The Armchair Traveler – Great Travel DVDs

- Lynn Leave a comment

travel-dvdsIn between trips, there’s nothing better than kicking back with a good DVD.

Some of the AT’s favorites are travel series such as Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 Days and Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe – all the fun and cultural education without the hassle.  Though theoretically designed for the prospective traveler, Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door DVDs are great entertainment whether you have any intention of going to a particular destination or not.

A rainy weekend can always be salvaged by Enchanted April or  Under the Tuscan Sun. In both movies, those seeking a different and richer life are  seduced by the beauty and romance of Italy.

For some travelers it’s all about the journey and not the destination. They love everything about  airplanes and airports; for this person Tom Hank’s The Terminal is  a quick fix of airport culture. Other fun flicks in the air-trip-as-disaster mode are Red Eye or Snakes on a Plane.

Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

- Ann Leave a comment

unholy-mischief1Imagine Venice in 1498.  Imagine being orphaned and living hand-to-mouth in its busy streets.  Imagine you’re Luciano and you’ve just been caught stealing a pomegrante.  Will this act send you to the dungeons?  No!  This act will actually land you an apprenticeship with a maestro chef, who just happens to cook for the doge, the highest court official in Venice.

As unlikely as this sounds now, as a reader, I found it completely plausible.  Apparently, the chef sensed some finer qualities in this street urchin, so he takes him in under his wing, encouraging him to learn all he can.  The plot thickens as rumor circulates that there is an ancient book hidden within the city that contains many secrets of alchemy — the secret to eternal youth, plus secret recipes for making gold and love potions, among others.  Luciano is especially interested in the love potion, hoping that it will help him secure Francesca, an unavailable convent girl with whom he is smitten.  The doge, meanwhile, suffering from old age and syphilis, is intent on finding that fountain of youth, and he doesn’t mind committing multiple murders to obtain it.

While most everyone in the city becomes obsessed with finding  this precious tome, it is just as jealously protected by the Guardians, who are willing to die to keep its secrets.  The ending may not be what you expect, but you’ll keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.  The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark is part Da Vinci Code and part Oliver Twist, and recommended for foodies and historical fiction fans.

I Hate Your Guts by Jim Norton

- Bill Leave a comment

nortonAs a follow up to His #4 New York Times Bestseller Happy Endings, Jim Norton’s latest, I Hate Your Guts, takes the caustic comedian/radio host’s comedy to a simpler and deadly accurate level.   Norton levels the barrels at various public figures with the kind of invective that would make most people blush. Look out Hillary Clinton, Keith Olbermann, Jesse Jackson and Derek Jeter!

If this were a film it would be about two off-ramps past rated R.  Each victim gets rended limb from limb with a several-page salvo of crushing analysis/insults.  Part of you feels badly for them, but when he’s done, you’re pretty sure they must deserve it.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

- Ann 1 Comment

the-art-of-racing-in-the-rainEnzo is a thoughtful and intelligent observer. He has watched a lot of television – especially the Weather Channel and documentaries – and he has paid attention. He understands much more than he is given credit for, but he cannot put his thoughts into words. His greatest regret in life is that he cannot speak and that he does not have opposable thumbs because Enzo is a dog. In The Art of Racing in the Rain he reflects back on his life on the eve of his death.

When Denny picks Enzo from a litter of puppies, an incredible partnership begins. Denny is a semi-professional race car driver and he often describes his work to Enzo especially his skill at racing in wet weather – the balance and anticipation it requires, the blending of thought and action. Soon Eve enters their lives, and then baby Zoe and they are happy until tragedy strikes and the little family must struggle to survive and carry on. Through it all, Enzo is there, observing, offering comfort and companionship and love.

This is a beautiful, poignant story which is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes wrenching. You may be skeptical that a dog as narrator would work, but in fact, Enzo is perfect – wise but always from a dog’s point-of-view, an outsider that can see clearer than the participants. The racing analogies are powerful and effective, but do not dominate the story. You will root for these characters and love them as much as Enzo does, who’s words will stay with you long after you finish the book.

The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee

- Ann Leave a comment

the-piano-teacherWhat would you do, what choices would you make if a war arrived in your once peaceful life? Who would you save and who would you betray? Your friends, your family, your country – even yourself – to save yourself? And one day, when the war is over and you return to some semblence of your life, how would you live with those choices? Can you ever escape the past?

The Piano Teacher by Janet Lee explores those questions in the exotic world of Hong Kong before, during and after World War II. Arriving in Hong Kong ten years after the war, Claire Pendleton soon begins an affair with Will Truesdale, the English driver of a powerful Hong Kong family. Gradually she learns that Will hides many secrets – his love affair with the Eurasian heiress Trudy Liang before the war, his experiences as a prisoner-of-war, his current plan to right past wrongs. Almost without her knowledge, she’s swept up into a story that was set in motion years in the past.

Lee writes beautifully, evoking the glamour and glitz of pre-war Hong Kong and the horrors and suffering of the war years with equal clarity. This is an eye-opening look at a lesser known arena of the war and at how people struggled to survive. It’s richly populated with interesting characters and their stories, not the least of which is Hong Kong herself, exotic and mysterious and full of secrets.

Latino Books Month

- Ann Leave a comment

latinoCinco de Mayo is only the beginning!  The entire month of May has been designated as Latino Books Month by the Association of American Publishers.  Simply put, it’s an effort to encourage people to read books by and for Latinos.  What’s great is that you can choose to read many titles in either English or Spanish.

If you read Spanish, you’ll be able to check out some books that, in English, never seem to be on the shelf!  For example,  Luna Nueva by Stephanie Meyer.

If you prefer Latino authors, try Carlos Ruiz Zafon and his El Juego del Angel or Para Salvar el Mundo by Julia Alvarez.  Can’t read Spanish?  No problem, we have the English versions of those titles as well.  Hint:  Look for The Angel’s Game and Saving the World.

Also, in the children’s section, we feature many bi-lingual editions as well as clever videos.  Did you know that exposing children to another language at a young age can really help their fluency in later years?   Why not give it a try?

Do the Right Thing for Your Pet

- Lynn 1 Comment

animals-make-us-human“Creating the Best Life for Animals” is the subtitle to Animals Make Us Human. Temple Grandin, the author of Animals Make Us Human, is autistic and she feels it has given her a special gift in relating to animals.

She emphasizes the importance of play and seeking activities for all animals. To have a rich life, pets need to use their brains – and they do this by trying to satisfy their intense curiosity and by playing. Owners are responsible for ensuring that they get these opportunities. Especially fascinating is her description of the evolution of the domestic dog from the wolf.

Beware Cesar Millan fans; she has fundamental philosophical differences regarding owner dominance and pack behavior. (She doesn’t think the pack leader theory is useful in most households).

Grandin also cites evidence that cats can be trained – by using rewards, rather than negative reinforcement. (This is true with all pets, but especially cats). Cats are still more on the “wild” end of the continuum of wildness to domesticity. Wild animals just run when punished; they don’t learn anything from being punished, other than to fear the punisher.

Grandin’s theories resonant with all species  (including our own).

Gale Gand’s Brunch by Gale Gand

- Ann 1 Comment

s-brunch“Brunch” always means something special – a celebration or gathering. Now you can make any occassion – like “it’s the weekend” – special with the help of  Gale Gand’s Brunch.

Gale includes the standards – eggs, pancakes, scones and muffins – but she also throws in some unexpected entries such as potstickers, lemony wheatberry salad and pretzles. Basic recipes for classic brunch dishes – omelets, waffles, pancakes, crepes, strata, quiche – are outlined, then fun and interesting variations for each are suggested. Recipes are straightforward and simple – because who wants to spend time in the kitchen during brunch? There’s  something for every taste from Peanut Butter and Jelly Turnovers to Almond Ciabatta French Toast to Apricot Chicken Salad. Now any day – and any meal – can be special.

Frugal Librarian #10 – Toss it out the Winders

- Bill 1 Comment

frugallibrarianWhile the Frugal Librarian, or as we affectionately call him, “Froogs”, is psyched about the release of Window’s Vista’s successor, Windows 7, later this year, there is a very good and super-affordable alternative called Ubuntu to tide you over.  You may have heard words like “open-source” and “Linux” get tossed about by your bespectacled acquaintances.  The benevolent nerds of the world in the spirit of competition put together very sophisticated quality pieces of software that benefit you for absolutely no cost.  Sometimes they rival packages that cost hundreds.  Though the 2010 census may prove me wrong, there are more Homo Sapien Nerdicuses in the world than there are Microsoft employees.   Ubuntu is such an innovation.

Ubuntu is an operating system that you can install on your computer instead of a release of Windows.  ESPECIALLY Windows Vista.  You’ll find it outperforms its competitors, is user friendly, and most hacker attacks are pretty much jokes, since they’re designed to affect everyone except you.  There are dozens of such Linux operating systems, but Ubuntu is considered the easiest to adopt.

If you’ve got a computer lying around, install it on there just for kicks.  If you use the internet, check email, and print like the vast majority of people, you are going to be fine, save a hundred bucks, and not wrestle with license keys.

We’ve got several books at the library on how to navigate this transition.  They’re circulating more than they used to.  If you can’t download the install disc, some of these books at the library have an install CD in the back flap.  Ideally you’ll want to download this week’s latest release of Version 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope” to compare notes at the water cooler with your newfound friends.  If you do, don’t be surprised if you’re invited to join their Warcraft guild.

Remembering Mom

- Ann Leave a comment

love-you-momMother’s Day is quickly approaching — May 10th, in fact.  No doubt most of you have already planned your brunches and  bouquets in celebration of dear old Mom, and those are always appreciated.  Still, when I think back over the years, the mother’s day gifts that I most loved were those which were homemade: the cards with crayon pictures, the lilacs picked fresh from the garden, the attempts at breakfast in bed.  Still, one thing I never did for my own mom s-daughter1(or mother-in-law) was to write a thank you letter.  Now that they are both gone, I’m wishing I had.  Wishing that I’d worried less about fixing  a fancy meal with the good china and the white tablecloth in the dining room, wishing I’d spent less time looking for some sentimental card at the Hallmark store, and wishing instead that I had taken a few moments to write down in my own words how I felt.  To say thank you, to share a funny story, even, perhaps, to tease a little, but just doing it would show I cared.

If you think you might like to write your own letter to Mom, here are some books that might  give you some inspiration:

I Love You, Mom! A Celebration of our Mothers and Their Gifts to Us. This includes essays from celebrities like Larry King and Daisy Fuentes.

I Am My Mother’s Daughter: Making Peace with Mom Before it’s Too Late by Iris Krasnow.

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