Month: November 2014

100 Places You Will Never Visit: the World’s Most Secret Locations by Daniel Smith

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100 placesEver wondered what it takes to get into Fort Knox? Fancied a peek inside the Coca-Cola Safety Deposit Box? Would you dare to visit Three Mile Island?

The world is full of secret places that we either don’t know about, or couldn’t visit even if we wanted to. Now you can glimpse the Tora Bora caves in Afghanistan, visit the Tucson Titan Missile Site, tour the Vatican Archives, or see the Chapel of the Ark. This fascinating guide book takes a look at 100 places around the world that are either so hard to reach, so closely guarded, or so secret that they are virtually impossible to visit any other way. (description from publisher)

Pork: More than 50 Heavenly Meals That Celebrate the Glory of Pig, Delicious Pig by Cree LeFavour

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porkPork celebrates the versatility and utter deliciousness of pork in more than 120 tempting recipes. Five chapters are organized by flavor profile, including American, Bistro, Latin, Chinese and Japanese, and South and Southeast Asian. Each recipe is grouped into a set, matching a main course of pork with a complementary grain, pasta, salad, or vegetable.

This cookbook encompasses a wide range of techniques for expertly cooking many popular and surprising cuts of pork, from braising, sautéing, roasting, barbecuing, and stewing to serving it encased in soft, warm pasta, buns, or tortillas. Featuring a year’s worth of meals for all occasions, Pork will have cooks of all skill levels salivating.(description from publisher)

The First World War in Colour by Peter Walther

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first world war in colourThe devastating events of the First World War were captured in myriad photographs on all sides of the front. Since then, thousands of books of black-and-white photographs of the war have been published as all nations endeavour to comprehend the scale and the carnage of the “greatest catastrophe of the 20th century”. Far less familiar are the rare color images of the First World War, taken at the time by a small group of photographers pioneering recently developed autochrome technology.

To mark the centenary of the outbreak of war, this groundbreaking volume, The First World War in Colour, brings together all of these remarkable, fully hued pictures of the “war to end war”. Assembled from archives in Europe, the United States and Australia, more than 320 color photos provide unprecedented access to the most important developments of the period – from the mobilization of 1914 to the victory celebrations in Paris, London and New York in 1919. The volume represents the work of each of the major autochrome pioneers of the period, including Paul Castelnau, Fernand Cuville, Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, Léon Gimpel, Hans Hildenbrand, Frank Hurley, Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud and Charles C. Zoller. Since the autochrome process required a relatively long exposure time, almost all of the photos depict carefully composed scenes, behind the rapid front-line action. We see poignant group portraits, soldiers preparing for battle, cities ravaged by military bombardment – daily human existence and the devastating consequences on the front.

A century on, this unprecedented publication brings a startling human reality to one of the most momentous upheavals in history. (description from publisher)

Us by David Nicholls

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usDouglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date . . . and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce. The timing couldn’t be worse. Hoping to encourage her son’s artistic interests, Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family, and she can’t bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead with the original plan is for the best anyway? Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie.

Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger. Us is a moving meditation on the demands of marriage and parenthood, the regrets of abandoning youth for middle age, and the intricate relationship between the heart and the head. And in David Nicholls’s gifted hands, Douglas’s odyssey brings Europe–from the streets of Amsterdam to the famed museums of Paris, from the cafés of Venice to the beaches of Barcelona–to vivid life just as he experiences a powerful awakening of his own. Will this summer be his last as a husband, or the moment when he turns his marriage, and maybe even his whole life, around? (description from publisher)

Cultivating Garden Style by Rochelle Greayer

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cultivating garden styleCreate an irresistible outdoor space! Making a garden should be a deeply fulfilling experience, not an overwhelming one. And homeowners who lovingly update their interior space to reflect their personal style should be empowered to do the same with their exterior space.

In Cultivating Garden Style, Rochelle Greayer shares ways to create outdoor areas that are charming, comfortable, appealing, and reflect individuality. It features twenty-three unique garden styles accompanied by advice on how to recreate the look. Greayer offers suggestions for everything from plants and pavers, to pillows and potting soils. Simple step-by-step projects, like how to make a macramé plant hanger, help the reader personalize the space. And helpful tips and tricks, including how to pick the right tree and pick the right combination of plants and containers, offer essential lessons in gardening and design. More than 1,500 dazzling color photographs give the book a visual punch.

Whether your style is Enchanted Bohemian, Playful Pop, or somewhere in between, Cultivating Garden Style will help you identify your style, pick furniture and accessories, and make a space that feels definitively yours. (description from publisher)

Lick the Bowl Good by Monica Holland

- Ann 1 Comment

lick the bowl goodNo meal is complete without dessert! Popular food blogger Monica Holland brings you an enticing collection of comforting homemade classics with a modern twist in Lick the Bowl Good.

Find inspiration in her fun, whimsical recipes that reinvent old favorites and create exciting new flavor combinations. Enjoy dozens of irresistible recipes from: Grandma’s chocolate layer cake. Cream cheese swirl snickerdoodle blondies. Hummingbird cupcakes with mascarpone frosting. Pumpkin pie cake. Blueberry vanilla yogurt popsicles. Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

Brightened with full-color photography throughout, the carefully tested recipes are not only gorgeous to the eye, they’re achievable for both the experienced baker and those just venturing out into the wonderful world of baking.

Whether you need a bake sale treat or are having a midnight cravings for milk and warm-from-the-oven cookies, Lick the Bowl Good is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. (description from publisher)

The Last Great Walk by Wayne Curtis

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last great walkIn 1909, Edward Payson Weston walked from New York to San Francisco, covering around 40 miles a day and greeted by wildly cheering audiences in every city. The New York Times called it the ” first bona-fide walk . . . across the American continent,” and eagerly chronicled a journey in which Weston was beset by fatigue, mosquitos, vicious headwinds, and brutal heat. He was 70 years old.

In The Last Great Walk, journalist Wayne Curtis uses the framework of Weston’s fascinating and surprising story, and investigates exactly what we lost when we turned away from foot travel, and what we could potentially regain with America’s new embrace of pedestrianism. From how our brains and legs evolved to accommodate our ancient traveling needs to the way that American cities have been designed to cater to cars and discourage pedestrians, Curtis guides readers through an engaging, intelligent exploration of how something as simple as the way we get from one place to another continues to shape our health, our environment, and even our national identity. Not walking, he argues, may be one of the most radical things humans have ever done. (description from publisher)

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

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The Iowa Center for the Book recently announced the 2015 All Iowa Reads title at the Iowa Library Association annual meeting and the book they choose is My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.

my name is mary sutterAn enthralling historical novel about a young woman’s struggle to become a doctor during the Civil War

In this stunning novel, Mary Sutter is a brilliant, head­strong midwife from Albany, New York, who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Determined to overcome the prejudices against women in medicine – and eager to run away from her recent heartbreak – Mary leaves home and travels to Washington, D.C. to help tend the legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of William Stipp and James Blevens – two surgeons who fall unwittingly in love with Mary’s courage, will, and stubbornness in the face of suffering – and resisting her mother’s pleas to return home to help with the birth of her twin sister’s baby, Mary pursues her medical career in the desperately overwhelmed hospitals of the capital.

My Name Is Mary Sutter powerfully evokes the atmosphere of the Civil War period. Rich with historical detail (including marvelous depictions of Lincoln, Dorothea Dix, General McClellan, and John Hay among others), and full of the tragedies and challenges of wartime, My Name Is Mary Sutter is an exceptional novel. And in Mary herself, Robin Oliveira has created a truly unforgettable heroine whose unwavering determination and vulnerability will resonate with readers everywhere. (description from publisher)

This title is also available as an e-book through the RiverShare Digital Library.

All Iowa Reads encourages all Iowans to read the same book during the year, providing materials and bringing authors and speakers to various venues and encouraging discussion.