New Booktalk Booklists!

Several new Booktalk Booklists have been added to the BookGuide site recently. Here's a run-down, with hotlinks to each individual list:

Classic Children's Stories
Shannon, from Gere Branch, gave a talk at Bethany Branch on January 25th and Gere Branch on February 25th, by revisiting some classic works that should appeal to the young at heart.

The Good Life: Nebraska Authors
Meredith, the curator of the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, presented a talk at Bethany Branch on February 8th (and will be giving the same talk at Gere Branch on March 31st). Her theme? The authors who have given live readings in the John H. Ames Reading Series over the past several years.

Love For Sale
Lisa, from Bennett Martin Public Library, on February 15th presented a talk on a collection of works with the theme of "tales of Gentlemen Gigolos and Ladies of the Evening!"

Marcy's Bag of Books
Marcy, from Anderson and Bethany Branches, gave a booktalk at Bethany Branch on January 11th and Gere Branch on January 14th, with a grab bag of non-fiction titles.

Young Adult, Entertaining and Style
Gere Branch's Sarah presented a booktalk at Gere Branch on January 28th and Bethany Branch on February 1st. Her talk featured an eclectic mix of (1) books appropriate for young adults, (2) guides on how to entertain, and (3) books on improving your own style.

All of these lists are available at the BookGuide Book Talk Booklists page!

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 - 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 - 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 Recommendation - Run

Run
by Ann Patchett

I love to read Patchett's fiction because you never know where she will take you. Her latest novel is set in Boston and the action of the novel takes place all in a few days when Doyle, former white mayor of the city and, his two twenty-something adopted black sons, Tip and Teddy, find their lives intersecting with a black single mother, Tennessee and her 11-year-old daughter Kenya after Tennessee throws herself in front of a car to save Tip from the oncoming vehicle. The action plays out amid a snowstorm that has brought many parts of the city to a standstill. Issues of family, race, identity and our connections to each other all come into play as the story evolves. -- recommended by Vicki W. -- Bennett Martin Public Library/Youth Services

[ official Run page on the official Ann Patchett 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 - As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

[791.457 As]

Another great TV series from BBC, this one starring Judi Dench as Jean. Lionel and Jean are young lovers who lose track of each other during the Korean War. They are accidently reunited 40 years later. Watch as they try to figure out their relationship. A wonderful, character-driven program. LCL owns the entire 9-yr series. -- recommended by Charlotte K. -- Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference

[Other seasons also available: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and 9.]

[ official BBC site for the series ]

Have you seen 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 - Freedom's Promise

Freedom's Promise

by Dianna Crawford

This series focuses on the early pioneers headed for the Tennessee Valley. If you like a good story with inspirational overtones, you will like this series. -- recommended by Dorene O. -- Bennett Martin Public Library - Admin

[ Dianna Crawford bio on publisher's 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.

Introducing...Podcasting!

The Lincoln City Libraries now feature podcasts -- or at least one so far!

In the near future, we hope to include podcasts of many of our upcoming book talks and special presentations, as well as an original "book review program" featuring a rotating group of library staff highlighting some of their favorite past and present reads.

At the moment, you can download our first podcast, and subscribe via RSS feed to future podcasts, at the following page on the library's web site:

http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Podcasts/Podcasts.htm

Staff Recommendation - Good Brother, Bad Brother

Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth
by James Cross Giblin [jB B6439]

Truth is stranger than fiction in this very complete work by Giblin. The author goes well beyond the cursory history book summary of the Wilkes family and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, exposing nine people in the plot against him. Many of the sources he uses are handwritten correspondences between the major players in this true drama. Much of the text is brought to life with photographs, paintings, and playbills. Giblin orchestrates his writing in such a way as to give a clear picture of the chronology of events. The reader gets to know Junius Brutus Booth and his sons well enough that they must be viewed as the real people they were, rather than textbook villains. The power of his story was such that I was fascinated to locate Edwin Booth's voice on the internet, as recorded onto Thomas Edison's new invention, the phonograph. A wonderful resource for grades 6 and up. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library - Youth Services

[ official Good Brother, Bad Brother web site ] [ Publisher's page for James Cross Giblin ]

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.

Read...Discuss...Repeat! for February 2008

February 2008
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Alex Haley [1976]

The February 2008 selection for Read...Discuss...Repeat! has been posted to the BookGuide site.You can find some background information, including links to related websites and some "readalikes" for this month's title, by visiting: This month's Read...Discuss...Repeat! page.
You can also find all previous R...D...R! selections listed and/or comment on them, as well, at the main Read...Discuss...Repeat! index page.

We then encourage you to leave your thoughts and opinions about this month's selected title either via the comments form on the linked page, or by replying in comments right here in the BookGuide blog!

Staff Recommendation - The Nebraska Landscape

The Nebraska Landscape - Images From Home - Volume One

by Michael Forsberg [917.82 For]

I fell in love with Nebraska once again. Have you ever seen an image so beautiful that tears well up in the corners of your eyes? That is exactly what happens to me when I look at the photographs presented in Michael Forsberg's small album The Nebraska Landscape - Images From Home - Volume One. This book is filled with scenic photography as beautiful as any mind can conceive. Forsberg has an eye for connecting the viewer to a sacred stillness that sits deep within the landscape. This stillness is filled with a vital energy which unites man with nature; his use of lighting, subject, and perspective on the horizon all come together to tell a story about the Nebraska countryside. Linger for a while at these incredible photographs and fill yourself with the beauty and light that exists in our natural world. After reading The Nebraska Landscape you'll surely want to experience more of Mr. Forsberg's inspiring visual narrative. Fortunately for us he has another book in print; I would encourage you to look at it as well.

[ official Michael Forsberg 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 - Curse of the Narrows

Curse of the Narrows

by Laura MacDonald [940.3 Mac]

Imagine a disastrous man-made explosion in Halifax (Nova Scotia) harbor in 1917. Then imagine that bad weather makes the situation even worse as the town tries to figure out the extent of the damage and start to recover. It really happened. The author pieces together news accounts, official records, personal memories, and scientific and medical information in a fascinating narrative about the World War I munitions ship filled with high explosives which was struck by another ship and blew up, destroying much of Halifax. Interestingly, this event also brought about some good things in regard to disaster relief and medical practices. A real page-turner!

[ Publisher's page for Curse of the Narrows ] [ official Laura MacDonald 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.