Friday, January 26, 2007

New NonFiction and a one more Large Print

Large Print

Santa Cruise by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark. We have the regular version of this one. Sister and daughter team up for another holiday themed title. This time Alvirah Meehan and Regan Reilly solve a cruise ship murder.

Non Fiction

What Paul Meant by Garry Willis. Willis defends Paul and his work. Paul's stand on divisive issues or early Christianity and how to move on as Christians is covered.

War on the Middle Class by Lou Dobbs. CNN's popular money man says, "[the] war is nothing less than an all-out-assault on the middle class, waged by a government that has become the instrument of corporate special interests, by a business culture that is driven by the profit motive above all other considerations, and by media that relies more on sensationalism than responsible reporting of the news."

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. Larson's double narrative covers an almost perfect murder by an Englishman and Marconi's efforts to perfect and promote wireless comunication. Marconi's invention and a killer's escape to America coincide in the capture of a killer.

CancerVixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto. Young, successfull, and fashion obsessed Marisa is diagnosed with breat cancer three weeks before her wedding. Since Marisa is also a cartoonist (a stylish cartoonist?) she wrote and illustrated a book about. 11 months from diagnoses to cure are covered in this highly recommended story.

Exile on Main St.: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield. Sex, drugs and rock and roll wasn't a cliche to the Rolling Stones. Greenfield tells the story of the Stones' self imposed exile in Southern France and the hedonistic parties that joined the band's recording of Exile on Main St. Highly recommended by comic Artie Lang.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

New Books

Adult Fiction

Christmas Candle by Max Lucado. Well, this one's a little past the Christmas season but Lucado is an enduringly popular author of Christian fiction and nonfiction.

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris. Published to coincide with the new movie of the same name. Harris gives the early history of his most famous character, Hannibal. While raised by his uncle in France Hannibal grows to embrace his dark and brutal past as an orphan during World War Two.

Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman. Polar opposites Arlyn and John marry and have kids. From the jacket, "Here is a family so real, so tragic, so devoted, it is as is they have written their own riveting history - a quest for love and truth."

Non Fiction

The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2006 edited by Dave Eggers. Eclectic collection of stories, reporting, transcripts, blogs, etc. of great interest. Covering comedy, politics, law and culture.

The IQ Answer: Maximizing Your Child's Potential by Dr. Frank Lawliss. From the book jacket, "expert advice for improving the overall function of kids struggling with plummeting grades, low self-esteem, learning disabilities, and even addiction and depression. His unique method provides clear, easy-to-follow strategies for overcoming the damaging patterns that hamper success."


Cry Rape: The True Story of One Woman's Harrowing Quest for Justice by Bill Lueders. Madison resident Patty was raped in her home. The Madison Police Department screwed up the investigation and Patty had to fight accusation of falsely reporting a crime and then go through the trauma of a rape trial once the guy was caught. Isthmus editor Lueders tells the story.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

New Books Rolling On Out

More titles for you.

Adult Fiction

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich. A short, 164 pages, Stephanie Plum novel by Evanovich. Plum is looking for Annie, a matchmaker wanted for armed robbery. Diesel shows up at Plum's apartment offering to tell Plum where Annie is; but only if Plum steps in to work as a matchmaker for Annie's "difficult" clients.

Ravenscar Dynasty by Barbara Taylor Bradford. A family dynasty novel by Bradford. In 1904 England, 18-year-old Edward Deravenel learns he is the only surviving adult male of his family after his father, uncle and cousin die in a suspicious fire. "Power and money, passion and adultery, ambition and treachery all illuminate a dramatic epic saga that brings to life the glittering Edwardian Era."

The Blonde by Duane Swierczynski. I ordered Swierczynski's crime thriller The Wheelman after reading several very positive reviews. The Blonde is Swierczynski's most recent novel. Jack Eisley is flirting with a blonde in an airport lounge when she tells him she has just poisoned him with nanomachines that will kill him unless he stays within 10 feet of another person. Chased by a murderous, covert, government agent Jack and the Blonde are on "another fast, funny, and action-packed outing from a writer who, fortunately for us, doesn't seem to know how to slow down." (Booklist review)

Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein. NYC Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cooper is prosecuting Brendan Quillian who is accused of hiring a hit man to strangle his wife. Cooper's prosecution is slowly coming together when an explosion in a massive NYC water tunnel shows links to the defendant. Cooper digs deeper and sees connections between the Quillian murder and an old feud among the tunnel workers.

Web of Evil by J.A. Jance. Bestselling mystery author Jance has a new standalone novel with a new character. Former newswoman Ali Reynolds is driving from Sedona, AZ to Los Angeles, CA to complete the divorce with her philandering husband. Ali drives upon a gruesome highway accident and finds that her husband has been murdered. Ali is the chief suspect and "in a twisted and lethal drama of heart-pounding suspense that asks the question: If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, just what punishment could that fury unleash." (from the book jacket)

The Hunters by W.E.B. Griffin. Griffin's most recent novel in his Presidential Series has Charley Castillo stepping over dead bodies along the dirty-money trail left by the thieves of a U.N. oil-for-food scandal.

Shadow Dance by Julie Garwood. Jordan Buchanan's best friend is marrying Jordan's brother together they are joining two Scottish dynasties. When a medieval history professor shows up at the reception and tells Jordan that one of the families has been secretly carrying out an ancient feud Jordan decides to review the professor's evidence. Jordan's research and questioning bring a new and unexpected romance and a deadly threat to her life.

Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton. Princess Meredith, heir to the Faerie throne, must conceive a child or risk assassination by her cousin Cel. Meredith shares her bed with the new Captain of Guard and together they unlock ancient magic that may save Meredith's reign. Another Hamilton book with a lot of sex.

Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. The great Cornwell continues his Saxon Tales about the invasion and settling of England by Danish Vikings. English orphan Uhtred was raised by the Danes. After a falling out with the Danish king Alfred, Uhtred heads North to hunt for his kidnapped step-sister. Lots of sword fighting, treachery, and battles follow.

Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk. A dark comedy following several households in a rich London suburb as the residents cope with aging and family politics.

Large Print

The Hunters by W.E.B. Griffin. Same as above but in large print.

Web of Evil by J.A. Jance. Same as above but in large print.

On Tall Pine Lake by Dorothy Garlock. Nona Conrad is struggling to raise her younger sister and win her rightful inheritance after her parents' deaths. Taking a job in rural Arkansas, Nona collides against two different, and threatening, men.

Non-Fiction

I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics. This is a very funny book. I started flipping through the book and randomly reading stories and had to tear myself away to get back to work. Stories from a bunch of well known comics (Drew Carey, Tim Allen, Jerry Seinfeld) and lesser known comics.

Music CD

Endless Wire by the Who. I mentioned this one before but the title was detained. Townsend and Daltrey's first studio album in several years. Includes a DVD of a 2005 Who performance in France.

Monday, January 22, 2007

New Fiction titles available

Our cataloging and processing is catching up with our new system. For several days after our "Go Live" date of January 10 we were not allowed to add any new items. Jim is working hard at cataloging the books, DVDs, and music CDs that we have had sitting around since our cataloging moratorium that started back in November.

Fiction

Magic Time by Doug Marlette. What is this? I don't recognize this at all. Oh, now I remember, this is supposed to be pretty good. In 1991, emotionally broken down newspaper columnist Carter Ransom returns to home to Mississippi for a rest. When evidence that a 1964 murder trial of a Klansman may have been fixed Carter gets involved because: 1) he's a newspaperman, and 2) his father was the trial's presiding judge in '64.

One Shining Moment by Gilbert Morris. The prolific Morris publishes another novel from his American Century series. The Stuart children live through World Wat One and into the Twenties.

Awake in the Dark by Shira Nayman. Short stories about the children of Holocaust survivors discovering family secrets. Author's career as a clinical psychologist gives a different tack to the stories. This could be a neat companion to Art Spiegelman's story about his Holocaust surviving father in Maus and Maus II.

Pictures by Robert Daley. Daley's 2005 novel Enemy of God has checked out pretty well. According to the book jacket this is a "sexy thriller with a harrowing climax". After photos of a European duchess's husband shacking up with another women hit the Euro gossip magazines Vincent Conte's security firm is hired to find the mistress and the photographer and find out who commissioned the photos to be taken. Conte travels across Europe for answers and finds his clients are using those answers for more than personal edification.

Keeper of the Keys by Perri O'Shaughnessy. Architect Ray Jackson's wife has disappeared. Leigh is gone with no note, no body, and no trace. When a friend of Leigh starts to question Ray's truthfulness, along with the police, Ray starts to investigate. Using years old keys from the homes his mother and he used to live in Ray digs into his violent past to find a connection to Leigh's disappearance. This is a standalone novel and not a part of the Nina Reilly series.

Eagle's Prophecy by Simon Scarrow. Scarrow starting writing novels of the Roman Legions when he could not find any he liked. Scarrow is a fan of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series and writes his novels as adventure stories filled with historical detail, nasty bad guys, and plenty of action. Eagle's Prohecy is set in 45 AD as series Legionaire heroes Macro and Cato are assigned to the Roman Fleet to help recover the Delphic scrolls from the pirates who stole them.

Large Print Fiction

Murder at the Opera by Margaret Truman. Same story, different verse by the daughter of Harry S. Georgetown law professor Mac Smith is onstage as an extra at the Kennedy Center National Opera when a promising singer is killed. Mac investigates on the invitation of the theater board and we have an interesting insight into the "backstage" of D.C. society.

Born in Death by J.D. Robb. What's the point of using a pseudonym when your real name, Nora Roberts, is spread atop the book's cover? Policewoman in 2060 investigates a double murder. Eve Dallas has to simultaneously search for a girl who has gone missing from her friends' birthing class.