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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.