Library

Blogation & Hours

2008-12-10T21:22:00Z

Hello Everyone! This is just a little note wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season! I will be out of town for awhile, then it is the Christmas and New Year's Holidays. Because of the timing on this, I will most likely not be doing reviews again until the New Year. Let me rephrase, I will be reading and writing the reviews, but probably not posting until after the New Year. Please come back! Just a reminder about the library's hours over the break: Extended Hours for...(read more)

Leonardo's Swans

2008-12-08T14:23:00Z

Leonardo's Swans By: Karen Essex I am a sucker for historical fiction, especially if it's set in England or Italy. (France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Amsterdam all qualify as well, but England and Italy are my favorite!) In Leonardo's Swans the year is 1489 at the beginning of the story: this is the time of the Medici's, Savonarola, Da Vinci and Botticelli. Da Vinci is not the main character in this story, although he is central in the development of the relationship between...(read more)

Thunder Rose

2008-12-05T17:06:00Z

Thunder Rose By: Jerdine Nolen Illustrated By: Kadir Nelson I'll admit, the illustrator of this tale is what intrigued my to look at it in the first place, but then I get a tall-tale of a young girl born during a huge thunder and lightning storm that has more strength than an adult male! When Rose is born she doesn't make a sound, until she responds to the Dr.'s statement about her growing up good and strong saying that she "reckon(s) that she'll do more than that." Keep...(read more)

Stealing Your Life

2008-12-03T19:44:00Z

Stealing Your Life By: Frank W. Abagnale I'll admit one thing right now: I rarely read non-fiction. There, I said it. I realize that as a librarian I should be reading a wide variety of books on a wide variety of topics, but I just don't. I like what I like, and I tend to gravitate towards the books that I think I'll like. So why did I pick up this title? Because I suffer from paranoia (we'll just leave it at that!) and when I glanced at this book about people stealing your life I...(read more)

'Tis the Season

2008-12-01T22:20:00Z

‘Tis the Season By: Lorna Landvik I don't believe I've reviewed a Landvik title for you yet and that is a shame! Lorna is a Minnesota author whose writing is full of humor and honesty that really help to make you feel connected to her characters. She's right up there in the top ranks of my favorite authors to read (yes, they are subject to change). How do I know she's a favorite? Because every time she has a new book coming out I rush out to the bookstore a.s.a.p. to pick it up and...(read more)

Thanksgiving Break & Finals Library Hours

2008-11-26T15:27:00Z

Due to Thanksgiving, the Library's hours will be as follows: Wednesday, November 26 8 am - 5 pm Thursday, November 27 - Saturday, November 29 CLOSED Sunday, November 30 3 pm - 1 am Our extended hours for finals start on Sunday, November 30th. They are as follows: Sunday, November 30 3 pm - 1am Monday, December 1 - Thursday, December 4 8 am - 1 am Friday, December 5 8 am - 8 pm Saturday, December 6 10 am - 8 pm Sunday, December 7 1 pm - 1 am Monday, December 8 - Thursday, December 11 8 am - 1...(read more)

Little Brother

2008-11-26T15:22:00Z

Little Brother By: Cory Doctorow I'll admit it, I have a bit of an issue with paranoia, but I think it has now been magnified 20-fold by reading this book. I am not meaning that as a, "Run for your life!" type statement, rather it's an "I need to learn about all this stuff!" kind of mindset. Many of today's teens are possibly too young to remember what September 11, 2001 was like for those who lived through it. I feel like I lived it vicariously through my tv that...(read more)

Big Fat Little Lit

2008-11-25T14:29:00Z

Big Fat Little Lit Edited By: Art Spiegelman & Francoise Mouly I found this book browsing in a bookstore in Washington (yes, I visit bookstores in other states if I get the chance! Libraries too!). I hadn't heard of them before, but I recognized many of the names of the contributors, so I decided to give it a shot. Art Spiegelman is the author of the famous Maus stories. I would qualify them as graphic novels, but they were out before graphic novels became what they are today. For those unfamiliar...(read more)

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan

2008-11-21T14:40:00Z

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan By: Mary Williams Illustrated By: R. Gregory Christie Brothers in Hope is told to us in a first-person point-of-view. Garang tells us a little bit about his life with his family and his tentativeness over tending the calves before his home village was attacked. Because he was out tending to the animals, he survives. When the attack is over, he went home to find his family. He was the only person in his village, so he started to walk down the road...(read more)

Consumer Help: Sites-of-the-Week

2008-11-19T19:00:00Z

It's that time of year where the holidays are quickly approaching and the panic level of finishing the semester with some semblance of sanity along with holiday shopping, baking, traveling, etc. that goes along with the season is enough to stress out a saint. And then there's the chance you may not be getting the top value for your hard-earned dollars. With that in mind, here's a couple of sites that just might ease some of your holiday angst: Ripoff Report This is a website by consumers...(read more)

The Jewel of Medina

2008-11-17T18:51:00Z

The Jewel of Medina By: Sherry Jones This novel was almost not published. Do you know why? Because of its main character: A'isha Bint Abi Bakr. So what, you say? What does that have to do with being published? This novel is a fictional tale that revolves around the ‘favorite' wife of the prophet Muhammad. If you guessed that the publishers balked at the subject, then you were right. The reason? The publishers were afraid of a terrorist attack by radical Muslims. Word spread, people who had...(read more)

Without Reservations

2008-11-12T20:46:00Z

Without Reservations: the Travels of an Independent Woman By: Alice Steinbach The other day I did something decidedly different for me when I was at the bookstore. I looked in the biography section! You may wonder if I had a fever, but I can assure you I was quite well. I just needed a change from what I usually read. Change can be good for you, you know! So why did I pick this one up instead of the horribly fascinating title, Story Telling (I'll admit it, I'm from the first 90210 generation...(read more)

A Lion Among Men

2008-11-10T16:05:00Z

A Lion Among Men By: Gregory Maguire Any Wizard of Oz fans out there? How about Wicked ? The book or the musical? Wicked was published in 1995, but I didn't discover the beauty of the book until about 2004-ish, but once I picked it up, I was hooked! So here's a little back-story to catch you up: Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she came to be the person she was. We see her grow up and navigate many difficult challenges in her short life, the least of which was being...(read more)

Corduroy

2008-11-07T14:53:00Z

Corduroy By: Don Freeman Illustrated By: Don Freeman Oh the memories! I remember loving this book when I was little, and it still does not disappoint me! Do you remember how as a child you had this secret thought that your stuffed animals and dolls came alive and had parties when you were gone, but they always cleaned up and you could never seem to catch them no matter how hard you tried? No? Alright, maybe it was just me... Anyways, Corduroy is a cute little brown bear in a department store who...(read more)

The Graveyard Book

2008-11-04T15:44:00Z

Well hello strangers! I really didn't forget to post, I've just been too busy! I was going to post this one last Friday for the spookiness factor, but it just didn't happen. My apologies and enjoy! The Graveyard Book By: Neil Gaiman Illustrated By: Dave McKean If you're a fan of Gaiman you're going to love his latest tale. Secrets, betrayals, loyalty, love and ghostly spookiness are all fair game in this one. We start the book with Dave McKean's fantastic illustrations. They're...(read more)