Hot New Books -- December 21, 2009

Here is a sample of some recently acquired books the library has added to its collection...

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Lady Vernon and Her Daughter /by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway.
An interpretation of Austen's novella 'Lady Susan' finds a widow losing her family home through entail to her deceased husband's brother and dealing with her daughter's romantic prospects, which are complicated by a need for financial security.

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The Monster in the Box /by Ruth Rendell.
In Edgar-winner Rendell's 22nd Inspector Wexford novel, the British police detective confronts a man from his past, Eric Targo, who he suspects is guilty of multiple murders.

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The Disciple / by Stephen Coonts.When it is discovered that Iran is weeks away from having operational nuclear weapons and that Ahmadinejad is plotting a brutal holy war, CIA agents Tommy Carmellini and Jake Grafton receive vital information from a group of Iranian dissidents and begin a world-saving race against time.F H313mMama Dearest / by E. Lynn Harris.Yancey Harrington Braxton's plans to star in a reality television series are threatened by Madison B., an up-and-coming star and Yancey's long-lost daughter, as well as her own mother, Ava Middlebrooks, who is desperate for a comeback.

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Breathless / by Dean Koontz.
Isolating himself in the Colorado Rockies, craftsman Grady Adams encounters a pair of beautiful furred animals that challenge everything he and a local veterinarian understand about the natural world, a discovery for which they are targeted by government forces.

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Nanny Returns /by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.
In this sequel to the Nanny diaries, Nan returns to New York after 10 years abroad and is approached by a drunken 16-year-old Grayer X, who describes his parents' brutal divorce and prompts her re-entry into child care for the elite.

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A Dead Hand / by Paul Theroux.When Jerry Delfont, a travel writer with writer's block, receives a letter from an American philanthropist, Mrs Merrill Unger, with news of a scandal involving an Indian friend of her son's, he is sufficiently intrigued to pursue the story.

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Devil’s Dream / Madison Smartt Bell
A captivating portrait of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. Set between 1845 and 1865 Forrest marries Mary Ann Montgomery, becomes a guilt-stricken slave trader and, during the Civil War, is targeted for destruction by General Sherman.

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Too Much Money / Dominick Dunne
Readers mourned Dunne's passing in August 2009, but Dunne grants us one more good read in this glittering high-society satire.

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Stones into Schools: promoting peace with books, not bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan / Greg Mortenson.From the author of Three Cups of Tea, the continuing story of this determined humanitarian's efforts to promote peace through education.

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The Fatal Strain: on the trail of the coming avian flu pandemic / Alan Sipress.With the current focus on the H1N1, people may have forgotten about the avian flu scare of a few years ago. The deadly avian, or H5N1, flu centered in Asia and garnered similar headlines in 2004, announcing fears of a pandemic. Sipress comes bearing the unhappy news that the avian flu threat grows more dire every day.

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Save the Deli: in search of perfect pastrami, crusty rye and the heart of Jewish delicatessen / David Sax.Journalist and life-long deli obsessive, David Sax writes about the state of the Jewish delicatessen--a cuisine that once sat at the very center of Jewish life which now has become endangered by assimilation, homogenization, and health food trends.

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Green Metropolis / David Owen
While the conventional wisdom condemns it as an environmental nightmare, the author argues that Manhattan is by far the greenest place in America, a model of sustainability.

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The Horse Boy: a father's quest to heal his son / Rupert Isaacson.
After noticing that their autistic son improved immeasurably when taken horse back riding, the parents of an autistic boy trek to the Mongolian steppes to consult shamans in a last-ditch effort to alter his unraveling behavior. Isaacson hit on the self-described crazy idea of taking Rowan to the original horse people, the Mongolians, and find shamans who could help heal their son.

The Price Of A Bargain

What does one gain in purchasing goods at a steal of a deal of a price? More importantly, what is the process whereby this trinket or bauble or television or computer arrives into your hands? At what cost? Those who are even just a wee bit curious about the manufacture of goods, logistics of shipping and transit to the shop, your purchase driven home in your automobile and, ultimately, most probably tossed into the rubbish, will benefit from a thorough read of this bright book.

Gordon Laird, who has published in newspapers, appeared on television, spoken on radio and written for magazines, takes us on astounding and astonishing journeys that bring us through ten years of research and interviews. We travel into a Las Vegas convention, Chinese factory cities, Los Angeles shipping yards, up to Alberta’s oil sands and many other places in between. We see what havoc our huge footprint has on the Earth and how ridiculously perilously dangerous it would be if China and India did decide to consume resources at the rate of the average North American.

It is an intriguing book, a bit hefty for bedtime reading, though again, one of those sorts that once you start, you may be tempted to keep on keeping on. In so doing, all the way through to the end of the adventure where Laird weighs in on what the real price of goods are, minus the sundry subsidies that make things so very cheap for us. For those of us hankering for more, there are plenty of sources cited for further reading on the very many subjects touched upon in this jolly good read.

Sacred Hearts

This is a story about women’s lives and the consequences of being too poor, alone, and not having the means to marry in the 16th century. It is also a story about strength, courage, faith and love. Dunant weaves a detailed historical account of life during that era. The smells and sights transported me right into their world and I would suggest this book to lovers of historical fiction.

Sacred Hearts is set in a convent. The year is 1570, in the Italian city of Ferrara. The convent is filled with women who are married to Christ. Serafina is 16 years old when her family pays the church a hefty dowry for her to enter their protected walls. Needless to say she’s not very happy about the turn of events in her life and she is determined to escape.

Serafina is given over to Suora Zuana, a scholarly nun who is educated in the healing arts, with the hopes that the young woman will find a way to come to terms with what her life has become. Sacred Hearts not only tells Serafina’s story but Zuana’s, and a cast of characters who came from different backgrounds and lifestyles before entering the convent. It examines the role of faith, passion and character in the lives of women some of who were not willing to be locked away for the rest of their lives.

Books Really Do Furnish A Room

Hooray for a book about books! A hefty and aesthetically pleasing coffee table tome at that. And one with plenty of photography from all around the world, through all and sundry gloriously large and some quite cozy living arrangements. Room by room, we sally forth into houses, lofts and flats, so too learning about the varied sorts of libraries – be they formal or informal, designs with books in mind and place and making the most of the space.

I read through the text in one sitting, stopping only to gaze at the admirable arrangements and assortments of collections of architects, artists, authors, designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Louboutin, as well as varied individuals and couples. The photos are lovely indications of the very many ways we could possibly store vast volumes of knowledge, entertainment and diversion. Though we might not yet own hundreds upon thousands of custom bound, antique volumes as seen in some of the ancestral homes, it is still great fun to think of how we may arrange, design and re-arrange our own personal empire of edification and education.

It is a wondrous world to look into the lives of others and see how they have incorporated reading material into their lives, using elements of design to create a style distinct to the area; be it a room in an old farm house, a kitchen in Barbados or the bathroom of a book publisher. Weighing in at over two pounds, it does work very well indeed as a tome on a table, perhaps browsed through by family, friends and fellow bibliophiles who can pontificate for long periods on the ideas such lovely words and images do inspire.

First Annual Toy Swap @ the Library

For quite some time now the staff at your library has been busy plotting away, trying to come up with new "schemes" for reaching deep into the heart of the community in order to get people more involved in the library, and with each other again. This year alone, we have walked a marathon (which raised over $1000 toward research into Juvenile diabetes), started a volunteer-run weekly film club (Bright Lights Film club most Tuesday at 2:00), and hosted the first annual Toy Swap event (this past Sunday December 6th).

We weren’t sure how the idea would be received, but for the first time ever, we invited Cote Saint-Luc residents to collect, and bring in any clean, gently used children and baby toys to be swaped for others. The concept was basic; no cost, no registration, no hassle, just bring in toys that are no longer need and trade them for others that someone else from the neighbourhood no longer needs.

Now one thing I have always loved about people living around The Luc is their great enthusiasm; always ready to answer a call-to-action or help start something new. Thanks to everyone who helped and participated, the first Toy Swap event went fantastically - a real hit! Over a dozen local families supported this historic library event by participating; moms, dads, and even children brought in toys, books, and games to donate to the swap.

I should mention that what makes this story extra-nice is the fact that the left over items that were not traded at the swap did not go to waste; they will be donated to Sun Youth Organization. Hopefully these items will now be used toward their annual Holiday Basket Program, and will go to deserving children living on the island, who may not otherwise receive any gifts this year. I would like to thank Melanie, one of the fabulous library volunteers, for all her help and hard work during the swap. Since the day was so well-appreciated by those who participated, anyone who missed out can look forward to another Library Swap in the New Year. The Library, make it a part of your life!

Give it up : my year of learning to live better with less

Give It Up!

Though catalogued in the non-fiction section under “simplicity” and “self-denial,” I beg to differ. This would have better fit into personal memoirs because it is less about general and sundry tips for improvement, for which I had hoped, and more about how the author journeyed through her quest and changed her habits, or not. It is broken up into twelve months of the year, each representing a chapter, with an Introduction to kick off the concept of abstention.

“We must be the change we wish in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi. That is the famous inspirational quote at the genesis of the intentional adventure in loss. Alcohol, shopping, elevators, newspapers, cell phones, dining out, television, taxis, coffee, cursing, chocolate and multi-tasking are her chosen monthly subjects. Each month she goes without one of these things, detailing to us, the dear library reader, who sometimes nods periodically in agreement, chuckles from time to time and certainly ponders what such a quest would look like in our own lives.

The book is small in size and length, with a mere 196 pages and short chapters, this makes for a good read in the lead up to the New Year, a cause for pause and evaluation of all things in one’s own life. She comes to some conclusions that certain things cannot be extracted completely from existence, like a mobile telephone, and does sometimes find that one thing, like the lack of use of elevators, leads to a greater overall awareness for the need to exert oneself physically. These are but two of the notable moments that may resonate in your own life as you consider her experiences against your own and decide if, perhaps, such an adventure of your own might be worth constructing.

Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel

This past November in our Perfect & Pitch musical journey, we celebrated Woman in Song. We highlighted some of the greatest female vocal talents of all time. One of the women spotlighted was Whitney Houston who’s first album in seven years I look to you – CD 784.5 H843i celebrates her comeback with great determination and has become a true force to be reckoned with. She wasn’t the only one who has triumphed over personal setbacks to make an amazing recovery.

Mariah Carey whose personal life and breakdown of 2001 were splashed on covers of magazines across the world has journeyed back and the results have been outstanding. Her latest album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel released October 20, 2009 is a testament to it.

Her remake of Foreigner’s I want to know what love is is breathtakingly poignant. The tracks Standing O and Angel’s cry are also songs for the heart and soul. Obsessed will get your feet moving and dancing, just pick one of the many dance versions she’s got going. This is the second album she’s released since her comeback and if you haven’t listened to either of them, the first being The emancipation of Mimi then I encourage you to do both.

Book of the Month -- Shanghai Girls

After having thoroughly enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, I was looking forward to reading her new book Shanghai Girls.

As I expected, the author offered me a sumptuous feast: skillful plotting, richly drawn characters, emotional themes and atmosphere. I became immersed into the lives of sisters May and Pearl and their extended family. I went on the journey with them from cosmopolitan, booming, fun-filled, dangerous Shanghai into their flight to the United States. It told me of their struggles and insurmountable setbacks, their nightmarish detention at Angel Island before getting into the United States, their marriages and the situations they had to face, accept and surmount.

At its heart, Shanghai girls is the story of the strong relationship of sisters, of unbreakable family bonds of love, support and strength sisters can draw from one another, but also of the ways they can tear each other apart.

An enjoyable, and satisfying read.