 | Staff Picks | Jun 19, 2008 |
These are a few of our favorite books here at the Independence Public Library. All of these books are available at the Library for reservation or check out. Enjoy!  Tim O'Brien artfully weaves truths and half truths in a stunning series of connected stories all based on a fictional squad he was a member of in Vietnam. The great majority of the stories are a mixture of gallows humor mixed with moments of stark violence and tragedy. I picked the book up not knowing it was fiction and it was only half way through when he started talking about the merits of truth that I began to doubt myself. A quick check verified that it was indeed a "Fiction" book. Truth or not I think that the feelings the soldiers in this book felt are probably pretty close to what a lot of the soldiers who served in Vietnam felt and I didn't put the book down until i was on the last page. Next Thursday at 5 PM I will be leading a book discussion centered around this book. Feel free to join us books are available for checkout at the main desk. John  Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who chronicled the conflict between Greece and Persia. See why he is called both “The Father of History” and “The Father of Lies.” Blinn  This was a difficult book to read. I didn’t think I could finish it, but I did. It had the most gut wrenching sentence; you will spot it when you read about Precious’ first day of school in her pink dress. The story was told with raw, burning words in Precious’ awkward dialect. Even though it is hard to imagine the abuses she lived through, I know there are children in every community who face child abuse. I felt was important to read about how she realized this was not a normal home life, and that she had the right and the ability to make her life better. From birth she was in an abnormal environment, abused constantly, not understanding this was not a normal way of life. My heart ached when I read about the torment she endured. She gives birth to two babies, conceived by her own father, the first when she was only 12 years old, and becomes HIV-positive. She found relief through journal writing, with the help of a teacher, who was one of the few people to show her kindness. Her poetry is her emotional outlet. She makes friends with others who are in the support groups she attends. She eventually makes every effort she can to get away from her abusers, go to school, and start life as a mother for her children. Precious pushes herself, to learn, to become independent, and to be happy. It left me wanting to know more about her and the future she ended up with. Julie Hildebrand  I noticed that this book was listed on the New York Times Bestseller List awhile back, and then it appeared again in the top ten. This was intriguing, so I decided to read it. Outliers are people who are markedly different from others, but what makes them different, successful, brilliant? For example there was a group of Rosetans from Roseto, Italy who bought land outside of Bangor, Pennsylvania and built Roseto, Pennsylvania. The country was experiencing record levels of heart disease, but the Roseto residents did not have any heart disease, why? You will have to read the book to find out, and it is not what you think... Why is it that most all of the great Canadian hockey players are born in January, February, March, or April? The same is true of European soccer players… In England the soccer players are nearly all born between September and November. Why? Read the book and find out. Why are 14 of the 75 richest people in history, (starting back to the time of the Pharaoh Amenophis III in Ancient Egypt), Americans born between 1831 and 1840? Why are the richest computer specialists born between 1953 and 1956? He goes further to study people considered to be geniuses, what makes them successful? Is it there intelligence? Nope… read Outliers to find out why… Very interesting… -Julie Hildebrand Having just become a bride for the first time, I wanted to share the books that helped me prepare for my big day. They are all wonderful books that we have in our collection. Each one is informative about how contemporary weddings and marriages are handled.  1.) The Modern Bride Survival Guide by Modern Bride Magazine This was book was pub lished by the Editor-in -Chief of Modern Bride magazine. It was an up-to-date wedding planner. It had tons of photos, budget worksheets, and checklists. The Q&A sections helped the most.  2.) Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette by Peggy Post All the traditions and rules of planning a wedding are so confusing. This book helped to unders tand what was appropriate and to keep calm when dealing with family issues that arise on your big day.  3.) Wedding Bouquets: Over 300 Designs for Every Bride by Wedding Magazine This book is nothing but pictures of different wedding bouquets. It shows every possible creative approach to take when designing your flowers. The bouquets are in order by color, so whatever your wedding color scheme is, it is easy to pick your arrangement.  4.) Rich Bride Poor Bride: Your Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide by Sean Buckley This book had so many pictures! It also has tons of ideas for flowers, the dress, ceremony, cake, reception, and honeymoon. I loved this book!  5.) The Nest Newlywed Guide : An Owner's Manual for Modern Marriage Life by Carley Roney This was the most helpful book of all! It explains every question that comes after you answer “I do.” This book is designed to help you learn to deal with real life issues as a couple. It discusses everything from merging your money, decorating your home, buying your first home, fighting nicely, dealing with in-laws, maintaining your single friends, and sharing the household chores. It is a great book! -Amanda  The book that I am recommending is 1984. This book is awesome! It's a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime. Orwell elaborates on how a massive oligarchical collectivist society such as the one described in Nineteen Eighty-Four would be able to repress any long-lived dissent. The story follows the life of one seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of perpetuating the regime's propaganda by falsifying records and political literature. Smith grows disillusioned with his meager existence and so begins a rebellion against the system that leads to his arrest and torture. This book is also one that is banned from many institutes and is one of the top most banned or challenged books ever. -Aaron  The enigmatic David Loogan, who's recently moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., has stumbled into an editing job for Gray Streets, a mystery magazine, after anonymously submitting a short story. One night, Loogan's boss, Tom Kristoll, asks him for help in disposing of a corpse. Loogan goes to Kristoll's house and does so, despite his suspicions that Kristoll's account of how the man ended up dead is incomplete at best. When Kristoll later dies in a fall from his office window, the police mark Loogan, who's been having an affair with Kristoll's wife, as a person of interest. Fast paced, very suspenseful and a good first novel. ~Becky  I am an animal lover... so I love Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy. There are many interesting and helpful articles, as well as great photography of different breeds.  The Artist Magazine is one of my favorites. It is a lways inspiring to me to see other artists work and to read about their techniques.
Everyday Rachael Ray is a fun cooking magazine... fun because she is such a great entertainer and cook. She has so many irons in the fire; I don’t know how she does it all.  Natural Health is a magazine whose slogan is feel good... look good... do good... I love that! This magazine is full of great advice for a natural healthy lifestyle.
 ReadyMade is creative, quirky, and fun. Ideas to reuse materials to make other things, like how to use the plastic toys from fast-food meals as a decorative lamp pull chain, or a cardboard beverage carton into an organizer. You will find fresh, hip, ideas to save money, time, and the planet.
 Writer’s Digest is another magazine that inspires me. I enjoy writing for fun... It is interesting to read the wide array of articles ranging from advice from famous authors to social networking, from getting published to finding online resources for writers. If you enjoy writing you should read every issue.
~Julie Hildebrand
 Miss Potter starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor is a wonderful movie available on DVD from the Independence Public Library. The movie highlights a portion of the life of Beatrix Potter, author of many beloved children's books such as the "Tales of Peter Rabbit." The story is a nice blend of comedy, romance and tragedy with a pinch of magic thrown in for good taste. It is a movie that really lifts the spirits and leaves you feeling good. ~Nick  What was life like for women during our mother’s generation? This book made me think about that question.
Reading about Ruth’s mother helped me realize how difficult it was years ago for women that wanted more from life than to stay home, raise a family, and keep house. It made me thankful for the changes made during my generation, and hopeful that society will continue to get better for women during my daughter’s generation. Ruth’s mother wanted to become a doctor like her father but was told,” You’re no beauty, and it’s too bad you’re such an intellectual. But if you become a doctor, no man will ever marry you.” One depiction that is burned in my memory is that of Ruth’s mother’s childhood friend, Hermine. In the chapter, What We Are Made For we meet Hermine, a successful single businesswoman who lived in a fabulous apartment just off Fifth Avenue. She was always polished, a fantastic cook, and happy. Although Hermine lived this fantastical life Ruth’s mother envied, Ruth followed convention and thought of Hermine as a “poor spinster”. Later Ruth’s mother introduced to her friend to a man who later became Hermine’s husband. After that her impeccable apartment smelled of tobacco instead of flowers and sugar. Her husband had her quite her job and discharge her housekeeper; Hermine became unkempt and unhappy. Ruth comes to understand not only about her mother’s experiences, but how her mother used these lessons to teach her daughter how to truly succeed in life. ~Julie H.
 The book that I read and am choosing this month is Dante’s Inferno. It is a divine-comedy written some 700 years ago. The entire thing is written in poetry form. It is the story about how the author (Dante) has a dream and lost his was in the world. He is met by another famous poet of antiquities, already dead, who guides him on his journey through Inferno, or “Hell”; Purgatorio, or “Purgatory”; and Paradiso, or “Paradise.” I thought this book was very good. It held my attention because as they are traveling through everything, I really wanted to know what he would see and what the causes were for being in each new “level” of hell. I give it an A++ -Aaron  Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Before reading this book I had never heard of Vel’ d’Hiv’, a famous indoor stadium where biking races were held that was used by the French police to house thousands of Jewish families who were rounded up in the middle of the night to be sent to Auschwitz. This story weaves two stories together, the story of a current day journalist who is reporting on the sixtieth anniversary of Vel’d’Hiv’, and the story of Sarah’s family, who were among those arrested for being Jewish in July 1942. This story was a quick read with short chapters, each ending with a hook that kept me intrigued; I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. The Five Star Selections Book Club will be discussing this book on Thursday, June 11th at 5:00 PM. I hope you will come join us for a discussion on this attention-grabbing story.
-Julie H.
 "Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange," by Elizabeth Partridge is a junior biographical book about photographer Dorothea Lange. Lange is best known as one of the Farm Services Administration photographers during the Great Depression during which time she made one of the most well-known photographs ever, "Migrant Mother" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migrant_mother). The book gives insight into Lange's entire life from childhood until her death. But where the book really shines is the many large high-quality photos contained within. In addition to showing Lange's work, several photographs of her family are also shown. While the book is listed as a young person's book, anyone interested in photography should give it a look.
~Nick David Wright
http://pedalingprose.wordpress.com/  I just finished reading the latest Earlene Fowler book “Love Mercy”. The main character is Love Mercy Johnson and she lives in a town not far from Benni Harper (from Earlene Fowler’s earlier books). Love’s husband Cy died a year ago and her estranged granddaughter Loretta Lynn “Rett” comes back into her life again. The book was light, serious, funny, sad, about family, clean and engrossing. I happily paid my $.50 fine for bring it in a day late so I could finish it.
Nancy  Do you still miss your little Bonnie? This one sentence, spoken by a male voice in anonymous phone call, is all it takes to drag Eve Duncan right back to that horrifying moment years ago when her only daughter vanished without a trace. Since then, Eve’s life has become an obsession to find her daughter’s remains. Only one man—a brilliant, ruthless killer—knows the truth about what happened to Bonnie. But taunting Eve might be his first and last mistake… You think that this is the guy, Eve will finally find out what happened to her daughter! -Becky  To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs. Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?
This book was so good, so much better than the others in the series. The twists and turns were so unexpected it was hard to put the book down. Kaci
 This story is about a 48-year old woman named Alice Howland, a Harvard professor, who one day couldn’t remember her way home. It follows her through the progression of early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and the ways she tries to compensate for her increased dementia. At times she has to laugh at her mistakes, and I laughed right along with her. At other times I could relate to her frustration and anger. Now I know why this book has such high ratings; it is written with a thorough understanding of the physical condition and emotional bewilderment a young woman would experience with this disease. I will offer a book discussion on Still Alice Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 6:30 PM. Please email me at julie.hildebrand@iplks.org if you are interested in checking out a copy of this book and/or attending our book discussion group.
This is the first book by author, Lisa Genova, who graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She has done research on the molecular etiology of depression, Parkinson's disease, drug addiction, and memory loss following stroke. She is a proud and active member of the Dementia Advocacy & Support Network International and DementiaUSA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer’s Association.  Rachel is celebrating her thirtieth birthday with her friends, including her lifelong best friend, Darcy, and Dex, Rachel's handsome friend from law school and Darcy's fiance. One thing leads to another and Rachel ends up in bed with Dex. Suddenly, all of her repressed feelings for him rush to the forefront, and Dex says he feels the same. But thoughts of Darcy nag at Rachel. Perfect, pretty Darcy has always gotten everything she's wanted, as well as things that Rachel wanted, like her admission to her first-choice college. But Rachel and Dex can't deny their attraction, and Rachel wonders if they might possibly have a real future together. This book is pretty comical. It actually leaves you cheering for the cheater! All around, a very decent chick-lit book. Amanda  After taking care of a loose end from Act of Treason, Mitch Rapp looks into the destruction of Iran's secret nuclear weapons facility, in Flynn’s eighth thriller, to feature the counterterrorism agent. Given the absence of any indication of either a U.S. or an Israeli air strike, Rapp takes the opportunity to persuade the U.S. administration to plot an operation to destabilize the fanatical Iranian regime by having an Iranian dissident group claim responsibility for what he suspects was an inside job by an Israeli spy. When the Iranian government sinks one of its own ships and blames the U.S., Rapp and CIA chief Irene Kennedy travel to Iraq to try to defuse the crisis, only to fall victim to an ambush (reminiscent of one in Tom Clancy's A Clear and Present Danger) that results in Kennedy's abduction. Rapp races the clock to rescue his boss before she's tortured into revealing what she knows.
If you’re a Rapp fan, it won’t disappoint.Becky  Sparks returns to characters from The Notebook (1996) and writes about Allie and Noah Calhoun's oldest daughter, Jane, and her husband, Wilson. As their thirtieth anniversary approaches, Wilson realizes that he loves Jane now more than ever and worries that his neglect (he completely forgot their twenty-ninth anniversary) may have finally driven her away. Wilson plans on showing Jane how much he loves her, but then their oldest daughter, Anna, announces that she and her boyfriend are getting married and asks if they can plan a small utilitarian wedding on her parents' anniversary. Jane agrees to share the date and convinces Anna to have a formal wedding; something that Jane missed. Jane is surprised by Wilson's willingness to work and ability to come up with truly miraculous arrangements. This sort of involvement is out of character for Wilson, a workaholic estate attorney in New Bern, North Carolina, but he really is determined to change, and Sparks is at his romantic best in this tender love story about a flawed hero trying to right his wrongs. This book is filled with romance and love. It is about a man trying to save his marriage and has a special twist at the end. One of the best books I have read in a long time!
Amy
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