Staff Recommended Title of the Day – Review Guide
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After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsor
By Christopher Anderson
Hyperion, 2007
Nonfiction/Biography
Even if you've read all the Diana bios and tell-alls on the shelf, you'll still want to pick up After Diana: William, Harry, Charles and the Royal House of Windsor. Those looking for royal dirt won't be disappointed; although this book is short on hard and fast evidence, it makes up for it with plenty of dishy details about the behind-the-scenes doings of the Prince of Wales and company.
Do the Princes party too much? How did Camilla capture Charles' mind, heart and imagination? What was the Queen's real attitude toward Diana? British journalist Christopher Anderson examines the life of the Royals post-Di, detailing everything from Camilla's jealous fits to Queen Elizabeth's snobby snits and the how and why behind Prince Harry's now infamous donning of a Nazi uniform. This is truly an everything-you-ever…but-were-afraid to ask tell-all, complete with a juicy photo section that displays each of Prince Charles' love interests, before, during, and after Diana.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you're especially interested in questions such as whether Harry looks more like his mom's lover than Charles, why Camilla got the Princes' nanny fired, and how Queen Elizabeth reacted to her daughter-in-law's death, than this book is for you. The serious exploration of the conspiracy theory behind Diana's death is reason enough to read - the photos and gossip just make it more fun.
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Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction
By David Sheff
Houghton Mifflin, 2008
Memoir
David Sheff’s son, Nic, is addicted to meth, among other substances, and his addiction is wreaking havoc on his life and his family. Beautiful Boy traces Nic’s drug dependency through the eyes of his father. You watch as David and Nic’s mother divorce, splitting custody fifty-fifty and leaving Nic feeling rootless and lost. You relive the pain of a father’s helplessness as he tries to get Nic into rehab, disappointed time and again at his son’s inability to avoid drugs. As an insider’s look at the other side of addiction – the families who go through all of the pain without even the relief of the addict’s high – Beautiful Boy is sympathetic and often sad. The author spends a great deal of the book vacillating between anger and guilt, examining the past for hints of where he failed as a father.
Why You Should Read This Book: Sheff, a novelist and journalist, is a smooth writer, able to weave straightforward actions scenes with the interior ruminations of a father hurting for his own lost, beautiful boy. This book is more journey than destination, but it is an honest and accurate portrait of a family in crisis.
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City Lights: Stories About New York
By Dan Barry
St. Martin’s Press, 2007
Nonfiction
Dan Barry was a writer for the New York Times from 2003 to 2006, covering life in the city in his weekly column “About New York.” This collection of his best columns covers every aspect of the Big Apple, and Barry’s discerning eye and heartfelt emotion allow the reader to feel a part of the action. Divided into five sections that include “Vanishing New York,” “New York After” (which covers the city post-9/11), and “Congress of Curious New York Peoples” (about New York’s unique characters), City Lights is an insider’s look at what makes the world’s greatest city tick, a reader’s tour into the best the city has to offer.
Why You Should Read This Book: Whether you’re a transplanted New Yorker or just love the city, this book makes you feel the pulse of the city. Dan Barry’s columns are well written and thoughtful, and he’s not afraid to show compassion to those in need or explore the tragic side of an issue. He captures the humanity behind the skyscrapers and slums, making it come alive with his unvarnished language and fluid writing.
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The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood
By David Simon and Edward Burns
Broadway, 1998
Gripping and powerful, The Corner explores the desperate lives of the people who live in an inner-city neighborhood and their battles with drugs and poverty. The McCulloughs – Gary, ex-wife Fran and children DeAndre and DeRod – live in West Baltimore, Maryland in a blighted urban neighborhood known for its sale of heroin and cocaine. Gary, once a successful investor on his way up, has succumbed to the lure of the needle, trading in his three-piece suits for the life of a street junkie. Street-smart Fran, the first in the family to become addicted, struggles to get off drugs and away from the corner, while her oldest son, DeAndre, (a first-time father at 16) runs a posse of teen drug dealers and begins to dabble in heroin himself. Written by two journalists who spent four years immersing themselves in the culture of the street, The Corner is funny, sad, and infinitely real.
Why You Should Read This Book: Gritty and hard-hitting, The Corner is, at heart, a story of hope and redemption in the brutal world of the inner city. If you liked the book, catch the 2000 HBO miniseries on DVD.
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The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef
By Marco Pierre White
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007
Nonfiction/Memoir
This memoir of Marco Pierre White is the story of the original rock star chef, a coming-of-age saga that offers readers a glimpse into the world of a food-obsessed perfectionist whose culinary skills are almost as great as his temper. White, the first and youngest British chef to win three Michelin stars, goes into detail about both his traditional British training as a chef and his wild and wooly personal life.
Fascinating and filled with tons of juicy tidbits about the behind-the-scenes life of a chef and his adventures training some of the biggest names in today's culinary world (including Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey and Mario Batali), The Devil in the Kitchen is a must-read for followers of Food TV, Iron Chef and Hell's Kitchen . As a truly inspired food genius, White created sublime dishes that proved he had a method to his madness and put English cooking on par with the finest haute cuisine. While he is unerringly honest about himself - letting the reader in on relationship problems, personal issues and more - he is also a sympathetic character. After reading his book, you can't help but like him and, more importantly, respect the trials and tribulations he endured in his journey to get, and stay, on top.
Why You Should Read This Book: The description of how he taught Gordon Ramsey (of Hell's Kitchen fame) to abuse customers is reason enough; White was known to literally throw patrons out of the dining room if they dared criticize his cooking. It was recently announced that White will soon be the host of a new NBC cooking competition series called The Chopping Block, which will feature couples competing to win their own restaurant. The show is set to air sometime in the 2008/09 season.
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Dish & Tell: Life, Love and Secrets
By The Miami Bombshells (Patricia San Pedro, Tammi Leader Fuller, Annie San Roman, Lydia Sacasa, Sara Rosenberg, Mercedes Soler)
HarperCollins, 2005
Nonfiction
If you’re a fan of Sex and the City, this homespun version – six South Florida women telling all – is perfect for you. A group of forty-something women from Miami get together every month to share stories and support; from that group has sprung Dish & Tell, a selection of confessional tales from each of the ladies. Each woman has her own story to tell: married or divorced, with children or without, all with high-powered careers and a slew of secrets. Dish & Tell covers territory universal to all-women, and the writers give candid looks into both their daily lives and their hidden existences, including everything from carpools to illicit affairs. With their wide ranging points of view, the “Miami Bombshells” deliver a tell-it-like-it-is tome that speaks to women everywhere.
Why You Should This Book: Both insightful and delightful, Dish & Tell’s simple format – a collection of essays penned by six very different women – is chatty, fun, and touching. If you’re looking for girl talk in print, Dish & Tell is the book for you.
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Dinner With Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Dinner Table
By Cameron Stracher
Random House, 2007
Nonfiction
Cameron Stracher is living the American Dream - the only problem is he's too busy to enjoy it. As a New York City lawyer with a beautiful suburban home (located two hours away in Connecticut), a wife, and two small children, Stracher spend most of his day either in, or en route to, the rat race, working long hours to pay for his perfect lifestyle, a feeling that many overworked and overextended people can relate to. Then one day, on yet another long train ride home, he comes up with a great idea - for one year, he'll try to be home at least five night weeks for a real, family-style dinner, even deciding to cook many of said dinners himself.
What ensues is not quite what he expected. His two children, fans of hot dogs and plain pasta, aren't as excited by his culinary experiments as he hopes. When he abandons his office for a work-at-home situation a few days a week, his wife Christine bristles at the interruption and banishes him to the nearest library. What keeps Cameron going is the belief that time spent with his family - blocks of time, not just "quality" time - will make the difference in his life and their's. This thoughtful, honest, and funny book touches on themes and questions anyone can relate to: achieving balance in life, family roles and relationships, and the value of love and togetherness.
Why You Should Read This Book: Enjoyable and fun, Dinner With Dad paints an honest portrait of family life - sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet, but always real. The author challenges himself to do what many want to and can't, and the results aren't always perfect. He cuts back on his workload only to find he's short on bill money. He takes time to spend with his family only to find they seem to become a little tired of him. You find yourself cheering for Cameron Stracher and his well-intended efforts, and the book's natural and non-forced conclusion definitely offers food for thought.
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Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
By Sudhir Venkatesh
Penguin Books, 2008
Non-Fiction, Social Science
This is the true story of a gutsy sociologist who stepped out of the hallowed halls of academia and onto the mean streets of urban Chicago to conduct first-hand research on poverty and gangs. And research he did, infiltrating the Black Kings, one of the city’s most notorious drug-dealing gangs. Venkatesh’s unorthodox research into the underground economy of the ghetto, first introduced in the bestseller Freakonomics, brings him into contact with a host of neighborhood characters living in the Robert Taylor housing project, including gang leader J.T. Under J.T.’s tutelage and protection, Venkatesh learns the business of streetside crack dealing and even gets the chance to be the leader of the Black Kings for a day.
For almost a decade, Venkatesh immersed himself in the world of inner-city poverty, learning how life really works in the ghetto. He discovered a thriving underground economy where tenants sell candy out of their apartments, fix flat tires and repair cars for cash in the parking lot, and single mothers pool their resources to survive.
Why You Should Read This Book: Gang Leader for a Day works well as both a sociological examination of the urban poor, but its also a classic fish-out-of-water tale. Venkatesh’s wry commentary and un-selfconscious, almost ignorant, efforts to meld his middle-class mindset into that of the ghetto world he becomes immersed in offer a fascinating look at inner-city life and the mind of the researcher who captured it.
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I Am America (And So Can You!)
By Stephen Colbert
Grand Central Publishing, 2007
Comedian Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report brings his own brand of political correctness (and “truthiness”) to his book I Am America (And So Can You), a fictional “biography” of America – as told from Colbert’s righteously hilarious viewpoint. Colbert tackles issues of national importance such as Kashi cereal, terrorists, the Hollywood Blacklist, and atheism. Colbert takes the reader on a rollicking ride through his view of what’s right and wrong with America today, including sections on religion, family, and other righteously important topics.
With tongue-in-cheek writing, great illustrations and graphics, I Am America (And So Can You!) is written in the same fake textbook style as America by John Stewart (Colbert’s former boss) but comes with extras such as stickers and red-inked margin notes.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you like the author’s pompous on-air personality and way-offbase political ideas, you’ll find I Am America a hilarious and irreverent way to tap into “Colbert-ica” anytime, especially as a welcome anti-political reprieve during an all-too-serious election year.
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I’ll Fly Away
By Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution
Harper, 2007
Acclaimed novelist Wally Lamb (She’s Come Undone) has a second career as a writing coach for York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut. I’ll Fly Away is a collection of essays from his students, a diverse group of women who’ve collected their thoughts and dreams in stories that cover everything from childhood memories to first impressions of prison. This second volume of Lamb’s students’ work (the first was Couldn’t Keep It To Myself) is poignant in its sincerity, and the essays are, each and every one, well written and riveting. If you’ve ever wondered how “they” – the criminals and disenfranchised - think and feel, I’ll Fly Away offers an insight into the soul, heart and mind of the writers and their brutal yet life-affirming experiences.
Why You Should Read This Book: Besides the innate beauty of the writing, I’ll Fly Away is enjoyable for its thought-provoking and intimate truth of the reality each of the writers’ face. Yes, they are convicted criminals, but the women behind these essays are much more than that, and their writing is testimony that these are thinking, feeling, and creative people behind those bars.
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Lincoln’s Melancholy – How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness
By Joshua Wolf Shenk
A Mariner Book: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
Nonfiction
This award-winning book traces the history of Abraham Lincoln’s life long periods of depression, showing how they affected his personal and public life, ultimately perhaps providing or compelling him with the life purposes of maintaining the union, ending slavery and freeing African-Americans.
Lincoln had a very difficult and sad life. His mother died when he was young. He was estranged from his father. His sister died in child birth. He lost several friends during his young adult life. He was evidently not very happy in his marriage and his favorite son died in the White House during the height of the Civil War.
Lincoln doubtless had long periods of serious depression and he expressed thoughts of suicide many times throughout his life. Yet, obviously, he excelled at his work, had strong convictions and changed America and history forever.
Why You Should Read This Book: This is a great book to understand Lincoln, how he suffered but succeeded. Depression can be overcome, often through action and commitment. Lincoln shows the way.
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Losing It – And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
By Valerie Bertinelli
Simon and Schuster, 2008
Nonfiction/Memoir
America’s girl next door, actress Valerie Bertinelli, tells all in her new memoir, Losing It. Tracing her life and career from her early days on the hit television show One Day at a Time to her whirlwind romance and marriage to rock guitar idol Eddie Van Halen, Bertinelli goes into detail about her weight, drugs, life on the rock and roll road, and how 9/11 gave her the motivation to make serious changes in her life and her body. Hired as a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig diet plan, Bertinelli lost forty plus pounds and, in the process, regained her self confidence and self esteem.
Why You Should Read This Book: Bertinelli pulls no punches in Losing It, and she doesn’t try to gloss over anything she has done, such as cheat on her husband or snort cocaine while filling out her marriage license paperwork. Bertinelli’s an engaging author, and the book is as inspirational as it is entertaining.
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Manic
By Terri Cheney
William Morrow, 2008
Terri Cheney was an overachiever – a graduate of Vassar and UCLA who became a Hollywood lawyer with clients such as Michael Jackson. With a Porsche and a home in Beverly Hills, Cheney seems to have it more than together. Truth told, she’s a manic depressive struggling to make it on a daily basis. While she does a pretty good job of holding it together, using her manic energy to help her cope with the long hours and sleepless nights required by her demanding career, she eventually loses her job, relationships, and her tenuous grip on reality. Manic delves into the 20-year period in Cheney’s life when she most affected by the disease, and it explores the damage that manic depression caused in her life. After experiencing her first major depression at 16, Cheney’s life is soon overtaken by hospital stays, a dizzying array of medications and even electroshock therapy. This book is raw and sometimes shocking, as Cheney strips away the pretenses of her perfect life to reveal a damaged – yet hopeful – woman.
Why You Should Read This Book: While parts of Manic, especially the descriptions of jail and mental hospitals, are brutal, the inspiring ending leaves the reader with the idea that all things are possible, and even the most broken human spirit has value and can be redeemed.
Click here to place a hold on this book.Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
The Families of Laura Van Ryn ad Whitney Cerak Tell Their True Story
By Don and Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen, and Whitney Cerak with Mark Tabb
Howard Books, 2008
Nonfiction
This is a heartbreaking tale of mistaken identity that forever changed the lives of two families. A van carrying a group of college students crashes head-on into a truck; five students are killed, and another is critically wounded. Whitney Cerak is pronounced dead on the scene while Laura Van Ryn is rushed to the hospital, in critical condition, where her family lovingly cares for her. But five weeks later, the truth is revealed – the young woman in the hospital isn’t Van Ryn, its Whitney Cerak. How could her family not have realized the young woman in the hospital bed was not their daughter? Both the Ceraks and the Van Ryns are deeply faithful families, and it is their faith that pulls all of them through this horrible, harrowing experience.
Why You Should Read This Book: While the authors could have gone with a more lurid account, they chose instead to write a moving account of how one’s beliefs and faith can turn a tragic event into a life-affirming occasion.
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The Panic Years: A Guide to Surviving Smug Married Friends, Bad Taffeta, and Life on the Wrong Side of 25 Without a Ring
By Doree Lewak
Broadway Books, 2008
Nonfiction
Doree Lewak is a woman obsessed. Her mission is marriage and this book covers what Lewak calls “the panic years,” when everyone around her is pairing up and getting hitched. The Panic Years is a do-it-yourself guide to finding and marrying Mr. Right, with tips on everything from how to ignore “you’re still single?” questions to “projecting hotness and desirability” to getting a ring and proposal. Half humor, half self-help, The Panic Years takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the race to the altar from the single girl’s point of view. Armed with an iron will and the power of positive thinking, Lewak believes that true love is right around the corner, you just have to be willing to work for it.
Why You Should Read This Book: Whether you’re moving toward marriage or just want a few laughs, The Panic Years is a fun read that offers real-life advice and a host of amusing anecdotes. Sick of being a bridesmaid? Lewak’s tips and strategies should have you off the market and down the aisle in no time.
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Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler
By L. Jon Wertheim
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007
Nonfiction
Here's the tale of Kid Delicious, the most unlikely pool hustler you'll ever come across, a likeable fellow with a big heart, a big belly, and plenty of talent. His story starts with a portrait of Delicious as a young man: an overweight, depressed high school dropout who finds his happiness and acceptance at a rundown pool hall. Kid Delicious becomes one of the country's best pool players - and a first-class hustler. He teams up with a partner, Bristol Bob, and the two of them hit the highways, traveling from Alabama to Alberta in search of another game and a good hustle.
This book takes the reader on a tour of back-roads America, where pool hustlers, card sharks and pro gamblers travel from town to town taking chances and making money. Written by Sports Illustrated staffer L. Jon Wertheim, Running the Table isn't a book about shooting pool - it's more character study than sports writing. Kid Delicious and Bristol Bob have created their own American Dream, as far from the nine-to-five world as one could get, and this is their story.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you've ever dreamt of running away to join the circus or of going off on a Great American Adventure of your own, this book will speak to the rebel inside. Lively, fast-paced and fun, Running the Table introduces you to an extremely likable cast of real-life characters and their wild success on the fringes of mainstream America.
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Slash
By Slash with Anthony Bozza
Harper Entertainment, 2007
Nonfiction/Memoir
This rollicking read by guitarist Slash, of Guns and Roses and Velvet Revolver fame, is a quick-moving, fun autobiography of a rock-and-roll success story who takes his music seriously but his fame and fortune with a grain of self-effacing salt. Humorous and imminently readable, the book covers Slash's early days as the BMX-riding son of a British painter and an African-American costume designer who once dated David Bowie to his teen years as an upstart in Hollywood's fast and furious music scene and his rise to music stardom. Slash details the musician's creative process, his stormy relationship with bandmate Axl Rose, and his adventures on the road and off. Candid and humorous, the book covers all of the upsets, excesses and excitement of a life lived in high gear, from wine to women to song, with everything in between.
Why You Should Pick Up This Book: With an intelligent voice and a sharp wit that's more often turned to his own foibles, Slash's narration draws the reader in using humor and honesty. Turning the table on the stereotype of the not-so-bright yet ever-egotistical rocker, Slash paints a realistic portrait of a man and an artist who follows his muse down whatever path it might take him, pausing often to take a look and a laugh at the highly unlikely and ever-amusing life he's crafted for himself.
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sTORItelling
By Tori Spelling
Simon Spotlight, 2008
Memoir
Tori Spelling - poor little rich girl, nepotism survivor and famous family feuder – lets loose with her new autobiography, telling us the true story behind growing up mega-rich and connected in Hollywood. Father Aaron Spelling produced some of the biggest shows on television, and he made sure his little daughter Tori got a role on each, culminating in her ten-year run as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills 90210. Tori lived the life of the spoiled rich girl, lived in a Beverly Hills mansions, made a bunch of money as a made-for-TV-movie star, spend all said money on shopping and feeding her abusive boyfriend’s gambling addiction, got married, fell in love with another married person, got divorced, got remarried, had a baby and started her own quasi-reality show NoTORIious. Besides getting to hear the juicy details of what really happened between her and her parents (including why her bazilllionaire father only left her a paltry $800,000 in his will), the reader might experience a startling revelation – Tori Spelling actually seems like a pretty fun, and funny, person. She never misses a moment to make fun of herself, and she mentions more than a few highly personal details that many of us would ashamed to reveal.
Why You Should Read This Book: sTORItelling is actually very funny, a sort of neo-camp Mommie Dearest combined with an E True Hollywood story. The end of the book, especially the endless description of her “perfect love” and happy ending with husband Dean McDermott, is a little grating, but the stories about her mean mom and hellraising 90210 co-stars more than make up for that.
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Twisted Triangle
By Caitlin Rother
Jossy Bass, 2008
True Crime
This bizarre true-crime tale brings it all together – illicit love affairs, FBI agents, high-profile authors, and the burning passion of revenge. Margo Bennett, a married FBI agent and mother of two pre-teen daughters, is finding it harder and harder to stay with her husband Gene, also an FBI agent and a mastermind of undercover investigation and subterfuge. However, Gene had involved her in some slightly shady business deals that defrauded their employer, deals that could also incriminate Margo. Sparks fly when Margo meets mystery/crime author Patricia Cornwall, and the two women embark on a torrid, if short-lived affair. As Margo’s marriage breaks down and she begins to reveal the extent of Gene’s illegal activities to their bosses, her husband becomes a monster, kidnapping Margo and inventing elaborate lies to cover his crimes, torturing her and accusing her of stealing thousands of dollars.
Although Gene was convicted of the kidnapping crime and served time, he wasn’t finished with Margo – during his next attempt on her life, he kidnapped the reverend of her church and made him invite Margo to the church under false pretenses, where he planned to shoot and kill her. Meanwhile, authorities were dubious of Margo’s story – truth really is stranger than fiction – but she was finally vindicated when Gene was convicted and sentenced.
Why You Should Read This Book: Like a Lifetime television movie in print, Twisted Triangle presents the facts from Margo’s point of view, offering very little insight into the psychology of Gene Bennett, or why he did this to his wife. Along with being a fascinating true crime tale, this book also shows the devastation of victimization, as you follow Margo’s story through her early marriage, her meeting with Cornwall, her husband’s crime and the ensuing aftermath.
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Unto the Daughters
By Karen Tintori
St. Martin’s Press; 2007
Nonfiction
Karen Tintori is curious about her Sicilian family’s past. Immigrants who settled in Detroit in 1914, the Costa family has a secret, and her name is Francesca. Tintori, a journalist with dual Italian/U.S. citizenship, makes it her mission to discover what really happened to her great-aunt Francesca, and what she uncovers is both painful and poignant.
Unto the Daughters, which switches seamlessly from modern times to days past, is the troubled tale of the Costa family – their life in rural Italy, their ocean voyage to America, and their survival in Detroit’s Little Sicily. The Costa family assimilates as best they can: the brothers get jobs at Ford and make friends with rum runners and hoodlums, the sisters learn how to cook, keep house and find a husband. Sister Josie finds love with a man approved of by her family, but Francesca’s not so lucky. While she’s head over heels in love with the local barber, her father and brothers promise her to a local crime family boss, a move that will ingratiate them with the local Mafia and help improve their lot in life.
When Francesca makes a move toward independence, she’s declared a disgrace for dishonoring her family, and the price for that disgrace is blood. Rich with historic (and horrifying) details, Unto the Daughters traces a legacy of violence that may have led to the murder of Francesca by those closest to her and a family that has lived shrouded in secrets and lies.
Why You Should Read This Book: Bravely written and very readable, this book is touching and sad, filled with what ifs and might-have-beens. Deftly mixing true-crime with biography, memoir and history, Unto the Daughters reads like a novel – and you’ll wish it was when you reach it’s bloody and shocking conclusion.
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Vindicate: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball
By Jose Canseco
Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008
Former baseball player Jose Canseco has written yet another tome on the subject of baseball and steroids in professional sports. His first book, Juiced, covered his early life, his discovery of the joys and wonders of steroids, and how he single-handedly got almost every major league player involved in performance-enhancing drugs. Canseco calls himself “the godfather of steroids” and claims that his introduction of them to major league baseball saved the game by giving fans a better game with more home runs and more record-breaking moves. After getting blackballed from pro baseball, Canseco decided to set the record straight, especially after the Mitchell report on steroids confirmed that drug use was rampant in the major leagues.
Canseco’s first book was all about “naming names” and accusing his fellow ballplayers of steroid use, and his second more of the same. We get transcripts of his appearance before a congressional hearing on steroids, transcripts of polygraph tests he’s taken to prove that he’s telling the truth, a discussion on whether Roger Clemens is on ‘roids, and many claims as to how Canseco’s the most important person in baseball today.
Why You Should Read This Book: This insider’s look at the world of pro baseball and what players must do to win is eye-opening, and Canseco’s conversational tone makes for a quick, easy read. Also, readers will be entertained at the term “Mitch-slapped,” used by Canseco to describe how he felt when he realized his thoughts and opinions weren’t needed for the now-famous Mitchell Report.
Click here to place a hold on this book.When the Husband is the Suspect
By F. Lee Bailey and Jean Rabe
Forge Books, 2008
True Crime
Famed attorney F. Lee Bailey takes a look at some of the most infamous cases of uxoricide, murder by one’s spouse, from the past 50 years. With his unique perspective, Bailey examines the crime itself, the alleged killers’ actions before, discussing in objective detail the legal machinations of each homicidal husband’s prosecution and trials. From Claus von Bulow to Robert Blake, Bailey writes that when a woman is killed, her spouse or lover is almost immediately the main suspect, with passion often fueling the flames of murder. One of the most fascinating chapters is the one focusing on O.J. Simpson, and Bailey, as one of Simpson’s defense attorneys, is in the unique position of being able to show an insider’s view of the trial, including the reasons why he thought Simpson was acquitted. Bailey also focuses on homicidal spouses’ mistakes – the clumsy way they tried to cover up crimes and the suspicious actions that lead to capture and conviction.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you’re interested in a solid overview of these famous cases from an author who definitely knows true crime, When the Husband is the Suspect is a fascinating look into the machinations of murder.
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A Wolf at the Table
By Augusten Burroughs
St. Martin’s Press, 2008
Biography
Another memoir from the man who brought us the darkly funny Running With Scissors, A Wolf at the Table is ten times darker and half as funny. Actually, fans of the writer’s early works, characterized by his wry outlook on life and dry wit, won’t find much to laugh about in Burroughs’ latest book, which delves into the twisted psyche of his philosopher father, and serves as a prequel to Running With Scissors. Read along as Dad ignores his son, kills Augusten’s guinea pig, and creates general chaos in the lives of the author and his mother. Some parts are touching and sweet, but overall, A Wolf at the Table is a sad tale of a young boy growing up in a vastly dysfunctional family.
Why You Should Read This Book: Although the topic is grim, Augusten Burroughs’ is such a strong writer that, while the story is ugly, his prose is always beautiful. While parts of A Wolf at the Table seem a bit voyeuristic, overall the book is a captivating read.
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A Year Without Made in China: One Family’s True-Life Adventures in the Global Economy
By Sara Biongiorni
Wiley, 2007
Sara Bongiorni, a business journalist living in Louisiana, decides that she’s going to start her own economic adventure: for one year, her and her family (husband and two small children) will eschew items that were assembled, made, or come from China.
Easy? Not so much. Looking around her house Bongiorni realizes that almost everything – from toys to shoes to electronic goods – is made in China. But Bongiorni perseveres, much to the chagrin of her husband, whom she dubs “the weakest link, and son, who, at four years old, quickly finds out that Danish-made Lego’s (the only non-Chinese toy available) is, while fun, no match the vast bounty of Chinese-made toys.
One drawback of this book is that readers are never quite entirely sure what fuels Bongiorni’s project – you do learn a bit about international trade and the desperation involved with attempting to find relatively inexpensive non-Chinese sunglasses, but not the reasons behind the author’s dedication to such a challenging task.
Why You Should Read This Book: Bongiorni is witty and has no problem laughing at herself, and her writing is conversational and fun. A Year Without Made in China brings to light just how ubiquitous Chinese-made products how, and how dependent Americans are on foreign trade.
Click here to place a hold on this book.Fiction back to top
And Then We Came to the End
By Joshua Ferris
Little, Brown and Company, 2007
Fiction
For anyone who’s ever been on a sinking ship or known the joy of living through layoffs, And Then We Came to the End is the perfect summary of the downward spiral of humanity trapped by the inevitable. The story of the employees of a Chicago advertising agency in 2001 trying to weather the cruel realities of post dot-com economy, it’s written in first-person plural, as Ferris employs a collective “we” voice to tell the tales of the office staff and the day-to-day realities of work such as free food in the boardroom, gossip, and an ever-increasing paranoia as layoffs begin. Stolen office chairs and an over-zealous e-mailer add to the tension, as Ferris writes a bitingly accurate portrayal of life in the cubicle lane.
Why You Should Read This Book: This debut novel by a former ad copywriter won numerous literary awards, but beyond that, the writer’s fresh, funny and on-target inside look at the daily intrigues and dysfunction of the world of work are relatable to anyone who’s ever suited up and showed up.
Click here to place a hold on this book.The Boleyn Inheritance
By Philippa Gregory
Touchstone, 2006
Historical Fiction
From the author of The Other Boleyn Girl comes yet another glorious novel that deftly weaves historical fact with finely crafted fiction to bring readers a richly layered story of the stormy personal lives of England’s Tudor family. The Boleyn Inheritance focuses on the lives of three women who were key players in the drama that was King Henry IIIV’s court – Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife; Katherine Howard, his fifth wife; and Jane Rochford, whose sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn, and husband, George Boleyn, were executed because she testified against them.
Their stories alternate and are told in first person, a technique that draws the reader into the inner thoughts of three very strong, yet very different women. Each played a dangerous game that came down to survival, but each played it her own way. Cleves, rejected by her new husband King Henry, is smart but unattractive, and how she manages to avoid execution is fascinating even if fabricated. Katherine “Kitty” Howard uses seduction to become queen, but her victory is short-lived, while evil Jane Rochford is the picture of depravity, ruthless and driven to the very end.
Why You Should Read This Book: Gregory, one of the finest writers in historical fiction, has created a masterful, moving novel that offers three-dimensional characters that battle unique odds to simply survive. Well-crafted and riveting, The Boleyn Inheritance is a must-read for fans of this genre.
Click here to place a hold on this book.Christ the Lord: the Road to Cana
By Anne Rice
Knopf, 2008
Biographical Fiction
Anne Rice, famous for writing Interview with the Vampire and a number of dark, atmospheric novels, has rediscovered and embraced her Roman Catholic heritage. She has changed her subject matter from creatures of the dark to servants of the Light. Her latest book, Christ the Lord: the Road to Cana covers the little-documented time between Jesus’ youth and his three-year ministry. Using just the few biographical facts about this stage of Jesus’ life plus an exhaustive study of the culture of the day, she has woven together a fascinating story told in the first person by Jesus (Yeshua) himself. As this section of the story unfolds, the son of God only gradually becomes aware of his powers and his purpose. He is very human and often ineffectual, teased by the others and frustrated with things he can’t control. Yet his intelligence and his spirit shine out in unexpected times. Family ties are incredibly strong in Yeshua’s Jewish community, and the activities of his extended family carry him though life until he finds his own way into the wilderness for 40 days of painful introspection and preparation. This part of the story ends with the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you picture Jesus the Carpenter as a man with long, golden brown curls and a shiny white robe standing in an open air workshop and gently sanding a long board held firmly in a vise, you will definitely benefit from reading this book. Anne Rice depicts Yeshua as part of a work team hired out to labor in a variety of buildings, doing the dirty, dusty, back-breaking things a real contractor would do—and coming home tired and sore. Also, you’ll have an inside-the-head and inside-the-heart look at what Jesus might have valued and struggled with, as he tried to live up to the prophecy of the Wise Men and the wisdom of the prophets.
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Invisible Prey
By John Sandford
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2007
Fiction
While Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch could be called king of the lone wolf police detectives, John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport is a prince with few peers in that genre. Throughout the series of Prey books (Rules of Prey, Eyes of Prey, Winter Prey, Naked Prey, etc.), Lucas Davenport untangles mysteries, apprehends murderers, saves lives, finds romance, drives a Porsche (funded from the computer games he created), and works his way up the job ladder. Now, he has settled down, with a wife and child, and a stray teenage girl who has become his ward.
In the book Invisible Prey, Davenport is juggling two hot potato cases at the same time: one of them is to do damage control for a State Senator about to be arrested for having sex with an underage girl (the daughter of a woman he was dating), and the other is to solve the brutal killing of a rich woman and her maid inside their home. Davenport uses his political cunning to try to steer the first case out of harm’s way (but not entirely) and he gets perplexed with the continued killings connected with the second case. One of the compelling aspects of the killings is they are associated with a set of quilts designed by a woman who wove terrible curses into the hem of her quilts that were aimed at her abusive husband. All throughout the novel, we follow the progress of a pair of gleeful murderers that could have come out of a Hitchcock movie or Sweeny Todd.
Why You Should Read This Book: You can curl up with any book by John Sandford and enjoy a good read with a tight plot and vivid characters. After reading five or six of the Prey novels, you may find a rather strong pattern, but there are some surprises in this novel that keep the franchise fresh! And the rascally Davenport is ever charming in his rough and tumble fashion. This is a book to read on the beach, in a comfy chair, or in quick bites during your lunch hour.
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Never Enough
By Joe McGinniss
Simon & Schuster, 2007
True Crime
Rob and Nancy Kissel had it all. Rich, good looking, with three beautiful children and a life filled with all the luxuries money could buy. An ambitious investment banker, Rob climbed the corporate ladder, landing a plum position in Hong Kong making millions of dollars a year. Blonde, beautiful Nancy spent her days shopping, purchasing endless amounts of shoes, handbags, jewelry and designer clothes. As the years roll on, the couple grows apart, with workaholic Rob traveling throughout Asia almost constantly, and Nancy starting a steamy affair with one of the workmen hired to install a stereo at there country home in Vermont. When Rob discovers the affair, hiring a private detective to follow his wife, passions erupt and Rob ends up murdered. Nancy bludgeoned him, rolled his body in a carpet and kept him inside their bedroom for three days, finally attempting to dump the body – carpet and all – in a rented storeroom.
At her trial, she claimed she was an abused wife, but was nonetheless found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Why You Should Read This Book: If you really want to see how the other half lives, Never Enough is a peek into the world of big bucks and audacious living. Did Nancy’s life of luxury make her really believe she could get away with murdering her husband? All the money in the world couldn’t save this unhappy couple, and this book is a finely detailed account of the rise and fall of the Kissels.
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No Belongs Here More Than You
By Miranda July
Scribner, 2007
Short Stories
This collection of 16 short stories by artist/filmmaker/writer Miranda July brings you to a weird, wistful world narrated by the lost and the lonely. This is the first book from July, who produced and starred in the award-winning 2005 indie film You and Me and Everyone We Know, and its stories are skillfully written to evoke longing, lust and the desire for human connection. In The Sister, an aging factory worker and his co-worker Victor bond strangely over Victor’s mysterious and imaginary teenage sister. How to Tell Stories to Children tells the first-hand account of the unraveling relationship between a woman and her ex-lover’s daughter, while Making Love in 2003 offers the story of a young woman’s journey from dismissed protégé to the seducer of a teenage special needs student. Haunting and sentimental, the stories in No One Belongs Here More Than You have been previously published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Harper’s and other literary journals.
Why You Should Read This Book: Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always quirky, No One Belongs Here More Than You looks at human longing for love and acceptance, even in places where it’s not likely to be found. July’s characters aren’t always endearing, sweet or even vaguely “good”, but their flaws and foibles, though often odd, make for a collection of stories that have a consistent and strong voice.
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Peter Pan in Scarlet
By Geraldine McCaughrean
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2006
Fantasy Fiction
Billed as “the first-ever authorized sequel to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan,” this dark and twisted, inside-out version of Never Land will probably never see Disney’s animated touch. Years have passed since the first story, and Wendy and the Lost Boys have grown to adulthood in England. But all is not well in Never Land. The nightmares are leaking out and entering the dreams of those who once had adventures there. And these dreams are leaving behind mementos in John’s bed: a sword, a top hat, a candle, a tri-cornered hat, and an eye-patch. Wendy and John and the Lost Boys fear that Peter Pan is in trouble and they find a way to get back to Never Land as children once more. When they arrive, they find the beauty of that place has spoiled and Never Land has gone rotten in so many ways. In their new adventures, they find a circus with a very strange, raveling ringmaster and they hijack a familiar pirate’s ship in their quest for treasure. They find pain and disappointment, treachery and danger, sorrow and healing.
Why You Should Read This Book: Although billed as a Juvenile work, Peter Pan in Scarlet is not child’s play and it has very adult sensibilities, in the same way that Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland can be read by innocent minds but relished by those who have lived life more deeply. This story is almost hallucinatory—a kind of mind drug that takes you on a compelling adventure where nothing is quite what it seems. It will appeal to those who want to hear “the rest of the story.” The pixie dust in this book is still magic, but it is not safe in the slightest. You may be very glad to arrive safely on the other side of this novel.
Click here to place a hold on this book.Prince Caspian
By C.S. Lewis
Now that the Chronicles of Narnia have become a film franchise, it’s time to dust off the books that started it all. First published in 1951, Prince Caspian is a timeless tale that still sounds fresh and wonderful. The story picks up one year after the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Four English children are quite suddenly and magically summoned to Narnia and they discover that many hundreds of years have passed since they last visited it. At that time, they had grown up to be Kings and Queens in Narnia, only to return to childhood when they stumbled back into England. (But that’s another story.) In this story, the children find that Narnia has been taken over by the Telmarines and the children were called by a magical horn to help the remnant of true Narnians (including dwarves, fauns, centaurs, giants and talking beasts) to bring the rightful King to the throne. Aslan, the mystical lion, takes a back seat in this story but helps to guide the action, inspire courage and wake up sleeping tree spirits.
Why You Should Read This Book: Youthful fantasies like the Narnia stories are great fun to read whatever your age. Prince Caspian is packed with sensory details—the children are lost in the forest, exploring a ruined castle, rowing a boat in the heat of the day, swinging a sword against someone older and stronger . . . the vivid descriptions just pull you headlong into the scenes. And there are psychological battles among brothers and sisters and between tyrants and the people they would control, and physical battles with swords and shields, and with bows and arrows. The book is a quick read and a joyful feast. One of Lewis’ recurring themes is escaping from an unsatisfactory life to enjoy the thrill of living the life you were meant to live, finding your steps in the great dance of the universe.
Click here to place a hold on this book.The Ruins
By Scott Smith
Knopf, 2006
Fiction/Horror
Thoroughly creepy and altogether engaging, The Ruins, by Scott Smith, is an engrossing novel that draws the reader in with its ever-increasing elements of suspense, empathy, and it-could-happen-to-you awfulness. Featuring all-too-normal lead characters (a group of young Americans on a jaunt to Mexico) coming head-to-head with an escalating nightmare, this book delivers not only chills and thrills, but a disconcerting portrait of what average people might do in a terrifyingly not-normal situation (hint: it's not pretty).
A group of carefree vacationers set out to a remote jungle site in search of an acquaintance's missing brother, but from the very start their journey is thwarted by elements both natural and supernatural. The book winds from a tale of wilderness survival to a psychological thriller to an out-and-out horror show, all the while keeping the story moving along to its ultimate awful end that might make you look at your houseplants in a whole new, and suspicious, way. While you may want to close your eyes to avoid seeing what The Ruins reveal, the race to the conclusion - as realistic as one could be in the genre of horror writing - will keep you turning page after page.
Why You Should Pick Read This Book: Although not a fan of horror or suspense novels, I was riveted by The Ruins. You want things to turn out different, you hope things are going to turn out different…but the inevitably of what happens at the end provides a satisfying, if not happy, conclusion. The 2007 bestselling novel was recently made into a feature film that opened in early 2008.
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Smoke, Mirrors and Murder And Other True Cases
Ann Rule’s Crime Files: Vol. 12
By Ann Rule
Simon & Schuster Pocket Books, 2008
Crime
True crime aficionados look forward to each and every one of Ann Rule’s books - and there are plenty of them – and her latest doesn’t disappoint. Smoke, Mirrors and Murder follows Rules usual format, with one long story and a few other shorter ones, but this time she’s picked a theme – wives. Wives who kill, wives who are killed, wives who almost kill...The first story, The Deputy’s Wife, covers a murder-for-hire scheme dreamed up by an officer of the law who want’s his spouse out of the way, while the shorter tales include a kidnapping, a dead husband buried in the backyard, and other heinous homicides. Two sections of photos bring the crimes and the criminals to life.
Why You Should Read This Book: As the go-to girl for true crime, Ann Rule has a knack for ferreting out and chronicling some of the Northwest’s worst crimes, and the “wives” theme ties this collection up nicely.
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Stardust
A review of the 2007 film.
As a star falls from the sky, an English youth named Tristan proposes to fetch the fallen star to win the hand of the town beauty, a smug young lady who has a more suitable suitor in the wings. She gives him a week to accomplish his task or she will marry his rival. Since the star landed on the far side of the forbidden wall, Tristan has to break the law by jumping across a low point in the wall and into the fantasy realm of Stormhold. Magic runs rampant in this new place and propels the youth headlong into a wild series of adventures. He is given some magic artifacts and finds that the fallen star is a beautiful, stunned young lady. He binds her to him with a magic rope so he can return with her to show to his bride and win her hand. But in this story, nothing comes easily. There are three haggard witches who maintain their youthful appearance through thousands of years by dining on stardust—a commodity of which they are nearly out. One of those witches has been dispatched to find the star and retrieve her heart so they can feed on it and restore their youth and beauty. Another complication is that the King of Stormhold is dying and his sons are killing each other so they can be the one to ascend to the throne. The surviving sons (with their ghostly brothers commenting on the action) are searching for the star for another reason: to retrieve from her a ruby that will seal the deal for the throne.
Why You Should Watch This Movie: In the first half of the movie, the plot is like a top being slowly wound with string, and then, with a sharp twirl, the movie spins into action and leaves you breathless and enchanted in the end. A little patience is required to set the stage of this elaborate fairy tale, but the payoff—at least for fantasy lovers—is worth the wait. The movie has been compared to The Princess Bride and Shrek for its fresh way of fashioning a fairy tale.
Click here to place a hold on this movie.True Evil
By Greg Iles
2006, Scribner
What price would you pay for a foolproof way to slowly kill off your spouse with no suspicion being drawn to you? A person could safely collect the dead spouse’s assets (or preserve his/her own assets from a nasty divorce settlement) and go merrily on with life. “True evil has a face you know and a voice you trust” . . . so begins this novel filled with medical intrigue, lust and greed, and in the opposing corner, sacrificial love and a relentless pursuit of justice.
In her dying moments, a young mother begs her sister, Alex, to protect her son from his father—a man she believes is the cause of her dying. The sister’s sudden death catapults Alex into a breakneck race to uncover the truth about the cause of her condition and leads Alex into a quest that could cost her her job, her health, and her very life.
Based on the evidence she has assembled, Alex believes a talented doctor is about to be betrayed by his wife and scheduled for a slow death. She attempts to convince the doctor of this horrific truth, and enlist his help in her maverick efforts, while losing her credibility with the FBI. This creates a tension that propels the drama to a climactic finish.
Why You Should Read This Book: The protagonist in this novel is a valiant lady with a few flaws, known as Special Agent Alex Morse of the FBI. Alex has a face severely scarred from a hostage negotiation gone bad, resulting in an explosion that killed her lover. As the action ramps up, she has to choose between loyalty to her job and loyalty to her family. Not only is she trying to save her nephew and avenge her sister, but her mother is slowly dying a natural death and she must continually return to her bedside. The family ties of this book are powerful and inspiring, and the plotting of this intricate thriller is breathtaking and pulse-pounding. It is a great read.
Click here to place an online hold for this book.Lifestyle back to top
The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
By Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
Oxmoor House, 2007
Lifestyle, Self Improvement
First off, this is not a diet book. There are no food plans or recipes, no exercise tips or fitness routines. The Beck Diet Solution uses cognitive therapy techniques for dieting, training your brain to rethink ideas about food, diets, and eating. Beck, one of the foremost authorities on cognitive therapy, offers a six-week plan that not only helps you lose unwanted weight, but keep it off. The Beck Diet Solution includes six weeks worth of daily activities that include checklists, writing assignments and to-do lists, all broken down into six sections that include “Laying the Groundwork,” “Preparing to Diet,” “Starting Your Diet,” and “Responding to Sabotaging Thoughts.” According to Beck, anyone can become a thin person by retraining their thinking, no matter whether they’re on Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or the South Beach Diet. Actual accounts of people Beck’s helped in her private practice make it easy for readers to identify with the theories she discusses, and the format – one assignment per day for six weeks – makes sticking with it simple.
Why You Should Read This Book: Yo-yo dieters and life-long problem eaters now have a commonsense, positive method of getting thin and getting healthy – for life. The book includes valuable tools for making this journey, including charts, questionnaires and graphs that are extremely helpful to anyone who’s fighting the battle of the bulge.
Click here to place a hold on this book.
The Great Funk: Falling Apart (And Coming Together) on a Shag Rug
By Thomas Hine
Sarah Crichton, 2008
“In the Sixties, as the nation anticipated the conquest of space, the defeat of poverty, and an end to injustice at home and abroad, no goal seemed beyond America’s reach. And then came the Seventies.”
And so begins The Great Funk, a historical, hysterical look back at the 1970s in all its baby boomer glory. Hine, the author of Populuxe, a book of the styles and enthusiasms of post-World War II America and a contributor to magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly and Martha Stewart Living, takes a tongue-in-cheek look at not just the fads and fashions of the Seventies, but at conscious raising, the economy, the rise and fall of disco music, and fashion.
Part anthropology, part pop psychology and all fun, The Great Funk (which ends with a section on Ronald Reagan, the man who marked the definitive end of the decade) covers such strangely Seventies phenomenon as talking to your plant, decorating with macramé and the rise of the man-made fabric. Smartly written and illustrated with photos, drawings, album and book covers, The Great Funk pulls no punches, paying as much attention to serious issues such as Patty Hearst and “stagnation” as it does to top baby names of the decade.
Why You Should Read This Book: Chapter titles such as “Nights in Green Dacron” and the funky photos of hairstyles past provide the entertainment while Hine’s historical analysis elevates discussions of shag rugs and Pacers from nostalgia fluff to serious subjects.
Click here to place an online hold on this book.I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence
By Amy Sedaris
Warner Books, 2006
Nonfiction/Cooking/Lifestyle/Humor
Actress, comedienne, and all-around funny girl Amy Sedaris puts a new twist (that is uniquely twisted) on the topic of at-home entertaining. Throwing a dinner party for the elderly? Sedaris has a sample menu that includes "I Remember the War" cube steaks and canned pork and beans. Need ideas on how to cheer up a funeral or wake, what to buy a nun for her birthday or the best way to make a Greek dress? Sedaris has them, and she's more than willing to share!
Visually, I Like You is a treat unto itself, created scrapbook-style with photos of Sedaris in various poses, wigs and outfits, outrageously styled food shots complete with wacky vintage props, and handwritten lists and home recipes. This book is filled with the odd, the unusual, and, actually, a slew of good recipes from Ms. Sedaris' own kitchen (her cheese balls and cupcakes are highly recommended). There's also safety tips (when cooking, don't wear wizard sleeves), info on thwarting nosy guests (fill your medicine cabinet with marbles) and nifty craft ideas (make a greeting card from a Land-O-Lakes butter box).
Why Should You Read This Book: Whether you need a good laugh or a good recipe for meatballs, I Like You is the only cookbook/how-to guide/comedy book you'll ever need. Amy Sedaris' tone is firmly tongue-in-cheek, but I Like You is the rare book that can crack you up and teach you the best way to freeze meatballs, all in one volume.
Click here to place an online hold on the book.
Basic Black
By Cathie Black
Crown Business, 2007
Nonfiction, Memoir, Business
From leaving your resume on the photocopier that a top executive then picks up to making your point with a giant tomato, Basic Black is a combination of Cathie Black’s memoir and how-to-guide for college graduates and established professionals.
Cathie Black is the president of Hearst magazines and oversees almost two dozen magazines in the United States and more than 200 in the world. She uses the book as a tool to directly communicate with the reader about what advice she would like to have had and what she thinks will work for readers in similar situations.
She discusses the frustration of balancing life and taking on more at work to build personal and professional success. She also openly stresses the point for women to not look to the past and just dwell on mistakes. Cathie Black tells the reader an array on candid mistakes that she personally made such as an incident on a private jet and a thank you gift as well as how she should have handled these situations. She also discusses things that she think will help the reader such as the point of standing out by wearing costumes, yes costumes, to a sales meeting.
Why you should read this book: Cathie Black tells her story as a conversation with a good friend. She shares very interesting points and tells how she made mistakes. She also takes the time to explain to the reader, how he or she can get the most from her experience. Very few authors will give you their honest advice and tell you how they could have learned from their own mistakes. It is a candid and intriguing look at how a successful businesswoman became who she genuinely is and how she would improve.
Click here to place a hold on this book.
Fish! Tales: Bite-sized stories. Unlimited Possibilities.
By: Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., John Christensen, and Harry Paul, with Phillip Strand
ChartHouse Learning, 2002
Business
Fish! Tales is a quick read that is told as a narrated guide of stories and personal experiences. It begins with the foundation of the World Famous Pike Place Fish market and how their employees use customer service techniques that include:
• Play
• Make their day
• Be there
• Choose your attitude
The book explains these four features and offers 12 transformational activities such as random acts of kindness and cows as well as encouraging people to set world records.
Why You Should Read This Book: Fish! Tales is an eye-opening motivational book that explains how any work environment can be transformed into a fun, productive, and meaningful place for everyone. The stories of a person coming back from a two-week vacation, getting off the elevator on the fifth floor and seeing fish decorations hanging from the ceiling, fish magnets, and fish posters to a medical office advising less than happy customers to literally wear a stuffed-monkey on their back, shows how emotions and attitude can affect as well as transform any organization.
Click here to place a hold on this book.
Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?
By Seth Godin
Portfolio, 2007
Nonficiton, Business/Marketing
Seth Godin’s latest marketing guide is a total of 232 pages and a very quick read. This book is important to any organization that is attempting to market through new online and interactive media formats.
The Meatball Sundae title comes from the idea of when good things are put together they do not always make for a pleasant combination. Although a firm’s traditional marketing efforts are appealing and their new online efforts are great, when combined, it becomes a confusing and unattractive situation.
Two significant points to learn from this book include:
• The point of the book shows how online and traditional media must work together to be effective. Most organizations do not understand how this impacts what customers perceive about the organization and its products or services.
• The books also points out how marketing has changed with the new opportunities online. No longer are customers set in a geographic area, your customers can be anywhere in the world. Any organization can market to them and communicate with them instantly.
Godin uses real-world examples to support his point of view throughout the book.
Click here to place a hold on this book.
