New BooksTalk Booklist: Lisa's Cooking, Food & Foodies BooksTalk - 2/12/2021

Under the Lincoln City Libraries' current COVID-19 safety processes, the Bethany and Gere Branch BooksTalk series have returned in a modified format for the time being -- they are currently being held as Library BooksTalks on Zoom, using the Zoom online meeting software. [ Click here for a schedule of upcoming online BooksTalks, and the information for logging in to take part! ]

We try to make available printable and searchable copies of the lists of books discussed at these talks -- depending on whether the individual presenters provided a list for sharing.

Lisa V., one of the reading specialists at the Eiseley Branch Library, was the presenter on Zoom on February 12, 2021. She had a theme of Cooking, Food & Foodies.

You can see a list of the materials Lisa discussed at:

Lisa's Cooking, Food & Foodies BooksTalk

An audio recording of Lisa's talk was saved, and has now been shared as part of the libraries' audio podcasting series. You can listen to Lisa's talk at the following link:

Audio Podcast of this BooksTalk

Interested in being added to an e-mail list for notifications about future In-Person or Online Book Talks? Visit our E-mail Groups Sign-Up page to sign up!

Book Review: I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels

I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story
by Anthony Daniels (Biography Daniels)

“I was hooked. Forget it was sci-fi. Forget Luke and Han and Vader. Threepio was the one for me !”

In this quote from his new book, I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story, actor Anthony Daniels is not just speaking for himself. Legions of fans of the lovable, fish-out-of-water droid feel exactly the same.

Daniels tells the story of how he was cast and, with help from a dedicated crew and movie magic, brought the hapless humanoid to life. His style is warm and engaging, while still maintaining a wry British sense of the absurdity of it all. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book, and found myself going back to re-read particularly funny or fascinating passages.

C-3PO and the other inhabitants of George Lucas’ universe are so much a part of the fabric of popular culture, it’s hard to imagine anything new we could learn about them. Yet, I found myself wondering, along with Daniels. if the young director was even going to be able to complete the film. That’s the mark of a great memoir — you know the ending, but the author’s experience shows you how easily, at every turn, things could have ended very, very differently. Daniels does offer insight and analysis of the movie-making process he has gained with time. But, we feel the fear, doubt, trepidation and joy right along with him as the cast, crew and technicians struggle to bring the young director’s vision to the screen.

This book is perfect for the casual Star Wars fan as well as those who put the fan in “fanatic”. Even readers who know little or nothing about the film series (are there any of those readers?) would get a lot out of it. Just following Daniels’ trajectory from stage actor to the seasoned movie performer he became is compelling. I know that I’ll never watch Star Wars: A New Hope or any movie where Anthony Daniels plays his shiny alter-ego the same way again after reading “the inside story”…

[ publisher’s official I Am C-3PO web page ] | [ official Anthony Daniels web site ]

Recommended by Lisa V.
Eiseley Branch Library

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 reviewer’s recommendations!

New Booklist on BookGuide: Introduction to Parenting

I know I can’t have been the only parent of a newborn who found themselves wondering why the nurses had forgotten to send home the instruction manual with the baby.

I have learned, as most parents do, that such a manual does not exist. That doesn’t mean, though, that there aren’t books to read and listen to that can help make child-rearing seem less mystifying. I had some favorites back in my “new mom” days, and I’ve seen some newer titles that I would consider giving as gifts to new parents today.

This list features some of the tried-and-true titles that are still popular and highly thought of among inexperienced and expert parents alike. I’ve also added some more recent titles that are getting great feedback from today’s baby caregivers.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the issues that come with child rearing, and that’s why it’s good to sample the ideas of more than one author on the subject. By trying some of the classics, and some of the cutting-edge offerings on this list (and beyond), it’s possible to cobble together your own, personal “instruction manual”. This may just save you the headache of searching for the one they always forget to send along when you bring baby home!

— Lisa V. | Loren Corey Eiseley Branch Library | May 2020

Check out Lisa's list of recommended materials at the following link on BookGuide: 

 

Introduction to Parenting

New Booktalk Booklist - A Tub of Tomes 2010

On March 19, 2010 at the Bethany Branch library, Lisa V. presented a booktalk on the theme of A Tub of Tomes 2010 (featuring a mixture of both fiction and non-fiction titles) to the regular Books Talk group that meets weekly at that neighborhood library.

A Tub of Tomes for 2010
Bethany Branch Books Talk, March 19, 2010
Lisa V.

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
by Susan Wise Bauer [028.8 qBau]

Bauer offers advice on strategies and skills of reading for adults wishing to give themselves a classical liberal arts education. Introductory chapters discuss the act of reading itself, describing ways to transform oneself into a skilled and dedicated reader. The latter half of the text is dedicated to describes strategies to gain the most of novels, autobiographies, histories, drama, and poetry through critical reading.

The Bricklayer
by Noah Boyd

The FBI recruits Steve Vail, an agent it has just fired, to solve a brilliant and deadly extortion plot where a group called Rubaco Pentad is killing human targets one by one unless the bureau gives them cash, with the dollar amount and body count escalating each time the agency doesn't pay up.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, must exonerate her father of murder. Armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together and examine new suspects, she begins a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself.

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
by Mark Harris [791.43 Har]

Harris explores the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967-Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Doolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde-and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood, and America, forever.

The Savage Garden
by Mark Mills

A remarkable novel set in the Tuscan hills: the story of two murders, four hundred years apart-and the ties that bind them together. Adam Banting, a somewhat aimless young scholar at Cambridge University, is called to his professor's office one afternoon and assigned a special summer project: to write a scholarly monograph about a famous garden built in the 1500s. Delving into his subject, Adam begins to suspect that his summer project might be a setup. Is he really just the naive student, stumbling upon clues, or is the villa's ownder using him to discover for herself the true meaning of the villa's murderous past?

The Beautiful Cigar Girl -- Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder
by Daniel Stashower [364.152 Sta]

This book tells the sensational real-life story of the 1841 murder of Mary Rogers, New York City's "beautiful cigar girl"--along with the real-life story of how Edgar Allen Poe transformed the crime into the short story that would invent modern detective fiction and that he hoped would turn his failing career around.

Three Bags Full
by Leonie Swann

A witty philosophical murder mystery with a charming twist: the crack detectives are sheep determined to discover who killed their beloved shepherd. On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, the members of the flock gather around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. Led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world), they set out to find George's killer.

New Booktalk Booklist - Truth Be Told

On April 26th, 2010 at the Gere Branch, Lisa V. presented a booktalk on the theme of Truth be Told: Some Non-Fiction Favorites to the regular Books Talk group that meets weekly at that location.

Click the link above to connect to the libraries' BookGuide site to see a booklist of this booktalk, with detailed descriptions of the 10 books she discussed, and with hotlinks into the libraries' online catalog for all those titles, which are available through the Lincoln City Libraries system.

New Readalikes list -- The Flavia de Luce mysteries

If you're a fan of the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley, you're not alone!

This popular new series, which began in 2009 with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, features a most original new sleuth -- 11-year-old Flavia de Luce, who is fascinated with chemistry, and in particular poisons. The books feature a 1950s British setting, and an unusual narrative voice.

We've had so many requests for similar titles that Lisa V., from the Eiseley Branch, put together this list of series readalikes for the Flavia books:

If You Like...the Flavia de Luce series

Check out some of those titles! And don't forget, you can subscribe to receive the electronic booklist newsletter Lisa V's Book Crave, one of the newsletters available via the libraries new Books, Movies & More service online!

Provenance

Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
by Laney Salisbury [364.163 Sal]

When art collectors and dealers pay the big, big bucks for artwork, they also expect to get the provenance of the piece they are buying. Detailing the history of a painting or sculpture, the provenance tells not just who created it, but where it's been, and who has owned it. But what if the provenance itself is a fake, and the painting they're so proudly displaying is the work of a talented forger? That's the situation in which many art buyers found themselves during the decade-long art scam perpetrated by Britain's John Myatt and Dr. John Drewe, the central figures in this fascinating book. Myatt is the talented, but commercially unsuccessful, painter who creates "new" works by well-known modern artists, while Drewe (no doctor at all) creates the documents and paper trail designed to make them salable. They should have been caught again and again, but Drewe uses his considerable charm and complete lack of ethics to convince his willing scam victims that everything is on the up-and-up. Though they were eventually nabbed by Scotland Yard investigators, Drewe and Myatt were able to continually dupe art scholars and dealers who should have seen through them immediatley, but often had their own reasons not to look too closely. This book will keep you turning pages, with its view behind the scenes at some of England's finest museums and galleries, and glimpse into the mind of an undeniably intelligent, but completely unscrupulous confidence man and the people, both unwitting and complicit, who helped him pull off one of the greatest art scams in history. -- recommended by Lisa V. - Eiseley Branch Library

[ official Provenance page on the official Laney Salisbury 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.

Strange Things Happen

Strange things Happen: A Life With the Police, Polo and Pygmies
by Stewart Copeland [Music 781.66 Cop]

Most people think of Stewart Copeland, when they think of him, as the former drummer for the Police, but his life is full of many other experiences and identities. Copeland grew up living in the Middle East, as the son of a CIA agent. He begins his story in the present, looking back on how this unusual upbringing shaped him and how his current life of settled prosperity conflicts with his image as rock icon and rebel. Stories from the road and from the stage alternate with tales of polo ponies and making films about Pygmies in the Congo -- and it's all TRUE -- as far as we know. Readers should not dismiss this book as just another self-indulgent and self-aggrandizing rock star bio. Copeland can really write, and his life story is both exciting and grounded in genuine self-examination. The only bad thing about Strange things Happen is that it will make you long for more autobiographies written with this much candor and in such lively, well-crafted style. -- recommended by Lisa V. - Eiseley Branch Library

[ official Strange Things Will Happen... page on the official Stewart Copeland 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.

New Booktalk Booklist: Books I Am Thankful For

Looking for some good new reading suggestions? Check out the new Booktalk Booklist, Books I Am Thankful For, featuring a dozen fiction and non-fiction releases that have recently made a connection for Lisa V.

Books I am Thankful For
Gere Books Talk, November 23, 2009
Lisa V.

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed [332.1 Aha]
Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns [ On Order ]
Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Sands Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
What Angels Fear: A Historical Mysteyr by C.S. Harris
The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes [509 Hol]
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen [Biography Alcott] Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury [364.163 Sal]
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1739-1815 by Gordon S. Wood [ On Order ]
The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow [305.4 Zas]

New Booktalk Booklist - Fantasy Fiction with Female Characters

Fantasy Fiction with Female Characters
Courtyard Book Chats, August 4, 2009
Lisa V.

Lisa V. used the Courtyard Book Chats to launch her new book talk, about fantasy fiction (and some science fiction) featuring particularly strong female protaganists. Most of these books are, not unexpectedly, also written by female authors.

Classic Fantasy with women as main characters
The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Briar King by J. Gregory Keyes
Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinnbook one in the Twelve Houses series
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyderbook one in the Yelena series

Urban or paranormal Fantasy with women as main charactersBitten by Kelley Armstrongbook one of the Women of the Otherworld series
Tithe by Holly Blackbook one in the Modern Tales of Faerie series
Moon Called by Patricia Briggsbook one of the Mercy Thompson series
Ill Wind by Rachel Cainebook one of the Weather Warden series
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harrisbook one of the Harper Connelly seriesAttendees also discussed Charlaine Harris' official web site
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrisonbook one of the Rachel Morgan series
Burning Water by Mercedes Lackeybook one of the Diana Tregarde Investigations series
Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Science Fiction with women as main charactersKindred by Octavia Butler
Xenogenesis by Octavia Butler
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
Stardoc by S.L. Viehlbook one in the Stardoc series

Staff Recommendations - The Gift of Fear

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect us From Violence

by Gavin DeBecker [362.88 Deb]

Gavin de Becker is a busy guy! A leading expert on predicting violent behavior, he is also a Senior Fellow at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and one of the world's leading threat-assessment consultants. De Becker believes we can all learn to recognize the signals of the "universal code of violence," and use them as tools to help us survive. de Becker says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. The book teaches how to identify the warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. The case studies are gripping and suspenseful, and include tactics for dealing with similar situations. People don't just "snap" and become violent, says de Becker, whose clients include federal government agencies, celebrities, police departments, and shelters for battered women. "There is a process as observable, and often as predictable, as water coming to a boil." Learning to predict violence is the cornerstone to preventing it. De Becker is a master of the psychology of violence, and his advice may save your life. -- recommended by Lisa V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia page for The Gift of Fear ] [ official Gavin DeBecker and Associates web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - The Forgery of Venus

The Forgery of Venus

by Michael Gruber

In his latest book, Gruber examines themes of art's creation and its imitation, the nature of time, and the very essence of what it means to know and remember. The Forgery of Venus tells the story of Chaz Wilmot, a painter and a reluctant fixture on the New York art scene. Chaz is blessed with phenomenal artistic talent, but is thwarted in his career by his inability to paint for the buying public. Instead of selling his work for big money in upscale Manhattan galleries, he makes a meager living painting in the style of other famous artists, some living, some long dead, for magazines and other publications. Chaz has two ex-wives to support, and several children as well, one of whom has a life-threatening illness. His life, and theirs, would be infintely easier if he could just bring himself to sell his original paintings to the art-collecting crowd that he despises. Then Chaz hears fro a couple of old college friends, one a doctor conducting research on a creativity-enhancing chemical, and one an artists' agent offering him a lucrative fresco restoration job in Italy. Never one to turn down free drugs or travel, and chronically short of cash, Chaz says yes to both and the plot thickens considerably. To provide too much detail would be to lessen the impact of an intricately written and superbly imagined tale. The book is worth reading simply for Gruber's descriptions of world-famous paintings, particularly those of Diego Velazquez, who figures prominently in the story. Gruber is a virtuoso when it comes to jumping between time periods, and meshing the past with the present. Art lovers, history buffs and fans of time-travel stories will all find something magical in this book-a real masterpiece of fiction writing. -- recommended by Lisa V. - Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

[ official Forgery of Venus / Michael Gruber web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - Bleak House

Bleak House

by Charles Dickens [DVD Dickens]

This 2006 BBC production of Dickens' novel of lost wills and family secrets has become an instant classic. Don't let the title keep you from watching this brilliant film. One of the its greatest strengths is a perfectly chosen cast and terrific performances. There are no "throw-away" roles or poorly conceived characters to be found. Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson dominates the production, however, with her tour-de-force portrayal of the icily regal Lady Dedlock. This movie has it all -- lost love, new love, legal intrigue, lots of death-bed scenes and, of course, Dickens' biting social commentary and masterful storytelling. If you put any stock in ratings, Internet Movie Database has this one rated at almost a ten (and so do I)! -- recommended by Lisa V. - Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

[ IMDb page for this production ] [ PBS Masterpiece Theatre site for this production ]

Have you watched this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names

100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names

by Diana Wells [582.13 Wel]

Winter is a great time to dream about flowers and flower gardening. Plotting and planning next season's garden will be even more satisfying when you learn the origin of the names of some of your favorite blooms. Fuchsia, camellias, lobelia and clematis-their stories are all here. What will truly amaze readers of this delightful little book is the danger and difficulty early plant collectors went through to bring these garden stalwarts back to the West. Death, disease and utter devastation were often the price that these botanical pioneers paid to send back plants that we now take for granted. Hopefully, after looking through this book, you appreciation for these common garden flowers will "grow"! -- recommended by Lisa V. -- Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - Spineless Wonders

Spineless Wonders: Strange Tales From the Invertebrate World

by Richard Conniff [592 Con]

They're weird. They're creepy. They have disturbing personal habits, and they're all around us. They're invertebrates, and we share our world with them, or maybe they just share theirs with us! Conniff takes us up close and personal with such seemingly common critters as the housefly, the leech and the ant. You will never look at a beetle in quite the same way again after reading this, and you may have new respect for the hagfish and the tarantula. No, these beings are not like us, but they have lives that are just as complex and full of drama. This is a fun way to learn more about a seldom-mentioned part of the animal kindgom. -- recommended by Lisa V. -- Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

[ New York Times review ] [ article by Conniff on the writing of the book ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - Speaks the Nightbird

Speaks the Nightbird

by Robert R. McCammon

One of the fiction best-sellers this winter is bound to be the new book, The Queen of Bedlam, featuring the character Matthew Corbett. Matthew made his first appearance, however, in this gripping, highly entertaining novel of witchcraft and intrigue set in a small Colonial Carolina town. The year is 1699, and Matthew is acting as law clerk for a magistrate who has been called upon to hear the case of a woman suspected of witchcraft. The two men run into trouble almost immediately, and the path of their investigation never does run smoothly. There's a lot going on behind the scenes in the settlement of Fount Royal, and no one is who he or she seems to be. Pirates, Spanish gold, Satanic manifestations and more figure into this suspenseful and detailed story. Is the lovely Rachel Howarth guilty of trafficking with the Devil, or is she the victim of those who will gain by her death? That's the question that Matthew sets out to answer, and his search takes him down a twisting, turning path of deceit and death. Prepare to stay up late reading this one, and don't forget the sequel, which is getting great reviews. -- recommended by Lisa V. -- Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

[ Speaks the Night Bird page on the official Robert McCammon web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten 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 over the course of the entire month.