October 31, 2003


Library Corner...
Children everywhere love the Berenstain Bears. "Down a Sunny Dirt Road" is Stan and Jan Berenstain's autobiography. Each tells his personal story from childhood to marriage and then the two write together to bring us up to their present day lives. This is a children's book, but adults will find it irresistible. The illustrations are typically Berenstain and oh, so charming. Donna Lovelady's "Rug Hooking For the First Time" is the perfect vehicle for novices to this craft. Each chapter builds on the previous one, letting you take your skills as far as you dare. So get started now and you'll have personalized holiday gifts to give your family and friends. Camping is a wonderful family activity that even the youngest child can enjoy. "Follow The Trail" is Jessica Loy's guidebook for youngsters. This is a kid-oriented manual that addresses all aspects of outdoor life from "what to pack" to "how to build the latrine." Colorful illustrations add to this books' appeal. Explorer Robert Stuart was the pioneer who was mainly responsible for blazing the Oregon Trail. "Across The Great Divide" is Laton McCartney's historical account of this young Scottish fur trader who found the gateway to the Far West in 1812. Lewis and Clark are much more famous, but their route was impossible for wagon trains to follow. It was Stuart's adventure that made settlement on the Pacific coast possible. Rockefeller Center has an amazing history. It was conceived during the Great Depression and constructed by the rich and the powerful. "Great Fortune" by Daniel Okrent is a colorful and entertaining account of the suite of buildings that for many years defined New York City.




Librarian's Pick of the Week:
"Blowfly" by Patricia Cornwell. I'm not fond of Cornwell's style, although I do enjoy her books. She must have gotten a new editor for "Blowfly," because this is the best-written Cornwell I have ever read. Jay Talley and his fraternal twin brother, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, aka "The Wolfman", are back in a horrifying (and gory) story, Talley brutalizing and killing his kidnapped victims, and Chandonne set to be executed in a Texas prison. Chandonne still has his sights set on Kay Scarpetta, the former Virginia medical examiner whose blood he wants to taste, and the threat of his possible escape from his fate has everyone quaking in their boots. Kay's niece, Lucy, whose private business is more than frightening, Kay's friend, Detective Pete Marino, and someone from Kay's past (a huge surprise!) all set up to protect her when she visits Baton Rouge to get involved in a possible past murder linked to Talley and Chandonne. Not as gory as previous books, and much less involved in the postmortem aspects of Kay's work, but a shocker nonetheless - if you start reading, you just may not stop until the very end. Also new and recommended: "The Call of the Sea" by Joyce Stranger; "Shepherds Abiding" by Jan Karon; "Golden Buddha" by Louise Murphy; "Leave Me by Dying" by Rosemary Aubert; "Pharos" by Alice Thomson; "The Babes in the Woods" by Ruth Rendell; "A Country of Our Own" by David Poyer; "Coffin Knows the Answer' by Gwendoline Butler; "Elizabeth Costello" by J.M. Coetzee; "Unauthorize Departure" by Christopher Marquis; "Wax Wings" by Jonathan Raban; "Heart Full of Lies" by Ann Rule; and "The Burning Trigis" by Peter Balakian. In Large Print: "The Wedding" by Nicholas Sparks; "Fatal Tide" by Iris Johansen; "Bad Company" by Jack Higgins; "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides; "Split Second" by David Balducci; "The Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy; "Fear itself" by Walter Mosley; "Ghost Riders" by Sharyn McCrumb; "Final Round" by William Bernhardt; "A Travel Guide to Heaven" by Anthony DeStefano; "Bay of Souls" by Robert Stone; and 'The Lord is My Shepherd" by Harold S. Kushner.




Eleanor's Good Stuff:
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Calligraphy
Comprehensive Cancer Center- UCSF - Links
Drug Digest
Einstein
FoodNetwork.Com - Holiday Archive