King County Library System - Library Talk. - July 2009

'Keep it like it was..."

This is the underlying principle beneath Edward Abbey's best-known work, The Monkey Wrench Gang. This rollicking novel, which was the inspiration for the real-life environmental radicals Earth First!, follows four misfits as they fight to protect the beautiful desert southwest from developers by perpetrating acts of "ecotage" (or "ecoterrorism," depending on who you talk to) such as pulling up survey stakes, trashing bulldozers, and blowing up bridges. Whatever feelings you may have about their strategy or their actions, its hard not to get caught up in the humor and the excitement of this farcical adventure.

The story revolves around four very different characters. Doc Sarvis, the cigar-chomping money man, is a middle-aged Albuquerque surgeon who's given to chainsawing billboards. His beautiful assistant and lover, young Bonnie Abbzug, is an independent-minded hippie that lives in a geodesic dome and accompanies Doc on his nighttime raids. Joseph "Seldom Seen" Smith is a jack-Mormon that smokes, drinks, has three wives, and would like nothing better than to see Glen Canyon Dam blown to smithereens. And George Washington Hayduke, loosely based on Abbey's best friend Doug Peacock, is a misanthropic, foul-mouthed, beer drinking, armed-to-the-teeth Vietnam vet that is happiest when he's blowing something up. The tie that binds these diametrically-opposed characters is their shared love of desert wilderness, their dismay at its destruction, and their overriding need to do something about it. Once they encounter one another on a river rafting trip, they form a partnership that leads them to increasingly bold acts of sabotage, increasingly hostile reactions from their victims, and a gripping final showdown. 

Edward Abbey's writing style is quirky, funny, highly literate yet also full of salty language and low-brow humor. But the defining element in his style is his lyrical, poetic descriptions of the slickrock landscape of the Four Corners region of the U.S. He really loved this part of the world and it shows in this and all of his works. But The Monkey Wrench Gang may not be for everyone. The only female character is a sexpot and minorities are either ignored or disparaged. Furthermore, there is a certain uncomfortable inconsistancy between, on the one hand, Hayduke's need to destroy an earth mover to save the environment while, on the other hand, he gleefully tosses his hundreds of spent beer cans onto the side of the road. And finally there's the whole sabotage thing; while I too have a special love for the redrock country, I am definitely not in agreement with the philosophy or methods articulated in this book, even if "no one gets hurt."

But you know what? None of that prevented me from enjoying the story, which was told with great panache. In fact, I like a work that riles me up a bit because it helps me clarify my own thoughts and feelings. And I have to admit that I ended up rooting for them, despite our philosophical differences, and that's a testament to Edward Abbey's writing style and sense of conviction.

So if you're looking for a rousing story that ruffles some feathers, check out The Monkey Wrench Gang!   

Which of these is not the cookbook of a beloved fictional character?
A. The Nancy Drew Cookbook: Clues to Good Cooking
B. The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Healthy Salad Book
C. Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake!
(answer after the break)

Denis Cooverman is socially-challenged, which is unfortunate since he is also in love with the most popular girl in school. Instead of pining for her from afar, he uses his high school valedictory speech to declare, "I love you, Beth Cooper!"

Debut author Larry Doyle knows from mayhem (he writes for The Simpsons). In I Love You, Beth Cooper the reader follows Denis through graduation night, which turns out to be the best and worst night of his life. It starts when Beth decides to drop by Denis's graduation "party" (two guests: Denis and his sexually-ambiguous best friend, Rich) and ends as most of these stories do, with the boy-least-likely getting the girl-who-know-one-else-understands. In between, a cast of mean girls and enraged boyfriends keep the action moving.

Does all this sound familiar? It is not surprising that I Love You, Beth Cooper is already a summer teen movie. In a season crowded with blockbusters, it will likely sell better on DVD. Doyle is keenly aware of his market. Each chapter begins with a famous quote from a teen film (Say Anything, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sixteen Candles--they're all there) and a cartoon-image of Denis as his night gets stranger and stranger. Rich cleverly peppers the book's dialogue with film quotes, lending to the book's self-aware cache.  

If you are looking for a familiar and fresh love story that will bring back your teen years, I Love You, Beth Cooper is a better choice than its movie-trailers would lead you to believe.   

Maybe you've just attended a Making the Game! workshop at a King County library (or are getting ready for an upcoming workshop), and you can't wait to get more game-making experience. Or maybe you're just thinking about trying your hand at computer programming. You don't have to wait for a class and you don't need any experience to start making games: teach yourself for free online.

Think back to your childhood when you got caught in a lie.  Did you mom say something like, "one lie leads to another," or "if you tell a lie it just gets bigger and bigger."  Unfortunately for Mitch Samuel, he missed out on this pithy advice from his mom, because he lies his way into a hole so deep he almost can't get out of it.

Now, if that was all I knew about Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley, I probably wouldn't want to read it.  I'm really not into liars as a general rule.  I mean, when people ask me the worst movie I've ever seen, I always say True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  It's about a not-very-likeable guy who lies to his wife for years about his identity because he's really a spy.  Or something.  

So when I started Begley's book I was thinking I'd better like this lying character immediately if the author expects me to read more than the first chapter.  To my surprise, I did.

Mitch is an English Comp professor and an aspiring novelist.  In fact, his novel is so long and so serious and so Great-American-Novel-wannabe that no one will publish it.  One night when he stops at the local book store, a famous chick lit novelist is doing a book signing.  Wanting desperately to dismiss what he sees as a lesser form of literature, he discovers he can't condescend to her because a) she's published tons of books, b) her books make people happy, and c) she's a multi-millionaire.

So Mitch decides that he too can write a chick lit novel and on the suggestion of his best friend, signs up for ballroom dance classes to listen in on "real" women's conversations.  Thus, the lies begin.  He makes up a name, learns that he actually likes dancing, and meets the girl of his dreams who also happens to be his best friend's sister.  Soon, he finds that he likes the person that he has become better than the person he was, but he's got to figure out if he's told one too many lies.

Ms Taken Identity is a clever send-up of chick lit novels, and a fun journey of discovery for a guy who finds out that being true to yourself isn't so bad after all.

 

 

A cute new CD for kids!  Secret Agent 23 Skidoo from Happiness Recordings is a fun, family Hip Hop album that everyone will enjoy. "Entertainment and education strike a perfect balance in this story filled party album, making it a pamper shaking good time. Kids of all ages, (even the adult type) have been spotted nodding their heads to its sophisticated musicality." So far, I think this is the best Hip Hop CD for kids that I've heard.  I'm looking forward to more music from Secret Agent 23! 

 

You might also like The Dino 5 from the Baby Loves Hip Hop label. This all star recording features Charli 2na of Jurassic 5, Lady Bug Mecca of Digable Planets, Prince Paul, Scratch from The Roots and narrated by Grammy winning poet Ursula Rucker. Dino 5 is more like an audio book with a sweet story about dinosaurs in between the songs, but the Hip Hop is still good and you will enjoy the songs despite the sappy narration.   

 

Do you like to read, eat, and talk? If so you might like to join a book group at a King County Library or start one of your own. If you go to our webpage www.kcls.org and look under "How to" at the bottom right hand corner of the page, you can then click on "Find a Library" and pick the library closest to your home. Book groups are listed under "Programs".

Book groups are a great way to learn about the newest, hottest titles and also librarians who run them sometimes have extra copies of books just published or about to be published. Besides hearing about the newest books, you will also meet other teens who love to read. In addition we usually provide tasty treats and sometimes giveaway prizes.

Here's the schedule of what we have at the libraries:

Auburn Teen Book Club meets the third Tuesday of every month at 4:30 pm. Each month, the first ten people who sign up to attend receive a free copy courtesy of the Friends of the Auburn Library Here's the next three meeting dates and titles:

• Tuesday, August 18th at 4:30 pm:Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters
• Tuesday, September 22nd at 4:30 pm: The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
• Tuesday, October 20^th at 4:30 pm:Vampire Academyby Richelle Mead

Teens can also find info on the Auburn Library blog: http://blogs.kcls.org/auburn/teens/

Black Diamond's Teen Book Review Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 4pm. Next meeting is August 18.

Fairwood Library's Books and Bites meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7pm. Come join us for snacks and hear about the newest, hottest books coming out. Our next meeting is August 13 at 7pm and we'll be serving pizza. Please call ahead if you plan on coming 425-226-0522.

Or maybe you'd like to start a book group of your own. You could connect with friends and talk about what you're reading. It's pretty simple to do as long as you agree on a time, place, and what everyone is expected to read for the meetings. Here are a couple books we have at the library to give you some ideas and a few websites to help.

Running Book Discussion Groups: A How-To-Do-It Manual by Lauren Zina John
Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens
http://www.readinggroupchoices.com/
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp

My sister and I have decided our next diet will be eating all the diet books that we have bought over the years.  As Teresa says there is plenty of fiber.  But before I pour the low fat sugar free ketchup over 100 Easy Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Minutes!!!!!  I thought I'd read 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet, by registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer.

Her strategies for losing weight are realistic, healthy and not easy!  Hope springs eternal in my chubby cheeks, but there is no quick fix, no miracle pill from a refined rare plant from the hills of Shangri-la. Darn!!

Ms Somers explains why diets don't work.  Actually it doesn't have anything to do with the diet per se; it is sabotage.  And guess who is the saboteur?  That's right me!  Or in your case--you!  The tools of sabotage are bad habits.  The author explains how to identify (or own up to) these diet destroyers and break them.   How many times have you said to yourself, I don't eat much. What you may not notice is, no you don't eat much at one sitting, but you are pretty much sitting and eating many, many times during the day.  Do you believe there are no calories in food taken off your spouse's or child's plates?  Surprise!

There are no recipes in 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet, there are quizzes for self-awareness and suggestions and solutions for breaking the bad and starting the good habits.  One that caught my eye: carry a glass of water in your dominant hand, so it isn't as easy to pick up those chips at the party buffet, or at least it will give you time to think about those chips as you switch your glass to the other hand.  I carefully read chapter six, Excuses, Excuses, Excuses; she took care of all of mine. Ya know what?  I am going to reread 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet and follow her recommendations.  I recommend that you read (and don't eat) this book.

Every summer, Luke and his family spend two weeks at their little cabin by the lake.  It's something he looks forward to every year, and this one is no different.  His excitement builds as they pass the familiar landmarks - the ice cream stand that sells the best flavor (peppermint stick), the decrepit barn, the little factory belching out smoke - until they finally hit the gravel road that takes them to the cabin and the lake. 

Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers is a poignant and bittersweet coming of age tale.  At 13, Luke is still excited to swim, go hiking and hang out on the lake.  But the next year, Luke is starting to see things a little differently; has the cabin always looked so small and run down?  And just when did his parents start getting so annoying?  By the time Luke is 16, he is learning some pretty hard lessons about what it means to grow up.  As his personal life gets more and more complicated, Luke begins to crave the simplicity of his childhood summers when things were easy and fun.  But, as we all know, you can never go back, much as you might like to.  And that, perhaps, is the hardest lesson of all.

Changeling.

"A child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy" ("Changeling." A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Edited by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. King County Library System. 25 July 2009.).

"The apparent changeling could also be a stock, an enchanted piece of wood that would soon appear to grow sick and die" ("Changeling." Wikipedia. 2009. Web.25 Jul 2009.).

"A person or thing (surreptitiously) put in exchange for another; A child secretly substituted for another in infancy; esp. a child (usually stupid or ugly) supposed to have been left by fairies in exchange for one stolen" (Defs. 2, 3. The Oxford English Dictionary. "Changeling." Defs. 2, 3. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed.1991. Print.).

She comes to you, and she's bitter when she comes but she's not real. "You are me," she says, then disappears.

Bee remembers never quite fitting in. Not even Occupational Therapy could teach her how to understand facial expressions. She was the kid who fantasized about eating dirt and lived in the garden. The girl is right; Bee definitely doesn't belong but a changeling? Who's going to believe that? No one. Or at least no one except maybe that weird guy who sits alone at lunch reading books; Haze. And let's face it, he thinks he's an alien so really, how much can he be trusted? Whether Bee likes it or not, something is about to change because this girl, this girl who is Bee, she wants her life back.

The Waters & the Wild by Francesca Lia Block.

Francesca Lia Block fans: place your holds on Pretty Dead, out this October and on order at the King County Library System.

Fierce Heat: On the Zen Room of Master Heng-Chi
Po Chü-i [or Bai Juyi] (772-846)

Everyone rushing like mad to flee the heat--

only this Zen Master never budges from his room.

Could it be that heat doesn't reach a Zen room?

When mind is stilled, the body will be cool.

Po Chü-i [or Bai Juyi]. "Fierce Heat: On the Zen Room of Master Heng-Chi." Translated by Burton Watson. Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online. 2009. Columbia University Press. 24 Jul. 2009. http://www.columbiagrangers.org.

 

Finding the right poem for the right occasion can be daunting -- unless you use the Columbia Grangers World of Poetry database!  Using the advanced search feature, you can search for specific words in a poem or the subject of a poem.  You can also limit your searches to specific schools of poetry, a nationality, a poet's gender, an era, a language, and even a cultural identity such as gay and lesbian poetry.

You can also use this database in a more traditional way to find biographies, criticism and commentary, and history.  You can even listen to performances of poems.

So take a deep breath and cool off with some poetry!

Looking for a spellbinding read? Then by all means check out The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger. You're probably saying to yourself, "Yeah, yeah...I already saw the movie and know how it ends, so what's the point of reading the book?" Ah, here's the catch: the movie is a largely fictionalized story based on the skeletal facts presented as only one facet of a book that features so much more. While the movie The Perfect Storm was certainly well done, the book is every bit as exciting yet also features a great deal more information, insight, and drama...and it's all true. 

The main plot of the movie and the centerpiece of the book are the same: in 1991, three separate storms converge off the coast of New England and create a horrifying maelstrom within which the Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing boat Andrea Gail battles for her life. However, the content of much of the movie is necessarily conjectural. The book, on the other hand, is consciously journalistic in its approach. Sebastian Junger always makes a clear distinction between general facts and what actually occured on the Andrea Gail. He assembles the known facts based on personal interviews with relevant individuals, radio transmissions from the Andrea Gail, and detailed information about Gloucester, the fishing industry, boat design, meteorology, wave dynamics, and human biology as it relates to extreme conditions. The author is always very careful to distinguish between what he knows for sure and that which is ultimately unknowable.

Can I extend Moon Madness for one more week? Yes, I can!

AP Images database is where news photographs live. The latest newsworthy pictures are added to this database each hour, so you can see what is happening all over the world right now.

How can I bring the moon landing in again? They also highlight important events and anniveraries:

They have a really interesting assortment of noteworthy photos!

I just finished Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe by Newbery Award winning author, Susan Patron (Higher Power of Lucky). Patron specializes in children's books about self discovery: quiet books without much plot but with lots of personality. 

"Everything's changing all at once for PK."  PK is the middle child with one older sister and one younger sisiter.  She's "the jam in the sandwhich." Her older sister, Megan, is almost a teenager and now has hormones that make her impossible.  Her younger sister, Rabbit, is overly worried about starting kindergarten.  With a super smart older sister and a super cute younger sister, PK feels like nobody.  That is, until she finds her special gift in the laundry hamper. 

Other books along similar lines include Granny Torrelli Make Soup by Sharon Creech and Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. 

Maynard Gogarty and Jennica Green are both quirky people who are trying to find their places in the world and doing it a bit more slowly than their parents would like.  They meet first on the New York subway, in a short intersection of two travel routes; then, later, they meet again and begin a romance.  This is not a typical romantic novel, however.  The story is told through the accounts of some 35 different characters, all of whom have an opinion about Maynard and Jennica's relationship.  From their family members, to Jennica's oldest friend, to the super in Maynard's building, to the kids on the subway, each new point of view provides a small piece of the story. 

I'll be honest here.  Although I have already suggested Maynard & Jennica to a couple of people, I can't say with any certainty that I liked it.  So why did I suggest it?  Well, I thought it was funny, for one thing.  While Maynard and Jennica are both a little off-beat, some of the other characters are completely over the top.  It's not necessarily a comedy, in that there are some serious situations and issues that make the story more than a lighthearted look at romance.  For me, those issues gave the story some balance.

I also found the format intriguing.  Changing the narrator so frequently felt a bit disjointed at first, but I was able to get into the story and eventually came to enjoy the view from inside so many characters' heads.  So, while I'm not sure I liked it, I'm glad that I read it.  Somehow, that assessment fits this book.  If you are looking for a different point of view on relationships, try Maynard & Jennica by Rudolph Delson.

14-year-old Newton Starker refuses to believe he's cursed.  Like many family members before him, Newton attracts lightning.  His family's long list of rules to avoid getting struck by lightning ("Beware of cumulonimbus clouds." "When thunder roars, run indoors.") didn't manage to save his mother, who died two years ago.  Now Newton has decided to leave his home in Snohomish and enroll in Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  There he'll make new friends, including a truffle-sniffing pig, cook with ground squirrel, and learn why his great-grandmother has survived so long.  But will Newton discover the secret to survival before it's too late?  Filled with funny moments and a few gross recipes, Jolted is an excellent read for fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  Click here to listen to the author read the first page of the book.

Which of these is not the cookbook of a beloved fictional character?

A. The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook
B. The Great Brain's Brain Food Cookbook
C. The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories
D. Mary Poppins in the Kitchen: a Cookery Book with a Story
(answer after the break)

Stanza written by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Jack E. Davis

Are you looking for a creative title to share with your child this summer?  I have just the book for you: Stanza!  Stanza is a mean dog living on the mean streets with his two brothers Dirge and Fresco.  During the day they chase, bite and bother everyone on the street. But at night when his bothersome brothers are asleep, Stanza composes beautiful poetry and worries that his brothers will find out and tease him about it.  One day Stanza sees a contest to compose a jingle for Snappers dog treats with a big cash prize!  Should he try to win? What if his brothers find out?  Stanza thinks it's worth the risk.  With rhyming text, colorful illustrations and a joyful invitation to poetry, Stanza is a winner!  While fun to read it also encourages parents to use the 6 Skills with their children: print motivation, print awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, letter knowledge and phonological awareness.  For more about the 6 Skills click here. 

The 1889 Paris World's Fair with its new Eiffel Tower so stunned the world that the United States immediately decided to outdo them. The leaders of Chicago banded together and the city won the right to host our 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago had a handful of months to construct around 200 new buildings and a surrounding park and populate them with exhibits from around the world. Our nation's pride was on the line, and they hadn't yet selected a site within Chicago to build the expo.

While America's greatest architects were designing the fair's famous "White City", just down the road Dr. H. H. Holmes was creating his own castle-like dream building. Inside he connected gas pipes to a soundproof, windowless room that could be locked from the outside. He filled its huge cellar with a quick lime pit and a furnace that reached 3000 degrees Fahrenheit among other things. He later confessed, "I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing."

Erik Larson's history The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America introduces us to Daniel Burnham, one of the many geniuses who created the World's Fair, and Herman Webster Mudgett, aka Dr. H. H. Holmes, a sociopathic killer roaming the streets of Chicago. Larson writes a fascinating and frightening story surrounding Mudgett, but it's a testament to his research and writing that I was more interested in Burnham and the amazing accomplishments of those who created the fair.

It's a normal day in the Domestic Violence Division of the Dublin Police Department when Detective Cassie Maddox is called to the scene of a murder in the little village of Glenskehy.  First, she wonders why they call her out since she no longer works in the Murder Squad.  Second, what is her old boss from Undercover doing there?  When Cassie arrives at the scene and sees the victim, her life will never be normal again.

If you read my blog posting awhile back on In the Woods, which I'm sure you did, you will remember that I applauded Tana French's debut novel for its complexity of storylines and the multitude of characters that it blends together so successfully.  In that book, Detective Rob Ryan is the narrator.  In French's latest book, The Likeness, his partner Cassie tells the story.

Cassie started her career with the Dublin PD working in undercover as a college girl with the made up personality Lexie Madison.  Several years later, when Cassie is called to the Glenskehy murder scene, she finds a girl who looks exactly like her lying dead of a stab wound and carrying papers identifying her as Lexie Madison.

In an unconventional police tactic, and against her boyfriend Sam's wishes, she retakes Lexie's persona, infiltrates the household where she lives, and attempts to discover who is behind the murder of the dead girl and who the dead girl actually was.  Because Cassie created Lexie, she feels compelled to find the truth and yet she knows nothing of how this mystery girl portrayed Lexie.  As she gets more involved with her rather insulated housemates, the lines between Cassie and the real Lexie, whoever that is, begin to blur.

French has another winner with this novel.  Although there is less of the police procedural and more of the inner psychological drama, it will still appeal to mystery readers and police fiction readers as well as those who like a good character study.

Goong by SoHee Park

Imagine a modern Korea where the traditional monarchy still rules. This is the basis of SoHee Park's manwha (Korean graphic novel), Goong, The Royal Palace. This royal family (like so many others), has seen its share of turmoil. In fact, the current king only ascended the throne because his elder brother died prematurely. His father died not long after. This small fact will change the life of Che-Kyung, a commoner girl who has no idea what's in store for her. Che-Kyung's grandfather knew the current king's father. Their friendship was so strong that, unbeknownst to Che-Kyung, a promise was made. She was betrothed to the Crown Prince. Now, Che-Kyung actually knows the Crown Prince. They go to the same school. But she's never really interacted with him. He's completely out of her sphere, rude, arrogant and maybe even cruel. An illness in the Royal family changes that. Suddenly, the betrothal is revealed and Che-Kyung is expected to marry Prince Shin. She's going to refuse, of course! There's just one tiny problem; her parents are broke, the debt collectors are at the door and she could save them. She just has to marry Shin and become the Crown Princess of Korea.

This series is great fun. Che-Kyung and Shin start out hating each other, but its easy to see that there is some attraction between them. Shin needs a goofy girl like Che-Kyung to lighten him up and she needs someone more serious to straighten her own. Classic romance, right? More like the perfect set-up for the classic love triangle (which I usually hate, but this one works). Before Shin and Che-Kyung even have a chance to see what's between them, Shin's long lost cousin, Prince Yul (who would have been Crown Prince and Che-Kyung's fiancee if his father hadn't died) comes on the scene and messes everything up. To make matters worse, Shin has an old girlfriend who's just not ready to let him go (although she doesn't want to marry him and commit to being Crown Princess).

Yes, this is a soap opera to beat all soap operas. But its entertaining, gorgeously drawn, and full of intriguing politics and history. Their families are a big part of the story too. Shin's grandmother is a highlight of the series. Its still ongoing in Korea and currently only the first 5 volumes are available in the US. More volumes are due this fall, but you can also check out the equally charming live-action TV show, Palace. No guarantees that that the endings will be the same!

Last week I wrote about how to find the front page in the New York Times from the day after the first moonwalk. Here's how to see what people saw on the front pages in other cities through the Newspaper Archives database. Once I'm in the database, I click on the "Browse Available Newspapers" tab and under "Browse by Dates" select "Exact Date" and enter 1967 (I think you mean 1969, ed.), July, 21 (the day after the landing). Then I clicked the "Browse" button to start the search. From the pages and pages of available newspapers, I picked the Centralia, Washington, Daily Chronicle, selected the date listed, and saw what Centralians saw on that day!

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is provocative in the finest sense of that word: it is fascinating, disturbing, and really makes you think. Because of this, much ink has been spilled over this novel (and the subsequent movie, too), and I guess I'm going to spill a little more here. (Better ink than blood, right?) I'll warn you, though, that I'm still trying to make sense of what it all means. Perhaps that's the best testimonial I can give: the book sticks with you long after you've finished it. The novel's unnamed Narrator is a 30-ish, white, male, repressed insomniac that seeks out human warmth by attending support groups for potentially fatal illnesses that, by the way, he doesn't have.

His sense of order is turned upside down by two events. First, his support groups are crashed by beautiful, chain-smoking Marla Singer, who threatens to blow his cover with the real sufferers. Second, he meets Tyler Durden, a charismatic and anarchistic projectionist and waiter. Late one evening, Tyler asks The Narrator to hit him as hard as he can. The Narrator reluctantly consents. A fight ensues, and Fight Club is born. This secret society is attended by young, disaffected, father-deprived males who fight each other (shirtless, shoeless, and one fight at a time, please) in order to find inner freedom. As the author puts it, "You aren't alive anywhere like you're alive at fight club."

Soon, fight clubs spring up all over the country and Tyler Durden becomes a legendary figure among the members and, to The Narrator's chagrin, Marla Singer's lover as well. One morning, The Narrator tells Tyler that you "can build up a tolerance to fighting and maybe I need to move on the something bigger." So Tyler initiates Project Mayhem in order "to blast the world free from history" through terrorist acts of gradually escalating intensity.

Even though Fight Club is a sensational page-turner, I almost immediately got the feeling that I was reading something "important." Everything about this book is top-notch. The writing style is terse, witty and filled with symbolism; the main characters are portrayed with great (and sometimes horrifying) depth; the gritty urban-jungle setting is highly evocative; and the willfully disjointed plot features some jaw-dropping twists. But this book will not be for everyone. For one thing, it is exceedingly graphic in its depiction of violence at its most primal level. Furthermore, the only female character of note, Marla Singer, is a complete mess. Of course, so is everyone else in the book. Still, the inherent maleness of the subject matter may attract more male readers than female readers.

And then there's the question of message: what exactly is the author trying to say here? Does he glorify physical violence or is he really condemning it? Is it a book about masculinity or is it a critique of the sterile orderliness of civilization and a subsequent call for anarchy? Is it a book about the appeal of cults to broken members of society or merely a story about a profoundly fractured individual that starts something that he soon is unable to control? All of the above? None of the above? At this point, I'm not entirely sure. But the beauty of this book is that I am, almost involuntarily, trying to sort it all out.

Check out Fight Club and let me know what you think!

Which of these is not an encyclopedia in the King County Library System?

A. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Automobiles
B. The Subtle Body: an Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy
C. Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies
D. Encyclopedia of Pens: Antique and Collectible Writing Instruments and Their Values
(answer after the break)

I am having a hard time deciding what to call, I Love it When You Talk Retro-- its American history, its etymology, its social studies, and it is a dictionary!You can start at the beginning and read right through or you can dip in and out of the pages. Now you are wondering what is the book about? It's about the American language, specifically -- "verbal artifacts that hang around in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped into the sunset", or "a word or phrase that must be in current use yet have an origin that isn't current." To list a few retro terms: hit the sack; skosh; stump speech; Home James and don't spare the horses; cut and run; taken aback; start from scratch; pleased as Punch--how many do you know and use and how many do you know where or when they began? I Love It When You Talk Retro explains the start of these colorful terms. It is a fun read, I frequently have entertained the people around me when I say "oh that's why we say that", and then of course, I read the passage to them.

Author, Ralph Keyes explains why some words "strike a chord" and stay with us, while other popular at the time sayings just disappear. Retro talk can be punch lines of jokes, advertising slogans, lines from movies, TV shows and radio and even a person's name. It can be a quote from someone famous, mmmm I not famous but I wonder if I can come up with a phrase that will resonate with people and become a part of the American Language--I'll put "my nose to the grindstone." And "that's all she wrote."

Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi

"Women dreamed of trespass all the time." This isn't the first line in Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi's memoir of her childhood growing up in Fez in the 1940s, but it is the line that has stuck with me. Words hold power for Mernissi and she often explores their meaning and function. She likens herself to Scheherazade, the storyteller of the Arabian Nights who wields words to survive. Its a good analogy; Scheherazade is a cultural touchstone who crosses many divides. Like Scheherazade, Mernissi isn't just the teller of her own tale. She writes about the lives of her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Her mother, a central figure in her story, is vibrant and opinionated, bucking the system at every turn and yet confined securely within it. A farm girl whose family harem was more of a mental than physical space, she struggles with the communal living of her urban in-laws. She nags her husband to set up an independent dwelling and urges her daughter to reach for happiness through education and modernity. Her loving husband does his best to walk the fine line between his wife's desires and his family's traditions. Mernissi observes it all from the sidelines, but she brings each parent, auntie and cousin in to clear and vivid focus.

Mernissi's book is one I often turn back to, a book that conquers frontiers and boundaries simply by discussing them frankly and sincerely. She begins her memoir with a grainy picture of a closed door and the chapter "My Harem Frontiers". I find her use of the word frontier interesting. In America, it conjures the unknown, discoveries yet to be made, hardships yet to be faced. But Mernissi's door is closed and for her the word has an entirely different meaning. She writes of hudud, the sacred frontier, a boundary between worlds. It divides men and women, but also cultures and religions. It also separates the powerful and the powerless. With Dreams of Trespass, Mernissi draws back this veil to reveal the common humanity in all of these diverse worlds.

Nancy Stewart is playing a free concert at a library near you this summer!  I love Nancy Stewart and her creative use of music and movement for children.  I often use her recordings and songs in toddler story time at the library.  All ages (but especially toddlers, preschoolers and younger elementary kids) will enjoy these sing along concerts.  Check out her website after you've been to one of our concerts for activities and to listen to more of Nancy's music. 

Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, by Joan Druett.

Two parties are shipwrecked on the same island at the same time and never encounter each other.  One crew bands together and manages to build shelter, find food, and survive until they are rescued two years later. The crew from the other ship quickly splinters apart, allowing several men to die of starvation and others to resort to cannibalism. An implausible seaman's yarn? Implausible, yes, but this is a true story, documented by survivors' journals and other historical records.

The shipwrecks occurred in 1864 on Auckland Island, a desolate spot between Antarctica and New Zealand. The schooner Grafton had sailed from Sydney in search of mineral ore, and the ship Invercauld was en route to South America from Melbourne when they were destroyed by brutal storms. Landing on opposite ends of the island, separated by 20 miles of dense forest and impassible cliffs, and led by captains of opposite temperaments, the two crews experienced vastly different fates.

This book is a riveting survival tale, and a fascinating study of the spectrum of human behavior under dire circumstances. It would also make a great case study for MBA students: never underestimate the power of management to make or break an enterprise!

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George

After the shocking murder of his pregnant wife Helen in With No One as Witness, Lynley sets off to walk his native Cornish coast.  Sleeping rough and barely keeping himself alive he finds the body of a young man at the base of a cliff in the incoming surf.  Although he has resigned from Scotland Yard, he is swept up in the investigation of the death of Santo Kerne, which is quickly shown to be murder.  With a wide cast of characters (including Barbara Havers, Lynley's old associate) and suspects (including Santo's parents and sister) Elizabeth George explores Lynley's tortured soul and his decision each day whether to continue living.  Through the investigation surprising and disturbing facts about almost every character's life is revealed.  Ultimately the book is an exploration of the power of revenge, retribution and redemption. 

Summertime is a great time for chatting around campfires or picnic tables with friends and family.  When I was a kid we'd often go running for the ol' 1968 Encyclopedia Britannica at home to settle an argument or learn more about something brought up during those talks.  Now most folks run to the computer or fire up their iPhone to check Google or Wikipedia.  Google will bring you hundreds of thousands of results, and the information on Wikipedia might not be correct.  So what do you do?  Go back to Britannica!

The Britannica Online Reference Center is a wonderful KCLS database with all of the well-researched information contained in the multi-volume encyclopedia on our shelves.  Additional Research Tools such as timelines, video, and a world data analyst expand on traditional services.  A Britannica Blog keeps highlights articles relevant to today's news.

Make sure to also check out Britannica Online for Kids!

 

I'm really excited about the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. NASA has a nice tribute online, and of course there are lots of books and videos at your library! But here's a neat trick to bring the excitement of the moment back from history: Find the front page from the New York Times from the day it happened. In this case, I'm looking for the front page from July 21, 1969, the day after the landing, when all the news stories were printed. I start at the New York Times Historical Backfile database, then type the date in the box that says "What Happened On." It will bring back a list of articles from that paper, in order by headline. Pick any article, clicking on "page map." You'll see the whole page that article was on, and there will be a drop down menu at the top where you can select any page. I'm going straight to the front page! Here's what I saw:

One of the big film adaptations coming out this summer is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling. It isn't out until July 15, so you still have time if you want to read the books first.

Turning a great book into a great film seems to be a lot harder than it sounds. There are so many examples of amazing stories that get lost in translation to film. Great plot elements are left out, interesting and strange characters develop a Hollywood sheen of perfection, and they just don't carry the same feeling that the book was able to bring.

Or, sometimes, they get it right - not right as in just like the book, but right in the sense that a filmmaker is able to create something new and interesting using the story or concepts from a book. I'm thinking The Fellowship of the Ring, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Into the Wild, Touching the Void, Persepolis....I could go on and on, but I want to hear what others think, so leave a comment with your favorite (or least favorite) movies adapted from books. 

If you really want to get into books made into movies take a look at these books:
The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film by John C. Tibbetts.
Adaptations: From Short Story To Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films by Stephanie Harrison. 

Which one of these books is really unbelievable?

A. Unbelievable: How I Turned Compulsive Lying Into a Career in Fiction
B. Unbelievable: Investigations Into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory
C. Unbelievable: the Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.
(answer after the break)

Dead Witch Walking, by Kim Harrison

Twenty years ago genetically altered tomotoes created an epidemic which almost wiped out the human race.  During the resulting chaos several supernatural species frightened humans by revealing themselves in order to hold society together; since then humans and Inderlanders have developed an uneasy truce as they learn to live with each other.

Rachel Morgan is a witch and an Inderland Security Runner, a bounty hunter charged with bringing in rogue werewolves, Brimstone drug dealers, and tax-evading leprechauns, to name a few.  Disgusted that her superiors are giving her increasingly mundane and petty cases, she decides to leave the I.S. and start her own runner service. Unfortunately, nobody who's left the I.S. has lived more than a few days, especially when they take two of the best agents with them.  Now Rachel must rely on her own spelling talents and the unique abilities of her new partners, a living vampire afraid of losing her soul and an annoying pixie who hates fairies, in order to stay alive and discover who wants her dead.

Harrison has created a rich and wonderful world in modern Cincinnati after the Turn, as the killer tomato era is called, and populated it with well thought out magical species, complete with legal systems, hidden agendas, and human-seeming foibles.  This is the first in a series packed with adventure, mystery, love, friendship, and smart aleck fun.

Which would you rather be--the smart one or the pretty one?  For Ava Nickerson and her sister, Lauren, that choice has already been made.  Ava is the smart one, a successful lawyer who lives near her parents and always does the responsible thing.  Lauren is the pretty one; she's younger, more outgoing, and lives on the other side of the country.  When a family emergency and her own lack of financial responsibility bring her back home, Lauren is subjected to Ava's lectures even as she tries out the role of the "good" daughter.  In retaliation, she looks up the boy to whom her parents betrothed Ava--in jest, of course--when they were children.

The Smart One and the Pretty One, by Claire LaZebnik, doesn't wallow, but it does look at the ways in which our families determine how we see ourselves.  Lauren was encouraged to rely on her good looks by a father who, with no malice intended, clearly implied that she would never get anywhere by using her brain.  Ava was rewarded for being bright by people who communicated their contempt for any attempt at outward beauty.  In opposition, each one helped to define the other.  Sisters don't always recognize personal boundaries, though, and that is where the fun comes in.  For Ava and Lauren, who have each other's happiness at heart even when they are nagging, the entry of childhood fiancé Russell provides a way for each of the sisters to leave behind a bit of their old selves.

If you have ever envied, picked on, been embarrassed by, loved, stood up for, or been furious at your sister, you might find something familiar in The Smart One and the Pretty One.

LaVyrle Spencer was and is a very popular romance author.  Her stories are about ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, no alpha males dragging the heroine across his saddle and racing off into the sunset.  No heroine has gone into a jungle and brought back evidence of a lost civilization.  No, many of her heroes and heroines tough it out in small towns and difficult circumstances. Morning Glory takes place just before, during and after World War II in a small town in Georgia.

Elly Dinsmore was a young pregnant widow with two small boys when she advertised for a husband to help her take care of her run-down farm. Will Parker was a convicted felon--he murdered a prostitute. Both were lonely outcasts, she because of her upbringing by her fanatical grandparents and he was an orphan who drifted all over the States until he went to prison. 

The townsfolk, the ones who made fun of Elly and called her crazy and the town's "naughty lady" are not caricatures, but fully rounded sad people.  My favorite character in Morning Glory is Miss Beasley the librarian, she helps Will find information about bees and apples and birthin' babies.  She starts out as a stereotypical librarian and the reader sees her become a good friend to Will and Elly, just what librarians are supposed to be, thank you Miz Spencer.

Above all, Morning Glory is about friendship, trust and love.  Elly and Will both come out of their shells, and overcome some very big obstacles; for Will it is going off to war and for Elly conquering her shyness and fear of the townspeople.  This story is my favorite LaVryle Spencer novel.  I love how the two bring her farm back to life and in a way Will and Elly come to life too.  If you enjoy a down home romance with some funny and sad moments, (some scary ones too), you will like Morning Glory.

 

                                         In A Map of the Known World, Cora's older brother Nate was killed in a car accident, and her grieving family is falling apart. The teachers and students at Nate's old high school take pity on her and she is losing her best friend to the popular crowd. But art class is her escape. Cora has a passion is for making maps -- maps of places she's been and where she wants to go. Her parents don't approve of Cora hanging out with Damian. He was her brother's best friend, and was riding with him during the accident. But Damian seems sincere, so Cora continues to see him behind her parents' back. Her art teacher encourages her to apply for an art program in London and life appears to be improving. As their romance blossoms, Cora learns of a sensitive side of her brother she didn't know existed.

Being in The Woodinville Library Men's Book Club has led to some interesting discoveries for me. While we read a wide variety of material, we tend to come back to mysteries every three or four months. As a result, I'm starting to become far more familiar with a genre with which I previously had little experience or appreciation. I used to think that mysteries were more or less the same: someone gets murdered and someone else that's really smart figures out "who done it." Because that is more or less true, I've thought of mysteries as being highly formulaic and therefore predictable. What I was missing was a recognition and appreciation of what makes all of these mysteries distinctive: style. After all, thousands of sonatas have been written by thousands of composers over the centuries, but they're all unique works because of their individualized approach to the same basic formula...in a word, their style. Same goes for mysteries.

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant is a story of art and passion in 15th century Italy.

Florence under the Medici family was a city rich in art, culture and luxury. Alessandra grew up in this world of beauty and affluence, but at fifteen, she had never had the freedom to enjoy it. As the daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant, her purity had to be under close guard until she was safely wed. That meant being cloistered in her family's palazzo, and never going anywhere without a chaperone. But finding a husband for tall, awkward, and outspoken Alessandra was a challenge. In a world where women were taught to be hostesses and homemakers, her intelligence and gift for drawing made her freakish and undesirable. When her father brings home a young artist to decorate their chapel walls, Alessandra becomes entranced by his talent, and intrigued by his quiet intensity.

Soon enough her parents have married her off to a much older man, but the freedom that she expects as a married woman is cut short by the rise of the fundamentalist monk Savonarola. Florence becomes a city full of fear and hellfire, where no one is safe, even from their own secrets, and Alessandra must decide whether to risk exploring her own passions, both of the spirit and of the flesh...

This is a vibrant choice for those who enjoy art and historical fiction along the lines of Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Meet The Author!
Sarah Dunant will read from her new book, Sacred Hearts, at the Bellevue Regional Library on Tuesday, July 21 at 7pm.

Are you moving to a different country, or maybe just dreaming of taking a job in an exotic place? There's a great resource for you, the International Relocation Center. It's put together with the serious mover in mind-- not just the pluses of a country, but also the minuses and the things you need to know that only someone who has lived there would know. What bugs do you need to spray for if you live in the Cayman Islands? Will you need to buy a school uniform for your child in Thailand? There are even guides to getting settled in the bigger cities in the US.

Which of these is not a story of America's Oldest?

A. The Last Fish Tale: the Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town
B. Caring from the Heart: Healing Bodies and Souls in America's Oldest Working Hospital
C. Union Oyster House Cookbook: Recipes and History from America's Oldest Restaurant
D. The Abbey of Gethsemani: Place of Peace and Paradox: 150 Years in the Life of America's Oldest Trappist Monastery

(answer after the break)

Some memoirs have the ability to move you, to shake your comfort level and to make you appreciate your situation.Infidel did all of this for me. I remember hearing about this book a few years ago, and a friend recently lent it to me. I thank her for opening my eyes to a world that still exists today, outside of my line of vision.

In Somalia, under Islamic law, women can be viewed as inferior to men. Without a man's protection, a woman's honor, virtue and reputation are at stake. Ali's own grandmother used to warn her that "a woman alone is like a piece of sheep fat in the sun."

Ali's father was part of the resistance against Siad Barre's corrupt government.  He kept his family moving around Arab world in efforts to keep them safe. Ali spent her childhood attending schools in Saudi Arabia and Kenya to avoid the civil war in their homeland of Somalia. Education was strict, and adhered to Muslim ideals. Ali was an obedient daughter, a dedicated student, and yet, had an incredibly arduous childhood.

Her mother subjected her to constant physical and verbal abuse. Her traditional grandmother arranged for female circumcision to be performed her granddaughters. While studying the Quran with a private tutor, Ali was beat so badly that she required hospitalization.

Then Ali discovered books. Books that described freedom of choice. Books that told of romantic love affairs. Books that exemplified Western ideas about women's rights. Questioning her family and faith, Ali took control of her life and fled to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage to a distant cousin.

Ali took refugee status in Holland, and began working at battered women's shelters as a Somali interpreter. She was shocked to see the humane treatment of women in Europe, and amazed at the government's attitude to help its citizens, rather than oppress them.

Discovering her passion for human rights, Ali denounced her faith, and began work in the Dutch political scene for the Labor Party. She rose to a position of power as a member of Dutch Parliament, and achieved notoriety for her work for women's rights under Islamic law.

Her daily life took a drastic turn when her colleague, Theo Van Gogh, was brutally murdered for his work on a film depicting Muslim women's oppression. Threats on her life increased, and Ali was forced to go underground, and was surrounded by bodyguards. Angry letters poured in from Muslims who were outraged at the perceived betrayal of their faith.

Ali has gained international recognition for her dedication to women's rights. She authored a proclamation for women's rights under Islam in her book, The Caged Virgin.

Puppies, Dogs and Blue Northers: Reflections on Being Raised By A Pack of Sled Dogs by Gary Paulsen.  Paintings by Ruth Wright Paulsen. 

Many of you who have read Gary Paulsen's autobiographically based books will be familiar with Cookie, his lead dog for a complete Iditarod and mother to legions of legendary pups.  In a fast-paced read we discover how close Cookie and Gary were and follow the birth, growth and development of Cookie's last litter and her (and Gary's) reluctant retirement from dog sledding.  Gary didn't have much faith in the potential of this last litter, but it turned out to be Cookie's best.  Great leaders were borne from it but first they had to go through difficult puppy phase.  Graphic descriptions of what it's like to raise a little of puppies entertain (and sometimes startle) the reader.  In one of the most memorable scenes from the book Gary introduces the pups to the house, and they invade it like Huns.  Before reading this book I had no idea how different raising sled dogs was from raising a regular house puppy.  After just a glimpse of what is involved, I know I could never do it!  Poignant, touching and funny barely begin to describe the range of emotions offered in this Big Read featured book. 

I've always been a fan of series fiction.  If you have read many of my earlier posts, you'll know that I like novels that have a good amount of action, some kind of puzzle, and a happy ending.  I also like to get to know the characters, and that can be hard to do when they're busy figuring out whodunit.  A series lets you see the characters develop over several books, providing ample opportunity to explore their relationships.  One of my favorite series, the In Death novels by J.D. Robb, has all of these attributes, plus the bonus of being set in New York City in the not-too-distant future.

I recently finished Salvation in Death, in which Lieutenant Eve Dallas investigates the poisoning of a priest who may not be exactly what he appears.  The religious theme provides an interesting look at the recurring characters, including non-religious Eve; Detective Delia Peabody, who was raised in a "free-age" community; and Eve's husband Roarke, who, while not a practicing Catholic, grew up in Ireland where the culture and religion were intertwined.  The differences come into play right from the beginning, as Eve sees the church where the murder took place as just another crime scene, while Peabody struggles with her discomfort over what feels to her like trespassing in a holy place.  In a lighter example, Eve relies on Roarke, who made most of his millions in shady deals before meeting Eve, as her expert on Catholicism, resulting in some highly comic scenes.

Though the books are written by romance queen Nora Roberts and do have some spicy parts, particularly between Eve and Roarke, they are mysteries foremost.  They don't have to be read in order, but if you are interested in the characters and their relationships, that's the way to go.  The first book is Naked in Death.  Many of the titles are available in audio, and narrator Susan Ericksen is wonderful. I usually opt for the downloads from OverDrive or the pre-loaded players, so that I can listen anywhere.  With 32 In Death titles and counting, you might know these characters better than your co-workers by the time you finish them all!