Navigating early - Clare Vanderpool

Navigating early - Vanderpool, Clare

Summary: "Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters"-- Provided by publisher.


Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* When Jack Baker's mother dies, his father deposits him in the Morton Hill Academy for Boys in Maine, far from the only home he has ever known—Kansas. Alone and lonely, Jack befriends Early Auden, a strange, legendary boy who understands all manner of unknowable things, from the necessity of listening to Billie Holiday on rainy days to the secrets embedded in patterns of jelly beans. Most important, Early believes the unwinding digits in the calculation of pi hold a connection to his revered older brother, lost in the war. Jack and Early set out on a mysterious journey, following Pi's story, tracking a great black bear along the Appalachian Trail, and searching for reconciliation neither knows he seeks. Along the way, they encounter a collection of characters, all of them wound up in Early's eerily prescient Pi yarn. Newbery Medal–winning author Vanderpool's sharp, honest narrative, sparkling with the stars of the night sky, pieces together an elaborate, layered plot with precision, weaving multiple threads into a careful, tidy conclusion perfectly suited for those, like Jack and Early, who want to believe. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Vanderpool took home the big Newbery prize for Moon Over Manifest (2010), making this publication—which includes a national author tour—a publishing event. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Lovestar - Andri Snæ Magnason

Lovestar - Magnason, Andri Snæ

Summary: In a device-free world dominated by wave-transmitted consumerism where people are controlled by technological trends, blissfully happy young lovers Indridi and Sigrid are declared to have a scientifically invalid relationship and are forced to go to extreme lengths to prove their love. - (Baker & Taylor)


Publishers Weekly Reviews
In this outlandish yet poignant dystopian allegory, Magnason (Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation) imagines a post-technological world in which the relationship between people and information is turned on its head. "Cordless" citizens are freed from gadgets and wires while REGRET, something like a retroactive Magic 8 Ball if envisioned by Vonnegut, renders every choice the right one. Louts hoping to pay down debt become "ad howlers," "AdTraps," and "Secret Hosts"—human bullhorns spouting targeted advertisements or post-purchase praise ("YOU WERE UNBELIEVABLY COOL TO BUY SUCH GROOVY SHOES!") to pedestrians. At funerals run by LoveDeath, bodies are launched into space and mourners watch their loved ones "burn up under the heavenly plough" upon re-entry. At the helm of this carefully monitored and controlled society is LoveStar, a God-like old man with three hours left to live and a mission to "free people from the oppression of freedom." Then there's Indridi and Sigrid, who want to stick together despite inLOVE's calculation of Sigrid as better matched with a Danish man. Orwell, Vonnegut, and Douglas Adams are felt on every page, though Magnason is never derivative. His satire and insightful social commentary sweeten the pot and the sheer wackiness of Magnason's oversized imagination is invigorating. (Nov.)

Check Availability

Paper moon (DVD)

Paper moon (DVD)

Summary: A smooth-talking con man and a nine-year-old orphan are up to tricks in depression-era Kansas. Also includes a prologue by Peter Bogdanovich in which he shares insights about being a director and goes behind the scenes of Paper Moon.


Review
A sweet and subtle gem of a movie. Newly orphaned Addie (Tatum O'Neal) falls into the care of small-time con artist Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal, Tatum's real-life father) and turns out to be better at grifting than he is. Set in Depression-era Kansas, Paper Moon is a miracle of unity. The set design and cinematography combine to give both the flavor of documentary photos and the visual quality of movies from the period, and every performance meshes with the overall tone of sincerity, earnest optimism, and creeping desperation. The rapport between Addie and Moses is phenomenal--and being father and daughter doesn't make that a sure thing. Ryan O'Neal gives a truly great performance (perhaps the only one of his career) and Tatum won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (she's the youngest winner in history). Madeline Kahn was also nominated for her wonderfully funny and sad turn as an exotic dancer named Trixie Delight. Paper Moon has a miraculous combination of outrageous sentimentality and pragmatic cynicism; the result is genuinely touching. One of director Peter Bogdanovich's best films, and kind of a comic companion piece to The Last Picture Show. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Check Availability

The big New York book of dogs

The big New York book of dogs - Forward by Malcolm Gladwell

Summary: A collection of anecdotes, essays, fiction pieces, and illustrations-- all about dogs, and all from the pages of New Yorker magazine. From Charles Addams to E.B. White, this book is a gift to dog lovers everywhere.


Booklist Reviews
The title says it all. It's from the New Yorker! It's about dogs! It has a foreward by hot author Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, 2008)! And, of course, it has wonderful cartoons! This marvelous collection of essays, stories, short humor pieces, drawings, poems—and cartoons—could not have come from any other source but the New Yorker. What other publication has enough good stuff in the vaults to begin each section ("Good Dogs," "Bad Dogs," "Top Dogs," and "Underdogs") with a piece by James Thurber? Also included are such tidbits as a Roald Dahl story about an attempted fiddle at a greyhound race; Susan Orlean on Rin Tin Tin; Ogden Nash's ode "For a Good Dog"; a piece on dog whisperer Cesar Millan by Gladwell; an Arthur Miller coming-of-age story involving sex and a puppy; and Anne Sexton's poem on having to love her beloved's old dog. Scattered throughout are doggy magazine covers, artwork, photographs, and the iconic cartoons. A must-have. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Homeland - Cory Doctorow

Homeland - Doctorow, Cory

Summary: When Marcus, once called M1k3y, receives a thumbdrive containing evidence of corporate and governmental treachery, his job, fame, family, and well-being, as well as his reform-minded employer's election campaign, are all endangered.


Staff Comments:  I always walk away from a Cory Doctorow novel feeling a little smarter and a lot more paranoid.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Marcus is back in this sequel to the crossover thriller Little Brother (2008). While attending the Burning Man festival, Marcus receives a USB drive from a hacker, Masha, with more than 800,000 incriminating government documents, and she advises Marcus to publish the material if anything happens to her. Meanwhile, a contact at the festival recommends Marcus to California Senate Independent candidate Joe Noss as a webmaster, and he has his first real job, but can he fulfill his promise to Masha and keep his new position? Doctorow sends readers into a world of Darknet secret websites, Occupy protests, kidnapping and interrogation, and hacking. The narrative is threaded with geek teen culture, economic problems, election strategy, corporate greed, government conspiracies, and privacy issues, and technology nerds will eat this for breakfast with a cup of really good coffee—Marcus says cold-pressed is the only way to go. Libraries are going to want to "pwn" multiple copies to meet demand, and hope that readers take up the activism call to use their "skillz" for good. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Doctorow's international following is already lining up for this long-awaited sequel. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Going clear - Lawrence Wright

Going clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the prison of belief - Wright, Lawrence

Summary: "Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with both current and former Scientologists--both famous and less well known--and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative skills to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology: its origins in the imagination of science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard; its struggles to find acceptance as a legitimate (and legally acknowledged) religion; its vast, secret campaign to infiltrate the U.S. government; its vindictive treatment of critics; its phenomenal wealth; and its dramatic efforts to grow and prevail after the death of Hubbard"--From publisher description.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Immersed in this book, the reader is drawn along by tantalizing revelations while simultaneously exhausted, longing for escape from its cloistered world—mirroring the accounts of many former Scientologists on the record, here. In efficient, unemotional prose, Wright begins with the biography of founder L. Ron Hubbard: his days as a prodigiously prolific writer of pulp fiction, his odd military career, the publication of his breakthrough self-help book Dianetics (1950), and the influence, riches, and controversy that have followed since he founded the Church of Scientology in 1954. For those aware of Scientology through its celebrity adherents (Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the best known) rather than its works, the sheer scope of the church's influence and activities will prove jaw-dropping. Wright paints a picture of organizational chaos and a leader, David Miscavige, who rules by violence and intimidation; of file-gathering paranoia and vengefulness toward apostates and critics; of victories over perceived enemies, including the U.S. government, won through persuasion, ruthless litigation, and dirty tricks. Even more shocking may be the portrayal of the Sea Org, a cadre of true believers whose members sign contracts for a billion years of service, and toil in conditions of indentured servitude, punished mercilessly for inadvertent psychic offenses. Their treatment is a far cry from the coddling afforded to the much-courted celebrities. (Wright does point out that, for whatever reason, most Sea Org members remain in service voluntarily.) Page after page of damaging testimony, often from formerly high-ranking officers, is footnoted with blanket denials from the church and other parties (e.g., "The church categorically denies all charges of Miscavige's abuse" and "Cruise, through his attorney, denies that he ever retreated from his commitment to Scientology"). Readers will have to decide whether to believe the Pulitzer-winning author's carefully sourced reporting, or the church's rebuttals. But, quoting Paul Haggis, the Academy Award–winning film director and former Scientologist whom Wright first profiled in the New Yorker: "if only a fraction of these accusations are true, we are talking about serious, indefensible human and civil rights violations." Going Clear offers a fascinating look behind the curtain of an organization whose ambition and influence are often at odds with its secretive ways. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The publisher's announced first printing of 150,000 seems right on the money. Wright will be promoting the book on a seven-city tour, but its reputation precedes him. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Heads in beds - Jacob Tomsky

Heads in beds: a reckless memoir of hotels, hustles, and so-called hospitality - Tomsky, Jacob

Summary: "A humorous memoir by a veteran hospitality employee that reveals what goes on behind the scenes of the hotel business. Includes tips on how to get the most out of your hotel stay"-- Provided by publisher.


Booklist Reviews
Comparisons to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential (2000) are inevitable but not entirely accurate. Yes, both Tomsky and Bourdain purport to expose the underbelly of service industries with which most readers are familiar, hotels and restaurants. But where Bourdain is all rock 'n' roll, egotistical bluster, Tomsky is surprisingly earnest and sympathetic; there are, after all, no television programs called Top Desk Clerk. He wants your respect, not your adulation. Sure, he tosses off a few requisite f-bombs, instructs readers on how to steal from hotel minibars, and name-drops Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, more so because he seems to feel the genre demands it. Indeed, it would be easy to pen a book about crazy hotel guests. But this memoir succeeds, instead, in humanizing the people who park our cars, clean our hotel rooms, and carry our luggage. You will never not tip housekeeping or your bellhop again. Tomsky fell into hotel work and proved to be rather good at it; the same can be said for his writing. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The news from Spain - Joan Wickersham

The news from Spain: seven variations on a love story - Wickersham, Joan

Summary: A collection of stories that explores the power of love and the impossibility of controlling or understanding it features characters from various times and regions, from Mozart's eighteenth-century collaboration with librettist Da Ponte to a 1940s love triangle. - (Baker & Taylor)

Booklist Reviews
The impish recurrence of a phrase, the news from Spain, links these seven stories, appearing in them in widely varying ways. It is a reminder of their deeper cohesion. Though they jump from eighteenth-century Prague to New York in the 1940s and feature a race-car driver, a teenaged girl, and a middle-aged bride, they make a similar point: love is flawed, uneven, and impossible to pin down. There is love in all forms here—a child for a parent, a wife for a cheating husband or a lover, an aide for his charge—but it never runs smoothly. Wickersham asserts, through a character, that love stories are dreams and invention . . . guesswork. By presenting the blind enthusiasm of a crush and later its disillusionment, the sad realization of loving more or less than a partner, and the distorting pull of differing needs and obligations in a relationship, she demonstrates how biased and baseless narratives of love can be. Characters tell themselves stories of passion or betrayal, and readers see the reality of their frail, imperfect emotional faculties. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Elsewhere - Richard Russo

Elsewhere - Russo, Richard

Summary: This work is the author's memoir of his life, his parents, and the upstate New York town they all struggled variously to escape. Anyone familiar with the author's fiction will recognize Gloversville, New York, once famous for producing that eponymous product and anything else made of leather. This is where the author grew up, the only son of an aspirant mother and a good-time, second-fiddle father who were born into this close-knit community. But by the time of his childhood in the 1950s, prosperity was inexorably being replaced by poverty and illness (often tannery-related), everyone barely scraping by under a very low horizon. A world elsewhere was the dream his mother instilled in Rick, and strived for herself, and their subsequent adventures and tribulations, recounted here, only to prove lifelong, as would Gloversville's fearsome grasp on them both.

Booklist Reviews
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Russo brings the same clear-eyed humanism that marks his fiction to this by turns funny and moving portrait of his high-strung mother and her never-ending quest to escape the provincial confines of their hometown of Gloversville, New York. All of her life, she clung to the notion that she was an independent woman, despite the fact that she couldn't drive, lived upstairs from her parents, and readily accepted their money to keep her household afloat. She finally escaped her deteriorating hometown, which went bust when the local tannery shut down, by moving to Arizona with her 18-year-old son when he left for college and following him across the country right up until her death. His comical litany of her long list of anxieties, from the smell of cooking oil to her fruitless quest for the perfect apartment, is a testament to his forbearance but also to his ability to make her such a vivid presence in these pages. Part of what makes this such a profound tribute to her is precisely because he sees her so clearly, flaws and all. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Prizewinning author Richard Russo's many fans will be lining up for his first nonfiction work, which has generated considerable prepublication buzz. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Charles Mingus/Various Artists - Hal Willner presents weird nightmare (CD)

Charles Mingus/Various Artists - Hal Willner presents weird nightmare (CD)

Summary: On this installment of Hal Willner's series of tribute albums, Willner assembled a house band for his guests (including Keith Richards, Chuck D, Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell, Vernon Reid, Charlie Watts, Gary Lucas, Leonard Cohen, and Henry Rollins) to sit in with. Weird Nightmares - Meditations on Mingus is predictably uneven and wildly entertaining; it is a fitting tribute to the genius of Charles Mingus.
-- All-Music Guide

Check Availability

LCD Soundsystem - This is happening (CD)

LCD Soundsystem - This is happening (CD)

Summary: 2010 release, the third album proper from James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem, follows 2007's warmly received 'Sounds Of Silver'. Musically inspired by late 1970's David Bowie, This Is Happening also has artwork that directly references Bowie's classic 1979 album Lodger. The record retains Murphy's idiosyncratic sense of humour and includes the single 'Drunk Girls'. EMI.

Check Availability

Death of a red heroine - Qui Xiaolong

Death of a red heroine - Xiaolong, Qui

Summary: Inspector Chen must battle the political climate of Shanghai and seek the help of a former lover in order to solve the murder of a National Model Worker who was a celebrity of utmost probity. - (Baker & Taylor)


Booklist Reviews
/*Starred Review*/ The discovery of the body of a beautiful young woman in a canal 20 miles from Shanghai interrupts the housewarming party of Chief Inspector Chen Cao, one of the lucky few to obtain an apartment in the congested city. Cao is a food lover and a poetry lover (he has published a translation of T. S. Eliot, and he is reminded of bits of Chinese poetry even when investigating homicides). Cao is also the head of the Shanghai Police Bureau's Special Cases Squad, Homicide Division. Cao discovers that the victim was a National Model Worker, a role model used for propaganda purposes and recruitment by the Communist Party. The case is politically sensitive, and Cao is urged to do the impossible: solve the case without probing too deeply into the victim's personal life, the details of which may be embarrassing to the Party. The double bind facing the detective is the perfect backdrop for an extended exploration of the conflicts rooted in contemporary China. Xiaolong provides wonderful details of social polarization through his discussions of food, dress, housing. Cao himself is a complex, believable blend of someone devoted both to the flesh and to poetry, a sort of Chinese Maigret. Xiaolong, a Chinese poet and literary critic, is adept at threading social commentary of China in the 1990s with his detective's movements through social strata in search of the killer. Fascinating for what it reveals about China as well as what it reveals about a complex man in this setting. Xiaolong's first mystery may be the most impressive debut of the year. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews

Check Availability

Serve it forth - M.F.K. Fisher

Serve it forth - Fisher, M.F.K.


Summary: Essays and anecdotes on the subject of gastronomy and culinary history discuss the abuses of the potato, the furtive enjoyment of "secret eatings," and the culinary customs of ancient Greece, the Roman empire, and medieval Europe. Reissue. - (Baker & Taylor)


Library Journal Reviews
A trade paperback reprint of the first book in the noted food writer's ``Art of Eating'' series, this originally appeared in 1937 and has long been out of print. In it Fisher gracefully ``serves up'' musings, anecdotes, history, reminiscences on (as she says) ``eating and about what to eat and about people who eat.'' Also available from North Point are Consider the Oyster and How To Cook a Wolf; due this fall are An Alphabet for Gourmets and The Gastronomical Me. -- MR Copyright 1989 Cahners Business Information.

Check Availability

The female brain - Brizendine

The female brain - Brizendine, Louanne

Summary: The founder of the first clinic in the country to study and treat women's brain functions provides a comprehensive look at the way women's minds work, combining two decades of research and real-life stories.


Choice Reviews
Brizendine (Univ. of California at San Francisco) uses the neuroanatomical and physiological development of the female brain from the prenatal period through adulthood as a framework for her thesis that women's unique brain structures, functions, and chemistry create a biological imperative. The author employs anecdotes from her practice as a neuropsychiatrist and concepts such as the "mommy brain," "high-octane estrogen," and "neurological love circuits" to illustrate her theory that female-typical responses and behaviors originate in uniquely female brain structures and brain wiring. Such a singular focus on biological inevitability contrasts with the approach of scholars of gender, such as Ann Fausto Sterling, who acknowledge the developmental effects upon behavior that might result from human interaction and environmental influences. Brizendine's writing style is lively and accessible. She simplifies complex biological and neurological concepts, and her material is unencumbered by in-text citations, although extensive references are included in a separate section. Readers predisposed to views about innate differences between women and men will find much to support their beliefs in this book. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. Copyright 2006 American Library Association.

Check Availability

The Sriracha cookbook - Randy Clemens

The Sriracha cookbook: 50 "Rooster Sauce" recipes that pack a punch - Clemens, Randy

Summary: "Food writer and trained chef Randy Clemens presents 50 palate-expanding recipes that make the most of Sriracha's savory punch, such as: Spicy Ceviche, Honey-Sriracha Glazed Buffalo Wings, Bacon-Sriracha Cornbread, the Ultimate Sriracha Burger, Peach-Sriracha Sorbet, and more. Named Bon Appétit's Ingredient of the Year for 2010, the piquant pureé of chili peppers is one of the few kitchen standbys adored by adventurous cooks of all stripes-from star chefs to college freshmen-who appreciate its vibrant, versatile balance of ketchup-like sweetness, garlicky pungency, and just the right amount of spice..."--P. 4 of cover.

Library Journal Reviews
This slim volume of 50 recipes is the first from Clemens, a freelance food writer and chef in Los Angeles. Referred to fondly as "rooster sauce" by the converted, Sriracha is still unknown to some, but the iconic version produced by Huy Fong Foods, with its green cap offsetting the red jalapeño-based condiment, has been showing up on tables in restaurants across the country. The well-written recipes for sides, snacks, main courses, desserts, and drinks include helpful tips for substitutions and variations. While a few are almost too simple, there are several standouts, including Honey-Sriracha Glazed Buffalo Wings, Veggie Sriracha Frittata, Sesame-Sriracha Crusted Ahi Tuna, and Peach-Sriracha Sorbet. Clemens includes a recipe for a homemade version of Sriracha. VERDICT This book is rare—a niche product has been worked successfully into a variety of creative yet practical dishes. It may need promotion, but it's worth purchasing, especially in large, urban libraries.—Rosemarie Lewis, Georgetown Cty.

Check Availability

Find and keep - Beci Orpin

Find and keep [26 projects to spark you imagination] - Orpin, Beci

Summary: A stunning craft book filled with unique and fresh ideas and bright, beautiful photography. Sick of all those dowdy, generic craft books? Be inspired with Beci Orpin’s beautiful new book, Find & Keep, with projects that are original, creative, and fresh! People of all ages will appreciate Orpin’s unique taste, and this book features all of her favorite things, from wall murals, such as life-size paper Christmas trees, to embroideries and herb gardens and picnic fare. You will be inspired by the twenty-five bright, fun, and colorful projects, with easy to follow step-by-step instructions and tips for perfecting your craft. Discover where Orpin gets her inspiration from and follow her in her studio, at home, and out and about as she gathers ideas for her projects, which then learn and you can do yourself. Covering a wide range of mediums, from cushions to teacups to T-shirts, both established and aspiring crafters will find something to love and create in Find & Keep. So get inspired, get creative, and go find, make, and keep! - (Random House, Inc.)

Check Availability

This is how you lose her - Junot Diaz

This is how you lose her - Diaz, Junot

Summary: Presents a collection of stories that explores the heartbreak and radiance of love as it is shaped by passion, betrayal, and the echoes of intimacy.



Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Díaz continues to keep company with his alter ego, Yunior, a Dominican turned New Jerseyan, in his second short story collection. Drown (1996), his first, introduced Yunior and established Díaz as a writer of promise. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), won the Pulitzer Prize and galvanized a world of new readers. Díaz's standout fiction remains pinpoint, sinuous, gutsy, and imaginative. Yunior kicks things off by stating, "I'm not a bad guy." The women in his life would caustically disagree. We see Yunior as a boy new to America and his long-absent father's temper, a teenager and college student forever infatuated and forever cheating, and a lonely adult confronted by aggressive racism. Each taut tale of unrequited and betrayed love and family crises is electric with passionate observations and off-the-charts emotional and social intelligence. Díaz's involving, diverse characters include Yunior's combative brother Rafa, Magda the coldhearted, Nilda the young man-magnet, and a sexy older woman. Fast paced, unflinching, complexly funny, street-talking tough, perfectly made, and deeply sensitive, Díaz's gripping stories unveil lives shadowed by prejudice and poverty and bereft of reliable love and trust. These are precarious, unappreciated, precious lives in which intimacy is a lost art, masculinity a parody, and kindness, reason, and hope struggle to survive like seedlings in a war zone. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Díaz, as compelling in person as on the page, will connect with his large and loyal readership via a national author tour, extensive media interviews, and a social media campaign. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford (DVD)

The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford (DVD)

Summary: Everyone in 1880s America knows Jesse James. He's the nation's most notorious criminal and is being hunted by the law in 10 states. He's also the land's greatest hero, lauded as a Robin Hood by the public. No one knows of Robert Ford, at least not yet. But the ambitious 19-year-old aims to change that. He befriends Jesse and rides with his gang. And if that doesn't bring Ford fame, he will have to find a deadlier way. Friendship becomes rivalry and the quest for fame becomes obsession.

Staff Review
This film has been the most persistent and poignant imagery and story telling that I have encountered since Talk to Her and Happy Together. This film is haunting, beautiful, and oddly timeless. Character worship is the basic plot, and this love and obsession eventually leads to the death of a legend. That mythology and hype is elevated and revered today to an unhealthy level. I am drawn to this relationship of adorer and adored. Brad Pitt exudes a charisma that is undeniable and Casey Affleck refutes it with his quivery nervous dialogue that evokes an appreciation of his cleverness and embarrassment of his transparent intentions of grandiose delusions. Film and painting implicitly put the viewer in a voyeuristic role. There is typically a distance between viewer and what is viewed. Perhaps fueled by long pauses that emulate real time (this is a long film) or the awkwardness of Pitt and Affleck’s interactions, this film engaged me more than other films.
There is a stillness and attention to composition that reminds me of a couple phenomenal painters:
Andrew Wyeth  and Michael Borremans.  The palette is similar with these painters and this film. This film is going to make me trade my brushes for lenses.

Check Availability

Juliette of the herbs (DVD)

Juliette of the herbs (DVD)

Summary: A portrait of the life and work of Juliette de Bairacli Levy: herbalist, healer, breeder of Afghan hounds, author, and pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.



Staff Comments: "Herbalist, healer, teacher and author, this is the uplifting story of the life of a remarkable woman."

Check Availability

Insane city - Dave Barry

Insane city - Barry, Dave

Summary: Astonished by his imminent marriage to a woman he believed out of his league, Seth flies to their destination wedding in Florida only to be swept up in a maelstrom of violence involving rioters, Russian gangsters, angry strippers, and a desperate python.


Booklist Reviews
Seth Weinstein, trudging along in an aimless career as a Twitter marketer, knows he is outmatched by his fiancée, Tina, who is rich, brilliant, and driven by serious causes. But amazingly, she has agreed to marry him. So they are off to Florida for their fabulous wedding, paid for by Tina's rich and powerful father, who doesn't quite approve of Seth. And Seth does not fail to disappoint as he and his Groom Posse become entangled with a stripper, her angry boyfriend, a desperate Haitian refugee and her children, and a cast of others in the hectic two days leading up to his wedding. When he should be preparing for the wedding, he's off on rescue missions and avoiding police in a car chase. Can Seth pull himself together in his grand misadventure of wildly competing desires and obligations to do the right thing and still make it to the altar? Pulitzer Prize–winning humorist Barry's latest offers a wild romp through south Florida. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

A splash of red - Jennifer Bryant

A splash of red: the life and art of Horace Pippin - Bryant, Jennifer

Summary: Presents an illustrated introduction to the life and work of artist Horace Pippin, describing his childhood love for drawing and the World War I injury that challenged his career.



Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Born in Pennsylvania in 1888, Horace Pippin loved to draw and paint as a child. When he was in eighth grade, his father left the family. Horace quit school and worked to support them. Later wounded as a soldier in WWI, he never regained full use of his right arm. Back home, Pippin began painting again, using his left arm to guide his right. Painting subjects drawn mainly from observation, memory, family stories, and the Bible, this self-taught African American artist was eventually discovered by the art community. Major museums display his works, and their locations are indicated on the U.S. map on the back endpapers, along with small reproductions of six paintings. In a well-structured narrative with recurring themes and a highly accessible style, Bryant writes short sentences full of memorable details, from Pippin's first box of colored pencils to the scavenged house paints he used to paint his wartime memories. Combining drawings and printed elements with watercolor and gouache paints, Sweet's mixed-media illustrations have a refreshing, down-home style and a brilliance all their own. The artwork incorporates large-print quotes, giving Pippin a voice here as well. Outstanding. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Quiet - Susan Cain

Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking - Cain, Susan

Summary: This book demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in modern culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples of how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations. At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society, from van Gogh's sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer. Filled with indelible stories of real people, this book shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie's birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, the author charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the differences between extroverts and introverts. She introduces us to successful introverts, from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert." This book has the ability to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.

Booklist Reviews
It's hard to believe, in this world of social media and reality TV, that one-third to one-half of Americans are introverts. Yet being an introvert has become a social stigma. The rise of what the author dubs the Extrovert Ideal (in which the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight) began with Dale Carnegie and his wildly popular self-help books. Simultaneously, we saw the rise of the movie star and of personality-driven ads and the appearance of the inferiority complex, developed by psychologist Alfred Adler. Today, pitchmen like Tony Robbins sell the idea of extroversion as the key to greatness. But—and this is key to the author's thesis—personal space and privacy are absolutely vital to creativity and invention, as is freedom from peer pressure. Cain also explores the fundamental differences in psychology and physiology between extroverts and introverts, showing how being an introvert or an extrovert is really a biological imperative. No slick self-help book, this is an intelligent and often surprising look at what makes us who we are. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

You learn by living - Eleanor Roosevelt

You learn by living - Roosevelt, Eleanor

Summary: One of the most beloved figures of the twentieth century, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt remains a role model for a life well lived. At the age of seventy-six, Roosevelt penned this simple guide to living a fuller life. You Learn by Living is a powerful volume of enduring commonsense ideas and heartfelt values. Offering her own philosophy on living, Eleanor takes readers on a path to compassion, confidence, maturity, civic stewardship, and more.

Check Availability

The marketplace of revolution - T.H. Breen

The marketplace of revolution: how consumer politics shaped American independence - Breen, T.H.

Summary: Citing evidence from museum collections, colonial wills, newspaper advertisements, and archaeological sites, argues that the increasing availability of British consumer goods into the colonies help set off the American Revolution. - (Baker & Taylor)

Booklist Reviews
What was the role of "ordinary" people in preparing the path to independence between 1763 and 1775? In examining the role of the masses, in what was truly a mass movement, some historians have focused on groups with a penchant for dramatic, even violent action, such as the Sons of Liberty. History professor Breen has chosen to emphasize the less spectacular but probably more important role of common economic action. Despite the vast cultural and economic differences between the colonial regions, most colonists were participants in an emerging consumer society based upon use of British manufactured goods. This was, in essence, an open market, in which goods, services, and ideas flowed freely. American participation in this imperial market created economic and even emotional bonds between colonists that transcended regional and religious differences. So when the time for resistance arrived, these bonds provided a network for communication and organized protest, including the startlingly effective use of boycotts of goods produced in Britain. This interesting work offers an original perspective and some provocative conclusions. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability