Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs
by Jacqueline Winspear

I wasn't sure what to expect when this title ended up as one of the monthly discussion titles for the Just Desserts mystery group here at the library. I had seen good reviews of this series, and knew that it was popular, with seven volumes released so far. I ended up enjoying this one tremendously. Though classified as a mystery -- Maisie is a fledgling detective in this first volume -- this was more of a period character study than anything else. Set primarily in late 1920s London, as Maisie Dobbs sets up her first independent investigation agency, this novel also features extended flashbacks to Maisies youth, in which she leaves her father to take a position as a household employee to a forward-thinking socialite, and ultimately to the period in which Maisie serves as a nurse near the front lines of WWI in France. Maisie, and the quirky characters that surround her, is a believably real figure, and you'll grow to care about what happens to her. The Dobbs series is often compared, favorably, to the series by Alexander McCall-Smith set in Kenya, and I agree with that assessment. If you like Precious Ramatswe, you'll like Maisie, too. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in downloadable, book-on-cd, and Book on Tape formats.]

[ official Jacqueline Winspear/Maisie Dobbs web site ]

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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.

Butler County: The Boston Studio Collection

Butler County: The Boston Studio Collection
by Susan McLain [978.232 McL]

This book offers a vignette of Butler County's history through the camera lens of Harvey L. Boston. He operated the Boston Studio in David City, Nebraska from 1893 to 1928. During that time Boston photographed Butler County's prominent residents as well as the common folks who toiled on farms or as laborers. Author Susan R. McLain gives us snippets of the lives of the residents. McLain is a fashion historian. Much of the insight she offers is based on the clothing that was worn. At that time a family's prosperity was reflected by their clothing. For example, McLain points out that Anna Thompson's hat was featured in the latest fashion magazines. McLain does not limit her information to clothing details. She also tells us about their lives. In another photo we meet Madge Evans. After she graduated from David City High School Madge moved to Lincoln and worked in the Lincoln City Library before moving to Beatrice where she worked as the city librarian until her retirement in 1952. This book is an excellent resource for genealogists who are looking for ancestors who resided in Butler County in the early part of the 20th Century. McLain provides tidbits of information about some of the people. Descendents of Amelia Shirk may not be aware that she spent a night in a snowdrift during the blizzard of 1888. Most of the photos are portraits but some are location shots of David City and surrounding farms. These pictures illustrate life in Butler County that can be for historians and researchers. This book is a joy for people who like photos printed from glass negatives. [Part of the Images of America series.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ official Butler County, NE web site ] | [ Butler County Gallery web site ]

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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.

Moonlight: The Complete Series

Moonlight: the Complete Series

This was a marvelous, but unfortunately short-lived, series on CBS that aired during the 2007-2008 television season. Alex O'Laughlin starred as Mick St. John, a hot young vampire who has served as protector to a human girl (now a woman), Beth Turner, played by Sophia Miles. Beth has become an investigative reporter for a web journalism site, and as the series begins, she finds herself attracted to the strange man who keeps hanging around her periphery. As the series progressed, we saw the relationship between Mick and Beth advance, complicated when Mick believes he's on the track of a cure for vampirism that will return him to the land of the living. Supporting cast members, such as Jason Dohring as Josef and Shannon Sossomon as Coraline often stole the show, but at its heart it was a vampire romance series, predating True Blood. And O'Laughlin and Myles had steamy chemistry with each other! The series suffered from airing during a year with a writer's strike, so only 16 episodes were produced. [If you enjoy this series, you may also enjoy the Forever Knight series, the True Blood series and the Blood Ties series -- all available on DVD.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ Moonlight episode guide at epguides.com ]

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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.

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans
by The Thomas Brothers [Music 781.65 Armstrong]

The photographs and maps in this book are reason enough to check it out. But once you take a look at those, you'll want to know more. If you could start at the back of the book and read in reverse, you could trace the accomplished musician, Louis Armstrong, all the way back to his beginnings, including the influence of his birth circumstances, his grandmother's church, the rags-bottles-and-bones men, the Waif's home, the funeral parade second lining, the advertising wagons and the Mississippi riverboats. The book explains how encompassing the influence of old New Orleans was on the ultimate Armstrong jazz music. If you are an Armstrong fan, be prepared to want to check out the Armstrong CDs owned by the library system as you read about his musical development and recording history! -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia article on Louis Armstrong ]

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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.

The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe

The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe
by Wayne Barlowe [809.387 qBar]

Spectacular collection of full-color and b&w illustrations by famed science fiction and fantasy illustrator Wayne Barlowe. Published in 1995, this volume includes works from throughout Barlowe's career, and each piece of art is accompanied by a text blurb from Barlowe explaining the origin of the piece and his creative and artistic inspirations for that specific work of art. Barlowe is well known for his detailed alien physiognomies, and most of the pieces in this collection exemplify the tradition of "nature art". His otherworldly creatures (some based on other author's works and some created by Barlowe himself from scratch) are logical extrapolitions from scientific principles and look frighteningly real. If you like this book, you can't miss his Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials and Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy -- must have volumes for genre fans. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Wayne Barlowe web site ]

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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.

The Deepest Water

The Deepest Water
by Kate Wilhelm

Abby Conners is numbed by her father's murder and she goes through the motions in the days after his death. Prodded by questions from the police, Abby rouses herself from her grief-stricken stupor and begins to think about why someone killed her father. Judson Vickers lived and died in a remote cabin in the Cascade Mountains where he wrote best-selling novels. The characters in the books were lightly disguised people that Jud knew. The plots were based on Jud's experiences. Abby wonders if someone had a secret that he or she did not want exposed in Jud's latest book. Kate Wilhelm takes a break from her Barbara Holloway series and writes this psychological thriller. [If you enjoy this, you may also like books by Lisa Jackson, Linwood Barclay and Tami Hoag.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[Also available in print, and downloadable audio formats.]

[ Wikipedia article on Kate Wilhelm ] | [ official Kate Wilhelm web site ]

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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.

Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day

Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day
by Leo Rosten [427.08 Ros]

Although this book was published in 1972, the language boo boos and bloopers remain timeless. A few samples: "The most important thing in acting is honesty. Once you learn to fake that, you're in." "Their father is some kind of civil serpent." "Flying saucers are just an optical conclusion." "The cotton crop was ruined by bold weasels." If you revel in malaprops and other language botches, this book will keep you laughing. [For more books of this nature, check our catalog under the subject heading "English Language -- Humor."] -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia page for Leo Rosten ]

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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.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Cookbook

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Cookbook
[641.636 Bub]

I enjoy seafood, and I enjoy movies. This book crosses the two over quite nicely. The recipes in this book are interspersed with commentary in the voice of the fictional movie character Forrest Gump (from the same-titled novel by Winston Groom). The 77 recipes in this book are broken into categories -- baked, barbequed, broiled, fried and sauteed -- along with a section on sides and sauces that go well with shrimp dishes. The instructions for each recipe are simple and straight-forward, and for the most part can be accomplished without elaborate or unusual equipment. If you, like myself, are a shrimp-lover, you'll find yourself salivating over the descriptions of each dish, while also chuckling at the side notes from Forrest. My only complaint about this book is that, although there are a handful of photo illustrations of some of the dishes, those photos are few and far between...I would've preferred images of each of the dishes. Otherwise, a tasty and humorous little specialty cookbook. [If you enjoy this, you may also like My Favorite Chocolate Recipes: Mama's Fudge, Cookies, Cakes and Candies, by Winston Groom.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant web site ]

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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.

Bugsy's Baby

Bugsy's Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill
by Andy Edmonds [364.106 Edm]

Virginia Hill, the lover of Las Vegas mobster Bugsy Siegel, was also involved with Al Capone's Chicago gang and with the New York mob led by Frank Costello and Joe Adonis. In 1933, when she was just seventeen, she arrived in Chicago and caught the attention of Joe Epstein, who ran the gambling outfit for the Capone operation. In 1950, she testified for the famed Kefauver Committee, which was investigating crime in interstate commerce. Her death, in 1966, was probably a mob hit. Edmonds explains why. [For more books of this nature, check our catalog under the subject heading "Organized Crime."] -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia entry on Virginia Hill ]

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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.

You've Got Murder

You've Got Murder
by Donna Andrews

Though best known for her Meg Langslow series, I personally prefer Andrews' Turing Hopper series. This series came about as part of a challenge to create a unique mystery series protagonist...and you can't get much more unique than the character of Turing Hopper. Turing is a self-aware artificial intelligence, created as something of a fluke. The software sources that were used to create Turing included a database of mystery fiction, so Turing has a built-in penchant for trying to solve mysteries. When the programmer that "created" her disappears under suspicious circumstances, Turing assembles a small group of human helpers in the non-digital world to assist her in investigating her creator's status. The character of Turing is intriguing, and the fairly light-weight handling of the topic and mechanics of artificial intelligence is done deftly. But, this isn't a tech manual...it's a mystery, and Turing (and her helpers) use traditional (and computer-age) methods to solve their case. And the relationships between Turing and the human beings that serve as her "eyes and ears" in the physical world are fascinating. Only four volumes in the Turing Hopper series were written, but Andrews says she's open to revisiting the series in the future. Try this one...you'll like it! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Donna Andrews web site ]

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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.

The Hamish Macbeth Series

The Hamish Macbeth series
by M.C. Beaton [DVD Beaton]

A wonderful three-part series starring Robert Carlyle ("The Full Monty")as police constable Hamish Macbeth as he attempts to maintain order in his small town of Lochdubh, Scotland. This is made difficult by the zany and eccentric characters that populate the area. Macbeth thinks this his ideal job and seeks to fly below the radar with his superiors so he's not promoted elsewhere. Heartwarming, heart-wrenching, and sometimes hilarious tales. A favorite was the annual shinty match against the neighboring town. Everyone in Lochdubh bused up for the match, including townfolk dressed as cheerleaders. Based on characters created by M.C. Beaton from her mystery series. No subtitles. This viewer initially had difficulties following the thick Scottish accent for half of the first dvd. Either they eased up on the accent or I finally developed an ear for it. (Trivia: actress Shirley Henderson, playing the character of Isobel, also plays Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter movies.) [If you enjoy the tone of this series, try out the biographical series based on James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small, available on DVD.] -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library
[Also available in print format.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ Wikipedia article on the Hamish Macbeth book/film series ]

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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.

Craig Johnson signing at Nebraska Bookstore

Mystery fans may be interested to know that Wyoming mystery author Craig Johnson will be making an appearance and having a signing at the Nebraska Bookstore this week.

Johnson will appear from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 23rd.

Johnson is the author of the Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery series, set in Absaraoka County, WY, of which there are current five volumes (with a sixth set for release this May). The libraries have this entire series, in both print and book-on-CD versions. Come in and sample these mysteries, before stopping to see Johnson on Friday!

Absinthe: History in a Bottle

Absinthe: History in a Bottle
by Barnaby Conrad [394.13 qCon]

Absinthe, a highly addictive liqueur, which in literature is also known as "la fee verte" (the green fairy) is chronicled in this readable and lavishly illustrated book. The art works are by such luminaries as Manet, van Gogh, Degas, Picasso, and Lautrec, all of which feature the distinctive green drink. The book also contains a discussion of many literary figures who were devotees of the green fairy. Some of the writers and artists are: Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Toulouse Lautrec, Mondigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Aleister Crowley. A serious absintheur adds water to the liqueur slowly, pouring it over a sugar cube in an elaborate slotted spoon. Absinthe turns a milky greenish color when the water is added. The drink is made from wormwood, a bitter herb sometimes used as an insect repellent. (Vermouth is also made from wormwood.) Serious drinkers experienced hallucinations and convulsions; the liqueur was soon banned in most of Europe and the United States. Absinthe experience a revival in the 1990s, since it had never been banned in Great Britain. -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia article on Absinthe ] | [ official Barnaby Conrad web site ]

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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 - Selections From a SciFi Reading Group

On March 26th, 2010 at Bethany Branch and on March 29th, 2010 at Gere Branch, Scott C. presented a booktalk on the theme of Selections from SciFi Reading Group to the regular Books Talk groups that meet weekly at those two libraries.

Click the link above to connect to the libraries BookGuide site to see a PDF of his booktalk handout, with detailed descriptions of the 30+ books he discussed, and with hotlinks into the libraries' online catalog for those titles that are available through the Lincoln City Libraries system.

The Witch Doctor's Wife

The Witch Doctor's Wife
by Tamar Myers

Tamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo. She used her memories of African folktales and customs to create the setting for her stand-alone novel, The Witch Doctor's Wife. It's 1958 and a small passenger plane is making its final descent to the dirt landing strip near the village of Belle Vue. The left propeller cut the branches of a eucalyptus tree and crashed lands. This frightening event is Amanda Brown's introduction to the Belgian Congo, her new home. Amanda is a missionary from South Carolina and her job is to manage the guesthouse in Belle Vue where missionaries who work in the bush come to relax and socialize. The largest employer in the area is a Belgian diamond consortium that rules with an iron fist. Anyone who tries to smuggle diamonds out is subject to stiff fines and the whip. The local witch doctor finds a large uncut diamond and attempts to sell it without the local diamond consortium finding out. His actions lead to murder and cause much grief for his beloved wife. This book is a world away from Myers' Pennsylvania Dutch and Den of Antiquity series, both geographically and in style. The Witch Doctor's Wife is an engaging novel but it is not as humorous as the books set in the United States. [If you enjoy this, you may also like the novels of Karen Harper.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Dept.

[ official Tamar Myers web site ]

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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.

National Poetry Month at your Libraries!

"There was a young lass name of Mary
Whose poetry interests did vary
Cummings, Frost, Plath and Poe
Kloefkorn, Yeats and Thoreau
And she found them all at her library!"

Stop in to your local library to enjoy National Poetry Month in April by checking out the English-language poetry collections in the 811 (811.08 for multi-author anthologies) and 821 (821.08) sections of the non-fiction. There's a special display up at Bennett Martin Public Library on the 2nd floor...and there may be more displays at your local neighborhood branches as well!

There's also Poetry-related booklists on the BookGuide site:

• A Crop of Words [Nebraska Poets]
• The Good Life -- Nebraska Authors [Bethany Branch Booktalk, February 8, 2008] [Meredith M.]
• Native Voices [contemporary Native American writers - including poets]
• Nebraska Author Weldon Kees [general fiction, poetry, reviews and essays]
• Nebraska Author John G. Neihardt [general fiction, poetry, non-fiction]

Archaeology and the Iliad

Archaeology and the Iliad: The Trojan War in Homer and History
by Eric Cline [Compact Disc 939.21 Cli]

Umberto Eco once wrote that humans are more passionate about the truth of their myths and of fiction than they are about the truths of their own history. Never has this played out more popularly than the search for the city of Troy, immortalized in the epic poem of the blind bard Homer. Professor Cline's lectures on the history of The Iliad, Homer, the area around what most consider to be Troy, and the men who sought to find Priam's palace there are lively, informative and delivered with care for the subject. He describes a world vastly more complicated than one that would or could go to war over a beautiful woman (even is she is so beautiful that her face launched 1,279 ships - Professor Cline counted). The lectures bring to life a world that has handed much to our own, and with them come reminders of the fragility of history and humanity. It is well worth seven evenings' listening. -- recommended by Sarah E.J. - (formerly of) Bennett Martin Public Library


[ official Eric Cline web page at George Washington University ]

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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.

The Way We Wore

The Way We Wore: Styles of the 1930s and 1940s and Our World Since Then
by Marsha Hunt [746.92 qHun]

Marsha Hunt was signed by Paramount Pictures when she was just 17; later she signed with MGM. In this book she showcases some of the costumes she wore in her pictures. One section is devoted to the hats she wore. She includes some casual wear from the period and mentions a costume that she designed herself. In fact, she was a teenage model for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Anyone who likes films from the 30s and 40s will enjoy this book. [If you enjoy this one, and are looking for more, search our catalog under the subject heading "Motion Pictures -- Costumes".] -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library


[ official Marsha Hunt page on the Internet Movie Database ] | [ Wikipedia page for Marsha Hunt ]

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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.

Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species

Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species
by Joel Sartore [578.68 qSar]

This is an absolutely gorgeously photographed volume that looks at endangered animal and plant species throughout the United States. Joel Sartore is an award-winning photographer for the National Geographic, who is based out of Lincoln, NE. His photos in the magazine are always beautiful, and for this book, his captures of rare and unique species are beautifully rendered, against a stark black or white background. Each photo is accompanied by a little story explaining how the shot was taken and offering interesting tidbits about the specific species in the photo. The vast majority of the shots in this book were taken at zoos around the country. Sartore shares conservation information in a moving forward, that includes a photo of a rabbit species that has since gone extinct. This book should be appreciated by animal lovers, conservationists, photography enthusiasts or fans of Nebraska authors! My only complaint is that the size of the book doesn't really do justice to Sartore's highly-detailed photos, but since it is not a "coffee-table"-sized volume, perhaps it will be more accessible to more readers! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library


[ official Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species page on the official Joel Sartore web site ]

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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.

If You Like...the Harry Potter series

Interest in books like the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling remains pretty high, even though it has now been three years since the final volume came out!

If you're a fantasy reader who's reached the end of Harry's story, or you've got a young fantasy reader in the family who'll soon be looking for similar reads, may we suggest checking out our Readalike list entitled...

If You Like...the Harry Potter series !

Click the link to explore over 30 other series or standalone novels that should appeal to Harry's fans!

The Hot Rock

The Hot Rock
by Donald Westlake

On the same day that he is released from jail, Dortmunder, is asked by a pal, Andy Kelp, to help him steal a valuable emerald. The jewel has a buyer -- the United Nations ambassador from an African nation disputing the ownership of the emerald. Enter the various personalities of the heist team: Roger Chefwick is married and likes to work on his miniature railroad and to eat his wife's fudge. (I'm not sure if fudge is a reference to his sex life!) Another, Murch, lives with his mother and listens to street noises on record albums. Greenwood is a swinging single. The team stages a spectacular car crash into the building housing the emerald and the distraction works well; however, the three men actually stealing the jewel drop the glass case enclosing the emerald and so draw attention to themselves. The men run off, splitting up and as luck would have it, the thief with the emerald is the one caught by the police. To keep him from talking, his cohorts successfully spring him from the slammer. As they high-five one another in jubilation, they ask him about the emerald and he must give them the bad news -- he had to hide it in the police station! He'd swallowed it at the Coliseum—and got it back later, while in jail! Now the men break into the police station via helicopter. Wielding grenades, they enter the cell (in a very funny sequence) -- the cell is occupied by an old man in there for flashing -- but the jewel is not there. Greenwood, the once incarcerated thief, tells Dortmunder that he did tell his attorney where the stone was. Unfortunately, the attorney, Prosker, has committed himself to an insane asylum. Dortmunder plans yet another break-in. This time, they use a miniature railroad car, dubbed Tom Thumb, to invade the insane asylum, since the railroad tracks run nearby. Another very funny sequence wherein the asylum personnel chide the heist team for disturbing the inmates' sense of reality! Unimpressed with the scolding, the men kidnap Prosker. Prosker reveals that the emerald is in his safety deposit box at his bank. To access the box requires two keys -- his own and the one held by the bank. Now they get to rob a bank. Dortmunder hires a mentalist to hypnotize the bank guard into handing over the key to the safety deposit box. The mentalist rides the elevator with the man, successfully implanting the phrase that will be their prompt: "Afghanistan banana stand." -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Donald Westlake web site ]

See more books like this in Rianne's Books With a Twist booktalk booklist

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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.