Outside of a Dog, #70

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Let's talk turkey! Thanksgiving is this week, and while you're waiting for the bird to fry, roast, or bake, why not sit back and relax with one of these seasonal titles:

Scooby-Doo and the Thanksgiving Terror - Mariah Balaban
Scary, spooky things happen year-round to hungry detective dog Scooby-Doo and his crew! This short story is all about a Thanksgiving parade float that comes to life, and only Scooby can solve the mystery.
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How to cook a turkey: and all the other trimmings - The editors of Fine Cooking magazine
A holiday survival guide for those new to the kitchen or the holiday traditions, How to cook a turkey explains how to cook both a great big bird, and all the other side dishes and desserts you might want on the holiday. There's even a whole chapter on pie, whether you love apple, or live for pumpkin.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin's Thanksgiving celebration [DVD]
In this collection of four episodes from the 1988 cartoon series, Alvin and his brothers Simon and Theodore, learn the meaning of family and fun.
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Pieces of April [DVD]
Katie Holmes stars in this offbeat indie film about April, the black sheep of a New York family. She's intent on hosting her entire family for Thanksgiving dinner - until she finds out her oven doesn't work, and her relatives are already on their way! Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt also star.
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Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade - Romie Minor
One of Arcadia Publishing's fantastic "Images of America" series, this book takes you behind the scenes of the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade, watched every Thanksgiving by hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents. Art Van Elslander and WJR's Paul W. Smith will be co-grand marshals for this year's parade, with the theme of "Together We Shine for 2009."
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Celebrations: The complete book of American holidays - Robert J. Myers
An introduction to all holidays, including their origins, this Hallmark book is a great way to teach not just kids, but the whole family, about Thanksgiving and other upcoming holidays.
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Librarians Are Reading!

If you just can't get enough books to read, and you're looking for something new, why not check out the Suburban Library Cooperative's Library Staff Are Reading page? Every year since 2002, the Cooperative asks library staff for their three favorite books of the year, and posts them online and in a brochure available at the libraries.

The Suburban Library Cooperative has 27 member libraries - imagine how many book recommendations that would give you!

You won't rue reading this book!

Today’s Book: Rosemary and Rue, Seanan McGuire


The plot: October “Toby” Daye, once both a Knight (who prefers to be called “Sir Daye”) and private detective, finds her life as a changeling infinitely more difficult when she tries to rebuild it fourteen years after being turned into a fish by a rival of her liege lord, Sylvester. Toby’s lost everything – her boyfriend, Cliff, who thought she was human; her daughter, Gillian, who is now 17 and angry, refusing to see her; and her lord, Sylvester, whom she’s been afraid to see since her return. She’s thrown back into the world of rites to royalty and magical mysteries when her “worst friend and best enemy,” Evening Winterrose, is found murdered in her warded home.

Why You’ll Love It: It’s a gripping mystery with a lot of urban fantasy thrown in to the mix, and as Toby delves into the dark side of her past and present (and maybe even future), you’ll learn about the world of the fullblooded fairies and the halfblooded changelings that inhabit the California coast. You’ll cheer for “Sir Daye” as she tries to find the murderer without getting murdered herself.


Who Will/Should Read It: Fans of any urban fantasy will do well here, but maybe the best audience for Toby’s mystery would be readers of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series who find the graphic sex there a little too bawdy. Newcomer McGuire manages to get the point across with innuendo, rather than explicitness. There’s also a lot to like for devotees of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series; if you’re eagerly awaiting April’s “Changes,” pick this noirish novel up.

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Outside of a Dog, #69

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

It’s getting cold outside in Michigan, even though it’s been Fall since September. While we still have a few days left of sunshine and 50-degree days, check out one of these Michigan-set novels; come back for more before you hide under your blankets for winter!

Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon – Dean Bakopoulos

Written an “an elegy” to the working class men of Detroit (and America) in this quiet, almost heartbreaking novel of growing up without a father. Building a family in Michigan is the theme here, and there’s more than a few biographical touches to this tale, as well as threads of magical realism.

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Mr. Paradise – Elmore Leonard

Famous the world over for gritty noir novels, Elmore Leonard is a New-Orleans-born Michigan native who lives in Oakland County. This novel of crime gone wrong involves a high-priced call girl, authentic dialogue and places (the very first chapter places the protagonist at the posh Rattlesnake Club restaurant), and a satisfying murder mystery.

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Poison Blonde (An Amos Walker novel) – Loren Estleman

Classic cars and classic clothes are hallmarks of Amos Walker novels. Written for fans of 40s and 50s noir, this 19-book series by native Estleman hits these private detective stories right on the nose, where classy dames and real gone hipsters abound. Set in Detroit’s backyard of Hamtramck, this is the 17^th book in the series. If you want to start at the beginning, try 1980’s Motor City Blue.

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A Stolen Season (An Alex McKnight Mystery) – Steve Hamilton

Winner of both the Edgar and Shamus awards for mystery and private eye novels, respectively, Hamilton is another local talent who turns his eyes to whodunits in Michigan – usually in the cold upper regions of the state. In this Alex McKnight novel (the seventh – and newest - in the series), plot crossovers and double-crosses surround the ex-cop while he deals with Bay Mills Indians and drug dealers.

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The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery) – Joanna Carl (a.k.a. Eve Sandstrom)

Michigan seems to be a popular place to set series mysteries – such as these Chocoholic books, featuring Texan Lee McKinney, who moves up to a Michigan resort town on the lake to help her Aunt Nettie’s chocolate business get back up and running. Lee and Nettie end up accidentally solving mysteries in this fictional resort town, and all of the mysteries involve chocolate! These are a good suggestion if you’ve finished the Joanne Fluke novels and are looking for more tasty page-turners.

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For kids who want some local fun, try the Michigan Chillers series by Jonathan Rand – featuring titles like Dinosaurs Destroy Detroit and Poltergeists of Petoskey.

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Outside of a Dog, #68

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

A recent post suggested book titles dealing with some of the many aspects of friendship. Interested in watching a movie with a friendship theme? Here are some old and new suggestions. Reminiscent of the so called “buddy” movie, each of these movies views the process of friendship in its own unique and special way.

For Women ("Chick Flicks"):

Beaches CHE HPW
Bonneville MTC ROG RSV
Fried Green Tomatoes ARM ROG ROK SHL WCV RSV SHL UPL
Friends With Money WCV CHE CLL EPL HPW LEN MTC ROG RSV SBL SCS WAM WDB
Jane Austen Book Club WCV ARM CHE CLL FRA LEN MPL MTC ROG RSV UPL WAM
My Best Friend's Wedding CHE CLL MTC ROG
Mystic Pizza WAM RSV MTC ROG
Sex and the City FRA RAY HPW ROG WAM SCS CHE CLL EPL LEN MTC UPL WMB WAM
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ARM CLL LEN LWM ROG ROK SCS SHL WDB WMB FRA CHE HPW MTC RSV UPL WAM
Steel Magnolias FRA HPW RSV SBL
The Banger Sisters WCV CHE EPL MPL WAM WMB WDB
The Women WCV ARM CHE CLL EPL MTC MPL ROG RSV SCS UPL WDB WMB
Thelma and Louise UPL WAM WMB WDB SBL MTC SHL ROG SBL CHE HPW RSV
Waiting to Exhale LEN SBL
Waitress EPL LEN LWM SCS SHL WAM WDB WMB WCV CHE FRA HPW MPL RSV UPL

For Men (Buddy Movies):

Appaloosa WCV CHE CLL EPL FRA LEN MTC MPL ROG RSV SBL SCS UPL WMB
Breaking Away CHE FRA MTC ROG RSV SBL SHL
Brokeback Mountain MPL SBL SHL WDB WCV CHE CLL FRA MTC ROG ROK RSV SCS SHL UPL
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid WCV ARM MTC ROG UPL CHE CLL FRA LWM ROK RSV SBL SHL
Diner MTC ROG SHL
Good Will Hunting CLL FRA MTC ROG RSV SHL CHE
Grumpy Old Men ARM CHE FRA MTC ROG UPL
Lethal Weapon CLL RSV CHE MTC ROG SBL
Midnight Cowboy ROG SCS WCV CHE CLL HPW MTC ROK RSV SBL SHL
My Dinner With Andre SHL
Mystic River FRA WCV LEN LWM MTC ROG SBL SCS UPL WDB WMB
The Kite Runner UPL WCV WAM WDB WMB ARM CHE CLL RAY EPL HPW LEN LWM MTC MPL SCS SHL
The Odd Couple CHE
The Shawshank Redemption WCV UPL CLL ROG CHE FRA MTC ROK SBL
The Soloist WCV ARM CHE CLL EPL FRA LEN MTC MPL ROG RSV SCS UPL WAM WDB WMB

Outside of a Dog, #67

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx.

Several old clichés come to mind when you think about friendship including “make new friends but keep the old”, “no one can have too many friends”, and “with friends like that, who needs enemies”. In the interest of discovering more about the concept or subject of friends we selected the following titles.

The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections - Richard Horchow

This book of rules and advice are offered with the goal of making real and lasting friendships. These true friendships can enhance and enrich each of our lives in many ways.

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Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck in Complicated Friendships - Susan Shapiro Barash

What to do if your friends are not so wonderful but rather hurtful, unkind, nasty, and, yes, even toxic to your mental health and well being.

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If Teacups Could Talk: Sharing a Cup of Kindness with Treasured Friends - Emilie Barnes

A feel good little book detailing how important it can be to share time and tea with valued friends.

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I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women’s Lives - Patricia O'Brien and Ellen Goodman

After more than 25 years of friendship, Ellen and Patricia share their own stories as well as other stories about the importance of long time friendships.

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