CDs
Country and Western
Greatest Hits by Trisha Yearwood.
Still Feels Good by Rascal Flatts. I don't know their music but they are trying to look real good and disaffected on the album cover. The back of CD booklet has them posing by a house pool in the hills around Los Angeles. I recognize the house, tv shows and movies have been used it as a location.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend by Miranda Lambert. Is Lambert the crazy ex-girlfriend or is she singing about the crazy ex-girlfriend?
Upfront and Lowdown by Teddy Thompson. A cover album of older country western tunes. We have another Thompson album with his original work, Separate Ways.
Seven Miles Out Of Town by Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. There are still original members of Wills' band out touring.
It's Not Big It's Large by Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. The great Lyle Lovett.
Rap
Graduation by Kanye West.
Soundtrack
The Simpson: a whole lot more original music from the television series by [who knows?]. With great songs like Ode to Branson, What do I think of the Pie?, O Pruny Night, Welcome to Moe's, "Yokel Chords" Medley.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Three CDs and a Tarantino
CDs
Let it Go by Tim McGraw. I guess this guy sings okay. His wife is good looking.
Now That's What I Call Music! 25. A bunch of chart topping tunes. Remember, that's the title talking, not me. I haven't heard any of these songs. But Library staff member Stephanie will probably check this one out.
Timbaland Presents: Shock Value by Timbaland. A rapper? I think so. That Justin Timberlake guy is on several tunes which confuses me. Timbaland, Timberlake, Timbaland...I used to think they were the same person.
DVD
Death Proof starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier. Tarantino's half of his and Robert Rodriguez's Grind House. Kurt Russell is in it so it has to be good.
You doubt me about Kurt Russell? Well then take a look at The Thing, Used Cars, or Big Trouble in Little China. But don't watch Tango and Cash. What a massive pile of junk that was. Massive.
Let it Go by Tim McGraw. I guess this guy sings okay. His wife is good looking.
Now That's What I Call Music! 25. A bunch of chart topping tunes. Remember, that's the title talking, not me. I haven't heard any of these songs. But Library staff member Stephanie will probably check this one out.
Timbaland Presents: Shock Value by Timbaland. A rapper? I think so. That Justin Timberlake guy is on several tunes which confuses me. Timbaland, Timberlake, Timbaland...I used to think they were the same person.
DVD
Death Proof starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier. Tarantino's half of his and Robert Rodriguez's Grind House. Kurt Russell is in it so it has to be good.
You doubt me about Kurt Russell? Well then take a look at The Thing, Used Cars, or Big Trouble in Little China. But don't watch Tango and Cash. What a massive pile of junk that was. Massive.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
DVDs
DVD
Black Book starring a bunch of Dutch actors. Rachel Stein tries to escape Holland with other Jews but is the only survivor of a Nazi ambush. Rachel joins the resistance, is assigned to tempt a Captain at German headquarters, and finds out the Resistance has a mole.
28 Weeks Later starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack. I screwed up on this one and ordered the full screen version. I hate full screen versions, 1/3 to 1/2 of the picture ends up getting chopped off to fit the screen. Dang it.
High School Musical: The Concert starring a bunch of teen actors. Touring stage production of High School Musical.
TMNT starring a bunch of voice overs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still around. Amazing.
Gracie starring Dermot Mulroney Elisabeth Shue. Fifteen year old girl soccer player has no girls team to play for. So, she challenges her parents and school policy to play on the boys team. based on Elisabeth Shue's time in high school.
A Merry Bunny Christmas starring Max and Ruby. Here is a guess: Ruby bosses Max around, Max is Mischevious.
Black Book starring a bunch of Dutch actors. Rachel Stein tries to escape Holland with other Jews but is the only survivor of a Nazi ambush. Rachel joins the resistance, is assigned to tempt a Captain at German headquarters, and finds out the Resistance has a mole.
28 Weeks Later starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack. I screwed up on this one and ordered the full screen version. I hate full screen versions, 1/3 to 1/2 of the picture ends up getting chopped off to fit the screen. Dang it.
High School Musical: The Concert starring a bunch of teen actors. Touring stage production of High School Musical.
TMNT starring a bunch of voice overs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still around. Amazing.
Gracie starring Dermot Mulroney Elisabeth Shue. Fifteen year old girl soccer player has no girls team to play for. So, she challenges her parents and school policy to play on the boys team. based on Elisabeth Shue's time in high school.
A Merry Bunny Christmas starring Max and Ruby. Here is a guess: Ruby bosses Max around, Max is Mischevious.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Fiction and NonFiction
Fiction
Camp Ford by Johnny D. Boggs. The cover makes this look like a western. The story is actually set during the Civil War. Win MacNaughton enlists in the Union Army, is captured in Louisiana, and then sent to Camp Ford in Texas where the inmates start a baseball team and challenge the guards to a game.
Tango for a Torturer by Daniel Chavarria. Chavarria is an interesting character. Chavarria is a Uruguayan professor of literature and an expert in the history of prostitutes and prostitution.
Aldo Bianchi is a former Argentine revolutionary now living in Italy. On vacation in Havana Aldo meets a hooker and through her finds out the location in Havana of the torturer from Argentina he is hunting. Aldo sets out for personal justice.
"Daniel Chavarria portrays the sensuousness and skullduggery of contemporary Havana - a city that offers erotic thrills to pleasure-seeking tourists, even as it hides the villains in its humid embrace."
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris. Harper Connelly can communicate with the dead ever since she was twelve years old and struck by lighting. She now makes her living by locating missing and murdered people. Harper's latest job in North Carolina sets her into the path of a killer after teenage boys.
Large Print Fiction
Heartbreak Town by Marsha Moyer. Lucy Hatch is raising her son in Mooney, TX when her ex-husband and former country music star Ash Farrell shows up and parks his trailer in her backyard. Will they get back together? Will town gossip drive them further apart?
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter. Police Detective Lena Adams is a murder suspect in a neighboring town. Her superior, Police Chief Tolliver, heads over to help her out. Tolliver's wife is not happy about Tolliver's behavior but soon finds herself in the middle of things.
NonFiction
In Other Words: the meanings memoirs of euphemisms by Dominique Enright. Laced mutton: a prostitute. Given your cards: dismissed from your job. Take a walk: a defecting spy. Prestigious: in a real estate agent's description this means expensive.
Essentials Grilling: simple & delicious recipes that are easy to make by Bernice Hurst.
Comfort Food: a selection of traditional recipes just like your grandma used to make by Parragon Publishing.
Marine Corps Tank Battles in Korea by Oscar Gilbert. "We just loaded shells into that goddamn thin. It was just a bonfire. That tank was burning from one end to the other in no time at all" G.G. Sweet's encounter with a T-34 tank near Pusan.
North American Exploration by Michael Golay and John Bowman. Entries covering every major expedition, leader, geographical feature, and milestone.
I'm listening to the audio version of Dan Simmons' The Terror which is set Arctic Canada and based on a true expedition. I'll have to look it up in here.
What Makes Flamingos Pink?: a colorful collection of Q & A's for the unquenchably curious by Bill McLain. The stuff they eat makes them pink, I knew that already. I did not know that "chickenpox" dates from 1720 and is labeled as such to show it's mildness in comparison to smallpox.
Public Executions: from Ancient Rome to the present day by Nigel Cawthorne. The attempted quartering of Robert-Francois Damiens, They continued their repeated efforts for more than an hour, without making any progress towards dismembering him other than stretching his joints to a great length. This was probably due to the fact that the horses were young and vigorous. Consequenetly they were too wilful and unruly to pull with a concerted effort. The physician and surgeon on hand told the commissioners that, unless the main sinews were cut, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to carry out the sentence of dismemberment.
Camp Ford by Johnny D. Boggs. The cover makes this look like a western. The story is actually set during the Civil War. Win MacNaughton enlists in the Union Army, is captured in Louisiana, and then sent to Camp Ford in Texas where the inmates start a baseball team and challenge the guards to a game.
Tango for a Torturer by Daniel Chavarria. Chavarria is an interesting character. Chavarria is a Uruguayan professor of literature and an expert in the history of prostitutes and prostitution.
Aldo Bianchi is a former Argentine revolutionary now living in Italy. On vacation in Havana Aldo meets a hooker and through her finds out the location in Havana of the torturer from Argentina he is hunting. Aldo sets out for personal justice.
"Daniel Chavarria portrays the sensuousness and skullduggery of contemporary Havana - a city that offers erotic thrills to pleasure-seeking tourists, even as it hides the villains in its humid embrace."
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris. Harper Connelly can communicate with the dead ever since she was twelve years old and struck by lighting. She now makes her living by locating missing and murdered people. Harper's latest job in North Carolina sets her into the path of a killer after teenage boys.
Large Print Fiction
Heartbreak Town by Marsha Moyer. Lucy Hatch is raising her son in Mooney, TX when her ex-husband and former country music star Ash Farrell shows up and parks his trailer in her backyard. Will they get back together? Will town gossip drive them further apart?
Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter. Police Detective Lena Adams is a murder suspect in a neighboring town. Her superior, Police Chief Tolliver, heads over to help her out. Tolliver's wife is not happy about Tolliver's behavior but soon finds herself in the middle of things.
NonFiction
In Other Words: the meanings memoirs of euphemisms by Dominique Enright. Laced mutton: a prostitute. Given your cards: dismissed from your job. Take a walk: a defecting spy. Prestigious: in a real estate agent's description this means expensive.
Essentials Grilling: simple & delicious recipes that are easy to make by Bernice Hurst.
Comfort Food: a selection of traditional recipes just like your grandma used to make by Parragon Publishing.
Marine Corps Tank Battles in Korea by Oscar Gilbert. "We just loaded shells into that goddamn thin. It was just a bonfire. That tank was burning from one end to the other in no time at all" G.G. Sweet's encounter with a T-34 tank near Pusan.
North American Exploration by Michael Golay and John Bowman. Entries covering every major expedition, leader, geographical feature, and milestone.
I'm listening to the audio version of Dan Simmons' The Terror which is set Arctic Canada and based on a true expedition. I'll have to look it up in here.
What Makes Flamingos Pink?: a colorful collection of Q & A's for the unquenchably curious by Bill McLain. The stuff they eat makes them pink, I knew that already. I did not know that "chickenpox" dates from 1720 and is labeled as such to show it's mildness in comparison to smallpox.
Public Executions: from Ancient Rome to the present day by Nigel Cawthorne. The attempted quartering of Robert-Francois Damiens, They continued their repeated efforts for more than an hour, without making any progress towards dismembering him other than stretching his joints to a great length. This was probably due to the fact that the horses were young and vigorous. Consequenetly they were too wilful and unruly to pull with a concerted effort. The physician and surgeon on hand told the commissioners that, unless the main sinews were cut, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to carry out the sentence of dismemberment.
Monday, October 08, 2007
CDs and Two DVDs
CD
It's been a while since we had new CDs. So here you go, Glenn.
Magic by Bruce Springsteen. You can find reviews anywhere. Steven Van Zandt has been promoting the disc like mad on his radio show.
Revival by John Fogerty. Latest album by Fogerty. The first in three years. I think that close to the whole catalog of Fogerty and Creedence discs is available through the library.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace by Foo Fighters. What happened to the bassist from Nirvana?
Awakening by Melissa Etheridge. I've never much enjoyed her tunes much but she does have a strong singing voice. This is her "cancer" disc, songs about life drawn from her chemo treatments.
O.C.M.S. by Old Crow Medicine Show. I bought Big Iron World by Old Crow Medicine Show a few months ago and think it is great. A neat mix of country and rock (I read a description saying" neo-traditionalist folk" which is probably most accurate). I searched for the band on YouTube and found some other great tunes from O.C.M.S..
Last Days of Wonder by The Handsome Family. I don't recall how I heard of this duo. Probably by searching the catalog for alt-country or doing the same search through Allmusic.com. One of the former directors at Watertown, Matt Williams, was a msic fan and also cataloged the music CDs. Cataloging is incredibly boring but a good cataloging, with proper subject headings, makes catalog searching a breeze and uncovers items that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Anyway, I listened to two earlier albums from Watertown PL and decided we should get this 2006 release.
DVD
Knocked Up starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Gla gets pregnant during one night stand with Loser Dude. Loser Dude and gal come to grips with impending parenthood. A comedy.
The Valet starring a bunch of French actors. Billionaire philanderer Pierre is caught by paparazzi while he is out with his supermodel mistress. Pierre tries to convince wife that the mistress is really the girlfriend of the valet caught in the paparazzi photographs with them. This had a write up in People or Entertainment Weekly or some gossip rag.
It's been a while since we had new CDs. So here you go, Glenn.
Magic by Bruce Springsteen. You can find reviews anywhere. Steven Van Zandt has been promoting the disc like mad on his radio show.
Revival by John Fogerty. Latest album by Fogerty. The first in three years. I think that close to the whole catalog of Fogerty and Creedence discs is available through the library.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace by Foo Fighters. What happened to the bassist from Nirvana?
Awakening by Melissa Etheridge. I've never much enjoyed her tunes much but she does have a strong singing voice. This is her "cancer" disc, songs about life drawn from her chemo treatments.
O.C.M.S. by Old Crow Medicine Show. I bought Big Iron World by Old Crow Medicine Show a few months ago and think it is great. A neat mix of country and rock (I read a description saying" neo-traditionalist folk" which is probably most accurate). I searched for the band on YouTube and found some other great tunes from O.C.M.S..
Last Days of Wonder by The Handsome Family. I don't recall how I heard of this duo. Probably by searching the catalog for alt-country or doing the same search through Allmusic.com. One of the former directors at Watertown, Matt Williams, was a msic fan and also cataloged the music CDs. Cataloging is incredibly boring but a good cataloging, with proper subject headings, makes catalog searching a breeze and uncovers items that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Anyway, I listened to two earlier albums from Watertown PL and decided we should get this 2006 release.
DVD
Knocked Up starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Gla gets pregnant during one night stand with Loser Dude. Loser Dude and gal come to grips with impending parenthood. A comedy.
The Valet starring a bunch of French actors. Billionaire philanderer Pierre is caught by paparazzi while he is out with his supermodel mistress. Pierre tries to convince wife that the mistress is really the girlfriend of the valet caught in the paparazzi photographs with them. This had a write up in People or Entertainment Weekly or some gossip rag.
Non Fiction, Large Print Fiction
Large Print
North River by Pete Hamill. I read a reprint of a Hamill book a few months ago which had a story about a journalist in trouble with the IRA. That was a good book.
Dr. Jim Delaney of Manhattan treats the down-and-out residents of Manhattan. Delaney has been grieving his wife's suicide in the North River for a while when his three-year-old grandson is unexpectantly left on his doorstep.
Falling Man by Don DeLillo. The emotional aftermath of 9/11 on several New Yorkers. Title is from the image of the falling restaurant worker from Windows on the World.
Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson. Sun Valley, Idaho Patrolman Walt Fleming saved the life of U.S. Attorney General Shaler seven years ago. Now Walt is Sheriff and Fleming is back in town to announce her candidacy for President; and another threat on her life is underway.
Died in the Wool: A Torie O'Shea mystery by Rett MacPherson. I think this is one of those "cutesey" cozy mysteries. There is probably some quilting, sewing, or cooking in it.
Hourglass by Barbara Metzger. Some romance between a soldier's widow and and a ghost from the Crusades. Sounds stupid to me.
NonFiction
Who's Watching the Spies: establishing intelligence service accountability edited by Hans Born, et al. The strengths and weaknesses of several countries' intelligence services and how different experiments have worked out.
Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to The Battle of New Orleans by Benton Rain Patterson. The six week Battle of New Orleans begun in December, 1814. The death of Pakenham and the rise of Jackson.
Universal Book of Mathematics: from abrcadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes by David Darling. A one volume encyclopedic look at mathematics history and theory.
Ferrari: from the prototype 125 and classic 250 GTO to Ferrari's stunning F430 supercar by Andrew Chapman. A photo history. If you like this check out Inside Ferrari: unique behind-the-scenes photography of the world's greatest Formula One team.
Diabetic Cookbook: simple and delicious recipes for a healthy life by Sarah Banbery. As if the subtitle would be difficult and revolting recipes to kill you fast.
Vanishing Beauty by Bertie and Dow Winkel. A coffee table photo book of vanishing cultural traditions from around the world.
Drawing Animals by Victor Amburs. Sketching guide.
North River by Pete Hamill. I read a reprint of a Hamill book a few months ago which had a story about a journalist in trouble with the IRA. That was a good book.
Dr. Jim Delaney of Manhattan treats the down-and-out residents of Manhattan. Delaney has been grieving his wife's suicide in the North River for a while when his three-year-old grandson is unexpectantly left on his doorstep.
Falling Man by Don DeLillo. The emotional aftermath of 9/11 on several New Yorkers. Title is from the image of the falling restaurant worker from Windows on the World.
Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson. Sun Valley, Idaho Patrolman Walt Fleming saved the life of U.S. Attorney General Shaler seven years ago. Now Walt is Sheriff and Fleming is back in town to announce her candidacy for President; and another threat on her life is underway.
Died in the Wool: A Torie O'Shea mystery by Rett MacPherson. I think this is one of those "cutesey" cozy mysteries. There is probably some quilting, sewing, or cooking in it.
Hourglass by Barbara Metzger. Some romance between a soldier's widow and and a ghost from the Crusades. Sounds stupid to me.
NonFiction
Who's Watching the Spies: establishing intelligence service accountability edited by Hans Born, et al. The strengths and weaknesses of several countries' intelligence services and how different experiments have worked out.
Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to The Battle of New Orleans by Benton Rain Patterson. The six week Battle of New Orleans begun in December, 1814. The death of Pakenham and the rise of Jackson.
Universal Book of Mathematics: from abrcadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes by David Darling. A one volume encyclopedic look at mathematics history and theory.
Ferrari: from the prototype 125 and classic 250 GTO to Ferrari's stunning F430 supercar by Andrew Chapman. A photo history. If you like this check out Inside Ferrari: unique behind-the-scenes photography of the world's greatest Formula One team.
Diabetic Cookbook: simple and delicious recipes for a healthy life by Sarah Banbery. As if the subtitle would be difficult and revolting recipes to kill you fast.
Vanishing Beauty by Bertie and Dow Winkel. A coffee table photo book of vanishing cultural traditions from around the world.
Drawing Animals by Victor Amburs. Sketching guide.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Piles of Books
Fiction
Last Chicken in America:a novel in stories by Ellen Litman. Stories about the Russian emigres in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania.
Storm Runners by T. Jefferson Parker. Matt Stromsoe hit rock bottom when his family was murdered by a bomb. The bomber was Matt's childhood friend and his wife's ex-lover. Rebuilding his life with a private detective firm Matt is assigned to protect a local newsman from a stalker. A stalker who has ties to the man imprisoned for killing Matt's family.
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar. Nine year old Suleiman lives in Libya in 1979. His father travels frequently for business but one day Suleiman sees him across the square in big sunglasses. His mother starts burning his fathers old books. The man in the parked car outside asked sinister questions. His friend's father disappears and then reappears on television being interrogated.
Headmaster's Dilemma by Louis Auchincloss. Michael Sayre is the Headmaster at Averhill prep school. A sexual assault on campus brings a lawsuit by the student victim's parents. Michael opposes the lawsuit while the conniving President of the Board of Trustees sees an opportunity to dismiss Michael.
Undead and Uneasy by Mary Janice Davidson. Part of Davidson's chicklit vampire humor novels.
Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot. Continuing character of Lizzie Nichols. Lizzie's big mouth get her in trouble with her would be mother-in-law, at new job at a law firm, and everywhere else.
Sundown, Yellow Moon by Larry Watson. Author of Montana, 1948 which I read for a book discussion. In 1961 Bismarck, North Dakota Gene's father walked into the state capitol, shot a state senator to death, walked home, and hung himself. The reasons why died with both men but speculation continued for years. Forty of those years have passed and Gene is back in town trying to figure out why it all happened.
Red Sea by Emily Benedek. A thriller. Four airliners explode in midair on the same day. Governments and people around the world are in panic. Aviation reporter Marie Peterssen has a theory about the event that is confirmed by an Israeli airline security expert. Together they uncover a plot to explode a nuclear warhead in New York Harbor.
World Without End by Ken Follett. This one earned some some big reviews. A sort-off continuation of Follett's Pillars of the Earth. 14th Century England where the cathedral in Knightsbridge "at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge." Follett still has a full head of hair but that hair doesn't extend several inches up like it used to.
Trespass by Valerie Martin. Chloe Dale is living the good life in rural New York. Except for the strange poacher on her land and her anger over Iraq. When Toby brings home his pregnant Croatian girlfriend Chloe immediately dislikes her. When the girlfriend brings along her mom, the trouble grows.
Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella. British Army officer Captain James Gould is assigned the authority to approve soldiers to marry Italian girls. Gould's rarely grants the needed approval. So the townspeople conspire to get him a new cook: the widowed and beautiful Livia.
Mystery
When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark. The cover has a picture of a pool deck and pool water with an electrical cord snaking into the water and the shadow of a woman falling across the cord.
Fools Rush In by Ed Gorman. A positive review by Bill Crider.
First Wave by James R. Benn. Billy Boyle is General Eisenhower's personal investigator. Boyle didn't earn the job, his family connections helped with that. But, Boyle turns out to be a better detective than anyone, including himself, thought. Boyle hits the Algerian beach in 1942 investigating the murders of American and French servicemen and runs across would-be girlfriend and British agent Diana. Diana is captured by the Vichy French and Boyle is out to rescue her.
In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews. This is a neat one. The author received a National Science Foundation grant to visit Antarctica to research the novel. A science based mystery set in Antarctica with geologist Valena Walker arriving at McMurdo Station to find her professor arrested for the murder - by exposure - of a journalist out to discredit the professor's work.
Several years ago I was watching a kid's program on Antarctica that sent a junior high aged girl reporter down there for a report. One person she talked to was a gruff, middle-aged guy with a bad case of rosacea and a ratty wool sweater. You could tell that the girl did not like being around the guy, and that the guy did not like being a tour guide to a thirteen year old. But, they got enough uncomfortable film footage of him showing her some fish.
Night Work by Steve Hamilton. Hamilton's books have been steady in maintaining high quality. Or so I've read.
New Yorker Joe Trumbull is pretty fearless after years of travel in rotten neighborhoods as a juvenile probation officer working to keep his high-risk kids out of jail. Tonight, however, Joe is terrified at the prospect of his upcoming blind date. His first date in two years since the murder of his fiancee. This is a mystery so you know things do not go well.
Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton. An Agatha Raisin mystery.
Fantasy
A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez. We are late to get this one on our shelves. I missed it's publication in the Spring. Martinez wrote the humorous and action filled fantasy novels Gil's All Fright Diner and In the Company of Ogres. This is a good one too. Nameless is a beautiful witch cursed with the a hunger for cannibalism. Her beauty draws men but her literal hunger to eat them alive makes her stay away. Along with her pet demon duck she enters human society and helps a village and a White Knight fight off a horde of goblins and their wizard boss.
NonFiction
Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush. Seventeen year old Ana has been raped, is now a mother and is HIV positive. A true story account from one of the people Jenna met through her work with UNICEF.
Is Jenna the one that got busted for underage drinking in Austin? It's bad enough to get a citation and have to tell your parents. It's worse to have the citation spread across the news media and repeated over and over for years. Example: I was flipping through an issue of Rolling Stone once and scanned a Jennifer Aniston interview. It's Rolling Stone so that had to detail her complaints about Bush. In there was a comment about her walking through her agent's office with her husband, Brad Pitt, in tow. A Bush girl is summer interning there and Pitt says, "Hey, Jenna, wanna go get a beer? Ha ha ha ha." Great, the 'sexiest man in America' just made a joke at your expense.
Last Chicken in America:a novel in stories by Ellen Litman. Stories about the Russian emigres in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania.
Storm Runners by T. Jefferson Parker. Matt Stromsoe hit rock bottom when his family was murdered by a bomb. The bomber was Matt's childhood friend and his wife's ex-lover. Rebuilding his life with a private detective firm Matt is assigned to protect a local newsman from a stalker. A stalker who has ties to the man imprisoned for killing Matt's family.
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar. Nine year old Suleiman lives in Libya in 1979. His father travels frequently for business but one day Suleiman sees him across the square in big sunglasses. His mother starts burning his fathers old books. The man in the parked car outside asked sinister questions. His friend's father disappears and then reappears on television being interrogated.
Headmaster's Dilemma by Louis Auchincloss. Michael Sayre is the Headmaster at Averhill prep school. A sexual assault on campus brings a lawsuit by the student victim's parents. Michael opposes the lawsuit while the conniving President of the Board of Trustees sees an opportunity to dismiss Michael.
Undead and Uneasy by Mary Janice Davidson. Part of Davidson's chicklit vampire humor novels.
Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot. Continuing character of Lizzie Nichols. Lizzie's big mouth get her in trouble with her would be mother-in-law, at new job at a law firm, and everywhere else.
Sundown, Yellow Moon by Larry Watson. Author of Montana, 1948 which I read for a book discussion. In 1961 Bismarck, North Dakota Gene's father walked into the state capitol, shot a state senator to death, walked home, and hung himself. The reasons why died with both men but speculation continued for years. Forty of those years have passed and Gene is back in town trying to figure out why it all happened.
Red Sea by Emily Benedek. A thriller. Four airliners explode in midair on the same day. Governments and people around the world are in panic. Aviation reporter Marie Peterssen has a theory about the event that is confirmed by an Israeli airline security expert. Together they uncover a plot to explode a nuclear warhead in New York Harbor.
World Without End by Ken Follett. This one earned some some big reviews. A sort-off continuation of Follett's Pillars of the Earth. 14th Century England where the cathedral in Knightsbridge "at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge." Follett still has a full head of hair but that hair doesn't extend several inches up like it used to.
Trespass by Valerie Martin. Chloe Dale is living the good life in rural New York. Except for the strange poacher on her land and her anger over Iraq. When Toby brings home his pregnant Croatian girlfriend Chloe immediately dislikes her. When the girlfriend brings along her mom, the trouble grows.
Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella. British Army officer Captain James Gould is assigned the authority to approve soldiers to marry Italian girls. Gould's rarely grants the needed approval. So the townspeople conspire to get him a new cook: the widowed and beautiful Livia.
Mystery
When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark. The cover has a picture of a pool deck and pool water with an electrical cord snaking into the water and the shadow of a woman falling across the cord.
Fools Rush In by Ed Gorman. A positive review by Bill Crider.
First Wave by James R. Benn. Billy Boyle is General Eisenhower's personal investigator. Boyle didn't earn the job, his family connections helped with that. But, Boyle turns out to be a better detective than anyone, including himself, thought. Boyle hits the Algerian beach in 1942 investigating the murders of American and French servicemen and runs across would-be girlfriend and British agent Diana. Diana is captured by the Vichy French and Boyle is out to rescue her.
In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews. This is a neat one. The author received a National Science Foundation grant to visit Antarctica to research the novel. A science based mystery set in Antarctica with geologist Valena Walker arriving at McMurdo Station to find her professor arrested for the murder - by exposure - of a journalist out to discredit the professor's work.
Several years ago I was watching a kid's program on Antarctica that sent a junior high aged girl reporter down there for a report. One person she talked to was a gruff, middle-aged guy with a bad case of rosacea and a ratty wool sweater. You could tell that the girl did not like being around the guy, and that the guy did not like being a tour guide to a thirteen year old. But, they got enough uncomfortable film footage of him showing her some fish.
Night Work by Steve Hamilton. Hamilton's books have been steady in maintaining high quality. Or so I've read.
New Yorker Joe Trumbull is pretty fearless after years of travel in rotten neighborhoods as a juvenile probation officer working to keep his high-risk kids out of jail. Tonight, however, Joe is terrified at the prospect of his upcoming blind date. His first date in two years since the murder of his fiancee. This is a mystery so you know things do not go well.
Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton. An Agatha Raisin mystery.
Fantasy
A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez. We are late to get this one on our shelves. I missed it's publication in the Spring. Martinez wrote the humorous and action filled fantasy novels Gil's All Fright Diner and In the Company of Ogres. This is a good one too. Nameless is a beautiful witch cursed with the a hunger for cannibalism. Her beauty draws men but her literal hunger to eat them alive makes her stay away. Along with her pet demon duck she enters human society and helps a village and a White Knight fight off a horde of goblins and their wizard boss.
NonFiction
Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush. Seventeen year old Ana has been raped, is now a mother and is HIV positive. A true story account from one of the people Jenna met through her work with UNICEF.
Is Jenna the one that got busted for underage drinking in Austin? It's bad enough to get a citation and have to tell your parents. It's worse to have the citation spread across the news media and repeated over and over for years. Example: I was flipping through an issue of Rolling Stone once and scanned a Jennifer Aniston interview. It's Rolling Stone so that had to detail her complaints about Bush. In there was a comment about her walking through her agent's office with her husband, Brad Pitt, in tow. A Bush girl is summer interning there and Pitt says, "Hey, Jenna, wanna go get a beer? Ha ha ha ha." Great, the 'sexiest man in America' just made a joke at your expense.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Novels, but "No Guns, No Knives, No Personal Checks"
Fiction
View From Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik. Teenaged Joe Anderson moves to Minneapolis with his mom and gets involved with libidinous cheerleader Kristi. Years later Joe ends up working at Haugland Foods grocery. Joe expected to play professional hockey or travel the world and is disappointed in his current job. But, when Kristi comes back to town from own own wild trips whose life has turned out better? "A dramatic, heartbreaking, and hilarious novel."
Many Bloody Returns: Tales of Birthdays with Bite edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner. Birthday themed, vampire short stories. Bill Crider has one in here.
Mark's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. A new series, The Jesus Chronicles, by the authors of the Left Behind series.
The Assassin by Andrew Britton. Only Ryan Kealey is suspicious of an Iranian plot to bomb the U.N. [what's the point of bombing the U.N.? Of course he is suspicious.] He thinks the plan is a ruse and is after the real threat.
Heartsick: a Thriller by Chelsea Cain. Gretchen Lowell is the beautiful and alluring acquaintance of Portland police detective Archie Sheridan. When I say "acquaintance" I mean torturer. Two years ago Gretchen captured and tortured Archie for ten days. Serial killer Gretchen inexplicably released Archie and turned herself in. Now Archie cannot stay away and visits her once a week saying he wants to find unknown victims. When a new killer stalks victims in Portland Archie tries to use Chelsea as a helper.
Sophie's Dilemma by Lauraine Snelling. Inspirational fiction and book two in the Daughters of Blessing series. These book covers by Bethany House are always the same. Bethany has the same cookie cutter format of a demurely dressed, pretty younger lady and a mildly blurred, outdoor background.
Eulalia by Brian Jacques. A Redwall tale. A juvenile fiction novel too, but hey, you read Redwall books them 10-20 years ago and liked them then.
Large Print
Shoot Him if He Runs by Stuart Woods. Large Print of the book listed in an earlier update.
NonFiction
Cartoonist's Bible: an essential reference for the practicing artist by Franklin Bishop. Contents includes sections on Tools and Materials, Starting to Draw, Types of Cartoon, Going Professional and Expressions File.
Easy Organic Cooking: the essential organic cookbook for you and your family by Parragon Publising.
No Guns, No Knives, No Personal Checks: the tales of a San Francisco cab driver by Larry Sager. Stories from Sager's cabbie days in the 1990s when he doubled as a student.
View From Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik. Teenaged Joe Anderson moves to Minneapolis with his mom and gets involved with libidinous cheerleader Kristi. Years later Joe ends up working at Haugland Foods grocery. Joe expected to play professional hockey or travel the world and is disappointed in his current job. But, when Kristi comes back to town from own own wild trips whose life has turned out better? "A dramatic, heartbreaking, and hilarious novel."
Many Bloody Returns: Tales of Birthdays with Bite edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner. Birthday themed, vampire short stories. Bill Crider has one in here.
Mark's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. A new series, The Jesus Chronicles, by the authors of the Left Behind series.
The Assassin by Andrew Britton. Only Ryan Kealey is suspicious of an Iranian plot to bomb the U.N. [what's the point of bombing the U.N.? Of course he is suspicious.] He thinks the plan is a ruse and is after the real threat.
Heartsick: a Thriller by Chelsea Cain. Gretchen Lowell is the beautiful and alluring acquaintance of Portland police detective Archie Sheridan. When I say "acquaintance" I mean torturer. Two years ago Gretchen captured and tortured Archie for ten days. Serial killer Gretchen inexplicably released Archie and turned herself in. Now Archie cannot stay away and visits her once a week saying he wants to find unknown victims. When a new killer stalks victims in Portland Archie tries to use Chelsea as a helper.
Sophie's Dilemma by Lauraine Snelling. Inspirational fiction and book two in the Daughters of Blessing series. These book covers by Bethany House are always the same. Bethany has the same cookie cutter format of a demurely dressed, pretty younger lady and a mildly blurred, outdoor background.
Eulalia by Brian Jacques. A Redwall tale. A juvenile fiction novel too, but hey, you read Redwall books them 10-20 years ago and liked them then.
Large Print
Shoot Him if He Runs by Stuart Woods. Large Print of the book listed in an earlier update.
NonFiction
Cartoonist's Bible: an essential reference for the practicing artist by Franklin Bishop. Contents includes sections on Tools and Materials, Starting to Draw, Types of Cartoon, Going Professional and Expressions File.
Easy Organic Cooking: the essential organic cookbook for you and your family by Parragon Publising.
No Guns, No Knives, No Personal Checks: the tales of a San Francisco cab driver by Larry Sager. Stories from Sager's cabbie days in the 1990s when he doubled as a student.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Lots of Military History
DVD
The Wind That Shakes the Barley starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Orla Fitzgerald. Angie the Page said, "I've been wanting to see this." A drama about the Irish Revolution and resulting Civil War. By the way, I wrote that with an Irish accent.
NonFiction
Intimate Voices From the First World War edited by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis. Court testimony, letters and diary entries from English, Russian, German, Polish, and Turk soldiers and civilians.
The History of the French Foreign Legion: from 1831 to the Present Day by David Jordan. Lots of photos. To join you must shave your head, run (a lot!), and be thin.
Images of Barbarossa: the German invasion of Russia, 1942 by Christopher Ailsby. A general history with many photographs.
Himmler's Crusade: the Nazi expedition to find the origins of the Aryan race by Christopher Hale. More history on the stupidity of the filthy, rotten Nazis.
Complete Encyclopedia of Hunting Rifles and Shotguns by A.E. Hartink. A very nice book. Organized by manufacturer and including everything from run-of-the-mill Marlins to high-end European firearms. High quality color photos.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Orla Fitzgerald. Angie the Page said, "I've been wanting to see this." A drama about the Irish Revolution and resulting Civil War. By the way, I wrote that with an Irish accent.
NonFiction
Intimate Voices From the First World War edited by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis. Court testimony, letters and diary entries from English, Russian, German, Polish, and Turk soldiers and civilians.
The History of the French Foreign Legion: from 1831 to the Present Day by David Jordan. Lots of photos. To join you must shave your head, run (a lot!), and be thin.
Images of Barbarossa: the German invasion of Russia, 1942 by Christopher Ailsby. A general history with many photographs.
Himmler's Crusade: the Nazi expedition to find the origins of the Aryan race by Christopher Hale. More history on the stupidity of the filthy, rotten Nazis.
Complete Encyclopedia of Hunting Rifles and Shotguns by A.E. Hartink. A very nice book. Organized by manufacturer and including everything from run-of-the-mill Marlins to high-end European firearms. High quality color photos.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Stack O' NonFiction
NonFiction
Wilderness Survival: living off the land with the clothes on your back and the knive on your belt by Mark Elbroch and Mike Pewtherer. Trapping, fishing, fire starting, making tools, preserving food, rock boiling, hygiene, making rope, etc. Too bad the illustrations are lousy.
Naked Roommate: and 107 other issues you might run into in college by Harlen Cohen.
Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 by Joan Rattner Heilman. Airfare, car rentals, hotels, golf.
Online Shoppers' Survival Guide by Jacquelyn Lynn. No knives required on this one.
True Crime: true stories of the world's most infamous murderers, thieves and con artists by Nick Yapp. Essays on events, people and groups. Fascinating reading at each page you open to. Take a look at The Mafia Encyclopedia if you like this one.
365 Dish A Day: a recipe for each day of the 365 days in a year by Parragon Publishing.
American Cars: From the legendary Model T to awesome modern custom hot rods by Fredric Winkowski and Frank D. Sullivan. A photobook that is not quite coffee table sized; but all shots are full color.
Wilderness Survival: living off the land with the clothes on your back and the knive on your belt by Mark Elbroch and Mike Pewtherer. Trapping, fishing, fire starting, making tools, preserving food, rock boiling, hygiene, making rope, etc. Too bad the illustrations are lousy.
Naked Roommate: and 107 other issues you might run into in college by Harlen Cohen.
Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 by Joan Rattner Heilman. Airfare, car rentals, hotels, golf.
Online Shoppers' Survival Guide by Jacquelyn Lynn. No knives required on this one.
True Crime: true stories of the world's most infamous murderers, thieves and con artists by Nick Yapp. Essays on events, people and groups. Fascinating reading at each page you open to. Take a look at The Mafia Encyclopedia if you like this one.
365 Dish A Day: a recipe for each day of the 365 days in a year by Parragon Publishing.
American Cars: From the legendary Model T to awesome modern custom hot rods by Fredric Winkowski and Frank D. Sullivan. A photobook that is not quite coffee table sized; but all shots are full color.
Four Popular Authors and Strength Training - Among Others
Fiction
Shoot Him If He Runs by Stuart Woods. Stone Barrington and friends travel to St. Marks to find a fugitive from the CIA.
Dark of the Moon by John Sandford. Set for release on October 2nd. Virgil Flowers works under the command of Lucas Davenport for the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Flowers is up to his neck in treachery and bodies after a suspicious fire kills the local rich guy in Bluestem, MN. And that is in addition to the two people murdered just three weeks before.
The Tell-Tale Horse by Rita Mae Brown. The cover of this has an anthropomorphic fox dressed in a red fox-hunting outfit and standing next to an unsaddled horse outside a barn. It is a snowy winter scene and the fox carries a riding crop. There is a white, tall spired, hilltop church in the background. Read the book and let me know if there is any symbolism.
Hide and Seek by Fern Michaels. The seven members of the Sisterhood "meted out justice to many villians who believed themselves above the law." But, the Sisterhood members escaped conviction and now FBI Assistant Director Mitch Riley is after them.
NonFiction
Bootprints: An Infantryman's Walk Through World War Two by Hobert Winebrenner and Michael McCoy. Winebrenner landed in France on D-Day + 2. He fought through France, Germany and Czechoslovakia in a reconaissance unit of the 90th Infantry Division. Lots of good photos.
Good-Bye Shy: 85 Shybusters That Work by Leil Lowndes. "85 proven techniques to help you conquer your shyness and change your life for good. No psychobabble. No nonsense. The teste 'ShyBusters' prepare you for that upcoming party, work function, interview, date, and the rest of your life."
Make a Fortune Promoting Other People's Stuff Online: How Affiliate Marketing Can Make You Rich by Rosalind Gardner.
Snack Attack!: Over 150 Guilt-Free Treats for Healthy Munching by Ruth Glick. Everytime I read that title I think it says SHARK attack. I then I start getting the album version of this in my head. And then, of course, I start thinking of this.
Strength Ball Training, 2nd Edition by Lorne Goldenberg and Peter Twist. Multiple exercises to perform with medicine balls and those big, inflatable balls.
Shoot Him If He Runs by Stuart Woods. Stone Barrington and friends travel to St. Marks to find a fugitive from the CIA.
Dark of the Moon by John Sandford. Set for release on October 2nd. Virgil Flowers works under the command of Lucas Davenport for the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Flowers is up to his neck in treachery and bodies after a suspicious fire kills the local rich guy in Bluestem, MN. And that is in addition to the two people murdered just three weeks before.
The Tell-Tale Horse by Rita Mae Brown. The cover of this has an anthropomorphic fox dressed in a red fox-hunting outfit and standing next to an unsaddled horse outside a barn. It is a snowy winter scene and the fox carries a riding crop. There is a white, tall spired, hilltop church in the background. Read the book and let me know if there is any symbolism.
Hide and Seek by Fern Michaels. The seven members of the Sisterhood "meted out justice to many villians who believed themselves above the law." But, the Sisterhood members escaped conviction and now FBI Assistant Director Mitch Riley is after them.
NonFiction
Bootprints: An Infantryman's Walk Through World War Two by Hobert Winebrenner and Michael McCoy. Winebrenner landed in France on D-Day + 2. He fought through France, Germany and Czechoslovakia in a reconaissance unit of the 90th Infantry Division. Lots of good photos.
Good-Bye Shy: 85 Shybusters That Work by Leil Lowndes. "85 proven techniques to help you conquer your shyness and change your life for good. No psychobabble. No nonsense. The teste 'ShyBusters' prepare you for that upcoming party, work function, interview, date, and the rest of your life."
Make a Fortune Promoting Other People's Stuff Online: How Affiliate Marketing Can Make You Rich by Rosalind Gardner.
Snack Attack!: Over 150 Guilt-Free Treats for Healthy Munching by Ruth Glick. Everytime I read that title I think it says SHARK attack. I then I start getting the album version of this in my head. And then, of course, I start thinking of this.
Strength Ball Training, 2nd Edition by Lorne Goldenberg and Peter Twist. Multiple exercises to perform with medicine balls and those big, inflatable balls.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
TV on DVD plus Two Large Print
DVD
The Office: Season Three starring Steve Carell and some other actors. Includes three hours of deleted scenes, bloopers, commentaries, etc.
King of the Hill: The Complete First Season. A donation. I was asked, "Do you want to add this?" My thought was: "Of course!"
30 Rock: Season 1 starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan. This is a great show - don't let the Emmy win turn you off.
Large Print Fiction
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. Changez lived the immigrant's dream in New York City with a high powered job and a beautiful girlfriend. After 9/11 everyone sees him differently, and he starts to see himself differently and embraces his lapsed religion.
Large Print NonFiction
Leap! What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives by Sara Davidson. "Reflections from the boomer generation...Now witty observer [Sara Davidson] has again turned her discerning eye to contemporaries, with a no-holds-barred look at the choices and challenges boomers face."
The Office: Season Three starring Steve Carell and some other actors. Includes three hours of deleted scenes, bloopers, commentaries, etc.
King of the Hill: The Complete First Season. A donation. I was asked, "Do you want to add this?" My thought was: "Of course!"
30 Rock: Season 1 starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan. This is a great show - don't let the Emmy win turn you off.
Large Print Fiction
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. Changez lived the immigrant's dream in New York City with a high powered job and a beautiful girlfriend. After 9/11 everyone sees him differently, and he starts to see himself differently and embraces his lapsed religion.
Large Print NonFiction
Leap! What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives by Sara Davidson. "Reflections from the boomer generation...Now witty observer [Sara Davidson] has again turned her discerning eye to contemporaries, with a no-holds-barred look at the choices and challenges boomers face."
Monday, September 24, 2007
Three CDs, a Large Print, and a weird cover photo of Wesley Clark
CDs
Road Trip by Girl Authority. "As seen on TV!", that's a bad sign. Oh, it's a kid CD. That's explains why most of them look to be 12 years old.
24 by Point of Grace. A gospel music quartet. Look at that hair! This two disc set of hits contains their - Hokey Smokes! - 24 consecutive number one hits on the Contemporary Christian Music chart.
Challengers by The New Pornographers. A bunch of Canadians plus Neko Case. This should have been processed earlier but Ruth got it done on Saturday. Incidentally, Ruth writes her first initial so it looks like "12". We have one Neko Case CD here in Lake Mills with other CDs by her and the New Pornographers available through the library catalog.
NonFiction
A Time to Lead: for duty, honor, and country by Wesley K. Clark. Clark isn't running for president anymore so maybe he's angling for a Cabinet level job.
Large Print
Pontoon by Garrison Keillor. A Lake Wobegon novel with Debbie Detmer returning from California to scatter her mother's ashes on the lake and get married.
Road Trip by Girl Authority. "As seen on TV!", that's a bad sign. Oh, it's a kid CD. That's explains why most of them look to be 12 years old.
24 by Point of Grace. A gospel music quartet. Look at that hair! This two disc set of hits contains their - Hokey Smokes! - 24 consecutive number one hits on the Contemporary Christian Music chart.
Challengers by The New Pornographers. A bunch of Canadians plus Neko Case. This should have been processed earlier but Ruth got it done on Saturday. Incidentally, Ruth writes her first initial so it looks like "12". We have one Neko Case CD here in Lake Mills with other CDs by her and the New Pornographers available through the library catalog.
NonFiction
A Time to Lead: for duty, honor, and country by Wesley K. Clark. Clark isn't running for president anymore so maybe he's angling for a Cabinet level job.
Large Print
Pontoon by Garrison Keillor. A Lake Wobegon novel with Debbie Detmer returning from California to scatter her mother's ashes on the lake and get married.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Large Print and a DVD
DVD
The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode. I bought this? I don't remember this. Something about a lonely bank guard who gets schmoozed by a con man into helping rob the bank.
CD
New Favorite by Alison Krauss and Union Station. This isn't new but it was on the processing cart; it must have gotten a new label or something. That Krauss lady? I don't get it. She always had that weird over-achieving child prodigy vibe. I only remember seeing her twice at school, and one time was graduation.
Large Print
Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer. Three gals in a summer book club compare literary characters to themselves and get to know one another.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Author of Kite Runner - which a lot of people liked - with another novel set in Afghanistan.
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien. This is an older book but was in a standing order plan I just signed up for. When I asked the saleslady on the phone why an older title was chosen she said, "I don't know why she picked that. Maybe because it was a re-release. She regrets it now. Everything else will be new."
Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. Slightly estranged families, one in Istanbul and one in Arizona meet when the AZ daughter visits Turkey. A hidden family history gets exposed. I assume it has something to do with the Armenian pogroms. Good title though. Here are some other good titles: Butt Wars! The Final Conflict, Candy Girl: a year in the life of an unlikely stripper, Rotten: No Irish - No Blacks - No Dogs.
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. Old lady in Seattle meets young lady visiting Seattle. Both learn to love blah blah blah.
Large Print NonFiction
Kabul Beauty School: an American woman goes beyond the veil by Deborah Rodriguez. The book cover does not say much. I infer that Rodriguez opened a beauty school in Afghanistan after the killers-in-charge were kicked out.
The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode. I bought this? I don't remember this. Something about a lonely bank guard who gets schmoozed by a con man into helping rob the bank.
CD
New Favorite by Alison Krauss and Union Station. This isn't new but it was on the processing cart; it must have gotten a new label or something. That Krauss lady? I don't get it. She always had that weird over-achieving child prodigy vibe. I only remember seeing her twice at school, and one time was graduation.
Large Print
Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer. Three gals in a summer book club compare literary characters to themselves and get to know one another.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Author of Kite Runner - which a lot of people liked - with another novel set in Afghanistan.
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien. This is an older book but was in a standing order plan I just signed up for. When I asked the saleslady on the phone why an older title was chosen she said, "I don't know why she picked that. Maybe because it was a re-release. She regrets it now. Everything else will be new."
Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. Slightly estranged families, one in Istanbul and one in Arizona meet when the AZ daughter visits Turkey. A hidden family history gets exposed. I assume it has something to do with the Armenian pogroms. Good title though. Here are some other good titles: Butt Wars! The Final Conflict, Candy Girl: a year in the life of an unlikely stripper, Rotten: No Irish - No Blacks - No Dogs.
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. Old lady in Seattle meets young lady visiting Seattle. Both learn to love blah blah blah.
Large Print NonFiction
Kabul Beauty School: an American woman goes beyond the veil by Deborah Rodriguez. The book cover does not say much. I infer that Rodriguez opened a beauty school in Afghanistan after the killers-in-charge were kicked out.
Hodgepodge
DVD
We Are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Ian McShane, David Strathairn. The plane carrying the Marshall University football team crashes killing most of the coaches and players. New coach joins up and rebuilds program Take a drink each time McConaughey goes topless.
Fiction
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. A third string NFL quarterback comes off the bench and delivers a spectacular losing performance late in a playoff game. The only football job he can get is in an Italian league.
Inspirational Fiction
The Parting by Beverly Lewis. Another series by Lewis, The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, set in an Amish community.
Mystery
Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis. Horses and murder. We've got the large print edition too.
McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn. A Jake Hines mystery set in Southeastern, MN. The inside cover says "mid-sized city" so I'm guessing Rochester, Red Wing or Winona.
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris. Since a trailer park lightning strike when she was fifteen Harper Connelly has been able to locate graves. Now, she's hired to find a missing teen in North Carolina. Several other teens from the town have gone missing over the past five years and none were runaways.
We Are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Ian McShane, David Strathairn. The plane carrying the Marshall University football team crashes killing most of the coaches and players. New coach joins up and rebuilds program Take a drink each time McConaughey goes topless.
Fiction
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. A third string NFL quarterback comes off the bench and delivers a spectacular losing performance late in a playoff game. The only football job he can get is in an Italian league.
Inspirational Fiction
The Parting by Beverly Lewis. Another series by Lewis, The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, set in an Amish community.
Mystery
Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis. Horses and murder. We've got the large print edition too.
McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn. A Jake Hines mystery set in Southeastern, MN. The inside cover says "mid-sized city" so I'm guessing Rochester, Red Wing or Winona.
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris. Since a trailer park lightning strike when she was fifteen Harper Connelly has been able to locate graves. Now, she's hired to find a missing teen in North Carolina. Several other teens from the town have gone missing over the past five years and none were runaways.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
DVDs
DVDs
Heroes: Season One starring Ali Larter, Hayden Somebody and other names I cannot recall. Season one of the hit television program.
Year of the Dog starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard. Single dog-lover Peggy goes into a tailspin when her dog dies in this "charming and quirky comedy about the search for love." This received good reviews but the back cover blurbs are probably baloney.
House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects directed by Rod Zombie and starring Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, William Forsythe. Two DVD set of horror movies by musician turned film director Rod Zombie.
House of Games starring Joe Mantegna, Lindsay Crouse, Ricky Jay. David Mame's 1987 debut as a film director. Psychiatrist Margaret Ford has a patient with gambling problems. She agrees to help him in a poker game by reading the tells of the other players. But, things are not what they seem. This is a great movie with the misdirection and plot surprises that Mamet is good at.
Heroes: Season One starring Ali Larter, Hayden Somebody and other names I cannot recall. Season one of the hit television program.
Year of the Dog starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard. Single dog-lover Peggy goes into a tailspin when her dog dies in this "charming and quirky comedy about the search for love." This received good reviews but the back cover blurbs are probably baloney.
House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects directed by Rod Zombie and starring Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, William Forsythe. Two DVD set of horror movies by musician turned film director Rod Zombie.
House of Games starring Joe Mantegna, Lindsay Crouse, Ricky Jay. David Mame's 1987 debut as a film director. Psychiatrist Margaret Ford has a patient with gambling problems. She agrees to help him in a poker game by reading the tells of the other players. But, things are not what they seem. This is a great movie with the misdirection and plot surprises that Mamet is good at.
Bunch of Novels and a New Book About the Kennedys
Kennedy NonFiction (deserving of it's own genre)
Brothers: the hidden history of the Kennedy years by David Talbot. John and Bobby Kennedy's battles against the gung-ho, anti-commie hawks in Washington and Bobby's own suspicions about his brothers murder. Not exactly a conspiracy book, but covering the suspicions held by leaders themselves.
NonFiction
The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. "This book turns discipline into a positive, affirming experience by offering a collection of proven techniques that you can custom-tailor to your child's unique personality."
Large Print
Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis. Some horse racing mystery. I presume Dick is going into partial retirement and handing the reins - pun intended - to Felix.
Fiction
Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. I have read Lindsay's previous two Dexter novels and they are great. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the City of Miami PD but his true passion is torturing and killing pedophiles and murderers. Dexter is a charming sociopath who has everyone convinced he is an average and happy dude. But, he is just very self-aware and plotting. Lindsay takes the gruesome subject matter and injects a lot of humor into the story. Dexter narrates each story and his misunderstandings and misinterpretations of basic human behavior and relationships are interesting.
Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. I've never read Gerritsen's books but she has a lot of fans. Dual narratives set in present day and 1830 Boston. In 1830 a poor medical student robs graves for cadavers. After a bloody campus murder he becomes a main suspect and starts his own investigation.
One-Way Ticket by William G. Tapply. Brady Coyne gets a late night call that his friend Dalton was severely beaten and in hospital. Coyne finds that Dalton was beaten for his son Robert's gambling debts to the Boston mob. When Coyne tries to interecede the mob boss holds Coyne responsible for his friend. But, what happens when Robert disappears...?
Brothers: the hidden history of the Kennedy years by David Talbot. John and Bobby Kennedy's battles against the gung-ho, anti-commie hawks in Washington and Bobby's own suspicions about his brothers murder. Not exactly a conspiracy book, but covering the suspicions held by leaders themselves.
NonFiction
The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. "This book turns discipline into a positive, affirming experience by offering a collection of proven techniques that you can custom-tailor to your child's unique personality."
Large Print
Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis. Some horse racing mystery. I presume Dick is going into partial retirement and handing the reins - pun intended - to Felix.
Fiction
Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. I have read Lindsay's previous two Dexter novels and they are great. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the City of Miami PD but his true passion is torturing and killing pedophiles and murderers. Dexter is a charming sociopath who has everyone convinced he is an average and happy dude. But, he is just very self-aware and plotting. Lindsay takes the gruesome subject matter and injects a lot of humor into the story. Dexter narrates each story and his misunderstandings and misinterpretations of basic human behavior and relationships are interesting.
Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. I've never read Gerritsen's books but she has a lot of fans. Dual narratives set in present day and 1830 Boston. In 1830 a poor medical student robs graves for cadavers. After a bloody campus murder he becomes a main suspect and starts his own investigation.
One-Way Ticket by William G. Tapply. Brady Coyne gets a late night call that his friend Dalton was severely beaten and in hospital. Coyne finds that Dalton was beaten for his son Robert's gambling debts to the Boston mob. When Coyne tries to interecede the mob boss holds Coyne responsible for his friend. But, what happens when Robert disappears...?
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Novels, Large Print, NonFiction
Novels
You've Been Warned by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.
47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter. The return of Bob Lee Swagger. Swagger's father Earl survived Iwo Jima with the Medal of Honor and a dead Japanese officer's sword. The dead officer's son tracks the sword back to Bob and Bob travels to Japan to return the sword to the family. When the Japanese family is killed for the sword Bob Lee starts to look around.
Large Print
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. Remember that outrageous cover blurb on the regular print edition of this? It's missing on this one.
Lost Diary of Don Juan by Douglas Carlton Abrams. "This thrilling page-turner masterfully renders the voice of Don Juan, and intriguing figure - from his secret childhood in a convent to his life as a libertine and to his inescapable fall into the madness of love."
Road to Samarcand by Patrick O'Brien. Treasure hunt across the Gobi Desert and into the mountains of Tibet.
Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer. Thirty-six year old Genie expects a proposal from welthy Hugh. When Hugh proposes to the wrong girl Genie keeps up a facade that she is his fiancee.
NonFiction
15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: three generals who saved the century by Stanley Weintraub. "The story of their interconnected lives opens a fascinating window onto some of the twentieth century's most crucial events, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing much of a difference three men can make."
The War: an intimate history: 1941-1945. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. Print companion to Burns' upcoming multi-part documentary on the U.S. in World War Two. Lots of photos.
You've Been Warned by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.
47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter. The return of Bob Lee Swagger. Swagger's father Earl survived Iwo Jima with the Medal of Honor and a dead Japanese officer's sword. The dead officer's son tracks the sword back to Bob and Bob travels to Japan to return the sword to the family. When the Japanese family is killed for the sword Bob Lee starts to look around.
Large Print
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. Remember that outrageous cover blurb on the regular print edition of this? It's missing on this one.
Lost Diary of Don Juan by Douglas Carlton Abrams. "This thrilling page-turner masterfully renders the voice of Don Juan, and intriguing figure - from his secret childhood in a convent to his life as a libertine and to his inescapable fall into the madness of love."
Road to Samarcand by Patrick O'Brien. Treasure hunt across the Gobi Desert and into the mountains of Tibet.
Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer. Thirty-six year old Genie expects a proposal from welthy Hugh. When Hugh proposes to the wrong girl Genie keeps up a facade that she is his fiancee.
NonFiction
15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: three generals who saved the century by Stanley Weintraub. "The story of their interconnected lives opens a fascinating window onto some of the twentieth century's most crucial events, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing much of a difference three men can make."
The War: an intimate history: 1941-1945. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. Print companion to Burns' upcoming multi-part documentary on the U.S. in World War Two. Lots of photos.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Six DVDs, One CD Box Set, Two Novels
DVDs
Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. Two dipsticks are banned from men's figure skating competition after fighting each other. The discovery of a loophole in the pairs competition lets them team up together and compete again.
Smokin' Aces starring an ensemble cast with Ray Liotta and Jason Bateman. Las Vegas magician Aces has been telling mob secrets. A million dollar bounty on Aces brings "a rogues' gallery of ex-cons, hit men and smokin' hot assassins to rub him out."
UFC 68: the uprising with the featured bout between heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Randy "The Natural" Couture. This is an event from 3 march 2007. I showed our other UFC disc to one of our pages and pointed out on the cover how two guys are getting kicked in the head. She said, "Wow, that's cool." I think she was being sarcastic.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels starring Jason Fleming, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher and Sting. During a poker game Eddie loses his money , his three friendss money, and owes 500,000 in credit to mobster Hatchet Harry. Eddie and friends have a week to come up with the money. This is the movie that made Guy Ritchie's career; then Madonna wrecked it.
Lives of Others starring a bunch of Germans. East Germany's political police, the Stasi, spy on most everyone. When a pro-goverment playwright's girlfriend is desired by a government official he, too, comes under surveillance. Oscar winner for foreign film.
No Bull by AC/DC. Recorded live at Plaza de Toros, Madrid in 1996.
Mystery
Dead Don't Lie by Stuart M. Kaminsky. Chicago detectives Abe Lieberman and Bill Hanrahan investigate the triple murder of three local Turks and the beating of a chef.
Large Print
74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber. Part of the Cedar Cove series.
CD
Can't Quit the Blues by Buddy Guy. Three CD and one DVD set of blues guitar by Buddy Guy. From his first 1957 demo to present day collaborations. The DVD has performances from 1974 to 2004.
Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. Two dipsticks are banned from men's figure skating competition after fighting each other. The discovery of a loophole in the pairs competition lets them team up together and compete again.
Smokin' Aces starring an ensemble cast with Ray Liotta and Jason Bateman. Las Vegas magician Aces has been telling mob secrets. A million dollar bounty on Aces brings "a rogues' gallery of ex-cons, hit men and smokin' hot assassins to rub him out."
UFC 68: the uprising with the featured bout between heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Randy "The Natural" Couture. This is an event from 3 march 2007. I showed our other UFC disc to one of our pages and pointed out on the cover how two guys are getting kicked in the head. She said, "Wow, that's cool." I think she was being sarcastic.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels starring Jason Fleming, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher and Sting. During a poker game Eddie loses his money , his three friendss money, and owes 500,000 in credit to mobster Hatchet Harry. Eddie and friends have a week to come up with the money. This is the movie that made Guy Ritchie's career; then Madonna wrecked it.
Lives of Others starring a bunch of Germans. East Germany's political police, the Stasi, spy on most everyone. When a pro-goverment playwright's girlfriend is desired by a government official he, too, comes under surveillance. Oscar winner for foreign film.
No Bull by AC/DC. Recorded live at Plaza de Toros, Madrid in 1996.
Mystery
Dead Don't Lie by Stuart M. Kaminsky. Chicago detectives Abe Lieberman and Bill Hanrahan investigate the triple murder of three local Turks and the beating of a chef.
Large Print
74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber. Part of the Cedar Cove series.
CD
Can't Quit the Blues by Buddy Guy. Three CD and one DVD set of blues guitar by Buddy Guy. From his first 1957 demo to present day collaborations. The DVD has performances from 1974 to 2004.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Dang Pages Process in Bursts. Here Are Some More.
Audio
Strip Search by William Bernhardt. Kooky behaviorist with Las Vegas Police Department investigates ingenious serial killer who leaves mathematical clues to a "numerological mystery that stretches back hundreds o year." Hmm. That sounds familiar, I wonder why? Maybe because it is the same stupid plot for most every serial killer novel, tv show, movie for the past few years. Good to see you working so hard there, Billy.
Fiction
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. Oh brother, read this, "Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist called on to solve the toughest cases." Is Reichs sleeping with someone at the publisher? Lab lady Brennan researches old skeleton that may connect to several cold cases.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. We have an extra copy so we stuck it in adult fiction.
Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston. Here we go, this is much better. Huston's other crime novels have been pretty good. He writes in a violent pulp style and his dialogue is written the way conversations low back and forth with characters speaking over one another. In 1983 Northern California three juvenile delinquents have a bicycle stolen by the neighborhood toughs, the Arroyos. Sneaking into the Arroyo house to get the bicycle back the find a meth lab and steal some product to sell. Things go downhill.
Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard.
Large Print
Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver. Former cult leader and murderer Daniel Pell escapes from prison and California Bureau of Investigation agent Kathryn Dance hunts him down.
Tumbling Blocks by Earlene Fowler. Benni Harper owns the Sinclair Folk Art Museum and a benefactor demands she solve the murder of the benefactor's close friend Pinky.
Dockside by Susan Wiggs. A middle-aged romance. Middle-aged characters, not Middle Ages setting.
SciFi-Fantasy
Genesis of Shannara: The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks. I used to read this series in junior high.
Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I used to read this series in junior high too.
NonFic
Audacity of Hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream by Barack Obama.
Strip Search by William Bernhardt. Kooky behaviorist with Las Vegas Police Department investigates ingenious serial killer who leaves mathematical clues to a "numerological mystery that stretches back hundreds o year." Hmm. That sounds familiar, I wonder why? Maybe because it is the same stupid plot for most every serial killer novel, tv show, movie for the past few years. Good to see you working so hard there, Billy.
Fiction
Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. Oh brother, read this, "Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist called on to solve the toughest cases." Is Reichs sleeping with someone at the publisher? Lab lady Brennan researches old skeleton that may connect to several cold cases.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. We have an extra copy so we stuck it in adult fiction.
Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston. Here we go, this is much better. Huston's other crime novels have been pretty good. He writes in a violent pulp style and his dialogue is written the way conversations low back and forth with characters speaking over one another. In 1983 Northern California three juvenile delinquents have a bicycle stolen by the neighborhood toughs, the Arroyos. Sneaking into the Arroyo house to get the bicycle back the find a meth lab and steal some product to sell. Things go downhill.
Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard.
Large Print
Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver. Former cult leader and murderer Daniel Pell escapes from prison and California Bureau of Investigation agent Kathryn Dance hunts him down.
Tumbling Blocks by Earlene Fowler. Benni Harper owns the Sinclair Folk Art Museum and a benefactor demands she solve the murder of the benefactor's close friend Pinky.
Dockside by Susan Wiggs. A middle-aged romance. Middle-aged characters, not Middle Ages setting.
SciFi-Fantasy
Genesis of Shannara: The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks. I used to read this series in junior high.
Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I used to read this series in junior high too.
NonFic
Audacity of Hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream by Barack Obama.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)