Author Profile: Charlaine Harris

A Southern writer with charm to spare, Charlaine Harris started writing mystery novels in the early 1990s, with her tales of Aurora (“Ro”) Teagarden, librarian extraordinaire and part-time, accidental crime solver. Once Ro had found her happily ever after in the ten-book series, Harris wrote for Lily Bard, from Shakespeare, Arkansas, the kind of girl even bad guys didn’t want to mess with. Finally, and most recently, Harris writes about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic barmaid, and Harper Connelly, grave reader. Sookie’s famous right now because of the HBO series “True Blood,” which has just finished its wildly successful first season.

Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden)
When Ro’s “Real Murders” club finds themselves and their members taken down by, well, real murders, it’s up to Ro and the club to figure out who’s behind it all, and stop them!
MYS Harris WDB TPL SHL

Shakespeare’s Landlord (Lily Bard)
Lily, a fiercely private cleaning woman and self-defense student, finds the body of her landlord hidden in the dumpsters behind her home. When she realizes that her prints are on the body, she starts to question her customers, and strikes up a relationship with the police chief and her karate instructor to get to the bottom of the murder mystery. Lots of action and excitement colors Lily’s world in this first novel.
MYS Harris WMB RSV SHL

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse/ Southern Vampire)
If you’re reading the Sookie books because you loved the television show True Blood, you might be in for a surprise. While most of the characters and plot elements are the same, there are some differences that needed to be made to make the show pop. This novel is the basis for the first season, when young women who have associated with now-legal and “out” vampires, keep turning up dead in tiny Bon Temps, Louisiana.
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Grave Sight (Harper Connelly)
Harper was struck by lightning when she was a teenager, and ever since, has been able to ‘read’ graves – she can stand over someone’s resting place, and tell who’s under the ground, and sometimes, how they died. Seeking to make peace with her past – she has, thus far, been unable to find her missing, presumed-dead little sister – she travels the country trying to help people find their missing loved ones, with her stepbrother and manager, Tolliver.
MYS Harris WAM TPL SHL RSV
Available on CD and as an E-Audiobook at TPL

While you can read each series out of order, Harris does reference previous books a lot in her works, so here’s the chronological list for each series:

Ro Teagarden
Real Murders
A Bone to Pick
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
The Julius House
Dead Over Heels
A Fool and His Honey
Last Scene Alive
Poppy Done to Death

Lily Bard
Shakespeare’s Landlord
Shakespeare’s Champion
Shakespeare’s Christmas
Shakespeare’s Trollop
Shakespeare’s Counselor

Sookie Stackhouse/ Southern Vampire
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone (coming May 2009!)

Harper Connelly
Grave Sight
Grave Surprise
An Ice Cold Grave

Study Hard - The Easy Way!

Thanks to the Michigan Electronic Library, you can study for big tests from the comfort of your home – or at your local Warren library!

Using the Learn-A-Test/Learning Express Library database provides free access to study guides and tests of all kinds, from GED and GRE to EMS and ASVAB! Books on these exams are hard to get your hands on, especially during peak testing seasons, so use the guides online to see what you’re in for. You can even take timed sample tests, and get graded as you go, so you know where your strengths lie. Learn-A-Test also allows you to print questions to make your own study guide, and print out your progress report, too.

You can access Learn-A-Test through the MEL portal (http://www.mel.org), or from the link on any library computer(). Register using your library card number and PIN, and you’re ready to try a test!

Outside of a Dog, #25

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

All sorts of craft ideas and projects compete for our attention. Why not indulge your crafting instincts with a few homemade holiday greeting cards? They are easy to make, quick, and can often be made with supplies you have around the house. The following titles offer inspiration as well as many samples.

Greeting Cards for the First Time by Karmen Quinney

Your cards will be a bit more special when they’re handmade with a particular loved one in mind. Sample cards, material lists, and advice are given here, and more importantly, the core ideas can easily be adapted with your own creativity in mind.

745.5941 G WCV SHL SBL

Creative Greeting Cards by Sandi Genovese

Die-cuts to the rescue! Teachers, storytellers, and librarians have long used die-cuts for a wide variety of craft projects. Here they are utilized to create a selection of greeting cards. Everything from Christmas cards to invitations is showcased in a way that will inspire you to create your own unique cards.

745.5941 G WCV MTC RSV

Instant Gratification Cards: Fast and Fabulous Projects by Carol Endler Sterbenz and Genevieve A. Sterbenz

Here we have plenty of quick and creative techniques to produce professional and sophisticated greeting cards in an afternoon that don’t look hokey or handmade. Whether a beginner or an experienced crafter you will find surely something in this book to inspire you.

745.5941 S WCV WDB

Better Homes and Gardens Handmade Greetings for all Occasions: 85 Cards, Gift Tags, and Invitations by Susan Banker

Send sentiments from your heart with cards made by your hands. Whether you’re looking for an extra-special way to say Happy Birthday or simply want someone to know you care, you’ll find ideas for perfect cards inside this book.

745.5941 B WCV SHL

Take this book to the Graveyard with you!

Today’s Book: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman


The plot: Bod, or Nobody Owens, was only a baby when he stealthily escaped from his crib and went crawling the streets of London. As luck would have it, he also barely escaped being killed with the rest of his family. He manages to get across the street, to a graveyard, where the ghostly Mistress and Mr. Owens decide to care for him, and give him the Freedom of the Graveyard – meaning he can come and go where only the dead usually are allowed. As Nobody grows up between the worlds of the living, the dead and the not-exactly-dead, he finds out why he's only safe in the graveyard.

Why You’ll Love It: Gaiman is a master storyteller, there’s no doubt about that. In this children’s book, released September 30 of this year, he visits a graveyard he once lived near, where his son liked to play, and plays, himself, with what might have been behind those gates. If you’d like to stretch your imagination to the spooky (but not-too-spooky), try this book!

Who Will/Should Read It: Gaiman enthusiasts (it’s no surprise that the writers of this blog are big fans!), kids who like a good spooky story, and even adults reading to kids (or to themselves) should pick up The Graveyard Book!

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Author Profile: Michael Chabon

Perhaps best known amongst comics fans as an Eisner Award Winner for his book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon has been writing novels and short stories (and the occasional movie!) since 1988, when he wrote Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Since then, one of his books, Wonder Boys, has been turned into a movie starring Michael Douglas, and he’s consulted on scripts for Spiderman 2, X-Men, and The Fantastic Four. Listed here are some of our favorites:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Two cousins with a pulp sensibility form an unlikely friendship and decide to draw a comic book about The Escapist, who breaks taboos and deals deathly blows to Hitler in this award-winning novel.

Fic Chabon WCV WAM ROG ROK UPL

Also available as E-Audiobook

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

Described by Publisher's Weekly as "a murder-mystery speculative-history Jewish-identity noir chess thriller," this alternate-history novel is Chabon's newest release to date. His hero is a much hung-over detective, stuck in a Jewish settlement in Alaska, with the mystery of a corpse in a hotel to solve and lots of brandy to drink.

Fic Chabon WCV CHE HPW FRA

BCD Fic Chabon WCV RSV

Wonder Boys

Writer's block is the worst thing that can happen to a writer. The protagonist in this tale is also middle-aged, unhappy, and a mess. What's the worst that could happen in one weekend? The lead character, Grady Tripp, finds out.

Fic Chabon WCV MTC RSV WAM

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Summerland

Chabon's first (and only) novel for young adults, this work takes us into a modern-day, American other world, much like Narnia or Wonderland. A young boy, who's really bad at baseball, is called upon to save the faeries of Summerland from the destructive Coyote and his band of warriors. Can 11-year-old Ethan do it?

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Werewolves in Their Youth (short stories)

In his second short-story collection, Chabon visits the aftermath of rape, what happens when boys playing at superheroes goes a little too far, and a fictional author's pulp horror tales (an author he created in the aforementioned "Wonder Boys" writes the last story in the book!) Wholly original, as are all of Chabon's work, and a great place to start if you're not sure you'll like his style.

Fic Chabon SHL TPL

Thanks to IC for the author suggestion!

Testimony-al: This book is good!

Today's Book: Testimony by Anita Shreve


The Plot: This is a behind-the-headlines story dealing with a sex scandal at a prestigious high school in Vermont. The novel unfolds as various individual characters slowly share their own unique viewpoints of the events. We are relentlessly pulled into the story and quickly become conflicted as to what really happened and why.

Why You’ll Love it: The story builds slowly with an ever-growing dose of suspense. It gives readers a chance to see behind a tabloid-like headline. It’s a multifaceted tale that shows how one poor choice or decision can have life-changing consequences we might never have imagined.

Who Should Read it? : Almost anyone who likes character-driven novels will find Anita Shreve’s novel enticing and entertaining. Book clubs especially will enjoy this selection because of the challenging dilemmas and moral questions the characters face as the plot unfolds.
Readers who have enjoyed novels by Jodi Picoult, Chris Bohjalian, Elizabeth Berg, or Alice Hoffman will definitely enjoy discovering author Anita Shreve.

BKD Fic Shreve WCV ROG
Fic Shreve WCV ARM WAM WDB UPL TPL

Thanks to MH for this book review!

Readers are going to love this book!

Today's Book: The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry


The Plot: Towner Whitney returns home to Salem, Massachusetts, after several years in California. She is still recovering from surgery, but she must go back home because her Aunt Eva has just drowned there under mysterious circumstances. Towner ends up rekindling relationships with her mother, May, her Aunt Emma, and an old boyfriend. She also begins to relive the traumatic events of her youth that drove her to get as far away from home as she could. A new cop in Salem is assigned to her aunt's case and finds himself entangled with Towner and her secrets. And, by the way, all of the Whitneys have psychic abilities of various degrees. Towner's Aunt Eva was even in the process of writing a guide for learning to "read lace" which allows you to see someone's future. Towner is pretty good at it too - though she struggles against what the readings tell her.

Why You'll Love It: This is a well-written and compelling story. The author skillfully inserts clues about Towner and her past and about her aunt who has drowned. So don't overlook the details - they are all important! And the ending will really shake you up!

Who Should Read It: Mystery and fiction lovers will enjoy this book - also people who are intrigued by psychic phenomena. If you have ever visited Salem (like I did last year) you'll also enjoy reading about places and sites you may have seen while you were there.

Fic Barry WCV HPW RSV WAM WCB WMB

Thanks to KF for this book review!

"When you can live forever, what do you live for?"

Fans across the world will be rushing into movie theaters next weekend for the opening of the movie "Twilight," based on the wildly-successful Young Adult book of the same name. The original four books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) are hard to get your hands on - the holds lists are almost 200 people strong! If you loved Twilight, how about some other supernatural books to keep you reading while you're waiting?


Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause
Vivian is a hereditary loup-garou (that is, werewolf), in a pack that's been run out of at least one town before. She lives like any other teenage outcast - willingly keeping company only with her age-mates in the pack. Until she reads a poem by another student, and becomes convinced that this one boy will understand what it's like to be a wolf, beautiful and wild and free. Meanwhile, people in the community are showing up dead - did Vivian do it? If not, who did?
(This was made into a movie, too, but the movie is completely different from the book.)
YA Fic Klause WCV ARM CHE WAM WDB


Kitty and the Midnight Hour, Carrie Vaughn
Kitty Norville is just your average radio DJ, who hosts a late-night call-in show called The Midnight Hour. Oh, and not all of her callers are average. Or human. Of course, neither is Kitty. She's a werewolf, and in this first book in the ongoing series, the head of the vampire crime family (an undead mafia!) wants her show canceled, and Kitty dead.
SCI PBK Vau WCV WAM
Fic Vaughn SCS


Vamped, David Sosnowski
One question that always gets asked in vampire novels is, if they're the more powerful predators, why haven't they killed all the humans and taken over yet? Sosnowski answers this question in Vamped, where vampires are the dominant species, and hilarity abounds.
Fic Sosnowski WCV RSV MTC


Sweep: Book of Shadows, Cate Tiernan
First in a series that now has 13 novels and a super edition, Sweep is a great set of novels about Morgan, a high school junior who finds out that she's a witch. Tiernan fills the novels with great prose, and accurate information about Wicca. Once you finish these, there's also the quadrilogy "Balefire" available.
YA PBK SW WMB WAM
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Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle, Jim Butcher
We've recommended the Dresden Files before on this blog, but if you've never picked up "Storm Front," or if you just prefer something a little easier on the eyes, try this new graphic novel, written by Butcher, and illustrated by Ardian Syaf, who is relatively new in the comics world. This is a stand alone story of Harry Dresden, and is as funny as the rest of the series. The art is well-done, and it's a great placeholder book while fans eagerly await "Turn Coat," due out in April of 2009.
YA Graphic Butcher FRA


And of course, who can forget the classics:

Dracula, Bram Stoker
At the heart of all vampire novels is a vampire who wants to love a human. Here, the very first written story.
Fic Stoker WCV MTC RSV


The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection [DVD]
'When a man is attacked by a werewolf, he finds to his horror that he now becomes one himself under a full moon.'
DVD 791.43 Wolf WCV
DVD Arts Wolf TPL


The Witches, Roald Dahl
A boy who's been warned about witches ends up at the yearly convention as a target. He finds that witches, REAL WITCHES, dress normally, live normally, and act normally, so it's terribly hard to catch them. Will he catch the witches, or will they catch him - and turn him into a mouse?
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Do you have a favorite supernatural book?

November is Native American Heritage Month!

Find out more about Native American heritage by reading some of these books, or checking out the websites listed below.

Nonfiction
Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko
Silko is another well-known author, who delves into the past with both fiction and nonfiction (See her work Ceremony for a winding tale of modern-day tribe members.) This is more of an autobiographical offering, with stories, personal history, poems, and photographs of her life.
Fic (Storage) MTC

Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today by Leslie Marmon Silko
Written in 1997, but still relevant (and used in college curricula today), is this book containing nonfiction pieces on "America's Debt to the Indian Nations" and "Interior and Exterior Landscapes: The Pueblo Migration Stories."
970.00497 S CHE

American Indian Trickster Tales by Richard Erdoes
Coyote is the best known trickster of the Native American stories, but he's not the only one. Included here are also Iktomi, a shapeshifting Lakota spider-man, and Veeho, the Cheyenne daredevil, in one hundred illustrated stories.
398.2089 E EPL
398.2 A SHL TPL


Fiction
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Alexie is regarded as one of the best writers about modern Native Americans, mixing history and traditions of the tribes (usually the Coeur D'Alene tribe, of which he is one) with current topics, characters, and events.
YA Fic Alexie WCV

The Business of Fancydancing: Poems and Stories by Sherman Alexie
Alexie's first book, which follows his usual format of short stories with humorous titles, as well as poems.
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The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman
Known and rewarded as a top mystery author and Special Friend of the Navajo Tribe, Hillerman made his name in fiction for his Navajo Tribal Police/ Joe Leaphorn mysteries. Unfortunately, he also passed on recently, so there will be no more after the most recent, 2006's "The Shape Shifter. Start with this first book in the series, or with "The Joe Leaphorn Mysteries" collection, which features the first three novels.
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The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Coyote is one of the most famous (and beloved) of the Native American spirits - always in trouble for making deals and promises he doesn't exactly keep. Edited by Datlow and Windling, well-known for being a part of "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror," this is a collection sure to show many different sides of the Trickster.
YA Fic Coyote SHL

Websites
Native American Heritage Month (homepage): put together by the Library of Congress, this is a great jumping-off point for anyone interested in the subject.

Oyate: A Native organization devoted to making sure Native Americans are portrayed honestly in books and other media.

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: Three sites that make up the National Museum include artwork, history, archives, and more.

Boo!

The Warren Public Libraries would like to wish all of our patrons a very



*Please remember the Libraries will be closed on Tuesday, November 4th, for Election Day.

Outside of a Dog: The Spooky Edition

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

Halloween is just around the corner, and we’d be remiss without suggesting a few spooky stories to put you in the mood.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
The Rolfes rent a summer home that sounds too good to be true. Soon they discover themselves caught up in a web of unimaginable menace and terror.
Fic Marasco
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Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
Published in 1998, this is the 7^th novel in the featuring Anita Blake vampire hunter. Hamilton’s immensely popular series, now numbering 16 books, continues to intrigue and fascinate readers. In this novel, Anita is dealing with leaving one boyfriend, the werewolf pack Alpha Richard, and turning to another, Jean-Claude the Master Vampire of St. Louis; not to mention combating a possible psychic firestarter.
Fic Hamilton
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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A vampire book that's not at all like any vampire book you've ever read (we promise!) It's a story within a story within a story, generations of families and friends haunted by the search for Vlad Dracul. The dramatized version on CD is really a fright!
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Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
We’ve all seen or not seen the Academy Award nominated movie. You really have to read the book to truly appreciate how truly frightening the printed word can be.
Fic Harris
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Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Regarded as the most frightening and disturbing of King's many horror novels (and that's saying something!), Pet Sematary has lasted the test of time will give you chills. The story of a family who moves from Illinois to Maine, and finds local pets being raised from the dead is a sure scare at Halloween, or any time.
Fic King
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Coma by Robin Cook
This is the book that is credited with introducing the medicine gone awry genre. A young female medical student uncovers a shocking crime at her hospital.
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Crooked Tree by Robert C. Wilson
An engrossing tale that combines Indian legend and supernatural terror in a Northern Michigan setting. First published in 1980, it was recently reissued in paperback.
Fic Wilson
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Superstitious by R.L. Stine
After zipping through all of Fear Street and Goosebumps when I was 12, I dug up R.L. Stine’s only adult offering to date. Truly chilling for those young and old, Superstitious is about a college girl’s affair with a folklore professor – who might just be scarier than the superstitions he teaches her.
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For our younger readers looking for a scare, try R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps or Fear Street, Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, or Morgan Burke’s Party Room trilogy.

Readers: What is your favorite scary book?

You'll want to Host this book!

Today's Book: The Host, by Stephenie Meyer


The Plot: In this new science fiction offering, the Earth has been invaded by beings from another planet. To the invaders, it appears as though they have been successful. They have taken a chaotic planet filled with emotional and often violent inhabitants, and created a peaceful, organized community. And this isn't the first time! They've conquered other planets with the same satisfying results. In order to achieve success, the invaders surgically introduce "souls" into people and take over their bodies. Usually the soul of the human is overcome and eventually disappears. But Melanie Stryder doesn't allow the invading soul called Wanderer to take over her body. She fights to regain control and the peace-loving and gentle Wanderer must learn to fight back. But Wanderer becomes so overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of her love for her family and for Jared, a fellow resistor, that she yields to Melanie's wishes to find her family and friends. Then the excitement really begins!

Why You'll Love It: Two people living in the same body - weird! Invaders that are peace-loving, kind, friendly, and only come to improve our chaotic, emotional, and sometimes violent ways - hey the invaders sound like good guys! A huge, many-roomed dark cave with tiny natural skylights enhanced with mirrors to create light inside - cool and inventive. People wrestling with fascinating questions about what makes a person who they are (is the greater good always preference to what is good for an individual? Can altruism ever be evil?) -- Interesting!

Who Should Read It: Science fiction fans, fiction readers, and young adult readers will love this book. (Stephenie Meyer also writes the Twilight series, so if you like her style of writing - and you're waiting eagerly for Midnight Sun to be published! - try this book.)

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer
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Thanks to KF for this review!

Author Profile: Meg Cabot

Famous for the Young Adult bestsellers "The Princess Diaries," now numbering 13 titles, Meg Cabot has been writing both adult and teen books for years. She has a great sense of the places she writes about (usually New York, sometimes Michigan), and a sense of humor and style that is unusual and fun.

The Boy Series [The Boy Next Door (2002), Boy Meets Girl (2004), Every Boy’s Got One (2005)]
Each book of The Boy Series is based on a different character in New York City, usually a girl somehow involved with or related to the workers at the fictional New York Journal magazine. Every story is unique, and interspersed with e-mails, receipts, and other items, making them easy and engrossing to read - much like talking with an old friend, or looking at a scrapbook.
The Boy Next Door Fic Cabot ROG UPL / Audio Cabot SCS
Boy Meets Girl YA Fic Cabot CHE WAM TPL
Every Boy's Got One Fic Cabot ROG RSV

The Heather Wells Mysteries [Size 12 is Not Fat (2005), Size 14 is Not Fat Either (2006), Big Boned (2007)]
Heather Wells used to be a rock star on the mall tour (think Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, in the 80’s). Engaged to the lead singer of a boy band, and ready to write her own songs and make it big, Heather’s life is changed when her father is sent to prison and her mom runs off with her money. She works for the fictional New York College, and somehow is always involved in the newest murder on campus.
Size 12 Is Not Fat YA Fic Cabot WAM WDB WCV HPW
Size 14 Is Not Fat Either Fic Cabot WDB ROG FRA
Big Boned YA Fic Cabot WCV HPW / Fic Cabot MPL MCL SCS

The Queen of Babble Series [Queen of Babble (2007), Queen of Babble in the Big City (2008), Queen of Babble Gets Hitched (2008)]
Lizzie Nichols, fashion expert extraordinaire, and resident big mouth, is off to England to meet her long-distance boyfriend Andy. The only problem is, after the big graduation party (and a dozen or more travel book-lights), Lizzie finds that she never graduated. What happens next to our loquacious leading lady? Read to find out!
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Queen of Babble in the Big City Fic Cabot ARM CHE UPL / ACD Fic Cabot CHE / EAudio WCV
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched Fic Cabot ARM WAM WDB / BCD Fic Cabot MPL TPL

Outside of a Dog, #23

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

Selected this week are some older fiction selections that we happily classify as forgotten treasures. All were on best seller lists many years ago but definitely still qualify as a good read.

Defects of the Heart by Barbara Gordon

Jessica Lenhart is a prize-winning television executive. She becomes deeply involved in producing a show that deals with a new drug recently approved by the FDA. This drug is supposed to be useful in preventing miscarriages; instead, her own findings lead her to believe the drug may be causing birth defects.
This novel was published in 1983.

Fic Gordon MTC

Tender Mercies by Rosellen Brown

Don and Laura Courser have lived contentedly with their two children in a small New England town. On vacation, a terrible accident occurs. Laura is swimming near a motor boat when Don accidentally guns the motor of the boat and the propeller blade severs her spinal cord. How this family deals with the unexpected tragedy makes this a compelling and thought-provoking story.

This novel was published in 1978.

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Love and Glory by Jeane Westin

This is a fictionalized account of four remarkable women who were part of the original group of Women's Army Corps officer candidates in 1942. Although each woman was distinctly different in personality and came from a variety of backgrounds they managed to form life-long friendships.

This novel was published in 1985.

Fic Westin SHL

Four Days by Gloria Goldreich

A middle-aged woman spends four days in a hospital deciding on whether or not to go through with an abortion. Although written over 25 years ago, the story still has a remarkable moral relevance to a question that is still being hotly debated today.

This novel was published in 1980.

Fic Goldreich MTC

License to...

With the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace” due in theaters next month, why not look into other books and movies featuring the well-known spy:

Casino Royale: The movie released in 2006 with newcomer Daniel Craig taking over where Pierce Brosnan left off, is very different from the original story, written in 1953 by Bond scribe Ian Fleming. The movie that came out in 1967 was a parody only loosely based on the original book.

1967 Parody: DVD Arts Casino TPL
2006 Movie: DVD C22 ($1 for 2 days) WCV
Original 1953 Story: Fic Fleming WAM (book includes “From Russia, With Love,” “Live and Let Die,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Dr. No,” and “Goldfinger.”)

Dr. No: The first Bond film, and the first starring Sean Connery as the legendary James Bond, was actually the sixth book Ian Fleming wrote.

Original 1958 Story: Fic EPL
1962 Movie: VHS Fic D RSV/ DVD Action-Adventure D ROG

You Only Live Twice: The last (consecutive) film that Sean Connery portrayed the lethal leading man in, the book was written well before the movie, too.

Original 1964 Story: Classic F Fleming TPL
Audiobook: (as part of “The Best of Bond, James Bond”) CD Soundtrack J SBL
1967 Movie: VC Y 30, CL FRA/ DVD Action-Adventure Y ROG

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: Often called the best non-Connery Bond film, actor George Lazenby only played the role once.

Original 1963 Story: Mys Fleming WDB
Audiobook: BKC Fic Fleming RSV
1969 Movie: DVD On MTC

The Living Daylights: One of the last movies to be based on Ian Fleming’s original work (none of the Pierce Brosnan movies were!), it starred Timothy Dalton in one of two shots at the secret agent.

Original 1965 Story: M Fic SCS (In an edition with “Octopussy”)
1987 Movie: DVD Bond CHE

* Note: Other libraries also have various editions of the movies on DVD and VHS, but some are not holdable.

This book's not hard to love!

Today’s Book: Hard Love, by Ellen Wittlinger


The Plot: John, a teenager who prefers to keep to himself, starts writing a 'zine (self-made and self-published magazine) to work through issues brought on by his divorced parents, his best friend joining the Drama Club and leaving him behind, and his first love - with Marisol, a fellow 'zine writer who also happens to be a lesbian.

Why you'll love it: The story of first love from an outsider isn't a first in the YA genre - far from it - but Wittlinger's story interspersed with pieces from John's 'zine make it easy and engrossing to read, and helps bring to mind the early days of your first big teenage crush.

Who Will/Should Read it?: Wittlinger is mostly a YA author - most recently famous for the controversial "Sandpiper" - but it was recommended to me by an English professor in college. Also, if you love it, Wittlinger has just released a companion book entitled "Love and Lies: Marisol's Story."

Hard Love
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Love & Lies: Marisol's Story
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What's an mp3 Audiobook?

Audiobooks come in many forms: first, Cassettes (all Warren Libraries still have some!), Compact Discs, and most recently, the self-contained Playaway. The newest addition to our collections is an mp3 Audiobook, which allows you to have the entire book on one disc, instead of several!

mp3 files are small sound files, most recognized for being widely-accessible music files. Each one ranges from 1 megabytes to 5 megabytes, depending on the length of the song. Regular audiobooks on CD are in wav or wma files, which are much larger - usually 40 megabytes or more - which means that one CD can only fit 17 tracks. On an mp3 audiobook, the files are smaller, so you can fit more tracks on one CD!

mp3 audiobooks are playable on some CD players and car stereos (most new Ford models), and your computer (or any library computer).


Available mp3 audiobooks include:
Casanegra by Blair Underwood
Death Angel by Linda Howard
Killer View by Ridley Pearson
Tailspin by Catherine Coulter
No Choice But Seduction by Johanna Lindsey
Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner

Outside of a Dog, # 22

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

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good old fashioned love story. The following are some our favorites.

Close Relations by Susan Isaac
Marcia Green is a witty, talented, and very sophisticated New York political speech writer. She is currently involved with her boss’ chief of staff. The last thing she needs is a blind date engineered by her mother. Or does she?

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‘Til the Real Thing Comes Along by Iris Rainer Dart
A widow at 37, RJ Misner finds herself disillusioned with men and the world of dating. Then she meets David Malcom. She discounts him immediately as too charming, too rich, too handsome, and most of all too young. Boy, how those first impressions can be deceiving!

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Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Parker, an ex-convict with no family, no home, and no chance for love, drifts into Whitney, Georgia and meets the town’s crazy widow Dismore. Eventually these lost souls change each other’s lives.

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Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
After a terrible plane crash and extensive plastic surgery, a young woman is mistakenly identified as the wife of a handsome senatorial candidate. Before the truth can be uncovered, she finds herself falling in love.

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A Queenly Title

Today’s Book: First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter

The Plot: The book begins with King Henry VIII’s struggles to provide England with a male heir. The birth of his daughter Mary was a severe disappointment. Mary’s childhood, her struggles with her stepmother Anne Boleyn, her isolation from her own mother, and the struggle to govern England after her father’s death make for a compelling and well researched story.

Why you’ll love it: Although we all know the basic tale of King Henry VIII and his many wives, Porter writes with an engaging and entertaining style that makes the well known historical events seem suspenseful and certainly intriguing to the reader.

Who Will/Should Read it?: Anyone who is interested in English history or lives of kings and queens will find this book easy to read as well as entertaining. Fans of Showtime’s episodic series “The Tudors” will find much to enjoy here also.

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Thanks to MH for this review!

Outside of a Dog, #21

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

Back to school often means back to those required reading lists for many students. But you don’t have to stick with one list. The following books offer a wealth of suggestions as well as explanations why the classics are still important.

A Month by Month Guide to the Classics and Crowd Pleasers for You and Your Book Group, Elisabeth Ellington
An entertaining and detailed list of past and present classics to discover.
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Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now, Andrew Delbanco
A somewhat scholarly view as to why reading the classical literature is even more important than ever and what we can learn from them.
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Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed, the editors of Salem Press
A quality and comprehensive listing of a wide range of classic books.
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If you're overwhelmed by required reading, listed below are classic novels at or near 200 pages.
*Most of these will be shelved under the author's last name in the fiction section.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Woodn't you like to read this book?

Today’s Book: In the Woods, Tana French

The plot: This mystery is a compelling mixture of 'whodunit' and psychological thriller. A 12-year-old girl is found murdered at a local archaeological dig in a suburb of Dublin. The case has some intriguing similarities to an unsolved case of over 20 years ago in which two of three children who were playing in the woods went missing one summer day and were never recovered. Two detectives are assigned to the current case: Detective Rob Ryan and his best friend, Cassie Maddox. Ryan and Maddox have personal problems of their own that get in the way of solving the current crime.

Why You’ll Love It: As a child, Ryan was the one that returned home in the unsolved case, and he continues to be traumatized by that event. Maddox helps him cover up his involvement for reasons of her own.

Who Will/Should Read It: Mystery lovers, fiction readers, and anyone who enjoys a gripping story.

Tana French has just written another book focusing on Detective Cassie Maddox called The Likeness.

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Thanks to KF for this review!

Outside of a Dog, #20

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

We all know we should be eating healthier but just what does that really mean? The following authors offer their own individual and unique views of how to improve our diets.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto - Michael Pollan

The author himself has summed up his book in three simple directives – “Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants”. He explains how to achieve those simply stated goals with wit and enthusiasm.

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Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal - Eric Schlosser

A best seller several years ago, this book still hasn’t lost its impact for first time readers. Not only a searing indictment of the way the majority of fast food is manufactured, the author includes defining and definitive evidence how it is damaging our health as well as our society.

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What to Eat - Marion Nestle

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Real Food: What to Eat and Why - Nina Planck

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Both of the above titles by Nestle and Planck offer factual and realistic advice on how to improve our increasing processed and ultimately unhealthy American diet. Much of their background information of the food industry as a whole is shocking as well as discouraging; still they both present viable options for consumers interested in fighting back with their pocketbooks and improving their diets.

Don't keep this book Confidential!

Today’s Book: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain

The plot: Bourdain, best known for his acerbic wit and adventurous tastebuds on A Cook’s Tour and No Reservations television shows, and regular guest spots on Top Chef, talks about how he got started in the restaurant business. Starting on the lowest rung as a summer-stock prep cook at a tacky fish and chowder restaurant, and working his way up to executive chef/chef-at-large at Brasserie Les Halles in New York, Bourdain tells of adventures in cooking, schooling, traveling, and getting high and getting sober in between.

Why You’ll Love It: Even if you’re not a fan of Bourdain’s spiky wit and public persona, you might be hard-pressed to put this book down. He writes with a style all his own, and tells stories that you just know are true, even if the names have been changed. It’s a quick read, at 352 pages, and each chapter is more engrossing than the next. He also includes a chapter on how you can make food like the famous chefs, and makes it sound easy (the trick: a good knife and squeeze bottles of sauce. No, really!)

Who Will/Should Read It: Foodies, wannabe foodies, fans of Bourdain, and anyone who watches the food network more than ten hours a week (guilty, guilty!)

Bourdain has also written novels (Bone in the Throat, Gone Bamboo, The Bobby Gold Stories), and collected some shorter pieces penned for magazines in The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones.

A few years back, Fox also made a TV series based on the book, starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendan, but it was short-lived. Curious cooks can order the DVD set from MeLCat.

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Outside of a Dog, #19

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

The US Open started on Monday August 25^th. For tennis aficionados, this two week tournament is one of the biggest tennis events of the year. If you can’t be there in Flushing, New York to see the action up close and personal, here are reading recommendations we hope you enjoy.

Sampras, Pete
A Champion’s Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis
Written by one of the game's all time greats, Sampras offers readers a unique look at his growing up years, early struggles, major championships wins, and his ultimate decision to retire from the game.
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Blake, James
Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won my Life Back
Currently ranked as one of the top ten players in the world, James Blake struggled through some particularly difficult years. He suffered from a serious physical illness caused by a fall on the tennis court; his beloved father died during this time period from a long and painful illness. In spite of these challenges, he rallied and re-entered the professional tennis world stronger than ever.
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Spadea, Vince
Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player
Sort of a silly book but still fun for fans, Spadea, one of the long standing but lower ranked players on the professional tennis circuit offers a behind the scenes look at what really happens on and off the tennis court. You can’t help but get caught up in his irreverent and humorous look at his own experiences, the game in general, and some of the biggest names in the game playing today.
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Many local libraries (Warren Civic Center and Arthur Miller included) have Tennis magazine. and instructional Tennis books and videos.