Category Archives: books

Staff Picks Non-Fiction 2012

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Some of our favorite non-fiction books of 2012:

Not Taco Bell Material  - Adam Carolla. The popular podcaster and author of the best-selling In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks collects new favorite rants about things that drive him crazy, sharing stories from his underdog youth that offer insight into his views and career.
Yes, Chef  - Marcus Samuelsson. The Top Chef: Masters winner and James Beard Award-winning proprietor of Harlem’s Red Rooster traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden and rise to a famous New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry. First Chapter

The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling - Quinn Cummings. Citing a rising number of homeschooled children in America, a blogger and Oscar-nominated child actor recounts her misadventures in first-time homeschooling, an endeavor marked by her own math aversion, experiments with current trends and a chaperone venture at a home-school prom.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking - Susan Cain. A former Wall Street attorney, business coach and creator of ThePowerofIntroverts.com demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in today’s culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples to counsel readers on how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations and empower introverted children.

 

Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man - Mark Kurlansky. A profile of eccentric genius inventor Clarence Birdseye chronicles how his innovative fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture. By the best-selling author of Salt: A World History.First Chapter  Table of Contents

 

The Power of Habit  - Charles Duhigg. Identifying the neurological processes behind behaviors while explaining that self-control and success are largely driven by habits, a guide by a Yale-educated investigative reporter for The New York Times shares scientifically based guidelines for achieving personal goals and overall well-being by adjusting specific habits. First Chapter  Table of Contents
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook - Deb Perelman. The award-winning blogger for Smitten Kitchen presents a long-awaited first cookbook of 100 new and favorite recipes, from Mushroom Bourguignon and Pancetta to Buttered Popcorn Cookies and Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake, in a volume that features adapted options for busy home cooks.Table of Contents

The Dirt Candy Cookbook - Amanda Cohen.Complemented by engaging graphic-style art, an all-vegetable cookbook by New York City’s Dirt Candy restaurant explains how to prepare elaborate and satisfying meals with ingredients usually relegated to side dishes, in a volume that offers such options as Stone-Ground Grits with Tempura Poached Egg, Broccoli Rabe Fettuccini and Popcorn Pudding With Butterscotch Sauce.

Soldier Dogs - Maria Goodavage.In this book, the author, a leading dog-blogger offers a tour of military working dogs’ extraordinary training, heroic accomplishments, and the lasting impacts they have on those who work with them.
Upcycling Celebrations  - Danny Seo. The author of Upcycling returns with 100 more projects illustrated in full color–this time focused specifically on parties and holidays–that turn ordinary objects into festive decorations, gifts and more.

Staff Picks for Fiction 2012

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A list of some of our favorite reads of 2012.

Shadow of Night - Deborah E. Harkness. A follow-up to the best-selling A Discovery of Witches finds Oxford scholar and reluctant witch Dina and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont in Elizabethan London, where Dina seeks a magical tutor and Matthew confronts elements from his past at the same time the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.
  Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn, When a beautiful woman goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage and a mysterious illness; while her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred. By the best-selling author of Dark Places. First Chapter
Freeman - Leonard Pitts. Shortly after the Confederates surrender, a runaway slave leaves the safety of Philadelphia in search of his wife who he left in Mississippi 15 years earlier, but who has been taken by gunpoint to Arkansas by her former landowner.
The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty. Accompanying a future famous actress from her Wichita home to New York, chaperone Cora Carlisle shares a life-changing five-week period with her ambitious teenage charge during which she discovers the promise of the 20th century and her own purpose in life. By the author of The Center of Everything.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette - Maria Semple. When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee begins a trip that takes her to the ends of the earth to find her in this new novel from the author of This One is Mine.

The Orphanmaster - Jean Zimmerman. In 17th-century New Amsterdam, today Manhattan, 22-year-old trader Blandine von Couvering and British spy Edward Drummond investigate the mysterious disappearance of orphan children. A first novel.
The Gods of Gotham - Lyndsay Faye. Joining the newly formed NYPD at the height of Ireland’s 19th-century potato famine, Timothy reluctantly assumes his duties in a notorious slum district, where in the middle of the night he hears a little girl’s claim that dozens of bodies have been buried in a local forest.
  Restless in the Grave - Dana Stabenow. A crossover mystery featuring Aleut private investigator Kate Shugak and Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell finds them teaming up to investigate a suspicious plane crash that ended the life of aviation entrepreneur Finn Grant, a case that requires Kate to work undercover as a bar waitress. By the author of Though Not Dead. First Chapter
11/22/63 - Stephen King. Receiving a horrific essay from a GED student with a traumatic past, high-school English teacher Jake Epping is enlisted by a friend to travel back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a mission for which he must reacclimate to 1960s culture and befriend troubled loner Lee Harvey Oswald.First Chapter  Table of Contents
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan. After a layoff during the Great Recession sidelines his tech career, Clay Jannon takes a job at the titular bookstore in San Francisco, and soon realizes that the establishment is a facade for a strange secret. First Chapter
The Snow Child l - Eowyn Ivey. A childless couple working a farm in the brutal landscape of 1920 Alaska discover a little girl living in the wilderness, with a red fox as a companion, and begin to love the strange, almost-supernatural child as their own. First Chapter
The Nightmare - Lars Kepler. An international best-selling sequel to The Hypnotist follows Detective Joona Linna’s investigation into two mysterious murder cases in Stockholm that have been staged to look accidental, scenes that prompt Joona to discern a link between the crimes and a more sinister operation. First Chapter
The Keeper of Lost Causes - Jussi Adler-Olsen. A U.S. release of a first installment in a top award-winning Danish series introduces chief detective Carl Morck, who after recovering from what he thought was a career-destroying gunshot wound is relegated to cold cases and becomes immersed in the five-year disappearance of a politician.

The Killing Moon - N. K. Jemisin. In a city where Gatherers harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to judge the corrupt, Ehiru, the most famous of the city’s Gatherers, learns that he must protect the woman he was sent to kill or watch the city be devoured by forbidden magic. First Chapter

  Trail of the Spellmans : Document #5 - Lisa Lutz. Struggling with wacky family activities, secrets and feuds, private investigator Isabel Spellman avoids Henry Stone by spending time drinking with his mother and tackling eccentric cases that seem suspiciously pointless. By the award-winning author of Heads You Lose.First Chapter
Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire. Verity Price, trained from birth as a cryptozoologist–a monster hunter–attempts to pursue a career in professional ballroom dance, but dangerous cryptids and the Covenant’s newest operative keep getting in the way of her passion.
Taken - Robert Crais. Hired along with Joe Pike to investigate the alleged kidnapping of a wealthy industrialist’s son, Elvis Cole quickly disproves police theories and goes undercover to infiltrate a ring of professional border kidnappers only to be abducted himself. By the award-winning author of The Sentry.
The Rook  - Daniel O’MalleyA high-ranking member of a secret organization that battles supernatural forces wakes up in a London park with no memory, no idea who she is and with a letter that provides instructions to help her uncover a far-reaching conspiracy. First Chapter

  A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty - by Joshilyn Jackson. Ginny Slocumb knows that this year, her forty-fifth, is a “trouble year.” When her 30-year-old daughter Liza, a former drug addict, suffers a debilitating stroke that leaves her mute, Ginny can only wonder what catastrophe will come her way next. Consumed by her fear that her 15-year-old granddaughter, Mosey, will follow family tradition and end up pregnant, Ginny soon realizes that she’s got bigger problems when she finds a baby’s skeleton buried in a shallow grave in the backyard. Alternating between the three Slocumb women’s perspectives, this compelling tale of love, loss, and family secrets is both humorous and heart-breaking.
Death of a Kingfisher - M. C. Beaton. When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn’t have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan’s Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods “The Fairy Glen,” and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover. It isn’t long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town’s luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again,the lawman’s investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder.First Chapter
Thirteen - Kelley Armstrong. In the conclusion to Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, Savannah Levine, a young witch whose magical powers have been temporarily stripped, is faced with the task of saving her family and friends and finding a way to win the battle against the evil creatures that have been unleashed upon the world.
The Absolutist - John Boyne. Tristan Sadler, a gay soldier, recalls his time spent fighting in World War I and the intensity of his friendship with Will Bancroft, a soldier who became a conscientious objector and was shot as a traitor.

A Year of Reading in Review

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god save the queen Since I began working at CCPL this year, I managed to expand my already mile-long reading list to one I may never fully catch up with.  While finding time to read everything has been a challenge, each book has been an adventure.  Here are some of my favorites for the year.

I caught up on some of the latest crazes, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Hunger Games.  I relished The Phantom Tollbooth and its delightful wordplay.  I even indulged my inner child with some Fancy Nancy and Eloise books.

I read a slew of graphic novels and manga.  Of the new arrivals to the library, I most enjoyed Kimi ni Todoke, Kamisama Kiss, and Pandora Hearts.  I also enjoyed re-reading MARS and YuYu Hakusho, while impatiently waiting for more D. Gray-man and Black Butler.

Americapedia:Taking the Dumb Out of Freedom gives a review of how American government works, and also a quick, easy-to-understand rundown of many of the issues we’ve been dealing with for the past few decades–the stuff they don’t talk about in school.  It does a pretty good job of keeping a neutral stance through it all, even though it covers many controversial issues.  Even better, as you probably guessed from the title, they do it all with a sense of humor.

Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure is a woman’s chronicle of her time spent living in India.  While laughing at her hilarious accounts of her adventures in traveling the country and experiencing different aspects of India’s many religious groups, I sympathized with her struggles with culture shock and homesickness.  Her stories reminded me of similar experiences I had while living in Japan.  A great read for anyone who has traveled abroad or hopes to someday.

Kate Locke’s God Save the Queen is a heady blend of some of my favorite things: steampunk, feisty heroines and non-sparkly vampires.  It’s an action-packed mystery story set in an alternate version of Victorian England that has been taken over by vampires and werewolves.  Bonus points to the author for making the evolution of supernatural beings sound science-y and plausible.  I’m looking forward to the next book!

I’m currently working on Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible, which talks about the history of American clothes and fashion, while also giving fashion advice and plenty of examples of different iconic styles through the decades.  Next up is Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language, which is bound to wrap up my reading adventures of 2012 with a bang.

 

 

 

Enter the world of the Other Normals

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In the new book from Ned Vizzini, The Other Normals, we discover the world of Creatures and Caverns, an RPG (roll playing game, for those of you not in the know) with magical beings who carry out adventures set throughout Earth’s history. Perry Eckert is a geeky 15 year old who is obsessed with C&C. Suffice it to say, he doesn’t exactly have a social life and he’s interacted with girls about as much as he has with his divorced parents. Finally, Perry’s parents decide to take matters into their own hands and send him to summer camp to force him to interact with other people. Perry is prepared to spend the summer in misery when he spots a creature running into the woods, a creature that looks eerily familiar.

Perry is plunged into the world of C&C in ways he could never have imagined and forced to socialize in ways his parents could never have imagined. He must decide if he is going to become the hero and save the girl or continue to play his game alone.

This book is amazing. The language is a bit strong, but it’s funny, its engaging, it grabs you and will not let go. The chapters are short and the action is furious. A great read for anyone who likes D&D or RPGs or just a good adventure.

 

Our Best Bites

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best bites Our Best Bites by Sara Wells & Kate Jones is the first cookbook by this popular blogging duo.  Meeting my number one requirement for cookbooks, this one features great photos of every dish.  Recipes are clearly written and offer brief descriptions.  Chapters include: Appetizers and Drinks; Breads; Condiments, Spreads, and Garnishes; Breakfast and Brunch; Salads; Soups and Chilis; Meats; Pizza and Pasta; Side Dishes; and Desserts.  A nice feature of the book is its index of rollover ingredients, which will help keep you from wasting some of those less common ingredients such as blue cheese, buttermilk, and sour cream.  I’ve tried several recipes from this cookbook, but particularly enjoyed my dinner of Chili-Lime Steak and Stuffed Blue Cheese Potatoes.  Our Best Bites fans should check out Sara and Kate’s recently released sophomore effort, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites.

Chili-Lime Steak

  • 1-2 pounds boneless steak (The authors suggest flak steak; I used fillets.)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the rub, combine spices in a small bowl.  Add lime juice and olive oil and stir to combine.  Place the steak in a shallow dish.  Pour the spice mixture over the steak and then rub it in with your hands.  Allow the steak to stand for 15 minutes.  While the meat is standing, preheat your grill.  Place the steak on the grill over medium-high heat and cook for 5-7 minutes per side or until desired doneness is reached.  Remove from grill and allow to stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Stuffed Blue Cheese Potatoes

  • 4 medium russet potatoes
  • 1-2 tablespoons shortening or vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup real butter, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 ounce (1/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese
  • 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • dash of pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 8 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
  • shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 400F.  Wash and dry potatoes.  Rub them lightly with a bit of shortening or vegetable oil and place directly on oven rack.  Bake for one hour.  Remove potatoes and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Cut each potato in half to make 8 servings.  Scoop out the insides and place in a bowl.  Mash, and add butter, sour cream, blue cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.  Carefully spoon mixture back into potato shells.  Place in a baking dish.  Return the potatoes to the hot oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Remove, sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese over each potato, and bake an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I want my Barbie Dictionary!

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Does anybody use a dictionary anymore? I mean the book, where you have to open the pages and have some semblance of the alphabetical order and maybe a slight grasp of how to spell the word you are looking up. You can’t replace the good old ink-and-paper, handy dandy dictionary (some aren’t so handy dandy; Webster has gotten a little bloated). Sure, you can now use the internet to look up the word you want (try dictionary.com). Most computer programs, if not all, have spell check. Even Words with Friends tells you that mess of letters you tried to play is not an acceptable word. So, I guess the good old dictionary is being replaced. I mean, I don’t own one.

Upon further review, it seems as though the dictionary is branching out. Trying new things. Exploring new concepts. Gradually sneaking up on you until all of the sudden you notice it again. Like an old friend that never really left your side even though you made new friends like the computer or spell check. Lo and behold, It’s not just for words anymore…..

Star Wars has given the dictionary an all-new identity with their line of visual dictionaries found at the library. (I own all of these, of course)

There is also, the believe it or not, the Math dictionary (I’m not sure what that’s about, never read it, never will. I am assured it does exist).

Or  the Lover’s Dictionary (okay, I think this one is more a work of fiction rather than a dictionary).

Let’s not forget the Dictionary of Wholesome Foods (I have no idea what that means, but I did not see a Big Mac in there anywhere).

Even baseball has its own dictionary (apparently there are a lot of baseball-specific terms because it is a very thick book at almost 1000 pages).

And then, my (and I assume everybody’s) favorite dictionaries are The Curious George Dictionary and, of course, The Barbie Picture Dictionary.

Okay, so there are a lot of dictionaries out there. Plus, dictionaries are smart to diversify  from just defining words and whatever else they were doing (balancing tables). So, head on out to the library and check out latest fad…dictionaries. That’s right, it’s a thing now.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

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When professional journalist Jennifer Reese lost her job, she felt inspired to begin economizing and turned her eye to food.  Which items are cheaper to buy and which are cheaper to make?  When is the homemade version of a food healthier and tastier than the store bought version?  Is a store bought product ever superior to a homemade one?  Soon Reese’s curiosity morphed into a series of large scale undertakings, attempting new recipes and making forays into animal husbandry.  After a few years of experimentation, Reese was able to write Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch – Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter is a fun read, even if you have no desire to make your own peanut butter, marshmallows, pastrami, or ginger ale.  Reese’s humor shines through as she describes her efforts to raise chickens, keep bees, and make cheese.  When analyzing each “make it yourself” endeavor, Reese gives a recommendation on whether she thinks the item is better to make or buy, indicates how much hassle is involved in the production process, and does a cost comparison taking in both the outlay of supplies and time.

Not sure you’re up for any of these projects?  Don’t worry about feeling guilty!  Reese is never preachy and fully recognizes that making your own food staples is not going to solve anyone’s financial problems.  In her introduction, she states that these projects are best left to people who enjoy “messing around in the kitchen.”  If that’s you, or if you wish that was you, you’ll likely find Make the Bread, Buy the Butter to be an amusing, enlightening read.

Bats at the Library!

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bats at the libraryIt’s the season where you read about pumpkins, scarecrows and leaves. One of my favorite titles. I found that I love along with my nephews, revolves around bats. I know, yikes! Bats–Too scary! Not this one. It isn’t a Halloween book, it is just a wonderfully entertaining children’s story written and illustrated by Brian Lies called, Bats at the Library. These adorable characters discover an open window at the library and find a whole new world filled with books for everyone’s reading taste. The illustrations are kid-friendly and the story just might inspire your own little ones to explore their library!

The Library Goes to the Movies

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Many books have been turned into Oscar-nominated films; I’ve just read a few of them. I found one exception; the children’s book, “Cinderella Penguin, or The Little Glass Flipper” by Janet Perlman was adapted from her 1981 Best Animated Short Film nominee, “The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin”.

For wonderful children’s books made into Oscar-winning animated shorts, check out: “The Ugly Duckling“, Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale; “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf, about a bull who didn’t want to fight matadors; and “Gerald McBoing-Boing” by Dr. Seuss, about a boy who only speaks in sound effects.

One of my top 5 favorite films, “To Kill a Mockingbird“  (based on Harper Lee’s only published work), won the Oscar in 1963 for Best Adapted Screenplay. I decided to listen to the audiobook. This classic tells about small-town life, prejudice, and a controversial rape trial in 1935 Alabama. The portions of the book that didn’t make it into the screenplay lent fascinating depth to life in Maycomb County and the people who lived there, but none of it was necessary to the film’s narrative. I think the movie is a near-perfect distillation of the novel, and I couldn’t imagine any other voices than those of the actors in the film.

For two other excellent film adaptations of complex novels, I recommend “Gone with the Wind“, winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, based on Margaret Mitchell’s epic, and “Mystic River“, adapted from Dennis Lehane’s novel , and nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Kim vonHedemann

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten – Part 5

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My son and I had another fun month of reading books together.  He has his favorite books that he loves for me to read to him over and over.  It is so much fun to see how excited he gets when he hears a book he likes.  Here are some of his favorites:

Baby beep! beep! – a lift-the-flap book to discover different vehicles.

Brush, Brush, Brush - a book about brushing and caring for your teeth.

My Truck is Stuck - a book about different vehicles trying to pull out a truck that is stuck.

Caillou, It’s Me - a lift-the-flap book that discovers different parts of the body.

Each of his favorite books has rhyming or flaps that reveal a surprise underneath.  Toddlers like books they can touch and books that rhyme.  By reading his favorite stories over and over, he gets familiar with the book and knows what is going to happen next.    (He already tells me when I skip a page).

If you would like tips on reading to your toddler, check out the Ready to Read Guide on the website.

 

399 books previously read + 65 books read this month = 464 books read

1,000 books before Kindergarten – 464 books read = 536 books left to read