Category: Books

All Iowa Reads 2009 Selection Announced

- Ann Leave a comment

Announced on October 17, the 2009 selection for the All Iowa Reads program was is The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown. Opening on Alice MacCauley’s tenth birthday, this is a luminous story of one girl’s coming-of-age during a fateful New England summer. Raised by her widower father and doting older brothers, Alice learns about how different the worlds of adults and children can be when she befriends a local artist dying of AIDS and the neighbor’s visiting mixed-race grandson. Beautifully written, this exploration of love, tolerance, racism and death told from a child’s view brings a unique perspective to the world we live in.

Be sure to watch the Davenport Library’s newsletter and News and Events blog throughout the following year for information on programs and book talks exploring The Rope Walk.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

- Ann Leave a comment

Already a favorite with book clubs, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a charming novel that will make you laugh and cry about characters that seem as real as your neighbors.

During World War II Guernsey Island, situated in the English Channel, was invaded and occupied by the Germans beginning in 1940. All communication with England was completely cut off for nearly five years. The cruel practices of the German commanders and near starvation conditions forged strong bonds among the islanders.

Written as a series of letters between Londoner Juliet Ashton and the residents of the island shortly after the war, the history of the occupation of the island and the resident’s struggles to survive is slowly revealed. As the stories are told, a vivid picture of the people is painted – their strengths and weaknesses, their quirks and cleverness, their loyalty to and concern for others. When Juliet finally arrives at the island to visit, she is welcomed as part of the family and quickly takes her place in island lore.

There is a satisfying end to the book, but all of the characters suffer losses; it is their ability to move on while remembering and honoring what happened that make them so real and makes their stories come to life. Treat yourself to this novel – you’ll be glad you did.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

- Ann Leave a comment

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The month is promoted by a coalition of national nonprofit organizations, professional medical associations and government agencies, with the purpose of raising breast cancer awareness, sharing information and providing screening services.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death (after lung cancer) in women; more than 170,000 women will be diagnosed and more than 40,000 women will die from the disease this year. It is estimated that 2 million women living in the United States today have been treated for breast cancer.

Besides a healthy lifestyle and early detection through regular exams, the best way to fight breast cancer is to educate yourself. If you or someone you know has fought or is fighting the disease, the Davenport Library has many books that may be helpful including:

Breast Cancer: the complete guide by Yashar Hirshaut

The 10 Best Questions for Surviving Breast Cancer: the script you need to take control of your health by Dede Bonner

After the Cure: the untold stories of breast cancer survivors by Emily Abel

Cancer is a Bitch or, I’d Rather by Having a Midlife Crisis by Gail Konop Baker

Pretty is What Changes: impossible choices, the breast cancer gene and how I defied my destiny by Jessica Queller

Choices in Breast Cancer Treatment: medical specialists and cancer survivors tell you what you need to know by Kenneth Miller

Fallscaping by Nancy Ondra

- Ann Leave a comment

There’s no need to limit your gardening to spring and summer – fall is also a great time in the garden. And while it might be getting a bit late to do a lot this year, now is the time to look around and see what autumn plants are looking their best in your neighborhood and in the local parks.

Fallscaping by Nancy Ondra shows you how to extend your garden into autumn with gorgeous photography, can’t miss plant combos and practical ideas. There are the usual suspects, of course – ornamental grasses reach their full glory in the fall, as do sedums, asters and mums. But Ondra also talks about also selecting plants for the color of their foliage and for berries and fruits that will persist long after flowers have faded and leaves have fallen.

There’s lots of practical advice too for all of the end-of-season jobs and for fun projects such as planting bulbs in pots, preparing tender plants for winter, garden clean-up, saving seeds, and quick fixes for bare spots in your flower beds. This beautiful and inspiring book will have you looking forward to your garden’s glorious last act.

ManFiction

- Ann Leave a comment

In the September 16th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King coins a new term, “ManFiction”. It has become the buzz of the blogs. In Stephen’s words:

“guys have what my son Joe calls ”manfiction.” And publishers sell it by the ton. Here’s a concept so simple it’s easy to miss: What men want from an Elmore Leonard novel is exactly what women want from a Nora Roberts novel — escape and entertainment. And while it’s true that manfiction can be guilty of objectifying women, chick lit often does the same thing to men”

Here is who Stephen King considers manfiction writers:

  • Robert B. Parker
  • Jonathan Kellerman
  • Dashiell Hammett
  • Raymond Chandler
  • John D. MacDonald
  • Michael Connelly
  • Robert Crais
  • Richard Stark
  • Lee Child

If you are interested in what titles we have, please give us a call at 326-7844 and we will get you on your manly way.

Madness by Marya Hornbacher

- IT 1 Comment

Although Marya experienced strong signs of manic behavior at age four it wasn’t until age 24 that she was finally diagnosed with the most severe type of bipolar disorder. Marya takes you through her “crazy” life up until her diagnosis. The tales of her episodes are surreal but the stories of how she copes with them are even more so. She stabilizes her moods with massive amounts of alcohol (starting at age 10) and other drugs. She distracts herself from her mania by focusing on food obsessions (anorexia and bulimia) as well as “cutting”.

Madness was very insightful, clearing up some of the stereotypes of mental illness and being institutionalized (nothing like Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). This was a fascinating and fairly fluid book considering the disorganized nature of the topic. Marya Hornbacher is also the author of the best selling novel Wasted chronicling her struggle with anorexia and bulimia.

Habla usted espanol?

- Ann Leave a comment

Do you speak Spanish?

Did you know that we have books and other materials in Spanish?

We also have bilingual books — with the words in both English and Spanish. This is helpful to English speakers learning Spanish, as well as for Spanish speakers learning English. One such book, Vamos A Viajar! (Let’s go!) can be found in the Spanish Toddler section.

If you’re interested in the current political campaign, you might enjoy reading La Audacia de la Esperanza (The Audacity of Hope) by Barack Obama.

If you’d just like to read a good fiction book in Spanish, there’s Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofa (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) or El Clan del Oso Cavernario (Clan of the Cave Bear) by Jean Auel.

We feature these in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated nationally September 15th-October 15th. This is also a great time to look at the history, art and culture of both Spain and Mexico — indeed of all countries where Spanish is the primary language.

Worth the wait?

- Bill 2 Comments

Perhaps the Chinese Democracy album by Guns and Roses is named as such because it will be a cold day in hell before it or the real thing happens. If it were a person, it would almost be getting it’s driver license by now. Most of us were IN high school when they started working on it.

Two things you can be certain of after reading a bit of the new tell-all Watch you Bleed: The Saga of Guns n’ Roses :

1) Lead singer Axl Rose (real name William Bailey) has a violent temper and inflated sense of self-importance. Peruse the list of original band members and countless replacements that now refuse to sit in the same room as him for proof.

2) Their breakout recording “Appetite for Destruction” is consistently in the top 40 rock albums of all time, and has been certified as platinum over 18 times with worldwide sales over 28 million. The band’s lifestyle during this era was one ridden with Sodom and Gomorrah levels of excess as they climbed from the level of homeless drug dealers and grifters to multimillionaire addicts. The most shocking revelation is how none of them are corpses.

If you like Nicholas Sparks, this is NOT the book for you. However, it was penned by Stephen Davis, the same author as the definitive Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods.

The latest scoop is Chinese Democracy will be out around Thanksgiving. Of course, we’ve heard these whisperings before, only to be interrupted by another lunatic fit from the namesake’s rebel who is now in his late 40’s.

Although, the Cubs have a good shot at the World Series this year, so who knows?

BANNED – Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai

- Ann 1 Comment

Set during the Cultural Revolution in China, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress follows two young university students when they are forced to perform manual labor in a poor rural area of the country for “re-education”. The hardship of their new life is eased by the discovery of a hidden stash of Western novels, which helps them hang onto a world they thought they’d lost forever.

Ironically, this novel about the devastating affects of repression and censorship has frequently been challenged and banned for sexually explicit scenes.

Celebrate your freedom to read – do not take this precious democratic freedom for granted! Visit the American Library Association’s site on Banned Books Week for more information.

BANNED – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

- Ann 2 Comments

The Handmaid’s Tale is a terrifying look into a not-too-distant future where nearly everyone is sterile and fertile women are treated as cattle, to produce children for the upper class who cannot have any. Women have no rights and are completely dependent on men – they cannot own property, have money, hold jobs – they aren’t even allowed to read. Offred, the heroine of the story, can remember a time before the military took over the government, and these memories sustain her while she plans her escape.

Although written about the future, The Handmaid’s Tale is chillingly similar to recent history in Afghanistan and Iran as well as older references to Nazi Germany. Frequently challenged and banned for it’s sexually explicit language and for being “offensive to Christians”, it is a cautionary tale of what happens when basic freedoms are denied.

Celebrate your freedom to read – do not take this precious democratic freedom for granted! Visit the American Library Association’s site on Banned Books Week for more information.