Friday, March 02, 2007

New AudioBooks

Temperatures Rising by Sandra Brown. 5 CDs at 5.5 hours. Architectural engineer Scout falls for Chantal while working in her country.

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. 8 CDs at 9.5 hours. Odd Thomas leaves his home town for the peaceful atmosphere of a high desert monastery. A killer is stalking the Brothers and Odd and the ghost of Elvis investigate.

New NonFiction

Fodor's Las Vegas 2007 edited by Sarah Sper. Latest edition.

Cheap Bastard's Guide to Chicago by Nadia Oehlsen. Think you have to earn big bucks to live big in the Windy City? Think again. Chicago is full of free and ridiculously cheap stuff - you just need to know where to look.

Off the Beaten Path: Florida by Diana and Bill Gleasner. A guide to unique places. Tired of the same old tourist traps? Take the road less traveled and discover the hidden attractions.

The "I Hate to Exercise" Book for People with Diabetes, 2nd Edition by Charlotte Hayes. You don't need fancy equipment, an expensive gym membership, or a rigid schedule. Stay active by making the most of the activities you already do.

Abuelos: Como Cumplir su Responsabilidad by Godfrey Harris.

Latest DVDs

Broken Flowers starring Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Jeffrey Wright. Murray is an aging lothario who receives a letter saying he may have a 19 year old son from a previous relationship. A comedic search begins.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly directed by Werner Herzog. Dieter Dengler grew up in wartime Germany watching Allied planes bomb his country. Dieter emigrated to the States, joined the Navy, became a pilot, and was shot down in Laos in 1966. Held captive and tortured over several months Dieter escaped and his SOS signal was spotted by an American pilot. German documentarian Herzog took Dieter back to the Laotian jungle to interview him and even reenact his experience.

Chain of Fools starring Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, David Cross, Lara Flynn Boyle. Yes, I bought this because it has Hayek and Zahn in it. A barber (Zahn) schemes to steal a fortune in rare coins and hide it from his would-be girlfriend, policewoman Hayek.

Missing, Presumed Dead directed by Bill Dumas. Bob Dumas has spent 50 years trying to find his brother Roger. Captured by the North Koreans, his family still thinks he is a POW. The film "reveals what the government really knows about missing soldiers from the Korean conflict and the reasons behind its unwillingness to bring them home."

The Thing starring Kurt Russell and Keith David. An Antarctic research station discovers a frozen alien that grows inside human bodies. An excellent 1982 picture from director John Carpenter. For those of you who get them confused, Keith David is the tall, black actor. David Keith is the tall, white actor and two years older than Keith David.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

New NonFiction

New NonFiction

How to Say It: Persuasive Presentations
by Jeffrey Jacobi. "Transform yourself into a dynamic speaker who engages and inspires listeners and gets the message across."

How to Say It: Performance Reviews by Meryl Runion and Janelle Brittain. "Performance reviews can be transformed from a perfunctory and stressful corporate ritual in to a powerful, positive, and effective tool for both employers and employees."

A Civilian's Guide to the U.S. Military by Barbara Schading, Ph.D. Ever watch the nightly news and think "Huh? What?" Well in this book Schading "decodes each branch in simple terms you can understand."

Secrets of Successful Buying and Selling on eBay by Roger Shaw. Beginner's basics full of tips and tricks and step-by-step instructions.

Painless Algebra by Lynette Long, Ph.D. "If you think algebra is both dull and difficult, open this book - and think again!" Try it out and feel your brain working. I'm serious, blood will flow to areas of your brain that do not normally get a workout.

The Medical Science of House, M.D. by Andrew Holz. Is the television show House built on fact of fiction?

Fodor's Puerto Rico, 4th Edition edited by Douglas Stallings. Another travel section update.

Hidden New York: A Guide to Places that Matter by Marci Reaven and Steve Zeitlin. Yeah, another travel section update, with a picture of an elephant on the front/

Spanish Language

Como Iniciar su Propio Negocio by Mark Warda.

Sta. Maria Magdalena: Una Vision Gnostia de la Novia Sagrada by Tau Malachi.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

New Books

Non Fiction

Supporting Children with Dyslexia, 2nd Edition by Garry Squires and Sally McKeown. Provides teachers and parents with strategies to support dyslexic children and enable them to access the curriculum with a minimum of fuss and upheaval

The Complete Book of Grant Writing by Nancy Burke Smith and E. Gabriel Works. How to find, where to apply, common mistakes, and more.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga: Illustrated, Fourth Edition by Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson. Yoga books and DVDs still check-out like mad. This one looks pretty decent.

Large Print Fiction

I have subscribed to a second standing order for large print fiction and we will regularly be getting more titles.

Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer. A single vial of blood links a medical student, a dying researcher in a Cameroon jungle, and a private detective trying to identify a dead man with strange marks on his body.

High Profile by Robert B. Parker. Police Chief Jesse Stone investigates the hanging death of a famous radio talk-show host. When a young girl is killed days later the public pressure on Stone builds.

New DVDs

Nighty Night. A BBC dark comedy. "On discovering her husband Terry has cancer, beautician Jill is eager to move on and find new love. It comes in the form of a bearded doctor, Don Cole. Jill's only obstacle are terry's return to health and Don's disabled wife, Cath."

Little Miss Sunshine starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Alan Arkin. Oscar this, Oscar that. Little is supposed to be quite funny and, heck, Arkin is always good.

The Notorious Bettie Page starring Gretchen Mol and David Strathairn. Biopic of the famous pin-up model. Bettie Page grew up in conservative Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in the 1950s.

Pirate's of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest starring Keira Knightley and a guy wearing eye shadow. Something about pirates, a squidman and sword fighting.

The Illusionist starring Paul Giamatti, Edward Norton and Jessica Biel. The fiancee of Austria's Crown Prince is attracted to her childhood friend, now a popular illusionist in Vienna. The illusionist attempts to steal the girl away from the Prince and Vienna's strict class structure.

Hate Crime starring Giancarlo Esposito, Seth Peterson and Bruce Davison. Suburban Dallas gay couple Robbie and Trey have a new neighbor harassing them. When Trey is murdered in the local park Robbie's neighbor has a tight alibi while police see Robbie as the main suspect.

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines starring Noah Wyle, Gabrielle Anwar and Bob Newhart. Purposely cheesy adventure movie. Librarian Flynn Carson has to recover the Library's map to King Solomon's mines. Traveling the globe, escaping traps and angry hippos, Flynn is on the thieves' trail.

Farewell to the World starring Crowded House. Crowded House's farewell concert in front of 120,000 fans on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Two disc set with the concert and extras.

New Music CDs

Country-Folk

Firecracker by The Wailin' Jennys. "Tight harmonies and pretty folk songs" by the Canadian female folk trio.

Lost John Dean by Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin. Trio made up of longtime Americana musicians. Mostly acoustic with flourishes of electric guitar.

Rock

Death by Sexy... by Eagles of Death Metal. More garage rock than metal, Eagles was formed by Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and a childhood friend. Allmusic.com says, "Taking things a little more seriously -- but never too seriously -- the second time around, the Eagles of Death Metal's Death by Sexy keeps the freewheeling, just-for-the-hell-of-it vibe with more focused songwriting."

Christian Rock

Comatose by Skillet. "This is a melodically stunning record in which instrumentation strikes the disc's first chord."

X 2006: 17 Christian Rock Hits! by various artists.

X 2007: 17 Christian Rock Hits! by various artists.

Rap-Hip Hop

Fishscale by Ghostface Killah. "Ghost responds by pouring all that he has, both lyrically and vocally, into every track on the album. The scenarios he recounts are as detailed and off-the-wall as ever, elaborate screenplays laid out with a vocal style that's ceaselessly fluid and never abrasive."

Punjabi Hip Hop

Pure Punjabi by various artists. Collection of today's best remixed Indian Hip Hop tracks; a fusion of North Indian/Punjabi music.