The Lure of the Limerick

The Lure of the Limerick: An Uninhibited History
by William S. Baring-Gould [820.08 Bar]

Baring-Gould makes a point, early in this book, that the Limerick is a literary form that appeals mainly to men, and that most anyone who is a fan of this poetical form has probably memorized at least one Limerick from their past. That is definitely the case with me -- I was first introduced to this art form in junior high school, and still remember one particular Limerick, from (of all places) an Isaac Asimov poetry collection! The Limerick is a very controversial form of poetry -- not only for the strictness of its format, but also for the frequently scatological and/or sexual nature of limericks' subject matter. Baring-Gould's volume, originally published decades ago, makes for fascinating reading. Accompanied by classical, titilating illustrations, some may find the content of this objectionable, but those wishing to take a good look at the origins and development of limericks over the course of English literature, this is a great read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

There was a young lad name of Bob
Who carried his watch on a fob
I haven't got time
To make this all rhyme
Or I'll never get back to my job! - sc 5/2011


[ Wikipedia page on William S. Baring-Gould ] | [ Wikipedia page on Limericks ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Remembering William Kloefkorn

Remembering William Kloefkorn, a photo by BookGuide at LCL on Flickr.

Nebraska State Poet, and longtime friend of the Lincoln City Libraries, William "Bill" Kloefkorn, passed away on May 19, 2011.

A professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University for many years, in addition to teaching and mentoring positions at other schools, Kloefkorn has been a literary institution in Nebraska, and was named State Poet in 1982.

For a detailed report on Kloefkorn's life and letters, visit the following story on the local Lincoln Journal Star website: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_bbf17247-5f2f-5334-876b-a8d8f2f311fa.html

Kloefkorn's passing marks the second recent death of a Nebraska Wesleyan faculty member with ties to the local literary community. Journal Star columnist Leon Satterfield, one of Kloefkorn's colleagues at NWU, died April 12th. He is remembered in the following story on the Journal Star site: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_a232c09f-eda3-5ae3-bfc3-5811134f8ef6.html

Say No to Murder

Say No to Murder
by Nancy Pickard

As a child Nancy Pickard was an avid Nancy Drew fan. She wrote in an essay, "it is surely no coincidence that my own detective, Jenny Cain, has a name that matches Nancy's syllable for syllable, and that she's slim, blond and blue-eyed too." Reading Say No to Murder was like turning back the clock to my childhood days when I eagerly devoured every Nancy Drew book that I could find. Jenny is resourceful and courageous just as Nancy was. Jenny Cain is head of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, which funds worthy community projects such as the restoration of the town's old decrepit wharf. It will be christened Liberty Harbor and will house shops, restaurants and a museum honoring its seafaring past. Someone is sabotaging the project and Jenny is determined to find out who is responsible. Nancy Pickard has created an engaging, witty character that uses her intelligence and common sense to find the culprit. Just as Nancy Drew did. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the works of Margaret Maron, Cleo Coyle and Ellery Adams.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[Also available in unabridged audiotape format.]

[ The Jenny Cain series on the official Nancy Pickard web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu [Compact Disc Yu]

I really wanted to like this book (which I happened to listen to in book-on-CD form). I'd read quite nice reviews of it on various online sites, and have always been a fan of time-travel stories, so I was looking forward to giving it a sample. Yu, using himself as a narrative hero, creates an interesting time paradox, but I ended up finding the the non-stop internal monologue to become a bit tiring. The style of Yu's writing ranges from the humorous satire of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, to more serious scifi fare. The supporting characters -- Tammy the time machine's operating system, Phil -- the manager who doesn't realize he's a computer program -- and Ed, the dog who doesn't exist...but still does -- are all intriguing, and at times, I felt on the verge of buying into the whole tale. But then it gets mired in too much introspection and lost me again. I think some SF fans will enjoy this, for its component parts, so I'll recommend it for the casual genre fan. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in downloadable E-book formats.]

[ publisher's official Charles Yu web page ]

Have you listened to or read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflections

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflections
by Carol Burnett [Compact Disc Biography Burnett]

Although not her first autobiographical offering, this is a good overview of her life and career for those who love her work and those who may not know much about her. And I can't imagine anyone BUT Carol Burnett narrating her own memoirs. From the young girl who was raised primarily by her grandmother to the renowned comedienne/actress/variety performer, she is an American icon and American success story, whose luck and talent has been tempered by tragedy. Oddly, although she mentions her middle husband, Joe Hamilton, who was the father of her children and the producer of the venerated "Carol Burnett Show", she doesn't really talk about him much. All in all, it's a good and not overly long 'listen'. There is a small amount of adult language, and Carol becomes quite emotional on the chapters about the deaths of a young fan and her own daughter, Carrie. -- recommended by Becky W.C. - Walt Branch Library

[Also available in downloadable audio, print, downloadable E-book and Large Print formats.]

[ Wikipedia page for Carol Burnett ]

Have you listened to or read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (on DVD)

For Whom the Bell Tolls
based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway [DVD For]

It's 1937 and the Spanish Civil is raging. Robert Jordan (Gary Cooper), an American demolitions expert, is assigned to an antifascist guerilla unit that is planning to blow up a bridge to stop Franco's troops from advancing. Jordan is living in a cave high in the Guadarrama Mountains with a group of gypsy loyalists waiting for the right moment to demolish the bridge that spans a deep gorge. During the three days that this tiny band of resistance fighters wait for the right moment to blow up the bridge we watch Jordan falls in love with Maria (Ingrid Bergman), a young woman who was raped by some of Franco's soldiers. We become acquainted with the other members of this motley assortment of freedom fighters. Pablo (Akim Tamiroff) was once the brave leader of this group. Now he is cowardly and appears to be willing to sell out to the opposition for the right price. Pilar (Katina Paxinou) has taken Pablo?s place as the idealistic leader. This is a gripping movie that shows the brutality of war through Robert Jordan's eyes. For Whom the Bell Tolls was based on a novel of the same name by Ernest Hemmingway. Hemingway used his experiences as a war correspondent in Spain during the Spanish civil war as the basis for this bestselling novel. The movie was equally successful It was the top box office hit in 1943. For Whom the Bell Tolls was nominated for nine academy awards. Only Katina Paxinou won an Oscar. And it for best supporting actress. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[Also available in a variety of print and audio formats.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

Have you seen this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Death in Zanzibar

Death in Zanzibar
by M.M. Kaye

M. M. Kaye was so enamored with Zanzibar that she set two books on that island paradise. The first book, Trade Wind, is a historical novel that tells the story of Rory Frost, a slave trader and pirate. The second book, Death in Zanzibar, features Tyson Frost, the grandson of Rory. Rory Frost hid a cache of gold and left clues to its location in a document that he sent to his solicitors in Market-Lyndon, England with instructions that it not be released until 70 years after his death. Tyson asks his stepdaughter, Dany Ashton, to bring him the document when she flies to Zanzibar from London to visit he and her mother, Lorraine. Dany gets the document from Mr. Honeywood. Shortly, after she leaves office, the elderly solicitor is murdered. Then Dany's hotel room is ransacked and her passport is stolen and a gun is planted in her dresser drawer. Dany turns to a man who she has just met who is also going to visit her mother and stepfather. Dany adamantly tells Lash Holden that she will fly to Zanzibar, the island of her dreams, passport or no passport. At Lash's suggestion, Dany assumes the role of Lash's secretary, Aida Kitchell and travels with him to Zanzibar. There more trouble awaits Dany when someone attempts to frame her for another murder. M. M. Kaye was married to a British Army officer, who, in her words, "was posted to many novel and entertaining places". She kept a journal about each exotic locale. Kaye said that when she was ready to write this romantic suspense novel all she had to do was "hunt up my Zanzibar notebook, and there it all was. An exact description of everything I could possibly need, down to the advertisement painted on looking-glass in the Mombassa Airport, and the millipede crawling across the floor of the tiny, makeshift one on Pemba." Even though this book was written fifty ago, it stands the test of time fairly well. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try books by Mary Stewart, Georgette Heyer and Victoria Holt.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ M.M. Kaye on Wikipedia ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Glee: The Complete First Season

Glee: The Complete First Season
[DVD Glee]

This show is worth every award its won. It has a fantastic cast, excellent storylines and awesome soundtracks. The whole series is about a Glee club at a high school in Ohio. They're the underdogs at the school, and always getting slushies thrown in their faces. The story follows the formation of the Glee club and its ups and downs as well as its members ups and downs. What's so great about the writing is that each character is different and has their own quirks, and each musical number is unique. Every new episode brings more drama and more comedy. It's not a musical where they just break out into song at every chance -- the music usually takes place during practice. It's a fantastic series written about high school kids with real life problems

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Glee web site from the Fox network ]

Have you seen this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.