Horror Week at DPL – “Hush” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

- Ann 1 Comment

To help get you in the mood for a deliciously frightening Halloween, the librarians at Davenport Public Library are going to share some of the favorite blood-chilling books and movies. Read on if you dare!

GentlemenI’ll get things started with an episode from the late, lamented tv series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “Hush”, from the 4th season, has almost no dialogue, but it’s this very silence that adds to the horror. One night while everyone is asleep, The Gentlemen – tall, spectral figures dressed like funeral directors – magically steal the voice of everyone in Sunnydale. The people panic and chaos reins. The next night The Gentlemen, accompanied by their gruesome, Igor-like henchmen, go in search of their first victim. The trapped man is unable to scream for help and The Gentlemen cut out his heart.  Of course, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles and company soon find a solution, but not before everyone is thoroughly terrified.

There are two things that completely freaked me out about this show – the fact that no one could speak (and therefore were unable to call for help) and the fact that The Gentlemen, their skeletel faces grinning widely, floated above the ground as they wandered through the silent town searching for victims, their terrifying helpers limping along at their sides. I couldn’t look out the window after dark for months after seeing the show.

Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, this episode was nominated for an Emmy for Best Writing and is often included in lists of 10 best Buffy episodes.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns

- Ann Leave a comment

national_parksThey conjure images of magnificent scenery, destinations for summer vacations with family and sites of historical significance. Most American’s feel a fierce pride in these beautiful places and they should – the National Parks preserve some of the most beautiful and most important locations in our country. They are also uniquely American – before Yellowstone was set aside as the first National Park in 1872, land was preserved only for royalty or the very wealthy. Never before had land been set aside for the people and, like so many of the ideals that America has reached for, it has now become a standard for the rest of the world.

Ken Burn’s spent 8 years filming and creating the six-part PBS series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea which explores the history of the National Parks, from exploitation to spiritualism to conservation, a mirror of the character development of the American people. Co-written with Dayton Duncan, the companion book is as magnificent as the lands and peoples it portrays, heavily illustrated and with vivid writing that bring to life the characters and events that shaped the parks.

Be sure to visit the PBS website for the series which has some cool features including background information on the filming of the series, a place for you to share your own National Park stories and in-depth information about visiting the parks. And in case you missed the series when it ran in September, you can now watch the episodes online. Or put a hold on the library’s copy. And celebrate your American heritage.

Summer Blockbusters at Winter Prices

- Bill Leave a comment

When the book  is penned about the salad days of summer of ’09, it will surely feature a section about all the summer blockbusters everyone was skipping due to recession belt-tightening.  Well, good reader, many of them are here for you to lock in holds at DPL!

I’m sure there was an 80’s toy they haven’t decided to make a movie of yet, right?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Public Enemies
The Hangover
Up
Terminator Salvation
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Star Trek
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Angels and Demons
Bruno

Does Crime Pay?

- Lynn Leave a comment

something missing Something Missing by Matthew Dicks must make the reader sympathize with and care about Martin, who makes a living by breaking and entering upper middle class homes and systematically robbing the owners. The author succeeds by giving Martin many positive attributes (kindness, empathy, a strong work ethic) to counterbalance his antisocial career.

Martin’s obsessive compulsiveness proves useful in his career as a thief, albeit a conscientious, thoughtful thief who has real fondness for his “clients.”  The book describes in detail his methods and the scrupulous recordkeeping he develops so his thefts will never be detected.

An uncharacteristic slip leads to personal involvement with actual people and not just their “things” and eventually results in a romantic relationship. Martin is a complex character who grows from a fascinating, yet rigid and circumscribed, thief to a man who welcomes, rather than avoids,  connections and relationships.

The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant

- Ann Leave a comment

wettest countyNo, this has nothing to do with rainfall. Rather, the “wet” refers to moonshine.  The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant, a fictionalized account about the real-life Bondurant brothers in Depression-era Virginia is gritty, gutsy and sometimes even gory.  It’s narrated primarily by the youngest brother, Jack, who is in fact, the grandfather of the author.  The author, Matt Bondurant, also enlists the help of  Winesburg, Ohio author Sherwood Anderson who started his own investigation (in 1934) of the brothers’ dramatic confrontation with the county sheriff.  In doing so, Anderson was the first to dub Franklin County the “wettest county in the world.”

The story begins in 1928 when a pair of thieves rob Forest Bondurant of his large stash of bootlegging money and end up cutting his throat.  Somehow he manages to reach a hospital 12 miles away.  Soon after, two anonymous men appear at the same hospital, one with legs totally shattered, the other castrated.  Needless to say, they aren’t talking. You get the picture — this is real roughneck country and the Bondurant boys are no angels.

Bondurant does an excellent job of imagining and portraying the probable lives of his ancestors.  It’s not always pretty, but it does give the reader a gripping view of their struggles to survive during Prohibition in the poverty-stricken foothills of westernVirginia.

Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

- Ann Leave a comment

wicked plantsWicked Plants: the Weed that Killed Abraham Lincoln’s Mother by Amy Stewart is a delightfully gruesome catalog of a great variety of harmful plants and just exactly what they can inflict on you. This alphabetical list of plants that can poison, strangle, paralyze, induce hallucinations or heart attack or merely cause pain and suffering is illustrated with appropriately gothic drawings. Many of the plants are surprisingly common – castor bean plants and angel’s trumpet for instance. Others are bizarre and nearly fantastical.  Stewart’s writing style is witty and entertaining and her love and knowledge of all things botanical shines throughout the book.

Amy Stewart’s website has lots more info, including interviews with Amy and news about her upcoming events. Amy is the author of several thoughtful gardening-related books including the excellent Flower Confidential about the floral industry.

Don’t miss the chance to see some of those dastardly plants up-close when Vander Veer Botanical Park Conservatory features ten of them in their special exhibit, running concurrently with their annual Chrysanthemum Festival, mid October through mid November. Excerpts from the book will be featured in story boards displayed throughout the exhibit.

Conservatory hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10am – 4pm. Admission is $1 for adults; children under 16 are free but must be accompanied by an adult. For more information about the display, contact Paula Witt at 563-323-3298.

Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

- Ann 2 Comments

submitted by Georgann

FledgingI’m so glad to read this newest offering about the Liaden Universe fro Lee and Miller. They have become some of my favorite Sci-fi authors. I have loved and enjoyed each of their books I have read so far! I am glad to report that each of their books in the series is being republished and DPL is in the process of acquiring them all. Even if you aren’t a Sci-fi fan, I think anyone who likes adventures with a great romance tossed in would enjoy these books.

Theo Waitley, the main character in Fledgling, was introduced at the very end of a previous book, I Dare. I was left quite interested in finding out more about her story. Actually, each of the books left me felling like that. I didn’t want them to end! Theo is coming of age in a culture with stringent rules and not much room for awkwardness. Theo is on the verge of being coerced to conform to the standard. Meanwhile, her mother, who is a professor for the planet’s galaxy-renowned university, discovers that someone has been tampering with the school’s library. To save Theo and the university’s reputation, the two travel off-world.

This was such a fun story! I am eagerly anticipating the next book, Salutations.

Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy

- Ann Leave a comment

every last cuckooEvery Last Cuckoo is a tender book which will pull at your heartstrings.  The protagonist is a 75 year old woman, Sarah Lucas, who is still very much in love with her husband, Charles.  When Charles dies unexpectedly (yes, even 80 year olds die unexpectedly) Sarah is left alone in her rural Vermont home, tentatively dealing with her grief and loss.  Yet she is not alone for long.  First, her rebellious granddaughter, Lottie, seeks refuge with Sarah away from her overbearing parents.  Lottie is quickly joined by a few of her friends with family problems of their own.

Others in the community begin to look to Sarah to shelter those in need — to harbor the young mother who has been beaten by her husband — to temporarily house those without heat — to offer quiet sanctuary for an author returned from Israel.  Each finds their way to Sarah’s doorstep and each contributes to the growing household in their own way.  Sarah finds time to take long walks in the woods and to reflect upon her life.  In doing so, the reader also comes to a better understanding of what it means to live, albeit imperfectly, a full and gracious life.  This is an easy read with book club questions included at the end.

World Adventure Series

- Lynn Leave a comment

World Adventure seriesThe library and the Putnam Museum are partnering to bring you a special ’round-the-world tour. Each month, a book discussion will be part of  a travelogue series  –  to Tuscany, the Pacific Coast, Fiji, Sweden and Sahel (West Africa).

At the “Inside the Tuscan Hills” show on October 13th,  the group will discuss The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga.

This novel by the Knox College literature professor is set in 1966 Florence. The heroine heads off to Italy to become on of the “mud angels” – volunteers who race to save priceless boks and artwork. Hellenga is skilled at both characterization and depicting Italian culture. Insider knowledge of book restoration and conservation is woven into the plot.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson  is the choice for November 17th’s “Pacific Coast, Top to Bottom.”

Set on a fictional island off the coast of Washington in the l950’s, the story revolves around the death and possible murder of a World War II veteran and fisherman. One of the suspects is a first-generation Japanese American, and so resentment of the recent internment and other restrictions  are brought into play. The setting is hauntingly beautiful and evocative of  the region’s painful history.

Call the Putnam Museum & Imax Theatre at  563.324.1933 for details.

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

- Ann 2 Comments

submitted by Georgann

MoralityI have thoroughly enjoyed these mild-mannered detective stories from the No. 1 Ladies Detective series, set in the country of Botswana, Africa. The characters are engaging, coming from a world-view different from my own, and a society with a somewhat different set of mores. Still, it is easy to identify with them and a delight to read about their adventures. The characters struggle with a rapidly changing Africa, and with changes that are good and not-so-good. Their cases are interesting, often solved with intuition and plenty of footwork. In Morality for Beautiful Girls, detective Precious Ramotswe investigates an alleged poisoning, and checks the moral character of the four finalists of the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest.

For me, the best part of the books is the philosophizing, of which there is plenty, for a detective must understand human nature. How often it makes me smile or even laugh out loud. With 10 books in the series, I expect to be entertained for some time!

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