Radio Program - December 28, 2007 - What’s New at the Library - With Fran Plewak

Take Your Pediatrician with You: Keeping Your Child Healthy at Home and on the Road by Dr. Christopher S. Ryder

Is it a Big Problem or a Little Problem: When to Worry, When Not to Worry, and What to Do by Amy Egan et al

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Words by John Man

Knit Kimono: 18 Designs with Simple Shapes by Vicki Square

No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights by Amy R. Singer

Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby

Scrawlins by Rusty DeWees

Indoor Gardening the Organic Way by Julie Bawden-Davis

The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones

The Story of Modern Skiing by John Fry

The Essential Guide to Skiing: 201 Things Every Skier Must Know by Ron LeMaster

The New Guide to Skiing by Martin Heckelman

Muzzy Spanish: The BBC Language Course for Children

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (audio CD and you can take out one book at a time)

Country Home Magazine

Babybug Magazine and Ladybug Magazine

Library Column - December 20, 2007

The library will have some new books on the window sill by the time this column is published, so come on in and check them out! Collleen and I decided to move Story Hour back to the library for the next few months, so starting January 8, it will be on Tuesdays, in the library, 10 a.m. My reading, as usual, has been fairly diverse. One book had to go back to the Regional Library, but I can borrow it again if anyone wants to read it.

Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System by Stephen P. Kiernan. Highly recommended to everyone who may die some day—and if anyone thinks this doesn’t apply to them they really need to read the book. A readable mix of the facts of the problem combined with joyful and tragic stories of the last years and months of many Americans. He argues that people opt for suicide when they cannot get good care during their last few months, so the best way to prevent the passage of “Death with Dignity” laws is to provide everyone who is dying the opportunity to experience excellent care, including effective pain relief.

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. In my long-ago youth, I loved reading adventure novels, where flamboyant, sword-wielding men rescued beautiful maidens and overcame armies of villains. This small novel is in the genre, but the sword-wielders are Jewish, the setting is central Asia in roughly 950 C.E. and the adventures are decidedly ironic and filled with unexpected twists. Great fun.

A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry. For the last few years, some authors have been issuing small novels around this time of year with some sort of holiday related theme. This one pulls out a secondary character from the author’s Monk series and takes him to the Isle of Anglesey off the coast of Wales, where he is pulled into investigating the murder of a young woman.

Halley’s Quest: A Selfless Genius and his Troubled Paramore by Julie Wakefield (available at the Regional Library). An odd little book that combines the history of science with a bit of sea adventure. The same Halley who discovered the periodicity of comets, also captained the first official scientific data collecting expeditions, struggling with a rebellious crew, an awkward ship, the threat of pirates and primitive equipment.

Shelter by Susan Palwick. Speculative fiction explores several fascinating what-ifs: what if we did manage to create artificial intelligence? What if there were “bots” everywhere doing all the mundane work? What if the cure for mental illness or crime was having your brain wiped clean and starting over? What if people who died could be “translated” and live “eternally” on the Internet (unless someone erased their files)? A richly human novel, despite the imaginative play.

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich (Audio CD or book). More fun with the Jersey Girl, Stephanie Plum, as she tries to catch a grave robber, a taxidermist, a marijuana grower AND a rather nasty murderer. Fortunately she has Morelli and  Lula and Ranger on her side.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (audio cassettes). The story of shy, timid, gentle Fanny Price, who comes to live with her rich relatives and struggles to remain true to her own principles despite extreme pressure. Beautifully read.

See you at the library!

Library Column - December 8, 2007

Snow, glorious snow! Snow to shovel, snow to drive through, snow for fun and snow for work. Enjoy. I’ve got six books to share, two non-fiction and four fiction. Anyone have extra DVDs around? We have a bit of room for fun entertainment flicks in our collection. Thanks in advance.

Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint (paperback collection). A web-site named the Wordwood crashes and everyone who was using it disappears. Another delightful urban fantasy (from the author who created the genre) explores the connection of supposedly “mythical” beings with technology.

Dust Devils by James Reasoner. A footloose young man encounters an older woman on an isolated farm in Texas, but neither is what they seem. As they careen through violent encounters with criminals, layer after layer is peeled back, until at last, the final truth about each is revealed. The book is described as redneck noir, and the description fits.

Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft. Much of the discussion of spousal abuse focuses on the victims, asking questions about why people stay with abusers, how people get into such relationships and so on. This book looks at the thinking and behavior of abusers (mostly men, unfortunately), and describes the best path through for someone trying to end an abusive relationship—either by seeing the abuser learn new ways of thinking or by safely leaving the abuser. To give one example: Early in the book the author is describing a conversation where an abused wife is describing how her husband “loses it” and starts breaking things and then storms out. Later he returns, contrite, and says he won’t do it again. The author asks: “Whose stuff does he break.” The wife, surprised: “Always my stuff!” And then the author asks: “And who cleans up the mess, after he apologizes?” The wife: “Never him.” An eye-opener for anyone who has ever been in an abusive relationship or had a friend or relative who was abused.

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. A small town in Ireland needs a highway bypass for a lot of reasons, but does it have to go through Whitethorn Woods destroy St. Ann’s Well? The Well has been around for a lot longer than Christianity, but still, it has established itself as a holy shrine and people go there for help. Sweet but also sharp.

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez (audio or book). It turns out that what Kabul, Afghanistan really needed when the war ended was a skilled beautician—first to provide hair styling to the aid workers and then to found a beauty school for the women of Afghanistan. A book that combines a lively story with the tragedy and courage of the amazing women who have survived war, the Taliban, life as refugees and brutality from their own husbands to begin new lives as professional beauticians.

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. (Paperback collection) The story of a young woman whose major talent is shopping, rather than paying the bills resulting from said shopping. Of course her life turns into a bill-dodging mess, but since the book is light entertainment, the end result is fun rather than disaster.See you at the library!

Radio Program - December 21, 2007 - Woodworking with John Barkhausen

How to Make Children’s Furniture and Play Equipment by Mario Dal Fabbro (684.1)

Furniture Making: Plain and Simple by Aldren A. Watson and Theodora A. Poulos (684.1)

Foxfire 2 (745.5) –section on making wagon wheels

Toolchest by Jan Adkins (684)

How to Build Shaker Furniture by Thomas Moser (684.1)

Taunton’s Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing by Jeff Jewitt (684.1)

Antique Furniture Repairs by Charles H. Hayward (684.1)

Build it Better Yourself by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming (681.7)

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction by Andy Rae (684.1)

Traditional Wooden Toys: Their History and How to Make Them by Cyril Hobbins (745.592 new)

Radio Program - December 14, 2007 - Do It Yourself

The Foxfire Book 745.5 (stacks) Includes: Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Faith Healing and other good stuff.

Painting Murals Step-by-Step by Charles Grund 751.7, profusely illustrated manual includes information about every detail of painting a mural on one of your big empty walls.

Paint Paint Paint: Easy Decorative Painting Projects for the Home by Sloan Payne-Rutter 745.7, basic techniques and a bunch of projects. The nice part is: many projects can be easily customized to your taste by using a different piece of furniture or a different design.

Leslie Linsley’s 15-Minute Decorating Ideas by Leslie Linsley 747, contains a huge amount of useful information in a very small package. Basically this is the manual if you want to make things nicer without spending big bucks.

Treasures in Your Attic: An Entertaining, Informative, Down-to-Earth Guide to a Wide Range of Collectibles and Antiques from the Hosts of the Popular Television Show Seen on PBS Stations by Joe L. Rosson and Helaine Fendelman 745.1, how to sort through your own junk and discover treasures.

Digital Photography for Dummies by Julie Adair King 778.3, starts with the important questions like “do you actually want a digital camera?” and works on to some fairly complicated bits, like “print, please…..!!!!”

Do Your Own Plumbing by K.E. Armpriester 696, not to be read for entertainment, but handy if you need to fix something and don’t have much money.

Kitchen Design for the 21st Century by John Driemen and Nancy Elizabeth Hill 747.7, this book keeps going out and not coming back, so I think it must be good, or inspiring or exciting, or easy to lose.

Jerk from Jamaica: Barbecue Caribbean Style by Helen Willinsky 641.5, cooking is probably the most popular do it yourself category in the library, and food from exotic locales can be great fun. Some recipes can be done in the kitchen, so you don’t have to wait until July, when it is finally warm enough to cook outdoors.

The Woodchuck’s Guide to Gardening by Ron Krupp 635, the second most popular do-it-yourself section is gardening. And Guess What–it is time to start planning your garden–Now!

The Organic Lawn Care Manual: A Natural, Low-Maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn by Paul Tukey 635.9, just in case you would like to have a bit of grass around your house, but don’t really want to be spreading nasty chemicals on that bit of grass–we’ve got a book.

Expressive Handmade Books by Alisa Golden 686.3, books as exotic works of art. Hey, why not?

The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration by Annie Cicale 745.6, so, you’ve made a beautiful book, now you can write in it. Also useful for signs, posters, cards, and showing off how talented you are.

Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System by Stephen P. Kiernan 179.7, since we are all, inevitably going to die, perhaps we should put a little effort into making the process less difficult. A great discussion of what can be done to avoid prolonged life-support and to enhance the departure lounge when people are waiting to pass over that threshold.

Radio Program - December 7, 2007 - Recent novels

Visual and Performing Arts as a theme:

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (new) painting

Loop Group by Larry McMurtry (fiction) movies

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber (new) theatre/literature/antiquarian book restoration

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier (audio CD) poetry/engraving/visual arts

Women in usual situations as a theme:

The Extra Large Medium by Helen Slavin (new) ability to see and talk to dead people

The Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alasanea (new) Young, smart and living in Saudi Arabia

Big and unusual problems as a theme:

9 Tail Fox by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (new) Cop is murdered, lands in a new body, gets to solve his own murder.

When You Were Me by Robert Rodi (new) Gay guys exchange bodies, awkward moments follow

Dust Devils by James Reasoner (new) A young drifter takes a job with a lonely farm woman in Texas…which turns into a chase after money and murderers

Library Column - November 8, 2007

Stick season rolls around again and the weather is finally cooling down. My reading has been more scattered than usual: Vikings, breastfeeding, religion, gourmet eating and two novels. Colleen Mays has contributed a review of an exciting adventure story for kids. We are still looking for donated DVDs to add to our collection, especially popular feature films. Do you have any you’d like to clear out of your house?

Nursing Mother, Working Mother: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding Your Baby Before and After You Return to Work by Gale Pryor and Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S. An excellent book for any mother who wants to breastfeed, even if she only needs to plan for occasional separations. Good information on establishing breastfeeding, coping with any problems and then figuring out how to continue to breastfeed even if you have to be away at work. Illustrated.

The Whale Road by Robert Low. A rip-roaring adventure story. A young Norseman is reunited with his father and dragged off to sail on a Viking ship which is pursuing a mysterious lost treasure. The book wanders to Ireland, Norway, Finland and Russia and includes several exciting and bloody battles with swords and axes and some creepy explorations of underground tombs. The author belongs to a Viking reenactment group, which lends a sort of wacky authenticity to the battle scenes. 

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong explores the history of the idea of God as it developed in the three major religions, beginning with Judaism, adding on Christianity and then Islam. The author favors aspects of mysticism over the idea of a “personal God” and over the various versions of God proposed by the philosophers. Thorough and thoughtful.

The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation (Regional) by David Kamp. A lively account of all the eccentrics and outsiders and obsessives who brought about a revolution in eating habits in America. Reading this book will transform your next visit to a grocery store: observe the vast amounts of manufactured, denatured food and also observe all the special goodies that we have come to take for granted over the last 30 years or so—from extra virgin olive oil to free-range meat to local baby greens.

Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge. Set on a small island in the Northwest, two people with shadowed pasts meet and try to help each other. Then they discover that their grandparents were involved…but the real story was hidden for 60 years.

Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein. The murder of a wealthy wife (by her husband?) crosses wires with an explosion that kills three men in a deep water tunnel construction project. The author knows her legal stuff and knows how law enforcement works AND she knows a lot about spousal abuse and violence against women. A good book, but occasionally reads like an educational text on the history of deep excavation projects in NYC.Review by Colleen Mays:

The True Adventures o f Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley. The true story of 14 year old Daniel Hall who left his whaling village New Bedford, MA  in 1856, for a life as a crew member on a whaling ship. We follow Daniel Hall as he flees his ship and its moody and violent captain into desolate Siberia- where he battles hunger, wild animals, and Mother Nature.  We watch his remarkable rescue and his reunion with his loving father.  Based on Daniel Hall’s autobiography Arctic Rovings: or, The Adventures of a New Bedford Boy on Sea and Land,  Diane Stanley has ensured Daniel’s  inspiring true life story will continue to be passed on from generation to generation.  

See you at the library!