City of
| Read any good books lately? |
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| Written by Bette Ammon |
| Monday, 07 January 2008 16:00 |
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Here's an open invitation to readers to post recommended titles. |
Staff
Friday, 03/22/2013
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Comments
Devotion of Suspect X" by Keigo
Higashino. It is free of foul language
and blasphemies and is a spellbinding
thriller. Excellent!
Ok, I gotta admit, I was never a Rolling Stones Fan. The music was ok, I grew up listening to the same artists that inspired them, but the Stones bad boy images were just a little more hoary than I could appreciate. That being said, I loved this book. It's not a tell all, It doesn't slander, although it calls out those who deserve calling and Keith didn't write anything that he wouldn't have said to their faces.
Excesses...oh my, yes. Busts, drugs, booze, fewer women than you might expect tho. Also a humility that is unexpected. "Just a lousy guitarist" he calls himself (in so many words). What it comes down to is the music, the music in his soul. The search for perfection does not require fancy sound equipment he declares, and proves his point at every turn. I came away with a new admiration for Keith...not a converted Stones fan, but appreciative of his talent and honesty
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=12414&recCount=10&recPointer=0&bibId=369518
If you like quirky British humour, romance, famous ghosts, eccentric people and animals wrapped in history, (the veracity of which is subject to tour guide nterpretation), then I sincerely recommend this book. All of the above are living in the infamous Tower of London. Balthazar Jones is a Beefeater living in the tower with his wife Hebe, who works in the Lost and Found dept. of the London Subway,(called the Tube). Balthazar gets the job of running the new menagerie because he happens to own Englands oldest living Tortoise, Mrs. Cook. Mrs. Cook has her own axe to grind against the famous Tower Ravens. Love is blooming between Rev. Septimus Drew, secret writer of steamy romances, and Ruby Dore, owner of the Rack & Ruin Pub located in the Tower grounds.
Check it out, you won't be sorry. It goes well with a cuppa and marmalade toast.
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=9983&recCount=10&recPointer=0&bibId=379835
Amy writes a book about raising her daughters in the "Chinese Method" The book is well written, totally engaging and a little scary. I found myself applauding Amy's dedication and no excuses, no prisoners ideals for her childrens education and futures. I was a little uncomfortable tho with what appears to western parenting methods, as borderline child abuse. Do the goals and end results justify the means? Perhaps, but even Amy finally realizes with one daughter one size definately does not fit all. She makes excellent points, real life is not fair, beating the competition is what gets you ahead and that take practice, hrs and hrs of practice. And no, not everyone can get a ribbon just for showing up. That sort of mentality won't get you far in life. Winner take all and losers are just that, loosers.
I really liked the book, even the parts that made me cringe just a little.
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=13234&recCount=10&recPointer=0&bibId=73673
Who needs creepy fiction? This is a true life tale of a woman Dr. near the turn of the century who ran a "health sanitorium" Her methods included punishing massages and starvation. She killed several dozen of her clients and more were rumoured. The story takes place in a little town in Western Washington called Ollala. The author moved there, heard stories about "Starvation Heights" and did a little research to uncover a horrific story. The story has a ring of truth in some of the quack diet/fasting/cleansings touted today by some "health advocates"
The truth is truly scarier than fiction in this book
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=13239&recCount=10&recPointer=0&bibId=377380
If there’s anyone out there like me who still holds a grudge against Hemingway thanks to forced reading of The Sun Also Rises in 8th grade, this fictional story of his first marriage isn’t likely to warm you up to him anymore. Not because it isn’t a good read, but because of what his first wife Hadley is revealed to have endured during their relationship. I’m not buying the artist excuse, but all the same it was fascinating to imagine how this marriage came to be and ultimately fell apart. The lifestyle they lived, the friends they made (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound to name a few) and the era and locale in general-1920’s Paris- make for an engaging fictional story of this couple, particularly since it is from the point of view of Hadley. If you liked Loving Frank by Horan or The Women by Boyle, you’ll probably like this one too.
Mad At Mommy Komako Sakai (Childrens)
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/search?searchArg=Mad+At+Mommy&searchCode=TALL&limitTo=none&recCount=10&searchType=1
A fantastic childrens book that is sure to make both child and parent smile. Its a little rabbit who is mad at mommy for a number of things. The best part is I have had some of these conversations with my daughter. She enjoyed hearing herself in a book and I enjoyed the fun art and the ensuing conversation. Loolk for it in Staff Favorites this coming April 10th for National Library Week.
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/search?searchArg=Fever+Crumb&searchCode=TALL&limitTo=none&recCount=10&searchType=1&page.search.search.button=Search
I just finished the copy of this that I won online from the Locus Challenge Giveaway.
Fever is a 14 year old orphan girl, raised to believe in unemotional, logical science. The only female engineer in this post-Apocalyptic London, Fever doesn't know anything of her past before she was found by the Engineers, nor does she care until it becomes apparent her heritage is linked to the government overthrow that occurred in her infancy. How is she connected? Why does somebody want here dead?
I quite liked this book. I was worried it would seem like it's reading down to the reader, and at times it did, but not near enough to bother me. It also made reference to franchises like Harry Potter and Star Wars, which will always make me smile. It's interesting to look at how our technology and culture would seem in a future where all of the context and build-up to them is destroyed.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, steampunk, or dystopia stories.
cin.wash-id.net/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=5872&recCount=10&recPointer=2&bibId=380031
Told in free verse, this novel is quick reading matched with a weighty subject. Best friends since the age of six, Liz and Kate have grown up close as sisters. When what seems a petty argument between the two precedes a harsh withdrawal by Kate from their friendship, Liz is left to wonder what is really going on. Readers will likely suspect there is more to the story than Kate lets on, but just what exactly happened is difficult to pin down. Rumors abound and Liz is forced to choose between a friendship she has already lost through no fault of her own or a relationship she can’t likely abandon. It’s an impossible situation, leaving one to wonder how they might react in similar circumstances. While a tragic event spurs the plot, Liz’s genuine confusion and grief over the loss of the friendship is equally as affecting on readers. Concise enough to read in a sitting, if you have a spare hour this one is worth a read.
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