medieval literature and chronic nerds. They keep old swords in the house and even insisted on naming Elaine after the Lady of Shalott, some chick from the Arthur legends that killed herself over a guy.

But when weird things start happening at Avalon High, it looks like all those old legends about Camelot and King Arthur might be true after all. Could Elaine and her friends really be the re-incarnation of Arthurian heroes? Would that explain why Elaine and Will feel like they’ve met before? And does that mean that Will is fated to die?

Avalon High is an incredibly fun read, especially for those who are familiar with the Arthur legends. The book offers romance, humor, magic, high school dramatics, and fun twist at the end. The plot may be a little predictable (if you know the Arthur legends, you have a pretty good idea of how the story goes), but the ride is well worth taking.

Neuromancer, by William Gibson

2006-02-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

Written way back in 1984, Gibson dreamed up and wrote about several high tech things years before they ever came about in reality, such as the internet. In this postmoderm, cyberpunk classic he is responsible for coining the phrase cyberspace, among several others, again way before their inception. The story is a bizarre, twisted tale that is most difficult to follow (or even understand) beyond what is happening on the surface, yet one just while reading there is much to ponder underneath the storied words. Well worth reading, even if you don't wish to delve into the deeper realm beneath the story. Definately a Sci Fi classic written decades before it's time.

Desert Solitaire: a season in the wilderness by Edward Abbey

2006-02-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

I had read all the cult classics about Hayduke and the rest of the Monkey Wrench Gang, but never done any of Abbey's more serious work and figured that winter was a great time to. The book takes place in Utah, mostly describing one summer season he worked as a Park Ranger in one of Utah's National Parks before it got a paved access road into it. Abbey spends quite a lot of time describing the minutae of the desert, the animals, insects, and the heat. So it was a good choice for winter wandering. I personally very much enjoyed the read, but could only take it in fairly small doses. Besides the minute descriptions, I also rather enjoyed the short stories of some of his adventures, which included a raft trip down the Colorado pre Glenn Canyon Dam.

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

2006-01-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

Jared Grace and his brother and sister hate their new house on the Spiderwick estate. It’s ugly, old, smelly, and it appears that a small animal has been living in the walls. But then Jared discovers a book that his Great-Uncle Spiderwick left in the attic. The book appears to be a field guide to . . . fairies?

Written as five short books, the Spiderwick Chronicles are an accessible and incredibly well-written series. The Grace children are likeable, believable characters, the fairy-world they explore is fascinatingly portrayed, their adventures are nothing short of page-turning, and there are many wonderful references to fairytales and fairy-lore. On top of all that, the books are full of beautiful illustrations by DiTerlizzi. Parents and kids alike are bound to be enchanted by these fun books. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who is a kid at heart and believes in fairies. (I know I do!)

The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer

2006-01-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

Set in a magical version of Venice, Italy, The Water Mirror tells of a fantastical world where mermaids swim through the canal-streets, two outcast magicians feud in an abandoned alley, and the whole city lies under a 30-year siege.

When orphaned Merle is sent to work for one of the magicians, she makes some amazing new friends. Eventually, she finds that she is the only person who can save Venice.

This mesmerizing book reads like a walk through someone else’s dream. Strange new characters appear on every page, but you find yourself believing this surreal story all the same. The book is a trilogy, and ends rather abruptly, much like waking from a dream.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

2006-01-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

When Ella of Frell was born, a careless fairy gave her a gift: the “gift” of obedience. Ever after, Ella is magically compelled to do everything she is told. Rather than becoming obedient in her heart, however, Ella becomes a rebel, doing her best to resist the curse and free herself from other peoples' orders. In the process, Ella grows into a determined young woman, brave and kind.

What follows is a fabulous story of adventure, courage, friendship, and a hint of romance. But the best part of the fairytale is Ella, whose delightful personality lights up this terrific story and makes it dazzle.

Note: If you liked the movie "Ella Enchanted," try reading the book - the story is quite different, but just as much fun!

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

2005-12-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

It is 1792. The Reign of Terror grips Paris, France, and hundreds of aristocrats are being sent to their deaths at the guillotine. Only one mysterious person dares to stand up to this bloodshed: the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. Though no one knows who he is, the Scarlet Pimpernel saves the innocent from death, employing incredible disguises to escape the French revolutionary government and bring his charges safely to England. Naturally, the French government doesn't like this much, and sends its best agent to track the Pimpernel down.

Written in 1905, this tale of espionage and secret identities has been credited as the grandmother of James Bond and other super-spies. The book's only negative aspect is that the good Baroness Orczy occasionally falls prey to the snobbery of her aristocratic rank and the prejudices of her time. However, in spite of these lapses, the story is filled with wit, swashbuckling, and a good dose of romance. This novel remains a classic for a reason.

Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett

2005-12-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Johnny Maxwell is your average teenage kid. He avoids doing homework and spends most of his time hanging out with friends or playing video games. One night, while playing the computer game “Only You Can Save Mankind,” a strange message flashes across the screen: We wish to talk. We surrender.

Rather than obliterating the alien’s spaceships in order to set a new high score, Johnny nobly accepts the game aliens’ surrender. Then things really start to get weird. The game aliens expect to be properly treated as prisoners of war. They demand safe passage back to their home planet, as well as several thousand orders of hamburgers and fries to feed their fleet.

In this mind-bending, reality-warping novel from Terry Pratchett, nothing is quite as it seems. How are the aliens able to enter Johnny’s dreams from the game? Why is everyone else’s copy of “Only You Can Save Mankind” now broken? Is this all a dream, or is it real? And will Johnny be able to save the alien race from the most dreaded enemy of all – humans?

Set during the first Gulf War, Only You Can Save Mankind is a crazy tale of real and virtual warfare that is as darkly funny as it is insightful. As Pratchett writes in the introduction: “On your computer: games that look like war. On your TV: war that looked like a game. If you weren’t careful, you could get confused….” Indeed.

Five Poets of the Pacific Northwest

2005-12-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

One of the advantages to spending a lot of time in the library is that occasionally you find some rare treasure of a book hidden among the bestsellers. Five Poets of the Pacific Northwest is an older anthology; it was complied in 1964, shortly after the death of notable northwest poet, Theodore Roethke.

All of the poets in this small anthology are northwesterners, either by birth or inclination, and all have been noticeably influenced by Roethke’s work. The similarities end there, however, for all five have distinct styles and differ greatly in subject matter. Some write about loss in a lyrical style much like that of the Chinese poets, others focus more on simple, earthy language to describe the landscape of the northwest and their travels through it.

This is a lovely little volume, well worth reading for anyone fond of poetry and the beautiful northwest.

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

2005-11-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

If not for the damning intuition of Preston Applebaum, Rastaman from New Jersey, aka Pelekekona Keohokalole – Kona for short, cetacean biologist Nathan Quinn may never have been abducted. Set in the tropical waters of Hawaii, a deranged Christopher Moore pens yet another epic novel.

Nate (Nathan) teams up with Clay Demodocus (an invulnerable human, really!) on a life-long journey to find out “Why the Winged Whale Sings.” More than ably aided by his research assistant, fortuitously by way of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Amy Earhart, Nate and Kona accidentally trip over the closely guarded secret meaning of whale songs. Their hand forced, the Guardians abscond with Nate to a sub-oceanic world unknown to the dwellers of terra firma, setting in motion a mystery of such amazing adventure one can only describe it as Dr. Seuss writes “The Abyss.”

Or, perhaps the author fell into a hallucinogenic slumber, while reading the story of Jonah.

Our Endangered Values

2005-11-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Carter scrutinizes the most heated topics in today’s socio-economic and political arena. Since leaving the Presidency, he has pursued humanitarian causes with his wife Rosalynn, through their leadership at The Carter Center. Drawing on his Evangelical Christian faith, he warns the people of our country about the dangers of an emerging fundamentalism.

As a former President, sworn to uphold the Constitution, he has first-hand experience wrestling with personal religious beliefs, in conflict with established laws. As a former officer in the US Navy, he understands the need for military readiness, yet clearly depicts the current administration’s departure from the conscientious and honest appraisal of threats to our country. He asks pointed questions and provides important data and reflection, concerning this country’s moral heritage.

Why are we, as a nation, more concerned about gay marriage than we are about environmental and cultural degradation, and the resulting world we will leave our children? When did scientific understanding and discovery ever threaten our belief in a higher power? Why are we attacking human rights and discarding our national honor, in the name of fighting terrorism, while ostracizing the world? How is it we have come to hiding the reality of the attrition of war on the civilian population of Iraq, rationalizing secrecy as a means to manipulate the American people’s comprehension of what is really happening? For what reasons did we squander the humanitarian capital showed us by the nations of the world because of 9/11, and turn it into global reproach?

Some would see this as a hop-scotch address. In actuality, it is a focused essay on disparate issues that are polarizing us as a nation. Carter’s self-effacing appraisal of himself declares he is a better ex-President, than he was ever a President. Perhaps he is just too competent a humane being to be a successful politician?

The Outlaw Sea

2005-11-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

William Langewiesche takes us to a place as dangerous, intoxicating and tumultuous as the historical Wild West. 45,000 commercial, sea-going vessels ply the earth’s vast oceans, in search of commerce and profit. How can world organizations register, keep track of and police such a fleet?

How do pirates like those off the coast of Somalia and in the Straights of Malacca avoid prosecution? Did you know that six million cargo containers enter US ports each year? And only three percent are inspected. How are these toxic colossuses dismantled and scrapped once there life span has expired? What if they stay on rough seas too long, or are ill-designed?

This is a whole other world.

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

2005-11-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Sometimes stories are wonderful. Sometimes they are good. And sometimes you end up with something of a mixed review. This and the following are mixed reviews.

Cornelia Funke has been called “the German J.K. Rowling.” The Thief Lord, one of her bestselling novels, follows the story of Bo and Prosper, two brothers who run away from their scheming aunt to Venice. There, they meet up with the Thief Lord (an Italian version of Dickens’ Artful Dodger) who invites them to join his gang of thieves. Their aunt pursues them to Venice, a hired detective starts to follow them, a mysterious old man asks the Thief Lord to steal a strange object, and all this takes place against the exotic backdrop of Venice’s famous maze of canals and cathedrals.

Sounds exciting, no? Well, I hate to say it, but something must have gotten lost in the translation, because for the first half of the book, I could scarcely make myself read anymore, I just found it so boring. The characters did not seem realistic. Even though we have a gang of kid thieves sneaking around Venice, the plot dragged and it felt like nothing was happening. It wasn’t until the second half of the book that things started to pick up and the story gained some traction. Then, the mysterious stolen object turns out to be something quite magical. In the end, the story turned out better than I thought it would, but was still rather less than I had hoped it would be.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

2005-11-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

The Newberry Award-winning Tale of Despereaux tells the story of a mouse who falls in love with a (human) princess and saves her from the hands (or rather, claws) of an evil, dungeon-dwelling rat. DiCamillo, (author of Newberry Award-winning Because of Winn Dixie), tells this fairytale with a quaint, “dear-reader” style narrative. Three of us recently read (or listened to) this story and compared notes on our reactions to it. We found our reviews were decidedly mixed.

The dominant reaction was that the book had its lovely moments, but it left us all somewhat disappointed. I found DiCamillo’s commands to go look the difficult words up in a dictionary and “dear-reader” comments at the end of each chapter rather patronizing. We all found the portrayal of the servant girl, Miggory Sow, who is badly beaten by every adult around her, quite disturbing. The rats in the story are also pretty nasty – they love to run about through the filth in the dungeon and torture prisoners there. One of our favorite characters got killed off abruptly for no apparent reason and I found the ending didn’t quite live up to the build-up it had been given.

On the positive side, the writing is quite well done. The characters are brilliantly written and very funny (on the audio book, the voices are marvelous), and you can’t help butlove Despereaux, the mouse who was “born with his eyes open.” There were also some wonderful messages in the book about love and forgiveness. Still, I couldn’t help thinking, throughout the abuse of Miggory, the “dear reader”-ing, and DiCamillo’s musings about courtly love, perfidy (that's one of the words she tells you to look up), and non-conformity: “Is this book really meant for kids?”

Something Nasty In The Woodshed

2005-10-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, there is… and Charlie Mortdecai is involved. The second in Kyril Bonfiglioli’s dark, caperish trilogy takes us on a romp to the Isle of Jersey, off France’s northwest coast. And if caperish is not a word, it should be.

Someone or something is ravishing the women of the S. Magloire Parish. Two of the wife’s husbands, affronted by the villain, join Charlie in a quest for corporeal retribution - Sam Davenant and George Breakspear. They are neighbors, best of friends, and now associates in crime solving. Closer inspection reveals a less customary menace of ancient, perhaps satanic lore: The Beast of Jersey.

Throw in some sleuthing about, a little Latin profundis grande, a silver bullet, consummate it with a pagan ritual, expertly overseen by Father Eric Tichborne, and voila you have a tale of Mortdecai stature.

Jock, Charlie’s remarkably faithful and experienced thug of a man servant is back. How? One shouldn’t ask that of such a resilient fellow. Just revel in his competency. Johanna has shrugged-off the unfortunate early demise of her husband, and peculiar though it may sound, has exchanged nuptials once again with the inimitable Mr. Mortdecai.

Beware – this story is of a conclusion, not for the faint of heart. You were warned.

The Long Emergency and The Hydrogen Economy

2005-10-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Two titles for one reason: Kunstler (The Long Emergency) and Rifkin (The Hydrogen Economy) both explore the topic of peak global petroleum production, and both use very similar and consistent information and data. The big difference is in their outlook - Rifkin sees a de-centralized energy economy that manifests a better ecological world and a more democratized social environ; Kunstler sees a huge population contraction, complete with the catastrophic dynamics that accompanies social, political and economic collapse.

On a continuum with such extremes, a future reality will probably lie somewhere in between, so together they provide a thorough and balanced prognostic perspective. Cheap oil is a thing of the past - probably a good thing, considering the state of our environment, however, established economic industries and power bases (political and civilian) will resist an embrasure of such a distributed model of energy (and thus power) production.

Oil companies are huge and their political influence tremendous, and they make money by selling MORE oil. People have a choice, and the information is out there - this should be interesting!

What Remains a Memoir of Fate, Friendship & Love by Carole Radziwill

2005-10-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

This is a sweet, sad tale of Carole's marriage and the loss of her husband to cancer a few short years later. Anyone who has suffered through cancer with a loved one will empathize with the hours spent waiting and hoping and then the great loss at the end. Entwined with the cancer battle is the story of their best friends and their tragic end. These are famous people but that is not the point of this book and it only makes it more interesting.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

2005-10-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is truly one of the best books I have ever read. By turns informative, heartbreaking, funny, and fascinating, this book follows the story of the author's family as they try to live and survive in communist China.

The story focuses on the lives of Chang's grandmother, a concubine to a warlord general, Chang's mother, an official in the communist party, and Chang herself, a curious girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution. The story also takes asides into other family member's lives, as well as the local and national history of the time.

Chang does something truly amazing with this book: she makes China's recent history come alive through the eyes of her family. From the terrible (her father's imprisonment in a "Thought Reform" Camp) to the beautiful (her grandmother's second marriage), Chang writes simply, truthfully, and with such honesty that you can't help but get caught up in her past.

Don't Point That Thing At Me

2005-10-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Charlie Mortdecai is a fine arts dealer in Britain, and has a perfect life - he sleeps till Ten, has a faithful man-servant (Jock Strapp) to take care of any adversary and every chore, eats and drinks without consideration of consequence, and never worries about anything. That is, until Extra Chief Superintendent Martland shows up, inquiring about a missing, priceless Goya.

If it weren't for the joy Charlie derives from serving the Superintendent vinegar, while his guest believes it is a vintage '31 Taylor port, I suspect Charlie wouldn't keep him around. Martland works for the SPG (Special Powers Group), whose primary interrogation tool is electric shock therapy - you really don't want to know where the electrodes are attached. Not surprisingly, Charlie is very motivated to visit his extremely wealthy customer, Dr. Milton Krampf, a well known art historian that resides in the Southwest United States, and save himself from further battery-operated episodes.

Charlie unwittingly (though very deservedly) becomes entangled in a tale of debauchery, intrigue and mystery that winds us through numerous twists and turns along the way of his licentious imbroglio with Dr. Krampf's vixeness wife, Johanna. Oh well, it's worth the read to see if Charlie makes it back to his native shores - Ciao

Down the Yukon

2005-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Reading the River: a Voyage Down the Yukon by John Hildebrand is a delightful book. He begins in Whitehorse and motors the entire lenght of the Yukon to the Bering Sea. He travels in a small boat not much bigger than a canoe. What makes the trip so interesting is he is not focused on the beautiful scenery but who lives along the river, both now and earlier. The book was published in 1988 so it is not new and what he saw along the river may be quite different now. He talks about the miners, trappers, Russians, homesteaders, and those who ply the river carrying freight to communities higher up the river. If you are an Alaska dreamer or just interested in the far North this is a good read.

Woe is I by Patricia T O'Connor

2005-10-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Along the same geeky lines of 100 Words Every Highschool Graduate Should Know, I checked out this book on grammar in the hopes of improving mine.

This book is pretty amazing: it is a guide to English grammar that is clear, readable and even (gasp!) enjoyable to read. (Well that last one may be a stretch for some, but I must confess I enjoyed reading it.) With witty title headings (such as "Plurals Before Swine" and "The Which Trials") directing you to common grammatical mistakes and quick fixes, this book is a great guide for anyone who finds themselves writing an important paper or cover letter, or simply trying to improve their English.

Angels in Pink Series by Lurlene McDaniel

2005-09-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is a YA series. I often read some of the YA books expecially the ones by this author. This series is about three teenage best friends. Each book in the series is about one of the three girls. I have read "Kathleen's story" and "Raina's story". I am waiting for us to get the third one in the series "Holly's story". These three friends decide to volunteer at a hospital one summer, and they continue with volunteering with credits towards their high school diploma. The books are about teenage problems, romance, sex, values and self-esteem. Included also in these books are problems that can run deep. There are people they meet who have medical problems and it shows us how these girls deal with real life and death situations. Lurlene McDaniel sure has a way of getting into your heart and making you feel what her characters are feeling. Most of her books deal with kids and teens with medical problems. Many of her books can be considered tear jerkers, but are well worth reading.

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know

2005-09-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, my husband and I checked out this book and read it out loud on our way into Spokane the other day. While I suppose this is a rather geeky way to spend an hour, it was much better than listening to commercials on the radio.

While the book did contian some useful terms, it tended to be biased towards the sciences (words like chromosome or mitosis were common), politics, and business. While many terms were useful, I think many good words from other disciplines or areas of life got left off the list.

Though I think this book could be helpful for those looking to learn new words, I think it would be far more interesting and instructive to read the dictionary. Better yet, I think you’d do more for your vocabulary by simply reading a good book.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

2005-09-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

The 6th book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, continues the story of Harry Potter, the young boy who discovers that he is a wizard. In this book, Harry, now age 16, returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his 6th year. While there, he hangs out with his friends, witnesses some strange events and accidents (one begins to wonder what kind of insurance Hogwarts has considering how many students end up in the hospital wing in these books), discovers a mysterious textbook, and learns more about Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard who killed Harry’s parents.

While the series in general and The Half Blood Prince in particular is at times very dark and scary (the wizarding world is under the constant threat of the evil Lord Voldemort), J.K. Rowling’s terrific sense of humor lightens the mood considerably. Also, in spite of the dark parts to the books, there is a wonderful theme of friendship and hope. Harry and his friends use magic we might use our own talents and abilities, but in the end, what wins the day in every story is bravery, self-sacrifice, and unconditional love for friends and family.

One more thing to note about the book is this: if you read it, you will be left with a cliffhanger at the end, and if you’ve come to enjoy the books as I have, you’ll find yourself wishing that J.K. Rowling had superhuman powers and could finish the final book yesterday. Until that final book comes out, however, you’ll find me in the children’s section along with the kids, scouring the first 6 books for clues about what’s going to happen next.

the speed of dark

2005-09-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am a real fan of Elizabeth Moon and have read every one of her SciFi offerings and many times have passed by this book as it is not Science Fiction, however a couple weeks ago in a fit of nothing to read I decided to give it a try and I was not disappointed. It is a novel which explores the anxiety and tension of life through the eyes of an autistic adult named Lou. It is a very enchanting and insightful read which had me pondering the question "what is normal?" I recommended this book to a patron and friend who has a young autistic son to help her to understand what the world may look like through his eyes. Ms. Moon is intimately acquainted with autism, through the raising of an autistic son, who is now a teenager.

Nervous Water by William G. Tapply

2005-09-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

The latest Brady Coyne novel finds Brady, a Boston Lawyer turned sleuth, helping his aging uncle who has lost touch with his daughter. After several twists and turns and a few bodies along the way all is resolve.

Felted Knits

2005-09-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

This knitting book by Beverly Galeskas includes many patterns for everything from hats and mittens to a hot water bottle cover and little gift bags. Felted knitting involves using large wool yarn and large needles to knit your chosen item and then shrinking the finished item to size. Believe me the knitting is easy compared to the shrinking. It's hard to plunge that item you have spent hours knitting into hot water. In addition to the pattens there is a lot of information on how to felt and what materials will work. The illustrations are great and even if you have never knit this may get you started.

At Risk

2005-09-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

At Risk is an exciting British thriller by a new author Stella Rimington. MI5 and MI6 bump heads as they work to stop a terrorism attack in England. Fast moving with some interesting twists if you like British thrillers this will keep you reading.

Preserving the Harvest

2005-09-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, by Carol Costenbader is one of the best canning and preserving books out there. I have been canning for 25 years and am always looking for new, interesting, and easy recipes. This book is extremely comprehensive - there are chapters on freezing, drying, pickling, etc - and all the recipes are easy to follow. One of my favorite recipes is for spiced peach jam - it tastes like peach pie! Many canning books seem old-fashioned and are full of laborious recipes. This book is up-to-date, fun, and full of practical ideas for preserving food at the peak of flavor and freshness to enjoy for months to come.