About Emily

Emily Wichman is the Branch Supervisor at the Milford-Miami Township Branch of Clermont County Public Library.

Books with Buzz

Check out these recent releases that are generating buzz in the book world.

Jacket.aspxAlone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration by David Roberts: Describes the epic journey undertaken by Douglas Mawson, who suffered starvation, the loss of his team, and a crippling foot injury as he resorted to crawling back to base camp during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1913.

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg: Sheryl Sandberg — Facebook COO and one of “Fortune” magazine’s most powerful women in business — looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale. She draws on her own experiences working in some of the world’s most successful businesses, as well as academic research, to find practical answers to the problems facing women in the workplace.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan: Follows the tale of a bookish young woman whose passion for learning leads to revolutionary new understandings about dragons and defies the stifling conventions of her world.

Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss: Traces the rise of the processed food industry and how addictive salt, sugar, and fat have enabled its dominance in the past half century, revealing deliberate corporate practices behind current trends in obesity, diabetes, and other health challenges.

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore: Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean meet regularly at the first diner owned by black proprietors in their Indiana city and are watched throughout the years by a big-hearted man who observes their struggles with school, marriage, and parenthood.

The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities, and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church by John Thavis: Presents a behind-the-scenes perspective on the Vatican’s inner workings that challenges popular perceptions, revealing the personal conflicts, authority-undermining scandals, and modern considerations that are challenging the Vatican’s daily business. 

Wool by Hugh Howey: In a ruined and toxic landscape, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.

 

Mad Men Reading List

Jacket.aspxI’m sure many of us have been eagerly awaiting the return of Mad Men on Sunday, April 7.  Somewhat of a rarity on television, Mad Men characters are frequently shown reading.  Why not flesh out your 6th season experience by giving some of those books a try?  Check out the incredibly comprehensive Mad Men book list curated by New York Public Library, or a shorter, greatest hits-style list from Flavorwire.  If you run into trouble finding some of the older books in CCPL’s catalog, most likely you can locate them using the MORE system, which allows you to borrow materials from other libraries in Ohio.  Strike out there?  Check with the reference staff at your local branch; often we can obtain materials through Interlibrary Loan, even from other states!

More interested in the show itself than in the books featured on it?  Then check out some of these Mad Men-inspired items from our collection:

Analyzing Mad Men: Critical Essays on the Television Series edited by Scott F. Stoddart:  The 12 critical essays in this collection offer a broad, interdisciplinary approach to this highly relevant television show, examining Mad Men as a cultural barometer for contemporary concerns with consumerism, capitalism and sexism.  A detailed cast list and episode guide are included

The Fashion File: Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Menby Janie Bryant with Monica Corcoran Harel: Offers readers a peek into the dressing room of the hit television show “Mad Men,” revealing the design process behind the characters’ looks and showing every woman how to find her own leading lady style.

Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing is as it Seems edited by Rod Carveth and James B. South: This collection of essays takes an unprecedented look at the philosophical issues and themes behind AMC’s Emmy Award-winning show, Mad Men, exploring issues ranging from identity to authenticity to feminism, and more.

Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the ’60s and Beyond by Jane Maas:  Mad Women is a tell-all account of life in the New York advertising world of the 1960s and 70s from Jane Maas, a female copywriter who succeeded in the primarily male environment portrayed by the hit TV show Mad Men.

The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin:  Dine like Draper and drink like Sterling with more than 70 recipes from the kitchens, bars, and restaurants seen on Mad Men.

Never watched Man Men?  Wondering what all the fuss is about?  Feeling the need to catch up on previous seasons?  We’ve got you covered!  Borrow the first five seasons from the library, available on DVD.

Books with Buzz

Check out these recent releases that are generating buzz in the book world.

aviatorThe Aviator’s Wife by Melane Benjamin: Despite her own major achievements–she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States–Anne Morrow Lindbergh is viewed merely as Charles Lindbergh’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman: In the wake of her husband’s suicide in their otherwise peaceful Adirondack village, house restorer Nora Hamilton notices strange inconsistencies in her husband’s past and in the behaviors of his police force co-workers before stumbling on deadly local secrets.

The Dinner by Herman Koch: Meeting at an Amsterdam restaurant for dinner, two couples move from small talk to the wrenching shared challenge of their teenage sons’ act of violence that has triggered a police investigation and revealed the extent to which each family will go to protect those they love.

Ghostman by Roger Hobbs: A casino robbery gone wrong compels its orchestrator to call in a favor from a master criminal known only as “Jack,” who must test the limits of his considerable skills in order to protect his anonymity from a closely pursuing FBI.

The House Girl by Tara Conklin: A novel of love, family, and justice follows Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in a Manhattan law firm, as she searches for the “perfect plaintiff” to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.

The Soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis: The chief creative officer of Sony Music presents a candid assessment of his life and the past half-century of popular music from an insider’s perspective, tracing his work with a wide array of stars and personalities.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell: A collection of stories features a pair of centuries-old vampires whose relationship is tested by a sudden fear of flying, a dejected teen who communicates with the universe, and a massage therapist who heals a tattooed veteran by manipulating the images on his body.

Inside “Hidden America”

Jacket.aspxThe cover flap of Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work by Jeanne Marie Laskas begins with this teaser:

Five hundred feet underground, Jeanne Marie Laskas asked a coal miner named Smitty, “Do you think it’s weird that people know so little about you?” He replied, “I don’t think people know too much about the way the whole damn country works.”

One of the newest additions to the growing “behind-the-scenes at work” genre, Hidden America is a series of essays that provide a peek into the quirks and demands of several jobs that are unfamiliar to the average American.  Delve in to learn more about:

  • coal miners
  • migrant workers and life in a labor camp
  • Ben-Gals cheerleaders
  • air traffic controllers
  • sporting goods stores and the culture of gun ownership
  • ranching
  • oil rigs
  • long distance truckers
  • landfills

Laskas spent weeks in each setting, learning the work and meeting the people whose job it is to do the labor every day.  More than anything, the essays are character studies; sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always engaging.  While I was at times left wishing for more information about the technical aspects of the work described, as written, the book is very accessible and full of intriguing details.  Local readers may be surprised to learned that despite all of the time they put into practice and promotional events, the only compensation the Ben-Gals cheerleaders receive is $75.00 per game.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, many will be startled to read that a migrant laborer picking blueberries in Maine can earn as much as $1,350.00 per week, though this is far from typical for most crops.  Imagining days spent in a mine with ceilings that don’t exceed five feet, or on an oil rig off the frigid shores of Alaska’s North Slope, will leave you amazed that there are people who actually enjoy working in these environments.  Would you believe that many of the people employed at Puente Hills Landfill in California cite being close to nature as one of their favorite things about working there?  To sample a bit of her writing style and see pictures that compliment her essays, visit Laskas’ website.

DISCLAIMER: Nervous flyers may want to skip the chapter on air traffic controllers.  It’s fascinating and you’ll be impressed when you meet the controllers, but you’ll never again be able to board a plane blissfully unaware of all of the high level logistics required to keep planes from crashing into each other!

 

Book Suggestions by E-mail

Wouldn’t it be nice to browse the library’s bookshelves from home, maybe in your jammies, drinking a cup of coffee?  You can have that experience by subscribing to our NextReads eNewsletters, a free service that delivers book lists on a variety of genres and topics directly to your inbox.  Like mysteries, DYI, Christian fiction, or picture books?  Then we’ve got an eNewsletter for you!  What about fantasy, business, or romance?  There are eNewsletters featuring these topics too.  Do you enjoy reading the most popular books?  Then have the New York Times bestseller lists sent right to you.  To start receiving NextReads eNewsletters, visit our website, create an account, select which eNewsletters you’d like to receive, and break out your bunny slippers.

Spend some time at the Jersey shore (skip Snookie, meet Ceepak)

chris grabensteinNot ready to give up on summer just yet?  If you like mysteries, consider a trip to the Jersey shore via Chris Grabenstein’s John Ceepak series.  Set in the fictional town of Sea Haven, these fun books star upright police officer John Ceepak, a former MP who served in Iraq, and his easy-going partner Danny Boyle, who begins his police career as a summer cop and narrates the stories.  Grabenstein won a Best First Novel  Anthony Award in 2006.  To date, there are seven books in the series.

  1. Tilt a Whirl: Having recently joined the Sea Haven police department after his tour of duty in Iraq, former MP John Ceepak investigates the murder of a billionaire real estate tycoon at a seedy amusement park, a case that is complicated by an undedicated young partner.
  2. Mad Mouse: Part-time cop Danny Boyle and his beach buddies are targeted by a vengeful madman and Danny, assisted by honor-bound officer John Ceepak, negotiates high-stakes challenges that threaten everyone and everything he loves.
  3. Whack a Mole: In the wake of a series of grisly clues that point to the reemergence of a long-dormant serial killer, honor-driven Jersey shore cop John Ceepak and his wise-cracking rookie partner, Danny Boyle, confront an increasingly dangerous adversary who follows an unusually rigid code of conduct.
  4. Hell Hole: Called in to investigate the supposed suicide of a soldier recently returned from Iraq, police officer John Ceepak and his partner discover that the victim may have had knowledge of a conspiracy linked to U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
  5. Mind Scrambler: Learning that a former crush, Katie, is happily employed as a magician’s assistant, Sea Haven police officer Danny Boyle is shocked by Katie’s subsequent murder and teams up with partner John Ceepak in a race against time to find the killer.
  6. Rolling Thunder: In the wake of the suspicious death of a prominent Sea Haven, New Jersey, resident on the opening day of a new boardwalk roller coaster, straight-arrow cop John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle discover links between the case the subsequent death of a beach beauty.
  7. Fun House: When one of the cast members of a raucous reality television show set in the New Jersey seaside resort town of Sea Haven is murdered, John Ceepak and Danny Boyle must move to protect the others and find the killer.

The Age of Miracles

“We didn’t notice right away.  We couldn’t feel it. We did not sense at first the extra time, bulging from the smooth edge of each day like a tumor blooming beneath skin.”

Imagine turning on the news one morning and learning that the earth’s rotation is slowing; that today will be 56 minutes longer than yesterday.  This is the premise of Karen Thompson Walker’s debut novel, The Age of Miracles.

“What had been familiar once became less and less so.  How extraordinary it would seem to us eventually that our sun once set as predictably as clockwork.  And how miraculous it would soon seem that I was once a happier girl, less lonely and less shy.  But I guess every bygone era takes on a shade of myth.  With a little persuasion, any familiar thing can turn abnormal in the mind.”

The story is told from the perspective of Julia, a middle school student coming of age in suburban California.  As the days grow progressively longer, the trials of junior high play out against the trauma of a dramatically changing planet.

“One soccer practice was canceled when a million ladybugs descended on the field at once.  Even beauty, in abundance, turns creepy.”

As the earth slows, plant and animal life is disrupted.  Birds struggle to fly, whales beach themselves in mass, insects thrive, grass dies, and coastal homes are abandoned in the face of rising tides.  Fears about the world’s food supply prompt hording and the construction of backyard greenhouses.

“As obvious as the implications would be later, the effects of the plan were not immediately clear to me.  What would become apparent soon enough was this: We would fall out of sync with the sun almost immediately.  Light would be unhooked from day, darkness unchained from night. And not everyone would go along with the plan.”

In an effort to control a chaotic situation, the government announces its plan for “clock time.”  Most people begin living by the standard 24-hour clock, making dawn a different experience each new day.  Yet a minority of people known as “real-timers” resist the plan, choosing instead to live longer days, defined by the rising and setting of the sun.  As the two communities quickly diverge, paranoia and suspicions rise.

“It was as if the slowing had slowed our judgment too, letting loose our inhibitions.  But I’ve always felt that it should have produced the opposite effect.  This much is certainly true: After the slowing, every action required a little more force than it used to.  The physics had changed.  Take, for example, the slightly increased drag of a hand on a knife or a finger on a trigger.  From then on, we all had a little more time to decide what not to do.  And who knows how fast a second-guess can travel?  Who has ever measured the exact speed of regret?  But the new gravity was not enough to overcome the pull of certain forces, more powerful, less known – no law of physics can account for desire.”

As the days lengthen, first to forty, eventually to sixty hours, physical and psychological effects of the slowing begin to manifest.  “Slowing syndrome” is rampant, causing debilitating dizziness and lethargy.  Julia’s mother struggles with the mysterious illness.  The behavior of loved ones becomes erratic: Julia learns that her father is keeping secrets, her grandfather disappears, her best friend turns cold.

“For reasons we’ve never fully understood, the slowing – or its effects – altered the brain chemistry of certain people, disturbing most notably the fragile balance between impulse and control.”

I subscribe strongly to the practice of not finishing books that I do not find interesting, so as a result, most of the books I read are ones that I enjoy.  What stood out for me about The Age of Miracles, besides its intriguing plot, were many of Walker’s phrasing choices.  It’s rare that I read a book and am able to recall specific lines from it days after having finished the story.  Accessible science fiction, told with the immediacy of first person narrative, The Age of Miracles should appeal to a wide range of readers.  Appropriate for teens and adults, and a possible selection for book clubs.

Fröhliches Oktoberfest!

Stop in to the Milford-Miami Township Branch Library anytime in September to join in our Oktoberfest celebration.  With a nod to all things German, the branch will be decorated, we’ll be hosting several special events, there will be multiple displays, and we’ll have two fun contests for you to participate in.  Here are the details:

Special Programs

Locating Immigrant Ancestors in Germany – Saturday, September 8, 2:00 PM.  Kenny Burck, President of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society and a genealogical researcher for 43 years, has located all of his German-speaking ancestors in Europe.  Learn how Kenny located each of his eleven German immigrant families, the specific information that led him to their villages, and much more genealogical information.  Preregistration is required.  Check out some books German genealogy and German immigrants.

Goetta Life – Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 PM.  David Glier of Glier’s Goetta will present a program all about goetta!  He’ll talk about the process of making goetta, the history of goetta, its role in Cincinnati history and more.  There will be plenty of samples of goetta, brats and metts!  Preregistration is required.  Check out some books on sausage and German cooking.

Cincinnati’s Brewing Industry – Saturday, September 22, 2:00 PM.  In 1860 there were 36 breweries in Cincinnati, 26 shortly before Prohibition.  Cincinnatians took their beer drinking seriously.  Whether they carried it home in “growlers” or drank it at the neighborhood saloon, on the average, every Cincinnatian consumed 40 gallons a year – 24 more than the national average!  Join Jim Bruckmann of the Bruckmann Brewery family for a visual tour of Cincinnati’s “golden age of breweries” presented by the Cincinnati Museum Center.  Preregistration is required.  Check out some books on the Cincinnati brewing industry and how to do your own brewing.

Contests – Participate all month long!

Guessing Grimm – 2012 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Grimm Brothers’ first volume of tales.  How well do you know your fairy tales?  Check out our series of collages and see if you can guess which stories they represent.  Those with correct answers will be entered in a drawing for a small prize.  Check out some of the Grimm Brother’s tales.

Find the Pretzels – Search the library for hidden pretzels and learn some fun facts about Germany along the way.  Use what you learned to take a quick quiz for a chance to win a small prize.  Check out some books about Germany.

Displays

Fairy Tale Dolls – Dolls dressed in home sewn costumes depicting characters from Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  Check out some books on sewing doll clothes.

German Beer Mats – An extensive collection of German coasters.  Check out some books about beer.

 


 

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The year 1845 heralded the birth of the New York City Police Department and the rise of the Great Famine in Ireland, which sent waves of immigrants to the United States and fueled Protestant-Catholic tensions.  This is the environment shaping Lyndsay Faye’s new historical mystery, The Gods of Gotham, the first in a new series.  As the story opens, we meet Timothy Wilde, a bartender who is methodically saving his money with the hopes of marrying Mercy Underhill, his long-admired friend, aspiring author, and charity worker.  When a massive fire sweeps though Manhattan, Tim’s life is changed abruptly by disfigurement and the loss of his job, home, and savings.  With extreme reservations, Tim accepts a position secured for him by his politically-connected elder brother as a “copper star” in the newly formed NYPD, patrolling the 6th Ward and the notorious Five Points slum.  One night Tim collides with a little girl whose nightclothes are soaked in blood, telling him seemingly wild tales of dead children buried in the woods.  Thus, Tim is launched on his first major investigation.  By the time he’s through he’ll have several run-ins with his tumultuous elder brother, be forced to reassess everything he knows about Miss. Underhill, find himself pitted against those promoting nativist sentiments, and become intimately familiar with NYC’s dark underbelly.  Lush in period detail and dialect, Faye’s new novel is a great match for fans of Caleb Carr.

Meet Walt Longmire

Have you been watching the TV show Longmire on A&E?  Did you know that the show is based on a series of mysteries by Craig Johnson?  Both the show and the books star Walt Longmire (played by Robert Taylor), the veteran sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, and a man rebuilding both his personnel and professional life in the wake of his wife’s death.  Longmire is accompanied in his investigations by his former big-city deputy, Victoria Moretti (Katee Stackhoff) and his Cheyenne best friend, bar owner Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips).  If you’d like to try out Johnson’s consistently well reviewed series, then start with the first installment, The Cold Dish.  If the story sucks you in, rest assured that you’re in store for a nice long visit with Walt.  The eighth book in this ongoing series, As the Crow Flies, was just released on May 15.

If you’re already familiar with Johnson’s work and would like to try out some other mysteries with a similar tone and strong sense of place, consider some of these:

  • C. J. Box – Featuring Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden.
  • James Lee Burke – Featuring Dave Robicheaux, a New Orleans detective.
  • Margaret Coel – Featuring Father John O’Malley and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden.  Set on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
  • Paul Doiron – Featuring Mike Bowditch, a Maine game warden.
  • Tricia Fields – Featuring police chief Josie Gray, who defends her small West Texas border town.
  • William Kent Krueger – Featuring sheriff Cork O’Connor.  Set in Minnessotta.