Category: Reference

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

- Stephanie Leave a comment

everything i never told youI love book lists. Give me a list of award books or a list of books you absolutely adored, and I will slowly make my way through the list until I have read them all. Today’s book is one I discovered on an award list. The title is Everything I Never Told You and is Celeste Ng’s debut novel. I first heard of Everything I Never Told You when I was tuned in to watch the Alex Awards online. The Alex Awards are an award given out by the American Library Association (ALA) to the 10 best adult books that have special appeal to teens. (This book has also been on numerous other lists and won another award. Check out Celeste Ng’s website for more information.)

Everything I Never Told You begins, “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. 1977, May 3, six thirty in the morning, no one knows anything but this innocuous fact: Lydia is late for breakfast.” After those simple, yet devastating, few sentences, Ng weaves together the story of a Chinese-American family growing up in 1970s Ohio. Each family member is outlined: the professor father James, stay-at-home mother Marilyn, older brother Nathan who is desperate to leave home, younger sister Hannah who seems to blend into the background, and the middle golden-child Lydia whose mother and father have placed all of their hopes on her shoulders, as well as several other members of the community. When Lydia’s body is found in the lake right down the street from their house, the entire family falls apart.

This book delves into the complex nature of the Lees: family, history, home, and the struggles we all make on a daily basis to understand each other and to find ourselves.

 

no one else can have youIf that description caught your interest, check out No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale. This book deals with similar concepts of love, loss, and the tragic and upheaving nature of death. This book takes place in the small town of Friendship, Wisconsin, where residents have been shocked by the discovery of high school student Ruth Fried’s body in a cornfield. Her best friend, 16-year-old Kippy Bushamn, finds herself trying to solve her best friend’s murder. Ruth’s mother has given Ruth’s diary to Kippy with the express instruction to redact the sexy parts. Kippy sets out to find out who murdered her best friend and discovers that in her small Midwestern town, everyone seems to have secrets.

This quirky murder mystery will have you following Kippy around as she emulates her idol, Diane Sawyer, to figure out who her best friend really was and what really happened when she died.

Rat Queens Vols. 1 & 2

- Allison 1 Comment

ratqueens

Allow me to introduce my new favorite band of adventurers, the Rat Queens!  Hannah the Elven Mage (and the daughter of necromancers), Violet the Dwarfen Warrior (and defier of family tradition), Dee the Cleric (estranged from her family of flying squid worshipers) and Betty the Smidgen Thief (always ready with a magical mushroom, candy, and two very sharp blades). Together, they rain destruction on their enemies or, if enemies be lacking, the bars and streets of the city of Palisades.

It’s the latter of the Rat Queen’s boisterous activity that lands them in jail (repeatedly) and at odds with the town’s council and mayor. The Queens – and the other bands of roving warriors bored to death in Palisades – are given one last change: complete the assigned quest, and all is forgiven. Unfortunately, the quest is a trap and the Queens find themselves in the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy.

Rat Queens Vol 1:  Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch introduces the Queens with spectacular action, violence and smart-assery. Whether in battle or recovering from it (with a raging party) the pace of the story never slows down. Bits of back story filter in, just enough to pique curiosity, although even without, the bonds between the Rat Queens are obviously very strong.

Rat Queens Vol 2: The Far-Reaching Tentacles of N’Rygoth  by Wiebe, Upchurch and addition of illustrator Stjepan Sejic begins with the Queens post-victory party. They are summoned to mayor’s office for what they expect is another tongue-lashing, but instead they’re offered a paying gig. Meanwhile, Sawyer, the captain of the town guard (and Hannah’s on again, off again lover) is kidnapped, his lieutenant attacked and the rest of the guard slaughtered. Over the course of the story, we also get glimpses into the pasts of our Queens – what made them into the warriors they are and how they were brought together. Oh, and Dee’s husband stops by with some very, very bad news.

If you’re thinking that much of Rat Queens sounds like Dungeons & Dragons, you’d be right. Aside from our four warriors, there are trolls, orcs, demons and guilds galore. Admittedly, this had undue influence over my first read*, but Volume 2 was so, so great that I re-read Vol. 1 and then read Vol. 2 again. This isn’t a series that you can jump into at the second or third collection. You miss much of the subtext and background that makes the series so enjoyable. The art in Vol. 2 is especially wonderful. I mean, how can you argue with Sejic’s portraits?

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One caution – Rat Queens is solidly for mature readers only. As I’ve mentioned, there is a great amount of gore, language and sexual situations (IMO, that’s one of the best aspects of the series, but to each their own.)

Safe questing, dear readers!
___

* This isn’t to say that I have anything against D&D. I played it once, after working 10 hours, and no one had warned me there would be math involved. Absolutely not the game’s or the dungeon master’s fault.

Falling Skies

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I’m a sucker for television shows that cross genres and formats. One of my most recent finds was the television show, Falling Skies, which also has a videogame and a graphic novel out at this time.

falling skies tvThe library currently has multiple seasons of Falling Skies available for check-out. If you have never heard of this show, Falling Skies is a science fiction, post-apocalyptic drama that runs on TNT with its final season premiering on June 28th at 9pm. Falling Skies takes place after an alien attack has happened on planet Earth, forcing citizens to gather together and attempt to fight back. Boston professor of history, Tom Mason, played by Noah Wyle, is struggling to deal with the fact that his wife has died and his son has been captured by the aliens. Groups of people are being held captive, the number of dead is rising, and in order to rescue the captives, militia groups are forming to protect the survivors. What seems like a straight and easy plan becomes increasingly complicated as the survivors realize that the aliens are more intelligent and crafty than they initially believed. Mason and his group must band together and come up with new ideas to outsmart the aliens.

 

falling skies gn

If the television show interests you, check out Paul Tobin’s graphic novel Falling Skies with artwork by Juan Ferreyra. Tobin’s graphic novel serves as a prequel to the television show. Here, you follow the life of Professor Tom Mason and his three sons who are forced to come to terms with the fact that Mason’s wife has died. Mason believes that in order to survive, they must all hide, which ultimately backfires when one of his sons is captured by the aliens. The artwork in this novel draws from the likeness of the television characters with viewers of the show easily able to recognize their favorite characters. Tobin draws a tale for readers about the months after the alien attack and Mason’s decision to join a militia group to rescue his son. Fans of the television show will not be disappointed in the graphic novel.

falling skies gameThe final part of Falling Skies’ transition across genres in the videogame available on PlayStation 3 called Falling Skies: The Game. This game expands upon the tactical warfare element of the television show and by extension, Tom Mason’s vast knowledge of historical warfare and battle strategy. In the videogame, players have the option to customize and maneuver their squad in order to outsmart the enemy. In addition to the over 90 tactical warfare missions, players are also given the option to undertake an infinite number of side quests. This turn-based style of gameplay allows you to complete missions and finish objectives as you command a squad made up of anywhere from 1-6 units.

Check out any of the Falling Skies materials available at the library and let us know if there are other materials for which you are looking!

Carnival Games

- Stephanie Leave a comment

carnival gaemsSummer is my favorite time of year. School is out, the weather is getting warmer, summer reading programs begin, and the best part of summer starts: carnival time! Fairs, carnivals, and rodeos are my favorite way to spend a hot summer night with friends. Confession: I am not very good at carnival games. My hand-eye coordination is, to put it politely, lacking. This does not lessen my desire to play and actually makes me strive to become better every year. My newest way to practice, besides going to the arcade or setting up a mini-carnival with the kids in my neighborhood, is to play Carnival Games, a videogame available at the Davenport Public Library for the Wii.

You may be wondering how playing a videogame actually prepares you to play real carnival games. The use of the Wii remote, instead of a regular game controller, allows players to practice the motion as they are throwing the sledgehammer to test their strength, as they are throwing the ball in Skee Ball, or even as they are trying to dunk someone at the dunk tank. One major bonus to this game is that it allows up to four players to play at a time, which makes each carnival game more of a competition, just like a real carnival! Carnival Games offers over 25 different games of chance and skill that can be found at carnivals across the nation. In addition to allowing players to customize and accessorize their own character, this game revels in the carnival spirit: with bright lights, patterns, and people of all kinds milling around the game.

Check out this game today and play games like Balloon Darts, Ring Toss, Hole in One, Shooting Gallery, Meter-O-Love, and many more. And if you’re lucky, you will beat the rest of the people you are playing against and win one of the over 250 virtual prizes available.

New Science Fiction & Fantasy – June

- Allison 1 Comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy collections! Click on the book cover or the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page.

index The Vorrh by B. Caitling – Next to the colonial town of Essenwald sits the Vorrh, a vast—perhaps endless—forest. It is a place of demons and angels, of warriors and priests. Sentient and magical, the Vorrh bends time and wipes  memory. Legend has it that the Garden of Eden still exists at its heart. Now, a renegade English soldier aims to be the first human to traverse its expanse.Listen to Alan Moore read his own introduction to the book here:
index22 Vermilion by Molly Tanzer – Gunslinging, chain smoking, Stetson-wearing Taoist psychopomp, Elouise “Lou” Merriwether might not be a normal 19-year-old, but she’s too busy keeping San Francisco safe from ghosts, shades, and geung si to care much about that. It’s an important job, though most folks consider it downright spooky. Some have even accused Lou of being more comfortable with the dead than the living, and, well… they’re not wrong.Read Andrew Liptak ‘s review on io9 here:

(caution, some spoilers.)
index The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – Carolyn and a dozen other children being raised by “Father,” a cruel man with mysterious powers, begin to think he might be God, so when he dies, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which they believe holds the power to all Creation.
index The Border by Robert McCammon – Two powerful, mysterious alien races are at war; Earth is caught in the middle, collateral damage. The planet is devastated, its people made nearly extinct. Those who have survived the catastrophic destruction caused by the alien war are succumbing to fallout from the battle, which is turning them into half-human creatures preying on those who are still human. Mankind seems doomed, but there is one small hope: a young boy who possesses powers that could save humanity.
indexQ91V0FBG The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher  – Relegated to a Fleetspace station after saving an Earth of the distant future, Captain Abraham Idaho Cleveland navigates hostile workers and persistent malfunctions before receiving a mysterious warning from thousands of light-years away.
indexAIB87K3C Desert Rising by Grant Kelley – The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One’s four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective—one that just might be considered heresy, but that is catching on rather quickly …
index Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Judd Trichter – Set in a near-future LA, a man falls in love with a beautiful android — but when she is kidnapped and sold piecemeal on the black market, he must track down her parts to put her back together.
index City of Savages by Lee Kelly – Living in Manhattan, which is now a prisoner-of-war camp, sisters Skyler and Phee set in motion a series of events that forces them to join a group of strangers on an escape mission through a city rife with cannibals and sadistic cults.

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

- Bianca Leave a comment

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It’s that time of year again…when we are forced to say goodbye to shows that have been part of our lives for years. They were characters and stories we could count on to teach us, shock us, entertain us, and so much more. The following shows are ones that I have watched from the beginning and would recommend if you are looking to start watching a great show.

Boardwalk Empire is all about corruption and bootlegging in 1920’s Atlantic City. The makers of this show took real events, a real place, and even real historical figures and wrote their own version of history. There are some accurate historical accounts in the show, but the writers took many liberties. Some characters stayed true their real life counterparts such as in the case of Al Capone. During the decade of time covered by the show we see Al Capone get his start as a lackey for Johnny Torrio, rise to fame and power, then his inevitable arrest in 1931. The real star of the show is Enoch “Nucky” Thomson played by Steve Buscemi. This is one of the real life figures that the writers completely changed in order to create the story line for this show. Boardwalk promises a lot of action, drama, and history. This is a great show for anyone interested in the 1920’s and the original gangsters. I personally liked the drama that the first few seasons offered. I continued to watch the show in the last couple seasons, but shows would often pile up on my DVR as my enthusiasm had waned. Nevertheless, this was a great show. This show is rated TV-MA.

If you watched Boardwalk Empire and would like to learn more about the real life figures, check out Time Magazine.

Total Seasons: 5

 

Glee is one big giant ray of sunshine. I have always had such a strange relationship with Glee. I think the difficulty I had was the time slot. There were other shows happening at that time that won out on my DVR, but I always found a way to catch up on this good natured show. When I finally did watch the show, I would be completely uplifted and wonder why the heck I’d put off watching it for so long.

Anyway, lets state the obvious. Yes this is a show about teenagers singing…but it is fantastic! The actors have amazing vocal range and ability and the choreography is top notch. What I found to be most enthralling were the arrangements of the music they sang. Some songs were written decades ago and others were new, but all of them had the Glee take on it. This group can sing anything! One of my favorite performances was a mix of the classic Singing in the Rain and Rhianna’s Umbrella. For the YouTube video, click here. Other awesome things about this show include guest appearances by loads of actors and singers, the hilarious commentary of Sue Sylvester played by Jane Lynch, and watching teens make mistakes but learning to do what is right and why you do the right thing. You can’t go wrong with this show.

Total Seasons: 6

 

 The Newsroom is very different than any show I have ever watched. I am quite sad that this show was only three seasons. Despite having a short life span, Aaron Sorkin (writer) wrapped up the show very well. No surprise that the set of this show is a fictional newsroom for a nightly news program in New York City. Early on it becomes the goal of this news show to start telling the news as it is, no matter the consequence. The twist is that although season 1 airs in 2012, the story line begins in April 2010. This allows the news station to cover events that have already happened for the viewers. We get inside information on the news stories we kind of heard about in real life. There are many ‘ah ha’ and ‘you don’t say’ moments as Sorkin picks and chooses what information he wants to recreate on his news show.

This show is very smart. It can be difficult to keep up at times and I often had to rewind to catch this or that. The intelligent banter is a refreshing change from what you usually see on TV.

Total Seasons: 3

 

Mad Men  is another period TV drama, but very different from Boardwalk Empire. The show begins in the 1960’s at a New York ad agency. There is an interweaving of history with fiction as a cast of made up characters live in a world that is bound by real fashions, products, and events that leave little room for error. The products they are trying to sell are the real products of that time. This show is the story of how a group of ad agency workers stop at nothing to be the best at what they do. Each person has their own story and as the years go by we see the ups and downs, but they never give up.

You never know quite what you are going to get with each episode. Sometimes episodes will be very straightforward and serious, but other times a song and dance will make its way into a scene. What you can count on with this show is guts. The characters take risks and often put it all on the line.

Total Seasons: 7

 

If you would like to see a complete list of canceled shows visit tvseriesfinale.com.

Little Beach Street Bakery

- Lynn Leave a comment

Little Beach Street Bakery Written by Jenny Colgan, Little Beach Street Bakery, is surprisingly enjoyable. The  writing style and character development are better than you expect based on cover art and blurb, even though there’s  a bit of a formula feel.

Though Polly’s life has veered wildly off course, there isn’t really  sense of dread.  There’s a comforting feeling that it’s  probably going to work out for her, even as things go from bad to worse. The theme of reinvention is always enticing; readers get to imagine what would happen if they lost everything, but got to start over in a new place, with new people and a new job.

Set in Cornwall, England, Polly and her boyfriend opened a graphic design company not long before  computer programs allowed users to do their own design and printing. Their business failure exposed the cracks in the couple’s relationship and they eventually broke up, leaving Polly without a home or a job.

After a dispiriting apartment search, she ends up in a town that is cut off from the rest of England at high tide, living in a dirty and dilapidated building. The upsides are the ocean views, companionship of a local fisherman and a mysterious American, as well as an adopted baby puffin. The downsides are the lack of jobs, and a cranky landlady who, as the local baker,  is threatened by Polly’s skill in bread making.

Adding to the richness of the novel are secondary characters such as Reuben, an obnoxious philanthropist, Kerensa, Polly’s best friend, through whose eyes Polly is able to appreciate the advantages of her new life, and, of course, Neil, the puffin. The fishing village setting and the evolving friendships and romances make for a lovely break from the stresses of fast-paced, mainland life.

New Spiritualty & Religion – June

- Allison Leave a comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Spirituality & Religion collections! Click on the book cover or the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if you have a book that you would like to recommend, call or email the Reference Department.

faith Faith versus Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible by Jerry Coyne – The best-selling author of Why Evolution Is True discusses the negative role of religion in education, politics, medicine and social policy, explaining how religion cannot provide verifiable or responsible answers to world problems.
index10LBVWIJ A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life Into the Adventure of a Lifetime by Mark Batterson – What happens when we take Jesus at his word when he says, “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full?” New York Times bestselling author Mark Batterson and his mentor Richard Foth have done just that with their lives–and in A Trip around the Sun, they show readers how they too can experience their life and faith as the ultimate adventure.
indexWHIVNNTT How to Walk by Thich Nhat Hahn – How to Walk is the fourth title in Parallax’s popular Mindfulness Essentials Series of how-to titles by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, introducing beginners and reminding seasoned practitioners of the essentials of mindfulness practice.
indexSZABOKCH If the Oceans Were Ink : An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power – The eye-opening story of how American Carla Powers and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities.
index1ED600SL How to Read the Bible by Harvey Cox – Renowned religion expert and Harvard Divinity School professor Harvey Cox deepens our experience of the Bible, revealing the three primary ways we read it, why each is important, and how we can integrate these approaches for a richer understanding and appreciation of key texts throughout the Old and New Testaments.
indexLP25KRF7 A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World by Daniel Goleman and Dalai Lama – In A Force for Good,  the Dalai Lama explains how to turn our compassionate energy outward. This revelatory and inspiring work provides a singular vision for transforming the world in practical and positive ways.
indexC2VX7MS5 Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris – For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Waking Up is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives.
preaching Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller – Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.

June is LGBT Pride Month

- Allison Leave a comment
The six-colour version of the pride flag is the most commonly used version. The original version from 1978 had two additional stripes — hot pink and turquoise which were removed due to manufacturing needs. Via Wikimedia Commons.
The six-color version of the pride flag is the most commonly used version. The original version from 1978 had two additional stripes — hot pink and turquoise which were removed due to manufacturing needs. Via Wikimedia Commons.

In honor of LGBT Pride Month, we are featuring films, novels and media created by and for the LGBTQ** community on this blog. We’ll also have an ongoing display of these materials at the DPL’s Main branch.

First, a little history …

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month  is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, New York City. The Stonewall riots  – occurring over the weekend of June 27-29, 1969 – were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. While protests for LGBTQ rights had occurred prior to the Stonewall riots, many considered the riots as a “shot heard round the world,”* the first to garner large-scale media attention for a population that had, prior to then, been forced to live in secret.

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Stonewall Inn, site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, New York City, USA, Via Wikimedia Commons.

Christopher Street Liberation Day on June 28, 1970 marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots with an assembly on Christopher Street (where the Stonewall Inn was located); with simultaneous Gay Pride marches in Los Angeles and Chicago, marking the first Gay Pride marches in U.S. history.  Since then, Gay Pride marches have occurred annually in major cities across the U.S.  to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

On June 2, 2000 President Bill Clinton declared June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month”.  On June 1, 2009, President Barack Obama declared June 2009 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, citing the riots as a reason to “…commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.” Read President Obama’s  2015 declaration here.

If you’d like to learn more, the Library of Congress hosts many historical documents, photos and recordings about LGBTQ Pride month, as well as the history of the LGBTQ movement in the United States. Check it out here: http://www.loc.gov/lgbt/

National Public Radio’s StoryCorps produced the documentary “Remembering Stonewall” on the 20th anniversary of the riots. You can listen it here: http://storycorps.org/remembering-stonewall/, as well as explore other stories from their OutLoud initiative, founded to preserve LGBTQ  voices and stories across the U.S. On the 40th anniversary of the riots, NPR’ Margo Adler produced another retrospective, “Years Later, Stonewall Riots Remembered”

Check back here next week for a look at LGBTQ literature for all ages!

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*Faderman, Lillian (1991). Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America, Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-017122-3

**A note on terminology: The acronym LGTB and LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) are both used in the official Presidential declaration. According to the GLAAD and The New York Times style guidelines, LGBT is the preferred term, based on universal acceptance and recognition. However, I’ve chosen to use LGBTQ throughout, except when citing a direct quotation, or using the name of a specific organization or event.