New Booktalk Booklist - Mysteries Set in Latin America

Rayma S., head librarian at the South Branch, and a past regular contributor to the libraries' BookGuide web pages, presented an all-new booktalk at the Bethany Branch on May 20th, on one of her favorite topics -- mystery fiction.

Her theme this time was Mysteries Set in Latin America -- click this link to see her Booktalk Booklist, the contents of which are hotlinked into the libraries' online catalog! Check it out for some great book and book-on-cd suggestion

New Reviewer Profile - Rayma S.

We neglected to mention in October that we've posted another new Reviewer Profile on the BookGuide site -- this time for Rayma S., the Branch Supervisor at South Branch Library. You can see her profile responses at: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/profiles/rs-profile.htm

You can also view previous Reviewer Profiles -- look for the bold link after individual reviewers' names -- at : http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec-indexbyname.htm

Ishi in Two Worlds

Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
by Theodora Kroeber [970.3 K91i]

Theodora Kroeber, wife of famed anthropologist Alfred Kroeber, tells a touching story of Ishi, the last Yana/Yahi Indian. Starving and near exhaustion from being chased by white Indian hunters, Ishi is found near a corral on a ranch. The sheriff turned him over to Kroeber who proceeded to unravel Ishi's past and that of the last of his people. He and Ishi became great friends. After a trip to Washington he was also taken to heart by the American public. Ishi taught Kroeber to use a bow and arrow like his forefathers did and provided Kroeber with a mountain of knowledge on his California tribe. Ishi died while in Kroeber's care and monuments to him can be found throughout the area. A truly touching biography. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[ Publisher's page for the book ] [ Wikipedia entry on Theodora Kroeber ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten (or more) 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 - Simisola

Simisola

by Ruth Rendell

One of the Inspector Wexford series, this is the story of a murder with racial overtones. When the mystery is resolved, Wexford has to re-think his ideas about race and deal with his own prejudices. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[Also available in unabridged audiotape, DVD adaptation formats.]

[ Wikipedia page for Ruth Rendell ]

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 - Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank
by Elizabeth Peters

Crocodile on the Sandbank is the story of Ameilia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson who meet, fall in love, and fight criminals against a backdrop of an archeological dig in the the ruins of ancietn Egypt. If you like historical mysteries and dry, British wit you will enjoy this first novel in a very popular series. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[ official Amelia Peabody web site for Elizabeth Peters ]

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 - A Flaw in the Blood

A Flaw in the Blood

by Stephanie Barron

Barron is the author of the famed Jane Austen mysteries. In this departure set in Victorian England, Patrick Fitzgerald has been called before Queen Victoria on the night her beloved husband, Albert, lays dying. On his way home, he and his ward, Dr. Georgiana Armistead, are involved in a horrible carriage accident which leads to a chase that has them fearing for their lives. The mystery revolves around the horrible bleeding sickness of Prince Leopold, Victoria's youngest son. Is the Queen behind it all and if so, why? -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[ official Stephanie Barron 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 Recommendations - A Simple Plan

A Simple Plan

by Scott Smith

A Simple Plan is the story of an ordinary guy who finds fortune in a wrecked airplane while he's out hunting with friends. They decide to take the money they find and not report the accident. Things go downhill from there in a masterpiece of gory, black humor. If you like Stephen King, you'll like this book. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[ official Publisher's web page for Scott Smith ] [ Wikipedia page for Scott Smith ]

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 - Night Passage

Night Passage

by Robert B. Parker

Jesse Stone is a drunk and has been asked to leave the L.A. Police Dept. He accepts the job of police chief in the small town of Paradise only to find that he was selected because of his background with alcohol. The city fathers develop a grudging respect when they find that they can't push him around during a murder investigation. Jesse turns out to be a character the reader will empathize with as he works his way through this new series by Parker. A great read. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[Also available in DVD [TV movie adaptation], and Large Print formats.][ official Jesse Stone section on the official Robert B. Parker web site ]

If you're a fan of the Jesse Stone mysteries, join the Just Desserts mystery group in discussing "Trouble in Paradise" at Bennett Martin Public Library on March 27th!

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 - Carved in Bone

Carved in Bone

by Jefferson Bass

Jefferson Bass is the pseudonym of Bill Bass, the creator of the original Body Farm. This title is the first in a projected series that will appeal to lovers of forensic mysteries. -- recommended by Rayma S. -- South Branch Library

[ Publisher's Carved in Bone web site ] [ official Jefferson Bass 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 Dream Keeper and Other Poems

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems

by Langston Hughes [811 Hug]

One of the best collections of his poetry! -- recommended by Rayma S. -- South Branch Library

[ The Langston Hughes Society ] [ Langston Hughes page on Wikipedia ]

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 Recommendations - The Butcher's Theater

The Butcher's Theater

by Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is rightly reknowned for his Alex Delaware series. The Butcher's Theater is an interesting departure from that series. Chief Inspector Daniel Sharavi, headquartered in Jerusalem, is a Yemenite Jew with a California-born wife and three kids. He has been asked to investigate the mutiliation murder of a young Arab girl who's body is found in the Old City. Sharavi puts together a multi-ethnic team to help while they slowly unravel their killer's peculiar pathology. It's too bad kellerman has not made this into a series, since it showed great promise. -- recommended by Rayma S. - South Branch Library

[ official Butcher's Theater page on the official Jonathan Kellerman 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 - River of Doubt

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

by Candice Millard [B R67m]

After Theodore Roosevelt failed in his last attempt at the Presidency, he was talked into an expedition on a South American river that many doubted ever existed. Joined by his son Kermit, several naturalists from noted geographic societies, a priest, and a failed Arctic explorer, they set out on an ill planned venture in the unknown rain forest. Plagued by insects, Indians, fever, and shortage of supplies, Roosevelt contracted a serious illness that almost drove him to suicide. After surviving the debacle of the expedition, he returned home only to be ridiculed and doubted about his extraordinary accomplishment. For lovers of historic adventure and suspense. -- recommended by Rayma S. -- South Branch Library

[ Publisher's page for River of Doubt ] [ Reading Group Guide for River of Doubt ]

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.

New Book Talk Booklist: Cowboys, School Marms and a Good Horse

Rayma S. presented the booktalk Cowboys, School Marms and a Good Horse at the Gere Branch BooksTalk series on Friday, November 16th at the Bethany Bookstalk series, and on Monday, November 26th at the Gere Bookstalk series. Her talk, if it's not obvious from the title, was on the "Westerns" fiction genre, both classic and modern.
Links in the following list will take you to each book's individual entry in the Lincoln City Libraries' catalog, where you can see plot blurbs and check on availability.

• The Virginian by Owen Wister
• To the Last Man: A Story of the Pleasant Valley War by Zane Grey
• Hondo by Louis L'Amour
• Whispering Smith by Frank H. Spearman
• The Rounders trilogy by Max Evans
• Creek Mary's Blood by Dee Brown
• Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears by Robert J. Conley
• Lily by Cindy Bonner
• The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
• The Mercy Seat by Rilla Askew
• Journey of the Dead by Loren D. Estleman
• The Far Canyon by Elmer Kelton
• Lonesome Dove and Zeke and Ned by Larry McMurtry

Staff Recommendation - Ritual Bath

Ten new November reviews have shown up on BookGuide's Staff Recommendations page. Click that link, or wait to see them here on the BookGuide blog over the course of the month!

Ritual Bath
by Faye Kellerman

This delightful series has been around for 20 years and this is the first title. Peter Decker, homicide detective was raised a Protestant but has recently discovered his birth parents were Jewish. He meets a beautiful Orrhodox Jewish woman, Rina Lazarus, while investigating a crime and the rest, as they say, is history. Kellerman makes her characters very real with human shortcomings and enriches each tale with details of Jewish life. Read the rest of the series...it won't disappoint! -- reviewed by Rayma S. -- South Branch Library

[ official Ritual Bath page on the official Faye Kellerman web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?