READ @ MPL

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

The factual account of serial killer H.H. Holmes, who murdered between 27 and 200 people in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair, is engagingly documented in this fascinating true story. As much a story of the building of the World's Fair as it is a crime drama, this well written book brings the reader back to a time that wasn't as innocent as it appears.

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan @ Central

A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today have an autism spectrum disorder. The Autism Society of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected. As such, more and more books on the subject are being written each day. Here are a few standouts from our shelves:

Not Even Wrong: Adventures In Autism by Paul Collins, 2004

Author Paul Collins’ son, Morgan, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. In Not Even Wrong, Collins intersperses a historical look at autism with his family’s personal experience. An informative and engaging read that serves as a good introduction to the subject. Check catalog for availability

Born On A Blue Day: Inside The Extraordinary Mind Of An Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet, 2007

Author Tammet has savant-like powers on the order of Rain Man. Especially when it comes to his to aptitude for memorizing numbers and language. He sets a record by remembering and reciting the mathematical constant Pi to 22514 places. He later learns Icelandic (considered by many to be one of the world's most difficult languages) in one week. At the same time he often struggles with what for most of us are considered simple social interactions. In this memoir, Tammet shares the workings of his mind and details his path to a successful self-sufficient life. Check catalog for availability

Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s by John Elder Robison, 2007

John Elder Robinson was rather recently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. It helped him put his life in perspective and spurred by his brother and acclaimed author, Augusten Burroughs, to write this book. With an innate facility for mechanical and electrical design, Robinson worked as a special effects guru for the rock group KISS, a toy designer for Milton Bradley and now owns and operates a repair shop for high-end automobiles. But along the way he struggled through an odd upbringing and living with an undiagnosed disease. Check catalog for availability

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon, 2003

A comical and touching fictional account of a 15-year-old autistic named Christopher John Francis Boone and his attempt to solve a crime. One of those books that you’ll want to read in a single sitting – especially as Christopher ventures out into the city alone (aside from his pet rat that is) and suspense builds along the way. Author Haddon takes from his past experience working with autistic youth and creates a likeable and memorable character in Christopher. Check catalog for availability

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
If you have an interest in how we got to the moon, this book is for you. These fascinating personal accounts of every aspect of the space program will make you feel as if you were right there for that "one small step"...

Check catalog for availability

- Submitted by Alison @ MPL Central

Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds
This story is exciting enough to have inspired two motion pictures, Buster Keaton’s classic 1927 silent film “The General,” and the 1956 Walt Disney movie “The Great Locomotive Chase,” starring Fess Parker. A small group of Union soldiers, under the leadership of spy James J. Andrews, stole a Confederate locomotive in Georgia with the intention of wrecking the Western and Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga. The General’s conductor, William A. Fuller, chased after his stolen train – and caught it. Author Russell Bonds pursues the truth behind this legendary story and the myths it has inspired.

Check catalog for availability

- Submitted by Richard @ Central

Handsome wastrel and dandy Sebastian Horsley has written an improbably hilarious memoir of alcoholism, drug addiction, and recovery. Rich, well-connected and always impeccably dressed, Horsley willfully degrades himself in every imaginable way. And yet he is so witty and likeable you gladly go along for the ride. Not for the squeamish (he undergoes an actual crucifiction in the Philippines at one point), but fans of Oscar Wilde will be delighted. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Mary @ Forest Home

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

The first novel by "Beat" poet Bukowski is an excellent introduction to the writings of this acclaimed and original poet/novelist. Though decidedly harsh in terms of language and subject matter, Bukowski opens a window into his life as a mail sorter/carrier in a way only a writer of exceptional talent and vision can. Published in 1971, this novel is a true contemporary classic. Check catalog for availability.

For a good starting point in sampling the poetry of Bukowski try:

The People Look Like Flowers at Last: New Poems by Charles Bukowski

This posthumously published collection of poetry is the 5th from Bukowski since his death in 1994. Using poetry to explain his philosophy on life, this fine collection will enlighten the reader to the inner workings of Bukowski's mind through his alter-ego character Chinaski. Poems on topics such as gambling, women, and booze are the norm from this outstanding poet. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

I recently read a couple of excellent non-fiction titles by Trevor Corson. In each he explores a modern day activity and deftly blends in extremely well-researched historical and scientific context. The results make for both entertaining and informative reading.

The Zen of Fish (2007)
Corson follows a class as they progress through an intensive twelve week course at the California Sushi Academy. He puts special focus on student Kate, who gets off to a shaky start but determinedly finds her way. Throughout, Corson gives one plenty to think about, especially in terms of sushi etiquette and fish species conservation. Highly recommended for sushi aficionados. Check catalog for availability.

The Secret Life of Lobsters (2005)
In this earlier work, Corson documents not only the lives of lobsters but also a lobster fishing community in Maine and several lobster-studying scientists. Lobsters definitely have odd social customs and especially unique sex lives. And the men and women who spend their lives harvesting and researching lobsters are an interesting bunch as well. All in all, a gripping read. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Even if you haven't seen Juno yet, chances are you've heard of it: Juno MacGuff is a cool, confident teenager who takes a nine-month detour into adulthood when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy and sets out to find the perfect parents for her baby. Chances are you've also heard of Diablo Cody, who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for this debut script.

Diablo also penned a memoir, Candy Girl, in which she recounts her decision to work as a stripper despite her profile as an intelligent woman with a supportive boyfriend and positive family life, describing the lessons she learned in gentlemen's clubs and elsewhere. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Vegetables, herbs & fruit : an illustrated encyclopedia by Matthew Biggs, Jekka McVicar and Bob Flowerdew (2006)

This is an excellent reference source for growing vegetables, herbs and fruit. Each entry contains most of the following information: history, varieties, cultivation, companion planting, recipes, medicinal uses, pest and diseases, warnings, and other uses. This encyclopedia is well organized and illustrated, and thorough. Check catalog for availability

Reader's Digest organic gardening for the 21st century : A complete guide to growing vetables, fruits, herbs and flowers by John Fedor ; consultant, Bob Sherman of HDRA ; photography by Steven Wooster (2001)

This book defines organic gardening and its importance. It follows with a discussion about soils and compost, and what they are. Next the book explains the importance of planning your garden and what you will plant when. Lastly, the reader will find instructions on tending their gardens and a directory of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Check catalog for availability

Midwest top 10 garden guide by Blodgett and the editors of Sunset Books (2004)

This beautiful book helps readers choose from a wide variety of plants, shrubs, trees and more that are suitable for Midwest gardens and landscapes. Readers will easily find favorites listed, when and where to plant, and how to care for their new green friends. Check catalog for availability

The plant finder : the right plants for every garden by senior consultants, Tony Rodd and Geoff Bryant ; [editors, Loretta Barnard ... [et al.]] (2007)

This book isn't kidding when it states that it contains "the right plants for every garden." Gardeners will find approximately 1,000 pages of illustrations and information for almost anything that can be planted into the ground. It would be difficult to locate a resource that is more comprehensive than this one. Check catalog for availability

You grow girl : the groundbreaking guide to gardening by by Gayla Trail ; illustrations by Leela Corman (2005)

From the author's website, "You Grow Girlâ„¢...speaks to a new kind of gardener, seeking to redefine the modern world relationship to plants. This contemporary, laid-back approach to gardening places equal importance on environmentalism, style, affordability, art, and humour." Gayla's book is written in the same fun, humorous style and full of useful information for any gardening girl... or boy. Check catalog for availability

Author's website and blog

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Walter Mosley says Coates is “the James Joyce of the hip hop generation”. This lyrical writer fills a void in the African American literary pantheon with a gorgeously written, poetry-laced exploration of the father-son connection. His description of the daisy age of hip-hop (1988) when black children begged for Technic turntables, an MPC sampler, and some Chuck D will connect with many readers.

Dad was a Vietnam vet who often rolled with the Black Panthers. An old-school disciplinarian (he was willing to dispense beatings to keep his kids on the right path), Paul Coates provided a bulwark against the 80’s crack wars looming near his bookish, dreamy kid in a disintegrating section of Baltimore. He also manages to navigate his sons from urban blight toward and through Howard University - as a single father. Ta-Nehisi grows up to become a staff writer for the Village Voice and Time, conjuring the struggle of the streets and a compelling familial love story into this beautiful debut that crackles with eloquence and lingers in the ear. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jane @ Martin Luther King Library

Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew Blechman, 2006
True to its subtitle, an entertaining book on all things pigeons. Blechman immerses himself in the varied worlds of today’s pigeons (everyday street pigeons, racing pigeons, show pigeons, illegally-captured target pigeons, etc.) and also explores their place in history. Both humorous and informative, this title should appeal to birders and non-birders alike.
Check catalog for availability.

The Grail Bird: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker by Tim Gallagher, 2005
Tim Gallagher’s firsthand account of the 2004 rediscovery of Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers (thought to be extinct for 60 years) in Arkansas. Since its publication, the key piece of Arkansas evidence – a few seconds of digital video footage of what looks to be an ivorybill - has been the source of much debate in the birding community. Despite said debate, this book is a great read, written in a compelling fashion with Tim and his likable search partner Bobby Harrison as the central figures.
Check catalog for availability.

Ivorybill Hunters: The Search for Proof in a Flooded Wilderness by Geoff Hill, 2007
Geoff Hill’s firsthand account of his research team’s seemingly successful 2005/2006 search for Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers in the swamp forests of Florida’s panhandle. The Florida findings have kind of flown under the radar – but the overall evidence accumulated there is perhaps stronger than that of the Arkansas findings and the book is just as good too.
Check catalog for availability.

The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley, 2000
An extremely thorough field guide to all of North America’s birds. Sibley’s multiple, superbly-detailed watercolor paintings for each species are nothing short of stellar. Highly recommended to anyone with even a slight interest in birding.
Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

As graphic novels continue to gain respect in the literary world, there is a corresponding renaissance of interest in cartoonists of the past.

Jackie Ormes could draw like an angel.

Ormes was an African American cartoonist who drew panels for black newspapers during the 40’s and 50’s, when black men and women were returning from war to face continuing discrimination at home. Segregation continued to make life hard, and what little progress there was seemed to leave black women behind. This climate became the grist of compelling artistic material for Ormes, the first black female cartoonist to achieve national renown.

Way ahead of her time, this trail blazer raised the consciousness of fellow African Americans decades before anyone knew of Dr. King. Ormes drew stylish black female characters who advocated for civil rights and laughed at the House Un-American Activities Committee. Concerned about environmental justice when Al Gore was still a twinkle in his father’s eyes, Ormes created the cartoon Torchy in Heartbeats, depicting a handsome black doctor who saves a black community from environmental poisoning masterminded by a filthy, bigoted industrialist.

Born to a well-to-do family in Pittsburgh, Ormes was a member of Chicago’s black elite (she rubbed elbows with Eartha Kitt and Duke Ellington). A savvy businesswoman, Ormes also made a foray into early black doll production, replacing stereotyped Mammy dolls with elegant black dolls wearing designer wardrobes and sexy frocks.

Illustrated with more than 150 cartoons and photos, this book will appeal to fellow artists, feminists, African American history-lovers, anyone starting a business, and doll historians alike. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Jane @ Martin Luther King Library

This summer, get caught up in someone else's life. As good as these memoirs are to read they're even better to listen to:

Barbara Walters reads her own, because, as she told Publisher's Weekly, "The book is my voice, and I wanted the audio version to be my voice."

Augusten Burroughs wanted to shake things up; his audiobook contains sound effects and original music by Patti Smith, Sea Wolf, Ingrid Michaelson and Tegan Quin.

David Sedaris's includes four live recordings, "Memento Mori," "In the Waiting Room," "Town and Country" and "Solutions to Sunday's Puzzle."

Julie Andrews also reads her own work and sprinkled through the narration are a few prized archival snippets of her most memorable early Broadway tunes, and Ian Fraser's gentle piano interludes.

So, start reading; or listening...

Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters

Fascinating! In a riveting and candid memoir, the acclaimed television journalist chronicles the people, events, and forces that have shaped her life and career, from childhood to the present day, discussing her relationships with men, family, friends, coworkers, and rivals; her struggle to make it in a man's world; and the interviews she has conducted during her forty-year-career. Check catalog for availability.

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs

The author of the best-selling Running with Scissors traces the story of his relationship with his father, in a psychologically charged tale that evaluates such themes as the line between love and hate and a child's longing for unconditional love.Check catalog for availability.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

David Sedaris is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Public Radio International's "This American Life." In this collection of essays Sedaris chronicles the quirks of everyday life in France and America, from an attempt to make coffee with water from a flower vase to a drug purchase in a North Carolina mobile home. Check catalog for availability.

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

A personal account of the iconic actress's pre-fame life traces the time between her birth in 1935 and her discovery by Walt Disney during her 1962 Broadway performance in Camelot, a period marked by her relationships with a vaudevillian mother and teacher father, the World War II London Blitz, and her work as a Royal Command Performance child soloist. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

I recently read two great books by Wisconsin native Michael Perry:

Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At A Time

Life in a small Wisconsin town is descibed in this well written and emotional memoir. The author, a volunteer firefighter, uses his on the job experiences as a backdrop for exposing his own life and feelings. This page turner is a gem of a memoir. Check catalog for availabilty.

Truck: A Love Story

Truck isn't quite a sequel to Population 485, but it does refer to some of the same characters. The author's life in a small western Wisconsin town unfolds around him while passionately restoring a 1951 International Harvester pickup truck. Told with an eye for humor and detail, this memoir will warm you on a cold day. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Hailing from Norway and known only by his first name, Jason has quickly become one of my favorite graphic novelists. He employs a keen minimalistic style with a playfully sinister air of noir. Words are used sparingly in his anthropomorphic world, but deadpan humor and not-so-subtle social commentary abound.

I highly recommend all of his work – but Hey Wait… is perhaps his finest moment to date and the best starting point. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

If you love movies but are tired of the same boring film lists that seem to endlessly repeat themselves, take a look at two very different books that celebrate cinema from slightly twisted perspectives -

The Film Club by David Gilmour (2008)
Movies have always mattered to Canadian film critic and novelist David Gilmour, so when his unhappy teenage son, Jesse, wants to drop out of high school they strike a deal. David will allow it on two conditions: Jesse must avoid drugs and must agree to watch three dad-selected movies per week with David. The resulting memoir offers insights into a sometimes stormy father-son relationship and chronicles David's viewing suggestions (everything from The Bicycle Thief to Showgirls). Check catalog for availability.

10 Bad Dates With De Niro edited by Richard T. Kelly (2008)
Kelly has put together a collection of favorite movies submitted by directors, fans, screenwriters, obsessives, playwrights and more arranged into some rather provocative categories:

- "Ten Films to Avoid on Medication (or Within Reach of a Cutlery Drawer)"
- "Ten Best Screen Drunks"
- "Playing God? Somebody Has To! – Ten Mad Movie Scientists"
- "Manicure Madness – Ten Shining Examples of Notable Nail Varnish"

There’s a list for every taste… take a look at "Are You Gonna Swallow That?" for proof. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Christine @ MPL Central

Home-Made: Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts by Vladimir Arkhipov (2006)
I randomly happened across this odd little gem of a book when it first appeared at the library in 2006. It continues to fascinate me to this day. The text from the back cover sums it up better than I can:

"This book contains highlights from Russian artist Vladimir Arkhipov's collection of unique artifacts. Objects made by ordinary Russians inspired by a lack of immediate access to manufactured goods during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The archive includes hundreds of objects created with often idiosyncratic functional qualities made for both inside and outside the home, such as a tiny bathplug carefully fashioned from a boot heel; a back massager made from an old wooden abacus; a road sign used as a street cleaner's shovel; and a doormat made from beer bottle tops.

Featuring over 220 individual aftifacts of Soviet culture, each accompanied by a photograph of the creator, their story of how the object came about, its function and the materials used to create it."

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The Disappearance by Genevieve Jurgensen (Translated by Adriana Hunter)

This is an almost unbearably sad, yet stunningly beautiful, memoir written by a mother a dozen years after her two daughters, ages four and seven, were killed in an automobile accident. The callous reaction of the driver responsible for the tragedy inspired the author to co-found France’s League Against Road Violence, and her efforts to change laws and driving habits helped drastically cut traffic fatalities in France. In spite of the achingly poignant subject matter, this is a book that is hard to put down. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Anna @ Central

The Echo From Dealey Plaza: The True Story of the First African American on the White House Secret Service Detail and His Quest for Justice After the Assassination of JFK by Abraham Bolden Check catalog for availability.

This reads like an Oliver Stone screenplay and it’s begging to be adapted into a blockbuster movie by an enterprising Milwaukee Public Library reader. Here’s why:

It’s April 28, 1961. A young black Chicago Secret Service agent meets President John F. Kennedy at a post no other agent wants--the entrance to a McCormick Place basement bathroom. After a brief conversation, Kennedy asks Bolden to join the detail as the first black man to serve on the White House security team. (“Would you like to be the first Negro agent on the Secret Service detail, Mr. Bolden?”)

Bolden stands post directly outside the President’s office and shakes hands with Hubert Humphrey, Evelyn Lincoln, Pierre Salinger, and Bobby Kennedy. (Barry Goldwater is introduced but refuses to shake Bolden’s hand.) He recounts minding the adorable Caroline for an idyllic summer hour while President Kennedy takes a leisurely swim at Hyannisport.

It’s the sixties, so it’s no surprise that Camelot turns tragic and elegiac. Bolden soon becomes aware that his fellow Secret Service agents are racists who take an irresponsible approach to security, often surreptitiously slamming down liquor or taking drugs on the sly while on duty. Bolden tells the chief of the White House detail that if there is an attempt to assassinate the president, it will be successful because the agents will be in no condition to react.
Weeks later Kennedy visits Dallas.

This isn’t your average Warren-out-of–Commission/there’s-more-than-one-assassin-on-the-grassy-knoll tome. What ensues post-assassination is so sinister, I won’t be the only baby boomer who reads this and needs to sleep with a nightlight in a post-apocalyptic, empty world.

Submitted by Jane @ Martin Luther King Library

The Ghost Mountain Boys : Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea - The Forgotten War of the South Pacific by James Campbell
The winner of the 2007 RR Donnelley Literary Award by the Wisconsin Library Association for the highest literary achievement by a Wisconsin author, Ghost Mountain Boys relates the heroic exploits of the storied 32nd "Red Arrow" Division's battles on the mud slicked mountains and mosquito infested swamps of New Guinea during WWII. Primarily comprised of soldiers from Wisconsin and Michigan, the 32nd Division overcame hellacious terrain and a determined Japanese army to obtain victory despite ongoing supply problems and a sometimes overeager General MacArthur. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this long overdue story highlights another piece of Wisconsin's proud military tradition. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @Central

Uncommon Places: The Complete Works
Stephen Shore made several road trips across America during the 1970's, stopping off along the way to photograph ordinary, everyday subjects such as random cityscapes, small town storefronts, rural homes and motel interiors. The resulting photos are nothing short of striking (especially due to their supersaturated color) and provide a quintessential snapshot of the American landscape. Check catalog for availability.

Shore's work from this period is currently on display at Marquette University's Haggerty Museum of Art. The exhibition runs through September 28th and admission is free.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The new book from the author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals takes us along on his often hilarious tour of China. We travel from Beijing (bad air!) to Shanghai (more bad air!) to the Gobi Desert and Tibet, with a stop in Hong Kong along the way. The author's keen eye for detail and extraordinary wit make this journey as fun as it is informative! While snacking on Yak and singing the Eagles in a karaoke bar, Troost guides the reader through a China that is a modern industrial giant, with teeming cities and towering skyscrapers, but we also see a China where Mao is ever present and an underlying feeling of menace treads under the urine soaked streets. To get an insiders look at the home of the 2008 Olympic Games, this fun book comes highly recommended.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Notes On A Life by Eleanor Coppola

Check the catalog for availability.

If you’d surmise that the matriarch of this family would be flamboyant, commanding, and larger-than-life, then you’d be wrong. Eleanor’s writing style is quiet and reserved; she has the centered Zen energy of an observant monk. Ranging episodically over several decades, Coppola offers an honest portrait of middle age and marriage— she’s just turned 50 as her book begins in 1986. She has Wife Problems (a ubiquitous affliction compounded by the fact that she’s married to a genius)--- for decades she has put her husband and their family first and her own aspirations second. She ponders the choices she’s made:

"I have an ongoing internal war, a conflict between wanting to be a good wife and mother and also to draw, paint, design, write and shoot videos. I focus on the family and imagine there will be time for my interests, but there rarely is."

She’s an artist and a documentary filmmaker in her own right, but feels like an invisible shape-shifter. She overhears Tom Waits’ speaking on a movie set and acknowledges his wisdom ruefully. He says: “Family and career don’t like each other … one is always trying to eat the other. You’re always trying to find balance. But one is really useless without the other. What you really want is a sink and a faucet. That’s the ideal.”

There are some interesting Brando stories (“I felt as if I were standing in a special beam of light”), a fascination with numerology, some anecdotal references to Francis’ temper tantrums, a biography of the ancient psychic oak tree on The Niebaum- Coppola estate, and a bizarre account of a trip on Ellen Barkin’s preposterous yacht.

Coppola’s revelation of the enormous personal costs of being married and raising a family might be an emotional life raft for all wives and mothers, famous or otherwise.

Submitted by Jane @ King

"It's Alive! It's Alive!" When Dr. Frankenstein shrieked those memorable words in the famous creation scene of the 1931 film version of Frankenstein, a new pop culture icon was born! Or was it? In Susan Tyler Hitchcock's engaging history of all things Frankensteinian, we learn that the big green monster was actually a popular figure on the stage in England in the mid 1820's! Created in 1816 by Mary Shelley for her groundbreaking novel, the Frankenstein monster (Frankenstein was the creator, not the monster!) has had an astounding impact on popular culture worldwide ever since. From cartoons, movies, science and literature, Shelley's creation refuses to die and in fact, continues to add to it's legend. Hitchcock literally brings Shelley's creation to life in this engaging and fun history of one of the oldest and most famous of monsters of all time.
Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
This memoir begins with a bang: "On July 5, 1996, my daughter was struck mad." It chronicles the summer when 15-year-old Sally experienced her first full-blown manic episode--an event that in a "single stroke" changed her identity and, by extension, that of her entire family. Check the catalog for availability.

The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant
After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. Check the catalog for availability.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The debut thriller is a total page-turner and the first in a trilogy. Readers who enjoy Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly will want to pick this up. Check the catalog for availability.

Isaac's Storm: A man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history (1999) by Erik Larson
This non-fiction historically accurate suspense book reads like a novel and takes place in the city of Galveston in 1900. Although indigenous weathermen from Cuba predicted a terrible storm, America’s Weather Bureau disagreed. The children of Galveston frolicked in the water flooding the city streets as others flocked to the beaches to see the beautiful waves. Little did they know, their city was about to be devastated by the most horrific hurricane to ever hit the shores of America. Check catalog for availability.

Erik Larson is also the author of the well known The Devil in the White City: Murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America.

Galveston and the 1900 Storm (2000) by Patricia Bellis Bixel and Elizabeth Hayes Turner
This is a non-fiction illustrated account of the 1900 Galveston hurricane and an excellent companion to Erik Larson's book. Check the catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ Central

Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis
When US Marines landed on the island of Guadalcanal during the first American offensive of WWII, International News Service correspondent Richard Tregaskis landed with them. Besides the news dispatches he sent back home, he kept a wonderfully written diary describing the fierce jungle battles and hardships he and the Marines endured while fighting the Japanese in August and September of 1942. Written in a matter of fact style and told in the present tense, Tregaskis manages to humanize brutal combat while injecting humor and sophistication along the way. Widely considered a classic war narrative, Guadalcanal Diary will educate as much as entertain the reader. This book was also made into a Hollywood "flag waver" movie in 1943. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Born in Boston in 1809, Poe published his first book of poems in 1827 and his first collection of short stories twelve years later in 1839. Over the next ten years until his death in 1849, Poe was an especially prolific writer despite heavy drinking, poverty and illness. It was during these ten years that he wrote Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) which is widely considered to be the first detective story and his most famous poem, The Raven. (1845) This beautiful collection of works from a true literary genius showcases the author's talent through short horror stories like The Masque of the Red Death(1842), The Tell-Tale Heart(1843), The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), and The Cask of Amontillado(1846).
Besides The Raven, Poe wrote many stunning poems filled with stark imagery and desolate thoughts, but also with a remarkable command of language and prose that is simply astonishing.

Some other notable poems are Ulalume(1847), Annabel Lee(1849), The Haunted Palace(1839), The Conqueror Worm(1843), and The Bells(1849).

With the seasons changing and Halloween approaching, now is a fantastic time to visit the dreary, bleak, and horrific works of this magnificent writer. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter
What started (and continues) as a blog at waiterrant.net is now also a book. The Waiter has many tales to tell about his customers and coworkers. My favorite chapters involved Valentine’s Day and NYEve—two dates, in fact entire weekends, that people should consider eating at home. Why, you ask? Read Waiter Rant. Check the catalog for availability.

Service Included: Four-star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch
While Phoebe was deciding what to do with her life, she worked as a waiter. Before long she was a captain at the New York City four-star restaurant Per Se, the creation of master chef Thomas Keller. This is the story of her experiences there: her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her observations of the highly competitive world of fine dining. Check the catalog for availability.

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
Buford is a writer for The New Yorker currently and this is his account of working for free in the kitchen of Babbo, a New York restaurant owned by Chef Mario Batali. Buford's premise is that he considered himself to be a capable home cook and wondered if he had the skill to work in a busy restaurant kitchen. Check the catalog for availability.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
This book is pretty much about Bourdain and not so much about cooking. As such, cursing, vulgarity and sexual references abound. Anthony Bourdain is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York, and he is the host of the series No Reservations on the Travel Channel. Check the catalog for availability.

Girl Cook: A Novel by Hannah McCouch
Layla Mitchner is a twenty-eight-year-old Cordon Bleu graduate trying to find a space in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of Manhattan’s top restaurant kitchens. She knows she’s got the talent to be a great chef, but there she is slaving for a misogynistic boss who’d sooner promote the dishwasher than give a woman the chance to prove her sous-chef mettle. Check the catalog for availability.

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals by Melanie Dunea
The coffee table book for foodies! 50 famous chefs describe what they would have as their final meal, who they would be with and where. Recipes are included at the end, but the absolutely gorgeous portraits of each chef steal the show. Even if you aren’t familiar with these people or their restaurants, you’ll enjoy perusing this immensely. Check the catalog for availability.

A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age by William Manchester (1992)
This exciting history truly flows like a novel and is an interesting read. Manchester recounts the fascinating transformation of Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Check catalog for availability.

I'd rate this one entertaining and illuminating.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

In many ways, the title of this biography of singer/songwriter Warren Zevon encapsulates his life in a single descriptive sentence. Written by his estranged wife through personal recollections, interviews from a vast assortment of colleagues and friends, and from his own journal entries, Zevon's story is more of an oral history than a traditional biography. Zevon was an "Excitable Boy" in real life, as well as in song. This bio offers a "warts and all" look at a talented, but flawed artist who self medicated himself with alcohol, groupies and nastiness. All the grisly details are here, but the overall picture paints Zevon as a brilliant artist who was his own worst enemy. The legacy of Zevon's work has yet to be determined, but he lived quite a life building it. Zevon died of lung cancer in 2003 at age 56. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design (2008) by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl
As the DIY craft movement has gained prominence and spread across the USA in recent years, Faythe Levine has been Milwaukee's key player. Locally, she initiated and runs the twice-annual Art vs. Craft Fair and co-owns Paper Boat Boutique. Nationally, she has been documenting the output and efforts of the indie craft community at large.

With Handmade Nation (which parallels a documentary film of the same name that will be released next year), Levine and Heimerl shine a light on things with a handful of insightful essays, a bevy of great photos and profiles on 24 individual knitters, stitchers, printers and fabricators. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's childhood and coming of age. Marji grows up within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. The contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval are detailed as well as her high school years in Vienna when she must face adolescence far from her family.

It couldn't have been easy growing up amidst so much repression, especially considering how progressive her family was. First published as a two volume graphic novel, it is now available in one combined volume and as a film. Read the novel for full impact or watch the film in Satrapi's native French language with English subtitles. Check catalog for availability.

When Germany invaded Poland, bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, and lynxes.

World War II from the Polish perspective was not something familar to me and I learned a lot about the uprising and Ghetto experience in Warsaw. I also didn't realize that the Nazi's (especially Hermann Goering) not only wanted to create and maintain a pure human race, they wanted a pure and Aryan animal race as well. Soldiers 'borrowed' animals from various zoos and interbred them to try to recreate extinct species such as forest tarpans and aurochsen.

Ackerman is also a poet and naturalist which comes across very nicely and makes this a lyrical and compassionate read not to be missed. Check catalog for availability.

Thoreau at Walden (2008) by John Porcellino
John Porcellino is best known for his long-running, journalistic zine entitled King-Cat Comics. Over the years, his drawing and writing style has tranformed from crude angst to a thoughtful zen-like calm. Here he takes on Thoreau's Walden and deftly distills it into graphic novel form, elegantly capturing its essence with simple line drawings and an economy of text. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The "Dark Ages" often conjure images of Attila the Hun or a crazed Saxon on a horse pillaging a medieval village and burning everything in their wake. Though these events certainly took place, the term "Dark Ages" generally refers to a time in European history between the fall of the Roman empire and the reign of Charlemagne, roughly 400 AD to 900 AD. The term refers to the lack of written records during this period in history, thus what happened remains "dark." We do know that the building projects initiated by the Romans ceased to be maintained and that a central hub of rule seemed to have vanished. The basis of Wells' book is to show that many creative and important advancements on society occured during these times. Since few written records exist to explain everyday life, Wells, an renowned archaelogist, uses artifacts from archaelogical digs to piece together a picture of society during those centuries. For instance, Wells devotes a short chapter describing what the funeral of a Frankish king named Childeric (approx 436-482 ) would have been like during the Dark Ages. His entire description is conjecture based solely on archaelogical artifacts found in his grave. Written for a general audience, Wells condenses years of research and theory into a concise examination of the subject. A fascinating and easy read. Recommended for general readers interested in history.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

A candid, and quite funny memoir about growing up as a plump Jewish kid under the care of his grandparents because his mother leaves him for Italy and her fourth husband. Rothschild shares his struggle to fit into the WASPy world of Upper East Side Manhattan and his eccentric and dysfunctional family. Check catalog for availability.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Memoirs of a Literary Forger by Lee Israel
This breezy memoir will make all librarians twitch and shout in myoclonic horror. It details the felonious caper of writer Lee Israel who forged more than 400 letters imputed to notables like Noel Coward and the B-Is-For-Boozers literary troika of Edna Ferber, Dorothy Parker, and Louise Brooks.
A modest New York literary success, Israel rented a small but comfortable studio west of Zabar's while enjoying intravenous martinis and an affair with a bartender named Elaine. Israel was imprudent with money and Dionysian to the quick. Eventually flirting with welfare and desperate to stay in "restaurants and taxis," Israel found a letter written to her by Katharine Hepburn, a thank-you note for an Esquire profile. Israel sold the letter for $250.
Then inspiration struck.
One day at the library, she slid three letters written by Fanny Brice into her Keds and walked out. Fetching only $40 apiece after the dealer explained that the content wasn't great, Israel added another wrinkle to her scheme. She added a postscript to another purloined Brice letter about a new grandchild: "He has my old nose. Do I leave him an extra something for repairs?"
From there, it was a quick descent into total invention. Israel stole stationery from old notebooks in libraries and traced signatures atop the screen of her ancient Sears Roebuck television.
While the ending might strike some as a splendid artichoke of abbreviation, remember Orson Welles said that if you’re looking for a happy ending, it depends on where you stop your story. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jane H. @ King

When Ray Davies and his younger brother Dave belted out the classic riff and melody of "You Really Got Me" with their seminal British band The Kinks in 1964, some say "Hard Rock" was born. Regardless if you believe that statement or not, the genius and influence of songwriting great Ray Davies is indisputable. The induction of The Kinks into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 only validated their rightful place among rock's elite bands.

Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else isn't a typical biography in the traditional sense, but rather, it examines the career of Davies and The Kinks single by single and album by album. The author academically analyzes Davies' songwriting and themes in an engaging and thoughtful way that adds much insight into the works of a true rock n roll demigod. Though this scholarly book will most likely appeal to fans of The Kinks (which I happen to be), fans of rock n roll history will gain some great insight into the 40 plus year career of a truly special and gifted songwriter.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Competive birding is the sport version of bird watching - to track how many bird species can be sighted within in a specified geography in a specified timeframe. And it's an obsession for a select few - especially when it comes to capturing the "Big Year" record for North America. Here are two highly engaging books on the subject -

The Big Year: A tale of man, nature and fowl obsession (2004) by Mark Obmascik
Thanks in part to El Nino, 1998 was a banner year for birding, with many rare species being blown off their normal migration routes and into North America. Obmascik chronicles the efforts of three men (each quite a "character" in his own right) criss-crossing their way across the continent in a chase for the new record. A well-written, fast-paced and humorous read. Check catalog for availability.

Kingbird Highway: The biggest year in the life of an extreme birder (2006) by Kenn Kaufman
Noted ornithologist Kenn Kaufmann recounts his 1973 attempt at a "Big Year", humbly hitchhiking his way across the continent on a minuscule budget. Along the way, he comes-of-age, both as a birder and a man. An inspiring read on multiple levels.
Check catalog for availability.

Ravens in the Storm: A Personal History of the 1960s Antiwar Movement by Carl Oglesby

Carl Oglesby went from working for a Defense contractor to president of the left-of-center Students for a Democratic Society. But while his politics changed very little during the late 1960’s, SDS became a more radical left-wing organization and self-destructed over the issue of a violent response to the Vietnam War, perhaps with a lot of help from the Nixon administration. Oglesby sued the government under the Freedom of Information Act to get his personal files released.
Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Richard @ Central

Ulysses: Departures, Journeys & Returns. The Artwork of Andrew Schoultz. (2007)

Andrew Schoultz (b. 1975) was born and raised in Milwaukee. A graduate of Pius XI High School with an affinity for skateboarding and graffiti he moved to San Francisco in 1997. Upon arrival he immersed himself in the Mission District's street mural scene and quickly made his mark. He later received a Fine Arts degree from SF's Academy of Art University and his work has since moved from the streets to galleries and museums worldwide.

This book highlights a ten year span of his prolific output - from his early loosely Dr. Seuss-ian sprawlings to his current obsessively-detailed epic battlescapes. While recurring images, symbols and themes have shifted and evolved along the way, Schoultz consistently delivers an eyeful and then some. Check catalog for availabilty.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Do Cats Hear With Their Feet?: Where Cats Come From, What We Know About Them, And What They Think About Us by Jake Page, 2008

This fascinating book explores not only the evolutionary path of the domestic house cat (felis catus), but also the historical significance of cats and the continued mysteries surrounding our feline friends. Page, the author of many books about the natural sciences, includes a detailed explanation of the evolution of the cat family as well as an account of recent findings that cats were domesticated before Ancient Egypt. Additionally, theories as to why cats may have come into contact with human settlements and the reason why cats have never been completely domesticated are explained. Page details the various mythologies surrounding cats from different cultures and random facts about cats. The colloquial tone makes this book easy for cat lovers to devour.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Melissa @ Central

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, with Bret Witter, 2008.

Dewey Readmore Books, or Dewey as he was known by all who loved him, was the library cat at the Spencer Public Library in the small town of Spencer, Iowa. He was found in the book return of the library one bitterly cold January morning. His paws were frostbitten and he was so dirty that the library staff was not even sure what color he was. Dewey was cleaned and cared for and instantly loved the library as much as the library loved him. But Dewey was so much more than a mascot for the library. People came from around the globe to visit Dewey. He was featured nationally in news reports and magazine articles. He also appeared in two documentaries (one of which was filmed for a Japanese audience). You do not have to be a cat lover to thoroughly enjoy this heartwarming tale of a small Midwestern town and their beloved Dewey.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Beth @ Central

I can has cheezburger? : a LOLcat collekshun Professor Happycat & icanhascheezburger.com by Eric Nakagawa, 2008

The website icanhascheezburger.com began in 2007 as the brainchild of Eric Nakagawa, a.k.a. “Cheezburger”. Nakagawa posted an image macro of a crazed looking grey cat with the caption, “I can has cheezburger?”, spawning an extremely popular blog and a new dialect based on internet slang (lolspeak). The blog also spun off into the LOLcat Bible Translation project, which translates the bible into lolspeak, and LOLCODE, a computer programming language. This book is a collection of the most popular and humorous LOLcats from the blog. This is definitely a book for animal lovers and pop culture junkies alike.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Melissa @ Central

Daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, former wife of Paul Simon; you may already know quite a bit about this icon’s story. But this is an entertaining read, in particular the chapter about her family tree. It’s fascinating to see her lineage and the personalities involved. Her stories are amusing. She ingeniously relates the joys and complications of being Debbie Reynolds’s daughter.

The chapter about Carrie merging her own identity with that of Princess Leia was also hilarious. Actors understand that a line separates them from their characters, but Carrie doesn’t always seem to. This "mystification" makes for funnier stories! Check catalog for availability.

The history of haemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses like ebola and Marburg are described in this truly scary book. Originating in the jungles of Zaire (now The Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Sudan in the 1970's, ebola has become one of the most dreaded and deadly diseases known to man. According tp the World Health Organization, between 1976 and 2005 there have been 1871 confirmed cases of ebola with 1296 of those resulting in death because there is no known cure.
Preston painstakingly describes the effects this shocking disease has on the body and outlines how The Center For Disease Control (CDC) finally identified the horrible virus that was terrorizing entire villages in Africa.
Even more terrifying is a chapter that describes how an outbreak of a strain of the ebola virus hit a monkey storage facility in Reston, Virginia and the steps a secret military team took to contain the outbreak and prevent the disease from reaching nearby Washington D.C.
Well documented, well written and truly terrifying, this shocking true story is the scariest I've ever read.

Check catalog availability

This book was the inspiration for the 1995 Dustin Hoffman film titled Outbreak.

Submitted by Dan @ Central

Bowling Across America: 50 States in Rented Shoes (2008) by Mike Walsh

27-year-old Mike Walsh, still reeling from the recent death of his father, quits his unfulfilling advertising job in Chicago, borrows his mom's car and hits the road on a modest quest to bowl in all 50 states. Along the way, he gets a smattering of press, a sponsorship from Miller High Life and a sampling of modern day bowling culture. Walsh serves up a hefty dose of self-depreciating humor in this romping travelogue and the randomness of his adventure makes for enjoyable light reading. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

I find a quirky charm in these early poems by acclaimed drunkard and poet Charles Bukowski. Written between bottles of beer and bouts with prostitutes, these poems are as exquisite as they are brutal; as introspective as bold; as soft as uncompromising. They tell of loneliness, heartbreak, drunkenness and barbarity. They also speak of kindness, acceptance and love, but most of all, they speak of humanity and the pressures that ebb into and flow out of each of us in a way only a master poet and astute observer of the human condition is capable of creating.

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan @ Central

Many of the best people you know emerged from the dysfunctional loam of childhood’s primordial slime and made the world an ashram, their work a dharma. Lynda Barry is beloved because she mines unresolved emotional energies clamoring like small children in order to chronicle childhood’s freckled cruelties, bugs, and monsters---always with psychological depth and humanity.

In What It Is, Barry constructs a compelling story that explains how easy it is for the people and systems around us to obstruct-- or even destroy-- our creativity.
The Footville, Wisconsin native posits the provocative question in which a cheeky genie offers to release you from your own container of pork and beans: “If a genie offered to free you from a dull, canned life, what would you say?”

Part philosophical discussion on image making and why we do it, part jumper cable to revive your creative process, this book is the essence of the writing course Barry gives around the country. It’s all about memory, creativity, a magic cephalopod, and Lynda Barry’s life-- all pasted on a yellow legal pad. Her collages are elaborate, tender, beautiful semiotic studies.

First published in the 80’s by her pal Matt Groening (Barry calls him “Funklord of USA”), she is also infamous for her disastrous romantic relationship with public radio personality Ira Glass. She is definitely the nervous astral goober driving the bus in What It Is: “I’m worried about…the war, things I said 15 years ago, my double chin, unanswered mail, what an ass I am, and I’ve had ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ playing in my head for days.” Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jane H. @ King Library

The Wild Parrots Of Telegraph Hill : A Love Story ... With Wings by Mark Bittner (2004)

After reading about Mark Bittner in the news and on the internet, I couldn't wait for his book and film to be released. I was excited to learn about a population of wild parrots in San Francisco and interested in learning more. In both the book and the film you learn about Mark, the entire flock, and the individual parrots within the flock. If you're a bird lover this is a wonderful heartwarming story that lives on in the flock that still thrives today in California. Check catalog for availability.

The Parrot Who Owns Me : The Story Of A Relationship by Joanna Burger (2001)

Burger writes a thoroughly entertaining book about the highs and lows of adopting an adult parrot. In perfect detail, she describes her parrot Tiko's behavior and personality. Tiko's transition into a new home was terribly difficult for both himself and his new owners. His new life begins withdrawn, depressed, and sometimes aggressive. With time he becomes happy, content and loving. Although the story was sometimes sad, I enjoyed reading about Tiko's intelligence and transition, as well as Burger's patience and diligence to make the best life possible for Tiko. Check catalog for availability.

Elsewhere In The Land Of Parrots by Jim Paul (2003)

I can't help picking up a book that has a parrot on the cover. I am always curious to see if the author actually knows anything about parrots and how they fit them into the story. This story is well written in that aspect and the characters and storyline are just as interesting as the parrots. It all begins a bit slow, but picks up after the characters and plot have been developed. Don't be fooled by the cover (unless you simply love parrots), Paul writes an interesting book about the relationship of a couple while they are on a South American adventure. Check catalog for availability.

The Final Solution : A Story Of Detection by Michael Chabon (2004)

In 1944 a mute German boy and his parrot wander through the English countryside into the life of a retired detective. The unusual pair bring with them a dangerous mystery with a remarkable resolution. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

The bloody battle for Iwo Jima during WWII will always be remembered for the iconic photo of six Marines raising the flag atop Mt. Suribachi. The Pulitzer Prize winning photo captures one moment in a battle that lasted over a month and would eventually claim over 23,000 casualties with over 6,000 Marines and Sailors killed in action. All of this carnage came on an island measuring 8 square miles! The men who raised the flag in the famous photo were members of Combat Team 28 of the 5th Marine Division. The history of Combat Team 28 on Iwo Jima is told through official records, and more interestingly, through the personal recollections of Major General Fred Haynes, who was a captain during the battle. His observations, along with others from Marines who were there, tell the real story here. They tell a tale of determination, brotherhood and sacrifice.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon - and the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller

As a big fan of the music of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, I was really looking forward to reading this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. The lives, loves and dreams of all three iconic singer-songwriters are detailed in this well-researched chronicle by an award-winning magazine journalist and New York Times bestselling author. Emotions and angst from life events and love lost provide material for their heart-felt songs. The talented and ground-breaking artists’ lives are intertwined as their careers take off during the early days of the women’s movement. This captivating page-turner which is listed on Library Journal’s Best Books of 2008 serves as a rock soundtrack of the 60s and 70s and a social history of a wild and momentous era. Library Journal article.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Kristin @ Central

You may not recognize the name John Grogan, but he’s the author of Marley and Me. His new book is not Marley and Me, although it is humorous and well written. If you grew up Catholic this will certainly be a nostalgic ‘trip.’ Despite growing up in a strongly religious household, Grogan managed to pull off a number of pranks and was involved in several incidents that his parents would not have approved of.

He also tells of his romantic "firsts" and talks about forging a family lifestyle with his wife Jenny and their three children. The book focuses on the differences between his parents and himself. It shows the journey he took from following his family's beliefs and traditions to creating his own. It showcases his compassion and love for his parents despite their struggle with his faith. Check catalog for availability.

I didn't grow up a fan of Madonna. Aware of her, yes, few people weren’t, but my pop star devotion was directed elsewhere. Not having obsessively read about her, actually not really knowing anything about her and then reading this book probably makes my take on it different than that of a devoted fan.

Out of seven siblings, Christopher, younger by three years seems to have had the closest relationship with her. He talks about the various roles--backup dancer, personal assistant, dresser, interior designer, art and tour director, and general supporter--he has had in her life.

She hurts him in many ways; stiffs him for money, invites him to live with her or work for her and then changes her mind, and allows the friends of her latest husband to take pot shots at him. The portrait of Madonna that emerges is not flattering.

But to me, more unflattering is the portrait that Christopher paints of himself. That of a desperate hanger oner. He always says he has no choice but to acquiesce to her every whim, but that’s not true. Not if he’s willing to give up the access to celebrity and ease that comes with the roles she offers him.

Christopher gives a full portrayal of the best and worst of Madonna, but his account is bitter, making it hard to know what is really true. At her worst, she is publicity crazy . . . and at her best she is a shrewd business woman.

Christopher has much to say about her husbands; Sean Penn was angry and uncontrolled, and that Guy Ritchie is homophobic and unpleasant. Warren Beatty emerges as the best of her beaus, giving more evidence of maturity and having some greater sense of the absurdity of Madonna's fame and how she chose to take it on.

All in all, I enjoyed seeing a world typically hidden, as well as the various bits of celebrity dish shared, and surprisingly, it is quite well written. A sign that the attention to detail that has made Madonna a success is perhaps a trait held by more than just one member of the Ciccone family. Check catalog for availability.

Suburban World: The Norling Photos by Brad Zellar (2008)

This past summer, I somewhat randomly happened upon a great photography exhibit at The Minnesota History Center featuring the work of Minnesota native Irwin Norling. For forty hours a week, Norling was employed as an engineer at Honeywell. The rest of his waking hours he was an "amateur" photographer. His subject matter was the town he lived in, Bloomington, and ran the gamut from accident scenes to civic events to local citizens. His style was to capture things "exactly as they are" without any artistic flourishes.

In 2002, while exploring the vaults of the Bloomington Historical Society, journalist Brad Zellar uncovered over 10,000 of Norling's photos. This book culls the best of the bunch and the overall result is a thorough and unsentimental documentation of Bloomington's existence as a typical Midwestern small town, eventually giving way to the surburban sprawl of the Twin Cities. Highly recommended. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

This tale of adventure and travel was as engrossing as it was educational. Working as a reporter in Africa, the author became obsessed with the exploits of storied explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Stanley, famous for uttering the classic quote, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume,” when he located the missing explorer along the shores of Lake Tanganyika in 1871, was also the first explorer to chart the Congo River and it’s territories. The second largest river in Africa, the Congo River runs through Central/Western Africa for almost 3000 miles, most of which is surrounded by jungle and wilderness.

Obsessed with recreating the route Stanley took over one hundred years ago, the author started his adventure on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and started heading west across Africa. Assisted by missionary groups, United Nations employees and a pygmy leader, Butcher followed the tracks of Stanley on foot, by motorbike and by dugout canoe. Making his way through inhospitable jungle and terrain ruled by murderous “mai-mai” or Congolese militia, Butcher travels down the Blood River and discovers the “broken heart” of Africa in the process.

Over 1500 lives are lost daily in the Congo from disease, starvation and genocide and Butcher bravely describes the poverty, injustice, corruption, brutality and kindness with an eye for detail and an unwavering voice. This was truly a fascinating read. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Letters From the Earth by Mark Twain

Written in 1909 and published posthumously in 1962 after the death of Twain's daughter Clara, who objected to the publication of this collection because she thought it misrepresented her father's views on religion; Letters from the Earth is a striking departure from the humorist writings of Twain's earlier and more famous works. Here, we experience a bitter, sardonic man who is plainly disillusioned with life after the death of both his wife and one of his daughters. "Letters" is a collection of 11 letters from Satan to archangels Gabriel and Michael commenting on the shortcomings of mankind. Well written and cynical, this collection opens a new chapter into the works of who some critics call America's greatest writer. In addition to the "Letters", this collection also features some other essays and short andecdotes. Of particular interest is one essay titledThe Damned Human Race where Twain argues that an anaconda snake is more intelligent and useful than an English nobleman!

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan @ Central

Finnish Summer Houses by Jari & Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen (c2008)

Finland's climate and landscape share much in common with our own Wisconsin. And just like here, when winter finally gives way to warmer weather, many Finns retreat to their "up north" summer properties. This book showcases 20 such properties, each created by a different Finnish architect for his/her own personal use. Despite spanning 100 years of design and construction, the cottages depicted are all more alike than different, especially in their sensititivety to their idyllic wooded surroundings. Achingly beautiful, each turn of the page had me yearning for spring and a retreat of my own. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Both of these books were lovingly written by the brother/sister tandem of Frank Jr and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey about growing up with their 10 other siblings and their unique parents in Montclair, New Jersey during the early 20th century. Their father, Frank Gilbreth Sr., was a time study and efficiency expert who thought he could run his family like he ran a factory. Their mother Lillian, who would later become one of the first PhD holding female engineers, was a happy participant in her husband's time study experiments upon their family until it involved disciplining their twelve kids! The results will bring some solid belly-laughs and maybe a tender tear or two.

Cheaper by the Dozen was published in 1948 and has been adapted to film in 1950. Cheaper by the Dozen starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy.

The 2003 and 2005 movies, Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt have no resemblance to the book besides the fact that their family has 12 children.

Belles on Their Toes was published in 1950 and continues the story of the Gilbreth family. Mother Lillian, forced to lead the family after the death of her husband Frank Sr., bravely takes over the time study business he started. We follow the Gilbreth clan confronting crises after crises with smiles and wit that will warm your heart. From an outbreak of chicken pox to unwanted boyfriends, the Gilbreth's tackle the hardest of times with family strength that is enlightening and endearing.
Belles on their Toes availability.

Submitted by Dan @ Central

Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run by Alton Brown (c2008)

In 2007, Alton Brown (of Food Network fame) embarked on a motorcycle journey that ran the entire length of the Mississippi River. Beginning at the Gulf of Mexico and ending in Minnesota, this combination travel diary/photo journal/cookbook wonderfully documents his stops along the way. Especially those that involved eating. Recipes are presented for the best of the authentic regional roadside fare that he encountered, including one for koolickles (aka Kool-Aid pickles). Both fun to read and to look at, this is definitely a refreshing change of pace from the typical cookbook format. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

In late November, during the frigid winter of 1950, on the hills surrounding the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, a company of U.S. Marines were given the job of protecting a hill that overlooked a road of vital importance during the Korean War. The week-long battle that ensued added another illustrious chapter to the heralded battle history of the Marine Corps. Surrounded and heavily outnumbered by hordes of Chinese troops, the 234 men of Fox Company gallantly refused to give up the ground they were ordered to hold. Besides battling a determined enemy, the Marines fought below zero temperatures, hunger, lack of medical supplies and communication problems. Three members of Fox Company were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions during this stirring battle in an often forgotten war. The first-hand accounts of combat from survivors that were interviewed by the authors lend a personal feeling to this brutal story. Maps and photos add to the authenticity of this tale of dedication, friendship and determination.
Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan@Central

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston (c2007)

The coast redwood, existing only in coastal forests in northern California and southern Oregon, is the world’s tallest tree species. In 1963, the National Geographic Society launched an expedition to locate the tallest living specimen and christened the Libbey Tree (aka the Tall Tree), standing at 367.8 feet, as such. With the Libbey Tree serving as its focal point, Redwood National Park was established in 1968.

Since that time (and even prior to it) very little actual research was conducted in the redwood forests. But in the late 1980’s, a small group of college science students managed to climb to the top of a redwood and discovered a complex and previously unknown ecosystem of living things thriving in its canopy. Meanwhile, a separate small group of oddball amateur naturalists began exploring the forests as well and discovered a number of specimens that were taller than even the Libbey Tree. Eventually these two groups would come together and become the leading authorities on redwoods.

Preston’s account of these individuals and their findings makes for a compelling and fascinating read. And for me at least, it’s refreshing to know that there are still pockets of unexplored earth out there to be found. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Quanta A. Ahmed (c2008)

Prompted by the loss of her U.S. visa, Ahmed, a British-born Pakastani and self-described moderate Muslim, impulsively accepts a position as a doctor at a Hospital in Riyadh, an extremely conservative city in Saudi Arabia. Since the Saudi kingdom is ruled by a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, women are not allowed to drive and must wear an abbaya, which is a large black square of fabric that covers the entire body. Despite these and other restrictions on daily life, Ahmed is surprised and pleased to find that her female friends and colleagues are able to live fulfilling lives.

She also encounters a very distinct social order that weighs ancient tribal allegiances along with interpretations of what it means to be Muslim and finds that in gender relations and other aspects of Saudi life, the medieval constantly battles with the modern. In addition, this book shows how the western world’s view of the Muslim world as a monolithic “other” ignores the fact that as a non-Saudi, Ahmed is seen as an outsider.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Melissa @ Central

Wesley the Owl is the story of a barn owl who, at four days old, is adopted by a biologist from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) due to nerve damage in one wing that would prevent him from being able to survive in the wild. Thus begins an amazing relationship between the biologist and the owl. Because the owl is adopted before it has opened its eyes, the scientists at Caltech inform the biologist (Stacey) that the owl will imprint on her, regarding her as its mother and taking its cues to behavior largely from her. While some of his wild instincts are a natural part of him, things which would normally seem second nature, need to be taught to Wesley, or guided, by Stacey, including flying and eating mice. This is a fun and delightful read that had me smiling or laughing on almost every page. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Mary S. at Central

The Soloist, directed by Joe Wright; starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., and Catherine Keener is based on the book by Steve Lopez. It is a biographical drama about real-life musical prodigy Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, who dropped out of Julliard after developing schizophrenia and became a homeless musician on the streets of Los Angeles. Journalist Steve Lopez discovers the former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

“The James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, preserving and nurturing America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence.” The James Beard Foundation Awards for the best cookbooks published in 2008 were announced recently. For a complete list of winners see the James Beard Foundation website.

The following cookbook winners are all available from Milwaukee Public Library’s extensive cookbook collection:

Cookbook of the Year

Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes by Jennifer McLagan. Check catalog for availability.

Baking and Dessert

Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking by Shirley O. Corriher. Check catalog for availability.

Beverage

Winewise: Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Selecting and Enjoying Wine by Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith, Michael A. Weiss, The Culinary Institute of America. Check catalog for availability.

American Cooking

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook by Martha Hall Foose. Check catalog for availability.

Cooking from a Professional Point of View

Alinea by Grant Achatz. Check catalog for availability.

General Cooking

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman. Check catalog for availability.

Reference and Scholarship

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page, Andrew Dornenburg. Check catalog for availability.

Healthy Focus

The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. Check catalog for availability.

Writing and Literature

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Rebecca @ MPL Central

American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka

Graphic novelist, children's book author and minor rock star James Kochalka certainly wears his heart on his sleeve - a sleeve that has been on constant display since 1998 in the form of his online daily comic strip, American Elf. Strung together in book format (volume 3 just hit our shelves), the strip takes on epic proportions, giving us more than just a glimpse, and an unflinching one at that, into Kochalka's life as artist, husband, father and fun-loving goofball. At times crude, at times touching, and endlessly entertaining. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Life in rural Wisconsin, or anywhere else for that matter, has rarely been chronicled as thoughtfully and honestly as by Michael Perry. After writing about his experiences as a volunteer firefighter and resident of New Auburn, Wisconsin in Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time and Truck: A Love Story, this time out Perry writes about building a chicken coop. Or does he? This book is a deeply enriching memoir of love, devotion, responsibility, dedication, friendship and loss. Perry’s voice as a writer is reminiscent of two long time neighbors sharing a glass of lemonade across a picnic table while discussing the trials of life and family over the past year. He unabashedly shares his love for his wife, both his daughters and the rest of his friends and family. He’s also fond of a few pigs and chickens! But this is a memoir of love and about one man’s ability to both realize it and share it. We, as readers, are the better for it.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan

Evan Wright was a Rolling Stone reporter embedded with twenty-three Marines in a platoon of the First Reconnaissance Battalion who were sent ahead of most of the U.S. forces to draw the fire of Saddam Hussein’s army and tie down some of his forces at the start of the invasion. Meanwhile the bulk of the U.S. Army, with their massive fire-power, took a different route toward Bagdad. The lightly armored Marines in “First Recon” (some of their patched-together humvees lacked doors or a roof) raced through dangerous cities and along deserted roads where it was often impossible to separate the civilians from the enemy combatants. Their gung-ho enthusiasm for the war is tempered by the death and destruction they inadvertently bring down upon the innocent, and their quirky – and sometime incompetent – commanders test their commitment to military discipline. Even at the beginning of the war with Iraq, there were signs of the future troubles that poor planning and poor equipment would inflict upon our men and women serving in Iraq. An HBO miniseries based on this book is also available.

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Richard

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge
The bloody island battles of Peleliu and Okinawa in the Pacific during WWII are described through the eyes of a young Marine from Alabama in this classic war narrative. Studs Terkel was so enamored of this moving memoir that he interviewed the author for his book The Good War. As strongly as the fear and brutality of war are described, so is the compassion and friendship for his fellow Marines. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Dan @ Central

Amy Dickinson, “Ask Amy” syndicated advice columnist (she took over after Ann Landers) and an NPR contributor, has written this memoir of her life as a single mom. Surprisingly, she has written a book that is not overly obsessed with her. Instead, each chapter reads like a short story that involves the various people in her life and how they contributed to, or have shaped, her life. Initially, her life is split between Washington, D.C. and Freeville, NY (summers), and later Chicago when she becomes “Ask Amy.” Her daughter grows up through the pages, but never once did I feel that I was being fed a “poor me, I’m a single mother” tale. Instead, “the mighty queens of Freeville” (Queens is actually the name of the diner where the whole family gathers for breakfast on Wednesday mornings), which are her aunts, sisters, mother and the town she grew up in form the village that she turns to for advice and guidance. I think Amy writes honestly and in straight-forward fashion. This was a very satisfying and enjoyable read. Check catalog for availability.

Sumitted by Mary S. @ MPL Central

Freedarko presents... The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac

The Freedarko folks take such a stylistic and delightfully odd approach to covering the modern-day NBA, that their hard-to-put-into-words "almanac" is as refreshing as a cold pop on a hot day. Within are unique and engaging features on select superstars (e.g. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming) and maligned talents (e.g. Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace, Stephon Marbury), each peppered with atypical, yet telling charts, diagrams and statistics. All presented in a stunningly eye-catching fashion resulting in a compelling sports book that is equally a fantastic example of topnotch graphic design and visual illustration. Bizarre, fascinating and, yes, macrophenomenal.

Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The topic of presidential assassination is as somber and serious a topic as I can imagine, unless it is being examined by This American Life contributor and essayist Sarah Vowell.
In this book of essays, Vowell explores the sites, history and minutiae that surround the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley in such an engaging and witty way that these black marks on American history seem almost docile.
Vowell travels from museums to plaques to theaters that somehow bring to life the events, places and people involved in each of these three assassinations with such a matter of fact intensity that I couldn’t wait to read her next wry observation. Vowell acts as a literary tour guide through the landscape of presidential assassination with an almost irreverent attitude that is as refreshing as it is interesting. I recommend this book to history buffs, students and anyone looking for a well written social study with enough humor to make learning fun.

Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Dan

The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday, Neil MacFarquhar’s new book of reportage on the Middle East, is not to be missed.The viewpoint is somewhat unexpected; MacFarquhar is an Arabic speaking American who grew up in Libya and spent over 13 years as a Middle East correspondent. Currently, he is the The New York Times’ United Nations bureau chief. He writes about the activists and intellectuals trying to liberalize their societies and Islam. Caught between religious zealots and regimes of repression often backed by the United States, reform is their goal. Check catalog for availability.
Posted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Deborah Butterfield. by Robert Gordon ; introduction by Jane Smiley ; essay by John Yau ; poems by Vicki Hearne.

I first discovered the work of Deborah Butterfield in a Chicago gallery many years ago. Since then I have seen her pieces at museums and galleries throughout the United States. I never fail to find something new and interesting when looking at her sculptures. Her amazing use of a wide variety of materials include: mud, sticks, wood, steel, bronze, various kinds of found objects, and more. Her main subject is that of the horse. All of the pieces I have seen are life size. This book has numerous photographs of her works and one photograph of her studio that I find fascinating. The text gives biographical information as well as information about the process Butterfield goes through to create her sculptures. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

The Best in Tent Camping - Wisconsin: A guide for car campers who hate RVs, concrete slabs, and loud portable stereos by Kevin Revolinski and Johnny Molloy (c2007)

With the recent downturn in the economy, interest in camping has surged as an affordable vacation and recreation option. Wisconsin abounds with great camping spots and the authors of this guide have diligently scoured the state to offer up the 50 best. Each are ranked in terms of Beauty, Privacy, Spaciousness, Quiet, Security and Cleanliness. Detailed layout maps are provided for each location and specific tent sites are described and recommended.

True to its subtitle, I have used this guide on numerous occasions and have yet to be disappointed. Check catalog for availability.

The library also owns additional volumes from this series covering various other states.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The Spanish-American War, fought in 1898, is often remembered for the sinking of the USS Maine and for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders charge up San Juan Hill. These famous events have been widely popularized by historians and pop culture and those details have been gratefully excluded from this book. The focus, instead, is on the daily lives of soldiers, marines and sailors as they fought the war and the minutiae of their experiences. Instead of policy and politics the reader gets first hand accounts of the conditions, food, training and daily existence of the U.S. combatants. McCaffrey makes the war come alive through the eyes of the men who fought it.

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan @ Central

A new movie, Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, Stanley Tucci and Amy Adams is coming out in August. Foodies and film fans alike will enjoy the memoirs and cookbooks the movie is based on.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child (c1961)
As a young wife, clueless about cooking, Julia Child went to France in 1948 with her husband, Paul. Her first meal there – a simple sautéed sole – changed her life. She began learning French, then took cooking classes and eventually wrote the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Its publication in the United States launched the culinary revolution that is still inspiring and challenging cooks today. First published in 1961, this groundbreaking two volume work (written with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) contains many basic recipes French cooks knew by heart, but were astonishing to American home cooks of the time. From a simple garlic soup to her exhaustively tested and retested recipe for an authentic loaf of French bread, Julia set out to liberate cooks from what she saw as the tyranny of “home economists” and the marketing of bland packaged mixes and TV dinners. Check catalog for availability.

My Life in France by Julia Child (c2006)
This memoir compiled from Julia’s writings (and published posthumously) displays her sense of humor, keen observations from her many experiences and her passion for the good things in life - all of which makes for a tasty read. Check catalog for availability.

Check catalog for all titles by Julia Child.

Julie and Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment: How one girl risked her marriage, her job, and her sanity to master the art of living. by Julie Powell (c2005)
Inspired by Julia, and realizing she was unhappy with her life as she turned thirty, Julie Powell took it upon herself to prepare all of the Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes in one year. Powell blogged as she went along and while her tales of cooking disasters and triumphs became popular, her real purpose, to rediscover her joy in life and the pleasures of a meal shared with friends and family, was achieved. Check catalog for availability.

Incidentally, the movie Julie and Julia is written and directed by Nora Ephron, no slouch in the kitchen herself!

- submitted by Christine @ MPL Central

Half Past Autumn : A Retrospective. by Gordon Parks ; essay by Philip Brookman.

Years ago I had the fortunate opportunity to hear Gordon Parks speak about his life and art work. This book captures some of the things he said in that presentation and numerous illustrations of his breathtaking photographs. The composition of his works create a view and feeling into a life or situation that only a true master can convey. I especially find his color photography to be superior. The vivid colors combined with his fantastic artistic abilities take the viewer to a whole new level of experience. I highly recommend this book to art lovers, historians, journalists, and anyone with the slightest interest in photography. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

Big Fish by Richard Ellis (c2009)
Richard Ellis has written numerous landmark books and articles on the subject of marine life. His masterfully rendered paintings of sharks and whales have been displayed in museums and galleries around the globe. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that his newest work, Big Fish, though catalogued as nature/science would look right at home on the art shelves as well. On display throughout are mesmerizing depictions of the world's largest fish species (including lesser-known oddities such as the Goblin Shark, Greenland Shark and Oarfish) coupled with an illuminating bit of text for each. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier.

Chevalier submerges readers into medieval Europe with this riveting story. The characters come to life revealing every aspect of average medieval life. Chevalier gives a perspective from medieval merchants struggling for a living rather than that of the royalty which much of medieval historical fiction is based. Awkward tensions build between characters and a sense of urgency builds as the weavers rush to complete the unicorn tapestries on time for their patrons. Check catalog for availability.

For more information about Tracy Chevalier and the history of the unicorn tapestries visit the author's website.

A Walk Through the Cloisters text by Bonnie Young .

For more information about the unicorn tapestries see this book. Check catalog for availability.

The Cloisters : Medieval Art and Architecture by Peter Barnet and Nancy Wu.

For more information about the Cloisters in general see this book. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

Do you still rave about that one mind-blowing concert you were at back in 1984? Or 1976? Or 1993? I still regularly boast to anyone who will listen about a Blue Oyster Cult concert I experienced many, many years ago. It was a life changing event for me. It wasn’t just the music that etched itself into my mind. BOC was great that night, but it was the EVENT! It was my first trip to Alpine Valley in the early 80’s and that about sums it up! After that show, I knew I really, really liked live rock n roll.
In The Show I’ll Never Forget, Editor Sean Manning compiled essays from 50 acclaimed writers about their most memorable concert experiences. Some of the cool gigs covered range from a 1965 Rolling Stones show to a 1985 Rush concert; from a 1970 Nina Simone concert to a 1997 Prince gig.
This book is more a compilation of recollections and experiences than concert reviews and that is what makes these essays so much fun. My favorite essay was about a 1981 Kinks concert and a problem with a jacket and a few security guards!
So throw on your favorite old threadbare concert shirt, turn down the house lights and read these fun essays by the light of your beat up old "encore lighter."
Check catalog availability

Submitted by Dan @Central

Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan (c2008) by Chip Kidd and Jimo Kuwata

In early 1966, the American TV show Batman (starring Adam West) hit the Japanese airwaves and manga prodigy Jimo Kuwata was commissioned to produce an original Japanese version of Bob Kane's Batman comic strip. The strip lasted for only a little over one year, never reaching a wide audience or being offered in a translated version, and essentially disappeared into oblivion. In 2001, Batman enthusiast and heralded book designer Chip Kidd heard rumors of the strip's existence and diligently sought to track it down. Beautifully presented here are the fruits of his efforts - a translated-into-English assemblage of many of Kuwata's strips. The panels are kept in their original right-to-left format and Kuwata's minimally stark style is a delight. Interspersed are images of period Japanese Batman toys, collectibles and advertisements. It all makes for a densely packed bat-extravaganza. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

From his self-published debut, Clumsy, to his latest work, Funny Misshapen Body, Chicago based Jeffrey Brown has been documenting his life in graphic novel form. Brown is not at all shy about revealing his sensitive side, putting forth extremely intimate details of his inadequacies, personal relationships, successes and failures. This same intimacy can make things borderline awkward to read at times - making one wonder if he should really be spilling his guts so completely. That said, his work is also full of warmth and humor and his quick and scruffy drawing style fits well with the narrative. Highly recommended, especially to those in their 20's and 30's. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Ted Kennedy passed away Tuesday at the age of 77, of the brain cancer he battled through the past year. If you want to read more about his life and accomplishments, try one of these titles:

Last Lion: The Rise and Fall of Ted Kennedy Check catalog for availability.

Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died by Edward Klein Check catalog for availability.

Ted Kennedy: Scenes from an Epic Life Check catalog for availability.

Until this year, Senator Kennedy had not written a memoir. But, next month his autobiography, True Compass, will be published. Get your name on the reserve list today: Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Kings & Queens of Britain by Charles Phillips, 2006

This non-fiction book is a fantastic resource for the history of the British monarchy. I found the information about each king and queen to be a wonderful companion and especially useful when reading historical fiction pertaining to England. I also enjoyed the images offered by this book. Check the catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

American Heritage College Dictionary (4th Edition) - Houghton Mifflin

Aside from the phone book, the American Heritage College Dictionary is probably the most used print resource in our Ready Reference department. The definitions are clear and concise with excellent word origin and usage notes given where needed. Also included are an abundance of biographical and geographical entries as well as a plethora of abbreviations and acronyms.

I'm not suggesting that you read it from cover to cover, but like an umbrella on a cloudy day, it's nice to know that the American Heritage College Dictionary is there if you need it. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

For some reason I always feel a small sense of joy when I come across an intact quonset hut or A-frame standing humbly along the roadside. I guess something about these simple structures triggers a pleasant ping of nostalgia. So it was with great delight that I came across the following fun-to-read-and-look-at titles from Princeton Architectural Press:

Quonset Hut: Metal living for a modern age by Julie Decker & Chris Chiel (c2005)
During the 1940's and 50's, Quonset huts peaked in popularity in post-war America. Their ease of assembly and affordability led to frequent use as storage buildings and, in some cases, living space. Check catalog for availability.

A-Frame by Chad Randl (c2004)

During the 1950's and 60's, A-frames gained popularity as 2nd homes for many an American. Their ease of construction and low cost made them an ideal dwelling to inhabit one's vacation property, be it lakefront or secluded in the woods. Check catalog for availability.

Perhaps future generations will look at modern shipping crate / container architecture in the same way:

Container Architecture by Jure Kotnik (c2008)
Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

If you find The World Without Us thought provoking, then check out this book. Forbes reporter Christopher Steiner explores how higher oil prices could affect every aspect of American life, using sushi, UPS and Wal-Mart as examples. Each chapter, in $2 per gallon price hike increments, looks at how our economy, transportation, trade, food, housing, cities, suburbs, environment and military could change.

Check catalog availability

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo @ MPL

Black Sabbatical: Poems by Brett Eugene Ralph (c2009)

I tasted yesterday's rain,
the carcasses of moths,
broken glances, tears,
the smoke of not-so-distant fires -
all the desperate gestures
we collect and call the seasons.

Brett Eugene Ralph was raised Southern working class, playing football under the bright lights and getting into trouble while fronting punk and hardcore bands. Later on he ventured off to pratice Tibetan Buddhism, before returning home to Kentucky. A couple of weeks ago, I went down to Chicago and saw Ralph give a reading from his debut poetry anthology, Black Sabbatical. With a booming voice and commanding presence, he burned his poems into my head. Afterwards, sitting down and reading these same poems to myself, the still hot embers re-ignited and charred their way in even further.

Far off
The way a train sounds
The way a dog barks at night
At nobody
The way phones ring over & over when you
Almost want to answer
When it's not your phone
But you can hear it

This is a man that has seen things and, with his poetry, knows how to focus a powerful lens on their essence. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

(note: excerpts taken from the poems Firm Against the Pattern & Flowering Judas.)

Essex County Trilogy by Jeff Lemire (c2007 & 2008)
Canadian graphic novelist Jeff Lemire has received numerous awards and accolades for his Essex County series, and with good reason as this trilogy has an equal appeal to both teens and adults. The main story line moves back and forth between several generations of the rural Canadian farming and hockey playing Lebeuf family. The characters are immediately likeable and the overall mood is sentimental without ever being cloying. Themes of coming-of-age, growing old, isolation and family obligation abound. Both well-written and well-drawn... if you've never read a graphic novel before, this might be a fine place to start. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The often overlooked history of the U.S. Coast Guard in WWII is finally given its just rewards in this well researched study of both domestic and overseas actions that the USCG participated in during the war. From fighting Japanese submarines at Pearl Harbor to landing Marines at Guadalcanal; from protecting freighters carrying essential supplies to England from the Nazi wolf packs in the frigid North Atlantic to safeguarding the shipyards in Wisconsin from saboteurs, the USCG played an active and important role in the U.S. winning the war. I found a chapter of personal recollections about duty in the Pacific to be very interesting. Quotations and memories from then active duty Coast Guard, Navy, Army and Marine personnel tell the real story of how important the Coast Guard was to every branch of the military. The chapter on D-Day and the role the Coast Guard played in the invasion of Europe was also engrossing because I had previously assumed that was a Navy operation. Meticulously researched and filled with eye-popping photos, this book will be of interest to military and history buffs.

Check catalog availability.
Submitted by Dan@Central

The Joy of Sox by Linda Kopp. There has been much ado with sock knitting in recent months, thanks in part to the magic loop method (knitting two pair of socks on one long circular needle). Although those who have been bitten by sock knitting will tell you it has nothing to do with the magic loop method, but simply the fun in being able to create something so practical, warm and sized to your foot. I thought this book stood out from some of the others because of the nice tutorial section in the beginning that discusses the anatomy of the sock, sizing, and the three main methods of knitting socks (using double pointed needles, two circular needles and one circular needle). Then, once you get past the tutorial (optional, of course) you will find patterns that range from anklets, toe thongs, mosaic, self striping, lacy and over the knee. In all, the book is fun to look at and if you're a serious knitter like me, you'll be chomping at the bit to knit some socks! Check catalog for availability.

Check the catalog for availability.

Destination Wedding Planner : The Ultimate Guide To Planning A Wedding From Afar by Alison Hotchkiss ; photographs by Thayer Allyson Gowdy.

Check the catalog for availability.

How To Get Married In Green : Have An Eco-friendly Wedding Without Compromising On Style by Suzan St. Maur.

Check the catalog for availability.

The Bride's Survival Guide : 150 Mistakes You Should Avoid For The Perfect Wedding by Sharon Naylor.

Check the catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason (c1983)

Chickenhawk is Robert Mason's firsthand account of his time spent as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, serving in the Vietnam War from August of 1965 to August of 1966. During that time, Mason flew over 1000 combat missions and found himself "in the thick of it" on many occasions. He depicts the day-to-day life of a soldier, riveting edge-of-your-seat helicopter action and the grim horrors of war all with an even keel and an easygoing sense of humor. Mason's writing style is simple, straightforward and entirely engaging. And while I'm certainly not a war buff, I found this to be one of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommended. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Animals and Objects In and Out of Water: Posters by Jay Ryan 2005-2008 (c2009)

Chicago-based artist Jay Ryan began screen printing in earnest back in 1995 and what started as a fledgling basement operation has since blossomed into an internationally acclaimed career via his print shop, The Bird Machine. His bread and butter are gig posters for musical acts (such as Andrew Bird, who wrote the foreword for this book), but he has also served clients as varied as The BBC, Patagonia and Michael Chabon. Animals and Objects... captures 120 of Jay's favorite prints from 2005 through 2008 and as far as books go, this is about as visually pleasing as they come. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Chick Ink : 40 Stories Of Tattoos -- And The Women Who Wear Them. Edited by Karen L. Hudson.

No longer are tattoos just for rebels and soldiers. More and more men and women are getting them and society is slowly starting to accept this art form. Perhaps? I found the stories in Chick Ink unique and fascinating. Each chapter focuses on a different woman who speaks about her reasons for permanently adorning her skin with images and words. At the end of the book I had one lingering question. How was the author able to limit the book to only 40 stories?

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

Life as a Manager
-As a manager one must be aware of personal limitations and must be able to set realistic goals for themselves and their employees. Managers are expected to "walk on water" when it comes to knowing their jobs, the jobs of their employees and their individual needs. Managers are required to wear various hats and must hold down the front lines when needed.
-Office friendships and socializing outside of the office is rare between managers and employees. Many employees (speaking honestly from experience) are hesitant to form any type of friendship with managers. For some managers it can be pretty lonely at the top.

Check your Baggage at the Door
-Personal situations always seem to sneak their way into the workforce, and no matter how much we try to forget about the argument we had the night before with our spouse or children it can sometimes show in our job performance. Managers must be focused regardless of what may be happening outside of work.
-Managers are human with human emotions just like everyone else. We all have certain things that rub us the wrong way, and the key to keeping our personal feelings to a minimum is by knowing exactly what those things are. Managers must understand that personalities are different and that some may collide and some may crash and burn.

Guiding your Career
-Becoming a manager is at times the final career goal for some individuals. All of their hard work, diligence, and patience have paid off. But for some the road to management does not stop once they land the corner office. Achieving management status is just the beginning. By keeping ones skills sharp, staying up-to-date and setting goals, a manager can easily find their way on a road to upward success.

Submitted by: Sha'Nese

Patti Smith's "Horses" was such a clarion call in the punk era, but I am too old and tired now to remember why. What made me read the book were the two kids on the cover smiling sweetly at me, too thin to cast a shadow. Everything in Just Kids reminds you with lyrical intensity and inspired willpower and wild dreaming:

Art is holy. Art is love. Art can set us free.

"I was asleep when he died," Smith writes at the start. "I had called the hospital to say one more good night, but he had gone under, beneath layers of morphine. I held the receiver and listened to his labored breathing through the phone, knowing I would never hear him again."

Between Mapplethorpe's dying breaths, Smith takes flight into a story of origins. Within moments we are back in her childhood as she details her love of prayer, the death of her girlhood friend. At 19 she becomes pregnant and is forced to give her baby away, swearing an oath to become a great artist in memory of her child. In 1967 The Fates give Smith and Mapplethorpe a chance meeting in Manhattan shortly after Smith hops off a bus, clutching a copy of Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations. They penny-pinch for food and sleep with lice on their pillows. Smith cries so much in Mapplethorpe's company he affectionately nicknames her "Soakie".

They quickly became each other's muse, breaking up only when Mapplethorpe comes to terms with his homosexuality. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear--- they remained closer than best friends.

Smith recalls being present as Kris Kristofferson played "Me and Bobby McGee" to Janis Joplin for the first time. This is 60/70's bohemian New York, and she gives us walk-ons from William Burroughs, Sam Shepard, Jimi Hendrix and mentor Allen Ginsberg (who initially assumes that she is a beautiful boy).

It would take a Grinchy heart not to be moved by the last 10 pages, as Mapplethorpe lies dying from AIDS-related disease.

This elegiac memoir is a primer which illuminates the realization that the deepest relationships need not have perfect resolutions.

-Jane H. @King Library

****************************************************************************************************************

At the age of twenty, Patti Smith fled her New Jersey hometown and took the bus into New York City, hoping to find friends to stay with. One of the first people she sees is a sleeping boy, "pale and slim with masses of dark curls, lying bare-chested with strands of beads around his neck." A chance re-encounter weeks later with "Bob" Mapplethorpe leads to the passionate partnership - artistic, creative, spiritual and sexual - that spans the tumultuous 60's and 70's as they make art, poetry and music together. Smith's memoir, "Just Kids", promised to Mapplethorpe before his death in 1989, bursts with insight and vigor. Her well written story is filled with funny and poignant vignettes of two visionaries struggling to get by on sporadic minimum wage jobs and 'a little help from their friends' while remaining true to each other and their art.

Submitted by Christine @ Central

About a year ago I began receiving email recipe updates from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Without exception, the recipes were clearly written and inviting and I found myself printing many of them out and wishing that there was a cookbook available with these recipes.

Well, now there is.... The Great Big Cheese Cookbook is filled with those clear and inviting recipes along with beautiful mouthwatering photographs. Some of the recipes are from well-known chefs such as Michael Symon from FoodNetwork. Others are from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. All look delicious!

Submitted by Nancy at East and King

Really - it's ok! Go ahead!* Some incredible art has come out of altering books, cutting up and rearranging text, painting pages, covering up some words and revealing others. The art of turning one work of literature into another through physical alteration has many practitioners and many names - erasure, altered books, and palimpsest, to name a few. It's stunning to look at and fun to do.

Erasures by Rebecca Brown. From Borges Foster, Jennifer (Editor). (2009). Filter Literary Journal (Vol. 2). Seattle, WA. Images by Emmy Burns.

And yes, the library does have cut-up (and painted-up, inked-up, and overlaid) books. Spend some time with A humument : a treated Victorian novel, by Tom Phillips. It began life as a cheap paperback entitled A Human Document, but it is now a powerful work of, according to the artist, "other possible stories, scenes, poems, erotic incidents, and surrealist catastrophes... memories, dreams, and reflections." Or try Radi Os, Ronald Johnson's adaptation of Milton's famous Paradise Lost.

Like what you see? Try it yourself! (Again - not on a library book, please. We really, really like to get those back. In one piece.) Check out one of our many books full of ideas and techniques. Don't worry if your last art project was in kindergarten; you don't need any background in art or writing to create your own beautiful form of artistic self-expression.

*Disclaimer: Do not do this to library books. It's awesome to make art out of old books. Just not library books. You'll have to pay for them, and I will probably be subjected to that infamous library torture, Death by a Thousand Papercuts. If you're looking to buy a few inexpensive books to play with, try our Friends Bookstore.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

I felt kind of guilty reading this shocking story. On one hand, I was appalled as a human being at the fantastic stupidity of the entire affair, but on the other, I was fascinated at the utterly useless slaughter of good men for no apparent reason. It was like watching a really dumb horror movie that's impossible to look away from, or in this case, stop reading. World War II is dotted with stories like these; for instance, the unnecessary landings at Peleliu come to mind, but the story of the unfortunate men ordered to cross the Rapido River in Southern Italy during January of 1944 stands out as a true catastrophe of bad leadership and wasted lives.
Relying heavily on interviews from survivors of the debacle, Schultz tells the tale of General Mark Clark's insistence on having the 36th Texas National Guard Division repeatedly attempt to cross a heavily defended river during the night. With casualties mounting and no stronghold on the other side of the river, General Clark ordered another assault across the Rapido in the morning. The unfortunate men of the 36th suffered 50% casualties in the badly planned mission. On top of that, the entire operation was designed as nothing but an eleborate ruse to keep German troops away from the landings at Anzio, much like the Peleliu assault were designed to take the heat off MacArthur's return to the Philippines.
As shocking as this book is, it is also a glowing testimony to the common soldier who followed orders and attempted to reach their objective, no matter the cost in blood. Reading this book made me feel a tad queasy, like looking at road kill or finding a hair in your soup at a greasy spoon restaurant, but it is a story that needed telling, if only to pay homage to the men who couldn't tell it themselves. Well written, superbly documented and containing many helpful illustrations and maps, this fine book will appeal to military history enthusiasts of all ages.

Check Catalog Availability.

Submitted by Dan@Central

"Banning books is so utterly hopeless and futile. Ideas don't die because a book is forbidden reading." - Gretchen Knief, Kern County Librarian when the Grapes of Wrath was banned.

Today marks the beginning of this year's Banned Book Week (September 25 - October 2). Each blog post this week will feature a banned or challenged book. I just meant to write a short introduction about the significance of this week, to set the stage for these book reviews. But I really struggled to write one.

What can I possibly say to embody the passion that I and so many librarians feel for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of information and ideas? I scoured the web for quotes from everybody from Ben Franklin to Mae West. I thought of appealing to the most powerful ethical document in modern librarianship, the Library Bill of Rights. I tried to lighten the mood with interesting facts - that this Bill was in part a direct response to the banning of The Grapes of Wrath in 1939; that the "pioneer of modern American censorship" was Anthony Comstock, founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1872. But none of it felt sufficient.

The fact is, there is no one phrase, one idea, one moment that I can call upon to represent the overriding insistence at the library's ethical core that all people must, must, must be free to write and to read. That's the point. Intellectual freedom is about respecting many words, many perspectives. So the only way I can share my passion with you is to say this - go out and read. Read something banned. Read something you never thought you'd pick up. Read that book your mom loves that you've been avoiding for years. Read something that offends you.

We'll be here with suggestions all week.

Learn more about Banned Books week and its sponsors.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

While graphic novels are relatively new to the world of libraries and literature, as they steadily gain readership and exposure, a growing number of titles have been brought under challenge. Here's a list from the American Library Association.

In the case of Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize winning Maus, which was called out for being "Anti Ethnic", one wonders if the challengers had even read the work. If you haven't, you should. It is an excellent documentary-style account of actual Holocaust events which is at once harrowing, gripping and impactful. The anthropomorphic illustration lightens the mood a tad, but perhaps adds to the horror that it was in fact humans that were capable of and committed such acts.

Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

It's Money Smart Week, which got me thinking about a fun personal finance book I read recently. Yes, you read that right - it's a finance book that's actually enjoyable to read. Jeff Yaeger's The Cheapskate Next Door is funny, hands-on, and not preachy for a moment. It avoids everything that might be intimidating about classic personal finance works; there are no strict budgets, investment pie charts, or nine-step programs to make you feel inadequate. It's just stories. Yaeger tells the real-life stories of fellow "cheapskates" who live very, very happily well below their means. Their anecdotes range from silly to hilarious to unbelievable to sweet. Best of all, they're each unique. The people and families in Yaeger's book don't all follow a particular financial plan or spend every waking moment obsessing over pennies. They've just learned, each in their own way, how to keep their stuff from ruling their lives. The Cheapskate Next Door will leave you feeling as liberated as they are, empowered to find your own way to achieve balance and lasting happiness. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

Aesop fables for today. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris, illustrated by Ian Falconer (of the Olivia children's books), is different than his previous books, but quite clever. Human thoughts and actions are imposed on the mouths and beaks of animals resulting in jaded portrayals of reality. There's the potbellied pig who diets with so much will power yet still finds himself rounder than he'd like and the bear who's lost her mother that can't help but seek pity via self-centered whining. My fave was probably The Crow and the Lamb because of it's keen depiction of gullibility. He'll be in Milwaukee at the Riverside on October 23, 2010 if you'd like to hear him in person.

Were you one of the many moviegoers this weekend driving The Social Network, the movie about the founding of Facebook, to a lead spot in the box office? The tie-in edition of the book it was based on, Accidental Billionaires, tells the story of the Facebook phenomenon. Ben Mezrich spins a fascinating story of betrayal, huge amounts of cash and two friends who changed the way we connect with each other. The end result was a colossal falling out. Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg were awkward Harvard undergrads that wanted to be cool. Eduardo tried to gain acceptance into one of the school's semi-secret Final Clubs. Mark hacked into Harvard's computers to create a 'hot or not' site exclusive to campus. The prank nearly got him kicked out, but he and Eduardo realized the concept could be something big.

Another recent title about the company, The Facebook Effect explains how Facebook went from a dorm room pastime to having 500 million users. It's become an essential part of social life for many teens and adults worldwide and as it spreads it produces amazing effects. David Kirkpatrick had Facebook's key execs go ahead in researching the company and its impact on our lives. Pointing out successes as well as mistakes, he gives readers the Facebook story that can't be found anywhere else.

Nina Garcia is fashion director of Marie Claire and a judge on Project Runway and she has several illustrated guides on what to wear for any occasion. "Every time you dress, you assert your identity. With style, you tell the world your story." --Nina Garcia

The Little Black Book of Style includes tips on how and when to wear an outfit, occasion-appropriate wear, advice on how to combine colors and textures, and inspiration on how to achieve your own signature look. The One Hundred addresses the question, what exactly, are fashion's timeless pieces? Here are the 100 items that Nina believes will never go out of style, and that have become absolutely indispensible for any woman reaching for her own eternal fashion look. The Style Strategy shows women how to stay stylish and chic while saving money, in a guide that explains how to maximize what one has through maintenance, ingenuity, and creative style choices. Nina Garcia's Look Book shows us the pieces, the accessories, and the strategies to create the looks that will take us from the first day on a job through the day we ask for a raise and beyond, from the first time we meet our boyfriend's parents (or his children) through the day we see our own children walk down the aisle.

"True style is not about having a closet full of expensive and beautiful things--it is instead about knowing when, where, and how to utilize your collection." --Nina Garcia

The winner, Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa was announced in Stockholm this week. He is the first South American to win the prize since Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1982. Vargas Llosa is currently in the US, as a visiting professor at Princeton, teaching a course on the writing of novels as well as one on Jorge Luis Borges at Princeton. Check catalog for availability of his work.

This is my absolute favorite time of year. There's just something about the brisk air, the rich palette of falling leaves, and the sudden preponderance of apples and pumpkins that makes me want to throw on a cozy sweater and start getting my hands dirty. Gardening, cooking, and crafting, often pushed aside during the summer season in favor of lounging in the sun, become my passions all over again. If nothing says fall to you like the scent of cinnamon and cloves wafting through the kitchen, the feel of heavy hand-dyed wool on your needles, or a thick mulch on your garden beds, these books are for you.

The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, by Rachel Saunders

Whether you're trying to hold onto the last taste of summer tomatoes or welcoming the deep, spiced flavors of the cooler season, there's a recipe here for you. Stunning photographs complement simple directions for creating seasonal jams, preserves, marmalades, and fruit butters. Just reading about the Brandied Red Cherry Conserve, overflowing with candied citron, currants, almonds, and plum brandy, makes my mouth water. You can also peruse other canning books.

Fiber gathering : knit, crochet, spin and dye more than 25 projects inspired by America's festivals, by Joanne Seiff.

Two of my favorite fall activities, fiber-crafting and festival-hopping, are all rolled up into one fabulous reading experience! Each festival features stories chock full of local color, photos, at least one pattern, and even some extras, like recipes. Many patterns are fairly complex, but even the ones you might not attempt are inspiring and a joy to look at. If you're a knitter specifically, you might also enjoy another nifty fall-friendly mash-up, Jane Gottelier's Knitting and Tea.

Fall Scaping : extending your garden season into autumn, by Nancy J. Ondra and Stephanie Cohen

This colorful book's imaginative yet practical plans and copious photographs will send you running to your garden. It covers things to do in the garden right now, as well as what you can do all year to have a garden that really shines in the autumn. The authors focus mostly on ornamentals, so if you're a veggie gardener, you may also want to take a look at some of our books on vegetable gardening in the Midwest.

Other fun fall topics are gourd art, seasonal cooking , and holiday decorating.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

With the final week of the Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World exhibit and the approach of the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards Celebration, good old Ben just seems to be in the library air lately. (Perhaps that's not surprising, considering he had a hand in creating them.) Get involved by reading about one of the most interesting and accomplished men in history.

Benjamin Franklin : an American life, by Walter Isaacson.

This truly enjoyable read focuses as much on Franklin's personal life as it does on his extraordinary civic and scientific accomplishments. I loved discovering Ben Franklin as a whole person, multifaceted, flawed, and fascinating, rather than just an icon.

The first scientific American : Benjamin Franklin and the pursuit of genius, by Joyce E. Chaplin.

When you think of Benjamin Franklin, what comes to mind first? Chances are it's related to his role as a founding father. This biography focuses instead on his scientific achievements, which are often overshadowed in our memory by his political self. A unique look at Franklin's life and achievements.

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, introduction by Lewis Leary

What better way to learn about a man than from his own book? Although Franklin's bestselling autobiography is unfinished, and what exists is widely regarded as exaggerated, it still offers a compelling insight into a complex, brilliant man. To me, it's most interesting not because it tells us who Franklin really was, but because it tells us how he wanted to be perceived.

Driftless Stories: Outdoors In Southwest Wisconsin by John Motoviloff (c2001)

My favorite part of Wisconsin is the rolling-hilled and river-laced Driftless Area in the Southwest corner of the state. Same goes for Wisconsin author John Motoviloff. In Driftess Stories, Motoviloff delivers a collection of vignettes based on his outdoor adventures in the region, and while they focus primarily on fishing and hunting, it's his reverence for the Driftless landscape itself that really shines through. Beautifully written with a style that made me recall Hemingway's Nick Adams Stories more so than I did Field & Stream or Outdoor Life. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Fall is over and the harvest has been gathered. Now it is time to simmer that delicious bounty in your slow cooker, make a loaf of your favorite bread, and settle in with a hot bowl full of rich goodness. Listed here are a few slow cooker recipes books for you to use to jazz up your favorites or try something new.

The Italian Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone.

Fix-it And Forget-it Big Cookbook : 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes! by Phyllis Pellman Good.

The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book : [More Than 400 Recipes From Appetizers To Desserts] by Better homes and gardens.

The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker : Simple And Sophisticated Meals From Around The World by Lynn Alley and photography by Leo Gong.

If these books have not satisfied your slow cooker desires check the catalog here for more fantastic recipe books.

At our very successful Milwaukee Knits program (yay!) this past week, a guy came up to me. "Why're you doing this?" he asked, pointing to the yarn-loving hordes. "Isn't knitting just for old ladies?"

Well, according to this timely article in the Journal-Sentinel, as well as my own personal experience as a knitter under thirty, knitting is definitely not just reserved for the retirement set. If you're a punk, a vixen, an eco-chic hipster, or just a fabulous person of either gender at any age, there's needlecrafting awesomeness for you.

The Rebel
You love knitting, but the little fluffy duckies and clouds you see in so many patterns make you want to run screaming. If you're more the skull-and-crossbones type, you'll enjoy these books.

Anticraft : knitting, beading, and stitching for the slightly sinister, by Renée Rigdon and Zabet Stewart
Pretty in punk : 25 punk, rock, and goth knitting projects / by Alyce Benevides and Jaqueline Milles

The Vixen
If knitting is for grandmas, well, you're one hot mama. The patterns in these books aren't necessarily bare-all (though some are); many simply embrace your inner confidence, sexiness, and sense of fun.

Domiknitrix : whip your knitting into shape, by Jennifer Stafford
Naughty needles : sexy, saucy knits for the bedroom and beyond, by Nikol Lohr
Big girl knits : 25 big, bold projects shaped for real women with real curves, by Jilllian Moreno and Amy R. Singer

The indie crafter
You have a DIY ethic that values community and creativity over processed, perfect, and prepackaged products. These books are about getting to know the writers and creating quirky handmade projects.

Knitting mochimochi : 20 super cute strange designs for knitted amigurumi toys, by Anna Hrachovec
Mason-Dixon knitting : the curious knitters' guide: stories, patterns, advice, opinions, questions, answers, jokes, and pictures, by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne
AwareKnits : knit & crochet projects for the eco-conscious stitcher / Vickie Howell and Adrienne Armstrong

The man
Of course, people of either gender can enjoy the books above. However, it's true that knitting resources are mostly targeted at or used by women. So, guys, here are a few books just for you.

Knitting with balls : a hands-on guide to knitting for the modern man, by Michael del Vecchio.
Knitting for him : 27 classic projects to keep him warm, by Martin Storey & Wendy Baker

Werewolves Of Montpellier by Jason (c2010)

Norwegian graphic novelist Jason returns with a new offering of his trademark pictorial noir... this time involving jewelry heists, poker parties, excessive drinking, unrequited love and, yes, werewolves. Poignant and funny, another Jason classic. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

The 27th Breeders' Cup, thoroughbred racing's most prestigious global event - currently consisting of 14 races held over two days with purses totaling $25.5 million - will be run on Friday, November 5, and Saturday, November 6, 2010. Since the inaugural running at Hollywood Park 26 years ago, the Breeders' Cup has established itself as the season-ending championship of thoroughbred racing. It is now firmly entrenched in American racing lore with a history and tradition all its own. Though the fame of Secretariat precedes the Breeder's Cup, what do you think? Would he win? Secretariat (March 30, 1970 - October 4, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series - the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24) - records that still stand today. With a new movie about Secretariat just out this fall, here are a few books that cover the story of the 1973 Triple Crown-winning thoroughbred.

Secretariat's Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend by Kate Chenery Tweedy presents the story of how the Chenerey family came to breed and race Secretariat along with the history of the family and the land in which they bred racehorses.

The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse by Lawrence Scanlan tells Secretariat's story from the perspective of Eddie Sweat, Secretariat's groom (he's the one in the porkpie hat and loud checkered trousers, often holding Secretariat's halter, in the winner's circle photos). Sweat is one of the thousands of behind-the-scenes workers in the thoroughbred racing industry who over the years have kept the horses racing through their dedication, but receive little in the way of recognition. Scanlan's take is that Secretariat may not have done as well as he did without Sweat providing the care that kept him happy, since a happy horse is more likely to run his best.

Secretariat by Raymond G. Woolfe Jr. is a coffee table book packed with photos of Secretariat's racing career. It adds a lot of material covering Secretariat's breeding career and the racing careers of his offspring as well. Woolfe is the son of a leading trainer with ties to Secretariat's Claiborne Farm home, and so he had the opportunity to cover Secretariat almost from the start, as part of a deal with Secretariat's owner and trainer to document the horse's life. He speaks the language of a seasoned railbird and makes the world of thoroughbred training and racing accessible to casual racing fans.

Submitted by Chris G. @ Bay View & Tippecanoe

Fans of the hit series Mad Men who marvel at the "pre-cholesterol-awareness" culinary delights that appear on the Draper's dinner table will get their answer in the pages of this classic cookbook first published in 1960. In a new introduction, Peg Bracken's daughter sets the tone. The original cookbook "was born from a group of professional women who would have been much happier sipping martinis...than spending the cocktail hour in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove." As someone who loves to cook (at least when I have time) I doubted I'd enjoy her viewpoint or her recipes, but I was wrong. Bracken's sharp wit and keen insights into the social milieu of the period are hilarious and on target, and the recipes are quick and not entirely unhealthy. Whether you're dealing with the "The Leftover - Or, Every Family Needs a Dog" or hosting "Little Kids Parties - Or, They Only Came for the Balloons", you'll find some laughs, some timeless kitchen hints and a newfound respect for the author, whose unabashed plea to good cooks was "Invite us over often, please. And stay away from our husbands." Check Catalog Availability.

Submitted by Christine P @ Central

Best Easy Day Hikes - Milwaukee by Kevin Revolinski (c2010)

Looking for the best places to get outdoors and enjoy nature without having to take a long drive? Revolinski's guide to hiking trails in the Milwaukee area (part of the Falcon Guide series) lists a variety of spots in Milwaukee county or drives of less than an hour away. The trails can be found in state and county parks, including Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee, Lapham Peak State Park, and Grant Park, as well as such local favorites as the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center and the Wehr Nature Center.

Revolinski does more than just list places to hike; the guide includes detailed descriptions of the trails and trail conditions, accessibility, whether or not pets are allowed, fees (don't forget your State Parks sticker!), directions on how to find the parks and trailheads, as well as trail maps, background information, and recommendations for the best time to visit. Grab this book and your gear and head out! Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Chris G. @ Bay View & Tippecanoe

"You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely," which is bad news for an economy and lifestyle that depends on meeting an artificially created consumer demand, continuously, with an accelerating use of natural resources and nonrenewable sources of energy. Americans, with 5% of the world's population, consume 30% of its resources, manufacturing everything from bottled water to new cars. Eventually, a lot of the stuff we manufacture and consume winds up as waste, which brings us to the point of Leonard's The Story of Stuff. Leonard follows the "life cycle" of some of our most popular consumer goods, including, yes, bottled water. Unfortunately, even when we think we're being green by using recyclable containers (such as aluminum cans), the amount of energy needed and the economic factors involved in choosing between recycled and new materials undermines our good intentions. First we consume, and then we dispose of billions of pounds of material every year.

Leonard's book is a spin-off from internet videos on consumerism (which can be found at http://www.storyofstuff.com/). She felt that there was more to cover on the topic than she could do justice to on a website and blog, and that the issues needed as comprehensive a treatment as possible. Along the way, she shows how positive change is happening now, part of her "vision for change" in the way we live and how the choices we make affect us and the world we live in. Leonard believes she has enough reason for her tempered optimism and belief that we can turn things around, but reminds us that it will take a lot of commitment from all of us to bring about such change. And yes, Leonard points out the role that libraries play in reducing the amount of "stuff" out there without compromising anything: "And then there are libraries--in every place I've lived, the library has been one of my favorite places to find books, as well as to meet neighbors, attend public seminars, weigh in on community issues, and sometimes even hear live music. Amazon may be easy and fast and impressive in its scale, but it just doesn't provide those quality-of-life extras." (p. 120)

Submitted by Chris G. @ Bay View & Tippecanoe

I'll Find A Way Or Make One: A Tribute To Historically Black Colleges And Universities by Juan Williams & Dwayne Ashley (c2004)

Dillard University was founded in New Orleans, LA on Nov 22, 1898. Some notable graduates of this school are jazz musician Dr. Ellis Marsalis Jr, former Harlem Globetrotter Billy Ray Hobley, and Dr. Ruth Simmons, president of Brown University. For more information on this university, and other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), check out I'll Find a Way or Make One. This tribute to HBCUs tells the story of the founding of such institutions by those once denied both education and freedom.

- submitted by Ephemera @ Villard Ave

After watching the twin towers fall on 9/11, high school student Ryan Smithson decides to join the army after he graduates from high school because "If I don't do something, who will?" His mind made up he joins the reserves at 17 and is sent to Iraq at the age of nineteen. He leaves his parents and high school sweetheart and heads off to war. "When people write nonfiction books about Iraq, I will not be in them. They will not make movies about me. There won't be any video games... I am just a GI. Nothing special. A kid doing his job. I am GI Joe Schmo." And so begins Ryan's journey as he takes the reader on a step by step account of his one year tour in Iraq that ultimately changed his life.

Military jargon is used but is clearly defined and a nice touch is the glossary which can easily be referenced for the military terms that are forgotten. An added bonus is the glossy pictures of him and his platoon in Iraq.

A powerful read as seen through the eyes of a 19 year old man who risks everything for something he believes in because "If I don't do something, who will?"

submitted by Sue @ Tippecanoe

More of America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas (c2010)

If the main title doesn't grab your interest, then the subtitle, "More Than 200 Simple And Delicious Secret Restaurant Recipes, All For $10 Or Less!", most surely will. I, of course, went right to the Red Lobster section to check for their "Garlic Biscuits" - unfortunately that is not included, but their "Crab Stuffed Mushrooms" are. If you are like many cooks, who go to a restaurant and are willing to have their tonsils or appendix removed for a recipe they fell in love with, then this is the book for you. Even if you are not a cook, you can still make these recipes as many have simple instructions and not too many ingredients. The only "but" about this book is that there are no pictures. The cover is in color and then... nada. However, the book can stand alone without the pictures because what we really, really want are those "secret" recipes. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Irene @ Tippecanoe

Ronald Kessler (a former reporter for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal) arranged interviews, on and off the record, with Secret Service officials ranging from former agents up to the deputy director. This is a fascinating look inside the Secret Service "with fly-on-the-wall perspective, he captures the drama and tension that characterize agents' lives". Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Marlene @ Villard Ave

Raise your seat to its upright position and travel through your home with your guide, Bill Bryson, who has penned another readable book. He and his family live in a Victorian parson's house. He explores every room, and tracks down how and why they evolved through the ages to what we're familiar with today. He ponders why forks have four tines, how the noontime supper evolved into the evening dinner, and where the phrase "room and board" came from. Lord Beresford mistakenly entered a guest room looking for his mistress, crowed "Cock-a-doodle-doo" and jumped into a bed that was being used by his wife and the Bishop of Chester is one of the many fun anecdotes Bryson's fans come to expect to read. Check catalog for availability. To listen to an interview on Travel with Rick Steves, Bill Bryson at Home; Antiquities and Archeology; Open Phones: Budget Travel Tricks click here. Bill Bryson found the ultimate bargain travel destination, by staying home to get acquainted with the 19th century English parsonage he lives in. This interview is a glimpse into just how much the comforts of home have changed in only a few generations' time. The interview also makes sense out of the rubble of antiquity with the help of guides from Greece and Egypt. And, listeners offer their tips for saving money on a place to call home on your next vacation to Europe.

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo

A quick read - I breezed through it in a couple hours. Mainly intended for an audience of frustrated artists, authors, and musicians - it is a pep talk with a funky, home-made, sketch-book quality that might appeal to fans of Eat Mangos Naked by Sark, and A Kick in the Seat of the Pants by Roger Von Oech. The drawings are loaded with youthful energy. Ms. Pierre's observations, and exercises are meant to encourage the creative type to appreciate the day job that one needs to survive, by integrating art into the attitude, the break, the lunch hour, and the commute. The portraits, short bios and quotes from various celebrated artists just might inspire the Artist in the Office in you. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Deb H. @ Bay View

Uh-oh. It's Hannukah, my parents are dropping in on short notice, and I have precisely zero presents on hand.

While I generally like to give homemade gifts, which convey a lot of love without taking too large a toll on the environment or my checkbook, that was nearly enough to send me running to the nearest store. Any store. Happy holidays, Mom, here's your CVS gift card.

Thankfully, MPL has a great collection of books on last-minute holiday gifts. If you want to give homemade gifts but don't have much time, if you're looking for an inexpensive way to spread holiday cheer, or if you just waited too long to get Amazon.com shipping before Christmas, you'll love these books as much as I do. Find the perfect project whether you've got a few weeks until Christmas or you're down to the wire before a holiday party in a few days (or, you know, hours.)

Oh, and Mom - enjoy your red wine jelly.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

If you are interested in the past, present and future of Native American cultures, please have a look at the new book from National Geographic, Indian Nations of North America. What I really enjoyed about this book was the profiles of Native Americans in contemporary America. Through the profiles, we get to meet N. Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer prize winning author, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit and Nobel Prize nominee who works to raise awareness of the effects of global climate change on the people of the Arctic Circle, and Loren Me'-lash-ne Bommelyn, who works to preserve the language and traditions of the Tolowa people. The book is organized geographically, and each Federally recognized (circa 2010) tribe has an entry that leads with the current location, total area of land occupied by the tribe, and the number of people enrolled. Entries may include information about traditional language, food and housing, as well as significant historical events.

Submitted by Ephemera @ Villard Ave

When Thomas Jefferson pulled the trigger on the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and literally doubled the size of the United States in a single transaction, he had Congress appropriate funds to finance an expedition named the Corps of Discovery to map and explore the vast unknown wilderness that he had bought. Jefferson chose U.S. Army Captain and personal friend Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis, in turn, picked U.S. Army Lieutenant William Clark as his aide, though Lewis shared the leadership of the expedition with Clark on an even keel despite Clark's lower rank.
On August 31, 1803, the Lewis & Clark expedition left Pittsburgh to seek a waterway passage from the East to the Pacific Ocean. The ensuing cross-country trek was fraught with hardship and sacrifice, but was ultimately successful after they found the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River in modern day Oregon. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose chose to mainly center this fascinating book on the activities of Meriwether Lewis, but used the journals of both Lewis and Clark to research this book. Thoughtfully written in an accessible style that helps keep the pages turning, this history can be read for both research and pleasure.

Check catalog availability.

Submitted by Dan @ Central

On February 12th, 1918, Army General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing is quoted as saying "Why the hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines."
Author George B. Clark attempts to answer the question raised by "Black Jack" Pershing and goes on to describe, in a well researched and engaging style, how the U.S. Marines made a name for themselves on the Western Front of WWI .
Clark argues that due to terrible upper echelon leadership on the Army's part, Marine units were often stranded on perimeters or left in "no-mans-land" outside of protective artillery range. This battlefield isolation lead to individual Marine units acting on their own with little or no coordination with the high command. The fierceness of the Marines small unit attacks lead the Germans at Belleau Wood to refer to the attacking Marines as "Teufel Hunden" or as translated "Hounds from Hell." The term "Devil Dogs" has been used to describe the Marine Corps since.
This fact filled but fun book describes the Corps role through all their battles during World War I and describes how tactics developed during that war shaped the way the Marine Corps still trains and operates today.
Check Catalog Availability.
Submitted by Dan@Central

From page one of Norris Church Mailer's memoir it's clear you've jumped into a life that was never dull. Mailer opens by describing her childhood in Alabama and follows it up with details of her first failed marriage and her life as a single mother (including time she spent with Bill Clinton). She quickly gets to the year she turned 26, which is also the year she met Norman Mailer and their rocky relationship began. When they met, Norman Mailer was married to one woman (his fourth wife), living with another woman and seeing several others. He was also twice Norris Church Mailer's age and he had seven children. Mailer was aware of all of this and she remained undaunted moving from Alabama to New York to be with him. In 1980, Norris Church Mailer married Norman Mailer and they lived the rest of their lives together. He died in 2007 and she died last month.

Mailer's memoir is fast-paced, warm, and honest. At times this fascinating book reads like a breezy People Magazine article and yet it forces you to reflect on heavy topics like marriage, feminism, adultery, the joy of following your heart and the pain of having it broken.

Submitted by Amy @ MPL Central

The photographs in this book are crisp and absolutely beautiful. Written by zoologists and edited by biologists, this book contains authoritative information about animals - birds, mammals, fish and more - with maps showing where they live. I purchased two copies as gifts so far and the recipients loved them. If you have any interest in animals I recommend this book for your library too.

Click on the book cover above to check the catalog for available copies.

I recently came across the book, The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal At a Time by Laurie David (the producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and all I have to say is WOW! I LOVE everything about this book. The gorgeous pictures, 70+ recipes, design on the front cover, quotes and the advice from famous people are all wonderful. My favorites include Chapter 10, Your Green Table: Why Choices Matter, which discusses composting, recycling, gardening, cleaning products, and the benefits to just being outside with your family. I also liked Chapter 12, Read Around the Table: From News to Poetry---Inspiration Is Your Dinner Guest. This chapter points out that family dinners offer the perfect time for meaningful discussion about the day's events. Talking to your children at dinner builds language and communication skills and is a chance to discuss moral dilemmas, ask and answer questions about ethics, and teach values.

In order to enjoy your family dinners even more Laurie David suggests the following rules:

Set a regular dinner time.
Invite guests (the more the merrier).
Do not answer the phone during dinner.
One meal, no substitions, and my personal favorite,
Everyone helps clean up.

This is the kind of book that gets used in the kitchen and passed around. Check this book out and I promise that you won't be disappointed! After you read the book, check out the The Family Dinner.

submitted by Nichole at Villard Ave.

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Mark Twain was undoubtedly a very funny guy. His wit is legendary in literary circles and his writings often poked fun at very serious social issues. But for every funny anecdote he put to paper, there also was a mean-spirited cynical side to the man, especially after losing both his wife and a daughter. His profound grief invaded his writings in the later part of his life. Before his death, Twain requested that some of his more cynical writings not be published for at least 100 years after his death. True to his wishes, the Mark Twain Project has published the first of three volumes of the complete Autobiography of Mark Twain exactly 100 years after his passing in 1910.
If you are expecting a "birth to death" life story of Twain then don't read this book. These are mostly short vignettes and scraps from stories that Twain wrote throughout his life and do not follow any chronology. There are still plenty of light hearted stories that Twain recalls from throughout his life, but I personally find his cynical side more enlightening.
I found one short piece about what Twain said to President Grant the first time he met him to be as classic a Twain story as any I've read. I also enjoyed a story about how a boyhood friend in Hannibal, Missouri fell off the family roof chasing two loud tomcats away. Check catalog for availability.

If you're a fan of Twain's writings this is a must read book.

Submitted by Dan@Central

This extremely browsable book details the dietary and lifestyle habits of eighty people from all over the world. Large color photos show individuals in their homes alongside a typical day's worth of food for them. The particulars of how much a person weighs, their height and age are enriched by an explanation of a typical day's work and how they acquire their meals. A teenage refugee from Chad, a Spanish bullfighter, a Japanese sumo wrestler, and a lifeguard from Australia are all profiled. The book is equal parts sociology and gastronomy. Fans of Studs Terkel will enjoy this slice of life.

Submitted by Anna @ MPL Central

When Deborah Lacks learned that her mother's cancer cells had been cloned for research, she thought that hundreds of versions of her mother were alive again and walking the streets of New York.
Those cells, now known as HeLa, were taken involuntarily from a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks sixty years ago. Their story is in the strange, stark contrast between the monumental scientific advances made from her cell line and the total ignorance, poverty, and alienation of her family. While Henrietta's cells were used to create the polio vaccine, her family was unable to afford health insurance. While scientists used her cells to uncover the link between HPV and cervical cancer, most of her family didn't graduate from high school or understand basic biological processes. Multimillion-dollar industries were built off HeLa; yet Henrietta's descendants live in slums. Perhaps worst of all, while scientists examined every intimate detail of Henrietta's DNA, her daughter never even know her mother's favorite color.

While the history of one of the most enduring and important tools of modern science is fascinating on its own, the complex intersection of ethics, rights, race, culture, family, and humanity is what makes this book truly standout. You don't have to be a science reader to build incredibly personal and powerful relationships with the many people whose lives continue to be affected by the legacy of Henrietta Lacks.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

Watching the movie Agora led me to learn more about the mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Hypatia. Since little is known about her because her writings were destroyed, Michael Deakin focuses on her mathematical and scientific reputation by including surviving historical accounts of her and her work, especially from her former student Synesius' (Bishop of Cyrene) correspondence with her. Follow the political and religious turmoil in 5th century Alexandria, Egypt that led to her gruesome torture and murder by a Christian lynch mob during a showdown between Orestes, Prefect of Alexandria, and Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo

When President Franklin Roosevelt died in April, 1945 a funeral train took his casket from Warm Springs, Ga. to his family home in Hyde Park, N.Y. for burial. This book tells the story of that trip. The cars and engines and route of the train are described in detail, as are the crowds that gathered along the journey in tribute to FDR. However most of the book relates what happened on the train. Roosevelt's casket was first brought to Washington, D.C. for a brief memorial service in the White House. The train then went from Washington to Hyde Park carrying 140 of the most important members of the federal government, including President Truman, most of the cabinet and all nine justices of the Supreme Court. The author uses diaries, memoirs and declassified Secret Service documents to describe what took place on the train as President Truman took control of the federal government and prepared his critical State of the Union Message. This popular history provides an interesting snapshot of the people and events on board FDR's funeral train. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Carolyn at Central

So many words have been written about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt that it seems unlikely there is much new to say. But Hazel Rowley has produced a fascinating and eminently readable account that focuses on the Roosevelt's marriage and how it evolved into a powerful partnership. I've read other biographies of each of them but the author provides new insights into the way their complex relationship endured in the crucible of the personal, political and wartime challenges of their era. Rowley does not shy away from questions of sexual intimacy and her conclusions are based on what can be drawn from the historical record and are not sensationalized. It seems difficult to imagine that the marriage as portrayed would have been possible in today's more transparent journalistic times. One is glad they both had enough privacy to carve out a life of meaning, purpose and accomplishment. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Pat @ Central

The Pacific, written by Hugh Ambrose (son of Stephen Ambrose) parallels his father's work with Band of Brothers. Both books were also developed into compelling HBO mini-series.

The Pacific follows the war-time experiences of five men through their various experiences fighting in World War II's pacific campaign. Because of the nature of the Pacific campaign the narrative does not unfold in a linear manner. Fighting in the Pacific in World War II happened as a series of separate incidents as the Marines, Army, and Navy personnel moved from one island to the next.

Ambrose follows the five men covered in the books through the major battles of the Pacific Campaign. The reader gets to know the personalities of the five men and becomes completely involved in their lives during this chapter of World War II. Their experiences start before the war and the reader is taken through the war and into its aftermath. Central to each of the stories is the transformation that each man goes through as a result of his service.

This book offers a fascinating read and the narrative moves the reader quickly through the 489 pages of material.

According to a recent poll by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, saving money was the third most popular New Year's resolution. If you're better at breaking resolutions than making them, don't fret. These books will help you find ways to make saving money painless, even fun. (And hey! You're already saving money by using the library instead of buying books! See, it's easy. Keep up the good work.)

Moms saving money by the Tightwad twins, Ann Fox Chodakowski & Susan Fox Wood
For anybody trying to run a household on a budget, the Tightwad Twins offer clever tips for trimming the fat.

Thrifty living by Barty Phillips
Whether you're ready to start setting aside some extra money for a vacation or you're just trying to make ends meet, Phillips offers creative, practical solutions for saving in all areas of your life.

The coupon mom's guide to cutting your grocery bills in half : the strategic shopping method proven to slash food and drugstore costs by Stephanie Nelson
Coupon clippers, rejoice! CouponMom.com, a website which helps you combine store deals with coupons to get items at almost no cost, has been a smash hit. In this book, its creator reveals her methods for significantly reducing your grocery bills - even if you're already a pretty savvy shopper.

Save big : cut your top 5 costs and save thousands by Elisabeth Leamy
Each tip in this book is intended to save you at least $1000. Of particular interest is a section on coping with health care costs.

The new frugality : how to consume less, save more, and live better by Chris Farrell
Farrell, the host of NPR's Marketplace Money, offers timely tips on living a more frugal and fulfilling life. Includes information on current tax policies and regulations.

573 ways to save money : save the cost of this book many times over in less than a day! by Peter Sander and Jennifer Sander
The title says it all - a wide variety of money-saving tips.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

When John and Jean Silverwood decide to buy a smooth-sailing catamaran and take their four children on a spectacular voyage through the Caribbean and onward to Polynesia, they little suspect that their dream trip will turn into a nightmare. The idea captivates Jean, who has grown weary of the treadmill of modern life and dreams of sharing the beauty of the real world with her family, but she also worries about uprooting her kids and exposing them to the dangers of the sea, not to mention what the sun and salt will do to her hair and fingernails and face. Thoughts of uprooting the children from their comfortable life and coping with untidy nails pale in comparison with the life and death disaster which befalls the family. From the riveting opening pages, the story is told in a series of flashbacks that describe scenes of unforgettable beauty interspersed with brutally honest family drama. This memoir gives the armchair traveler glimpses of enviable adventures as well as the heartfelt satisfaction of living life on dry land. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Anna W @ MPL Central

What do you get when you combine Dave Eggers, David Sedaris, and a group of high schoolers? Turns out it's The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010! Part of the Best American series, Nonrequired Reading 2010 is edited by Dave Eggers and features an introduction by David Sedaris. Each year Eggers collaborates with two groups of high school students, one in California and one in Michigan, to select the material to be included in the collection. The students meet once a week to pore over literary journals, magazines, self-published zines, comics, etc. looking for "stories that hit them in the gut." The result is an eclectic mix of fiction, nonfiction, comics, poetry, and more.

Highlights of the thought-provoking short stories include Sherman Alexie's exploration of Native American identity in "War Dances" and New York Times reporter David Rhodes' "Seven Months, Ten Days in Captivity," which details his time as a prisoner of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The collection's lighter offerings include illustrations of the Best American New Patents, a list of the Best American Farm Names, a compilation of the Best American Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak, and Wendy Molyneux's hilarious "Best American Woman Comedy Piece Written by a Woman." If you pick up this unique and unusual collection, be sure to check out the cover art provided by celebrated illustrator Maurice Sendak.

Want more Best American? Other titles in the series include Best American Comics, Best American Short Stories, Best American Travel Writing, Best American Mystery Stories, and more!

Submitted by Jennifer @ MPL Central

Four Traits of an Inspired Life: Clarity will help manage your energy and intention, moving through confusion to definitive action. Integrity will bring an alignment of your internal qualities, which will be reflected in your conduct and mindsets. Courage is the ability to take action on what you believe and move toward change. Compassion empowers us and others in seeking the highest good in every situation. Inspiration Deficit Disorder: The No-pill Prescription to End High Stress, Low Energy, and Bad Habits Ellerby brings together much of the current thinking on finding your essence and how to move out of your self-limiting thinking and behaviors to live your best life.

Submitted by Barbara of Art/Music/Recreation @ MPL Central

It's rare that I rave about a cookbook. It's not for a lack of fabulous cookbooks out there; it's just that something has to be truly spectacular for me to venture beyond my easily-accessible stash of mom's specialties or my trusty Internet connection.

This cookbook is worth it.

First of all, I never knew that I could make café-quality espresso drinks in my own kitchen without some $300 contraption I'd need a Ph.D. to operate. But I can! And a cup of homebrewed deliciousness is just the thing to complement the scrumptious coffee cakes that don't require a thing I didn't already have in my cupboards. I've been blissfully eating apple-cranberry ginger loaf for breakfast all week.

If you have a taste for something a little special, there's also a mouthwatering section on European café treats (think chocolate-strawberry sachertorte) and some innovative All-American cakes (daquiri chiffon ... mmmm...) Plus, gorgeous pictures make these recipes as almost as delicious to look at as they are to eat.

Easy, delicious, and beautiful. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much cookbook heaven.

Alice Medrich, author of numerous award-winning dessert cookbooks, re-visits the cookie. Something so very appealing in this unique book is that the cookies are grouped by texture--a first I have seen. She also swaps out bleached, all-purpose flour (which she says makes for tender cookies) for unbleached and finds they taste and smell even better. Each cookie is charmingly introduced with tips and notes and ends with "upgrades" (otherwise know as "variations"). Also included is extra information about her resources, equipment and ingredients.

Several really cool lists in the "smart search index" include cookies that are wheat-free or dairy-free or whole-grains or quick and easy or 2-point cookies (Weight Watchers) as well as doughs that freeze well and cookies that keep at least two weeks. WOW!

There is so much variety in this book you will be sure to find what pleases your palate. Lemon: check. Nuts: check. Chocolate: big check. Cinnamon, nutmeg, toffee, caramel, espresso, mint, ginger, coconut, vanilla, orange, cardamom, bourbon: all check. Now you must check this out!

Submitted by Rebecca D at Central

Let's face it; winter is unkind to our skin. I like to moisturize as much as the next gal, but I am not keen on all the unknowns in some ingredient lists. Peeking into my pantry and refrigerator I have much of what Raisa Ruder recommends in her book Babushka's Beauty Secrets. Avocado? Check. Canola oil? Check. Vodka? Check! Ruder's light-hearted introduction about her Ukrainian grandmother's kitchen "salon" leads into a great little collection of recipes for crow's feet, calluses and puffy eyes. We have several DIY beauty books on the shelves, but this one is worth a look. Another option with solid recipes, minus the chit-chat, is Lisa Sharon Belkin's The Cosmetics Cookbook. You may be surprised by how many things you can whip up right out of your kitchen. Carry on, winter. Carry on.

Submitted by Erin @ Central

The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergens is written by Ashley Juergens, the 13 year old younger sister of Amy Juergens, the main character in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Ashley has a great deal on her mind including her 15 year old sister's pregnancy (a souvenir from band camp), trouble in school (a result of pushing the dress code boundaries), her first crush (a boy she meets at the bus stop), and the rest of the drama that follows a 13 year old. For anyone that watches Secret Life, this book is a good summary of the earlier seasons with the twist that everything is from Ashley's perspective. For those of you that have not watched Secret Life, this book is an excellent introduction to the intricacies of the Juergens' family's life, told from the perspective of their younger teenage daughter.

Submitted by Becky @ Zablocki

As backyard gardening increases in popularity, more books are being published to help the urban gardener. Each of the 39 building projects list the materials, tools, tips and instructions for building the piece for your garden and yard. There are projects for the novice that will only take a few hours such as the lattice shade cover and the A-frame bean and pea support. The more skilled woodworker has a choice of more intensive projects that may take a weekend, such as the garden swing or the solar dryer. The photos and diagrams on every page make the projects accessible and inviting. My first project will be the window sash cold frame.

Click on the book cover above to check the catalog for available copies.

Submitted by RC @ Zablocki

Did you get yourself an iPad this holiday season and now you're stumped on how to get the most out of your new device? This is "the book that should have been in the box." With screen shots and large print on every page, this book will appeal to the visual learner. It covers the basics including getting online, setting up your email and iCalendar, mastering iTunes, playing games, watching videos and viewing newspapers, magazines and books. This is a great resource for beginners new to Apple products and the personal media device. Check catalog for availability.

submitted by RC @ Zablocki

This year the Academy has nominated ten films in the Best Picture category, and five of them are based on books. Join the age old debate of which is better; the book or the movie? Read and decide for yourself...

Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place was the inspiration for the film 127 Hours. It is his account of the six days he spent trapped in the remote canyon lands of Utah. He is an experienced mountaineer and outdoorsman and took off for this hike alone and without telling anyone where he'd be or when he'd return. Things started out fine, but while climbing down a narrow slot, a rock suddenly came loose, falling and pinning his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. He didn't have a lot of water or food and wasn't dressed for the cold nights. After pondering possible options of escape or rescue, he wondered, would he simply die of dehydration? So, Aron starts recording videos to his family and friends, saying good bye and hoping that whatever happened to him someone would find the camera and share it with his family. For a non-mountaineer, some of this book is quite technical, but I found it possible to skim over these parts without missing the gist of the experience. The chapters alternate, with him telling about his previous climbs/adventures during even numbered chapters and describing this ordeal in the canyon during odd numbered chapters.

The Social Network, the movie about the founding of Facebook, was based on, Accidental Billionaires. It tells the story of the Facebook phenomenon. Sort of, this is something of a tabloid version of what happened. Ben Mezrich spins a fascinating story of betrayal, huge amounts of cash and two friends who changed the way we connect with each other. The end result was a colossal falling out. Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg were awkward Harvard undergrads that wanted to be cool. Eduardo tried to gain acceptance into one of the school's semi-secret Final Clubs. Mark hacked into Harvard's computers to create a 'hot or not' site exclusive to campus. The prank nearly got him kicked out, but he and Eduardo realized the concept could be something big. Eduardo talked with Mezrich, but Zuckerberg did not; making this a somewhat limited view of the truth. So, while the framework of the history of Facebook may be correct, it's only an outsider's version of it--for something more authoritative, try The Facebook Effect. It explains how Facebook went from a dorm room pastime to having 500 million users. It's become an essential part of social life for many teens and adults worldwide and as it spreads it produces amazing effects. David Kirkpatrick had Facebook's key execs go ahead in researching the company and its impact on our lives. Pointing out successes as well as mistakes, he gives readers the Facebook story that can't be found anywhere else.
True Grit was first published in 1968 and was adapted for a film starring John Wayne in 1969. The Coen brothers, who directed the 2010 movie, have been clear that their film is not a remake of the earlier film, but an even more faithful adaptation of the novel. Written in the first person, the story is told by Mattie as an old woman, looking back 30-40 years on her adventure. When she was 14, a drunken hired hand killed and robbed her rancher father. When her mother sends her into town to collect the body she finds the US Marshal, Rooster Cogburn and convinces him to go with her to avenge her fathers death. A Texas Ranger is also on the trail and they all have different ideas about how justice should be served. Mr. Portis did an incredible job with his characters; the Bible verse spouting Mattie working alongside foul mouthed Cogburn lends a lot of humor. He also took care to use accurate terms from the time period and the region; for example, blue john is used for skim milk and kerosene is referred to as coal oil.

Winter's Bone is about 16 year old Ree Dolly, who is growing up in the poverty stricken Ozarks. When the sheriff shows up and tells her that her father used the family home and land as collateral to get out of jail, and that they'll lose the house if he doesn't show up for court, she sets out to find him. He's disappeared before; skipping out due to charges that he runs a crystal meth lab. Her younger brothers and her mother depend on her and while all she wants to do is join the Army and escape, she knows her first duty is to her family. This is the first Woodrell novel that I've read, but I'm looking forward to reading more. Since they are mostly set in the Ozarks, where he grew up and still resides, he can really give life to his stories. At first I thought the dialect he used would be difficult to read, but after a few pages it just started to flow and the impact of the story would be lessened if he'd done it any other way. He calls his writing, 'country noir' because of the setting and the unsentimental portrayal of crime.

The Kings Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by Mark Logue is about Britain's Prince Albert, known as Bertie. As the son of King George V, and younger brother of Edward VIII he developed a stammer when he was young, which effectively made him shy about communicating. Sometime after marrying Elizabeth, Duchess of York, Bertie started working with Lionel Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist to improve his speech; they met many times and eventually succeeded in helping the Duke gain more self confidence and speak more clearly. Their success was especially important when King Edward VIII abdicated, leaving the throne to Bertie. Now he was required to make a number of speeches in person and on the radio. While it was still extremely difficult, he was able to speak well enough to satisfy his toughest critics and lead his nation through some of its darkest times of war and economic downtimes. This biography is written by his grandson, Mark Logue and a co-author, Peter Conradi. It is based, in part, on Lionel's diaries and case files and will be of great interest to historians and anyone dealing with speech difficulties.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin by James Norton & Becca Dilley (c2009)

Who makes our cheese? The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program was created to acknowledge the immense depth of experience and talent that exists within the state's dairy industry. Forty-three master cheesemakers are interviewed and photographed for this book organized by section of the state. A brief history of cheese making in Wisconsin and the basics of how to make cheese introduce the main entries focused on each cheesemaker. There are photos on every two page spread and each master has two to four pages to share why they love making our cheese. After reading this book, I'm ready to tour one of my local cheesemaking operations. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by RC @ Zablocki

From Madison to Cairo and around the world, government, politics, political participation and protest are in the news. Whether you are answering your children's questions about current events or want to brush up on government and civics yourself, DK Publishing's primer, Who's in Charge? How Governments Make the World Go Round is an informative and engaging look at how countries and groups around the world organize society. It offers both an historical and wide-ranging perspective on how different political systems function and the way government and citizenship are defined in different countries. You can read it cover to cover or dip in for trivia that may surprise even the most avid political junkies.

Submitted by KW @ Forest Home

With A Discovery of Witches, debut novelist Deborah Harkness has created an enchanting read that is equal parts history and magic, with some suspense and romance to boot. Diana Bishop is doing research in Oxford's Bodleian Library and comes across an alchemical manuscript. She makes a few notes and then returns it to the stacks, but the old text has been lost for centuries and its reappearance unleashes long dormant creatures of the underworld. Enter demons and witches and vampires. Of particular interest is Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist, yoga practicioner and wine connoisseur--as well as vampire. Why is he so invested in Diana?

A truly addictive story, at least for me, and it stirred up my curiosity. Harkness suggests these nonfiction titles, all of which inspired some aspect of A Discovery of Witches. Diana Bishop is descended from a long line of witches. In The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England by Carol F. Karlsen you will find out more about some of those witches--the Bishops and the Proctors--while reading a classic interpretation of what happened in Salem in 1692. Bruce Moran's Distilling Knowledge: Alchemy, Chemistry, and the Scientific Revolution is a fantastic book which is extremely readable. It will give you a new appreciation for the alchemists. And, The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes provides an introduction to the study of genetics, and to the legacies that are carried from generation to generation among the population.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL

Though relatively new to canning, I have already grown bored with some of the recipes out there. I personally only have so much use for jams and jellies and would love more ideas for my peppers. This book offers fantastic recipes - personal favorites are the pickled dilled green beans, Indian cauliflower and farmer's market corn salsa. Even the jelly recipes are tasty!

Beyond just great recipes, it also offers easy to understand step by step directions for canning. I remember before I started canning, I tabled it for a while because other books looked difficult to understand and follow. This book offers steps in language that non-canners will understand and offers photographs and descriptions of all the items you will need, including produce.

Other pluses of the book are its good use of white space (each page has just one recipe) and beautiful use of pictures. This book is a must read for anyone interested in canning.

Click on the book cover above to check the catalog for available copies.

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

The book focuses on the JFK assassination and the conspiracy theories around that event. As someone who did not grow up during the Kennedy era, this book taught me lots about the assassination and conspiracies - something they do not teach you in school. I found myself talking to people about it, making notes and going to the internet to check the sources Belzer cites in his extensive bibliography.

The book also touches on if Elvis is really dead, aliens, and if man really has walked on the moon. These topics are not written on extensively, which I found to be a shame. His writing is very direct, fluid and sensible, making it easy to ponder his theories, if not actually believe them. Belzer has written other works as well and because of his writing style I cannot wait to read them!

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

I grew up watching the Brady Bunch in syndication; it was my favorite television show for a number of years. Because of that, I have read everything related to the Brady Bunch. With a number of the actors becoming reality stars in the past few years, (Florence Henderson/Carol Brady being the most recent, with her turn in the ballroom on Dancing with the Stars), interest for the Brady's never seems to fade.

The book offers something for everyone. As opposed to other books about the Brady's which concentrate on the actors and any love connections, this one talks more about behind the scenes information, like episodes and the details of producing the show. Readers learn how the Brady Bunch came to fruition and a lot about Sherwood Schwartz, who besides the Brady's, was also the mastermind behind Gilligan's Island.

The book is broken into two parts, one by Sherwood and one by his son Lloyd. The tones of the two are quite different. Each address a lot of the same topics, like problems with ABC, working with child actors and working with the infamously hard to deal with Robert Reed (Mike Brady), but while Sherwood is generally more humble and professional, Lloyd is more egotistical and harsh. The two perspectives offer an interesting new look at the Brady Bunch.

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

Hi, my name is Mandy and I am addicted to Etsy.com, the world's online craft fair. You name it, I've bought it there: artwork, jewelry, knit goods, even fudge. And that's barely the tip of the iceberg of what you can find on this site. Enter one search term and you'll find yourself down the rabbit hole again and again. I dare you to log on and limit yourself to 5 minutes of looking around - it's the Lay's potato chip challenge for websites!

But wait, this entry isn't just an unsolicited, unpaid advertisement. Every time I click through and let PayPal make my consumerist dreams come true, this thought crosses my mind: I could make a lot of these items myself! Take a look at these books and perhaps you can avoid my fate. Or, take it a step further, hone your skills, and open your own shop on Etsy! I likely will be your best customer.

The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger
If I ever move past basic scarves and hats in my knitting repertoire, these adorable creatures will be my next step. I am particularly fond of Hugo, the Couch Potato Monster on pp. 48-49. Great gifts for the young and young at heart!

Ceramics for Beginners: Surfaces, Glazes and Firing by Angelica Pozo
This was my favorite subject in art classes in high school. This book skips the potter's wheel and jumps right into decorating techniques for clay pieces at all stages, from newly formed to already fired in the kiln. Numerous photographs and encouragements from the author to be creative abound.

The Complete Photo Guide to Textile Art by Susan Stein
Gorgeous photographs outlining color theory and a multitude of fabric techniques from screenprinting to tie-dyeing to quilting. As inspirational as it is instructional.

The Ultimate Jeweler's Guide by Joanna Gollberg
A concise yet seemingly comprehensive guide to the tools and techniques needed to make your own jewelry masterpieces. The spiral-bound book lays open flat, so you can keep this right next to you while you're soldering away! (welding degree not included)

Patternmaking for a perfect fit by Steffani Lincecum
I'll be honest: I can barely sew on a button. But from the number of patterns and articles of clothing I've seen for sale on Etsy, the art and science of sewing is alive and well. This book is for the budding Project Runway contestant!

Submitted by Mandy @ Central

In Tea Obreht's debut novel, The Tiger's Wife, a young doctor is struggling to understand why her beloved grandfather left his family to die alone in a field hospital far from home. In a war-torn Balkan country she takes over her grandfather's search for a mythical ageless vagabond while referring to a worn copy of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

A Tiger in the Kitchen describes Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan's quest to recreate the dishes of her native Singapore during one Lunar Calendar year, as a way to connect food and family with her sense of home.

The efforts of a tiger conservation leader are documented in The Tiger by John Vaillant. Men were forced to hunt a man-eating tiger through the brutal Siberian winter, an effort that familiarized them with the creature's history, motives and unique method of attack.

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna takes place in turn-of-the-20th-century southern India. Devi Nachimada falls in love with Machu, a daring tiger hunter, and in the process endangers her friendship with a motherless boy, Devanna, thus setting the stage for a devastating tragedy.

Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso describes the tragic family conditions that led to the author's victimization at the hands of a pedophile, describing how her abuser became an insidious part of every aspect of her young life and traumatized her for more than 14 years before he committed suicide.

Amy Chua traces the rewards and pitfalls of a Chinese mother's exercise in extreme parenting, describing the exacting standards applied to grades, music lessons, and avoidance of Western cultural practices in Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

This book has become my travel bible! I am a sucker for factory tours (even if I do not use the product) and try to visit at least one on each trip. I am planning a fall trip to Pennsylvania and this book has helped me discover over eleven factories to visit along the way, including the KitchenAid factory in Ohio and numerous pretzel factories, like Utz's and Snyder's of Hanover in Pennsylvania.

What I like best about the book is that it is categorized by region so if you already know where you are planning to visit, you can check to see what could be on the way. It also offers information like hours of operation, costs, and freebies. I enjoyed just browsing through the book to see examples of places I could go. In the back there is also an index by product.

There is also a website at http://www.factorytour.com/, but the book offers many more tours and other information.

Check out the book for your next vacation, even if you are planning a staycation for Spring Break - there are plenty of opportunities to watch it made right here in Wisconsin. I highly recommend the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie.

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

In this week's Women's Words: A Story Time for Adults, we read Alice Bloch's short story "Learning the Hula." (Find it in the anthology Hers 2.) Even if you couldn't make it to hear the story in person, you'll enjoy these books if you want to explore the culture, landscape, and of course music and dance of this tropical paradise.

Adventurer's Hawaii : photographic glimpses of the Hawaiian Islands as seen by the hiker, kayaker, and adventurer by Peter Caldwell.

Hawaiʻi one summer by Maxine Hong Kingston.
Plants and flowers of Hawaiʻi / S.H. Sohmer and R. Gustafson.

Want to learn to hula? Check out our hula music and instructional videos.

Or explore the landscape from your couch with our travel films.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

Who says you can't enjoy a cookbook like a novel? I've found Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Café to be a compelling read both in and out of the kitchen.

The protagonist and author, Joanne Chang, recounts her career shift from applied mathematics to pastry chef extraordinaire and Boston bakery impresario. I'd remembered her and her winning sticky bun recipe from an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" on the Food Network, and had made a mental note to find that recipe online. Now I don't have to!

While I consider Chang a compelling main character, it's the supporting cast that really moves the narrative along for me. Characters like Sugar + Spice Brioche Buns, Rosemary Shortbread, Midnight Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream, Milky Way Tart, Brown Sugar Popovers. . .the list goes on. Along with the recipes are included many flavor variations, tips on technique, and personal stories from Chang's personal life and professional experience.

I'm a bit of a baking weekend warrior myself, and am really looking forward to tackling the recipes within these pages. Up first? Perfecting her Basic Brioche dough (p. 73) and using that dough to bake the sticky buns that beat Bobby Flay. I can't wait for the sequel!

Submitted by Mandy @ YCOS

If Facebook and I were in a relationship, the status would be "It's Complicated." Yes, I greatly appreciate having a venue to instantaneously keep in touch with hundreds of friends all the way from my high school days through my present circle of coworkers and confidantes. However, I also find the ever-growing and ever-changing number of features and ways to share information on the site positively overwhelming at times. Of course, if I was a teenager who was born texting, this would all be second nature. I've had my page for several years now, so I can only imagine how intimidating Facebook might be for an adult who is less savvy or comfortable with the wide array of social media options available. And, admit it: if you saw The Social Network in the theaters last year you are at least a bit curious, right?

Enter the manuals! I've found a couple of books to ease your foray into Facebook, or enhance the experience you're currently having. The first is more comprehensive, the second more concise, but both cover the basics quite well. One topic covered in both books that is essential to any discussion of social media is privacy. This is a lesson best learned before something goes wrong - learn how to keep the world from seeing things you don't want them to see on your page.

Facebook for Grown-Ups by Michael Miller
Sams Teach Yourself Facebook in 10 Minutes by Sherry Kinkoph Gunter

If you have teens in your life, chances are they already live on Facebook and could give you a tip or two. After you check out one of these books, you may be ready to share a tip or two of your own! And please let them know the Teens of Milwaukee Public Library Facebook page is up and running! We've got information about teen programs and events happening at all 13 MPL locations, book reviews, updates from our own Teen Advisory Board, and information about job and volunteer opportunities. Visit Teens of Milwaukee Public Library and become a fan today!

Submitted by Mandy @ YCOS

Recently, the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards nominees for the best cookbook published in English in 2010 were announced. The winners of each category, Cookbook of the Year, and The Cookbook Hall of Fame Inductee will be declared on May 6, 2011. Check out some of the cookbook nominees that are available from the Milwaukee Public Library.
American Cooking
:
• The Food, Folklore and Art of Lowcountry Cooking by Joseph E. Dabney
• The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Frank Castronovo, Frank Falcinelli, and Peter Meehan
• Pig: King of the Southern Table by James Villas

Baking and Dessert

• Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours by Kim Boyce
• My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages and Frozen Treats by Fany Gerson
• Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours by Sarabeth Levine

General Cooking

• The Essential New York Times Cook Book: Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser
• Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis
• Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease by Rozanne Gold

Healthy Focus

• The Simple Art of EatingWell Cookbook by Jessie Price & The EatingWell Test Kitchen
• The Very Best of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes with More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com by Martha Rose Shulman

International

• Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy by Diana Kennedy
• Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Master, with Authentic Recipes and Stories by Grace Young

Photography

• The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders. Photographer Sara Remington
• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. Photographer Eric Wolfinger

Reference and Scholarship

• Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes by Mark Bitterman
• What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel

For a full list of nominees please see the James Beard Foundation website http://www.jbfawards.com/2011/pdf/jbf-nominees.pdf

Submitted by Rebecca@Central

As Conor Grennan readily admits, his initial reason for working in a Nepalese orphanage was not quite selfless. Grennan originally signed up for the three-month volunteering stint as justification for taking a year-off from work to travel the world. What came of his time at the Little Prince's Children's Home, however, was not just a life changing experience, but a passion and dedication to the children of Nepal that would shape the course of his life and work.

Grennan starts his story with his initial trip to Nepal as a part of his year abroad. The stories he shares of his struggles to adapt to the unfamiliar day-to-day life in Nepal are both funny and endearing, as are the accounts of the antics of the charming children that live at Little Princes. Grennan adeptly peppers in information about the state of the civil war in Nepal so that you gradually develop a picture of the political climate that shaped his work there.

The story shifts with Grennan's discovery that the "Little Princes" are not in fact orphans, but the victims of a child-trafficker who profited off the chaos of civil war and the desperation of parents by charging astronomical fees to shuttle children out of the conflict zones with the promise of sending them to school. Instead of being sent to school, however, the children are abandoned once the reach Kathamandu or, worse, sold into slavery. With this revelation, Grennan feels a powerful need to help return these trafficked children to their families, and founds a non-profit organization to do just that.

Grennan presents his travels and work in Nepal with a comic grace and humbleness that is hard to resist. You feel that you get to know the children, right along with him, and they steal your heart with his. Over the course of the memoir you feel tremendous respect and admiration for Grennan, but it never feels like he is bragging or soliciting praise. This book had me laughing out loud and struggling (and failing) to resist crying. It is a quick, engaging, touching, and ultimately inspirational read. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Megan @ Capitol

Author Julie Klam's first true love wasn't quite what she'd expected.

Squat, walleyed and with a serious underbite, Otto nonetheless became a participant in every aspect of Julie's life. He taught her that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, what to look for when choosing a (human) mate, and eventually guided her down the perilous path of Boston Terrier rescue.

Julie sugarcoats none of her experiences. The admittedly cute adolescent pups rescued from a hoarder come with baggage that includes fleas, bad teeth and the ability to deposit seemingly endless amounts of bodily secretions on every surface of her home including the bed. Repeatedly.

Dahlia, an ancient mixed-breed who appears to be neither Boston nor Terrier arrives as a foster with bad teeth and a worse disposition. She is embraced with fervor by Julie's four year old daughter, surprises the family with two puppies despite her geriatric state, and shortly thereafter departs for the Elysian Fields leaving the humans to raise her offspring.

Then there is Moses, the Boston who devotes himself to Julie with single-minded passion. He is smart, affectionate, and impossible not to bond with. Unfortunately his skills at escaping the leash bring about a tragic ending guaranteed to leave the reader sniffling.

As the owner of two dogs, a pug and an ancient pug/Boston Terrier mix, I know that every dog who belongs to you is beautiful, even with bowed legs, a deviated septum and a propensity to eat things that are indigestible and hack them up on the rug. Dogs teach us patience, kindness, acceptance; they teach us, if we pay attention, how to be better at everything, including love. The lessons are sometimes hard, sometimes sad, but I'm with Julie - it's worth every minute. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Kathi G @ Capitol

The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester narrates the story of Joseph Needham (1900-95). Needham was a Cambridge University don, polymath and the principle author of the Science and Civilization in China series. The series was originally intended to be one volume, but grew into eighteen at the time of Needham's death and is now twenty-four volumes with more still pending. Needham was a married biochemist who was having an extramarital love affair at Cambridge with visiting Chinese biochemist Lu Gwei-djen. It was through her that he became interested in the Chinese language and shortly thereafter mastered it complexities. In 1943 the British Foreign Office sent him on a mission to establish a Sino-British exchange program to help Chinese scholars behind the lines of Japanese occupied China. Many dangerous travels and adventures ensued. Needham avoided the Japanese occupiers and still managed to ship many old Chinese manuscripts back home to England. Upon his return he began to chronicle the great early inventions of the Chinese that would consume the rest of his life.

Submitted by Dan @ Washington Park Library

Ben Carson was raised in poverty and grew up in a single family home. He struggled in school, but with loving encouragement from his mother he was able to work up from the bottom of his class as the "class dummy" to the top. Ben greatly benefited from spending countless hours at the library learning about everything that he had an interest in.

Now as an adult, Dr. Carson is the leading neurosurgeon at John Hopkins Hospital. He has performed miracle surgeries with his gifted hands. In this book, which is also available as a DVD, Ben Carson shares his story to inspire others by proving that you can defy the odds. Gifted Hands is an inspirational classic that can continue to be shared with others for many years! Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Hermoine @ Center Street

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre published or produced in the previous year. Here are some highlights; but click here for the complete list of nominees and winners.

This year's best novel is The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton. After surviving an act of violence as a child, Michael stops talking and grows up with the ability to open any lock or safe, a talent he sells to any buyer in the crime world, until a botched heist forces him to go home to face the secret that has kept him so quiet.

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva won the best first novel award. When journalist Liam Mulligan realizes that someone is systematically burning down his childhood neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, he ignores his bosses and his budding relationship to figure out the firebug's identity.

Best paperback original was awarded to Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard. Astonished to learn that the uncle he believed was killed in the Blitz has been in prison for nearly four decades, Stephen Swan finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy involving forged Picassos and the disinherited family an Antwerp diamond dealer.

Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry is this years winner in the best fact crime category. Go behind the scenes of the 2000 Huskies' Cinderella story to discover a timeless morality tale about the price of obsession, the creep of fanaticism, and the ways in which a community can lose even when its team wins.

Best Critical Biography was awarded to Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvouz with American History by Yunte Huang. A biography of cinematic hero Charlie Chan, based on the real-life Chinese immigrant detective, Chang Apana, whose bravado inspired mystery writer Earl Derr Biggers to depict his fictional sleuth as a wisecracking and wise investigator rather than a stereotype.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

I'll be honest: I am not a fan of most vegetables. However, it's been very clear to me that vegetables are great for my nutrition needs and I really should be eating more of them. In my quest to discover new (or any) ways of eating vegetables, I stumbled upon this great vegetarian cookbook. I may not be a vegetarian, but that doesn't mean I can't take advantage of these great recipes.

What I love the most about this book are the little cooking tips and the guides. I didn't know, before this book, the different ways of preparing vegetables. Now I also know how to prepare different nuts and the best recipes to pair them with. Did you know there are at least 18 different types of beans? I certainly did not, nor did I know how to prepare them before cooking them. The difference between barley and polenta? No idea. In my experience, a lot of cooking books will give me recipes, but don't take the time to explain these types of things. This book is great for someone who is starting out cooking in a healthier way, or someone who is already an experienced veggie-lover. The recipes seem straight-forward and not at all intimidating. It's organized well and has great design. I love the section on soups and stews and I'm also thrilled to try out the bread and dessert sections, because I am a baker at heart.

I would highly suggest this cookbook to anyone, and for the first time I'm looking forward to making food with vegetables in them. I've already bookmarked over 20 recipes and am raring to go. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Monica @ MPL Central

The only thing more astonishing than the fact that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards lived long enough to write his autobiography, Life, is that he remembers so much of what happened to him. Weighing in at a whopping 546 pages, Richards recounts with incredible detail major events and artistic triumphs (the writing and recording of classic hits and albums such as "Satisfaction" and Exile On Main St) to the lowest points (heroin addiction, romantic breakups, and battles with his longtime cohort Mick Jagger).

Most fascinating are the stories behind the creation of those classic Stones records, especially the recording of the Exile album in the south of France in the early 1970s. Richards recounts the free-for-all intensity of that period with amazing clarity, vividly describing the crazy characters, fellow musicians and other hangers-on at his Mediterranean chateau/recording studio.

Also interesting are his descriptions of his relationships with his fellow band mates, Mick Jagger in particular. Much press has been made of some of the negative things Keith has said about Jagger in the book, but Richards also touchingly praises his "Glimmer Twin" brother numerous times throughout, displaying a deep dedication that must exist in a relationship that has lasted as long as theirs has. Richards' frank, sprawling memoir is filled with same grit, wit, and heart of any classic Stones song.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, is, as the subtitle indicates, a great way to feel good about being a city-dweller. The author, a Harvard professor of urban economics, leaves out all the technical language of his field and takes readers on a worldwide tour of cities that work and cities that don't, including a comparison of New York and Detroit--explaining why one has flourished after losing its manufacturing industry, and the other has not.

Glaeser also takes care to explain some of the less than obvious highlights of cities--how asphalt is good for the environment, how new high-rises can save historic buildings, and how urban poverty is a sign that the city is the best place for everyone to be. Triumph of the City explores cities from Singapore to Chicago, touches on topics from school reform to street-cleaning, and explains why suburbs are the popular choice, but cities are the wave of the future.

Submitted by Mary Lou @ Washington Park

Fallows spent three years living in China with her husband and the result is this fascinating book. Because she has a Ph.D. in linguistics, her approach to understanding a country is naturally orientated to first learning the language. She observes, "Language teachers and linguists generally agree that Chinese is one of the world's most difficult languages for English speakers to learn..." She also found out first hand how hard Chinese was to use as she traveled around the county trying to communicate. Chinese is a tonal language. There are about 400 syllables in Mandarin as opposed to 4000 in English. So hearing tones and using them in speech is essential for communication. One example she gives is the clever story of the Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den which consist of 92 repetitions of the syllable shi using different tones to tell a grammatically correct story in Chinese.

« Shī Shì shí shī shǐ »
Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī.
Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī.
Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì.
Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì.
Shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shìshì.
Shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shíshì.
Shíshì shī, Shì shǐ shì shì shíshì.
Shíshì shì, Shì shǐ shì shí shì shí shī.
Shí shí, shǐ shí shì shí shī, shí shí shí shī shī.
Shì shì shì shì.

《施氏食獅史》
石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。
氏时时适市视狮。
十时，适十狮适市。
是时，适施氏适市。
氏视是十狮，恃矢势，使是十狮逝世。
氏拾是十狮尸，适石室。
石室湿，氏使侍拭石室。
石室拭，氏始试食是十狮尸。
食时，始识是十狮，实十石狮尸。
试释是事。

« Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den »
In a stone den was a poet called Shi, who was a lion addict, and had resolved to eat ten.
He often went to the market to look for lions.
At ten o'clock, ten lions had just arrived at the market.
At that time, Shi had just arrived at the market.
He saw those ten lions, and using his trusty arrows, caused the ten lions to die.
He brought the corpses of the ten lions to the stone den.
The stone den was damp. He asked his servants to wipe it.
After the stone den was wiped, he tried to eat those ten lions.
When he ate, he realized that these ten lions were in fact ten stone lion corpses.
Try to explain this matter. (Poem source in full: Wikipedia.)

The author covers many other interesting complexities of Chinese too numerous to list here, but the reader comes away with the impression that all non-native speakers must make an extraordinary effort to master this language. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Dan @ Washington Park Library

Fans of Sarah Vowell's unique takes on American history will not be disappointed with her latest offering, Unfamiliar Fishes. Here she brings her familiar sharp sense of humor and infectious enthusiasm to the subject of our nation's 50th state, Hawaii. Vowell explores the island state's journey from independent kingdom to American possession, examining the cultural clashes and geographical challenges along the way.

Hawaii is largely regarded as little more than a vacation paradise, home to sunny beaches, Pearl Harbor, and President Obama. Before Western incursion it had a self-contained culture with its own religion, organization, and royal lineage. Colonization began with missionaries from New England looking to "Christianize" and "civilize" the inhabitants, and then later as an outpost for Pacific sailors looking for shore leave and (ahem) a good time.

Vowell provides a breezy overview of this history with little romanticism and ample sarcasm but without the strident anti-Western polemics one often finds in historical revisions like this. The tone of the book is at times melancholy, but she balances this with her pop-culture informed wit and sweet descriptions of adventures with her sister Amy and nephew Owen, whom her readers will recognize from previous books. Unfamiliar Fishes is a great addition to the growing Sarah Vowell collection and an informative yet light read.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

How much do we know about our parents? Which life experiences shaped their lives? Have they told you about them or kept silent? Have you asked? Some of the memories may jar your understanding of them, bring you closer to them, and aid you in understanding more about the society we live in.

Michele Norris, co-host of National Public Radio's All Things Considered, uncovered family secrets which greatly enriched her understanding of her own racial legacy. The campaign leading to President Obama's election started many conversations about race. In 2009, Norris worked on a multipart NPR series on race in America. As part of the process, while participating in her family's conversations, secrets were uncovered. Most notably, she learned that her father had been shot by a white policeman in Alabama and that her maternal grandmother worked as a traveling Aunt Jemima. This began a journey for information that resulted in her writing The Grace of Silence.

Norris grew up in South Minneapolis, raised by her two strong, hard-working parents to be the confident, accomplished woman we know today. Instilled in her was the constant expectation to "rise" and to "set your sights on excellence and opportunity." As an award-winning journalist and commentator, she did just that. Her memoir is a great read which may get you to say to the people who raised you "Tell me more about yourself." Who knows where the conversation may go?

Submitted by Linda V. @ Center St

With gas prices reaching all-time highs and an economy that is recovering all too slowly from its 2008 tailspin, the question of how we got into this mess still does not have an entirely satisfying answer. One trenchant analysis of this situation comes from intrepid Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi, well known for his in-depth Wall Street dissections and caustic (yet coffee-spittingly funny) attacks on political and economic elites. His latest book, Griftopia, looks at the current downturn and fearlessly points the finger at those whose reckless and self-absorbed behavior resulted in the loss of jobs and billions of dollars in investment and retirement funds for millions of working-and middle-class Americans.

Taibbi links the meltdown at least in part to the actions (and inactions) of longtime former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a Reagan appointee and devotee of libertarian author Ayn Rand. It is Greenspan's policies that permitted the kind of high-stakes wheeling and dealing pervasive on Wall Street, using complex and unregulated financial instruments that filled the coffers of large investment banks but bankrupted pension funds, individual 401ks, and communities. As a result, retirees are forced into poverty and towns and cities find themselves having to sell off valuable long-term assets in order to cover short-term budgetary deficits.

Politicians both Republican and Democratic receive due dressing-downs from Taibbi, who is known for his over-the-top and often profanity-laced tirades. Not for the faint-hearted, Griftopia will have you both pounding your fist in anger and doubled over in laughter, often within the same sentence.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

National Public Radio's China correspondent Rob Gifford journeyed for six weeks on China's Route 312. (This would be the early equivalent of Route 66 through a less developed United States). He begins his sojourn in the costal city Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River and moves nearly 3000 miles inland to the boarder of Kazakhstan. Along the way the country is transformed into a desert and the road signs become bilingual, including both Chinese and the Arabic script of the Uighur Muslims. Gifford is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and his great gift as a journalist is his ability to seek out, converse and ingratiate himself with an incredible cast of characters, even managing to interview the Daoist hermit monk Shi of Hua Shan at his mountain hut. The reader gets a good feeling for the "schizophrenic" pace of China's development, from the skyscrapers of Shanghai to the oxen still tilling the rural land as they have since ancient times. China Road is the ultimate travelogue winding its way through China's diverse cultures.

Submitted by Dan @ Washington Park

Your friends are talking about the latest best seller. Your teachers are lecturing about the most important classics. You don't have enough time to read everything. And half of those books you have no interest in reading anyway. Here Lange summarizes each book in one page with four drawings and a bit of text. How is that possible? Unfortunately, you have to read it to find out, but it's painless I promise...and hilarious too.

Written like "Freakonomics" for sports fans, the Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won teams an economist with a sportswriter who uses statistics to challenge the conventional wisdom of American sports. Ideas like "Defense wins championships", and "Always punt on fourth down" are put to the test. Even the infamous "curse" of the Chicago Cubs is explored. The results are sometimes surprising, sometimes provocative but always interesting. The conclusions are laid out in clear terms that are easy to understand. A must read for any sports fan.

Submitted by Anthony @ Atkinson

As 2012 approaches, a vast number of works dealing with end-of-the-world prophecies and Mayan calendrics have been flooding the book markets. Restall and Solari take a sober look at the roots of this connection and demonstrate that far from being a product of Mayan astrological observations, the 2012 phenomenon is the product of Christian millenarianism combined with inaccurate assumptions made about pre-Colombian Mayans by 19th and early 20th century Mayanists.

This short treatise provides a very clear explanation about the details of the Mayan calendar that the controversy is based on, without becoming overly technical. It also explores the profound influence that Western civilization had on Mesoamerican culture. It is very readable and accessible to anyone interested in a historically accurate portrayal of the subject. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by John @ MPL Central

Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City, takes readers on a captivating and at times terrifying tour of early 1930s Berlin in his latest work, In the Garden of Beasts. In this book, we observe the beginnings of the Nazi regime through the eyes of the American ambassador to Germany at the time and his adult daughter, who accompanied him during his ambassadorship and socialized with many of the prominent figures of the era, up to and including Adolf Hitler himself.

In hopes of finding a prestigious but low-demand government job allowing him time to do scholarly work, University of Chicago professor William E. Dodd applied for and was granted the ambassadorship to Germany in 1933. His family's move there coincided with the National Socialist takeover of the German government, an event which had immediate and ominous consequences. Dodd and his daughter, Martha, kept detailed journals of their time in Berlin, noting the transformation of the city from a vibrant, diverse metropolis to a cold, conformist symbol of the "New Germany" being forged by Hitler and his henchmen. Initial enthusiasm for the new government on the part of Martha Dodd is quickly dashed as the reality of the Nazis' intentions becomes evident.

Larson expertly weaves the entries from the Dodds' journals and other historical documents into a riveting and powerful narrative. Many of the major players in the regime are present here--Röhm, Göring, Goebbels, Himmler, and of course Hitler, with whom both Dodds were acquainted. From our 20/20 perspective, it is chilling to read of Martha in particular engaging lightly with these notorious figures. Nonetheless, her and her father's experiences provide us with a unique view of an extraordinary time in world history.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

From the mind of comedian Adam Carolla, this is his hilarious take on modern life for the American male. Family, religion, and education are just some of the topics he writes about from his irreverent point of view. Expect no punches to be pulled as he shows why he is considered one of the funniest men in comedy today. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Anthony @ Atkinson

The death of Alexander McQueen on February 11, 2011 was a major loss to the world of fashion. Throughout his 19 year career McQueen's designs introduced a unique avant-garde style not seen before. His dramatic designs refer to the exaggerated silhouettes of the late 1800s. McQueen's imaginative work can be seen in both Extreme Beauty and Radical Fashion.

Radical Fashion edited by Claire Wilcox features interviews with fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, and John-Paul Gaultier. Each interview is accompanied by several examples of the artist's designs. This publication coincided with an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed by Harold Koda focuses on fashion designer's take on the human form. Koda is curator in charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His book details designers that distort the human body and the early sources that inspired them. Each chapter looks at a different zone of the body in detail (neck and shoulders, chest, waist, hips, and feet), and provides a chronological outline and explanatory text concerning the transformations that have characterized each zone. With loads of color photographs and reproductions of armor, paintings, and period prints there is a wealth of information here.

Submitted by Maria @ MPL Central

Secrets. We all have them.

Would you share your secrets if you knew there would be no repercussions or fallout? If no one could link you to your deepest, darkest thoughts? Through PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives, Frank Warren offers us all the chance to confess our secrets without fear.

It started as an idea for a community art project. In 2004, Warren left blank postcards in public places with the following simple instructions:

"You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything -- as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative."

Anonymous confessions came pouring in. Thousands took advantage of the opportunity to unload their innermost fears, regrets, and desires. Through these postcards, people turned their revelations into works of art, and Warren began posting the submissions online for all to read. The response was overwhelming as readers recognized their own emotions and humanity in the profundities of others.

PostSecret is the first collection of some of the most powerful postcards Warren received. The confessions along with the original artwork can be shocking, humorous, cryptic, and most certainly provocative. If you are as fascinated by the first collection as I was, there are ever more secrets to be revealed. You can view postcard submissions online at PostSecret or check out Warren's other PostSecret collections.

Submitted by Jennifer @ MPL Central

With so many diet and exercise fads out there, who knows which ones will work? An extra problem is that many will require you to buy their book or equipment to learn their "secrets." In the face of so many choices, it is easy to understand the urge to give up before even delving in. Enter Charlotte Hilton Andersen who is ready to do the work for you.

In The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything, she tackles twelve different diets and workouts, a new one for every month. Her personal experiences and the pros and cons of each are described in a funny and honest voice that makes you wish she was your "Gym Buddy."

She takes on Crossfit, Jillian Michaels, kettlebells, going vegan, karate, celebrity and "action hero" workouts, among others. Also enjoyable are her personal essays that tackle topics such as eating disorders and "being a girl in our body-obsessed culture." After reading this book, I certainly felt like I had more insight to the different fitness workouts out there, and what would work best for me based on her tests and trials.

Submitted by Monica @ MPL Central

Few people in Yoga circles haven't heard the names of giants like B.K.S Iyengar (founder of Iyengar Yoga) or Krishna Pattabhi Jois (founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore India); both men are responsible for the dissemination of Yoga throughout the Western world in the twentieth century. Many modern Yoga teachers can trace their origins back to these two men, and in like manner, they owe their early training to the father of modern Yoga, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.

Mohan, who studied with Sri Krishnamacharya for nearly twenty years, provides readers with a unique insight into this modern master's life and teachings. Not only was Krishnamacharya a master of Hatha Yoga, but also an Ayurvedic healer and scholar of Vedic and Yogic texts, who tailored his teachings to each student's physical, intellectual and spiritual development.

Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings is essential reading for anyone developing their own Yoga practice, because it provides not only a biography of this important historic figure, but also sheds light on many key aspects of Yoga study and application.

Submitted by John @ MPL Central

The vast Pacific Ocean hosts at least 20,000 islands, many of which sprouted from the depths like pus filled pimples on the face of Poseidon. Many breed disease carrying insects, venomous snakes and all kinds of noxious creations that can kill or sicken a man. Some of these islands are drenched for months at a time by torrential monsoons, while others are so dry that rainwater is collected in barrels for human consumption.

The island named Tarawa was just such a place in 1943 during the early stages of the American "island hopping" campaign to push back the conquering Japanese during WWII. Tarawa (now named Kiribati) is located in the Central Pacific and is part of the Gilbert Islands. The Japanese built an airfield on the barren, arid island that posed an immediate threat to the Americans advancing up the Solomon Islands and other US bases in the South Pacific. It had to be taken by US forces.

During three days in November of 1943, over 1,000 American servicemen, mostly marines from the Second Marine Division, lost their lives trying to take the prized airfield on Tarawa away from the Japanese.

The Japanese lost thousands of soldiers, many who were so firmly entrenched in defensive positions that they had to literally be blown out of the ground by explosives or burned out with flamethrowers. Only 17 Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner.

The quick and bloody battle is respectfully retold through firsthand interviews with veterans who share horrors of the brutal combat, often giving deferential testimony to the tenacity of the Japanese defenders. It is a tale of sloppy American planning, horrible heat, bad water and a low tide that took the lives of many marines who were forced to wade through a machine gun raked lagoon to reach the beaches after the US command misjudged the tides and left US landing craft hung up far from the landing beaches.

Bravo Mr. Wukovits, you've documented a story that needs to be told again and again. The "greatest generation" indeed! Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Dan @Central.

Have you ever heard of a bug that inhabits another bug's body and forces them to do its bidding? Or how about a bug that feeds upon a fish's tongue until only a stub remains? In Amy Stewart's fifth book, the readers are taken into the strange and dangerous world of bugs. Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects gives delightful stories of over a hundred of the most sinister, amusing, and irksome bugs known to man. From the insatiable appetite of the Colorado Potato Beetle to the flea that terrorized Columbus's crew, each bug has an unique story made even more descriptive by the fantastic etchings and drawings of Briony Morrow-Cribbs. This book is a must for anyone who wants to learn more about the little pests we couldn't live without.

Submitted by Maria @ Central

I was intrigued when I first ran across the title The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. How do you write a biography of a disease? What elevated cancer to the level of emperor in the author's mind? When I heard the news that the book had won a Pulitzer Prize this year for general non-fiction I decided to give it a try. What a fascinating read! The book traces the history of the knowledge and treatment of cancer from ancient times to the present day. Although some poignant stories are briefly presented, the book reads more like a detective story than a biography. The mystery to be solved is the riddle of cancer and finding a cure is the quest of centuries of trial and error by medical researchers. It is fascinating to see the painstaking work as well as the imagination and luck that brought us to today's treatments. Mukherjee, a professor of Medicine at Columbia University, makes the science accessible. The book is a biography in the sense that the people who were instrumental in the fight against cancer come alive. The inability of science to find a magic bullet cure for this insidious and heartbreaking disease certainly makes cancer seem deserving of the title Emperor. I did feel that the book ended on a hopeful note as new treatments are devised based on the mapping of the human genome and the discovery of new drugs among other advances. Highly recommended.

Submitted by Patricia D. @ Central

What do gardens say about the people who designed them? Wade Graham's American Eden: From Monticello to Central Park to Our Backyards: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are is a history of American gardens, particularly those of the upper class and those in public spaces. This carefully researched book shows not only photographs, but the actual plans of many famous and fabulous gardens. Does the person with a formal garden lead a life different than the person with a looser style garden? Suggested for those who enjoy gardening, architecture, landscaping and social history.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The names Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Vladimir Guerrero are well-known among Major League Baseball fans. What these players all have in common besides astronomical talent and millions of fans (and dollars) is the fact that they all hail from the same tiny Latin-American country, the Dominican Republic. Dominicans by far outstrip any other foreign nationalities represented in the Major Leagues, exceeding representatives from other baseball-crazy countries such as Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, and Japan. So what accounts for this tiny, economically challenged Caribbean nation having such an incredible impact on "our" game? This is the question Mark Kurlansky attempts to answer in his book, The Eastern Stars.

Kurlansky, the author of Cod and Salt, turns his keen investigative eye towards this phenomenon by studying the impact of baseball on the Dominican city San Pedro de Macorís, a remote, sleepy community that alone has produced 79 Major League ballplayers in its history (including the aforementioned Sosa). Kurlansky looks into the city's history and multiethnic culture and provides insights from the players, coaches, managers, and veterans who oversee the tough and highly disciplined player development structures built into the culture of the town. He also discusses how baseball, to a lot of these kids, is seen as the only way of climbing out of the wretched poverty they experience. This book will be of interest not only to baseball fans but anyone interested in Dominican and Latin American culture and history. If you enjoy this book, I highly recommend checking out the 2008 movie Sugar, also available at the Milwaukee Public Library.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

Delhi never fails to capture the imagination. The city has been torn down and rebuilt countless times; it has seen the opulence and grandeur of the Mughals, the control of the British Raj, and survived and thrived through the tenuous birth of the world's largest democracy. William Dalrymple, acclaimed South Asia historian and writer, takes us through a year living in India's capital and conjures for readers the vibrant scenes of an ever changing city. Mughal monuments, some long abandoned and others still used by the city's substantial Muslim population, stand side by side with cell phone shops and Sikh and Hindu temples. Dalrymple spends his year exploring the intersection of modernity and history in this place said to be guarded by Djinns -spirits fashioned from fire. A talented writer, he seamlessly weaves tales from his experiences in Delhi with historical accounts of the city. His attachment to Delhi is clear and his passion is contagious. Speaking on his first encounter with the city Dalrymple says, "From the very beginning I was mesmerized by the great capital, so totally unlike anything I had ever seen before. Delhi...was full of riches and horrors: it was a labyrinth, a city of palaces, an open gutter, filtered light through a filigree lattice, a landscape of domes, an anarchy, a press of people, a choke of fumes, a whiff of spice." With City of Djinns readers will feel they too are traveling through the fascinating city and come to understand the unique allure of Delhi. Click here for a complete list of works by William Dalrymple.

Submitted by Kristina@MPL Central

When the news broke that Milwaukee is one of only three North American cities to host the The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City exhibit about the emperor Qianlong who ruled China from 1736 to 1796, I thought wasn't there an exhibit on him in Chicago several years ago? After jogging my memory, I remembered seeing the Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong exhibit at the Field Museum in 2004.

While both exhibits focused on Qianlong, each is unique. The Milwaukee Art Museum's (MAM) The Emperor's Private Paradise exhibit showcases 90 artifacts from Qianlong Garden and Forbidden City in Beijing. Chicago's Field Museum Splendors of China's Forbidden City exhibit displayed almost 400 objects from Beijing's Palace Museum. A few of the most striking artworks are paintings that combine Chinese and Western art perspectives and techniques, the latter brought by Qianlong's Jesuit court missionaries.
Whether you recently saw or plan to visit MAM's exhibit, borrow both coffee table exhibit catalogs. You'll enjoy their rich illustrations and informative text.

Check catalog for The Emperor's Private Paradise availability.

Check catalog for Splendors of China's Forbidden City availability.

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo

Usefulness in Small Things by
Kim Colin & Sam Hecht (c2010)

Colin and Hecht's "Under a Fiver" collection is a gentle celebration of odd and classy low-cost consumables found quietly lurking amongst the thoughtless mass-produced heaps at your local retailer. Usefulness in Small Things showcases these increasingly rare, yet humble, everyday items that stand out for their artistic merit and aesthetically appealing, functional design.

Finally, an art book for shopping cart pushers. Enjoy.

Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom S. @ MPL Central

Wanna make a Gen-Xer feel really old? Tell them that Nirvana's Nevermind album came out 20 years ago. Also mention that rocker Bob Mould, of Hüsker Dü and Sugar fame, is now 50 years old. The alt-rock elder statesman has finally taken the time to write his autobiography, called See A Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody. In his book, the famously private Mould gives fans a personal look into the life of the man behind the songs. He talks about everything here, from his difficult childhood, the rise and fall of the seminal Hüskers and the fertile Twin Cities music scene of the Eighties, his solo career, and coming to terms with his homosexuality. The book contains its fair share of juicy insider stories and score-settling with former band mates and lovers, but avoids overindulgence by maintaining a strong focus on his journey as an artist and an individual. Mould's book is a compelling and enjoyable read for casual and hard-core fans alike.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

You've spent your day hanging out in the nice, cool library. Then you head to the movies just for the A/C. There are so many fans blasting in your bedroom that you may have created an entirely new weather system.

Sound familiar?

There's nothing like an icy treat in this weather. Let our books help you chill out!

Ice pop joy : organic, healthy, fresh, delicious by Anni Daulter
These recipes are made without added sugar, and range from kid-friendly yogurt pops to grown-up treats like herbal tea pops and more.

The ultimate ice cream book : over 500 ice creams, sorbets, granitas, drinks, and more by Bruce Weinstein
The title pretty much says it all. Yum!

Paletas : authentic recipes for Mexican ice pops, shaved ice, & aguas frescas by Fany Gerson
Does your mouth water when you hear the bells of the New Paleteria Leon ice cream truck go by? Now you can make your own Mexican summer specialties!

Should I share my ice cream? by Mo Willems
Even adults will get a laugh out of Mo Willem's delicious little story about sharing and the power of friendship.

On a diet? Stay cool with a book about the history of ice cream.

Submitted by Audrey @ Forest Home

If you've been celebrating Culinary month this July with a little too much butter and sugar, perhaps you'd like to try some lighter recipes. The America's Test Kitchen has released their encyclopedic family cookbook with a nod to your health. The Test Kitchen staff has toiled over numerous revisions of family favorites until arriving at the perfect balance of full flavor and healthier ingredients. The brownie recipe calls for light sour cream to maintain the moist texture, and many recipes substitute heart healthy Omega 3 fats for saturated fat. The cookbook provides specific product recommendations based on blind taste tests of important ingredients like light mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, and low fat cheese. The authors illustrate the cooking process in a way that makes their recipes approachable for even the most inexperienced home cook. After borrowing this book from the library, you just might need to buy your own copy like I did.

Submitted by Anna from Central

Confession: I judge books by their covers all the time. Probably not the best habit for a librarian, but the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? One area where this habit does come in handy: manga. Eye-catching covers are commonplace in the manga landscape but good looks with no substance does not a pleasant reading experience make. Hence this manga must-read list: the books featured above, Death Note, Genshiken, and Pluto are highly acclaimed manga series with enough character development, intricate plot twists, conflict, and appealing artwork to lure just about anyone into the manga universe.

Death Note is a popular series following Light, a brilliant young man who stumbles across a notebook with extraordinary power. If your name is written in the notebook, you're dead. Light begins writing names of murderers and other criminals but soon draws the attention of Interpol and reclusive detective L, who is determined to catch Light at all costs.

Genshiken is about Japan's hardcore manga, anime, gaming, and cosplay fans, known as otaku. The series focuses on a group of college students' love of visual culture and the bonds of friendship that form from shared interests. Genshiken's naturalistic artwork is a highlight of the series.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka follows robot detective Gesicht as he solves a series of robot and human murders. Pluto is loosely based on a classic Astro Boy story, "The Greatest Robot on Earth." Film noir elements and excellent character development make Pluto a standout series and who doesn't love a good robot murder mystery?

Submitted by Nobuta @ Milwaukee Public Library

Legendary singer and actress, Ethel Waters' life is a prime example of life being stranger than fiction. Waters rose from a poverty stricken childhood to a life of wealth and fame. A child of rape, Ethel Waters had a difficult childhood with her emotionally distant mother. At seventeen, Waters began her entertainment career by singing in nightclubs in her native Pennsylvania. Soon she began traveling on the 'chitlin circuit' performing in night clubs across the United States, under the indignities of Jim Crow laws. As Waters' fame rose during the 1920's and 1930's, she performed in several Broadway stage productions and Hollywood films. Waters' life held much success including several hit records and an Academy Award nomination for her role in the film, Pinky Water's also battled hardships in her life, such as an unwanted teenage marriage, the death of her beloved grandmother and many failed romantic relationships. Heat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters includes quotes from Ethel Waters' autobiography, His Eye Is On The Sparrow, which helps Bogle create a multi-faceted biography of a talented woman with a complex personality. Despite being over six hundred pages, Heat Wave reads quick and easy, like a good beach novel.

Submitted by Gabriel @ Central

MEOW; here is another book with a cute, fluffy cat on the cover but with a twist. Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat by David Dosa, M.D. is not a collection of charming anecdotes of Oscar's behavior and daily excursions. In fact, this book is not as much about Oscar the cat as it is about different ways a residential care facility has dealt with patients suffering from dementia.

Dr. David Dosa and Oscar made headlines in 2007 when the doctor published an article in a medical journal describing Oscar's ability to sense a patient's approaching death. By doing that, Oscar supplied comfort to the residents and also to their families dealing with the latter stages of Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of end-stage dementia. It is interesting to note that Dr. Dosa was not a self-proclaimed fan of cats and was initially skeptical of Oscar's intuitiveness and healing presence. While observing Oscar and the effect he had on the residents and their families, the doctor came to realize that the cat does indeed have special abilities. He fills his book with narratives that touch upon the care given to those dying patients by the residential facility, interviews with remaining family members and the effect Oscar has on all that encountered him.

Making Rounds with Oscar will not only enchant cat lovers, but will touch the hearts of anyone who has ever had a friend or family member affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Submitted by Lori @ Central

Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore traces the roots of death metal and grindcore to their more current forms, touching on many of the issues that helped shape the music over the years. Included are the infamous Florida Death Metal scene, with bands such as Obituary, Death and Morbid Angle, the Grindcore bands of England including Carcass and Godflesh and the Death Metal hot bed of Sweden with bands such as Nihilist and Carnage and Polish Death Metalers Vader. The book does a fairly decent job of documenting the history of the music and the scene, its rise to prominence and current state. The text is supplemented with many rare and interesting photographs. Anyone with an interest in this music will find the book one of the top reads on the subject.

Submitted by Eric @ Central

Milwaukee Public Library's newest foodie acquisition is Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold with Chris Young, Maxime Bilet. Photography by Ryan Matthew Smith and Nathan Myhrvold. modernistcuisine.com According to Myhrvold, the goal was to explain the science, techniques, chemistry and physics of cooking. This publication is like Cook's Illustrated on steroids. In addition to their recipes and science, photographed cut-a-ways show you magical views of what is happening to your food as you cook it. Yes, they actually cut the pans, grills, jars, food, even a $5,000 oven in half in a machine shop and photographed the food as it cooked. The point here is to show you a view you have never seen before and also explain all the science behind their techniques.
In five volumes are 2,064 large, gorgeous pages of food, techniques, charts, graphs, photos and a 374 page "Kitchen Manual" that has washable, waterproof pages. This makes for 2,438 pages of amazing, unique reading. Most everything about food and cooking is covered--from food and culinary history to the modern trends started by Grant Aschatz, Hestor Blumenthal, Ferran Adria and others. Please come and take a look at this six-volume set (with 1500 recipes) in the Business and Technology Room at Central Library.
Submitted by Rebecca @ Central

Certain years in recent American history are generally considered to be a time of cataclysmic change and upheaval - 1968 for example comes to mind as emblematic of the 1960's as a whole. Other years are relegated to a much lower profile in history books and unless it happens to be the year that you were born, rarely celebrated at all. Fred Kaplan, a Slate columnist, has dusted off the year 1959 and written a fascinating account of this pivotal year that did much to shape our current world in 1959: The Year Everything Changed.

In 1959 the first microchip was introduced by Texas Instruments and the "pill" as in birth control pill was submitted to the FDA for approval by pharmaceutical manufacturer Searle. The so called "sick comic" Lenny Bruce appeared on the Steve Allen show in April of 1959 and Mort Sahl was getting rave reviews on stage in San Francisco for simply reading and commenting on articles in the daily newspaper. It is easy to trace the comedic breakthrough that gave way to George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. The phrase "beatniks" (a play on Sputnik) coined by Jack Kerouac was an apt description of a movement that foreshadowed the hippie movement of the 1960's and equally important Howl by Allen Ginsberg and Naked Lunch by William Burroughs were also published in 1959. The jazz album Kind of Blue was released by Miles Davis that same year and is often described as a seminal jazz work and the cornerstone of any jazz collection. The author unfortunately gives short shrift to other music genres but his riff on jazz is well worth reading regardless of your musical tastes. Two major events of the 1960's - the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement are of course a part of the author's analysis of the year 1959. In 2061 will 2011 be considered a historic year or just be a minor footnote as the 10th anniversary of an earlier historic event - 9/11?

Submitted by Tom O. @ Central

A good biography gives you information and insights into someone's life. When the life is as fascinating as that of Babe Didrikson Zaharias and the writing is clear, compelling and well researched it becomes a great biography. I didn't know much about Babe when I started the book - only that she excelled in many sports including golf. The backstory chronicles a childhood of poverty, a struggle to overcome gender barriers in sports, amazing feats of athleticism and an outsize personality that could often be abrasive and grandiose. The list of her athletic accomplishments is long and includes setting five world records in a single afternoon at the 1932 Amateur Athletic Union track and field championships, winning two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and becoming the first American woman to win the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 1947. By 1950 she had won every golf title available to women and become instrumental in the founding of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The author is very successful at portraying a woman of extraordinary physical gifts and her drive to win, most especially and poignantly at the time of her battle with cancer which ended her life too soon in 1956. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Pat @ Central

Earlier this week, the PEN American Center annouced their 2011 PEN Literary Awards winners. Highlights include:

Fiction Debut - Susanna Daniel, Stiltsville (Harper Perennial) &
Danielle Evans, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self (Riverhead)

Nonfiction - Robert Perkinson, Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire (Metropolitan Books)

Science Writing - Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies (Scribner)

Sports Writing - George Dohrmann, Play Their Hearts Out (Ballantine Books)

Biography - Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life (Little, Brown and Company)

Click on cover images to check catalog for availability.

Artist Tim Flach creates stunning, clever, abstract and sometimes humorous portraits of man's best friend and compiles them in this book which is much much more than your average coffee table book. With each color or black and white photograph Lewis Blackwell writes the concise history and description unique to each particular breed of dog portrayed. The portfolio begins where it aught to with the mother of all dogs the Canis lupus or better know as the wolf. From there we see and read about all of the different breeds man has created over the years -- dogs for protecting, hunting, herding, fighting, showing and companionship.

Tim has another equally beautiful book dedicated to horses entitled Equus.

Submitted by Valerie @ MPL Central

Not the most insightful memoir, but certainly an enjoyable look at a TV and movie icon's life. In My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir Van Dyke states that the reader is not going to find any dirt in his book, and indeed the only person he casts any shadow on is himself, as he talks about the disintegration of his marriage. Baby boomers and nostalgia buffs will appreciate his fond remembrances of Dick Van Dyke Show co-stars Mary Tyler Moore and Carl Reiner, while Disney fans will enjoy the retelling of the labor that went into the Mary Poppins "Step in Time" and "Chim Chim Cheree" song and dance numbers and the film wizardry that allowed him to also play the role of Mr. Dawes, Sr., who was the demanding boss of Jane and Michael Banks' father. The closing portion of the book talks about the nearly 25 years he spent, after his divorce, with Michelle Triola, known for filing the legal landmark "palimony" suit against Lee Marvin. Later roles, such as "Dr. Mark Sloan" on Diagnosis: Murder are painted against that backdrop. Photographs illustrate his life and roles along the way. None of his anecdotes go into too much depth, but like a TV sitcom, the book is a quick read that leaves fans in a pleasant, not-overly-full state at the end.

Submitted by Cathy M. @ Central

In A Life At Work, New York Times best selling author Thomas Moore discusses the joy of discovering what you were born to do and helps readers answer the age old question, "what am I going to be when I grow up?". Almost everyone can appreciate the frustrating feeling of getting nowhere at work and the desire to be more fulfilled from what you do. With both a spiritual and psychological approach, Moore leads readers through an individual journey of one's own life and teaches readers how to successfully contemplate ones own past in order to choose a gratifying future. Moore shows us that we are all unique beings and that each of us must chose a course that suits that uniqueness. In order to feel fulfilled at work we must chose paths that satisfy the body, mind and sprit by engaging in work that gives meaning to life and inspires positivity. This book explains exactly how to decide if your current job is leading you in this path and if it is not, how to steer your life in a direction of positivity and fulfillment. As it promises, this book isn't just about finding the right job but about uncovering who you were meant to be and finding opportunities that enhance that.

Submitted by Danielle R. - Technical Services, Serials Department

Though it wasn't until 1925 that Winnie-the-Pooh officially became a storybook character, he was a stuffed bear given to A. A. Milne's son Christopher Robin 90 years ago on his first birthday, August 21, 1921. The bear then became the model and inspiration for the honey-loving hero of the children's book series that is loved by millions.

Milne made a contribution to the Christmas Eve issue of the Evening News; a bedtime story that he had made up for his son about adventures he had with his Teddy Bear who was known as Winnie-the-Pooh. This bedtime story formed the first chapter of Milnes book entitled Winnie-the-Pooh and was famously followed by Now We are Six and The House at Pooh Corner. The New York Public Library has a timeline about the Real Pooh.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The way of the wolverine has long been a mystery. Rarely encountered in the wild, the wolverine has for the most part eluded scientific study. Chadwick was part of a team of scientists and wolverine enthusiasts that wanted to know more. From 2002 to 2007 they trapped (see photo below) and tagged and radio-chipped the resident wolverine population of Glacier National Park in Montana. And now he has documented their findings.

Wolverines eat whatever prey they can catch or scavenge. And not just the meat, they devour the bones and skulls as well. Protein equals fuel and wolverines need a lot of it as they are always on the move. Female territories often cover 200 miles and male territories twice that.

Cunning and fearless and relentless, a wolverine would just as soon climb up and over a mountain than go around it. They will fight bears and wolves off a carcass if the mood strikes them. They even have a cool scientific name, Gulo Gulo. But they are also in peril (at least in the lower 48) thanks to global warming and other human pressures.

Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom S. @ MPL Central

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. W.H. Auden

Think you're an accountable, ecological, and responsible water user? We excrete Viagra, synthetic estrogen, and other prescription drugs -- as well as illicit substances -- whenever we use the toilet. We poison fish every time we wash with antibacterial soap. Some stinkers are even flushing chemicals and leftover pills away.

That being said, Milwaukee's treated drinking water quality currently meets or exceeds all EPA and DNR standards. So why should you care? In The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-First Century Prud'homme says, America's water consumption doubles every 20 years, but our supply stays the same. The EPA is too underfunded to effectively monitor water quality, several U.S. cities are dangerously close to running out, and regulations aren't keeping up with new types of pollutants in the water. Add global warming, a population boom, and pollution and before you know it, the hydrocarbon era is over. Water is the new oil! You don't need to be psychic to assume that the nastiest international skirmishes in the next 50 years will probably involve water conflicts.

As Alex Prud'homme and his great-aunt Julia Child were completing their collaboration on her memoir, My Life in France, they began to talk about the French obsession with bottled water which was gaining a toe-hold in America. Curiosity piqued, Prud'homme began ambitious research about water in America.

Prud'homme believes that our water issues are so dire he wants a federally coordinated water czar. He's calling for a national dialogue focusing on water infrastructure issues, and The Replacement Era isn't going to be cheap: the EPA estimated that between 2007 and 2027, drinking water utilities will have to invest $334 billion on new infrastructure. The prognosis for a balanced response to these myriad challenges is not rosy. The problem is exacerbated by the timing of it all: you might have heard about some budget-cutting talk at the local, state and federal level...

The person you love is 90% water and so are you. Considering the efficacy of most of these long-overdue propositions could allow us all to avoid dripping into oblivion.

Submitted by Jane, East Library

Author Jenny Wilding Cardon has created a colorful book full of clever and cute ideas on how to alter those old clothes (and bed sheets) you may find hiding in the farthest corners of your closets or waiting patiently for you at your neighborhood resale shop. She offers 20 fun designs, including tops, dresses and skirts, which show sewers how to give tired used clothing a second go around. There's no need to look beyond this book, I have skimmed through a few others that attempt to illustrate and explain how to alter old clothing and ReSew lays out the photographs, instructions, illustrations in a superior user friendly format.

Submitted by Valerie @ MPL Central

Beloit College released its list of what the world is like for new freshmen starting college this fall. Since 1998, their list records what has always been around and what no longer exists for each year's new class. Tom McBride and Mindset List developer Ron Nief take this annual rite of each new academic ride for a trip back to view the world through the eyes of our parents, grandparents and ancestors back to the Class of 1898 when they were 18.

Most chapters are 13 years apart from each other. Each chapter includes a short list of famous "class" members born the same year, celebrities who have always been dead during their young lifetimes and a list of 50 people and events that are mileposts for each generation of American history: turn of the century (20th), World War I, Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, the 60s, 80s, 90s and Great Recession and the Class of 2026.

It's fun reading what different generations took for granted, looked forward to or said good riddance to something becoming passé. The class of 1898 always talked to a telephone operator. Women never voted and movies never talked for the class of 1918. The class of 1931 went to the poorhouse in an automobile after losing their jobs in the Great Depression (apologies to Will Rogers). The class of 1944 went from the poorhouse during the Depression to become the Greatest Generation in World War II. The parents of the class of 1957 worried that fluoride and rock 'n roll were commie plots to destroy America. The class of 1970 learned cigarette smoking was dangerous to their health and watched TV's first war (Vietnam) in living color. The class of 1983 started using computers to write papers on gas shortages and AIDS. Michelangelo has always been a turtle to the class of 1996. Telephones and TVs never had dials for the class of 2009. The Mindset List proves what John Kennedy said about "change is the law of life." Check catalog for The Mindset Lists of American History availability.

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo

Whenever I make a trip to a warehouse store, I'm always inspired with eagerness and ambition over all of the money I can save and all of the delicious meals that I can make by buying in bulk. That enthusiasm wanes when I get home and face the stark reality of eating chicken every night for the rest of my life (or the rest of the month, at least), or throwing all those savings into the garbage if I don't.

Fix, Freeze, Feast: Tthe Delicious, Money-saving Way to Feed Your Family solves that dilemma by providing a plethora of ideas of how to use those bulk buys in a variety of different meals that can be prepared in advance and frozen until needed. This book is a one-stop shop for anyone looking for the savings of buying food in bulk without the waste of throwing away unused produce and meat, or the monotony of eating the same thing night after night after night.

While the book focuses on feeding families of four to six, the beauty of these recipes is that when you freeze them, you can do so in any serving size you want, making it just as useful to a larger family as to a smaller one. For some of the recipes, like the Feta and Spinach Lasagna Rolls, you can thaw the exact number of rolls that you need to use, making it even easier to customize exactly based on the number of people at your dinner table. Plus, one batch gives you enough for multiple meals, saving you time as well as money.

For the recipes that are barbeque friendly, both indoor and outdoor cooking instructions are provided, making it easier to improvise depending on the day's weather. They also offer helpful tips and tricks for planning, shopping, cooking, and turning your own favorite dishes into freezer-friendly meals.

Submitted by Megan @ King

His dreams may have come from his father, but the will and methodology to make them come true almost certainly came from the intellect and personality of Barack Obama's mother. Stanley Ann Dunham was described in shorthand as "an anthropologist who was born in Kansas" when Obama became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, but she was so much more than that and her influence can be seen in his achievement and personal style even today.

The opening chapters trace the history of Dunham's parents and grandparents, illuminating the thesis that her seemingly unconventional choices were not really so unlike those of her forebears. Barack Obama Sr. is seldom mentioned in the book, befitting a man who left his family when his son was 10 months old, and who would re-enter their lives only once more before his death.

When interviewed, President Barack Obama described a confrontation with his mother during his senior year of high school, when he accused her of treating his life as an experiment. She believed he was special and with the right values, education, and hard work he could become "somebody who was strong and honest and doing worthwhile things for the world." As a teenager, he rejected that possibility, but now, he allows, "Turns out she was actually onto something." But how did she recognize what it would take to make that future a reality?

The majority of the book delves into Dunham's own career development, intellectual life, and love for Indonesia. Interviews with her friends, co-workers, teachers, relatives, and children combine to paint an indelible image of a strong woman who was not afraid to pursue her own dreams and scholarly ambitions, yet opened her heart to many others along the way.

She fought to improve the economic situation of Indonesian women, even as she constantly struggled with her own finances; admired and studied the skills of master metalworkers in villages across that island nation, avidly collecting the art they created; lived unafraid of the social conventions in both eastern and western civilization, while moving easily through both despite never having learned to drive; and mentored countless idealistic expatriates along the way, both in the U.S. and Indonesia.

The book is sprinkled with black and white photos, but suffers from a lack of an index. Interviews, letters, Dunham's copious field notes and assorted background materials combine to draw a vivid portrait of a lively, loving, and strong-willed woman, who ultimately gave her son far more than just dreams. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Cathy M.

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) was well known for his impeccably tailored couture designs. A favorite designer of such celebrities, as Sarah Jessica Parker and Lady Gaga, McQueen's work was deeply rooted in his Scottish heritage, nature and his vivid imagination. In Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, McQueen's designs are showcased in stunning full page photos which capture the dramatic artistry of his work. Quotations from Alexander McQueen convey the inspiration for his creations, as well as provide glimpses into his creative process. This book was published to accompany the exhibit, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, which ran from May 4th-August 11th 2011 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit was viewed by more than six hundred thousand visitors, which is a testament to McQueen's impact on the fashion industry. If you enjoy fashion design, you will love this retrospective of a fashion genius.

Submitted by Gabriel @ Central

Growing Up is the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning autobiography of Russell Baker, born in 1925 in rural Virginia. When Russell was 5 years old his father passed away due to untreated diabetes, thrusting his mother into poverty to the point that she put his infant sister up for adoption and moved the family to New Jersey so that they could live with her brother and sister-in-law. While in elementary school, Baker had his first taste of literary success with an essay on wheat. His teacher loved it so much that she read the essay to the entire class, which was not nearly as impressed as his teacher. After living with his uncle and aunt for 6 years, his mother moved the family to Baltimore where Baker got a job as a part-time newspaper deliverer to help his family out. He went on to receive a scholarship to Johns Hopkins University, serve in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and land a job writing the nationally syndicated "Observer" column for the New York Times, which he wrote from 1962 until 1998. In 1993 he replaced Alistair Cook as the regular host of the PBS television series, Masterpiece Theater, a job which he held until stepping down in 2004.

Submitted by KMJ @ East

In his third investigative book, The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, Jon Ronson gets reeled - sometimes willingly, sometimes not - into the mad, mad world of psychopathy. He takes a look at the history of diagnosing (Would you be able to pass the twenty question psychopath test?) and treating (which, in the past, has included stripping down and taking hallucinogenic drugs - in a controlled, clinical environment, of course) this often misunderstood psychosis.

Besides taking a look at the patients themselves, Ronson examines the egos and the motivations of the people doing the diagnosing (the doctors), providing the drugs (the pharmaceutical industry), doing the reporting (the media, including himself) and fighting the industry (Scientologists). He also takes a look at the large and influential group of people who may be going undiagnosed - our political and financial leaders.

Throughout all this, Ronson analyzes both the minds that control these psychological issues and how these psychological issues control peoples' minds. If you're interested in learning more about the madness which makes up the madness industry, check out Ronson's book.

Submitted by Matt @ East

Being young and fabulous can be pretty difficult to maintain these days, especially if you're young, fabulous and completely BROKE! Financial guru, Suze Orman doesn't sugarcoat any of her advice to young people in The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. Each chapter highlights key financial tips that are useful for the young and old alike. The first and (in my opinion) the most important chapter is Know your Score. Our credit score represents our identity in the financial world. It gives creditors an insight into our personal lives and tells them how much they can trust us to fulfill our end of the bargain. Often times our credit scores may be dangerously low through no fault of our own (job loss, illness, etc.) --but with effort, credit scores can be improved over time.

Orman also gives readers advice on love and money which is a huge problem for most couples, and it's often the number one reason why so many couples split up. Orman explains how to merge your finances as you merge your lives together. There's even a section on retirement, life insurance, and wills and trusts. These are all issues that the young and fabulous tend to avoid.

The financial guidance that can be found in this book is priceless. Some of the tips and tricks may have changed slightly due to the current economic situation, but much of the advice is still relevant. If you want to learn how to balance your fabulous life and your checkbook, visit your local library and request a copy today!

For more information visit www.suzeorman.com.
Submitted by SBJ @ East

For most people, the periodic table of the elements brings to mind high school science classes, a twinge of anxiety, and, let's be honest, a general sense of boredom and bewilderment. In The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements Sam Kean changes all that, bringing the elements alive by giving the dish on the scientists who worked to discover them, the politics behind it, and what it meant to the world at large. He also peppers in a fair bit of scientific information and explanations, but it is well hidden behind the entertainment.

Kean chronicles one group of elements at a time, telling the fascinating and little told stories behind the periodic table. From the races to be the next to claim the discovery of a new element to the endless drama over naming rights, there are plenty of stories to be told. Kean manages to work in just enough information about chemistry and physics to give you a solid understanding of how the periodic table works and why it was created, without overloading you with scientific principles or jargon.

The title anecdote was one of my favorites: because its melting point is so low, a favorite lab prank was to fashion a spoon out of gallium, so that they next unwitting scientist to stir his tea or coffee would find that his beverage had eaten his spoon. And how can you not love the story of the endemic jealousies of scientists' wives when Marie Curie used to pull their husbands into closets during dinner parties to show them her glow-in-the-dark experiments. Or the story of Wilhelm Röntgen, the winner of the inaugural Nobel Prize in Physics and the father of the modern X-ray, who, upon discovering that with his new apparatus he was able to see through books, wooden boxes, and his own hand, locked himself in his lab for weeks, convinced he had gone completely crazy.

This book is filled with countless more stories of mad-scientists and scientists who just think they've gone mad. It is a highly entertaining read, and sneaks in a fair bit of educational value to boot.

Submitted by Megan @ King

Are you looking for a good book? Let us help! Today, Wednesday, September 14th between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., leave a post on Milwaukee Public Library's Facebook wall. Simply tell us the last three books you've read and we'll suggest your next read. "Like" us on Facebook and then join us for MPL's first Which Book Next event.

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray (c2011)

On Thanksgiving 1971, a man buys a ticket under the name "Dan Cooper" (aka D.B. Cooper) and boards Northwest Orient Flight 305 in Portland, Oregon. Shortly after takeoff, he displays a bomb in a briefcase case and demands $200,000 and four parachutes as ransom. When the plane lands in Seattle, his demands are met, and he directs that the plane now take flight towards Mexico. Cooper then parachutes out of the plane into a heavily wooded area just north of the Washington/Oregon border. He is never seen again.

In 2007, New York-based reporter/writer Geoffrey Gray receives a promising lead as to the possible fate and whereabouts of D.B. Cooper. Gray tracks (and sidetracks) the lead ruthlessly for the next two years. He uncovers numerous suspects, copycats, deadends, crackpots, conspiracy theories and even gains access to the official FBI files on the case. In Skyjack, he weaves this all into an engrossing narrative that truly captures the undying intrigue of what remains America's most daring and notorious unsolved crime. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom S. @ MPL Central

George Dohrmann, Pulitzer Prize winning author and senior reporter for Sports Illustrated, followed AAU summer league coach Joe Keller and his team, the Inland Stars, for 9 years, from when the kids on the team were just 9 and 10 years old in 2000, until their high school graduation. The author found that the kids were wooed to the team by shoe giants like Nike and Adidas, who are looking for the next Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. They get the kids to join the AAU teams by providing gear, shoes, and by promising them college scholarships. There are lots of ways for coaches to profit from this arrangement also, which leads them to view their players as "investments". This is also a story about relationships and the sad decline of many of them, whether among teammates, parents and sons, or coaches and players. Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine is an eye-opening look at the inner workings of modern American sports.

Submitted by KMJ @ East

Here's some free salutary advice: If you talk to God you're praying, but if God talks to you, you might be mad as a hatter.

Stories by congenital overachievers normally depress me, but Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So is swaddled in a straitjacket, and as such is very relatable. The Eeyore gloominess and mordant humor of the writing is laugh-out-loud funny and irresistible. How can you argue with this anodyne wisdom:

In 1971, at the age of 23, Vonnegut (son of Kurt) suffered three major mental breakdowns while living on a hippie commune in British Columbia. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he found himself locked in a Vancouver psychiatric hospital while he conversed with Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain and Fyodor Dostoevsky, painted with Van Gogh, and played sax with John Coltrane. Four years and much medication later he wrote The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity which was a smashing critical and financial success, allowing him to finance Harvard Medical School. In 1985, he triggered another psychotic episode when he went cold-turkey to quit drinking and using prescription sleep aids. To this day his voices remain-- just a little more offstage, and less intelligible.

Dr. Vonnegut feels that the stigmatization of mental illness remains a huge hurdle to recovery. Too often, patients are treated with "hushed-up" hospital stays and massive overdoses of medication. Family and friends shy away, in a way they never would if the patient was ailing from a heart attack or cancer.

Don't miss the brilliant final chapter which is a perilous epilogue entitled "Mushrooms". Penned with Vonnegutian gallows humor, it describes his fascination with unearthing various fungi as a prelude to cooking and eating them, leading to gut-busting calamity.

Submitted by Jane @ East

Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead is a thoroughly engaging portrait of one of the most beloved icons in television history. It includes everything you would ever want to know about Lucy. There's I Love Lucy, The Luci/Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, Life with Lucy, and all of Lucy's movies. The reader learns about Lucy's childhood, her romances, her co stars, her homes, her friends, her marriages and her children. The book is meant to be casually browsed, almost like a Lucy encyclopedia.

Released at the same time as Lucille Ball's 100th birthday, it is loads of fun and is sure to please her legion of fans.

Submitted by Nancy A. @ ML King

September 24th kicks off Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Join us in celebrating your freedom to read by picking up a banned or challenged book at your library today.

Below is a list of the ten most frequently banned or challenged books in the country in 2010, according to the American Library Association.

1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches.
2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom.
4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter, but she meets a boy who introduces her to drugs and becomes a very different person, struggling to control her life and her mind.
5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
6) Lush, by Natasha Friend
Unable to cope with her father's alcoholism, thirteen-year-old Sam corresponds with an older student, sharing her family problems and asking for advice.
7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
A series of poems reflect the thoughts and feelings of Sophie, a fifteen-year-old-girl, as she describes her relationships with a series of boys and as she searches for Mr. Right.
8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
In an attempt to understand the lives of Americans earning near-minimum wages, Ehrenreich works as a waitress in Florida, a cleaning woman in Maine, and a sales clerk in Minnesota.
9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
An anthology of stories by gay youth reveal their fears and joyous moments as they attempt to survive and thrive.
10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.

The above annotations are from our catalog or the readers' advisory database NoveList.

Submitted by Audrey @ Forest Home

If you don't have the time to read Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover, but are interested in Christian based financial freedom, The Money Answer Book may be the next best thing. Financial advisor Dave Ramsey has developed a money makeover plan that helps readers find freedom from debt and find contentment with what they already own. Ramsey's proven plan has taken millions of people out of debt and given them the financial freedom many of us envy. Ramsey's uses "7 Baby Steps" to financial freedom:

Step 1: $1000 in an emergency fund (that you can access immediately if needed)
Step 2: Pay off all debt using the "Debt Snowball"
Step 3: Save 3-6 months of expenses
Step 4: Invest 15% of your income into a Roth IRA
Step 5: Start College Savings Plan (if you have children)
Step 6: Pay off your home
Step 7: Build Wealth through investing and give to charitable organizations.

Ramsey encourages readers to follow these steps no matter how long it takes to complete each one. He also suggests getting rid of some of our "stuff" in order to meet our goals. For many of us, completing the first step may seem next to impossible let alone all 7. We don't enter into debt overnight, therefore freedom from debt takes time. Using a little effort and self control, it can be accomplished. Visit your local library and request a copy today!

For more information visit Dave Ramsey's website.
Submitted by: SBJ @ 13

It is so easy to fall into a rut. And often, the walls of those ruts are composed of our fears. When Noelle Hancock is laid off from her job in online media, she realizes that her life has been guided by fear into a narrow channel. With the inspiration of Eleanor Roosevelt, she resolves to do one thing each day that scares her. The very first thing she tries is trapeze lessons. Then, diving in a shark cage (which evoked terror, not just mere fear). Then, composing and performing a stand-up routine (which will make you cry tears of laughter!) in New York City. And it gets crazier from there! Along the path of her many self-inflicted trials, she considers the courageous example of Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt was painfully timid as a child, and feared public speaking, heights, ships, and many other things in her adult life. Yet, she overcame those fears, flying and sailing to visit wounded soldiers during and after World War II, speaking to advocate the founding of the nation of Israel, and making her mark on the world in so many ways. My Year With Eleanor: A Memoir is not a traditional motivational book, full of slogans and platitudes and "you can do its". You'll enjoy reading this memoir, and triumphing with the author and Eleanor!
Submitted by Ephemera, soon moving one block west to the new Villard Square Library!

Love, family, prejudice, apathy, trust, selfishness, survival, death, courage, fear, hope, hate, and perseverance these are a few of the themes in the remarkable true life story about Krystyna Chiger's life in hiding in the from the Nazis during the Holocaust. Chiger talks of her family's life before the war, of the Soviet occupation and oppression of her family in Lvov. Chiger was four years old when Poland was divided between the Nazis and Soviets and six when the Nazis seized her home town. Krystina and her family, together with a handful of other Jews, escaped into the sewers where they lived in conditions unimaginable by most (darkness, dampness, constant fear of sewer flooding, rats, and human waste).

Leopold Socha, a Catholic Polish sewer inspector and former thief, is the families life line between the sewer and outside world. He risks his life by protecting and hiding them, bringing them supplies and medicine, and offering friendship. Chiger relates how she and her four year old brother Pawel managed to survive for 14 months. I've read many books about WWII and the Holocaust, but there was something different about The Girl in the Green Sweater; it stayed with me long after reading it. I found myself asking, who would I be under these circumstances? If my freedoms, my dignity, my comfortable life was stripped away from me, who would I be? The book includes many black and white family photos. The author's green sweater is now on display at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Please click here for additional information.

Submitted by Nichole D. @ Villard Avenue Library

Karl Greenfeld was born just 18 months before his younger brother Noah, so he has no recollection of what his life was like before Noah was born. What he does remember is all of his parent's attention being directed toward his younger brother while he was growing up, because Noah is severely autistic; unable to speak for himself, clean himself, and given to violent tantrums. His brother, who spits, twiddles his fingers, and bobs his head, is oblivious to those around him, which also caused the author to feel alienated from the people in his life while they were growing up. Their father also wrote a trilogy of books about Noah, which thrust the family into the national spotlight adding to the author's feelings of alienation. As a teen the author slipped into drug and alcohol addiction, which lasted into his adulthood. In Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir, Greenfeld deals honestly and compassionately with his family as he describes the extraordinary circumstances they coped with and he also explores what it means to be a family, a brother, and a person.

Submitted by KMJ @ East

Old ballplayers never die--they just finish games
--Milwaukee Braves shortstop Johnny Logan

Improved starting pitching carried the Milwaukee Brewers to the National League Central Division title. Unfortunately they will not play the Atlanta Braves in the postseason, but two of the greatest games ever pitched involved their earlier incarnation, the Milwaukee Braves. Sportswriters Lew Freedman and Jim Kaplan share the well-worn phrase "greatest game ever" in their titles about pitchers Harvey Haddix, Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal and their pitching gems. Both books are ultimately about achieving greatness in failure.

Hard-Luck Harvey Haddix and the Greatest Game Ever Lost follows journeyman Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix nursing a cold while pitching against the defending National League champion Milwaukee Braves lineup of sluggers Eddie Mathews, Henry Aaron, Joe Adcock, et al, at County Stadium on May 26th, 1959. For nine innings, he didn't allow a single Brave to reach base. Only four other starters pitched perfect games in the modern era (1893- ) before him.

Unfortunately, his Pirates teammates couldn't score a run off Braves sinkerballer Lew Burdette. The game went into extra innings. He retired 36 straight batters going into the 13th inning. An error, sacrifice, intentional walk, hit and Haddix lost his perfect game 1-0. The most remarkable thing was his efficiency. He threw only 115 pitches over 13 innings in under three hours.

The Greatest Game Ever Pitched is about the 16 inning pitching duel between Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn and San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal at the wind tunnel officially known as Candlestick Park on July 2nd, 1963. While they shared a high leg kick pitching delivery, they were opposites in many respects. The ageless Spahn was a 42 year old decorated World War II veteran and won the most games in the 1950s (202). The 25 year old Marichal was from the Dominican Republic and was part of the growing black Latino diversity in our national pastime after Jackie Robinson reintegrated baseball in 1947.

The two control artists matched goose eggs for 15 innings, shutting down Hall of Famers Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews of the Braves and Willie "Say Hey" Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda of the Giants. When Giants manager Alvin Dark visited the mound in the 14th inning, Marichal told him "Do you see that man on the other side? He's 42 and I'm 25, and you can't take me out until that man is not pitching." In the 16th inning, Mays cranked one of his 660 career home runs off Spahn to end the classic pitching duel 1-0.

The game was a watershed moment for both pitchers. Spahn said he was never the same and 1963 was his 13th and final 20 win season. Marichal was on his way to his first of six 20 win seasons and winning the most games in the 1960s (191),

When you're watching the Brewers pursue their World Series dreams, you'll enjoy reading these books during pitching changes.

Brewers postseason game schedule.

Submitted by Van Lingle Mungo

Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President's War Powers by United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, author of the infamous Dred Scott opinion of 1857, attempted to use his position to thwart President Lincoln at every opportunity, in a concerted effort to check his broad constitutional powers to put down the southern rebellion and preserve the union. Never has a judge landed so far on the wrong side of history.

Submitted by Dan T @ Mill Road

Lawyer, professional speaker and New York Times Bestselling author Cupcake Brown has not had an easy childhood. In her 2007 memoir, A Piece of Cake, she gives readers an inside look at her life growing up after the death of her mother at the age of eleven. Brown describes her life in foster care where she is abused by the son of her foster mother, becomes a runaway, and then finds herself tangled in a web of drug use, prostitution, gang life, and homelessness at a very young age. But in spite of her childhood traumas she was able to overcome and turned her dark past into a bright future. The events of her life unfold with each page and readers will find it hard to put down. Also, be aware that the content of this book is very edgy and very bold and exposes a dark side of life that so many young women in our society face everyday. The events of Brown's life are so horrific that one might think they're reading fiction.

Submitted by: SBJ @ East

If you are a parent of a teenager, or a recent college grad yourself, I don't need to tell you how utterly outlandish college tuition is these days. Young people are taking on unprecedented levels of debt to finance college. Furthermore, the very act of applying for college is now a three month or longer trial, involving torturously personal essays, prolonged courtships and redundant college visits. How did it all get so complicated? Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kids Into College will give you a humorous, readable and well-researched look into how we have arrived at this pass.

-Ephemera, dreading paying for college but looking forward to the move to Villard Square Library!

Joey Gallo was an artist, poet and countercultural figure in New York's Greenwich Village arts scene of the 1960s. He was also a gangster, a member of the Profaci crime family who led a bloody revolt against the city's top mob bosses along with his two brothers. A dangerous, deadly criminal who did hard time for extortion, he was also the toast of New York's cultural elite, befriending the likes of actor Jerry Orbach and comedian David Steinberg. The story of "Crazy Joe" is told in riveting style by Tom Folsom in his book The Mad Ones. Folsom's manic, pulpy style fits well with his subject. He distills numerous books, news archives, and interviews into a fast-paced, thrilling read reminiscent of Jack Kerouac, whose own writing was the inspiration for the title. This book will appeal to not only fans of true crime but also anyone interested in New York City's Mafia history and the real-life figures that inspired characters in movies like The Godfather and Goodfellas. Think you'll be able to put this book down? Fagheddaboudit!
By Brett @ Washington Park

Steampunk Style-Jewelry: Victorian Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings is a visual treat starting with the cover, which features a gold winged watchworks pendant, all the way to the Gallery of Steampunk Designs by various artists that grace the final pages. The Maker's Workshop section covers the standard hardware, tools, cements and sealants required to construct jewelry. The text also includes helpful information about shopping for found objects; caution to be taken when handling glow-in-the-dark watch parts from the early 1900s that might contain radium; and how to keep bubbles from forming in dimensional glaze. Basic Jewelry-Making Techniques are nicely illustrated, but this is not a beginner's book. The roots - art, film, and literature of Steampunk culture - are touched upon. The lingo - terms like "modding" and "gearing"- is explained and illustrated in the photos of Steampunk sculpture, costumes, accessories and art jewelry.

I was particularly fond of the goggles presented on pages 128-129 (designed by Rob Powell, Melanie Brooks and Nicholas Chambon), and the Horological Faery Gaget with "Elgin Watch" wings on page 91 (by Jen Hilton). I was also wowed by Chronos #8 (designed by Madelyn Smoak) - the gold winged pendant on the cover - again shown on page 114. The Anachronist Necklace (by Margot Potter) on page 28, the Captured Time Ring (by Barbe Saint John) on page 34, and the copper propeller bracelet designed by Ricky Wolbrum on page 137 are all items I'd love to own. But then there's Minerva's Folly Cuff with spikey brass bolts fringed with black tulle on page 54 (by Annie Singer); a bit too weapon-like for my taste--but still, something for everyone.

The photographs of these whimsical creations are delightful - so even if one is not inclined to make wear-able objects, antique collectors, artists, fashion conscious individuals and jewelry lovers will also enjoy Steampunk Style-Jewelry: Victorian Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings.

Submitted by Deb @ Bay View

Under the direction of studio chief Robert Evans, Paramount pictures turned out many of the best American films of the era, including Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Paper Moon, The Godfather and many others. The author, Peter Bart, was recruited by Evans to become his right hand executive. As a result of this experience, Bart has a nearly infinite number of tantalizing Hollywood "insider' stories to share with the reader. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Dan T @ Mill Rd

Author, Marie French researched an historic person, a healing woman (curandera) named Milagro who lived in West Texas in the 1930s in a cabin in a place called Wild Horse. Milagro was known for using jewelry in her healing practice. French shares the prescriptions, recipes and philosophy of Milagro in Inspiritu Jewelry: Earrings, Bracelets and Necklaces for the Mind, Body and Spirit.

French's book is accessible, and few tools are needed for crafting the jewelry. Each creation is designed specifically for the wearer as a healing amulet. French encourages the inclusion of humble materials - old auto parts, rusty nails, patina tins, bone beads and a wide array of found items, charms or materials that the wearer cherishes. She emphasizes the earthy, the worn, the re-cycled. "Rusty tin cans make excellent enclosures for shrines, reliquaries and nichos." Persons interested in crafts, jewelry making, natural healing, aroma therapy, teas and infusions, folklore and folkart will enjoy Inspiritu Jewelry.
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Submitted by Deb @ Bay View

In November, Catholics celebrate All Saints/All Souls day. Milwaukee has many churches dedicated to the patronage of saints with feast days in November. Celebrate St. Josaphat on November 12 with John Gurda's wonderful Centennial of Faith: The Basilica of Saint Josaphat, 1888-1988. You could consider the life of St. Martin de Porres on November 3 with the book The Pied Piper of Peru, written by Ann Tompert and illustrated by Kestutis Kasparavicius. Or, you could learn more about St. Charles Borromeo (November 4), St. Catherine of Alexandria (November 25), and many other saints in John J. Delaney's Dictionary of Saints . Also, you could check out this index of saints for info about all the canonized saints and the blessed. My own favorite is, of course St. Jerome, patron saint of librarians!

Submitted by Ephemera @ Villard Square

Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings of Jeopardy! fame is definitely not only for geography nerds. Even non map lovers will find enjoyment in this book. There are plenty of factual and trivial tidbits about geography, but Jennings interweaves this with personal anecdotes to make this a fun and entirely interesting read.

Although he also gives us historical background information on maps, the majority of the book is comprised of essays on various cartographic topics. Jennings relates family tales such as his father's penchant for hypsometric maps and how young Ken saved his allowance to buy a prized world atlas. In later years, he writes about how his wife, Mindy, was trained successfully to navigate for their family vacation. While enjoying these stories, we also gain knowledge of many aspects of geography, for instance discovering that the outline of the state of Wisconsin is similar to Tanzania's.

Maphead flows from the chapter titles with their geographical definitions to profiles on geocachers and rare map collectors to a section with interviews of children from the National Geographic Bee. Throw in autobiographical pieces about Jennings and his family and this book is sure to be a fun and unpredictably educational delight.

Submitted by Lori @ Central

Thumbs up. Thumbs down. Those simple hand gestures were the trademark for film criticism's most renowned duo, Siskel and Ebert. Gene Siskel is sadly gone now, but Roger Ebert is still here, and provides us with a generous look back on his eventful life in his new memoir, Life Itself. The film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times for over 40 years, Ebert's rich understanding of the cinema and its meaning in culture cannot be overstated. His interactions with film's greatest stars, including John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum, and many others are retold here and are a pleasure to read. Even more enjoyable are his accounts of his personal life, including his early years in downstate Illinois, his travels, and his romances. He also discusses with disarming frankness the devastating cancer that has left him disfigured and unable to eat, drink or speak. He does this all in the sharp, straightforward prose style familiar to his readers. Life Itself is an enjoyable chronicle of a life well lived.

Submitted by Brett @ Washington Park

Although this book by actress-comedian Amy Sedaris is catalogued with craft books, it is really social commentary as a spoof on crafting. It is low brow, off-color and hilarious. The full title is: Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. Since our current economy is transforming the formerly middleclass to poor, there ought to be an increasing audience of depressed folks who need a good laugh! Crafts shown include everything from hair tassels on lampshades to cotton balls on popsicle sticks to sewing pink calico bloomers. And, there are recipes for sausages, cheesecake, and fudge.

Sedaris has cultivated the craft of acting, costuming and posing - she can be perky, adorable, glamorous, nerdy, pensive, kitsch, stoned, scary, or downright unattractive. She makes fun of herself and pretty much every one else and their crafts - the impoverished, the elderly, the mentally ill, the religious, the blind, the feeble-minded, the clumsy (especially in the section on safety) and let's not forget - the teenagers.

Special attention is devoted to Stretching Before and After Crafting; Rabbit Proofing Your Home, and gift ideas like a doily seat shield for a nudist. There is a section on Fornicrafting (also known as "making love") performed by Amy with a partner, both attired in very short lemon yellow chenille robes. There's a suggestive photo-essay demonstrating the art of forcefully impaling hotdogs on the tines of a rake so you can roast them in the fireplace. The text is as funny, if not funnier, than the garishly colorful photos. Crack it open to any page, and try not to laugh.

Submitted by Deb @ Bay View

Alexandra Fuller tells the story of her mother's life in this follow up to her 2001 memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood. Her mother, Nicola Huntingford, was born on the Scottish Isle of Skye, moved with her parents to the British colony of Kenya in the 1940s, and has spent most of her life in one part of Africa or another since then, including stays in Rhodesia and most recently on a tilapia farm and banana plantation in Zambia. The "tree of forgetfulness" from the title is a tree in front of their farmhouse in Zambia, which their Zambian neighbor declared to be a tree with ancestors inside it--"'If there is some sickness or if you are troubled by spirits, then you sit under the Tree of Forgetfulness and your ancestors will assist you with whatever is wrong.'" Fuller's narrative is full of ancestors, too, and she frames her reminiscences with conversations she's had with her parents on visits with them, giving the book a casual and personal feel as they talk about parents, grandparents, and other relatives. She examines the details of her mother's life: growing up, courtship, starting a family, the personal tragedies of losing young children to accident and illness by setting them against a backdrop of war, revolutions, and the end of British colonial rule in Africa. There is a refreshing and frank bluntness to the storytelling--like hearing family anecdotes over dinner with no holds barred-- the same style that prompted Nicola to refer to her daughter's earlier memoir as "that awful book." Through it all, the reader comes to know and begins to understand Nicola Fuller, whose life is brought out through a richness of detail and the personal style of her daughter's writing. Reading the earlier book first allows the reader to see some of the events of Fuller's childhood from different perspective--hers as a child-- but Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness stands on its own as a portrayal of a fascinating and heartbreaking life well lived amid difficult and extraordinary times.

Submitted by Chris G. at Bay View

Following The Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook by David M. Carroll (2009)

In 2006, David Carroll received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant for his life's work as an author, artist and naturalist. Hailing from New Hampshire, he has long studied, documented and simply enjoyed the flora and fauna of local marshes, swamps and rivers. His greatest focus has been monitoring the resident Spotted Turtle and Wood Turtle populations. Following The Water is Carroll's fifth book and continues in the same vein as his previous efforts... slowing one's life down and gaining perspective by appreciating and championing Earth's non-human inhabitants and nature itself. Check catalog for availibility.

- submitted by Tom S. @ MPL Central

10 Secrets of the Laidback Knitters: A Guide to Holistic Knitting, Yarn, and Life by Vicki Stiefel and Lisa Souza

I have a confession: Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover and by its title. When I saw this book, I thought, yes! That's me! I'm a laidback knitter. As my knitting friends will attest, I don't like to frog. I mean really, why put all that effort into knitting to ribbit out??? However, as I soon found out, that is not the essence of this book. Instead, this book is full of little pearls of wisdom and witticisms: Ten secrets that are designed to expand your window of knitting experience and widen your comfort zone. The ten secrets are as follows:
1) Find yourself a wise woman - a wise woman is one who will guide you and offer you their patient years of experience.
2) Discover slow knitting - in other words, discover the joy of working with homegrown fibers that have been hand spun.
3) Become a barefoot sock knitter - the essence of this is that knitters are famous for gifting their creations. Warm feet are sure to keep you pleasantly in someone's mind!
4) Take the color leap of faith - stuck on one particular color? Afraid to make something in a different color than shown in the pattern? This chapter teaches you how to be brave with color.
5) See the souls of fibers - take the time to understand the reason a particular yarn is used in a pattern, and if substituting, understand the components of your fiber and whether or not it will be suitable. A tutorial on fiber is included in this chapter.
6) Listen as the yarn speaks to you - more wisdom on understanding your fiber through hands on.
7) Value the partnership in knitting - the importance of the handshake between the designer and the knitter.
8) Learn to soar patternless - knitting on the fly.
9) Do it with hooks - crochet plays a part in knitting and on its own.
10) Connect the dots - knitting is a social activity.

There are beautiful patterns within this book, including patterns for crochet, a pattern using steel enforced yarn and beads, and other unique and beautiful items. Each pattern is given a symbol to indicate skill level: Recliner - relaxing knitting, suitable for a beginner; Rocking Chair - still relaxing, but you may have to sit up and take notice of what you're doing occasionally; Wing Chair - sit up and pay attention, but you're still in a relaxing chair; Dining Chair - a challenging knit.

There are a couple of sock patterns in this book and they are both marked as being wing chair patterns. Perhaps I should have read this book before attempting my socks - I have been knitting them in a recliner, not a wing chair, and I've been doing a lot of frogging!

Submitted by Mary S. at Bay View