Sunday, May 26, 2013
New Booktalk Booklist - If You Like...The Great Gatsby
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Recipe for Murder
by Esterelle Payany [641.5 Pay]
Estérelle Payany shares recipes inspired by thirty-two fictional scoundrels. Villains range from fairy tale ogres such as the Big Bad Wolf to Dracula to Hannibal Lecter. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from the original story and ends with a recipe suggested by that segment. Some of the recipe selections are obvious. Such as The Big Bad Wolf's choice of pigs in the blanket but Hannibal Lecter does not choose to make liver with fava beans. He opts for a different variety meat. This is entertaining book to read. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Murder on the Menu by Jean Larmoth, Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department
[ official Esterelle Payanty's Twitter Feed in French ]
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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Friday, May 24, 2013
The Reluctant Assassin
by Eoin Colfer [j Colfer]
Now – Seventeen year old Chevie wants to be an FBI agent more than anything. After an incident Chevie is sent to to London to guard a large metal pod. Chevie knows the FBI only sent her so she would be out of the way, so she won't cause anymore problems. After a few months of the most boring assignment the FBI has to offer something starts happening with the pod, something bad. 1898 London – Riley really doesn't want to be an assassin but his master Albert Garrick will kill him if he doesn't do as he's told. Garrick insists he kill their next target. But Riley can't make himself do it. The old man wakes up and Garrick forces Riley's arm into stabbing the man. Then there is a flash of light, and Riley and the man seem to vanish, leaving Garrick in the dust. The Reluctant Assassin is at its essence, a time travel story. That the characters jump from present day London to 1898 London frequently make the story very interesting. Throughout the majority of the book Chevie and Riley are just trying to flee from Garrick, which I felt did get a little old. I do think that younger readers, late elementary school to middle school age, would enjoy it and I believe that is more the target audience. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the Artemis Fowl series, also by Colfer.] -- recommended by Wyatt P. - Gere Branch Library
[ official Eoin Colfer 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
New Booktalk Booklist - In Praise of H2O
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Signs
[DVD Signs]
The tag line to this film talks about space aliens landing on earth trying to take over, and how the population reacts to the potential invasion. Ignore that. It is part of the story but it's just the backdrop for the REAL story – that everything happens for a reason. Rev Graham Hess' wife was killed in a car accident, causing him to lose his faith. The tragedy is told in flashbacks, slowly developing the characters as we learn how he and his grieving family have been falling apart. His brother Merrill, a former minor league ball player known for his power swing, has moved in with the family to try to help. One morning the Hess family awaken to discover giant crop circles in their Pennsylvania corn field. Rev Graham Hess believes it's teens causing havoc until the crop circles begin to appear worldwide. Merrill and the two children are convinced space aliens have arrived. The family begins to board-up windows as they, and the rest of the world, prepare for invasion – but you've yet to actually see anything. No big monster special effects here, just Hitchcock-like suspense such as sounds across the roof, the dog yelping in the night, and unknown someones running through the cornfield at night. Note all the weird things that are occurring throughout the film – the daughter has begun to leave glasses of water all over the house, and during his final conversation with his dying wife, Colleen, she commented, "Tell Merrill to swing away." Watch as all the disconnect comes together in the immensely satisfying end. Don't put this movie on and plan to multi-task while it's running. This is one of the films you have to pay attention to to catch it all. This stars Mel Gibson as Graham Hess, and Joaquin Phoenix as his brother, Merrill. I'll 'fess up right now, I'm not a fan of Mel Gibson and I don't see a film just because Joaquin Phoenix is in it, but the film's story was so engrossing for me that I forgot they were the actors involved. You'll also see the director, M. Night Shyamalan, in a small role as the guilt-ridden veterinarian responsible for the accidental tragedy. This is an excellent, character-driven suspense film and one of my favorites. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]
Have you watched this one, or read the shooting script? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Calculated in Death (on CD)
by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts)
I started the audiobook of this, and felt compelled to end it despite how awful it truly was. The entire premise is a detective, Eve Dallas, solving a corporate crime and a murder by relying on her billionaire boyfriend Roarke (entirely unbelievable- if he truly was a billionaire, why would she still be working on the streets as a detective anyway?!) It reads like a bad episode of Law and Order. I literally found myself fast forwarding through long asides and entirely too long psychological rants about Eve's perceptions of the killer. Maybe the other 40-some books in the series are better, but don't bother on this one. -- recommended by Jeremiah J. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in traditional print and Large Print formats.]
[ official J.D. Robb web site ]
Have you read or listened to 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Monday, May 20, 2013
New Booktalk Booklist - The Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
Did you miss Kristen's March 18, 2013 booktalk at the Gere BooksTalk
group?
Here's your chance to see her recommendations. Kristen presented a talk all about the works of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien, the creator of Middle Earth and the Lord of the Rings saga.
Check out her booklist below, with entries hotlinked to the library
catalog!As an added bonus, Kristen provided us with the PowerPoint slideshow she used during her booktalk, which has additional background info about Tolkien and his life. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
by Rachel Joyce
Probably my absolute favorite read for 2012! Retired businessman Harold Fry, stuck in a life of established routine with his wife Maureen, with whom he barely communicates, finds his world put akilter when he receives a letter from a long-ago co-worker, Queenie Hennessy. Queenie is in a hospice in far northern England, dying, and just wants to say goodbye. Not a man of eloquent words, Harold none-the-less writes a short note to Queenie, puts on a jacket and tells Maureen he's going to drop off a letter at the nearest postbox. Only...when he gets to the neighborhood drop box, he continues on to the next box, and the next box after that. Ultimately, Harold finds himself walking down the road, starting in Southern England and planning to walk all 500 miles to Queenie's bedside, reasoning to himself that Queenie will have to live long enough for him to say goodbye in person. What starts off as a fairly lightweight, quirky novel, quickly builds drama and emotion, as Harold meets a number of colorful characters who help him on his journey. Though the antics of some of the folks who join him on his travels threaten to distract him from his mission, Harold looks deep within himself to find the strength to carry on, and to deal with some of the personal crises in his own life at the same time. A surprisingly weighty and emotional book! [Also enjoyable as an audiobook, read by actor Jim Broadbent.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in downloadable audio and downloadable E-book formats.]
[ official Rachel Joyce 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Land Girls
[DVD Land]
I have really enjoyed this series! Based in England, it tells the story of the women who worked the fields while men were off at war. Although there are some historical errors, it is still an enjoyable look at life in Britain during the War from the viewpoint of women doing their part to serve their country. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Foyle's War on DVD.] -- recommended by Kim J. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ official Land Girls web site from the BBC ]
Have you watched this one, or read the shooting script? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
A Necessary Evil
by Alex Kava
This is book five in the Maggie O'Dell series by Nebraska author Alex Kava (pen name for Sharon Kava), and is a sequel to book one "A Perfect Evil". One doesn't have to have read the first book, or any of the others in between, to enjoy this title. Enough backstory is provided to bring the reader up-to-speed, but I found the story interesting enough to go back to book one to read its origins. FBI profiler, Maggie O'Dell is on the trail of two separate killers. One is leaving the decapitated heads of his victims all over Washington, DC and the other is murdering priests in a ritualistic manner in public locations all across the U.S. O'Dell has few leads when she receives an offer of assistance from a most unlikely source – her prime suspect in book one. The chapters alternate between Maggie and the Omaha police detective who is investigating the murder of a Catholic Monsignor in a men's room at Eppley Airfield in Omaha. She is brought in to provide a profile of the murderer and runs into a former love-interest from "Perfect Evil" who also has a personal interest in the Omaha murder. The man who was the suspect in book one is a sympathetic character and you're torn between understanding his background versus what he's suspected of doing, and it's not clear until near the end if he's a victim or a monster. A satisfying twist awaits you at the end. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[ official Alex Kava 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Friday, May 17, 2013
New Booktalk Booklist - Travel the World From Your Armchair
Thursday, May 16, 2013
New Booktalk Booklist - Karrie and Steph's Awesome Winter Book Talk - 2013
Silver Linings Playbook (the novel)
by Matthew Quick
Silver Linings Playbook follows the life of Pat Peoples after he is released from a psychiatric facility in Baltimore. Pat's wife Nikki has decided that they need some "apart time" so Pat goes back to living with his parents in New Jersey, biding his time until "apart time is over". Pat spends his days running, lifting weights, and watching Eagles games with his father who also seems to have some mental issues. Pat's best friend Ronnie and his wife Veronica attempt to set up Pat with Veronica's sister Tiffany whose husband has just died. Soon after Tiffany starts following Pat as he runs, saying she is scouting him to be her dance partner at a local competition. Pat is obsessed with getting back with his wife so Tiffany says she will deliver her letter if Pat dances with her. The book does differ from the movie as the dance competition isn't the finale. Quick's writing style makes the book a quick read and hard to put down. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Sorta Like a Rock Star or Boy21 also written by Matthew Quick.] -- recommended by Carrie K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in downloadable audio format.]
[ official Matthew Quick / Silver Linings Playbook 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Silver Linings Playbook (on DVD)
[DVD Silver]
After beating up his wife's lover, Pat Solitano (played by Bradley Cooper) is diagnosed with bipolar and is forced to stay at a mental institution in Maryland. After 8 months his mother brings him home to live with her and his father (played by Robert De Niro) who also suffers from a mental disease. Because of a restraining order Pat is not allowed to contact his wife Nikki, but wants to get in shape for when they will get back together. Pat's new life motto is "excelsior" where he looks for the silver linings in life. He spends his days running and reading books that are on Nikki's high school English syllabus. While running one day Pat sees his old friend Ronnie who invites him over for dinner. There he meets Tiffany, (played by Jennifer Lawrence) Ronnie's sister-in-law whose husband has just died. After a disastrous dinner Tiffany asks Pat to walk her home, then over the next few weeks begins to follow Pat when he runs. Since Pat is not allowed to talk to Nikki Tiffany promises to deliver her a letter if Pat will become her dance partner in a local competition. As they train for the competition things become interesting between them. This movie is made up of an all-star cast who deserve every award they were given. There is humor, but not too much, and you learn a lot about OCD and bipolar as the movie goes on. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the book Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.] -- recommended by Carrie K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in traditional print format.]
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Silver Linings Playbook web site ]
Have you watched this one, or read the shooting script? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Happy Never After
by Kathy Hogan Trochek
Callahan Garrity is a former Atlanta cop, a part-time investigator and co-owner of the House Mouse cleaning service. What starts out as a missing person case turns into a murder investigation. Callahan is asked to find the missing member of a 1960s singing group, the VelvetTeens. The group is asked to be in a movie and sing their hit song, Happy Never After. But Vonette and Rita have find Delores, who they haven't heard from in 20 years or the movie deal is off. Things become complicated when the VelvetTeens former manager, Stu Hightower, tells Vonette and Rita that he owns the rights to the group the VelvetTeens and their songs. They ca'?t perform as the VelvetTeens or sing their hits. Rita confronts Stu and threatens him. That night she is found drunk at his house, holding the gun that killed Stu. Rita's defense attorney asks Callahan to do some investigative work. Callahan finds a number of people who despised Stu, including his ex-wife who tried to burn down his house. Callahan uses some creative and amusing techniques to gain access to the gated community where Stu lived and to interview his neighbors. This book is a good read on a lazy afternoon. Trocheck also write romances under the pen name Mary Kay Andrews. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department
[ official Happy Never After page on the official Mary Kay Andrews / Kathy Hogan Trocheck 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Silent Land
by Graham Joyce
Jake and Zoe are skiing in the French Pyrenees when they are buried in an avalanche. After extricating themselves from the snow they discover the hotel and village are apparently evacuated due to further avalanche dangers, and their cell phones aren't functioning probably due to towers being destroyed. They remain at the hotel waiting for rescue as they begin to make interesting discoveries. A love story of life, memories, regrets, and relationships with Twilight Zone overtones. You immediately believe they are dead but the ending is not what I expected. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in downloadable E-book format.]
[ official The Silent Land page on the official Graham Joyce 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Blue Blazes
by Chuck Wendig
The Blue Blazes is the story of Mookie Pearl, a thug and solider for The Organization. The Organization runs all the gangs in New York City, and the cerulean trade. Cerulean allows the user the ability to see the things that come from below New York as they really are, while also giving the user certain... other powers. Mookie just wants to do right by his job. So when the Boss's grandson asks Mookie to find the mythical death's head, the only thing that may save the cancer stricken Boss and stop an all out gang war from erupting, Mookie does as he asks and makes a short trip to the underworld. All while his estranged daughter Nora is trying to make a move to take over the organization and get revenge against Mookie. I would best describe The Blue Blazes as a cross between The Dresden Files and The Godfather with a huge helping of originality thrown in. The writing is dark and at times quite funny, while the descriptions and dialogue are gritty and gothic. I look forward to what I hope becomes a new series. I would recommend Blue Blazes to someone who is looking for a more dark and gritty urban fantasy novel. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.] -- recommended by Wyatt P. - Gere Branch Library
[ official Chuck Wendig 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty
[DVD Zero]
Based on real events, this controversial film follows a CIA Agent named Maya and her quest to find Osama Bin Laden. Driven and confident Maya interrogates Al-Queda members and tracks down leads in an effort to find Bin Laden's exact location. When she believes she finds him she must them convince not only her boss but the CIA that she's right. Jessica Chastain shines as Maya in this epic film. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Zero Dark Thirty: the Shooting Script 791.437 ZerYb, or any of the books about Seal Team Six.] -- recommended by Carrie K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Zero Dark Thirty web site ]
Have you watched this one, or read the shooting script? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Last Course
by Claudia Fleming [641.86 Fle]
Although I enjoyed going through this collection of one of my favorite things – dessert – I think it could have been better, in terms of reaching a broad audience of non-professional cooks/chefs. Only about one-third of the recipes are accompanied by a photo of the finished dish, and many of the recipes are rather complicated or involve multiple parts of preparation. It does make me curious to go to the source restaurant but I'm sure the prices would be a shock even if the fare is as fabulous as it looks and seems. I appreciate that the recipes are divided by content/type of dessert and there are helpful tips on wine pairing, and food/spice characteristics. What bothers me, though, is the amount of "discard" this and that in the instructions. Albeit this was published over ten years ago, 'going green' is not a brand-new concept so it would be nice to get suggestions for what can be done with leftovers, such as egg whites or yolks, either to complement the dish being made or use in another. What I ended up wishing for over all was that someone ELSE would make the desserts that caught my eye and then let me taste-test them! I'll accept a delivery of chocolate caramel tarts or lavender lemon pound cake any time. -- recommended by Becky W.C. - Walt Branch Library
[ official North Fork Table and Inn – Claudia Fleming's restaurant ]
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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
A wife goes missing... the iron is left on, a pot still boiling on the oven. Where did she go? Who did this? What is her husband, now the prime suspect, going to do? The book alternates from the husband's point of view (Nick), and previous journal entries from the missing wife's diary (Amy), leading up to an explosive page turning second half. However (without giving anything away), I didn't think the ending was as satisfying as the rest of the book. Nevertheless, you'll have a hard time putting this one down, as nearly every single chapter ends in a cliff-hanger. Contains offensive language. -- recommended by Jeremiah J. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in downloadable audio, book-on-cd and Large Print formats.]
[ official Gillian Flynn / Gone Girl 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 website. 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. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!
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