Tag Archives: audio

Radio Friendly?

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With all the hubbub about all things London (they had some kind of sporting event somewhere in that area or something), I thought it appropriate to share a little London music. The band Mumford and Sons may not be known by everyone but they are slowly gaining international notoriety, including here in the states. Their debut album, Sigh No More, even garnered a couple of Grammys. So, in what may be a ploy to gain more fans, the band has decided to release another album called Babel. Both are available or soon to be available at CCPL. Their rootsy approach to music can certainly be compared to Americana even though they are British.

Meanwhile, if you are waiting for the new Justin Bieber CD, Believe, to become available to check out or that other Canadian Carly Rae Jepson and her catchy song “Call Me Maybe” to finally arrive at you local library or heck that Josh Turner guy that sings country music, try Mumford and Sons. They may not be in a constant rotation on your favorite radio station but you may find you just might like them.

If you find yourself liking the awesomeness of Marcus Mumford (that’s the Mumford in Mumford and Sons, but the other guys are not really his sons) and his merry friends, then there may be some other bands you may enjoy that might be at the library. For instance, The Black Keys, who are from Akron, Ohio, which is not England. Maybe try Band of Horses, who are also American. Or something new and not British like the Lumineers.  One more non-Brit, you may like who is absolutely fantastic is Ray Lamontagne. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to check out new music at the library; it’s free (as long as you return it on time), so why not try it?

We all like different music and we all have different tastes. There are a ton of different musicians and music you may have never heard before but may come to like. Those were just a few suggestions; go to the library and find your own new favorite artist.

What We’re Reading – September Edition

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staff picksAnother look at what the library bloggers are reading.

Emily – Fun House by Chris Grabenstein – The 7th installment in this New Jersey-set mystery series has Officers John Ceepak and Danny Boyle reluctantly overseeing security for the raunchy and rambunctious cast of a Jersey Shore-esq reality show.

Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts – I’ve just started listening to the audio version of this mystery that stars Lucky O’Toole, a “fixer” for a major Las Vegas casino.  The first in a series, Lucky finds herself investigating the mysterious death of a woman who died falling from a casino-owned helicopter.

Cara – I just started The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (JF). I’m only a few chapters in, but I love mysterious and sinister tone that’s set for the reader as a whole town disappears, faeries are integrated into English society, and Bartholomew, a changeling, seems to be headed for trouble as a strange visitor to the town sees him for what he is. Hits shelves September 18, 2012.

Sarah – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. YA fantasy set in an alternate Russia, where magic-wielding children are raised to form an army under the mysterious Darkling. Alina’s gift is so strong and frightening that it might save the country–if she can learn to control it without being controlled herself.

Vanessa – I am reading Private Patient by PD James. It’s an Adam Dalgliesh mystery that is British detection at it’s finest. If you’re looking for a good mystery whose ending you’ll never see coming, PD James is your lady!

Laura S. – I’m only reading books with their cover art painted by Daniel Dos Santos. Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch, My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs are the first titles in some of the series. He only picks the best books to work on, they are all hilarious; the covers reflect that. He paints them all in traditional oils.

Phyllis – The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty – historical fiction loosely based on the life of Louise Brooks, silent film actress.

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews – Love lost, love found and secrets revealed.

Donna -  Currently, I’m reading a cozy mystery in “A Cat in the Stacks Mystery” series titled Classified as Murder by Miranda James.  This series is a fun read, I love that the main character is a college librarian in a small southern town. His Maine Coon Cat, Diesel, adds a lot of character to the story.

I’m listening to The Innocent by David Baldacci, a really exciting mystery that is making me tempted to drive farther so I can listen to just one more chapter.

MacKenzie – I’m reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherynne Valente. With a title like that you know it’ll be good. I’m also reading “The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year’s Best Science Fiction” edited by Gardner Dozois.

Andrea – I’m listening to Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand about four high school students and their families after a fatal car accident on Nantucket.

I’m reading Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson who survived a plane crash with third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body and embraces the fullness of life, love, motherhood and faith everyday.

Laura – I’m reading Spy the Lie in which former CIA agents explain how to spot signs that someone may be lying to you. Interesting to discover that things that we all accept as a sign of lying like not making eye contact isn’t actually a reliable sign at all.

Susan – When the Mississippi Ran Backwards; Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes by Jay Feldman. The 1811-1812 earthquakes that violently shook the midwest in and around New Madrid, Missouri are the backdrop to major historical events including the Indian and U.S. Government relations between Tecumseh, his brother The Prophet, and William Henry Harrison, the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the first steam boats to run on the Mississippi river.  This was a time when Ohio was still considered “wilderness”, Indian tribes were plentiful and Spain, France and England were still influential in the young United States development.

Diane – I’m listening to Night Watch, by Linda Fairstein.  Book 14 in her Alex Cooper series, we find Alex in France with her lover, Luc Rouget, famed restaurateur.  48 hours into her one week vacation, a former employee of Luc’s is murdered. Before Alex can become embroiled in this case, she’s called back to New York for a high-profile rape case involving, coincidentally, an important French economist.

Atlantis Found!?

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I’ll admit it—the idea of the lost continent of Atlantis is both intriguing and dubious to me.  The theories about its location and the culture of its inhabitants seem nothing but wild speculation.  Were they Hyperboreans who dwelt at the North Pole?  Were they an advanced civilization located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that received their technology from extraterrestrials? Atlantis is the realm of conspiracy theorists and crackpot pseudo-historians—or so it seemed to me.  That’s when I picked up Gavin Menzies’ The Lost Empire of Atlantis on audio.

Menzies’ other books, 1421: The Year China Discovered America and 1434: The Year A Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited The Renaissance, have invited controversy.  I have not read either one of the aforementioned titles, but since this book about Atlantis declared that it would unveil “History’s Greatest Mystery,” I figured I’d give it a try.  Besides, it would help to kill time during traffic jams.

Instead of the mysterious mystical Atlanteans, Menzies’ Atlantis is the island of Crete, with its advanced Bronze Age culture of the Minoans that created a vast trading network. Just like Atlantis, the island of Thera in the Aegean Sea disappeared overnight, destroyed by a huge volcano that sent a tsunami wave that destroyed the palace at Knossos in Crete. Like a detective, Menzies uncovers the fingerprints of the Minoans everywhere from Egypt to India to the Iberian Peninsula. Bits of Minoan culture (beside trade goods) appear to have permeated local traditions: the bull-jumping that was depicted on Minoan frescoes as long ago as the 18th century BC is still a semi-ritual amongst peoples as far flung as southwestern India and Spain.  Some of Menzies’ claims, however, seem rather mind-boggling–that Minoans and other ancient civilizations obtained pure copper for the smelting of bronze from Lake Superior, for example.  I’m still not convinced of some of his arguments, but it makes for an interesting story with well-detailed travels to exotic locales. I’ll let you, reader, make up your own mind.

Killing Lincoln – 8 Fascinating Hours of History

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killing lincolnWhat’s a definitive sign of a great book on CD? Sitting in your car to listen to just a little bit more even after you have arrived at your destination.

An admitted history buff, I was a little hesitant to try Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln: the Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever.  What more could O’Reilly and his co-author Martin Dugard add to the immense body of existing works on Lincoln? It’s not so much what they tell – it’s how they tell it. They talk in detail of the last few battles of the Civil War and of how General Robert E. Lee nearly escaped with his ragtag army. They show how John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators had several opportunities to kill President Lincoln and that the Vice President and several Cabinet members were to be eliminated as well.

There is a great sense of foreboding as events lead up to the assassination itself. President Lincoln seemed almost resigned to the fact that he would probably be assassinated – the authors seem to dwell on the fact that the President was a great admirer of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Fans of local hero Ulysses Grant will be pleased by the manner in which the general is portrayed in the book as well. Many will be surprised to learn that Grant and his wife were originally planning on attending the theatre with the Lincolns on the night of the assassination.

O’Reilly’s narration is rapid fire and well-paced and there is nary a slow moment in the entire eight-hour work. Consider checking this one out if you are planning a vacation drive – you won’t regret it.

Strolling Through Life: It Pays to Have a Playaway

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I’ve recently moved on up to the east side, living the sweet life in the suburbs. OK, well, I didn’t actually move, I’ve been doggie sitting. But I’ve still been enjoying everything that the cushy life in the ‘burbs has to offer. The air smells like grilled cheese and everyone waves when you walk by. Most importantly, there are actual sidewalks, not just deer trails in the woods.

After the first mind-numbing 2 hour walk that this specific pooch requires (every single day), I realized I needed to find something to keep my brain busy while my feet are moving. Something small, portable, free and entertaining… hmm, I wonder where I can find that?

Lucky for me, I work in a place FULL of entertaining options (No, they don’t pay me to plug the library. Oh wait, yes, they do. (I’d do it for free anyway!))

Have you heard about our Playaway collection?

What’s a Playaway you ask? It’s an entire audio book that is preloaded on to an individual little mp3 player. No more switching CDs or carrying a Walkman or even worrying about downloading the Overdrive Console and using the eBook Project. Just plug in your head phones, slip it into your pocket and go. It’s the size of a credit card but it packs a wollup in the entertainment department!

There are tons of books that I can’t wait to listen to. There are over 600 different titles in the collection, including some of the most popular new releases, as well as titles for teens and kids. I have a hold on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (read the the AMAZING Jim Dale), but we also have best sellers like:

Since I’ve started listening I’ve found so many other places to use my Playways. When I cut the grass, I use a Playaway. Sitting outside in the vague hopes that the sun will give me some vitamin D and I will no longer look like a sparkly vampire = Playaway! Vacuuming the house because my pets are a furry menace, that’s right, I’m listening to my Playaway!!

Check out all of our titles here, and remember we have Playaway View for your kids to watch too!

 

What We’re Reading – April 2012

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stack of booksWelcome to another round up of what we, your cheerful neighborhood library bloggers, are reading.

Vanessa – I am listening to Death of a Dreamer by M.C. Beaton, a Hamish MacBeth mystery from the highlands of Scotland and I am reading A Dance with Dragons, the 5th book in George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire.

Laura S. – I put a hold on the most recent Kim Harrison book, A Perfect Blood, so I’m rereading the Hollows Series. I’ve blasted through Dead Witch Walking, The Good The Bad and The Undead, Every Which Way but Dead, and A Fistful of Charms in the last few weeks and now I’m reading For a Few Demons More.

Eric – High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.

Amy V. – I recently finished the George RR Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire…at least I thought I finished the series. There are two more books in the series coming, sometime….

I really enjoyed the first five books. I was able to borrow all five from the library for my Kindle which was great! It was a little hard to read all of them in 14 days or less, but I managed.

Phyllis – I just finished The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew. If you liked The Help this is a good read alike.  The story takes place in the 1950′s in South Carolina.  The history and condition of black maids is more poignant than The Help and the story emotional and well developed.

Amy M. – Killshot by Elmore Leonard – Innocent witnesses to a mob-related murder discover that the Witness Protection Program is not exactly a safe haven when they learn that the killers are on the loose and that the authorities are not protecting them from harm. Great for fans who appreciate Leonard’s writing style  (such as “Justified” TV show fans).

The Outsiders by SE Hinton – The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent’s death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society. Reading for Classics Bookclub.

Emily – Just finished Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, the fifth “document” in the Spellman Files, a humorous series about a family of private investigators who spend a great deal of time investigating each other.

Currently reading Wild Thing by Josh Bazell, the follow up to 2009′s acclaimed Beat the Reaper.  Pietro Brnwa is a former mafia hitman who has entered the witness protection program and has started life over as a doctor.  Of course, his former life is never far behind.

Currently listening to In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.  Bryson narrates the audio version of his book, taking listeners on a tour of Australia.

Ross – I’m listening to Zone One by Colson Whitehead on CD. It’s the thinking person’s zombie novel.

Meg – I am reading The Bride Wore Black Leather,  the 12th book in Simon Green’s Nightside series and A Million Suns by Beth Revis which is the sequel to Across the Universe.

Laura E. – I’m reading The Book of Lost Fragrances, which combines reincarnation, Chinese – Tibet politics, and the ancient art of creating perfume into a thriller. Fair Game: Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs, the latest in an urban fantasy series that focuses on werewolves.

Susan – I’m reading The Technologists by Matthew Pearl.  A story of the early days of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (late 1800′s) and the young men (and 1 woman) who were it’s first graduates.  The MIT students struggle to prove their importance to Boston and the country against prejudice and fear of science and technology by proving they can solve the mysteries of a series of strange and horrendous disasters in Boston.

I’m listening to Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn and read by Rich Orlow.  Fantastic spy and suspense thriller!  I’ve found myself sitting in parking lots and in the garage unable to stop the CD player!  And I’m only half way through the story!  The narrator uses several voices for the different characters and is superb at it.  Takes spy stories, terrorism, and suspense to a whole other level.  Can’t wait for the ending!

McKenzie – I just finished listening to the book on CD version of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and he never disappoints. Even though this one was juvenile fiction, the theme was so poignant and the writing so clever that adults can easily be swept away, as I was, by its softened approach to life and death. It’s the first book since Harry Potter that’s made me cry!

Cracker and Cranberries

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Cracker and Cranberries are a nice combination. But Dolores O’Riordan without the Cranberries is just bland. But now they are back together and life is good. The years between 2001 and 2012 were void of any new music from the band that brought you such songs as “Linger” “Dreams” “Zombie” and “Free to Decide”. If you don’t know who I am talking about then you probably missed the nineties. The Cranberries were one of the most popular groups of that time period.

Their new CD is called Roses and is available at the our library for you to check out. But since there are a few holds on that particular album check out their greatest hits CD Stars : the best of 1992-2002 to refresh your memory or to discover a new old artist you might not have heard before. When you do get a hold of a copy, and I always say this, listen from beginning to end, it is the only way to appreciate a good album.

 

Home

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Read this BEFORE going back home after a long absence, especially if to care for an aging parent or sibling.  There are behaviors in every character and interactions between the characters that bring to mind a thought provoking memory to relate to, to gain insight from, and to find a new way to deal with the past.

Home, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson, is a book to be read or listened to on many levels.

First, as a Christian fiction or inspirational story. An elder minister father is dying. His youngest single daughter and wayward alcoholic son return home to care for him in his last days, hoping to reconcile the past.

Second, as a psychological study of family interactions and how aging children deal with a dying parent and each other after years apart. How family dynamics and events of when they were children resurface and are never forgotten, but rather have formed who they are and what they’ve become.

Third, as an historical fiction story portraying a way of life in a small rural town in Iowa and how early events formed and reinforced the culture, beliefs and lives of it’s inhabitants.

The reader comes to know the characters intimately through the relaxed pace and familiarity of the writing.  And one can’t help but reflect on one’s own family relationships and past events and how one deals with them through the years.

Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels Gilead (2004) – winner of the Pulitzer Prize – and Housekeeping (1980).

The Night Circus

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The circus arrives without warning. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. A black sign painted in white letters hangs upon the gates.

“Opens at Nightfall. Closes at Dawn.”

Wander through endless tents full of fantastic spectacles and performers. Luscious gardens made of ice, enchanted living carousel animals, mazes of clouds that defy gravity, acrobats that never fall. Each tent is created as an enchanted love letter shared between two magicians bound to each other for life but forced apart by their respective sides, pitted against each other in a magical battle that spans their entire lives. The circus is their playing field and their game has no rules.

Reading Morgenstern’s first novel, The Night Circus, is like floating through time and space, following the specter of a magical circus. Simultaneously dreamlike and more vivid than regular life, the real main character of the book is neither Celia the Illusionist nor Marco the Secret Magician but Le Cirque des Reves, The Circus of Dreams. The details of life in and around the circus consume the reader.

The hype surrounding The Night Circus has been extensive but well deserved. For an extra treat, try listening to it on audio; the sublime narration of Jim Dale (who also narrated all seven Harry Potter audio books and the sadly cancelled show Pushing Daisies) breathes an extra dose of magic into an already extrordinary book. 

Check out this preview to get into a more magical mood:

Death Cab for Cutie’s Latest

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Death Cab for CutieThe lights went down on PNC pavilion last Friday and the distinct melodic beat of the five minute instrumental slowly drew the crowd into each key hit on the piano. The lights began to flicker to the beat as the band increased its tempo. Finally the singer belted out the first words of the song…”How I wish you could see the potential…” the crowd erupted in a syncopated cheer and then they all began to sing along.

The band Death Cab for Cutie played PNC Pavilion Friday, September 30th and I was there. It was an amazing concert put on by the band from Seattle. If you were there or even if you weren’t and are interested, the Clermont County Public Library has a few of their CDs so you can give them a listen.

From 2005 Plans which includes the songs  Soul Meets Body, Crooked Teeth, and I Will Follow You into the Dark.  All of which were performed at the concert.

Narrow Stairs is from 2008 and has the song that opened the concert – I Will Posses Your Heart.

Their latest Codes and Keys just released this year and has the song You are a Tourist.

In case you were curious, the band’s name comes from the title of a song by the band Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah which they performed in 1967 film, Magical Mystery Tour, which many of you know is a film by the Beatles.