Friday, February 27, 2009

Books: Donations, an Englishman in L.A., Large Print

Fiction

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer. What if you did a deed so magnificent you would be remembered for years? Something that would put you the level of LIndbergh, Armstrong, Lewis and Clark? What if you completed the task but had no way to prove it?

Love Mercy by Earlene Fowler. What an awful cover.

Star Bright by Catherine Anderson. Paperback romance.

Turning Point by Peter Turnbull. "A Hennessey and Yellich Mystery". Rural English policeman Hennessey is aging and he needs to accept it train his young team better. But, his experience becomes most vaulable when two murders, committed twenty years apart, are connected.

NonFiction

Death by Leisure: a cautionary tale by Chris Ayres. English journalist gets assigned to Los Angeles and decides to live the big life. He takes advantage of easy credit and, "those idiots you keep hearing about? The ones who brought down the economy by maxing out on easy cash?...Yes, that was Ayres."

Blue Ribbon Quilts by Linda Causee and Rita Weiss.

Arranging Flowers: how to create beautiful bouquets in every season by Martha Stewart.

Large Print

The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer. Thriller with doctors in Africa and Boston.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy.

The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Seven CDs Including a Gal I Heard on Radio Australia

Music CDs

Awkward Annie by Kate Rusby. I was listening to an archived episode of The Music Show on the ABC website a while ago and heard the title track to this album. It was a good song and I figured some of you Library nerds might like it. So, I ordered it. It's folkish.

Theater of the Mind by Ludacris. Rapper guy raps. I do not know anything about this guy but I'll bet he has been a motion picture or two. Big name rap guys are always getting cast in the movies.

Rentacrowd by The Len Price 3. Greatness from Great Britain. Music with an early sixties, British Invasion vibe. See their website to listen to some songs.
The Len Price 3 are frequently heard on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Does their popularity on that show have anything to do with being signed to Little Steven's record label?

I, Flathead: the songs of Kash Buk and the Klowns by Ry Cooder. Cooder is been around for quite a while and most likely known for the Buena Vista Social Club album of a few years ago.
His last few albums have been built on themes. My Name is Buddy was written from the perspective of a cat during the Depression. Chavez Ravine was about the barrio in Los Angeles demolished in the 1950s to build Dodger Stadium. I, Flathead is about...something. Look it up yourself, I'm busy.

Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band. I think this guy had a profile in the Madison newspaper. He is married to Susan Tedeschi who is a good singer and whose albums are available here at Lake Mills and elsewhere in the system. Trucks has been a professional musician since his mid-teens and his band plays soul.

Hey Ma by James. We received this CD quite a while ago but it got waylaid on the cataloging cart. Here it is.

The Empyrean by John Frusciante. Frusciante was a rock guitar prodigy who played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers then started using heroin and ended up a strung-out junkie on the streets of Hollywood. Frusciante then cleaned up and started playing again. I ran across a - post-strung-out-junkie - solo tune of his a few years ago and thought it was great. Hopefully this is good too.