Lake Mills Library

3 DVDs and 1 AudioBook

2012-01-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

DVD

Sybil Luddington: the female Paul Revere starring [actors]. I figured it would check out.

Company K starring [actors]. World War One drama based on the novel.

Adele Live at the Royal Albert Hall starring Adele singing songs. This DVD looks to be higher production quality than the others.

AudioBook on CD

Scream For Me by Karen Rose. 13 CDs at 16.5 hours. FBI agent's dead, serial killer brother has a copycat or something. There is a woman in trouble, too.

One Book By Robert Crais

2012-01-25T15:02:00.001-08:00

Fiction

Taken by Robert Crais. Elvis Cole is a private detective. Elvis Cole is hired to detect a missing woman. Joe Pike is mysterious and silent. Joe Pike carries around a Colt Python. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are friends. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike enjoy petting kitties and watching sunsets together.

Media: Wilco Cover, Wilco Originals, Guitarist, Trailer Park Florida, Aircraft

2012-01-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Music on CD

Want More by J.C. Brooks and the Uptown Sound. Band plays and sings songs.

The Whole Love by Wilco. I am late on this disc with a band that sings songs. I did not know the CD existed. I now know the dang booklet is too big to fit in our dang circulating cases.

I only realized Wilco put an album out after hearing this song after Patti Abbott embedded the tune on her blog.

Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down by Ry Cooder. Cooder sings songs of political nonsense while playing guitar. Cooder has been doing theme albums lately. I've enjoyed them.

Brighter Days by JJ Grey and Mofro. Singer writes and sings songs in Florida. A concert album and DVD. I lucked out by seeing another person, Anthony Neil Smith, post a Grey tune on his blog once. The tune I heard was this tune, accompanied with a surprisingly interesting video, and included on the concert album:

DVD

Hunters in the Sky by Janson Media. 16 programs of World War Two military pilots and aerial battles. Including a guy who was two months old when his father was shot down and 60 years later meets the night fighter pilot who killed him.

Mountain Goat Maid

2012-01-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

DVD

The Help starring [newly famous actors]. Something about domestic help, an author, racism, other stuff.

Fiction

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat by Andrey Bergen. Recommended by both Bill Crider and Victor Gischler. What a combo! Comedic sci-fi set in Melbourne with "guns, intrigue, kidnappings, conspiracy and all sorts of general mayhem that make for cracking good headlines." Narrated by (according to the cover illustration) a talking goat wearing a smoking jacket and drinking a martini.

Gischler Multi-Pack Vs. Nicholas Sparks

2012-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

Comic Book Compendiums

X-Men: With Great Power by Victor Gischler and [artists]. I screwed up and bought two of these. One paperback and one hardcover. I bet I could have used a semicolon back there. Reptiles in Manhattan, dead bodies, Spider-Man is amazing, "battle foes on multiple fronts", stupid outfits.

X-Men: Death of Dracula by Victor Gischler and [more artists]. Dracula's sons are feuding. I hope Gischler appreciates us buying these comics and gets back to writing novels. According to his online commentary all he does all day is grill dinner, drink wine, dream of Disney World, and hang out in hipster coffee shops to write.

X-Men: First To Last by Christopher Yost and [other artists]. No Gischler content but I am sure Yost tells a fine tale. The Evolutionaries show up to defend the dwindling X-Men.

Money Machine

Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. There are a ton of reserves so I bought another copy.

Two Movies and Snow

2012-01-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

DVD

Pirates of the Caribbean: on stranger tides starring Kitt Barrie as Courtroom Wench.

The Robber starring [Germans]. Armed robber moonlights as marathon runner.

Snow

Charlie Hood and Other Made-Up People

2012-01-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Jaguar by T. Jefferson Parker. LASD Deputy Charlie Hood and his Camaro return. According to a review this novel focuses more on secondary series character Bradley Jones. Jones is a crooked Deputy whose singer-songwriter wife is kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord to write a narcocorrido.

Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith. Smith scripts Soviet shenanigans of Agent Six.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson. A novel about North Korea. I very much doubt a happy ending for this one.

Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. A novel of Catherine the Great. Stachniak's author photo implies she writes her novels in longhand.

Egypt by Nick Drake. The review said this is a neat cop procedural set in the time of the Pharaohs with lots of historical detail.

A Dark and Lonely Place by Edna Buchanan. The author bio says Buchanan is a crazy cat lady.

Other Guy's Bride by Connie Brockman. Romance with mistaken identity in Egypt.

Hurt Machine by Reed Farrell Coleman. Moe Prager, wine shop owner and part-time detective, looks into his former sister-in-law's murder. Coleman is a Jets fan. Poor man.

Two Comic Book Novels and 12 Regular Novels

2012-01-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

Comic Book Novels

Zahra's Paradise by Amir and Khalil. June, 2009 and protestor Mehdi has vanished. His mother and brother go "from hospitals to the morgue, from pleasding with corrupt bureaucrats to hacking into a prison's computers" to find out where Mehdi is.

Return to Perdition by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty. Third novel fllowing the O'Sullivan family and their violent history. I just read the third novel in the series. I was a bit disappointed in that one but will still read this one.

Regular Novels

One Hundred and One Nights by Benjamin Buchholz. Oh, yeah. This guy. The author is a Cheesehead and wrote Private Soldiers about the Wisconsin National Guard in Iraq. The novel is about an Iraqi guy who returns there after 13 years in the U.S.

The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James. Paperback romance without a shirtless guy on the cover. Whoops, I take that back. The second, fold back cover has a shirtless guy.

How It All Began by Penelope Lively. People across London are interconnected by chance. Lively won the Booker Prize. I once won the Wooker Prize (not really).

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell. Cornwell takes another break from killing Frenchmen with Sharpe and continues his Vikings in England series.

Raylan by Elmore Leonard. Deputy U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens gets in more trouble. A random excerpt: "An act of God," Raylan said.

The Rope by Nevada Barr. Barr writes Anna Pigeon's creation story.

The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell. Some sort of psychological-murder-thriller set in New York City.

House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. The cover says A Ruth Galloway Mystery. The author photo says Griffith Hired a Good Photographer. Page 33 says From this Ruth deduces that Jack Hastings does not stand in the Labour interest.

Mr. Kill by Martin Limon. This received a very good review. Part of Limon's Army investigators series set in Korea. Limon is a tall man.

Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron. I pretty sure these are supposed to be good novels by Maron that feature the Judge and cop couple of Deborah and Dwight.

KBL: Kill Bin Laden by John Weisman. I was wondering if this guy had any books out recently. He does. A fictionalization of finding and killing Bin Laden.

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George. A book.

Same As Usual

2012-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

Large Print

Sleepwalker by Karen Robards. I first typed that as sleepwaker. A description of the way I feel this morning.

Locked On by Tom Clancy.

A Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins. ...to eat your cake.

D.C. Dead by Stuart Woods.

Cultural Aside

Some guy on an online NZ radio station just said "Good on ya, Bruce."

Large Print, Limeys, Loss

2012-01-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

DVD

The Color of Magic starring Sean Astin, David Jason and Tim Curry. Comedic dramatization of the Terry Pratchett novel. 197 minute mini-series.

Going Postal starring Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Claire Foy. Comedic dramatization blah blah blah Pratchett. 185 minute mini-series.

Battle for Marjah starring 272 Marines. Marines are told to kill Taliban and break stuff and then told to make Marjah nice and cozy with good roads.

Tillman Story starring Tillman's Mom and lying politicians. Tillman was caricatured by the press and his death manipulated by the government. His mom and family kept digging and pressing to find out what happened.

Fiction

Demon Lover by Juliet Dark. This kind of stuff is popular. "A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying way possible."

Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling. First novel of the Wild West Wind series. The real trick is to see if I can keep track of this series enough to order the subsequent novels.

Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz. Tattoed male model on front cover. Big author photo on back cover.

Large Print

Soft Target by Stphen Hunter. More .30 rifle love by Hunter. Ugly cover.

Chango's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy. Nice cover. Stupid title.

Incognito by Gregory Murphy. "Meh" cover.

Revenge at Bella Terra: a Scarlet Deception novel by Christina Dodd. Above average cover. I like the mix of light and dark and red colors. Dodd is supposed to do good work.

Dead by Nightfall by Beverly Barton. I think the graphic designer spent about five minutes on this one.

I Am Under the Weather, Do Not Ask Anything Complicated

2012-01-11T16:12:00.001-08:00

Fiction

Need You Now by James Grippando. Weird name.

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman. Which Kellerman is this?

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. My sinuses are all clogged up.

A Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins. I took the afternoon off and slept.

Large Print

Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White. I am working my 5-9 PM shift right now.

Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. After sleeping I cleaned out the garage to park the car. There is supposed to be 9-12 inches of snow.

Vigilante by Stephen J. Cannell. I don't believe the forecast.

The Maid by: a novel of Joan of Arc by Kimberly Cutter. If the forecast is true it will be the first time this year I will use the snow blower.

Meh

2012-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Deadline by Fern Michaels. Whatever.

Mystery of Daisy Doe by Charlotte Carter. Humph.

NonFiction

Save Your Marriage in Five Minutes A Day by Bonnie Jacobsen, PhD. Nnnn.

A New Year With New Fiction You Won't Find Time to Read and AR Practice

2012-01-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

New Year Fiction You Won't Have Time For

Heck, I'm reading a Max Allan Collins from 2004. There are several novels that came out in 2011 that I never read.

Sleepwalker by Karen Robards. Karen Robards has blond hair.

Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag. Tami Hoag has short hair and a full page author photo.

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz. Koontz is sitting on his balls. I'm surprised he doesn't just put up a picture of his dog. That guy loves his dog.

Death Benefit by Robin Cook. Cook wears sweaters.

Private: #1 suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Patterson wears a fancy watch.

NonFiction

The American Presidency edited by Anthony L. Green. Millard Fillmore wore a vest.

Country Licks and Solos: book with DVD and CD by Peter Vogl.

DVD

Practical Shooting: volume 6, the AR-15 by Matt Burkett. Shooting tips. Gear tips. Practice tips. Competition tips. Movement tips. Beef tips.

You still won't shoot like this.

Snow? This winter? Don't be silly.

2011-12-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

Snow

This winter has been incredibly mild. Today is the first measurable snow. Measurable according to Gerard Standards. Gerard Standards begin with any snowfall requiring shoveling. (Not to be confused with Gerard's Wife's Standards who thinks everything has to be shoveled.)

Musical Interlude

I heard this on BBC 6 within the past year. I was recently reminded of the song when I followed a link. Fitz and the Tantrums.

Mid- Holiday Fiction

2011-12-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Top Suspense: 13 classic stories, by 12 masters of the genre edited by [no one]. Short stories from a bunch of writers who teamed together for electronic publishing. Including Vicki Hendricks [I read a couple novels], Max Allan Collins [got one of his at home], Stephen Gallagher [read 2-3 novels], Lee Goldberg [read several and bought a paperback as a Christmas gift], and Bill Crider [never heard of him].

The handgun on the cover image seems to be a weird combination of a Hi-Power, a Beretta, and one of Tanfoglio's CZ clones. All merged together with an off center suppressor. Suppressors are expensive.

Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner. A paperback donation that I decided to add. This is from 1998.

Locked On by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney. Something to do with shooting and spies.

D.C. Dead by Stuart Woods. Something to do with hotel chairs and a martini. According to the cover.

Covert Warriors by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Something to do with a photoshop of guys debussing a helicopter onto a partially submerged submarine.

One Book

2011-12-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

Book

Parking Lot Picker's Songbook: bass edition by Dix Bruce. Includes two CDs. "Learn to play songs written and recorded by the giants of traditional American music: Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Doc Watson, and many more!"

Three Discs

2011-12-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Music on CD

Mylo Xyloto by Cold Play. Singer sings songs while band plays instruments.

Audiobook on MP3 CD

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. One MP3 CD at 4 hours. A monster story.

Aliens, Horses, Cars, More Large Print

2011-12-15T14:13:00.001-08:00

DVD

Cowboys and Aliens with James Bond, Han Solo, ThatOneGuyWhoDoes AlltheIndianRoles. Aliens attack and eat all the horses. Maybe. I have not seen it. I'm not posting a trailer either.

Top Gear 15 starring The Spaniel, The Short One, The Grouchy One. My kids have seen all these multiple times. I should take this home to watch the outtakes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part Two starring [all the same people]. I bought the DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack.

Audiobook on CD

Clodhopper Monologues by Michael Perry. Two CDs, no time listed. Pig and chicken farmer tells tales of family life, farm life, and EMT life. Perry is renowned for his public readings. Samples.

Large Print

Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas.

Inverted Forest by John Dalton.

White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby

Another Try

What to Read 45: Christa Faust and Megan Abbott

2011-12-15T11:04:00.001-08:00

What to Read

Choke Hold by Christa Faust and The End of Everything by Megan Abbott.

Interesting Fact One: Abbott did not tell me to take a hike during either of the two occasions we spoke.
Interesting Fact Two: Faust has a small pet dog. Her items in the catalog.

A Mountain Of Large Print to Crush Your Puny Skull

2011-12-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

Large Print

Devils' Gate by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. Your scrawny hide will burn under the mighty Cussler gaze.

V is Vengeance by Sue Grafton. V is for the vicodin you will need from the beating.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Trained doves will peck your eyes out.

Christmas Treasures by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer. The treasures are tree ornaments made from your fingers and toes.

Plain and Fancy Christmas by Cynthia Keller. You will run screaming.

The Vault by Ruth Rendell. They will capture and imprison you.

Cain by Jose Saramago. Cain's punishment is luxury compared to your future.

An O'Brien Family Christmas by Sherryl Woods. Sherryl Woods will fly like a hawk from her home in Florida to pounce on you as if you were a lowly field mouse. You are prey for the predator. A raptor's bodily waste.

Come A Little Closer by Dorothy Garlock. Or go farther away. It does not matter. Escape is futile.

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell. Need I elaborate?

NonFiction

Red Summer:the summer of 1919 and the awakening of black America by Cameron McWhirter. Your future if they allow you to survive that long.

Fiction

Diving the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. We don't have much scifi here at Lake Mills. The books are too dangerous to weakling like yourself.

Flee: a thriller by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson. Konrath will write long-winded blog posts about your wasted allegiance to traditional publishing.

The Drop by Michael Connelly. The feeling in your stomach as you see what awaits.

Musical Interlude, Part Two

2011-12-13T07:07:00.001-08:00

Musical Interlude, Part Two

Alex Winston's song about her childhood Elvis doll. I'm doing paperwork and listening to music.

Musical Interlude

2011-12-13T06:37:00.001-08:00

Musical Interlude

Old guys singing old song. Noel Crombie looks the same as 30 years ago.

Three

2011-12-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

One

Homegrown Herbs: a complete guide to growing, using, and enjoying more than 100 herbs by Tammi Hartung.

Two

Conquering ACT Math and Science, Second Edition by Steven W. Dulan.

Three

2012 Scholarship Handbook: 2,100 programs offering private, federal and state money by CollegeBoard.

NonFiction You Probably Are Not Excited About

2011-12-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

NonFiction

Conquering ACT: english, reading and writing, second edition by McGraw-Hill. Would this book tell me if english should be capitalized? I'm too lazy to look it up.

Creating Comics From Start to Finish by Buddy Scalera. Not an artist's guide. Chapters and interviews about the process and business and edited and and penciling and coloring other stuff I havenoideawhattheyaretalkingabout. No mention of Victor Gischler. Gischler sometimes refers to a comics guy named Nick Lowe. But, it seems to be a different Nick Lowe and not the Nick Lowe.

Colossal Collection of Action Poses by Buddy Scalera. Action-packed with 1,200 poses! 1200 photos of models, bodybuilders, and actors wearing underwear and scowling.

Statistics Demystified by Stan Gibilisco.

iPad 2: quicksteps by Joli Ballew. Do fancy stuff with your fancy computer thing.

More NonFiction For School Assignments

A stack of books on topics like pollution, energy, and career guidance.

Finn Family, Verbs, Jedi, More .30 Caliber Love

2011-12-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

CD

Pajama Club by Pajama Club. When Neil Finn is not "twittering" complaints about political ads on Australian television he and his wife sing songs.

Trip by The Verbs. When Meegan Voss is not going crazy with Facebook posts she and her husband sing songs. This is a very good album that took forever to get cataloged and on the shelf.

Great Escape Artist by Jane's Addiction. When Perry Farrell is not fighting heroin urges he is singing songs.

Fiction

Dead Like You by Peter James. Another freebie from Bouchercon in St. Louis. Murders in Brighton, England end with the female victims having their shoes stolen. Christa Faust better stay away from Brighton.

Soft Target by Stephen Hunter. Former Marine sniper is at the Mall of America during a Mumbai style terrorist attack. He needs a rifle.

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell. I read one of these Scarpetta novels. I could not get interested in the characters.

Promise Me Forever by Diane Amos. Young woman flees her drunken father with her younger brother and sister for the idyllic town of Welcome, MT. Welcome is not idyllic and she is out of cash.

Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith. A Dalhousie novel.

Old Republic: Volume Two: threat of peace by Rob Chestney. Comic based off storyline of a video game.

Doctor Who: the Ripper by Tony Lee. Doctor Who travels through time. Doctor Who makes wisecracks. Doctor Who does weird things. Doctor Who is eccentric. Doctor Who discovers an alien plot against humanity.

Rand on Afghanistan, Photographers Shooting Tractor Pastries

2011-12-05T12:15:00.001-08:00

NonFiction

Learn to Play the Piano and Keyboard by Nick Freeth. Now you've acquired a suitable keyboard.

Pastry Chef's Apprentice by Mitch Stamm. Mitch does not sound like the name of a pastry chef. Maybe a hunting guide. Or a bartender.

Standard Catalog of Firearms, 2011 by Dan Shideler. Used and new prices. CZ regularly exports 90 percent of its production to over 80 countries. The RAMI is listed as $425 in Very good condition. No separate listing for the polymer framed version.

Classic Farm Tractors: history of the farm tractor by Randy Leffingwell. A whole ton of fancy color photos.

Digital Photography by Jason R. Rich. Take shots of the food as it is served, as well as the presentation of the desserts.

Fast Track to a Better Body by Betty S. Wong and the Editors of Fitness. Lots of color photos. With female models. Oh my.

Afghantsy: the Russians in Afghanistan 1979-1989 by Rodric Braithwaite. Chechnya was a freaking disaster for Russian draftees. Afghanistan must have been just as worse.

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American right by Jennifer Burns. Featuring a currently fashionable cover design. Ted Turner is a big fan.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There in Sales! by Marshall Goldsmith. Only photos are author photos. One of our partners recently interviewed retired managers.

Dirty Cartoons Rejected By The New Yorker

2011-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

NonFiction

The Best of the Rejection Collection: 283 cartoons that were too dumb, too dark, or too naughty for The New Yorker edited by Matthew Diffee. With the latest advances in cosmetic surgery, I can make a fifty-five-year-old grandmother look like a thirty-five-year-old transsexual and I'm looking for a card that says, 'Sorry about the herpes." and Will the high mileage and low emissions make my penis seem bigger?

301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing by Catherine Parker. If you are Anthony Neil Smith you spend every waking hour tweeting people to buy your eBooks.

Chicago Curiosities by Scotti Cohn. I never gave a dang about Chicago when growing up. I used to read the Tribune every day but had no interest in visiting or living there.

Summers: a true love story by Margot Peters. Letters by 16-year-old Peters and a teenage boy from 1949 to 1961. Featured on Wisconsin Public Radio's Chapter-A-Day.

Body Language: techniques on interpreting nonverbal cues in the world and workplace by Aaron Brehove. Many illustrative photos covering micro expressions, posture, hand motions, walking, etc.

Grant Writing Demystified by Mary Ann Payne. A mnemonic device frequently used in developing objectives is SMART.

DVD

Head in the Clouds starring Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stuart Townsend. Sweeping romantic saga of passion, betrayal, and redemption...chooses to live her life solely for pleasure...traveled the world...passion and excitement...two friends...romantic menage a trois...Spanish Civil War...liberation just days away...most difficult decision of his life.

Belated Bary and Gay Snipers Sing the Blues

2011-12-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

Fiction

The Detachment by Barry Eisler. A John Rain Thriller. Eisler pairs his famous killer, Rain, with characters from his last two novels. Lots of intrigue, paranoia, and murder.

NonFiction

Homosexuality edited by Noah Berlatsky. Berlatsky should change his name to Bert because I had to keep looking the name up to correctly spell it. This is part of the Global Viewpoints series. Viewpoints is one of those nonfiction series aimed at middle and high school homework and research projects.

Sniper: American single-shot warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan by Gina Cavallaro with Matt Larsen. In the wars in that American snipers have fought since 9/11, in which there is not front line, no uniformed enemy, and tightly packed urban areas, the snipers in the Special Operations community have developed a more prominent role for themselves with their ability to act as an integral part of an urban assault, pushing ground commanders to pay attention to what snipers can bring to bear o the battlefield.

Road Biking Illinois: a guide to the state's best bike rides by Ted Villaire. After crossing SR 96, you'll pass a large brick hotel called the Nauvoo House.

The Geocaching Handbook: the guide for family friendly, high-tech treasure hunting by Layne Cameron. Many of the markers are made of brass or aluminum attached to a concrete post.

Campfire Stories: things that go bump in the night by William W. Forgey. VIII. He is saved - saved because he left a message where he could be found!

Food Lovers Guide to Chicago: best local specialties, markets, recipes, restaurants & events by Jennifer Olvera. A stark, minimalist dining room sets the tone for a culinary journey.

The Golden Age of the Blues by Richard Havers and Richard Evans. History of blues and biographies of the famous players with a twenty track CD to go with. This book reminds me of Bill Crider. I'm not sure why, maybe because there is a similar book on singing cowboys.

Write A Novel and Get it Published by Nigel Watts. Basically, there are two main options: present tense and past tense.

Letterboxer's Companion: exploring the mysteries hidden in the great outdoors by Randy Hall. If you don't like geocaching you can do this. The width of your paper will be height of the canister.

Insider's Guide to Madison by Kevin Revolinski. Another difficult in name to type. Some soft music is piped in and just a couple of tables are available for customers.

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo. Because there are tons of holds on this. "Yeah, I did," he said solemnly.

New Kindles

2011-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

Kindles

We now have three Kindle Touch eBook readers. I still need to purchase some protective cases and get content loaded onto the machines. Once the readers are cataloged they will be ready for check-out.

James Garner Is A Golden God

2011-11-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

NonFiction

The Garner Files by James Garner and Jon Winokur. 60 year career in television and movies and lots of cars and motorcycles. Let's make a short list. Maverick, Rockford Files, The Great Escape, Victor/Victoria, Support Your Local Sheriff, Grand Prix.

Boomerang: travels in the third world by Michael Lewis. The worldwide result of cheap credit from 2002 to 2008. The trademark of Michael Lewis's bestselling books is to tell an important and complex story through characters so outsized and outrageously weird that you'd think they have to be invented.

God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked: tales of stand-up, Saturday Night Live, and other mind-altering mayhem by Darrell Hammond. Physical and mental abuse as a kid lead to "alcoholism and self-mutilation, psychiatric hospitalizations, and misdiagnoses, to the peak of fame and success as the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live."

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The life of the perfectionist.

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick. 127 pages.

Fiction

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander. The tall author's latest historical mystery/romance.

The Marriage Plot byb Jeffrey Eugenides. I really missed on this one and ordered it late. I thought we already had a copy.

Hellboy: the Bride of Hell and others by Mike Mignola. Comic book son of hell fights evil.

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. Tear Out Calendar Inside! Not anymore, I took it out.

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. Micro-robots are used to kill people in Hawaii.

Dead Last by James W. Hall. Latest entry in the Thorn mystery series. A serial killer is copying a Miami tv show's killer. A good series.

Come A Little Closer by Dorothy Garlock. Cover illustration has man and woman hugging in big, open field.

Wicked Autumn by G.M. Mallet. Looks like a cozy mystery. Has a town map on the inside.

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. I have not read read a Palhniuk novel. I'll get around to it sometime.

Audiobook on CD

Johnny Cash Read The New Testament. 19 hours on 16 CDs.

DVDs and Paperbacks

2011-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

DVD (I'm short on time, find your own trailers.)

Zookeeper starring Kevin James. Zookeeper wants to leave the zoo as a way to get girls. Zoo animals start talking to get him to stay. This could be a great horror movie but isn't.

Water for Elephants starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. Veterinarian falls for circus performer during the Depression. I do not know if the elephant talks.

Captain America starring Some Guy In A Costume. Comic book comes about through scientific testing and fights the HYDRA organization.

Consider the Conversation: a documentary on a taboo subject by Micahel Bernhagen and Terry Kaldhusdal. The importance of discussing impending death and how to prepare.

Musical Notes Encoded Into Foil Which Is Mated To A Smooth, Clear Plastic Disc

Beyond the Sun by Chris Isaak. Warblers sings songs.

Bad As Me by Tom Waits. Graveler grunts songs.

Four the Record by Miranda Lambert. Singer sings songs.

Paperbacks

Slocum Along the Corpse River by Jake Logan. Logan is a corporate name and this is the 391st novel in this series of action westerns featuring wanderer John Slocum. There is always a mix of sex and violence in the Slocum novels.

Redemption, Kansas by James Reasoner. Reasoner writes everything and does it well. Texan is injured in cattle stampede and recuperates in Redemtion, KS. While there he wonders about a local killings and fearful residents. Blurb on back cover by Bill Crider. That does not mean I am Crider's dancing monkey and read whatever he tells me to read. (I don't have time.)

Secret Protector by Ann Voss Peterson. Christmas themed romance by the Madison author. Bodyguard protects "lovely heiress" by pretending to be boyfriend.

Books on CD

V is For Vengeance by Sue Grafton. I was speaking to someone on Thanksgiving about this and my comment that Grafton is only four books from retirement. Later that night I was physically ill and had a lousy evening.

Five of the Usual and One New Guy

2011-11-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson. Yes. Please.

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. She is four books from retirement.

Devil's Gate by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. I read a review of one of Cussler's recent collaborations and the reviewer really liked the book.

Large Print

Bonnie by Iris Johansen. Is that spelling Danish? Didn't I ponder this before?

The Next Always by Nora Roberts.

New Guy

The Postmortal by Drew Magary. A discoverr for aging is released and people are immortal. Things happen.

On My Office Door a Week and a Half Ago

I Want To Go Eat

2011-11-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

Uninspired NonFiction

How the Dog Became the Dog: from wolves to our best friends by Mark Derr. ...by eating the kitchen garbage, chewing on tissues, sleeping on the couch, pooping on the driveway, barking at the grass/air/leaves/imaginary squirrels.

New Dimensions in Bead and Wire Jewelry by Margot Potter. New dimensions? Like parallel dimensions?

Top 10 Beijing by DK Eyewitness. I heard few years ago that you cannot make even the vaguest protest action outside Tiananmen Square without having secret police beat the snot out of you and throw you in the back of a black van.

Discover China by Lonely Planet. "Experience the best of China." Like dog meat and pollution.

Fiction, Large Print, Blah Blah Blah

I Married for Happiness by Lily Tuck. Good for you.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch. Well, it's not like your going to actually read Tolstoy, is it?

Coffin Man by James D. Doss. Directions for next Halloween.

Lost December by Richard Paul Evans. I once lost a whole year in Dallas by watching tv and drinking cheap beer.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. Large and regular print versions of a novel that has been getting a huge amount of press. I don't get the all the attention.

Sound and Vision (Repeat)

2011-11-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

DVD Documentaries

Polo Kid by Nathaniel McCullagh. "True story of how a 13 year old boy from humble origins became a polo star."

Tabloid: an Errol Morris Love Story by Errol Morris. Obsessed and crazy beauty queen winner kidnaps a guy and becomes queen of tabloid covers.

DVD in Spanish

La Reina del Sur: Volume 1 starring Kate Del Castillo. Una filma con mujer con Walther pistola y negro hair-o.

La Reina del Sur: Volume 2 starring Kate Del Castillo. Further-o adventuras con mujer con negro negro hari-o con Jorge Michael y pointy botas.

Music on Shiny Disc of Plastic

Thirt3en by MegaDeath. Pilot/guitarist sings loud songs of death.

Sewing Truthiness on Vacation with Stars Wars

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

NonFiction

Sweetwater's Simple Home by LIsa Burnett, Karla Eisenach and Susan Kendrick. "Sew something handmade for every room."

Made at Home: a guide to simple sewing by Lisa Stickley. Many pretty photographs. No models.

Handbag Designer 101 by Emily Blumenthal. Many photos and diagrams. No models.

The 100 Best Affordable Vacations by Jane Wooldridge and Larry Bleiberg. Eleven entries for Wisconsin. No models.

The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Los Angeles by Ashley Wren Collins. No photos. No models. No Wisconsin references.

Here Comes Trouble: stories from my life by Michael Moore. Black and white photos. No models. No index.

Remedy and Reaction: the peculiar American struggle over health care reform by Paul Starr. No models.

Soldier of the American Revolution: a visual reference by Denis Hambucken and Bill Payson. Many nice color photos with re-enactor guys. No models.

Steve McQueen: a biography by Marc Eliot. Black and white photos. No models.

And Nothing But the Truthiness: the rise (and further rise) of Stephen Colbert by Lisa Rogak. Black and white photos. One photo of Amy Sedaris (who is not a model).

Fiction

No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper. Romance set in 1888 England with magic. Model on the cover.

Comic Book Novel

Star Wars: Knight Errant: volume one Aflame by John Jackson Miller. Human girl Jedi in Utah desert has a light saber. No models.

Books on CD

Blue Knights by Joan Didion. 4 CDs at 4.6 hours. No models.

Back of Beyond by C.J. Box. 9 CDs at 11 hours. No models.

More More More

2011-11-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steel.

The Territory by Tricia Fields. Small town Sheriff in West Texas is up against a Mexican drug cartel after killing one cartel hitman and arresting another.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I've read about this book before but do not recall what it is about. Something about a circus.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. One day a bunch of people disappear. Poof! Some think this was the rapture. Others are not sure.

Zero Day by David Baldacci. Military investigator is in West Virginia helping a murder investigation.

The Outlaw Album by Raniel Woodrell. The latest collection of short stories by the master of rural crime stories.

Comic Book Novels

Blackest Night by Geoff Jones, Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, Joe Prado. Green Lantern fights zombies.

Large Print In A Jumble

Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. Her Sister's Shadow by Katharine Britton. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Secrets of Bella Terra by Christina Dodd.Plugged by Eoin Colfer.Christmas on Nutcracker Court by Judy Duarte.Cat's TablebyMicahelOndaathe.ALAwman'sChristmasby LindaLaelMiller.ShockWavebyJohnSandford.

Music on CD

2011-11-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Music on CD

Torches by Foster the People. Hip guys sing hip songs.

Duets II by Tony Bennett and others. I do not understand Lady Gaga's massive fanbase about her song singing.

Guitar Slinger by Vince Gill. Sings sings songs about guitars.

Stronger by Kelly Clarkson. Singing contest winner sings songs and sings a lousy cover of Patsy Cline.

Swizzlestickerinski, Spillane, Repairman Jack

2011-11-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Fiction

Murder in Lascaux by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden. Tourist is killed touring Lascoux caves at the same time as Nora and Toby. Nore and Toby are suspects. Nora and Toby have to solve the mystery. Nick and Toby like cooking.

Hell and Gone by Duane Swierczynski. I am way behind on reading this fella's books but he usually tells a fun and fast moving tale. Swizzlestickerinski was at Bouchercon and I listened to a comics panel he sat on.

Consummata by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins. Spillane wrote Delta Factor featuring Morgan the Raider in 1967. The novel was widely enjoyed but Spillane set aside this sequel and never got back to it. Spillane's collaborator Collins finished it. Still set in the '60s Morgan is out to recover money stolen from Cuban exiles in Miami.

Bad Moon Rising by Ed Gorman. More small town Iowa mystery with lawyer and PI Sam McCain. In 1968 McCain looks a murder at a hippie commune.

Prince of Ravenscar by Catherine Coulter. 1831 England with romance and murder as a young Lord's mother tries to marry him off.

Dark at the End by F. Paul Wilson. The last Repairman Jack novel. Wilson kills him off. Wilson is a good Joe. Wilson was at Bouchercon, too. One afternoon a local shooting instructor set up a simulator in a meeting room and was charging people to try it out. I wandered in to watch. Wilson and Zoe Sharp were there. Wilson was hanging out and watching and Zoe was instructing some gal. There was another author there, a British guy, but I cannot recall his name.

Already Gone by John Rector. Rector's third novel is a live wire that crackles with the intensity of a man with nothing left to lose.When two men attack Jake in a parking lot and cut off his finger, he tries to dismiss it as an unlucky case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when events take a more sinister turn and Diane goes missing, Jake knows he can no longer hide from the truth.

Wedding Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. I tried to contact Chiaverini's publisher about an author visit and never heard back. I heard or read that she speaks at a lot of quilting expositions.

Opposites Attract: Literary Fiction and Romance

2011-11-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Fiction

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Guy from Racine writes a book about college baseball and the "hopes, anxieties, and secrets" of five people. Wait, maybe this guy is from Kenosha.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Novel about a gal who boards a subway train and travels into a parallel existence. Remember the trick to spell parallel? Two "l's" are needed for the parallel lines in the word. Remember the trick to spell spell? Spell spell with ll to spell spell while spelling.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier. Bill Crider did not like this book very much and wrote that on his blog. A commenter on Crider's blog wrote,

You are a little copycat, having ripped off a couple of other ignorant "reviews" of this really fine novel. I have no trouble without the quotation marks. What a silly thing to get hung up on. This book is so wonderful, and most of my friends who have read it couldn't put it down. Haven't followed your comments before but it's a shame snide little comments might discourage anyone from picking up this great book. Oh, and as far as Night of the Hunter goes, how about both that and Nightwoods being grounded in fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel. You need a little lesson in literary and folk tale history before you write with an assumed authority you can't back up.

Letters From A Unknown Woman by Gerard Woodward (no relation). I'm listening to a John LeCarre novel that LeCarre narrates. LeCarre is a fantastic narrator. I kinda like typing LeCarre. LeCarre. LeCarre. LaCarre.

Always A Temptress by Eileen Dreyer. Military man has to kidnap Lady Kate Seaton to find out a scandal or something.

Riptide by Cherry Adair. Princess. Scavenger named Nick. Arrogant and handsome. Money invested. Treasure hunt. Series of attacks. Strength and courage.

The Return of Black Douglas by Elaine Coffman. "Could this warrior from the past hold the key to her future..." According to the cover illustration the past was rife with steroid abuse.

Joe R. Lansdale, Green Arrow, Dexter

2011-11-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Fiction

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2011 edited by Paula Guran. This has a Joe R. Lansdale story. A Neil Gaiman story. Other people.

City of Whispers by Marcia Muller. Muller is married to Bill Pronzini. When they are bored they throw rocks in San Francisco Bay.

Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Lindsay used to go by Jeffry, not Jeff. I used to go by Gerard The Great, Master of All, Brilliant Sun of Knowledge, and Wickedest Wit of the Universe. [That name never caught on like I thought it would.]

Vacation by Matthew Costello. Nice cover illustration with a metal sink or shower drain covered in blood splatter and an all white background.

GLEE: foreign exchange by Sophia Lowell. Lee Goldberg had some neat things to say about the future of writing tie-in novels.

Green Arrow: into the woods by J.T. Krul. Guy with magic arrows fights evil. I think. I just flipped through and Arrow may just be a hero and not a superhero with powers and magic and such.

Non-Fiction Power Pack With Guns, Kennedy, Teen Libido, and Packers

2011-11-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

NonFiction

Jack Kennedy: elusive hero by Chris Matthews. New biography by the Kennedy worshipper.

Bowie: Starman by Paul Trynka. New biography about the great David Bowie. Bowie started performing in 1962.

Portrait of a Monster by Lisa Pulitzer and Cole Thompson. Story of Dutchman Joran van der Sloot accused of murder in Peru and suspected of killing Natalee Holloway.

Tales From the Green Bay Packers Sideline by Chuck Carlson. "A collection of the greatest Packers stories ever told."

The Knitting Book by Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden. Yarns, technique, stitches, patterns. A DK book so it has great photography and layout.

History of Britain and Ireland: the definitive visual guide edited by Pip Morgan. Vikings!

Dirty Little Secret: breaking the silence on teenage girls and promiscuity by Kerry Cohen. A tagline on the cover says: It's not about when girls are having sex. It's about why. This is a topic Megan Abbott sometimes touches on with her blog. Abbott's focus is more on an awakening knowledge and realizations of relationships and life. Dirty Little Secret is more about girls who use sex for love and attention.

Abbott will be in Muskego this weekend. I'm not sure if I want to drive over for the Friday night event. I cannot attend on Saturday.

New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding by Joan Younger Meek. I suppose this can tie into the above book.

Golden Retriever by Sheila O'Brien Schimpf. A book about dogs.

Labrador Retriever by Terry Albert. A book about dogs.

Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry. A book about hippie food.

Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec. A book about small, knitted figures.

Gun Digest 2012 edited by Dan Shideler. A fantastic book about all the guns I cannot afford to purchase.

Three Movies, One TV Show

2011-11-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

DVD

Meek's Cutoff starring Michelle Williams, Other People. A wagon train in 1845 is traveling the Oregon Trail. The trail master is an incompetent idiot.

Gossip Girl: the complete fourth season starring [people I never heard of]. Current teen sensations [I think] pretend to be rich, snotty people in New York {I think].

Horrible Bosses starring Big Name Actors. Three guys all have horrible bosses. Three guys decide to murder their bosses. Hilarity ensues.

The Trip starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Woody Allen. Two guys travel around England to review restaurants. Two guys argue while doing impersonations.

Comic Book Stuff, Badgers

2011-11-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

What It Means to Be A Badger: Barry Alvarez and Wisconsin's greatest players by Justin Doherty. University of Wisconsin football? Or badgers?

Clark Howard's Living in Lean Times by Clark Howard. Financial advice on "250+ ways to buy smarter, spend smarter, and save money."

Comic Books

Superman Grounded by Eddy Barrows and G. Willow Wilson.

Star Wars Omnibus: a long time ago - Volume 4 by David Michilinie.

Comics on DVD

Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively. Some guy gets a magic ring from space.

Two Audiobooks, Local Flavor

2011-10-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

Audiobooks on CD

Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger. 10 CDs at 12 hours. Mystery in the north woods.

Litigators by John Grisham. 9 CDs at 11.5 hours. Mystery at a legal firm.

Local Flavor

The downtown Witches Night Out was Wednesday, October 26th. The library ran out of candy twice. The first time we started out with about 300 pieces. I told the Children's Librarian that was not enough. Vindication! After those first pieces ran out I sent a Page to the store for more candy.

That kid in the camouflage looks like he is making one of his, "Hmph" sounds.

Best Weimaraner ever. Look at those ears!

Power Outage This Monday

2011-10-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Power Outage

A sand filled dump truck snapped a utility pole on Monday morning. The library was without power for about four hours.

Stanley Kubrick Reprint, Seasonal Novel

2011-10-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

DVD

The Killing starring Sterling Hayden. 1956 noir flick of a racetrack robbery. Scripted by novelist Jim Thompson. Also includes Kubrick's 1955 picture, Killer's Kiss.

Fiction

Litigators by John Grisham. Lawyers do lawyering.

A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry. Another Victorian murder.

Blessings by Anna Quindlen. This book was published 2002. I'm notputting this in the New Books section. This is a paperback donation we decided to add.

AudioBook on CD

Drama: an actor's education by John Lithgow. 9 CDs at 10.3 hours.

"Gerard, doesn't this sound fascinating?! Introduced a budding young actor to the undeniable power of the theatre!"
"No."

Missed One About Kettlebells

2011-10-21T08:20:00.001-07:00

NonFiction

Kettlebell Training for Athletes by Dave Bellomo. The guy model demonstrating the exercises does not have a shirt on but the gal models do. I read that some practitioners with advanced skills will grease the kettlebell grip for more challenge.

Uninspiring Pile of Books and Audiobooks

2011-10-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Fiction

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis. Typical cover with a good looking model dressed Amish-like with head scarf.

Snuff by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is English.

Bonnie by Iris Joahnsen. Johansen has a posed studio shot for her author photo.

Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory. I do not order many fantasy and Sci-Fi titles because they do not circulate well. High school kids read a lot of Sci-Fi but not from here.

Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo. The Patterson factory continues to boost production.

Large Print

Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar. Father and son refugees in Egypt. Dad goes missing.

Audiobooks on CD

The Cut by George Pelecanos. 6 CD at 7.5 hours. Pelecanos is a "writer's writer". Blah blah blah.

Blessing by Ann H. Gabhart. 11 CDs at 13 hours. Some sort of story.

Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. 10 CDs at 12.5 hours. Death. Blood. Miami. You know the drill.

Other

Last Soccer Game by Saturday Morning. Last soccer game for K-1st Grade is tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll force the kids to go somewhere "educational" afterwards.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

2011-10-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

DVD

Spartacus: blood and sand: the complete first season starring Lucy Lawless, John Hannah. Alternate titles considered were:
Spartacus: guys with no shirts
Spartacus: the return of Lucy Lawless
Spartacus: where is Gabrielle?
Spartacus: what about Ted Raimi?
Spartacus: will Hannah bring any mummies?
Spartacus: CGI gone wild

Spartacus, Comic Book Novel, Large Print

2011-10-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Monster hunting.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. Sparks just bought another yacht.

The Infernals by John Connolly. I still cannot keep these Connolly/Connelly guys straight. This is the Irish one. "an angry demon is seeking revenge for Samuel's part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil." Connolly just bought a platinum cigar humidor.

As the Pig Turns by M.C. Beaton. Beaton just bought another gold faucet.

Comic Book Novel

Isle of 100,000 Graves by Jason. Girl finds treasure map and hopes to find vanished father, horror ensues. Jason just bought a sandwich.

Large Print

Killing the Blues by Robert B. Parker's Estate. The Estate lawyer just had a steak dinner.

Son of Stone by Stuart Woods. Woods just hired a full-time pilot for his private jet.

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb. Robb just bought Nora Roberts a new Mercedes.

1225 Christmas Tree by Debbie Macomber. Macomber just bought ponies for all the kids in the neighborhood.

NonFiction

State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 2011-2012. Why did I list this at all?

Another Bouchercon Freebie, Charlie Stella, Gigdet

2011-10-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Trail of Blood by Lisa Black. Another freebie paperback from the "goodie bag" at Bouchercon. I don't know if Lisa Black attended. Cara Black was there. I know because I read her name tag. I said nothing to her.

Crime Factory: the first shift stories by Charlie Stella, Scott Wolven, others. Short stories from the online magazine devoted to short crime fiction. At least I think it is devoted to short crime fiction. (Don't expect extensive fact-checking on this blog.) Charlie Stella is always worth reading. I read Wolven's Controlled Burn and liked it a lot. Wolven has a new book releasing soon entitled False Hopes.

EDIT: I just looked at Stella's webpage and he has a novel slated for 2012 entitled, Rough Riders.

DVD

Gigdet: the complete series starring Sister Bertrille. Someone donated this story about a young surfer girl who falls in love with Burt Reynolds but is stricken ill by osteoporosis.

Seven Large Print and One Raymond Benson Novel

2011-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Black Stiletto by Raymond Benson. Man discovers his dead mother's diaries that show she may have been the 1950s vigilante named Black Stiletto. I spoke with Benson at the Random House party I keep mentioning. He said the majority of his fan mail is still for the James Bond novels he used to write.

Large Print

Summer in the South by Cathy Holton.

Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton.

Second Nature by Jacqueline Mitchard.

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas.

Lassiter by Paul Levine. Nope, not a western.

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache.

Wife-In-Law by Haywood Smith.

Season 16 of Top Gear on DVD

2011-10-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

DVD

Top Gear: 16 with [Three English guys] and cars. My oldest son loves this show so much. He has been watching an episode from Series 10 over and over.

Bridesmaids starring Kristen Wiig, other people. Something to do with preparing for a wedding. I think.

Panzer Cupcake Articles on Stuff Framing Accounting Windows

2011-10-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

1001 Cupcakes: cookies & other tempting treats by Love Food. Ampersands are stupid. Pretty pictures included.

Day of the Panzer: a story of American heroism and sacrifice in Southern France by Jeff Danby. Armored troops slip past a German rearguard and attack a German headquarters. Vicious fighting ensues. Maps and photos.

Get Your Articles Published by by Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe. Page 192, Modern buildings often look more striking if taken from an unusual angle.

Accounting Demystified by Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA. Page 283, This is a fascinating metric to me.

How Stuff Works by Marshall Brain. Page 98, The INS uses those signals to understand the vehicle's rotations relative to the platform.

Degunking Windows 7 by Joli Ballew. Page 160, Then you can decide if you want to enable it or not.

Framing a House by Roe Osborn. Page 233, I am completely making this quote up; don't forget to push the pinion into the gibbet.

"People Watch THis Crap?", Africa, Abbott

2011-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

DVD

Transformers: Dark of the Moon starring CGI. Things blow up. Things burn. Things fall. People watch this crap?

Fiction

Nairobi Heat by Mukoma Wa Ngugi. African peace activist comes to Madison to teach. Girl is dead on his doorstep. Black Madison cop travels to Africa as part of investigation. Cop has a few troubles during trip.

Audiobooks on CD

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott. 7 CDs at 8.5 hours. This has gotten lots of nice reviews. Reviews like, This was good, and I liked this, and Abbott was at that Random House party at Bouchercon where they had free drinks.

Eight Keys by Suzanne LeFleur. 4 CDs at 5.25 hours. Didn't the Cowboys have a tight end named LeFleur? A big guy who was drafted as a receiver in a failed bid to replace Novacek?

Life Itself by Roger Ebert. 12 CDs at 14 hours. Ebert does some fine writing outside of movie reviews. But, how much do I want to learn about Urbana, Steak and Shake, and working with Russ Meyer? How much more do you want to hear about that stupid Random House party? Because I keep writing about the free drinks anyway.

Two NonFiction and Another Bouchercon Freebie

2011-10-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

While They Slept: an inquiry into the murder of a family by Kathryn Harrison. 18-year-old kills his parents and a sister. Spares the other sister. An uplifting family story.

Quicken 2011: the official guide by Bobbi Sandberg. I bought a previous annual manual. Manual Samuel. Samuel Cram-you-ill. Cram-you-ill Spam-a-hill. I need a rhyming dictionary.

Fiction

Three Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom. Co-authors Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom were doing signings at Bouchercon. I picked up this free book but did not get it signed. Some other Scandinavians were doing a signing in the bar early that evening. I didn't get a book but got a free drink.

Free Drink at Bouchercon Signing

At the above mentioned signing I asked the waitress for some sort of IPA. When she got back I ended up with a Budweiser. I don't like Budweiser. I did not complain because the gal was busy and the drink was free. I drank the lousy beer anyway. It was free.

Christa Faust and Clare O'Donohue Overkill

2011-10-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

Clare O'Donohue

I sat next to O'Donohue during a breakfast event at Bouchercon. O'Donohue has written a series of cozy mysteries that sounded like people here would like them. O'Donohue also has a newer mystery series based on her own job as a free lance news producer.

Double Cross. Quilter is asked to teach class at a New York bed-and-breakfast where the business owner is murdered.

Devil's Puzzle. Quilting group has to solve mystery of a skeleton in one member's backyard and the town's witchcraft history.

Missing Persons. Soon to be divorced Kate's husband is killed. Kate takes a television assignment on a missing persons case and the cases overlap.

Christa Faust

Faust was also at Bouchercon but I did speak to her. I didn't have anything to say.

Choke Hold. Angela Dare, retired porn star, entered witness protection after helping break a kidnapping and prostitution ring. A former co-star is killed and Dare shepherds the friend's mixed martial arts fighting son.

Fiction

Mortal Terror by James R. Benn. Great WWII series featuring character Billy Boyle. Boyle is a troubleshooting investigator for his uncle, General Eisenhower. A killer is targeting officers and Boyle is sent to quietly clean things up.

Shock Wave by John Sandford. Minnesota.

Trackers by Deon Meyer. Meyer was also at Bouchercon. I congratulated him on his novel Blood Safari.

Thirteen House by Deon Meyer. Meyer is a big, tall dude. His English seemed pretty dang good so I wonder why he writes in Afrikaans and has his work translated by someone else.

Headhunters by Jo Nesbo. Recommended by Anthony Neil Smith who is teaching our writing workshop this November. At least I think it was Nesbo. Some Scandinavian guy anyway.

Doverkeepers by Alice Hoffman. Cover has a long-haired girl with a dove on each shoulder.

Prey by Linda Howard. We have two copies because one was donated. That is dandy since this novel has plenty of holds.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Another copy.

October Fest by Jess Lourey. Presidential debate at Octoberfest ends in murder.

Murder Unleashed by Rita Mae Brown. Some sort of dog mystery.

13 Million Dollar Pop by David Levien. I met Levien at Bouchercon too. Levien writes a lot of screenplays. I asked what they were and I have seen none of the flicks. I made fun of him. He was good guy.

Heirloom Murders by Kathleen Ernst. Wisconsin author. Wisconsin setting. Wisconsin murder.

Police and Thieves by James Patrick Hunt. Earlier Hunt books have proved popular here.

DVD: Violence, Bodybuilding, Cars, Talking Beaver, Bad Parenting

2011-10-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

DVD

Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan and Eric Bana. Girl is raised in rural Finland by her father to be an assassin. I was an short-term exchange student to Finland after high school. We drove to a museum in Helsinki and I spent most of the checking out the girls.

Thor starring Guy With a Hammer. Guy With A Hammer hurts hedonistic heathens with hammering.

Incendies starring French Canadians. Dying mother asks kids to travel to Middle East. Family mystery.

Fast Five starring [same people as last time] and Dwayne Johnson. Car chases! Machine guns! Bikinis! Posturing! One liners! Brazil!

The Beaver starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. Guy has a mental breakdown and can only talk by using a beaver hand puppet.

Everything Must Go starring Will Ferrell. Guy's wife ejects him from his house and puts everything on the lawn. Guy has a yard sale. This looks like it might be way too "learns an important lesson about life"-y.

Win Win starring Paul Giamatti and Alex Shaffer. High school wrestling.

Cruel Teenage Fighter Pilots Head to Space in Tweed

2011-10-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

Classic Fighters: the inside story by Ray Bonds. "Inside story" is a pun. Each entry has "incredibly detailed cutaway drawings" of each plane. I keep mixing up plane and plain. I think the early days of each style of aircraft are neat. The WWI planes and the early days of jets.

Space by Andrew Chaiken. Coffee table book with great photos and text of space flight and history. My sons add guns onto their Lego Space Shuttle. "Pow! Pssh! K-sh!"

Tweed: more than 20 contemporary designs to knit by Nancy J. Thomas. Two models in the whole book with a gal and a guy who forgot to shave.

Why Good Kids Act Cruel: the hidden truth about the pre-teen years by Carl Pickhardt, PhD. Early adolescence is a phase of anxiety, of uncertainty, of insecurity. To make matters worse, although all kids are going through the same transformation, none of them share what it is like, each feeling alone, isolated, and unique. The result is that even fantastic kids will do and say harmful things.

What Do You Expect? She's A Teenager!: a hope and happiness guide for moms with daughters ages 11-19 by Arden Greenspan-Goldberg. Yeah, no kidding. I've worked with teenage girls at the library but having them at home must be very difficult at times.

An Event of Cultural Interest

2011-10-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Jefferson County Dairy Breakfast

I forgot about the video files from this event. I stuck them together.

Sight and Sound

2011-10-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sight

Blitz starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine. London cop Brant cracks heads while hunting a killer. Based off the Ken Bruen books. Bruen's Brant is a feared cop among both crooks and cops and his work and personal activities cover both sides of the law.

Sound

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber. 5 CDs at 6 hours. Cover has three dogs in a basket. As if those dogs would actually stay in the basket.

The Accident by Linwood Barclay. 11 CDs at 12.33 hours. I was sure I spoke to Barclay at a Bouchercon party hosted by Random House. I just saw Barclay's photo and it was not the same guy. I must have gotten his name mixed up.

Justice by Karen Robards. 10 CDs at 11.5 hours.

Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen. Another Rizzoli and Isles novel. 9 CDs at 10 hours.

Area 51: an uncensored history of America's top secret history base by Annie Jacobsen. 15 CDs at 16.25 hours.

What to Read 44: Chasing the Devil by David Reichert

2011-10-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

What to Read

Chasing the Devil: my twenty year quest to capture the Green River Killer by David Reichert.

Two Novels for You

2011-10-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn. A superspy does super spying. Guy is out to assassinate an Iranian and travels around the globe. Because that is what spies do, they travel around the world making last minute airline reservations and stay in expensive downtown hotels.

Prey by Linda Howard. Many customers have reservations for this book.

Five Novels, Cartoons, Bouchercon Report

2011-10-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

Fiction

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber. "A Cedar Cove Novel" These just keep coming out. I wonder if they are being ghosted. Single mom in Cedar Grove expects a great Christmas. But, someone left basket of puppies on her doorstep and her kids invited her ex-husband for the holiday.

Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock.

Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke. Sheriff in a rural, Texas border town investigates a torture killing.

An Angel for Christmas by Heather Graham. Heather Graham the actress is from Wisconsin. I cannot recall from where and will not look it up.

Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson. A paperback version I got for free at Bouchercon.

NonFiction

How to Draw Cartoons: s step-by-step guide with 1000 illustrations by Ivan Hissey and Curtis Tappenden. I may bring this home for Boy #1. He has been drawing comics lately after reading things like Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants.

Bouchercon 2011 in St. Louis

Bouchercon was a few weeks ago. I attended. Bouchercon is an annual meeting for authors and fans of mysteries, crime and suspense novels.

I barely talked to anyone except for a few guys in the bar and at the Random House party. I had three goals of the event. 1- Say hello to Bill Crider. 2. Say hello to Barbara Fister. 3. Say hello to Patti Abbot. I completed the first two objectives and missed the third.

The advantage of a librarian attending Bouchercon is to learn more about new books, old books, and all sorts of authors for genres that are very popular with library users. Bouchercon is also a chance to learn more about the publishing industry from the author's perspective. I took about ten pictures all week, here are five.

Bill Crider waiting to sign books

New copies of Quarry's Ex

New copies of Choke Hold

Panel members for Girl Trouble about 'bad girls" in fiction

I stocked up on coffee before the Girl Trouble panel

Nothing New.

2011-09-29T07:39:00.001-07:00

Nothing New

New items have arrived but are not ready for the shelf.

Baby Monkey On A Pig

Lorine Niedecker: a poet's life

2011-09-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

Lorine Niedecker: a poet's life by Margot Peters. Lorine Niedecker...was a poet of extraordinary talent whose life and work were long enveloped in obscurity. Margot does a lot of research for each of her biographies. Margot will be speaking here, at the library, on November 26th.

Firm Dragon Fish Tank

2011-09-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

DVD

The Firm Weight Loss System: turbocharge weight loss featuring [some blond woman]. 40 minutes of exercise.

Fish Tank starring Michael Fassbender and British people. 15-yr-old girl lives with mom and sister in English housing project. Mom's attractive boyfriend moves in and tension builds.

Audiobooks on CD

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. 38 CDs at 49 hours. 49 hours? What the heck? I'm listening to the always quotable Joe R. Lansdale's Vanilla Ride and that is only 7.5 hours.

A New Quarry Novel

2011-09-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Quarry's Ex by Max Allan Collins. A novel set early in the career of Quarry the hit man. Quarry gets hired for a job and learns the case involves his ex-wife. These books are fantastic.
- Interesting Fact About Max Allan Collins #1: He is fairly tall.
- Interesting Fact About Max Allan Collins #2: He is a good singer. Not for his vocal ability but for his energy and emotion.

Large Print

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer. Dock in 1920 Bristol, England gets scholarship to exclusive school.

Audiobook on CD

In the Sea There are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda. 4 CDs at 4.5 hours. Based on the true story of Enaratollah Akbari. Akbari was ten-years-old when his family fled the Taliban in Afghanistan to Pakistan. Left on his own, Akbari traveled on his own through Iran, Turkey, and Greece to asylum in Italy. The title says Bill Crider, I don't know if the story does.

Three Fic, Two "Writing As", and One Non

2011-09-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Getting Off by Lawrence Block (writing as Jill Emerson). Another novel recovery by Hard Case Crime. This is a older novel Block did in the '50s or '60s. A serial killer woman who murders who one-night stands starts to track down the men she did not kill before.

Son of Stone by "Stuart Woods". Because, really, does Woods write his books anymore? Maybe he does an outline and a final edit.

Lethal by Sandra Brown. Widow with young daughter caught by a suspected mass murderer who claims the woman's dead policeman husband was hiding something valuable.

Large Print

Canyons of Night by Jayne Ann Krent (writing as Jayne Castle).

Acceptable Loss by Anne Perry.

NonFiction

Grand Pursuit: the story of economic genius by Sylvia Nasser. Narrative of the history and development of economics and it's rise from the destitute and poor of London.

Duel to Death! Watson vs. Mitchard!

2011-09-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin Blood Battle!

American Boys by Larry Watson. The Milwaukee Mauler enters the cage carrying his latest novel. A 1962 setting featuring a young guy with a "feverish longing for [a] mysterious woman." If Watson survives he will be here, in our library, on November, 12th.

Second Nature by Jacquelyn Mitchard. The Madame Master of Madison bursts out with a love story. A woman facially disfigured during a childhood fire decides to a new surgery to restore her face to what it was. If Mitchard survives she will be at the Watertown Friends of the Library on October 6th.

Non-Wisconsin Fiction

The Race by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott. "An Isaac Bell Adventure." Something to do with airplanes.

The Vault by Ruth Rendell. I've read good things about Rendell's novels but have not yet read one of them. Murder mystery set in London.

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb. An In Death novel.

DVD

24: Season 8 starring Kiefer Sutherland and The Weaver Stance. Secret agent fights secret bad guys.

Cell 211 starring Spaniards. Prison guard on his first day at work gets knocked unconscious. Guard awakes to find out a riot has occurred and he is in the middle of it. Guard has to pass as a prisoner.

Bereavement starring Michael Biehn and John Savage. I ordered this because Biehn and Savage are both in it. In 1989 a 6-year-old is kidnapped by a serial killer who teaches him to kill.

2.5" to 3" of Fiction

2011-09-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

3" deep (uncompressed, measured from spine) or 2.5" deep (compressed, measured from spine)

Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill. 272 pages with acknowledgments. This is listed again because the spine label had to be redone. Bill thanks Roger Smith and Christa Faust in his acknowledgments. I always have difficulty spelling acknowledments.

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis. 306 pages with author's note.

Burning Soul by John Connolly. 406 pages with acknawludgmints. Connolly thanks Howie Carr for the Boston background and information of Carr's The Brothers Bulger. I read that book.

Two Movies, One Television Show

2011-09-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

DVD

The Horseman starring [Australians]. Man's daughter is murdered and he murders for revenge and "reaches a new level of brutality."

Prisoner of Her Past featuring Sonia Reich and Howard Reich. Sixty years after surviving a concentration camp Sonia Reich's PTSD catches up with her and she thinks everyone is out to kill her. Her son films her and also traces the PTSD effects on kids who survived Hurricane Katrina. Dirty, filthy, rotten, stinking nazis.

Single-Handed: Series (Season) One starring [Irish People]. Irish Garda (police) Seargeant from Dublin is transferred out West and takes over his father's rural beat. As chief law-enforcement officer in this insular community, Jack soon learns the hard truth [of working alone].

Lake Mills 175th Anniversary

2011-09-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

175th Anniversary

I was going to go around this past weekend and take photos of the many events that were scheduled. I did not do so. My family did attend the car show on Sunday.

The Handy Man tries out a Ferrari.

The "upper" grill off a Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner. One of two Fairlanes at the car show.

Panoz Esperante. The owner said the company only built about 230 of these. The owner told me the exact number but I cannot recall it, look it up yourself.

I guess this came from Germany. That makes sense since this badge was on a Porsche.

Lotus Europa Special. This puts the driver and passenger incredibly close to the ground.

Renault 4CV. My apologies but I do not know any insulting jokes about French cars.

Edsel grill. A face only Sheriff Dan Rhodes could love.

1930s MG Midget that won the overall judging and peoples choice award. The car was highly polished with copper tubes routed all around the engine bay. There is no way the Midget's owner drove the car here.

New Guy, Old Guy, North Country

2011-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger. Continuing character Cork O'Connor is on vacation in Lake of the Woods, MN. Someone is dead. Infant boy is found. Cork has to protect boy from bad guys.

Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill. First book by short story writer. "The union jobs and family farms that kept the white on the picket fences have given way to meth labs, backwoods gunrunners, and bare-knuckle brawling." Bill has gotten a lot of raves from other writers, like Anthony Neil Smith who will teach our writing workshop on Nov. 5th.

Heartwishes by Jude Deveraux. "An Edilean Novel." Edilean?

Only Time Will tell by Jeffrey Archer. First in a new series about 1920s guy from the English docks who wins scholarship to a prestigious school. Sounds like that novel by that one guy. You know who I mean. I had to read the book in high school.

Liquid Smoke by Jeff Shelby. Surfer mystery by author in Texas. These are supposed to be good. Try reading Winslow's Dawn Patrol for surfing comparison. Then email the author you liked the least and complain at him. Writers love that.

End of Days by Robert Gleason. Some lady who has stockpiled for apocalypse finds out about a plot for apocalypse. The flyleaf's plot description is very confusing.

The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman. I'm attending Bouchercon in St. Louis in a couple weeks. Lippman is scheduled to be there. She sells a lot of books. I think if I run into her I'll say something like. "Oh, do you write books?"

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. Inspector Gamache investigates another murder in the small Quebec town of Three Pines. The mortality rate in Three Pines is worse than that of Bill Crider's Blacklin County.

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp. I saw a television advertisement for this book. Patterson is not scheduled for Bouchercon in St. Louis. He is probably too busy counting his money.

The Cut by George Pelecanos. Another guy with a big following among fellow writers. Former soldier who served in Iraq has a new job in D.C.: "recovering stolen property, no questions asked, as long as he gets his cut - 40 percent."

Musical Interlude. Again.

2011-09-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

Musical Interlude

I will have to holler at the Pages to get working on the processing. Here is something I just heard on BBC's 6 Music channel. 6 Music is my favorite radio station.

Some guys called Foster the People.

Someone is a fan of apocalypse movies.

Nothing New. Park Photos Instead.

2011-08-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

Farmers' Market

Six

2011-08-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

One

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs. Murder at a NASCAR race.

Two

Ice Station by Peter Tonkin. Floating nuclear station in Siberian Sea threatened by an ice storm and human intrigue.

Three

Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath. Boston cop on loan to Icelandic Police Forces has a murder to work on. "Strikingly original plot," says the flyleaf.

Four

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs. LARGE PRINT MURDER AT NASCAR.

Five

Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. Women immigrants from Japan to San Francisco to get married.

Six

Legends of Shannara by Terry Brooks. How many of these Shannara books are there? Counting is not easy when there are multiple series set there.

Stray Dog in the Library

2011-08-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Stray Dog

A girl came in the back door last night (August 24th) amidst lots of barking. I asked her if the dog outside was hers. She nervously said no. Her grandmother was still outside getting barked at and both were a bit scared of the dog.

I called 911 to get animal control - which for Lake Mills is contracted through the Humane Society. A local police officer showed up and tried to loop a dog catcher noose but the dog was too skittish and skittered away. The Officer was patient and trying not to injure or the dog, or get bitten.

The dog was not aggressive. He was just nervous and barky. Really barky. Woof, woof, woof, woof, bark, bark, woof, woof. The dog was hanging around the back door and not wandering off. I let him inside to see if that would calm him down and he did not.

Neither of us could coax the dog into the squad car. The dog had looked all over the library but was not satisfied that whoever he was looking for was not there. I left about fifteen minutes after close and the PO stayed for the dog catcher.

Oops. There is a new one.

2011-08-23T07:54:00.001-07:00

Fiction

Ink Flamingos by Karen E. Olson. Fourth in the paperback series featuring Las Vegas tattoo artist Brett Kavanaugh. When hot shot rock'n'roller Dee Carmichael dies Brett is seen leaving the dead girl's hotel room. Except, is wasn't Brett. Uh-oh what will happen?
Will Brett start sleuthing?
Will Brett find the real killer?
Will Olson write about tattooing and Vegas scenery?
Will Olson's publisher continue to hire the same graphic artist who does the neat book covers for this series?
Will Olson buy me a new .45?

Nothing New - Musical Interlude

2011-08-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

Musical Interlude

Liam Finn, as mentioned below by Dunedin, is the son of Neil Finn. Our copy of I'll be Lightning has circ'ed 17 times. I ordered the next album, Fomo, which releases this fall.

Off the first album.

Liam and the rest of his family were part of the 7 Worlds Collide concerts in Kiwi-land. Neil Finn invited musicians to Auckland to collaborate. The second album from 2009, The Sun Came Out, features songs and performances by several well-known musician types. A lesser known Kiwi dude is Don McGlashan.

I really like the whole double album of Sun. There is a neat tune by the bassist from Wilco, John Stirratt. This one is by Johnny Marr and Jeff Tweedy, Too Blue.

Two Novels

2011-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Large Print

Beach Trees by Karen White. Those are beach bushes on the cover. Not trees.

Fiction

Ideal Man by Julie Garwood. Cover has a manly man photoshopped with a pistol and badge.

Split Second Dexter Has to Suck It and See This Morning

2011-08-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Large Print

Split Second by Catherine Coulter. No author photos on most large print books.

DVD

Dexter: the fifth season starring James Remar. Remar was always good at playing the bad guy. I watched season one of this but kept getting the plots from novels and tv episodes confused. The gal who plays Dexter's sister was rail thin.

Digital Music Even If No One Refers to CDs as Digital Music

Suck It and See by The Arctic Monkeys. [Comment withheld]

This Loud Morning by David Cook. [No comment to withhold]

The guy with the ear? Man, I have no idea...

Books, Music, Tom Piccirilli

2011-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Fiction

Every Shallow Cut by Tom Piccirilli. This novel has received very good reviews. I know because Piccirilli always links to them. I think the story has something to do with a road trip and murder. Since this is a Piccirilli book I almost guarantee a muscle car in the story.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. This won a Big Time Novel Award. Two guys grow up as friends until one is suspected in a girl's disappearance. Twenty years later the same guy is suspected in another disappearance and the other guy is a cop.

With A Little Luck by Caprice Crane. The cover says: Teenage romance. The back says: Adult romance in Los Angeles radio station.

Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan. Irish woman travels to New York in 1920s to make money for injured husband at home. Will she return to Ireland or stay in the U.S.?

Set the Night on Fire by Libby Fischer Hellmann. Hellmann's books check out here. This one came out last December. Don't tell anyone I missed the pub date. Hellmann Fact: She's a nice lady and does not look like her vertically smooshed author photo.

Spiral by Paul McLuen. Thriller with nanorobots, scientists, and a lousy cover.

Only Mine by Susan Mallery. Paperback contemporary romance.

Angela Sloan by James Whorton, Jr. 14-year-old girl's CIA agent father disappears. She tries to find him in post-Watergate D.C. "A priceless coming-of-age story about stealing diner food and salvaging lost identities."

Music on CD

The Harrow and the Harvest by Gillian Welch. Old-time country music fans rejoice by wearing straw hats.

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2011-08-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

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Mystery Pack

2011-08-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Fiction (With Plot Descriptions Based on Cover Art)

One Dog Night by David Rosenfelt. Something about dogs.

Acceptable Loss by Anne Perry. Something about old London.

Death in High Places by Jo Bannister. Something about mountain climbing.

A Bad Day for Scandal by Sophie Littlefield. Something about a frying pan.

Mr. Monk on the Couch by Lee Goldberg Something about Monk being insane.

Back of Beyond by C.J. Box. Something about campfires. EDIT: Holy Carp! Box has a picture of himself without his hat!

Disturbance by Jan Burke. Something about moths.

Gentlemen's Hour by Don Winslow. Something about water.

Misterioso by Arne Dahl. Something about darts.

Scott Phillips Writes Creepy Sex, Donald Ray Pollock Writes Depressing Rural

2011-08-13T13:53:00.001-07:00

Fiction

The Adjustment by Scott Phillips. Post-War Wichita, KS is an airplane town. Built on cattle drives, the town now runs on airplane manufacturing. Army vet Wayne Ogden is out to destroy Collins Aircraft and its founder. But, in return, Wayne is being blackmailed. Corruption, violence, illicit sex and booze, innocent romance. Phillips does real good work.

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock. Rural residents of Southern Ohio and West Virginia followed over 20 years. I read Pollocks short story collection Knockemstiff after reading a recommendation from author Craig Davidson. Knockemstiff was good.

Cold Vengeance by Preston and Child. Revenge and international settings.

The Sixes by Kate White. Lame cover with a motif you have seen a million times.

Victory and Honor by W.E.B Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Spy operations at the end of world war two.

Darkness My Old Friend by Lisa Unger. Cover has a girl running through foggy, dark woods.

The Pack by Jason Starr. Starr does suspense and crime novels. Laid off dad meets other dads in a park. Joins them for drinks. Starts to change...

Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. Romance.

Devil Colony by James Rollins. My enthusiasm is fading.

Iron House by John Hart. I am almost finished.

Death Factory by Joe Domenici. Ah, finished. Now to add italics and and post this thing.

French Gunfights, Medieval Swordfights, Modern Day Bombfights

2011-08-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

DVD

36th Precinct starring That Other Gerard, Frenchmen. Armed robbers are on a crime spree. The first police lieutenant who catches the gang gets the police chief job. Competition ensues. Shotgun violence follows.

Jesse Stone: No Remorse starring Mustache, William Sadler. Jesse Stone story based on Parker's characters but penned by Mustache and Michael Brandman. Bill Crider says, "[nothing]". Well, I guess he either did not watch it or never blogged about it.

Source Code starring Jake Welsh-y. Soldier goes back in time to stop a bombing on a railway and get a date with a passenger.

Ironclad starring Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Armor, Swords, CGI. "The devastating battle for Rochester Castle is a true story of honor, action and excitement."

Music Inscribed Onto... You Get the Idea

Join Us by They Might Be Giants. Songs.

Legendary Weapons by Wu Tang. My brother once bought me a Wu Tang Clan CD. I have no idea why he did that. I kinda liked it but could not understand what the guys were saying.

Musical Interlude

2011-08-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Musical Interlude

Another Neil Finn edition.

1980

1991

2001 (quality is below average)

2011

I'm on Vacation

2011-08-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm on Vacation

Come Back Later by Library Director.

Ooh La La. Now THAT Is A Book

2011-07-28T06:58:00.001-07:00

NonFiction

German Automatic Weapons of World War II by Robert Bruce. Neat close-up photos of the mechanisms and how the parts fit together. Dirty, rotten, stinking, filthy nazis had some mechanically fascinating weapons. The Fallschirmjaegergewehr is fascinating. I should take this on summer vacation.

Music Translated Into Binary, Digital Language, Written Into a Thin Sheet of Metal, Then Layered Into a Plastic Disc

Gold by Steely Dan. "Expanded edition includes 4 additional recordings over 60 minutes worth of music."

Packers, Commandos, Witches, AC/DC, Jockeys, Mobsters

2011-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

NonFiction

Rockers and Rollers: a full-throttle memoir by Brian Johnson. Lead singer of AC/DC remembers his life after recalling whatever cars he owned at the time. "Now I know I take the piss out of Porsches a lot, but it;s only because racing against them is so difficult, because they never break, sort of."

Family Secrets: the case that crippled the Chicago mob by Jeff Coen. Shootings, bombings, loansharking.

Aaron Rodgers: leader of the pack by Rob Reischel. Lots of big color photos.

Return to Titletown: the remarkable story of the 2010 Green Bay Packers edited Joe Funk. Game by game with many color photos.

The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals edited by Gail Damerow. Providing nests for your ducks and geese to lay their eggs in helps keep the eggs clean and protects them from being cooked by the sun.

Pavement Chalk Artist: the three-dimensional drawings of Julian Beever by Julian Beever.

Rights of the People: how our search for safety invades our liberties by David K. Shipler. How have our rights to privacy and justice been undermined? What exactly have we lost?

Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin and Alex Malarkey. Is that last name a kind of joke? I'm late on buying this one, I should have noticed it's absence earlier.

Heaven is for Real: a little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. Same story, different kid.

10 Commando by Ian Dear. Ten Commando was composed entirely of men who came from Nazi-occupied countries such as Holland, Poland, and France.

Enter Night: a biography of Metallica by Mick Wall.

Fiction

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Magic in Chicago.

Gamble by Felix Frances. Felix finished this one his father and he started.

Missed One: Hobo With a ShotguA

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

DVD

Hobo With A Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer. A recommendation from novelist Tom Piccirilli.

I wonder if they reference Hitcher.

The Return of Christa Faust (and Lee Goldberg) Plus Rural Murder

2011-07-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

DVD

Small Town Murder Songs starring Peter Stormare, Jill Hennessy, Martha Plimpton. Cop whose small town has not had a murder in decades has one now. Cop is determined to find the killer even with mistrust of state cop in charge of the investigation.

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One starring The Scrawny Doctor, English People. The Doctor lands in 1960s America and other places with aliens.
My family spends way too much time watching Doctor Who and Top Gear on BBC America. Then Boys #1 and #2 tell me about the horsepower ratings and top speeds of exotic sports cars. "If Top Gear reviewed the Hyundai Sonata they would call it the Hyndai Snot-ta!" [Hysterical laughter]

The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston, Marisa Tomei. Impressive cast list, huh? The book was good and this film version is supposed to be pretty decent. I wonder how they work in a topless McConaughey. Maybe exiting the shower? At the beach? Wearing a tank top?

Fiction

Supernatural: Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust. An original novel featuring characters from the television show. Let's look at the back... Guided by the tattooed, pistol-packing bandita on a motorcycle, Xochi Cazadora, the brothers are plunged into a terrifying world of Aztec gods and monsters. Yep, that sounds like a Faust novel all right.

Justice by Karen Robards. An uninspired cover.

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines. A good cover. Teen girl in 1942 secretly works her PI dad's recent case when she hears a boy at her school is involved. Sneaking out of the house, dancing at the Savoy, double-crossing her friends...this one sounds like a Megan Abbott novel.

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. This may be a YA novel. Girl from family of witches prefers to separate that from "normal" life. While ranch-sitting for an aunt a dangerous ghost is more than she can handle.

NonFiction

Tied In: the business, history, and craft of media tie-in writing edited by Lee Goldberg. I used to sneer at tie-ins until I read what G0ldberg had to say. I have not, however, read what the other Goldberg (Tod) has to say. I can now find out because his is the first piece in here, Does a Real Writer Write Tie-Ins?, and directly addresses my past distaste for tie-ins.

The Deer and the Naturalist: dreamwork and the soul's journey by Mary Edwards.

Large Print

Monument to Murder by Margaret Truman.

Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver. James Bond novel with bigger type.

Against All Enemies by Tom Clancy.

AudioBooks on CD

Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich. 7 CDs at 8.5 hours. Guy steals moon rock for his girlfriend. Gets arrested.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson. 10 CDs at 12.6 hours. Robots eat people. Or something.

Music on CD

Nina Simone: 17 masters by Nina Simone. 17 selected tracks.

CDs by Gordon Lightfoot, David Bowie and other, lesser beings

2011-07-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

Music on CD

Sleeps with Angels by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

Waiting for the Sun by The Doors.

Strange Days by The Doors.

Young Americans by David Bowie.

The Best of Earth Wind and Fire: Volumes 1 and 2 by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Broken Arrow by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

Morrison Hotel by The Doors.

L.A. Woman by The Doors.

John Lennon Collection by John Lennon.

The Band by The Band.

Gord's Gold by Gordon Lightfoot.

Talking Book by Steve Wonder.

Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Willie and the Poor Boys by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

One of Those Nights by The Eagles.

Greasy Little Punks And Their Electrified Guitars, Wiggling Around and Grunting. Howling!

2011-07-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

Music on CD

Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's greatest love songs by Jim Croce. Plane wreck death? I don't recall.

GP/Grievous Angel by Gram Parsons. Parsons was supposed to be highly influential in the late '60s and early '70s by mixing country and rock. His musician pals dug his sound and went on to man popular and big selling bands. Parsons killed himself with booze and drugs.

Band of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix killed himself with drugs, too.

The Soft Parade by The Doors. Also dead by drugs. This album does not have any famous tunes.

Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan. Dylan pre- and post-dates all those dead guys. I saw him play in Champaign, IL last fall. His guitarist was Charlie Sexton. Sexton was a guitar prodigy in Texas and had this tune rotate on MTV for a time in about 1985.

Six More CDs of Idolatrous, Devil Music LEading Our Nation Into Communism and Fluoridation

2011-07-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Music on CD - We received a box of donations and I added several older, famous albums that are not elsewhere in the catalog.

Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Mirror Ball by Neil Young. I've never much cared about Young but do like a few tunes.

Music on CD (that was incorrectly processed and needs to be redone)

Vauxhall and I by Morrissey. I was going to get a haircut this coming week. Maybe I should just add more hair "products" and Morrissey it.

Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nillson.

Diamond Dogs by David Bowie. This is one of the re-releases from Ryko that came out 20 years ago.

whitechocolatespaceegg by Liz Phair.

Music: Mormons, Ivers, Hitchcock, Weird Al, Secret Sisters

2011-07-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Plastic Discs, Upon Which Is A Thin Layer of Metal Unto Which Special Digital Signals Are Recorded And Then Translated, Using Special Equipment, Into Audible Musical Notes, and Singing Human Voices, And Amplified Through Special Equipment For Your Hearing Pleasure.

O Holy Night by Jackie Evancho. I bought this? Maybe this is the current "Little girl with "voice of an angel'" kid. Two discs.

The Book of Mormon by Original Broadway Cast. Includes a thick booklet full of lyrics and photos that does not want to STAY IN THE DANG CASE!

Codes and Keys by Death Cab For Cutie. Death Cab For Cutie was recently awarded the prestigious Stupidest Band Name Ever award.

Jagjaguwaa by Bon Iver. This dude was in some magazine, and on tv, getting shilled by Michael Perry, promoted through media in Madison. I have not idea who he is.

Propellor Time by Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. I like Hitchcock's work.

The King is Dead by The Decemberists. Is this a hipster band? I think it might be. You know, ironic or "vintage" t-shirts, PBR beer, aviator sunglasses, sideburns... Oh, maybe not. Glenn, regular library patron and music fan, just now expressed interest.

Alpocalypse by Weird Al Yankovic. One CD and one DVD. Parodies of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and a Doors parody about Craigslist.

The Secret Sisters by The Secret Sisters. Two gals I heard on the CBC one day. One of them tried out at a performers showcase in Nashville and was invited back. She brought her sister along for the second performance. The first song is the best. The rest are well done but are covers of tunes you've already heard a bunch of times.

Now That's What I call Music!: 38 featuring [Who? What? Does no one own a dictionary?]

Fiction

Split Second by Catherine Coulter. 419 pages.

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel [supposedly]. Queen... gracious... arbiter... divorce... penthouse... hairdressers... bone structure... truth... prospect... consumes... thirty... football... memorable... whack... upside... brimming... insight... itself... always.

Large Print

When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey. Half-naked dude in tight pants on the cover.

Summer Reading Program

2011-07-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Summer Reading Program (SRP)

This year's SRP had almost 350 registrations. This is the last week of programming and ends with a Scholastic Book Fair. Kids who finished the reading program receive a five dollar credit towards the book sale.

Therapy Dogs

We had a few therapy dogs join us through the summer. Kids signed up for 15 minute segments to read to the dogs.

This Whippet listened to kids for two hours and then volunteered to shelf read.

Portuguese Water Poodles prefer regency romances.

Warped, Tavern Going Dragons Occupying Iraq for Geothermal Work

2011-07-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

Fiction

A Dance of Dragons by George R.R. Martin. Book five in the series adapted into a SEAN BEAN vehicle by HBO.

NonFiction

The Smart Guide to Geothermal by Donal Blaise Lloyd. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's "green". Did you also know it saves a crap load of money? Lake Mills Middle School has a geothermal set-up and it is very neat-o.

Tavern League: portraits of Wisconsin Bars by Carl Corey. No Lake Mills representation. I gotta tell you though, some of the pictured people just look like bar owners. There is a location index in the back of the book but this is really crying out for a map. I was going to link to some online photos but the publisher does not have any good ones. You can watch the PBS NewsHour piece about the book.

Iraq War and Occupation: a struggle for democracy by D.C. Everest Area Schools. Oral history project edited by students in Weston, WI. Okay. I admit I was sneering at this book when I first saw it. I expected an amateurish publication. I just looked through and was impressed. I'll probably read this.

The Book of U.S. Government Jobs, 11th edition by Dennis V. Damp. I want a job in Australia with free airfare for my family, a nice house, and allowance for two cars. Nice cars, too. One of those souped up Holdens. And beer money. And allowance for four trips back to the U.S. per year. And two months vacation. And a gun license and ammo allowance so I can shoot IPSC.

Music on CD

Vans Warped Tour: 2011 featuring Paramoure and 49 other bands that I never heard of.

Now That's What I Call Country: Volume 4 featuring Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood and many other pop singers masquerading as country music.

DVD

Forager's Harvest: a guide to identifying , harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants by Samuel Thayer. Two discs. The boys and I should watch this and take a guidebook into the woods the next Saturday my wife works.

What to Read 43: Author events for November, 2011

2011-07-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

What to Read 43: Author Events for November, 2011

November 5th, 10 AM to 3PM: Crime novel writing workshop with Anthony Neil Smith. $25 per person, lunch included.

November 12th, 1 PM to 3 PM: Larry Watson.

November 19th, 6 PM to 7:30 PM: Susanna Daniel.

November 26th, 1 PM to 3 PM: Margot Peters.