Lost in the Stacks

Worth Dying For: A Reacher Novel by Lee Child

2011-02-20T15:57:00.004-06:00

Jack Reacher fans: New book alert! My husband brought me a special gift late last week: I had put the new Lee Child book on reserve, and thought I would have a much longer wait. However, once it was in the house, I couldn't wait to start reading it!

This book picks up where the previous book left off (61 Hours), when Jack was stranded in a small town in South Dakota after a bus crash. After his adventures there, he hitches a ride and gets let out in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska. At first, he figures he will get some sleep at the little motel and then hitch a ride in the morning; however, he gets caught up in some local drama when he drives an intoxicated doctor to treat a patient and figures out why the whole small town seems so afraid of the powerful Duncan family. The Duncan family consists of three brothers in their 50s or 60s who own a trucking business and seem to run the whole area. They employ a crew of big, corn fed young men who act as enforcers, and are dubbed the cornhuskers by the locals.

Their handiwork is evident in the bruised faces of the motel owner and doctor, but Jack senses that there is more going on than anyone wants to admit. The Duncans are involved in something dangerous and illegal, but what--drugs? weapons? He isn't sure, but keeps asking questions and discovers that there is also a cold case at the heart of the bullying. A local child went missing 25 yeasrs earlier, and the mother accused the Duncans of kidnapping her, but no evidence was found. The Duncans have targeted her, and anyone who supported her cause.

One of the Duncan brothers has a grown son, Seth, who is married: Seth's hobby seems to be drinking and beating his wife, which Jack doesn't like. So after helping the doctor tend to the young wife's wounds, Jack decides to pay Seth a visit. Naturally, this stirs things up: the Duncans aren't used to having anyone stand up to them.

Jack has to decide if he is going to ride out of town and let the people fend for themselves or stay and help them fight the Duncans. It's a great read, but not one you can put down easily. Lee Child has created such a compelling character in Jack Reacher: he is a former military cop who is tough, solitary, and hypervigilant. His experience serves him well, and he manages to walk away, battered but not beaten.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if I did wince a time or two at the description of some of the action. The characters, dialogue, and plot twists are excellent, and I recommend it to current and prospective fans of Lee Child alike.

You can find Worth Dying For on the New Fiction Shelf; I had Mike return it tonight, so if you put it on reserve, it could be your turn to read it.

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Borderline by Nevada Barr

2010-11-07T13:21:00.003-06:00

I just finished listening to this audio book: this is a very tense read, and one that I found especially compelling, since there has been so much attention focused on the dangerous conditions near the border with Mexico. I have missed one or two books in the series and need to go back and fill in the gaps. However, Anna is newly married and on a vacation with her husband, after undergoing some trauma in her last assignment.

Anna and Paul go on a river rafting trip, when something unexpected happens, and they get all get stranded, without their raft or supplies. As they are trying to regroup, they first find a stranded cow and try to rescue it: then, they encounter what they think is a dead woman trapped in some undergrowth. They then discover she is pregnant, and still barely alive. As they struggle to save her and her baby, and themselves, shots ring out and things become much more complicated.

Politics, border issues, and a fierce need to protect the dead woman's baby make for a very good story. I recommend it.

You can find Borderline in the Audio Books section of the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus

2010-08-15T09:10:00.000-06:00

Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm only on page 9, but already very hooked. Shirky's previous book, Here Comes Everybody, talked about the power of the internet to connect people. He continues and expands on that theme in this book.....

I just finished this book yesterday: I read chunks of the last chapter out loud to Mike as we drove to Marshalltown. I have been reading it for several weeks, in between working on handouts for fall and finishing up other books. It is not a quick read: it is packed with information, examples, stories, and is a book that makes you stop and think.

Shirky argues very convincingly that with the abundance of free time we now enjoy (created by the idea of the 40 hour work week), our society now has "cognitive surplus," or the potential to do great things, working together. He points to things like the Apache Web server project, where thousands of programmers have worked on open source software, as well as Wikipedia, where thousands of people contribute to the site,whether it is adding content or editing it.

Early on, he talks about the way we used to watch TV--it was almost like our second jobs, with many in my generation knowing a little too much about the plotlines and characters of Gilligan's island. He also talks about the way that technology or progress disrupts society, and the impact of things like the printing press. Later, he gives numerous examples of how the internet, and social media, have been used to mobilize people to action.

In his closing pages he discusses what is needed to use social media with groups, and how we can learn how best to work with groups to accomplish great things. He reminds us that there is no such thing as a magical recipe: we can, however, learn from others' mistakes, and look at what has worked.

This is a good book for ANYONE working with people & using social media to accomplish their goals: I highly recommend it for teachers, librarians, political activists, and anyone else!

View all my reviews >>

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

2010-06-29T20:17:00.002-06:00

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an incredible book -- one of those rare finds for me that is a memoir, but much more. Janzen shares her childhood memories of growing up in the Mennonite culture, with all of the wonderfully funny and strange tales of Sunday school, family trips, school lunches, and coping with parents who took thriftiness to the extreme. She also takes a very painful and honest look at her own journey in life--marrying a man struggling with depression and diagnosed as being bipolar. He was not only not Mennonite, he was not religious in any way and ultimately left her for a man he met online named Bob.

In a very wierd way, I could really relate with her life, having grown up in a fundamentalist home with a long list of "Thou shalt nots." I married a minister and had two children; I also became a licensed minister, and then my life fell apart. While my ex-husband did not leave me for a man named Bob, I was just as shattered as Rhoda sounds in this book. Like her, I was blessed with friends and family who helped me heal, and helped me raise my two beautiful children.

Janzen writes about teaching and writing, food and sex, grief and longing, childhood passions and terrors, truth and God and doubt and redemption. I may not make any of the recipes included at the end of the book, but I felt satisfied all the same.

You can find Mennonite in a Little Black Dress on the New Fiction shelf.

View all my reviews >>

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Extracurricular Activities by Maggie Barbieri

2010-06-24T20:31:00.004-06:00

I discovered Extracurricular Activities before reading the first book in the Alison Bergeron mystery series; however, you can certainly enjoy this book without reading the other one first (Murder 101). In the first book, we met Alison, an English professor at a private Catholic college in New York. She has divorced her perpetually unfaithful husband, Ray, and is moving on with her life. Her two best friends are Kevin, a priest at the college, and Max, her former college room mate.

When one of her students was found dead in Alison's stolen car, Alison and Max met two NY detectives, Bobby Crawford and Fred Wyatt, who were investigating the case. Fortunately, Alison was able to clear her name and she and Bobby became better acquainted. So did Max and Fred--as the second book opens, they are planning their wedding. In contrast, Alison is trying to figure out what to do about Bobby: while he is separated, he is still married and she tells him that she cannnot be in a relationship with him.

However, she comes home one day to find her ex-husband waiting for her in her kitchen. When she discovers that he's dead, she calls the police--and later, Bobby. It becomes clear that someone wanted to make her look guilty. As Alison and Bobby try to reach a compromise someone takes a shot at her outside a restaurant. Although her wound is not serious, it requires stitches and care; Bobby stays with her and helps to take care of her.

In the aftermath of his death, Alison finds out about yet more of Ray's affairs--including one with the next door neighbor and one with with his students named Julie. Suddenly there seems to be a whole list of suspects. When Peter Miceli, local mob boss, confronts her with yet another ugly story, it is almost more than she can bear--he is the father of Kathy, the girl found dead in Alison's car. Now Peter tells Alison that his daughter was also pregnant and he suspects that Ray was the father. Alison knows that this cannot be true: she had discovered that Ray had secretly gotten a vasectomy, knowing that she wanted children. But she cannot seem to convince Peter.

Max and Fred get married, with Alison and Bobby as witnesses. Bobby's wife tells him that she will give him a divorce--that it is time for them to each move on.

There are more twists and turns before the last page: I will let you enjoy them for yourself. This is a book that is at points funny, suspenseful, touching, and thoroughly enjoyable. However, the newly single Alison gains a roommate in this story: the next door neighbors leave town suddenly and leave behind their dog, Trixie.

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

2010-06-24T19:53:00.003-06:00

My Hawkeye Book Club recently read the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. For clarification, Mary Ann wrote the book; when she became ill, Annie, her niece, did the rewrites at the very end. This book has a clever title but it is also wonderful writing: it consists of a series of letters written by a group of residents on Guernsey Island to a writer named Juliet. It takes place during the aftermath of World War II.

Juliet has written a book and started to do the book tour for it; she is already trying to come up with her next project when she gets the first letter from Guernsey. A man named Dawsey found a book by Charles Lamb that she had once owned; he wants her to know how much he enjoyed it, and could she help him find more by Mr. Lamb? When she supplies him with more books, their friendship is established. Soon, more residents are writing Juliet and telling her their stories of survival during the long period of occupation by the German soldiers. As each new writer tells his or her story, the reader is drawn further into the present day experience.

We also learn more about Juliet; she is an orphan and her two dearest friends are Sophie and Sidney (who are brother and sister). She met them as a young girl when she was sent off to a boarding school. Now, Sidney is her editor and Sophie has married and had a child.

Juliet becomes so intrigued that she soon plans a trip to the island; she wants to meet these wonderful people. She feels that she has already gotten to know them (and so has the reader). When she arrives, she stays in a little cottage owned by the absent Elizabeth--who was taken prisoner by the Nazis and sent off to a prison camp. Her friends --and young daughter, Kit--are waiting for her return. Juliet discovers that Kit's father was a German officer, a doctor, and that he, too, was sent off to a prison camp. Unfortunately, his ship sank and he drowned. Elizabeth's friends care for young Kit in her absence: they take turns taking her to one of their homes. However, Kit warms up to Juliet and they bond.

I did not expect to enjoy this book; however, I found it tremendously compelling. My husband and I were on a vacation, and I read chunks of it out loud to him while we were driving up to South Dakota. Not to sound trite, but I found myself laughing, crying, and re-reading a number of the letters. Not only was this an amazing read, it also made me realize how little I knew about the Nazi occupation of the islands so close to France and England. I want to read more and learn more about this almost forgotten aspect of the war.

Not only do I recommend the book, I urge you to read it. You can find it in the Adult Fiction, Large Type and CD Book collections.

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Murder 101 by Maggie Barbieri (2006)

2010-06-23T21:55:00.004-06:00

This spring I discovered yet another mystery series featuring an English teacher at a small college: Maggie Barbieri focuses on Alison Bergeron, who teaches at the same small Catholic college she once attended. I read her books out of order: Murder 101 is the first one. Alison has two best friends: Kevin is a priest and works at her college; Max is a very glamorous, worldly woman and her old college roommate.

She has recently gone through a divorce; her husband Ray teaches at the same college, and while he seems to be a handsome, friendly man he has a problem with monogamy. He has never been faithful and Alison can no longer tolerate it.

As the story begins, Alison's car gets stolen--which seems frustrating enough. Then, one of her Shakespeare class students is found dead in the trunk. She gets interrogated by a pair of police detectives and when one of them shows her the pictures of the dead girl, she throws up on his shoes. Detective Bobby Crawford is a smart man and decides she is probably innocent; however, his partner, Fred Wyatt, seems to be a little tougher. Alison soon decides that she has to find out who did this to clear herself, and her friend Max offers to help.

I liked the little details about the college, some of the description about Alison's relationships with her colleagues as well as the details about her classes. Of course, the developing friendship/romance with the very hunky Detective Crawford also adds to the storyline--as does her boss, Sister Mary, and Gianna, Alison's former classmate whose father is in the mob. If you like mysteries with an academic twist and great characters, and have a slightly twisted sense of humor, you will like this series. Alison is no Wonder Woman; she is flawed, stubborn, and really needs to eat more fruits and vegetables, and buy comfortable shoes. However, she cares about her college, her students, and her friends and as a character she grows on you!

You can find Murder 101 in the Mystery area of the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2010

Murder Between the Covers by Elaine Viets

2010-06-23T21:04:00.003-06:00

Imagine my delight when I discovered yet another book by Elaine Viets in the Dead End Job series. Murder Between the Covers picks up from where Shop Till You Drop leaves off; after leaving the job at the elite dress shop, Helen found a job as a clerk at a popular local bookstore, Page Turners. She makes friends with a few of her coworkers but cannot stand her boss, who drinks heavily, is a womanizer, and treats his employees poorly.

While the store where she works seems to be making lots of sales, several long time employees are upset by rumors that other stores are closing. It doesn't make a lot of sense to anyone. Then, the boss is found dead--and in Helen's friend Peggy's bed.
Soon, Peggy is in jail and Helen is determined to clear her friend's name.

I loved this book: the interactions with her coworkers is much more enjoyable in this book than the previous one. Helen has also gained more confidence in her abilities to take care of herself and help her friend. Having spent a lot of time in bookstores, I've seen a few people who look like the regulars described in the book, so that added to my enjoyment. Helen's friendships with Margery, Peggy, and Sarah also contribute to the book.

You can find Murder Between the Covers in the Mystery section of the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Shop Til You Drop by Elaine Viets

2010-06-23T20:42:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite new series is the Dead End job series by Elaine Viets; she does a great job of describing the types of low paying jobs that so many people have done. Shop till you Drop (2003)is one of the earlier books in the series; Helen has only lived in Florida for a few weeks, and has not forged the close friendship with her landlord, Margery, as well as other tenants, but it begins to happen in this book.

Helen left behind her high paying job, nice house, expensive car and clothes--and cheating exhusband--when a judge ordered her to pay half her earnings to Rob at their divorce hearing. She fled St. Louis and ended up in Florida with a suitcase of cash, a few clothes, and settled into a quiet life of working minimum wage jobs. She found a modest furnished apartment at the Coronado, an old apartment building owned by Margery, a tough old woman with a keen eye, lots of brightly colored clothes, and a very big white cadillac.

Helen found a job as a sales clerk in a very exclusive shop: it is so elite that the door is locked to keep out the tourists and riff raff. Only the worthy--the thin and fashionable and wealthy--are admitted through that door by the thin and snobbish manager, Christina, who treats some of the customers as if they were her best girlfriends. She starts to notice some strange things at the shop, and isn't sure what is going on--she overhears some conversations suggesting that Christina is giving customers tips about plastic surgeons, illegal alien maids, and hit men for ex-boyfriends. Then Christina goes on a trip, leaving Helen in charge, and things get really strange....

Helen's budding friendships with her landlord Margery, one of her neighbors, Peggy, and Sarah--a former tenant, seem to be in sharp contrast with the relationships in her former life in St. Louis. She seems to have been a high achieving, hard working woman whose busy life left her little time for friendships, and kept her from seeing her husband's infidelity.

You'll like the series, and you will enjoy this book. You can find Shop Til You Drop in the Large Print area.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Crawlspace by Sarah Graves

2010-06-23T20:18:00.003-06:00

(A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery).

Sarah Graves has created a very compelling set of characters in her series about Jake Tiptree, once a financial expert in New York, who then moved to Eastport, Maine to rebuild her life, along with her young son Sam. Jake occupies herself fixing up her old 1800s era house and has settled into the community, making friends and remarrying. Her best friend Ellie lives next door with her husband and daughter. Jake has married a wonderful man who works as a harbor pilot. Jake's father reappeared in her life several years ago and has recently married her housekeeper, Bella, who is a tough woman with a tender heart.

The most recent book, Crawlspace, focuses on Sam--who is now a young man. Jake is working on more home repair projects and begins to get strange threatening phone calls. In the meantime, a pair of visitors arrive in town: true crime writers who want to interview people about the recent murder of a wealthy woman. Carolyn is a beautiful, narcisstic young woman who has taken all of the credit for the hard work done by both herself and her assistant, Chip. They enjoy a meal at a restaurant and then have a drink at a bar. However, something goes wrong, and as they leave the bar, Chip goes ahead to get the car--and someone grabs Carolyn.

When she doesn't return to the hotel, Chip reports her missing to the police. Soon it becomes clear that Sam has also gone missing--he worked on the docks that night but never made it home. Chip sees Jake and the reader then learns of a connection in their past: Chip was sort of a big brother to Sam when they all lived in New York. Now Chip and Jake come to the same conclusion--Sam saw something down on the docks, and whoever kidnapped Carolyn probably also kidnapped Sam. It turns out that the writers had visited the bar owned by a man whose wife had just been murdered--the subject of their next book. Two local men (brothers) had married two wealthy sisters: now, both women were dead, and one of the brothers had mysteriously disappeared overboard on his lobster boat and was presumed dead. But was he dead?

Crawlspace, as many of her previous books, is tremendously difficult to put down; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. You can find it on the New fiction shelf; I read the Large print version.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

2010-06-23T19:40:00.005-06:00

Joanne Fluke's series, A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes, is one of those enjoyable treats that I don't let myself sample too often. The series focuses on Hannah Swensen, a young woman who lives in Lake Eden, a small town in Minnesota, where she runs a bakery famous for its sweet treats, especially cookies. She has a hardworking helper in Lisa, a younger Sister Andrea who is a real estate powerhouse and supermom; Hannah also has a well meaning but rather overpowering mother, Delores. Hannah has two special men in her life: Norman is a typical midwestern nice guy who is a dentist, while Mike is a police officer. Most recently, I enjoyed reading Cream Puff Murder (2009).

Each one of the books in the series features a special treat: in this one, Hannah gets a recipe for cream puffs that her mother wants her to bake for an important party coming up. Delores has written a romance novel and is celebrating its publication with a big party. Unfortunately, Hannah's mother also expects her two daughters to wear special dresses that night and she has already ordered Hannah's dress in a size too small.

Hannah's sister Andrea has the solution to her problem and drags her to the local health club, where they work out faithfully. Hannah resists all treats, eats lots of salads and chicken, and tries to think positively--while her aching muscles remind her that they aren't used to exercise. As they continue going to work out, there is one negative aspect--a rude woman named Ronni who is described as a man-eating bombshell. She fills in for one of the instructors and spends the first few minutes insulting the various people in the class. Hannah finds out later that Ronni is flirting with most of the police officers, including Mike.

When Hannah bakes her first batch of cream puffs to test the recipe, Mike stops by and samples them; he likes them so much that he begs her to give him some to take to share with others, so she wraps them up. However, when Hannah and her sister go back to the health club, and Hannah goes to use the hot tub, she has an unpleasant surprise--first she sees her plate of cream puffs tipped over and ruined, and then she sees the body of someone in the hot tub. When she realizes that it is Ronni, she is no longer tempted by either cream puffs or the idea of soaking in the hot tub.

Since several of the officers were involved in some way with Ronni, they are off the case and cannot investigate. They all assume that Hannah will investigate and they send others with messages of how to best proceed to solve the case. Suddenly, the whole town is crowding into the Cookie Jar for treats and "the scoop" on what it was like to find Ronni's body.

This was another good read: Joanne Fluke is a good writer and blends midwestern humor, description of life in a small town in Minnesota, wonderful plots and dialogue into a satisfying treat.

While I got hungry for cream puffs while reading the book, I tried to ignore the recipes--you may well want to check them out for yourself. You can find this book several places in the Waterloo library: the large type books, the Playaway books, and in the mystery area.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

2010-06-01T21:37:00.005-06:00

Maisie Dobbs is one of the freshest female characters I've discovered in the last decade, and ironically, her adventures are set in post World War I in England. Jacqueline Winspear has done painstaking research and created a rich, believeable world full of wonderful characters--with a few not so wonderful thrown in for good measure.

The latest story in the series, The Mapping of Love and Death (2010) is another outstanding read. I've remarked before on the substance behind each Maisie Dobbs tale: while they are set in a very different time span, there are remarkable parallels to our world today.

Maisie's world is coping with the aftermath of war, and the ravages of war in the lives of the soldiers who returned, the families of those who lost loved ones, and the overall sense of trying to return to normal while grieving. It is also a world filled with economic hard times, uncertainty, recession, and poverty.

As the story opens, it is 1932 and Maisie has now established herself as a private investigator--and more. She brings a deeply psychological approach to her work, and assisted by Billy, a WWI veteran who works with her, has had many successes. A wealthy American couple contact Maisie with a puzzle; the body of their son has just been uncovered in France, where he served with his Unit of mapmakers. Among his personal possessions were some love letters and documents; they want to find the person who wrote those letters. And so, the hunt begins.

This is another engrossing story, with several plot lines. Many of the characters introduced in earlier books are back: Maisie's dear friend Priscilla, her father, her mentor Maurice, and Lord and Lady Compton, once her employers and later her benefactors.

You can find The Mapping of Love and Death on the New Fiction bookshelf at the Waterloo Public Library.

You may also want to look at the author's website, which is fascinating and has more information about the series, the background/historical aspects, and the characters.

http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com/mapping-love-death.php

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Can't Never Tell by Cathy Pickens

2010-06-01T21:16:00.004-06:00

Cathy Picken's fans can cheer up -- just in time for summer, I found a new book in the Southern Fried mystery series, featuring small town lawyer Avery Andrews. Avery has gone home after experiencing a few set backs in her big city job; however, she seems to keep busy between cases and dealing with her family.

Can't Never Tell is the fourth book in the series, set in a small town in South Carolina. In this story, Avery attends a picnic with her sister's family; they are meeting a group of friends, mostly college teachers, at a local park by a waterfall. When one of the people at the picnic goes missing, and under mysterious circumstances, Avery finds herself enmeshed in the case. During the same week, she takes her seven year old niece to a carnival show that includes a haunted house--unfortunately, one of the exhibits turns out to be a very real dead man, and it is Avery and Emma, her niece, who make the discovery.

Soon Avery is hitting up her old high school friend for information; Rudy serves on the local police force and doesn't mind some companionship for lunch at the local diner.

The writing is funny, entertaining, and not too predictable. It was a good read for this teacher, weary from the end of the year grading and eager for some adventure.

You can find Can't Never Tell in the New Fiction bookshelf; I promise to return it shortly.

You may also want to check out the author's website, at http://www.cathypickens.com

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

The Professional by Robert Parker

2009-11-27T17:01:00.008-06:00

Mike and I went to see a movie yesterday--and discovered that most of the Cedar Valley had the same idea. So, we headed to the WPL to pick up a few DVDs to enjoy together, and a few books on CD for me to listen to while I grade papers. However,
when I saw Robert Parker's latest novel on the Express Book Shelf, I had to grab it! The latest book in the Spenser series, The Professional offers many of the same characters and themes as in previous stories--Spenser's longtime girlfriend Susan Silverman, his good friend Hawk, and his former colleagues in the Boston P. D. Quirk and Belson. There is plenty of clever dialogue, good food, and debate about some of the big questions in life about love and respect, monogamy, motivation, and relationships.

In The Professional, Spenser gets hired by a group of women who are all being blackmailed by a scoundrel--all of them had affairs with a man named Gary. All of them are married to much older men and do not want their husbands to find out about their affairs. As usual, things are more complicated than they seem, and as Spenser investigates to find what the four women have in common, he discovers they are all members of an exclusive health club.

The Professional is a good read; Robert Parker has a way of hooking me into the story so effortlessly. He is a master of prose--funny, insightful, easy to read, enjoyable. I sat down to read a chapter last night and about a hundred and fifty pages later, realized that I needed to go to bed. Today I finished it off--and not to give anything anyway, it was worth it!

You can find The Professional on the Express Check out display: I promise to return it promptly. However, if you have not read any of the other Spenser novels, you can find many of them in the Mystery section as well as the large print area.

See Cherie's video Review of The Professional on YouTube!

c 2009, Waterloo Public Library

Reading Books on my new I-Phone

2009-11-10T13:07:00.002-06:00

I was very skeptical, but curious about the Kindle, Amazon's hot device to read books electronically. Then, several weeks ago, I found myself downloading a hot new application for my I-Phone, when a friend recommended Stanza, a program for reading books on the I-Phone.

I read a book by one of my favorite authors--Lee Child, with his series of books about Jack Reacher, former military policeman. I was astonished at how easy it was to use, and how I quickly "forgot" I was reading a book on a small screen. When I came to end of the "page," I just tapped on the lower right hand screen and the "page" seemed to turn itself to the next one.

It was even possible to read at night in the car (while Mike was driving); I found that I could adjust the brightness of the screen or change the background altogether.
All in all, it was an enjoyable and disconcerting experience all at once.

However, how much easier was it that I had checked this book out from the WPL and read it some time last year? Would I have been as engaged if it were not one of my favorite authors and series?

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Without Feathers by Woody Allen

2009-08-25T16:03:00.011-06:00

My introduction to Woody Allen came several years ago in the form of Annie Hall… It’s hard to top that. When I came across Without Feathers, I eagerly began scanning the pages. Happily, it promised the same neurotic pessimism, wit, and sarcasm that you would expect from the author. Published in 1975, it made (and spent some time on) the New York Times Best Seller List, and has since become known as one of Allen’s best literary works.

Reading Without Feathers is as if you’ve the ability to thumb through Woody Allen’s personal notebook of scrawled thoughts, ramblings, and dissentions left abandoned on a coffee shop table in New York City. The title is the author’s fitting rebuttal to an Emily Dickenson’s quote, “Hope is the thing with feathers.” The perfection of this book is the fact that it is not one continuous thread, but rather a collection of works, musings, and humor in true Woody Allen style. The short sections, most of which had been previously published in his New York Times column (before it had become an avant-garde trend to be a Woody Allen fan) make the book great for reading in quick doses. The humorous vignettes are a great way to start or provide a much needed diversion from your day, as well as to serve as a refreshing literary break between more dense books. It’s a quick, light read, without having sacrificed intellect. Which can be a rarity.

Each chapter produces a smirk, at least, while The Whore of Mensa, and God (A Play) will defy you not to laugh out loud. Death (A Play) reads as having a Who’s-On-First approach, but hints at greater philosophical questions… not to be taken too seriously, to be sure. God (A Play) features Allen’s hallmark classic Greek references, notions of relationships with the opposite sex, and modern New York- all of which culminate in a grand ending (!) If you appreciate nothing else, it’s worthy of reading for the endless string of one liners and quotes that can be pulled from the pages. I can’t resist inserting a few here:

“Uh-oh… That’s footsteps- the maniac probably has feet… Oh, God, save me.”

“I’m used to the streets at night

“Oh?”

“Well, I’m a prostitute.”

“No kidding. Gee, I never met one before… I thought you’d be taller.”

“Kleinman, you have been judged and found guilty. You will hang. Do you have any final requests?”

“Yes, I’d prefer not to hang.”

“Still obsessed by thoughts of death, I brood constantly. I keep wondering if there is an afterlife, and if there is will they be able to break a twenty?"

Before stumbling across Annie Hall, I had been purposefully ambivalent toward Woody Allen. For two reasons: First, I didn’t want to join the trend- I enjoy having a mind of my own. Second, I had no interest in the ubiquitous tabloid fodder that surrounded his personal life. However, after simply considering the work for itself, I discovered that I really enjoy Allen’s sense of humor, writing style, and mixture of the profound and superficial. I encourage you to do the same, and consider it for yourself. If you're already a Woody Allen fan you're bound to love it.

You can find Without Feathers in the Adult Non-Fiction section, on the second floor of the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

2009-08-14T21:27:00.007-06:00

I read Julie & Julia for my book club not that long ago: tonight, Mike and I went to see the movie, with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. It was wonderful and seemed very true to the book, complete with some of Julie's disasters, emotional melt downs, and cooking triumphs. You could almost taste the food -- smell the food -- as the movie switched back and forth from scenes of Julie cooking to Julia cooking. I enjoyed the contrasting settings, with Julia walking in the streets and market places and sitting in the restaurants of Paris and Julie in her cubicle, cooking in her tiny kitchen in an apartment over a pizza place, and entertaining on the roof.

I also liked the portrayal of the two very supportive men who were separated by decades, but strikingly similar in their love for their wives, appreciation of good cooking, and ability to enjoy (do I dare say savor?) life.

For those not familar with the story, Julie & Julia is about a young secretary who works at a job that might be difficult for many to do: she works for a company helping to coordinate efforts after 9/11 and takes phone calls from angry, grieving people all day. She likes to cook but doesn't really think she is all that good; after all, she is no Julia Child. Julie is also a self proclaimed failed writer, having invested several years in a novel that did not get finished and that no one wanted to publish anyway. As her 30th birthday approaches, however, she feels a need to do something significant; talking with her husband, Eric, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's famous cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking--and then blog about it. So there are a number of scenes where she sits at her laptop and composes her blog entries; I was struck again by the way she found her voice online, and how she addressed an audience that didn't exist at first.

Back in 2002, blogging was not as common and the blogosphere was less crowded, so it may have been easier to get noticed. At first, she isn't sure anyone is reading her blog except for her coworker, her mom, who is not totally supportive, and Eric. But as she makes progress through the list of recipes, and continues to document her efforts, she becomes aware that people are reading her postings. At the end of the year she has accomplished her goal of cooking all 500+ recipes, but she has gained much more than the mastery of cooking techniques. She feels that she has truly taken back her own life. At the same time, she starts getting contacted by editors and agents and the rest is history!

I loved the book; I loved the movie. While Meryl Streep is an amazing actress, I was not prepared for how much she took on the role of Julia Child; she captures the loud, exuberant voice, gestures, and seems to channel JC. She is just the way I picture Julia in the book; Stanley Tucci plays her husband, Paul, and they are wonderful together. Likewise, this is a great role for Amy Adams: she has a lovely quality that is very authentic and likeable in spite of her emotional meltdowns. She is a real woman living in post 9/11 New York city.

If you're hungry for a good read, check out Julie and Julia; you can find it at the WPL in either the CDbook area or in the nonfiction section.

You might also be interested in the movie site, which you can find at www.julieandjulia.com/

You may also want to go to Julie Powell's current blog,
http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Big Boned by Meg Cabot

2009-08-01T20:11:00.004-06:00

Meg Cabot is the author of the popular Princess Diaries, so many people think of her as only a young adult writer. However, I just finished Big Boned and thoroughly enjoyed it. Big Boned is about Heather Wells, who is a plus sized former pop singer who is now the Assistant Dorm Director at a college in New York. She has a new boyfriend and currently lives with the brother of an old boyfriend: okay, it is a little complicated. Her boyfriend is her remedial Math teacher, Tad. He's into jogging and health food. Heather is more into walking, fancy coffee, and chocolate chip cookies. She lives with Cooper, whose brother Jordan was once Heather's teen boyfriend; Cooper is a private investigator who felt his brother treated Heather badly and offered her a room.

Heather has moved on from her teen singing career; her days are filled with dealing with emotional college students, demanding administrators, and she has made a number of friends at the Residence Hall. Her beloved former boss, Tom, recently got promoted and her new boss Owen is a rather humorless, bland person. So, imagine her surprise when Heather arrives at work one day to find that Owen has been shot in the head from the street, and is sitting at his desk with a cup of cold coffee in front of him. She calls the police and it becomes evident that she may be really well acquainted with one of them; Detective Canavan questions her and from the references to the "Death Dorm," it is clear that they have worked together before.

I loved the descriptions of the college meetings, the friendships with Pete the Security Guard and Magda the cafeteria lady, and the way Heather goes to bat for her assistant Sarah and the other students. Mix in a proposed strike by graduate students, the appearance of a well meaning but inept PR person named Muffy, a large orange cat named Garfield, and Owen's ex wife and the story is an engaging one. While many books proclaim themselves to be funny, this one REALLY IS funny; I liked the self deprecating way Heather has of describing her reaction to healthy eating and exercise, worrying that her uterus may have fallen out while running. As she tries to reach out to one of her students, Jamie, they share a dish of warm cobbler.

However, I liked the way the author developed the storylines and characters. Heather is not a perfect person; however, she handles the various crises with her graduate students with her heart, and it becomes evident that she gets a lot of satisfaction from doing her job. I also liked that each new chapter offers a stanza of song lyrics from her music. (For example, "You're not fat--though you could get toned--But it's not your fault--You're just big boned.")

Now, I can't wait for the people who checked out Cabot's other two books about the same character to be returned: Size 12 is Not Fat and Size 14 is Not Fat Either. In the meantime, if you're looking for something funny and satisfying, check out Big Boned. You can find it in the Mystery section of the Waterloo Public Library. You might also want to check out Meg Cabot's website at www.megcabot.com.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Listen to the Silence by Marcia Muller

2009-08-01T16:29:00.007-06:00

I have long been a fan of Marcia Muller's series about Sharon McCone: recently, I got a chance to read one of the books that I had overlooked, Listen to the Silence (2000). When Sharon's father dies unexpectedly, she and her brother John are left with the task of going through his things.

She discovers a shocking secret when she finds her birth certificate with some other papers: she is adopted, but when she goes to her mother for more information, she is met with silence. Finally she gets some information from her aunt and uncle, and goes in search of her biological parents. One of the people she meets gives her a photo that includes her aunt--as well as a group of young Native American young people, including a young woman who looks startlingly familiar.

As Sharon unravels the story, she discovers the identity of her biological mother and a man she believes may be her father. He comes from a rich and powerful family, and his father obviously did not want his son to marry a "poor Indian girl." After she finds her mother, she also discovers that she now has a half sister and brother as well. However, her mother is struck down by a hit and run driver, and in a coma--not the best of circumstances for meeting a long lost daughter.

Muller is a master storyteller; this was a satisfying read, with plot twists, believeable characters, and a complex character at the heart of it all. Anyone who has ever stared at an old family portrait and wondered about the lives of the people in the photograph can relate to Sharon's fascination with the old photo. Of course, Sharon didn't even know who they were at first, other than her aunt.

Over the past two summers, having two surgeries, I've spent my days reading books and scanning in old family photos and putting together photo albums. When I read the wonderful description of the photograph in this book, it made me think of an old black and white photo that I found of my family. It is unusual because it is the only photograph that I have found that has all three of my grandmothers in it. Great Grandma Eva looks pensive, while Grandma Nellie is smiling; I am struck by how short she is, as my older sister Cathi stands in front of her. My grandmother Lillian was visiting from California; she stands next to my father, and I see that she is much taller than Nellie. Looking at the people in this picture helps me to understand better who I am; however, it also makes me wonder. What were their secrets, their joys, their fears? What stories did they not get a chance to share with us?

I am going back to check the online catalog to be sure that I haven't missed any other books in this series; you can find Listen to the Silence in the Mystery section of the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Bad Medicine by Aimee and David Thurlo

2009-08-01T16:04:00.010-06:00

I just finished reading Bad Medicine, one of the earlier books (1997) in Aimee and David Thurlo's series about tribal police officer Ella Clah. As noted in my previous review of Wind Spirit (2004), this series blends good storytelling and mystery with an exploration of the Native American culture out west. The series is set on the Navajo reservation and this particular story focuses on the racial tensions between the Navajo and white workers at the local mine. Hate crimes occur on both sides, and there is talk of secret organizations. In the meantime, Ella investigates a mysterious car accident and death: the victim is Angela Yellowhair, the daughter of a powerful Navajo senator. Ella's friend, Dr. Roanhorse, the Medical Examiner, finds tainted peyote in Angela's system, but Senator Yellowhair does not want to accept this verdict.

Ella juggles the investigation, which turns into an ugly and personal attack against both her and Dr. Roanhorse with trying to figure out not only who killed Angela, but why the senator is so determined to reject the evidence found by the M. E. She also becomes acquainted with Kevin, a young lawyer who is building a home near her mother's; Kevin becomes her friend and takes on the task of getting Dr. Roanhorse reinstated at the hospital after the Senator pressures administrators to put her on suspension. The story also develops Ella's relationships with her mother, who is a very strong, wise woman and her brother, a respected medicine man who loves his sister but follows the traditional ways.

I have always enjoyed Tony Hillerman's novels for their windows into the culture of Native Americans. This series goes a step further, in a sense, because it features a woman who embraces both her own culture and that of the larger society. Ella has FBI training, has lived away from her family and culture for a number of years, and has absorbed the values of both; she is fiercely protective of her friends and family, works hard to discover the truth, and has a deep bond with her fellow police officers, including her younger cousin Justine, who assists her in the investigation. Ella also

For all of the cultural differences, however, Ella is a woman that many of us can relate to: she works hard but wonders if she will ever have a close relationship again. Her husband died some years before, and while Ella has had a few romances, she has resisted getting close to anyone else. She struggles with wanting to please her mother and family and still be her own person. She worries about her friend Dr. Roanhorse and is determined to clear her name. Ella pushes herself hard, but tries to shield her partner, Justine, from taking unnecessary risks. She is a very complex, likeable person.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, but as the summer comes to a close, so does my free time. However, if you're looking for a good read, check out Bad Medicine; you can find it (and all of the Thurlo's books) in the Mystery section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Wind Spirit by Aimee and David Thurlo

2009-07-12T21:03:00.005-06:00

There are several wonderful series set out west, such as Tony Hillerman's books featuring Joe Leaphorn. So when Tony Hillerman recommends a book, I pay attention. Recently, I read Wind Spirit by Aimee and David Thurlo (2004); it is part of the Ella Clah series. Ella is a young Navajo police officer and a single parent who is caught between the culture of her people and that of the outside world.

As the book begins, she attends a ceremony at a mine that is being closed up; she sees her nephew and other boys playing in an area that she deems unsafe, and gets them to move. However, part of the ceremony includes using some powerful explosives to seal up the mine; this also creates or opens several holes and Ella and her nephew start to fall down into one of them. Ella is able to save her nephew but cannot save herself. She tries to get out, but finds herself suffocating in sand and dirt from above. She then has a strange experience--she sees her husband Eugene, who died, and her father, who became a Christian minister, and was murdered a decade ago. She is told she has been given a choice: stay there with them or return to her life.

Ella doesn't want to leave; however, she cannot bear the idea of leaving her daughter behind, so she tells them that she must return. The next thing she knows, people are bending over her, trying to revive her. It seems that they had given up and pulled a blanket over her--then she sat up! For many of the Navajo who are traditionalists, there is something disturbing about this, because they are afraid that Ella has been contaminated by the spirits of some miners who died. Those who are Christians see it as a miracle. But many are afraid of her, and her family encourages her to have a singer perform a special song/prayer/blessing to lift the sense of a curse.

I found this novel very intriguing: there is a surface similarity to Tony Hillerman's stories, since both explore the culture of the Native Americans and focus on the daily lives of law enforcement officers solving crimes on the reservations of the west. However, while I enjoy Hillerman's characters, I found the Thurlos to be skilled story tellers as well, and was intrigued by the perspective of a young woman who left her family and culture behind, and then returned.

Now that I have had a chance to look at the authors' website, I see that again I stumbled onto a series late in the game; I need to work backwards and read the earlier books. The first one in the series is Blackening Song; it dates to 1995. As far as the Thurlos go, David grew up on the Navajo Reservation and taught school there until he retired. Aimee is Cuban. They live in New Mexico. If you are interested in learning more about the authors or the series, check out their website.

You can find all of their books in the Mystery section of the WPL.

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Damage Control by J. A. Jance

2009-07-09T16:55:00.003-06:00

I decided to try something new and checked out one of the new playaway books--there is a display near the self check machines. I must admit, although it hurts my pride, that I was a little confused by the packaging. Looking at the side of the plastic box, which looks a lot like a VCR case, I was a little baffled when it did not easily open up--and the strange set of holes (two square, two round) further complicated things. I was just getting ready to email my personal reference librarian for help when I finally got the silly thing open. Inside there was a little device a little larger than the typical MP3 player, with the controls on one side and what looks like a miniature book cover on the other side.

Plug in the headphones and slip the lanyard around my neck and I could answer email, surf the web and straighten my desk while I listened to Damage Control by J. A. Jance (2008). If you haven't read anything by this author, you're missing another wonderful series, which is set out west. Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full in this book (the 13th in the series, according to Amazon); an elderly couple commits suicide by driving off the cliff of a mountain in Cochise County, Arizona. Their two daughters, in their 60s, descend on the town, demanding answers. However, when someone finds human remains in a garbage bag and one of the deputies is shot, the sheriff's department has more work than they can handle. Joanna is also juggling child care duties with her husband, Butch, trying to cope with her difficult mother, and starting to come to terms with new information about her father and his death.

This is a good read--or listen, according to your preference. While this series is definitely a little more on the somber side that some, the author does a wonderful job of developing the stories, and describing the beauty of the southwest.

Now that I know where to plug in the earphones, I can't wait to get another playaway audio book!

c Waterloo Public Library 2009

Death in Paradise by Robert Parker

2009-07-04T20:15:00.005-06:00

I realize that I have been blogging about books written by a number of great female writers this summer. However, one of the all time great writers is Robert B. Parker, author of the popular Spenser series. Parker has another series that I also enjoy: the Jesse Stone novels. Several have been made into TV movies, starring Tom Selleck, so whenever I read one of these books, I am picturing Tom Selleck as Jesse.

In Death in Paradise (2001), Jesse has settled into his job as the police chief of Paradise, a small town in Massachusetts not that far from Boston. He is still seeing his ex-wife, Jenn and is starting to recognize that he has some issues with alcohol and moving on. Jesse once played professional baseball and enjoys a regular game with friends; one night, after their game, several men discover the body of a young girl at the edge of the water. Suddenly, Jesse is investigating a missing girl who became a victim of homicide.

Robert Parker is the master of dialogue, description, and characterization. He does a skillful job of mixing humor, real life situations and details of police procedure. Jesse works with an interesting group of people, including the ever efficient and articulate Molly, Suitcase, and a few cops from the Boston force. The extra layer of pyschological insights into troubled relationships and substance abuse adds complexity and interest.

Jesse is determined to find the person guilty of killing the young girl, and in order to do so, he has to enlist the help of other officers to gather information and do some old fashion surveillance. As he does so, he has to deal with other cases and crises.

If you are looking for another series full of interesting characters and cases, check out the Jesse Stone series. The first two books are Trouble in Paradise and Night Passage; Death in Paradise is book three. You can find them in the Mystery section of the WPL.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Mummy Dearest by Joan Hess

2009-07-01T16:16:00.007-06:00

Joan Hess is one of my favorite writers: she mixes humor, lively dialogue, and great characters into each book. She knows how to capture the feel of a small college town, and one of her series features Claire Malloy, who runs a small bookstore in Farberville, Arkansas. Claire has a teenage daughter (Caron) and is a single parent; her husband died. In earlier books in the series, Claire solves a series of mysteries and gets more than acquainted with Peter Rosen, local police officer. A romance evolves between the two, but is not conflict free.

The latest book in the series, Mummy Dearest, (2008) begins with an informal wedding and an unlikely honeymoon. Claire, her daughter Caron and Caron's best friend Inez fly to Egypt, to meet Peter, who went ahead of them. Peter has received special training and is now more than a small town police officer. Claire has learned it is best not to ask too many questions, but knows that the trip is part honeymoon, part business, which is one of the reasons for bringing the two teenagers along. Now they are all staying in an elegant old hotel in Luxor, in a fancy suite, complete with balcony, fireplaces, a parlor, and servants. While having breakfast, Claire is approached by a young British man, Alexander, who invites her to a party his father (Lord Bledrock) is having that evening.

Peter and Claire are then introduced to an eccentric and lively group of people, who are in Egypt because they are working on an archeological dig. Several of the British are wealthy sponsors, helping to fund the small American college officially in charge of the dig. They also meet a couple of other guests at the hotel, including a rather obnoxious Texan, Mr. Sittermann, who seems to be everywhere.

As Peter divides his time between sightseeing and a series of mysterious meetings, Claire and the girls settle in to a routine of sightseeing, shopping, and relaxing. Claire spends more time than she would like with the socially gregarious Alexander, his father, Mr. Sittermann and the collection of people associated with the dig. Later, Peter and Claire take the girls on a brief cruise, and meet a rather mismatched young couple, Buffy and Samuel. Mr. Sittermann shows up on the cruise as well. They make several stops to sightsee, and during one of these stops something strange happens--Buffy is kidnapped by two gun-toting Arab men, right in front of them.

The author does a wonderful job of describing many of the well known landmarks in Egypt--the temples, tombs, pyramids, and desert. My parents went on a whirlwind tour of the middle east back in the early 1970s: I was a high school senior and wondered why they didn't take me along with them, but it was one of those fast paced tours that started in New York to London to Rome and then on to Egypt and Israel. I have a stack of trays of slides from that trip; my mother was a photo-journalist of sorts, and later gave presentations in the community about their travels. (After reading this book, and some of the descriptions of the two irritable, bored teenagers, I think I understand why they left me at home!)

This book also made me think of several of the pictures from my parents' trip: in one, my father (who is 6'2") is dwarfed by the massive columns of a temple while in another my mother is up on a camel, while my father stands nearby. As it turns out, he had to borrow some money from a friend to pay the camel driver more money to get my mom OFF the camel! The last picture I will post here: my parents are surrounded by smiling porters and workers at the airport.

If you can't get away for a little trip to Egypt this summer, Mummy Dearest is the next best thing. You may get thirsty, reading about all those excursions out into the hot, dusty desert to see the tombs and digs, so be sure to grab a tall glass of something icy first. You can find Mummy Dearest in the NEW books display; it has the Mystery sticker on the spine.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Poisoned Tarts by G. A. McKevett

2009-06-29T14:52:00.006-06:00

Like greeting an old friend, I was tickled to find another one of the books in the Savannah Reid series. So, I had barely finished Murder Unleashed when I began reading Poisoned Tarts (2007) by G. A. McKevett. I've blogged about this series before: it is about a southern girl who moved to California, became a cop, and then, after leaving the force, became a private investigator. Savannah is one of those full figured women who is at peace with herself, her body, and her life; I like the series for the characters as well as the way the author unravels the cases.

This book begins shortly before the Halloween season, and Savannah gets caught up in a missing person case that Dirk (her former partner on the San Carmelita police force) has been assigned. The missing girl is named Daisy, and she hangs out with a spoiled little rich girl named Tiffany who is something of a Paris Hilton type. Tiffany has two little rich girl friends, and Daisy is just sort of the fourth member of the group, not totally accepted because she isn't super skinny and super rich.

However, the trio (sporting look alike pink tshirts with skeleton keys) is less than forthcoming when interviewed about their missing friend. Their escapades are well known to the local media--they are party girls who seem a little out of control. Savannah and Dirk are sure the girls know more than they are saying, but Tiffany's rich daddy has hired a great lawyer, and they don't have enough information to pursue things.

In the meantime, Savannah's grandmother is visiting her, and the reader gets more of an insight into the role this woman played in raising Savannah and her 8 brothers and sisters. Gran is a practical woman who reads her Bible and the tabloids with equal enthusiasm; she is lively, curious, compassionate and tough. She also ends up contributing to the investigation, as does Tammy, the young and computer savvy assistant who hacks into databases.

Once Daisy's car is located--and with it, one perfect print from Tiffany--the heat turns up on the Skeleton Key three, as the trio is called. However, Dirk and Savannah are racing against time, as more than 48 hours pass with no sign of Daisy. Back when they were partners on the police force, they had a similar case, and found the missing girl almost dead. She later died, and Maggie still haunts both of them. In spite of the missing girl, the spoiled Tiffany prepares for a big party, and transforms the mansion into a ghoulish set for a horror movie, tragedy strikes.

To find out what happened to Daisy -- and what happened at Tiffany's mansion, check out Poisoned Tarts. You can find it in the WPL mystery section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets

2009-06-29T14:19:00.004-06:00

After reading my first book in Elaine Viets' Dead End Job series, (Clubbed to Death), I was eager to find another book. Fortunately, the WPL's mystery section delivered--and I just finished Murder Unleashed (2006). Helen, the divorced woman taking bottom of the barrel employment to avoid supporting her ex-husband is back. This time, she is the "hey you" assistant at the Pampered Pet Boutique; she waits on customers, picks up and delivers dogs, stocks shelves, and does just about anything else she's asked to do.

She is still living at her shabby but cozy apartment at the Coronado, where Margery is not only her landlord, but her surrogate mother and friend. She is also still involved with Phil, one of her neighbors, and a private investigator who is also one of the rare "good guys."

As the story begins, Helen is working hard to please the rich, spoiled customers bringing their pooches in to be groomed. As part of her routine, she must pick up a dog--who has a lavish birthday party later in the day and needs a haircut and new outfit. However, when she arrives at the customer's huge mansion, no one answers the door, so she finally enters and finds Tammie, the owner, naked by the pool; Helen takes the dog and makes a speedy escape. Later, she returns the dog--or tries to, but again, no one answers the door. Determined not to encounter the naked owner again, she grabs a robe on her way to the pool area--only to find that Tammie is dead, with a pair of dog groomer's shears sticking out of her chest. In a panic, Helen runs back out, clutching the poor dog, and wipes down the door knob. She doesn't want to call the police from the house because she is afraid of being drawn into the investigation, and being revealed as someone using a new last name to avoid her ex-husband.

So she does something stupid--she throws the robe into a dumpster (note: don't do this. They have cameras everywhere!) and makes an anonymous call, taking the poor little dog back to the boutique and saying that no one came to the door. Things go from bad to worse when next a dog goes missing, when Helen lets a husband pick up his dog, not knowing that the poor animal is the subject of a custody battle. The dog also happens to be a valuable media star--the poster pooch for a local department store.

So Helen is in trouble--the hysterical wife accuses her of giving the dog away, the police from two different jurisdictions are asking her lots of questions, and she is starting to wonder about the guilt or innocence of the two dog groomers at the store. There is a lot of tension between Todd and Jonathan; Todd seems to attract a lot of the older, single rich women, who give him lavish tips. Jonathan is unapproachable: flamboyant in appearance, he is extremely talented but does not tolerate people well. He is annoyed by Todd kissing the pooches and does not want to share space. When it turns out that the murder weapon happens to be a pair of Jonathan's scissors, the police take an interest in him as well. Soon, Helen is trying to hunt down a killer and find a missing dog in order to take the heat off of herself and her place of employment.

Add in a hurricane, some colorful chsracters, and some tension between Helen and Phil, who only wants to help (but starts asking a lot of questions about Helen's past), and the book is another good read. However, it is also interesting for the sub plot about Helen's relationship with Phil. She has to confront her own fears, insecurities, and decide whether or not she can trust Phil with all of her secrets.

If you can't make it to the beach in Florida, this book will help you to escape your daily routine for awhile. You can find it in the Mystery section of the WPL.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Clubbed to Death by Elaine Viets

2009-06-27T12:03:00.007-06:00

I've stumbled onto another new series with an intriguing title--A Dead-end Job mystery. The author is Elaine Viets and she claims to have worked all of the jobs featured in the series. Clubbed to Death (2008) is the story of Helen, a divorced woman who quit a lucrative job and moved to Florida after her ex-husband's divorce lawyer proved to be more ruthless, and got the judge to declare that half of her earnings should go to Rob. (This decision was done in spite of the fact that Rob was an unemployed womanizer who had contributed little to the relationship). So Helen changes her last name, finds a cheap apartment and ends up working in the customer care area of a snooty country club, where she deals with cranky, rude rich people all day--and gets to know her coworkers, a rather eccentric lot.

Just when Helen thinks she is getting her new life together--settling into her apartment with her cat, enjoying a romance with Phil, one of her neighbors (and a private investigator)and becoming closer to her landlord, the feisty Margery--Rob shows up. He has married one of the richest women around, whose nickname is The Black Widow--with good reason. Marcella (aka Black Widow) turns out to have "lost" five husbands, all under mysterious circumstances. When Rob shows up, in the parking lot, near Helen's car, she is surprised and angry; he seems nervous and actually has the nerve to ask for her help. He is growing tired of the demands of his much older wife, and now he is afraid he may be on the verge of being "retired." When he reverts to the jerk that he has always been, Helen feels a surge of rage and punches him in the mouth--to his surprise.

Unfortunately, two employees walk up--one is her friend Jessica and the other is Brenda, the hard to please assistant manager. Fighting is grounds for dismissal; however, Rob actually defends Helen and claims he is okay, that it was his fault for scaring her, and asks them not to report it. The next day, however, Rob goes missing--only his bloody shirt is found, and it becomes clear that Brenda did report the incident. Helen is taken in for questioning, arrested, told she has been fired, and sit in jail, bewildered. Then one of the most famous lawyers in the country shows up at the jail and in a matter of minutes arranges for her release and puts her into a limo: he tells her that they are taking a drive to see Marcella.

It turns out that Marcella needs Helen's help, too--Marcella thinks that Rob is dead but that he was up to no good, and she wants Helen to use her contacts at the Superior Country Club to find out what he was doing. Marcella has also discovered that he stole some of her jewelry. Marcella tells Helen that she is confident that Helen did not kill Rob, and that Helen has her job back, with any note of the "incident" expunged from her records. So she goes back to the Customer Care department, and starts searching her coworkers' desks after hours and quietly asking questions.

Reading this book made me think of the worst job I've ever had -- as a telemarketer years and years ago. My daughter, Mikki, was 16 and she and her best friend Desarae decided it was time to get jobs and earn some money; I went along with them, thinking it might be an easy way to supplement my rather meager earnings at the time. I was a single parent and had a couple of summer school classes to teach, but two growing kids needed more clothes, school supplies, and "stuff" each year. We worked that summer together, and it was the only job I've ever had where you had 15 minutes to eat a sandwich, had to plan bathroom trips carefully, and talked to the strangest people over the phone. Making matters worse, there were motivational posters up on the walls. Somehow, they didn't fit with the atmosphere; the computer randomly dialed the numbers, and you had to be prepared to jump into your spiel at the drop of a hat. Then, if you did not do a good enough job of countering the customer's resistance, you might hear the disembodied voice of a supervisor in your headset--"So why didn't you use #34?"

As a college teacher it made me crazy that our scripts were often filled with grammatical errors; I even talked to my boss once about fixing them, for free--and was told solemnly that "the clients want us to say it just like that." We sold products like Death and dismemberment insurance--I remember one man asking, "So how much would I get if I lost a couple of toes and fingers?" I sort of worried about that guy. Others were just rude or gave stupid excuses about why they couldn't talk. We made it a game to collect the cool names of people we called--Elizabeth Taylor, for example. And we commiserated with each other about the rude comments. At the end of the summer, I was more than ready to quit that job--the only one worse than telemarketing would be subbing for 9th grade math classes, but that is a story for another review!

So I could relate with Helen, putting up with cranky customers amd obnoxious bosses. If you are looking for a new series, check out Clubbed to Death. You will find it in the NEW fiction display at the WPL. Earlier books in the series can be found in the Mystery area. You may also be interested in checking out the author's website at http://www.elaineviets.com

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Moving is Murder by Sara Rosett

2009-06-26T13:43:00.004-06:00

I just finished a book by a new author--and I think I'm going to like her series! The book is titled Moving is Murder, and the author is Sara Rosett. The series is called "A Mom Zone mystery" and features Ellie Avery, whose husband is serving in the Air Force. Ellie has moved four times in the past five years, and she includes helpful tips with every chapter.

Moving is Murder (2006) begins as Ellie and Mitch are unpacking the moving boxes in their new house--they've just made the move to Washington state with their newborn daughter Livvie. Thinking they found a great house off the base, they soon learn that many of their neighbors are in Mitch's squadron. Fortunately, they are friends with one couple already--neighbors Abby and Jeff. As they settle in, and meet more neighbors and attend some get togethers on base, it becomes clear that not everyone gets along. One of the more outspoken spouses is Cass, who is something of an activist; she protested against a big Walmart coming in, because she thinks it will ruin the area. Cass is also one of the people who organizes events and before Ellie is even unpacked, she finds herself volunteering to help with the upcoming garage sale.

However, when Cass dies after being stung by wasps while driving home from a party on base, it is Ellie who finds her, and Ellie who is convinced that someone Cass knew killed her. Police investigate a series of minor break-ins in the neighborhood and Ellie finds herself noticing strange behavior on the part of several neighbors. Joe, Cass' husband, leaves to take Cass back to her hometown to be buried, and Ellie ends up watching the house--and Mitch agrees to keep an eye on Rex, the dog.

As the story continues, Ellie finds herself asking questions--sometimes of the wrong people, and getting drawn into the investigation, in spite of being cautioned by the military investigator. She finds herself unraveling several stories, with surprising results: things are not at all how they appear. As she finishes unpacking her boxes and settles into her new house and routine, she gains confidence in her mothering skills, but increasingly concermed that whoever killed Cass is going to get away with it.

Reading this book was most enjoyable; I liked the way the author captured the anxiety and wonder of a first time mother. Ellie takes good care of her baby, worries about Livvie's first cold, experiences the fatigue any new mother feels after a long night without much sleep--and yet is filled with joy when she watches her baby sleeping. Livvie is a rather demanding baby: Ellie goes through a carwash at one point because the motions seem to soothe the baby, and does a lot of jiggling to soothe her. She also has a baby carrier--one of those great cloth things you can strap to yourself that holds your baby close to you.

The author is a military wife herself and thoughtfully includes a glossary of military slang at the end of the book. Having spent 11 years in Newport, R. I.--which has a large Navy base and the Naval War College--I felt almost nostalgic reading several passages. My first husband and I were in the ministry, and were fortunate enough to get to know a number of military families. I was struck by several things as I reflected on those years and read the book. I had never met such organized, motivated, jump in there and get acquainted folks in my life! While there are the sad cases of military families split by spousal abuse, alcohol abuse, or other problems, the vast majority of the families we met were solid. I loved to go on base to see them, and enjoyed going to the base movie theatre or Officers' Mess.
So I could relate in a strange way to the characters in the book, because several of them made me think of some of the military wives I had known. I also realized again that the military is one of those careers that is more of a lifestyle than just a job.

Whether you're looking for some packing/moving tips or just want to discover a new mystery series, I recommend Moving is Murder. You can find it at WPL in the Mystery section.

You may also want to check out the author's website, http://www.sararosett.com.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Corpse Suzette by G. A. McKevett

2009-06-23T19:13:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite series features plus size Savannah Reid, a southern girl turned Californian who used to be a cop and now works as a private investigator. I found a couple of books in the series that I hadn't read yet, including Corpse Suzette (2006). Back in May I found Fat Free and Fatal--another good read.

In Corpse Suzette, Tammy, Savannah's young computer genius, has company coming--her insecure, grumpy cousin, Abigail. Tammy has a big surprise for Abigail; Tammy won a big makeover for her at a nearby spa. However, Abigail turns out to have a major attitude problem, with a king size chip on her shoulder, and all but alienates everyone she meets. She thinks everyone is making fun of her weight.

Unfortunately, before she can have some of the procedures done, the spa's hotshot surgeon disappears, and her playboy exhusband hires Savannah to find the good doctor--and a chunk of money he claims she stole. Savannah works with Dirk, her former partner, who has been assigned to the missing person case and together they begin the investigation, wondering if it will turn into a homicide case. John and Ryan, the resourceful and drop dead gorgeous former FBI agents, and Savannah's good friends, are back in this book.

As the story progresses, Savannah and Dirk discover more than a few good suspects--and then one of the suspects turns up dead. At the same time, the ugly duckling cousin makes a friend at the spa and he inspires her to try a different approach to her personal style.

All in all, this is an enjoyable series: the characters are often funny, the stories interesting, and the dialogue and description engaging. In many ways, the cast of regular characters is sort of a big family, and many of the books feature a shared meal at Savannah's house, with her fabulous southern cooking described in great detail (definitely not weight watcher approved). I curled up on my bed to read for a couple of hours this morning and it was a good break. It's hard to feel sorry for yourself on a rainy day when you're reading about a woman with a strong sense of herself who loves chocolate and finding the bad guys.

You can find Corpse Suzette in the Mystery section at WPL.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

2009-06-22T21:23:00.008-06:00

Like a junk food junkie who goes looking for that last Little Debbie Snack Cake, I was delighted to see that the Waterloo Library had the newest Stephanie Plum book -- Plum Spooky. I had to have it--and finished it off in under a day. Evanovich began her writing career as a romance writer, and there is something about her writing style that retains some of those qualities. However, her characters are fun, plots sometimes take some crazy twists and turns, and the mini series of novels "between the numbers" are developing something of their own personality. The setting is also fun: Trenton, New Jersey.

For the uninitiated, Stephanie Plum works as a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie; she is not the caliber of Dog the Bounty Hunter, however. She is more like a work study bounty hunter--who doesn't like guns and seems to blow up cars and lose her hand cuffs. What she does have is determination, some good friends, and dumb luck. She has a cute boyfriend, Joe Morelli, who is a cop but they seem to both have some commitment issues, so the relationship heats up and cools down. She also flirts with danger in the form of Ranger, a professional bounty hunter with other business interests, a crew of helpers, lots of tech toys, and a soft spot for Stephanie. From time to time, he rescues her or provides her another car or helps her take down a tough guy; sometimes, he uses her talents to get closer to a bad guy.

Stephanie hangs out with Lula, a plus size former hooker turned clerical worker and side kick at the bounty office. Connie,the office manager, is good with computers, stays cool, and has an endless supply of handcuffs and file folders with "perps" needing to be brought in by Stephanie. Stephanie also visits her family, especially at meal time. Her mother is a little upset by Stephanie's unusual career but is a good cook; her father mumbles a lot and seems like a nice man driven crazy by Grandma Mazur, who lives with them. Grandma is a handful, to say the least; she likes going to the funeral home for viewings, and if it is a closed casket, she wants to take a peek.

In Plum Spooky a mysterious man named Diesel shows up; he has some remarkable powers and has appeared in previous between the numbers novels. Diesel has some special powers, and is on the hunt for a bad guy, and needs Stephanie's help; it just so happens that one of her current fugitives is hanging out with the bad guy that Diesel is tracking. So they work together. At the same time, a friend of Stephanie's leaves her pet monkey at the apartment door; Carl needs to be babysat while his "mommy" goes on her honeymoon. Since this was not pre-arranged, Stephanie is rather surprised and not sure how to care for Carl. As it turns out, however, Carl becomes rather important in the story.

I liked the book, but it made me hungry for junk food; Stephanie could really use some of my Weight Watchers literature, to learn about the basic food groups and incorporate a little more fresh fruits and vegetables in her diet. I woke up today craving chocolate cake. If you're craving a good read, check out Plum Spooky. You can find it in the Express Books display; I promise it is going back tomorrow.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Nailbiter by Sarah Graves

2009-06-15T16:54:00.006-06:00

Nailbiter (2006) is a bittersweet story in many ways; Jake and Ellie are faced with the challenge of finding a missing girl after a man is found murdered in a rental house they co-own. At the same time, Jake notices that something is going on with Victor, her ex-husband, who is a surgeon. Victor moved to the island to be closer to their son Sam and opened a clinic; since then, Victor's skill has saved a number of residents and he has become a part of their lives again. Sam is getting older, still struggling with some of the problems of the past, but maturing.

As is the case so often, Jake and Ellie unravel the mystery only to learn that things are not always as they seem, and that applies to several of the characters in the book as well as some of the plot twists. Through it all, Jake and Ellie must rely on each other, and come to recognize the gifts of the strange young woman they rescue.

You can find Nailbiter on CD Books at the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

2009-06-15T14:40:00.006-06:00

My book club is reading Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to promote peace one school at a time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. There is also a version for younger readers, and I read both.

Greg Mortenson is a remarkable man in many ways; his parents were missionaries to Africa, and he spent a chunk of his childhood there. His father took Greg mountain climbing and that became his passion, along with studying to become a nurse. His younger sister had a lot of health problems and Greg wanted to find cures for her disease. Christa died and in 1993 he decided to climb K2 and leave her necklace at the top as a way to honor her; however, only 600 feet from the summit, another climber became ill. Greg helped the man get down to safety and then got separated from his climbing partner. He wandered-- lost -- before being found by his guide Mouzafer, who guided him down the mountain. However, they got separated again and Greg ended up in the village of Korphe, a Balti village, where he was greeted by the chief and given tea and a place to sleep.

Greg rested for several days and then wandered through the village; he asked Haji Ali to take him to see the village's school. The village was poor and could not afford a teacher and had no school building: Greg saw a group of children (mostly boys) kneeling on the ground, studying lessons without a teacher and using sticks to draw in the dirt. Greg decided that the best way to honor his sister's memory was to build the children a school. However, Greg was not a wealthy man and did not know how he would get the money to fulfill his promise.

The book traces his efforts to raise money, writing letters and speaking to groups. He gets help from some unexpected sources along the way--other mountain climbers and a wealthy man named Dr. Jean Hoerni who gave Greg the money to build a bridge so that they could get the materials to Korphe to build a school. In the process, he gains the respect and friendship--and fierce loyalty--of many people in Pakistan, and one of the amazing things about the book is seeing their country through his eyes.

He also describes meeting his wife at a dinner honoring one of the most famous mountain climbers of all time, Sir Edmund Hillary; Tara was there and noticed Greg standing in the back of the room. They began to talk, and discovered a connection. Six days later, they got married. They now have two children and live in Montana, where he continues to direct efforts to build schools. The book jacket reports that his organization has now built 55 schools, many of them for girls.

If you have not read this book, you need to read it! He describes being in Pakistan when September 11th took place, as well as being there shortly before the start up of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He talks about the extreme poverty of the people he met, and yet how willing they were to help him. He also gives insights into the origins of the Taliban, the very intense dislike of Osama Bin Laden by many Pakistanis, and the role of education in building a better world and a better relationship with the west.

You can find the book at the Cedar Falls library, listen to it on CD book from the WPL, borrow copies from the WPL book club collection, or WPL@HCC.

You may also want to learn more about the book, Greg, and his organization, Central Asia Institute (CAI).

http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
The book's website

http://www.gregmortenson.com
Greg's website

http://www.penniesforpeace.org/home.html
Greg also founded Pennies for Peace; one of his first contributions came from children at his mother's school, who collected pennies.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves

2009-06-15T13:49:00.005-06:00

Like a junk food junkie, I'm on a Sarah Graves kick. Mike brought home The Dead Cat Bounce, which is the first book in the series. Jake has only lived in Eastport for about a year, but all of the familiar characters are there--her friends Ellie and George have not married yet, however. Jake has gotten involved with Wade, who she later marries -- a solid, tough man who works as a harbor pilot, and her son Sam is finding his way as he decides to follow his own wishes, and not those of his father.

As the book opens, Jake and Ellie are talking in her kitchen when Jake walks into her storeroom and finds a dead man. Of course, they call for the police, and George is the first to arrive--among his other jobs, he works as a part time police officer. He checks the murder scene and takes pictures, and then he and Jake discover that the murder weapon--an ice pick--is missing. Jake also realizes that only Ellie could have taken it. Things get worse when Ellie confesses to the crime to Police Chief Bob Arnold.

The dead man turns out to be Threnody Mellwaine, a local boy who grew up with Ellie's father, Alvin. However, while Alvin stayed on the island and ran a lumberyard, Thren went off to the big city and became a wealthy businessman. He had an argument with Alvin the morning of the murder and it is not clear how he ended up in Jake's storeroom. Ellie seems to be protecting someone, but who? As the obedient only daughter, she lives with her parents and cares for her mean spirited mother, who was once a beautiful young dancer but is now a bitter, crippled old woman. Ellie broke off her engagement with George after concluding that she could not break a promise to her father, who is the one who really raised her. Now Ellie will not defend herself but tells Jake that it is up to her to find out what happened.

As the book progresses, we get a better sense of the characters and their relationships--as well as the setting. Victor, Jake's ex-husband, makes an appearance and the contrast between Victor's self-centered personality and that of Wade could not be greater. Jake puts herself in danger unwittingly, while she tries to solve the mystery of who killed Thren and why Ellie confessed.

As it turns out, the title of the book is stock market jargon "for a small, temporary rise in a stock's trading price after a sharp drop." (from the book's backcover). Part of the unraveling of the mystery is finding out more about the financial dealings of Alvin and Thren.

Every time I read one of these books, I can smell the salt air, picture the harbor and recall the sound of the ocean waves crashing up on the shore. Having lived in Newport, Rhode Island for eleven years, I came to appreciate the wild beauty of the ocean and having lived in Newport, I understand something of what it means to live on an island. There were only a couple of routes off the island-- a very high bridge to Fall River and a toll bridge to Jamestown.

My first husband and I took a camping trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and I remember that trip with great memories of little fishing villages, wonderful food, and magnificent mountains and scenery. After reading this series, I want to take a road trip!

You can find The Dead Cat Bounce in the Waterloo Library's mystery section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Mallets Aforethought by Sarah Graves

2009-06-13T17:22:00.007-06:00

One of the problems of discovering a great series is that you get so excited over each NEW book you don't always think to go back and read all of the earlier ones. So, I just finished yet another one of Sarah Grave's books in the Home Repair is Homicide Series--Mallets Aforethought. The series features best friends Jake and Ellie in Eastport, Maine. Ellie is in the last trimester of her pregnancy, but she and Jake are hard at work on restoring a local landmark, the Harlequin House. They discover a secret room--and an unpleasant surprise of two bodies inside that secret room. One of the bodies is that of Eva, an infamous flapper who was once involved with the owner of Harlequin House, an ancestor of Ellie's. Eva has apparently been there for at least 70 years; however, the other body seems like a fairly recent arrival.

It turns out that someone has killed Hector Gosling, a local businessman with shady ethics and a list of enemies--including George, Ellie's husband. When evidence seems to suggest that George killed Hector, he's put in jail and Jake has to support her friend through childbirth classes and try to investigate the case, all the while worrying that Ellie will give birth at any minute.

Published in 2004, this is the seventh book in the series, and another great read. I love the characters and relationships in this series, the description of the small town in Maine, the attention to details, quirky home repair advice, and clever storytelling. You can find Mallets Aforethought in the mystery section at the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Simple Genius by David Baldacci

2009-06-11T13:37:00.005-06:00

I just finished a great book by an author new to me: David Baldacci's Simple Genius. The book is about two former Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, who now work as private investigators. They are good friends and partners; however, Michelle is exhausted and troubled and enters a rehab facility while Sean scrambles to find a case that will help him pay for it all. He gets hired to investigate the mysterious death of a brillant scientist, Monk Turing, at Babbage Town, a secretive facility that just happens to be across the river from Camp Peary, once a naval station and now a CIA training camp.

Michelle settles into her new routine, meeting with Psychologist Horatio Barnes, while Sean settles into his assignment. However, answers to his questions are not easily obtained, and after he arrives, the one man who speaks with him ends up dead himself. After meeting the local sheriff and M. E., Sean next meets Turing's young daughter, Viggie, who has a fascination with manipulating numbers but problems relating to people. Viggie is being looked after by another scientist named Alicia, and Alicia soon begs Sean for his help keeping Viggie safe. Sean continues to investigate, but feels as though he is getting nowhere.

In the meantime, Michelle struggles to resolve her resistance to therapy and makes friends with another woman at the facility; she also notes some strange behavior at night, and discovers that one of the workers is sending mysterious packages from the facility, so she begins her own investigation. Horatio gets permission to speak to Michelle's older brother and becomes convinced that her current problem stem from something traumatic that happened many years ago. When he has a week of vacation, Horatio decides to do some investigation of his own and visits Michelle's girlhood home town and talks to one of her old neighbors. While he's gone, Michelle is able to prove that the creepy worker is committing a crime and contacts the authorities; she is able to avert a tragedy as well. Feeling back on top of her game, she checks herself out of treatment shortly before Horatio returns; she is determined to join Sean and resume their partnership.

Sean has already decided he needs help and has contacted Horatio about coming down to meet Viggie, who has been called autistic because of her strange way of behaving around other people. However, Sean is convinced that Viggie knows things that will help him determine what happened to her father. Thus, both Horatio and Michelle arrive at Babbage Town and the book's action really takes off.

The book has all of the ingredients I need for a good read: authentic characters, plot twists, good dialogue, a little history, a mix of action and mystery, and a very contemporary feel. However, like the cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae, the book also includes other elements: the scientists at Babbage Town are trying to develop a quantum computer, the C. I. A. is in the throes of the war against terrorism, and much of the action relies on the the cooperation (and sometimes the competition) between various law enforcement agencies.

You can find Simple Genius in the WPL adult fiction area as well as in large type and CDbook. Check it out: you won't need an advanced degree in Quantum Physics to appreciate it!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Secret of Lost Things

2009-06-09T10:22:00.005-06:00

The Secret of Lost Things is the story of Rosemary, an 18 year old orphan who comes to New York City after the death of her mother; she grew up in Tasmania, in a little apartment over her mother's hat shop. She never knew her father. Her mother's dearest friend Chaps buys her a ticket and gives her some money, and Rosemary is off on her great adventure.

Rosemary arrives in New York in the rain, with her few possessions. She finds a room in a shabby hotel and soon finds a job at a very unusual secondhand bookstore called the Arcade; owned by the eccentric Mr. Pike and managed by Walter Geist (an albino), the Arcade is filled with used books of all sorts, and has a Rare book room. As Rosemary settles in, she develops a friendship with Pearl, the cashier,and a crush on Oscar, who is in charge of Nonfiction. As the story progresses, Rosemary stumbles onto a mystery when Walter Geist, who is growing blinder by the day, asks her to read him a letter about a lost manuscript by Herman Melville--and an offer by an unknown party to sell the manuscript to the Arcade.

Sheridan Hay has a wonderful writing style: richly descriptive, she captures not only the feel of a large city like New York, an eccentric cast of characters and a variety of settings, but she also gives the reader a sense of what it would feel like to lose a parent and set off on a journey and huild a life for oneself. The power of friendship, the betrayal of passion, and the enduring love of family (including those friends who become family, like Chaps and Pearl) all make this a satisfying read. Literature lovers will be fascinated by the inclusion of actual correspondence between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

You can find The Secret of Lost Things in the WPL Adult Fiction section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

A Face in the Window by Sarah Graves

2009-05-28T10:05:00.004-06:00

One of the very best new series I've found is the "Home Repair is Homicide" by Sarah Graves, featuring Jake Tiptree. Jake (Jacobia) is a former high finance hot shot from New York who was married to a successful surgeon; after he repeatedly cheated on her, Jake divorced him and took their son to a small island in Maine, where she bought a lovely old house in need of repair.

She soon makes friends with Ellie, her neighbor and long time resident of the island; the remark is made that Ellie's ancestors were pirates, and she is a very strong, resourceful and hardworking person. Ellie is married to George, a man of few words who knows how to deal with home repair, critters, and fires with equal competence; he is the local fire chief, among other things. Ellie and George have one child, three year old Lee. Jake and Ellie have become known in the area for their abilities to investigate local crimes, so she has become good friends with Bob Arnold, local police chief. Jake has also since remarried: Wade is Eastport's harbor pilot, and another hardworking person. Her son Sam has grown up a great deal and has recently moved to Portland.

In this book, however, Jake is drawn into her own past as the man who killed her mother is about to stand trial. Even though it has been over 30 years, Jake still remembers the events of that night; she was a small child but recalls details too vividly. She has been asked to write a victim's impact statement, which is shared with the defense--and then Ozzie Campbell goes missing. Jake's father, Jacob, and her longtime housekeeper Bella recently married and are off on a trip. Ellie and George have also gone on a trip, leaving her with three year old Lee. Even her faithful dogs are off at obedience camp, and Wade is away on a job, leaving her and Lee alone in the big house.

When two thugs come to town and kidnap Lee and her teenaged babysitter, Jake realizes that Campbell is behind their disappearance, and decides that it is up to her to get the child back. The story is both a test of her own strength and determination, as well as an opportunity to come to a better understanding of her parents. There is also an interesting subplot about the young babysitter who is taken with Lee, and her efforts to protect her young charge.

Along with her efforts to find Lee and put Campbell back behind bars, Jake has to deal with more home repair challenges. Each chapter opens with one of her tips: for example, "When replacing a broken lamp switch, replace the cord and plug, too."

I love this series for its cast of characters, strong storylines, and wonderful description of life in a small town on the East coast. Having lived in Newport, Rhode Island for eleven years, when I read these books I can shut my eyes and smell the ocean, feel the grit of the sand between my toes, and see the harbor, with the fishing boats down at the dock.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Fat Free and Fatal by G. A. McKevett

2009-05-28T09:17:00.003-06:00

I'm recovering from foot surgery, so I have PLENTY of time to catch up on my reading. Fortunately, I made a trip to the library to grab a few of my favorite authors' new books. One of those is by G. A. McKevett--Fat Free and Fatal. It features private investigator Savannah Reid, a southern girl who is no skinny little thing and a former cop now living out in California. Savannah has a group of loyal friends who are characters in their own rights: Dirk, her former partner; Tammy, her computer savvy and health nut assistant; and former federal agents Ryan and John, life partners and still very connected to government sources.

When a celebrity's young assistant is brutally murdered, Dirk gets Savannah on the case, as the woman's bodyguard. Since the assistant was wearing one of her fur coats and getting into her big car, it seems that she was mistaken for Dona Papalardo, her boss. Dona lives in a lavish estate but doesn't seem to get much pleasure out of life; she gained weight and then had controversial weight loss surgery which left her thinner but not well. As Savannah and Dirk investigate, they find several suspects including an ex boyfriend, a clingy best friend, and a former agent. Just as things are heating up on the case, one of Savannah's younger sisters shows up, along with her new husband; they met in Las Vegas and got married rather impulsively, and now think that a honeymoon at Savannah's should prove entertaining.

I love this series for the interesting storylines, likeable characters, and lively writing style. The author does a nice job of satisfying my "sweet tooth" for mystery stories with some humor, a mix of wonderful characters, and conflicts that seem true to life.

You can find Fat Free and Fatal in the WPL mystery section. While you're there, you may want to grab one of the other books in the series.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt

2008-09-19T21:05:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bury the lead

is a mystery story that is set in New Jersey. Andy Carpenter is a lawyer who recently inherited a small fortune, and has used at least part of that money to establish a dog rescue operation. Then he gets a phone call from a friend, who is also the owner of the local newspaper; Vince needs his help with a problem. One of his reporters, Daniel, has been contacted by a serial killer and now the police have found Daniel at the scene of the most recent murder. The victim is Linda Padilla,a powerful local woman.

When Daniel turns out to be Vince's son, Andy realizes that things are going to get complicated. Together with his girlfriend Laurie, he begins to investigate the case.

This book was interesting: I enjoyed reading it for the characters.

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

2008-09-19T20:45:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Rise and Shine

is the story of two sisters--Bridget and Meghan. Orphaned as little girls, they were raised by their aunt. Meghan married young and became a successful morning news person; she and her husband Evan, a lawyer, have a son named Leo and appear to be the perfect couple. Bridget is still single, an adoring aunt to Leo, and works as a social worker. She has a cop boyfriend named Irving who is older and not wanting to get married, but who loves her.

Meghan is famous and Bridget is used to the ups and downs of being around her sister in public; they have a fairly solid relationship and spend a lot of time together. Then something awful happens: Meghan thinks the microphone is off and utters a couple of taboo words in response to a guest who is acting like a jerk on national TV. About the same time, Evan tells Meghan he wants out of the marriage. Meghan goes to Jamaica to get away from it all.

In the meantime, Bridget tries to carry on, and help take care of Leo, who is a young man by now. Since he's out of school for the summer, she enlists his help as a driver at her social work agency. When Meghan doesn't return, Bridget goes to check on her, and finds her sister transformed. She's lost weight, chopped off her hair, and gotten tanned. She swims miles and miles each day. She also has no interest in returning to her old life.

What finally brings Meghan back to New York is something that I will let the reader discover on her own. However, I found this an engaging book. I liked the characters and was drawn in by Quindlen's description and dialogue. You can find it both the CDbook collection and the Adult Fiction section.

In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews

2008-09-19T20:22:00.005-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Sarah Andrews has written a wonderful series about Em Hansen, a geologist. However,

In Cold Pursuit

, her recent book, features a new character--a young graduate student named Valena Walker. Valena arrives in Antarctica to work with Dr. Emmett Vanderzee, only to find out that he has been arrested in connection with the death of a newspaper reporter the year before. As Valena tries to find out what happened to the reporter, and why her professor has been charged with his murder, she finds herself in awe of the stark beauty of the what the author calls "the last continent."

It turns out that Valena has met Em, and corresponds with her by email. Valena also makes friends with a group of scientists and support people, who are also concerned about the fate of their colleague. Together, they investigate--and then another man dies, and Valena finds herself in danger.

This is a very engaging book -- and a smart one, too. I found myself learning more about the global warming crisis and controversy, as well as its effects on Antarctica. I enjoyed reading about the tight knit group of people who spend time there; however, since the book makes frequent references to snow and ice, very low temperatures, the gear needed to survive in such a harsh environment, and the need to consume food and water in large doses, the reader should beware and grab a snack and a blanket before sitting down with this book!

You can find In Cold Pursuit in the NEW books, with a Mystery sticker on its spine.
You may want to check out Sarah Andrews' website at http://www.sarahandrews.net/. Not only is she a wonderful writer, she is also a geologist herself.

(Photo of the cover of the book was taken from the author's website)

Running Blind by Lee Child

2008-09-19T20:02:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The fourth book in the Jack Reacher series,

Running Blind

, by Lee Childs is another great read. As the story begins, Jack has settled down for awhile, living in a house left to him by one of his military mentors, Leon Garber. He has been spending time with Jodie, Leon's daughter, and a hard working young lawyer.

Jack gets picked up by the FBI and coerced into helping with an investigation: several women Jack knew in the military have been murdered and they try at first to blame him, saying that he fits the profile their experts developed. Later, they admit they are wrong but still pressure him to serve as a consultant. Jack has to call upon his own training in the military -- plus call in a few favors from old friends -- to unravel the mystery, even as several more women die.

Some of the side plots, such as an investigation into stolen weapons, and the efforts of the FBI to entrap Jack in a compromising situation with a female FBI agent, are interesting. However, it is the description of the crimes, the investigation, and the depiction of uneasy cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies that really caught my interest.

This is another great read for Lee Child's readers (and for Jack Reacher's fans). You can find it in the Fiction section of the Waterloo Public Library.

Tripwire by Lee Child

2008-08-30T20:31:00.005-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Tripwire (1999)by Lee Child is the third book in the Jack Reacher series. When his funds start running low, Jack Reacher finds a temporary job in Florida: by day he's digging pools, and by night he's a bouncer at a local strip club. However, when a private detective starts asking around for him, and then gets killed, Reacher decides he needs to find out who sent the detective and why someone would kill him. His search takes him to a wake in New York state, where the daughter of one of his former military mentors asks for his help.

Once a shy, awkward teenager, Jodie has grown up into a confident, accomplished lawyer. After her father's recent death from cancer, Jodie hired the detective to find Jack. Reacher soon finds himself caught up in completing the task his mentor had been working on before his death--trying to help an old couple still grieving for their son lost in the jungles of Viet Nam. However, the closer he and Jodie get to unraveling what happened to young Victor Hobie, the closer they get to exposing a dangerous man. Early on, several men try to kidnap them. However, it is their boss who is behind the death of the detective--and others. He is a man who seems devoid of emotion, morality, or conscience; he is also a man who has made his fortune off of the stupidity and greed of others.

This is another wonderful read. Beyond telling an interesting story, it gives some insights into the plight of those families still affected by the war in Viet Nam--as well as by the work being done to recover and identify the bodies of soldiers lost in war time.

You can find Tripwire in the adult fiction area of the Waterloo Public Library. You might want to check out the author's website for more details on the series.

Killing Floor by Lee Child

2008-08-30T20:02:00.005-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

I found the first book in the Jack Reacher series, Killing Floor (1997).
It introduces us to Reacher, a former military policeman, who has become a drifter after peace time leads to the military downsizing. Early in the story, he drifts into the wrong town down south--Margrave, Georgia--and within the hour gets arrested for murder. Before long, it becomes clear that this town is no ordinary town: a large foundation appears to be paying bribes to local businesses, for no visible reason. The chief of police and mayor are working with the foundation, and have become corrupt.

Jack gets held in jail in spite of the fact that he has an alibi; however, the police need to time to verify it. He meets another prisoner, who seems terrified of something that he cannot talk about, and who comes to trust Reacher when the two prisoners are transferred to a larger jail. They are processed and put on the wrong floor--and it is only by Jack's experience dealing with tough guys that they survive.

Later, his alibi is confirmed and Reacher is released. He discovers that at least a few of the town cops are clean, and works with them to unravel the murder that happened shortly before his arrival. When the body of the victim turns out to be his older brother Joe, who worked for the Treasury Department in busting counterfeit money schemes, Reacher decides he cannot walk away from this situation. He will finish Joe's investigation and avenge his brother's brutal murder.

Along the way, he gets romantically involved with a female police officer named Roscoe. He makes friends with a pair of elderly African American barbers, who don't appear to have much business. He gets hired by a frantic wife to find her missing husband -- the prisoner Jack had saved earlier, Hubble.

This book has all of the elements that keep my interest, with well developed characters, dialogue, description, and action. Just don't plan on getting all of your chores done on your "To Do" list until you've turned that last page.

You can find Killing Floor in the adult fiction area of the Waterloo Public Library. You might want to check out the author's website for more details on the series.

Venus by Ben Bova

2008-07-29T10:23:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Venus (2000) by Ben Bova is the story of a very rich man and his two sons: unfortunately, Alex, the older son and his father's favorite, died several years earlier when his mission to Venus ended with tragedy. Van is the younger son, and has health problems; his mother died during his birth, and Van believes that this is why his father has always treated him so harshly. As the story opens, Martin Humphries is celebrating his 100th birthday on the moon with a lavish party: Van attends reluctantly and finds out that his father is going to disown him in a few months, on Van's next birthday, and that his father has offered a $10 billion award to anyone who goes to Venus to retrieve the body of Alex.

Although Van is physically limited--he has to take several enzyme injections daily--he decides that he will take up the challenge, and much of the early parts of the book detail his efforts to build a ship and acquire a crew. In the meantime, a man who is one of his father's greatest rivals also takes up the challenge: Lars Fuchs made a fortune out in the asteroid belt. Van discovers later that Lars is also the first husband of his mother.

As the mission gets organized, Van's choice of captain gets overturned by his father: Desiree Duchamp shows up and assumes command, bringing her daughter with her, Marguerite, a biological scientist. Van recognizes that there is a rather startling resemblence between the two women, and then finds out that Marguerite is a clone of her mother. Van gets Tomas Rodriguez, an experienced astronaut who had gone to Mars several times, to agree to stay on as the number two person, and they finish work on the ship and fill out the rest of the crew and take off on their mission.

I was fascinated by the characters, description, and storyline of this book; I haven't read anything by Bova before, but knew that he was a prolific and popular Sci Fi writer. Now I know why. Van's story is one of transformation and triumph: the rigors of the mission force him to focus not on his fears and physical limitations, but to take risks and fulfill his promise to find and retrieve his big brother. Along the way he discovers the real reason for his father's bias towards him, and learns to trust his own instincts.

This was a great read, and I plan to check out some of the other titles in the WPL catalog (including Mars, Mercury, Saturn). Ben Bova has a great website, by the way; you might enjoy checking it out for yourself.

Ultra Violet by Nancy Bush

2008-07-29T09:41:00.002-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Ultra Violet by Nancy Bush (2007) is the most recent book in the Jane Kelly series. Remember Violet, the gorgeous big sister from the Purcell clan from Electric Blue? She's back, with a big problem. Her ex-husband Roland was just murdered, and tragically it happened on the day his daughter was to be married. To complicate matters, Violet had to admit to the police that she and Roland had argued that morning and she hit him with a large silver tray--her gift to the bride and groom. However, she swears that Roland was alive and angry when she left the house.

Jane finds herself more or less in charge of the investigation, because Dwayne is nursing an injured leg; he broke it during the wrap up of a previous case. Since then, he has developed a fascinating new hobby: he sits on his deck or in his living room and watches the neighbors across the lake with his binoculars. He has a nickname for each house and its inhabitants, and spends most of his day observing their routines.

Jane first thinks that this is a harmless hobby, although she says, "If it smacked a little too much of Jimmy Stewart's character in Rear Window, well, it wasn't like he was going to ask me to solve a murder over there" (11). Nah, as it turns out, he is concerned about the younger daughter of one of the families he's watching--she and her big sister are partying after the high school football games at a nearby house under construction. Dwayne thinks someone needs to investigate things, so Jane goes undercover as a high school kid from a nearby town...

Meanwhile, she's trying to prove that Violet didn't kill Roland, but she's having a hard time getting anyone to talk to her, and she has a feeling that Violet hasn't been entirely honest with them. As time goes on, Dwayne seems to get even more obsessed with his "people watching" thing and Jane's getting really stressed out when her landlord announces he's going to sell the cottage. However, she's had a breakthrough: it seems that Roland met all of his three wives at the same place--a special club for men--and Jane gets a chance to crash one of their parties.

Want to read an excerpt of the story? Go to the author's website.

You can find Ultra Violet with the New Books/Mystery at the Waterloo Public Library.

Electric Blue by Nancy Bush

2008-07-29T09:15:00.002-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Electric Blue (2006) by Nancy Bush is the second book in the Jane Kelly series, and another fun read. We first met Jane in Candy Apple Red, which I reviewed back in June. Jane has teamed up with her friend and mentor Dwayne, who is a private detective and thinks Jane's talents could make her successful as an investigator.

As the story opens Jane is contacted by Jasper (Jazz) Purcell, who needs her help. He is part of the town's prominent and wealthy (and crazy) Purcell family. He wants Jane to meet his grandmother, who seems troubled. As Jane meets the entire clan she realizes that there is a lot of family drama, tension, and secrets. Several people, including Jazz, have gorgeous blue eyes--hence, the title. Jane reluctantly agrees to become a companion of sorts for the grandmother, so she starts to spend more time at the big Purcell mansion. As Jane gets closer to Jazz and his grandmother, she realizes that something very terrible happened a long time ago, and that it is still impacting the family.

Then she learns that one of the secrets has to do with the now dead daughter--Jasper's mother--who was institutionalized as a teenager. More recently, Jazz and his son were involved in a serious car accident that may not have been all that accidental, and Jazz suffered some short term memory loss. One of his aunts, Camilia, is devastated that her husband has not only left her, but had two children and named them after flowers, which is a Purcell tradition.

Things get stranger when the grandmother disappears and Jane decides to go check out the institution, and starts to unravel what really happened so many years ago. However, later on, a long lost sister named Violet arrives, and the family secrets start to spill out.

You can find Electric Blue in the mystery section of the Waterloo Public Library.

Curious about the book? You can read an excerpt at the author's website.

Harvest of Sorrow

2008-07-28T07:43:00.003-06:00

The Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest (338.763 CON) is not a light read. It's an extremely serious look at how the Communist Party in the USSR took away the private land from the citizens and formed "collective" farms. This occurred between 1929 and 1932.

Then in '32 and '33, the government deported millions of people and created a widespread famine by increasing the peasants quota that the government would receive, and did not allow outside countries to help the starving millions.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Iowa State Fair's Butter Cow Lady

2008-07-25T09:06:00.002-06:00

In the last blog I did, I talked about the Iowa State Fair and mentioned the popular Butter Cow Lady. We actually have a book on her life and her art, that's called - surprise - The Butter Cow Lady (745.0973 LYO in the biography section). Because of the thinness of the book, it's an easy one to overlook on the shelf. This is definitely a book that's "lost in the stacks."

Written by B. Green, this is an easy read about Norma "Duffy" Lyon's life. She was born in 1929 in Tennessee, but grew up in Keosauqua, Iowa, when her family moved to care for Norma's grandmother. In 1947, she enrolled in the college that is now called Iowa State University in Ames. She wanted to become a veterinarian, but the school did not allow women in that program, so she switched to animal science. While in school, she met her future husband, Joe Lyon.

She remembers going to the Iowa State Fair during this time, and seeing the butter cows done by J. E. Wallace, who was the first butter sculpture for the fair. Earl Frank Dutt was the second, and Duffy is the third person to work in butter. She started working on butter cows back in 1960.

The photos, along with the written text, give readers an idea of the process she uses to create her art. In addition to cows, she has done the "American Gothic," Elvis Presley, a horse, a country school scene - just to name a few of her creations in her 40+ career as a butter sculptor.

If you get a chance to go to the Iowa State Fair in August, don't expect to see her work. She turned over the responsibility to her apprentice, Sarah Pratt, in 2006. Here's a link to the fair site with a brief history of the butter cow: http://www.iowastatefair.org/entertainment/buttercow.php

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Iowa State Fair Award Winning Recipes

2008-07-24T11:57:00.004-06:00

As you can probably tell by now, I have a fascination for old books that don't get checked out too much anymore. Iowa State Fair Award Winning Recipes (641.5 IOW) is another one of those books. Because the library just received the Iowa State Fair brochures, this book popped into my head.

Even those who live outside of the state know of the Iowa State Fair - it seems to have a big reputation as the hot spot to hit in August. Although I grew up in the Waterloo area, I was in my 40s when I went to the fair for the first time.

The fair is known for it's butter cow lady, corn dogs, farm animals, home-grown fruits and vegetables, and (of course) cooking contests.

This book, as well as another one called Winners Every One!, are full of easy to follow recipes including all types of jams and jellies, ice cream, candy, cookies, and pies.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

2008-07-21T20:17:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

How do you describe a book like The Pillars of the Earth and not confuse your reader, since it is well over 900 pages long, set in the Middle Ages, and has numerous characters and several subplots? The author's website does a pretty good job, " In a time of civil war, famine and religious strife, a magnificent cathedral is built in Kingsbridge ... this is a sensuous and enduring love story and an epic that shines with the fierce spirit of a passionate age."

There are a handful of main characters: first there are two brothers orphaned as young boys and taken in by a monastery--Philip and Francis. There is a master builder and his family: Tom, Agnes, and their children Martha and Alfred. There is a mysterious and strangely beautiful young woman who lives in the woods with her son Jack. There is also a knight, a monk and a priest--all corrupted by greed, a shared secret, and a shared curse.

The main part of the story concerns a young man named Philip who becomes the prior of Kingsbridge at a very young age, when the old prior dies. Philip sees the sad state of the monastery, village and church--one of its two towers fell down years ago and no one has bothered to repair it. Philip intends to rebuild the church and restore the area to prosperity.

He meets Tom, who is traveling around with his young family, looking for work as a mason and on the verge of starving after a thief stole their prize possession, a pig. Along the way they meet Ellen, a beautiful young woman who lives in the forest with her son Jack. There is something very mysterious about her: they live in a cave, where they are safe and dry, eat well and have books. While Tom is reluctant to leave them, he and his family walk on to the next town, hoping for better luck. There is a sense of urgency, because Agnes is pregnant.

Later, Tom's wife Agnes gives birth to a baby boy in the forest, and there is no one to help her but Tom and the children. After she has seen her baby and nursed him, Agnes is exhausted and falls asleep, but something goes wrong--she bleeds to death. Tom buries her in the woods, then agonizes over what to do with the baby--they have no food or money--and finally leaves the baby wrapped up in a cloak on the grave. After he and the children have walked into the woods for awhile, he realizes that he made a terrible mistake; they retrace their steps but the baby is gone. Ellen and Jack appear and reassure them that the baby is alright: Jack saw a priest rescue the child and knows where they have taken him. The priest who found the baby is Francis--brother of Philip, and Francis brings the baby to the monastery.

When Tom hears that there is a new prior, he takes a chance and goes there to ask about work. Philip soon sees that Tom has an amazing ability for designing buildings--and making the necessary calculations to determine the supplies, workers, and time needed to accomplish his goals.

Philip has his own problems with politics and power struggles: several of the monks resist any good idea that he has and the priest who becomes the bishop Waleran Bigod doesn't like him and is constantly trying to thwart all of the good that Philip tries to do.

Some of the other characters include a knight and his wife, Percy and Regan Hamleigh, and their son William, who are behind most of the trouble in the story. They want to move up in society and seem to think that the world is against them if they don't get their way. The Bishop only reinforces their feelings and uses them to do his dirty work.

Early on in the story, things go wrong for Tom and his family when he is working as a master builder, in charge of a crew building a magnificent home for a young couple about to get married. Then, the wedding gets called off by the bride-to-be, Aliena, daughter of Earl of Bartholomew. Their parents arranged the marriage, but after meeting, Aliena realizes that she cannot tolerate the crude, cruel and arrogant William. Humiliated, William storms up to the work site and fires everyone and nearly runs down Tom's young daughter Martha with his horse. This throws them into poverty because Tom cannot find another job. However, the rejection by the Lady Aliena feeds William's hatred.

Add to the mix all kinds of political and religious intrigue, power plays, and conspiracies, plus a series of attempts to overthrow the current King or Queen, and the book is packed with action. However, there are also several love stories, a lot of description of daily life in the middle ages, as well as what it takes to build a cathedral.

The book has been a WPL book club selection; you can find The Pillars of the Earth in print or in the CDbook collection at the WPL.

If you are interested in checking out the author's website, you will find a number of features, such as a list of characters presenting visually..

Without Fail by Lee Child

2008-07-18T19:33:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Looking for a series of action/adventure/suspence books with a strong male character? I just found one....Earlier this week I finished Without Fail, by Lee Child, and was just blown away by his writing style, strong storyline, and convincing use of details about the inner workings of the Secret Service, weapons,and the way various law enforcement agencies work together. Jack Reacher, the main character, is more than just a loner who is living off the grid, so to speak. He is a former military cop who has his own reasons for living as he does--mostly on the road, without a credit card, house, job, cell phone or car.

At the beginning of the story he has caught a ride with an older couple--a brother and sister who are musicians who are driving cross country to play in Atlantic City. He has a soft spot for them, and makes sure that they get their full cut of their pay, which doesn't go over well with two local thugs sent to straighten him out. However, they have no idea of his training or skills, and he easily deals with them out on a dock.

Then he meets a young Secret Service agent named M. E. Froelich who has managed to track him down. She dated his big brother Joe, who also worked for the Secret Service, and was killed in the line of duty six years ago. Joe had told her about Jack's special skills and she needs his help to do a security audit--is it possible for someone to get close enough to the Vice President to harm him? Jack agrees to help her, and enlists the assistance of an old friend, another former soldier named Frances Neagley. In five days they come up with several chilling scenarios that result in the death of the new Vice President Armstrong.

Then Froelich tells them what is really going on: a series of threatening notes have arrived in the Vice President elect's mail and there are a number of campaign events coming up that he must attend. Reacher and Neagley agree to work together with Froelich to investigate the situation, and the story really takes off. After several additional notes appear on the desk of the Head of the Secret Service, the FBI gets called in, and it becomes apparent that whoever is sending the notes has an inside person. Does that mean the threat is an internal one that is meant to embarress Froelich, who has recently been named the new head? Or is the threat an external one?

Lee Child is an excellent writer, and this was a great book. I can't wait to get my hands on the previous books in the series. Jack is a great character: we find out why he has more or less gone underground. He went after the men who murdered his big brother and another Secret Service agent. He is a fiercely loyal friend, tough, resourceful, and pragmatic. I found the other characters to be very believable, the description and dialogue very engaging and the story solid. Very seldom do you feel like all of the threads of a mystery have been pulled together at its conclusion.

This series would translate well to the big screen; in the meantime, you can enjoy the series by reading the books and listening to the books on tape. The online catalog lists over 40 records for the series. You can find Without Fail at the WPL on books on cassette or get it from the CFL in large print or adult fiction.

You may also want to check out the author's website.

Done Gone Wrong by Cathy Pickens

2008-07-17T21:07:00.002-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Done Gone Wrong picks up the story of Avery Andrews, a young lawyer who has moved to Charleston to help a friend with a huge lawsuit against the makers of a controversial drug. Jake Baker, her friend, is in a real fix; his partner was to lead the case, but has died and there isn't much time to finish preparation.

At the same time, Avery got a phone call from an old boyfriend's younger brother, who is now a resident at a local hospital. He says he needs to talk to her and they set up a dinner date; however, Mark is a no-show, leaving her to sit at the restaurant and wonder what has happened. She had hoped to ask him about the drug, but is also concerned about why it seemed so urgent for them to meet.

The next day she is horrified to learn that Mark was involved in a fatal car accident--and his family needs her to go downtown and identify the body. The police officer who escorts her to the station, Cas Kirkland, also takes her to the scene of the crime: it turns out that Mark did not die due to injuries from the accident. He was murdered.

As Avery gets drawn into the research for the lawsuit, she also investigates Mark's murder; she meets his girlfriend, who gives her Mark's journal. He had mailed it to himself, which seemed to signal that it contained important information. In the meantime, Mark's apartment house was torched by an arsonist--which only makes Avery more determined to figure out Mark's abbreviations in his journal.

Done Gone Wrong was a pretty good read; I think that I enjoyed it more than the first book, because it included more court scenes, had something more of a mystery to unravel, and had a lot of interesting characters. You can find it in the mystery section of the WPL.

Southern Fried by Cathy Pickens

2008-07-17T20:24:00.002-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Cathy Pickens' first book, Southern Fried, won the 2003 St. Martin's Press Malice Domestic contest for the best traditional mystery. It is the first of a series of books about a young woman named Avery Andrews who is trying to reestablish her legal career after getting fired from her first big job. In Southern Fried Avery has gone home to think about her options; she moves into her grandfather's old cabin at the lake, gets his old convertible to drive, and sets up a temporary office downtown. Soon she has a couple of clients.

Avery's hometown is a small southern town complete with some "good old boys" she went to high school with, a trio of great aunts who all worked in the local school system before retiring, a gang of aging bikers, a man suspected of killing his wife, and the usual assortment of the rich and the down and out. Avery finds herself questioning her temperament, her competence to practice law, and her ability to get along with people. She is fortunate to have very loving, concerned parents who just want her to settle down and be happy.

As the book begins, Avery has been called to the Lake where a man has allegedly drowned; however, in spite of a team of divers, there is no sign of him. She gets teased, however, because the man who confessed (Donlee) to drowning his friend did it to get her attention. He apparently had a crush on her back in high school. The divers don't find the man they were looking for; however, they do discover something rather shocking--an old rusted car at the bottom of the lake. When they bring in a wrecker to drag the car out, they discover that it contains the grisly remains of someone.

Avery takes on several cases, but one seems to go badly right away; a local businessman wants her to represent him as the EPA comes into inspect his furniture factory. A couple of days later, there is a suspicious fire. She gets another client when the identity of the body in the rusted car turns out to be a woman that everyone thought had either run away, or been killed by her husband. With so many investigations, she gets plenty of time to visit with the local sheriff, LJ, a woman who once bullied Avery back in school--and hasn't gotten much more charming since then.

This is a fun read, and full of lively dialogue Southern style, colorful characters, and lots of family dynamics that almost any reader can identify with, along with a few introspective sections where she reflects on her grandfather's life and career.

You can find Southern Fried in the Mystery section of the WPL.

Interested in women's sports in Iowa?

2008-07-16T13:38:00.003-06:00

Anyone nostalgic for the '60s and '70s women's sports in Iowa will enjoy this old book, Only in Iowa: Where the High School Girl Athlete is Queen by Jim Enright (796.3238 ENR).

This is the only book I've ever seen that covers all the main women's sports in Iowa - including basketball, golf, tennis, softball, track, volleyball, and swimming.

The author has done his homework. He's interviewed many people close to the sports - the athletes, sportswriters, and coaches. The personal stories and quotes will keep the reader interested. Some of the reprinted articles are truly inspirational and can apply to anyone - even those with no interest in sports.

Readers will be happy to know that at the end of the book, there is the "Hall of Fame" and list of statistics (although many of which are probably broken by now).

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

2008-07-11T16:37:00.005-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The most recent book in the Maisie Dobbs series, An Incomplete Revenge was just released a few months ago. Maisie is hired by Lady Rowan's son, James, who wants her to investigate what is going on in a small village where he hopes to purchase property. A series of fires has James concerned, and the villagers seem reluctant to discuss the incidents.

Maisie arranges for her assistant, Billy Beale, and his family to hire on with a local farmer; it is hop picking time and numbers of families from the city come to help with the harvest. In addition, there is a group of gypsies who help with the harvest. One of them--Aunt Beulah--has a vision about Maisie before her arrival. Maisie soon learns that the villagers seem to have a bias against outsiders; however, she is able to win the confidence of the inn keeper and his wife when she alerts them to a fire set to the Inn. As Maisie investigates further, she uncovers a series of secrets shared by the villagers.

As the story continues, Maisie reconnects with her friend, Priscilla, who takes her to see Simon one last time. Simon is the young doctor that Maisie had met and fallen in love with during the War; he was wounded in an explosion and withdrew into his own mind. Simon's mother is there and they comfort each other as Simon dies. Maisie spends time with her father and gets him to talk about her mother's side of the family--and we find out another reason for why Maisie may be so intuitive. Her father also persuades her to visit Maurice, who now lives nearby, and their visit helps her see that she is no longer simply his mentee.

This is another intriguing mystery and a great read. Maisie is one of those wonderful characters who seems to continue growing in each book. I highly recommend it.

You can find An Incomplete Revenge on the New Book shelf at WPL.

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

2008-07-11T16:22:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Pardonable Lies is the third Maisie Dobbs novel. Maisie is asked to investigate the case of Ralph Lawton, a pilot who was shot down during the First World war; however, his body wasn't found and his mother cannot accept his death. She has resorted to consulting with spiritualists, trying to contact her son. Her husband asks Maisie to find evidence that their son is dead or alive, so Maisie goes to France.

During her trip, Maisie visits her old college friend Priscilla, whose three brothers were all killed in the war. Maisie also consults with her old mentor, Maurice Blanche and during the course of the story their relationship is tested. She also confronts her own painful memories of the war.

For more information about the series, refer to my earlier reviews or visit Jacqueline Winspear's website. This is without question the finest series of novels with a strong female character that I've discovered, and I am happy to recommend it.

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

2008-07-11T15:27:00.005-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

If you have read either of my previous reviews on the well crafted Maisie Dobbs series (over her first appearance in Maisie Dobbs and then in the fourth book, Messenger of Truth), you will recall that the series takes place in the years after World War I in England, and that the main character is Maisie Dobbs, who served as a nurse during the war, was injured, and now has opened her own practice as an investigator. I want to focus on the second book in the series, Birds of a Feather.

As the book begins, Maisie's practice has grown enough to hire Billy as her assistant. We learned before that when Maisie served as a nurse in a field hospital, one of her patients was Billie. His leg was severely injured; however, due to the skill of the surgeon (who was also her boyfriend Simon). Billy feels tremendous loyalty and affection and credits Maisie and Simon for saving his leg. He and Maisie later meet in London, because he does odd jobs in the building where her office is located, and soon he is helping her in a number of ways.

Maisie has also made a good impression on Scotland Yard's Inspector Stratton, who is investigating a murder. Maisie is hired to find the missing daughter of a very wealthy man, and soon uncovers a link to the murder...and further evidence of the damage done by a war that changed countless people's lives forever.

The title of the book turns out to have a chilling meaning: in the efforts to get more young men to enlist in the military, some women took to handing out feathers on the streets, as if challenging men to step up and prove something. As Billy tells Maisie, many underage boys went off to fight--and die--in the war, while many others returned home with terrible wounds both in their bodies and minds. Maisie herself paid a terrible price for her service: a bomb exploded near her and Simon at the field hospital and she still bears a scar to show for it. Simon's physical injuries healed but he retreated within himself and is hospitalized in an institution for victims of shell shock.

If books like Bubbles All the Way and the Stephanie Plum series seem a little light on substance, like cheesecake, the Maisie Dobbs series is a lavish feast with many courses. It's evident that Winspear does a great deal of research, and her work consistentally contains rich detail, description, and dialogue. All of this helps transport the reader back to the days of post-war London. Maisie is also a remarkable character--a strong, intuitive, intelligent and resourceful person. Each book gives readers additional insight into her life and a sense of better understanding this period of time.

Birds of a Feather is available in the Adult Fiction area of the WPL.

If you are interested in learning more about the books, or their author, visit Jacqueline Winspear's website.

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

2008-07-11T14:09:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Speaking of guilty pleasures....there is a new Stephanie Plum novel. Fearless Fourteen is full of the characters we've come to know and love: former 'ho and sidekick Lula, Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's mom and dad, Connie (the secretary/office manager of Vinnie's Bond Enforcement Office), and the two men in Stephanie's life--cop Joe and Ranger. As the story begins, Stephanie and Lula capture Loretta (one of Joe's cousins)after first talking her out of committing suicide; she's depressed and stressed as a single mother. The only way that Stephanie can get her to agree to turn herself in is if Stephanie promises to pick up Loretta's son, Mario (aka Zook) after school.

So Stephanie agrees--and as always, gets more than she bargained for, because no one bails Loretta out, so she ends up taking Zook to Joe's house. She's already agreed to do a job for Ranger: it turns out the job is serving as security for an aging singer/actress named Brenda who is in town on tour. In between escorting Brenda to various events, Stephanie deals with a stalker named Gary, reconnects with an old friend from High School Mooner, finds out that Zook is into online gaming, and tries to cope with Lula who has decided it's time to get married to boyfriend Tank. When Loretta gets released and then kidnapped, her brother Dom tells Stephanie that Joe is Zook's father, because Dom saw Joe fooling around in the garage with his sister. To complicate matters, it turns out that Dom was recently released from prison: he had been part of a major bank robbery and the money (all nine million dollars) was never found. The rumor is that it was either hidden in Aunt Rose's house (which Joe inherited) or that there is an important clue to its location hidden there.

As the days pass, Stephanie needs help with Zook and takes him to her parents' house: it turns out that Grandma Mazur has been getting into gaming and she and Zook hit it off big time. There's no sign of Loretta until someone throws a brick with a little box attached through Joe's window--and they find one of Loretta's toes inside, along with a threatening note. A dead body shows up in Joe's basement, people start digging up the yard in hopes of finding the money, Mooner and Gary (the stalker) start hanging out with Zook and Stephanie feels like she is running a dysfunctional day care center. Joe has his hands full at work and actually hires Mooner and Gary to protect the homefront from would be diggers, and they stock up on potatoes for the potato cannon.

Fearless Fourteen is another fun romp in the world of Stephanie Plum's Trenton, New Jersey.

Fearless Fourteen was just released in mid-June; it's available on CD-book at the WPL while there are multiple copies of the book on the CFL 7 day new shelf.

Bubbles all the Way by Sarah Strohmeyer

2008-07-11T13:13:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bubbles is back! The one time hairdresser turned journalist, Bubbles is helping her best friend, Sandy, at the House of Beauty when something goes dreadfully wrong. They are doing an elaborate "do" for Debbie Shatsky in preparation for a big night out with her plumber husband, Phil (the wonder man who cleans, cooks, and hates sports--and, he's a highly sought after plumber, don't forget!).

Debbie collapses and has to be taken away by ambulance; this isn't good for Sandy's reputation or her business--and then Debbie dies. Bubbles sees her friend devastated and then fearful as the police investigate the case, based on a mysterious phone call with a tip about Debbie being poisoned. Shortly after that, Sandy disappears.

In the meantime, Bubbles has her own problems to worry about; her ex-husband Dan is blackmailing her into getting remarried, supposedly for the sake of their daughter, Jane, who has had a rough year after getting kidnapped. Now in therapy, Jane is insecure and longs for an intact family. Dan has Bubbbles convinced that if she doesn't go through with it, she is a terrible mother and he will make sure that she loses custody. The fact that Dan abandoned them years earlier, has failed to support them financially, is a crude, cruel and self absorbed man, and married a rich, snobby woman doesn't seem to matter. It also doesn't seem to matter that Bubble's heart is breaking, because she really loves Steve Stiletto--the handsome, wealthy photographer she met in the first Bubbles book.

The story takes twists and turns as Bubbles has to fight for her job, figure out what happened to her friend, try to go along with Dan's plan to save their daughter and cope with the stress of loving one man and feeling forced to marry another. Along the way she encounters an Iraqi war veteran who saves her from a strange drive by shooting, finds herself attending a bachelor auction and bidding on Steve, and tries to console the widowed plumber Phil, who is also one of her neighbors. Things are not what they seem and she digs into Debbie's death, in spite of being warned not to do so: in a strange reversal, the death is declared an accident after all.

However, the strangest stuff comes as the story wraps up; I won't spoil it for you, but it is another good read and one of my favorite guilty pleasures. If you can't get to the beach this summer, you can at least curl up in your favorite chair with this book and pretend you're at the beach!

You can find Bubbles All the Way in the Adult Fiction Paperbacks as well in Large Print.

Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

2008-07-11T11:20:00.006-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

If you have ever been to a major museum, you have probably wondered about what is going on behind all of those doors that are off-limits to the public. When you read the book Relic, your imagination will go into overdrive, since much of the story takes place behind the doors of the New York Museum of Natural History. As the story opens, someone--or something--has murdered two little boys in the museum's dark hallways. A major new exhibit is about to open, and much depends on its success, so the museum is thrown into a major crisis.

Margo is a young graduate student, finishing her dissertation as she works at the museum; her advisor, Dr. Frock, is an eccentric but brillant scientist whose theories about evolution are controversial. He is confined to a wheelchair due to a childhood illness. Margo has made friends with a young journalist, Bill Smithback, who is writing a book about the museum, but becoming increasingly frustrated by efforts to censure his work. She also becomes acquainted with Moriarty, another museum employee who needs her help to document some plants in his exhibit. These people--plus a local cop, Lieutenant D'Agosta, and an FBI agent named Pendergast, play key roles in the story.

Slowly, Margo, Bill and Dr. Frock discover that there is a connection between the murders--which continue--and the new exhibit, which contains items gathered on a fateful trip by museum scientists to the Amazon jungle many years earlier. No one from that group survived, by the way, but they did manage to send several large crates back to the museum. However, there is a group of top administrators who are determined to cover up any hint of danger and see the grand opening of the exhibit proceed as planned--in spite of growing concern by the police and Agent Pendergast.
As it turns out, there is reason to be concerned.

Relic is a creepy, suspenseful, read with lots of interesting characters, dialogue and description. The identity of the "thing" takes several twists and turns as the plot unravels and we discover what happened to the doomed team to the Amazon by reading the journal of the lead scientist, Whittlesey.

You can find Relic in the Adult Fiction area. You can also find a sequel--Reliquary. When I did some digging, I found that the authors have a website, at http://www.prestonchild.com/books/relic/.

I also found out that there are seven novels featuring Agent Pendergast, with an eighth on the way, according to Michael Alderete's weblog, http://aldoblog.com/2007/05/relic-by-douglas-preston-lincoln-child/.

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

2008-07-10T20:37:00.008-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

The fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series, Messenger of Truth is another chance to immerse yourself in the world of England in the early 1930s. Maisie Dobbs is an unusual young woman who served as a nurse in the Great War, was injured in an explosion at the field hospital where she assisted her lover in surgery, and now conducts confidential investigations for clients out of her London office.

The story begins when a talented artist falls to his death; Nicholas Bassington-Hope was in the process of setting up an exhibition and while the death is declared an accident, his twin sister believes it is murder. Maisie gets the case and soon finds herself dealing with memories of the Great War, as she discovers that the source of inspiration for Nicholas was the war itself, since he had served as a war artist. Winspear's vivid descriptions of the pieces on exhibit, with their depiction of the mud, blood and destruction of the battlefield, serve to remind the reader again of the horrors of war.

Throughout the book, Maisie endeavors to discover the truth, not only about the death of the artist, but also about his artwork, his family, and his circle of friends. There is a haunting quote at the beginning of the book; it was written by a man who served as an official artist in the Great War. It was his job to record what he saw. "I am no longer an artist interested and anxious. I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on forever. Feeble, inarticulate, will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth, and may it burn in their lousy souls." (Paul Nash, Artist. 1899-1946)

Many of the characters found in the other books appear here, including Lady Rowan, who was Maisie's first benefactor and who is now a friend; Maisie's father, Frankie; her loyal assistant, Billy Beale and his family; and Inspector Stratton, a local police officer. Winspear's work is richly descriptive with wonderfully crafted characters, dialogue and action. This is not a quick, easy read; however, it is enormously satisfying to watch Maisie unravel the mystery and to feel her sense of engagement with the task. I cannot think of another series that is so steeped in historical research and yet so entertaining.

You can find Messenger of Truth in the Adult Fiction area at the Waterloo Public Library.

Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore

2008-07-10T19:54:00.004-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Looking for a fun read that also gives you an inside look into the Washington political scene? Sammy's Hill tells the story of a rather neurotic but sweet young girl who works for the junior senator from Ohio. Sammy is an expert on health care, even though she is only in her mid 20s; she helps Senator Robert Gary craft a bill to help lower the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens.

In her spare time, she hangs out with her friend Liza, who has a series of dreadful boyfriends, and enjoys the Washington social scene. Sammy also takes care of her current pet fish: unfortunately, her fish tend to die prematurely, and while she isn't sure whether to blame herself or the pet store owner, she has a brief memorial for the dearly departed and then goes to get his replacement.

Sammy also has an unusual hobby: she likes to talk to telemarketers, has struck up a friendship with several, and likes to call company's 1-800 numbers. She calls the Cool Whip hotline to commend them on their wonderful product, for example.

As the story opens, Sammy has just found out that Senator Bramen is going to cosponsor a bill that she helped Senator Gary write. The two men are very different in their personalities, management styles, and ambitions: Bramen comes off as a typical politician who will do or say whatever he needs to propel himself ever upwards. It soon becomes clear that he is trying to take credit for the bill, in spite of the hard work that Senator Gary and his staff have put into it. About the same time, Sammy meets a young man named Aaron; he is handsome, funny, and very charming. They start going out and the story is sprinkled with their email and text messages. However, Aaron works for Senator Bramen as a speech writer....so there is conflict from the beginning of the relationship.

I enjoyed reading the parts of the story when Sammy went on the road to assist the Senator; they seemed very authentic in the descriptions of all of the behind the scenes preparation for even informal "meet and greet" events. I think anyone who attended a political rally over the past year and a half has observed the energetic, alert young staffers who position themselves close to the candidates, ready to take down a phone number, give out a business card, or answer a question. Reading this book gave me some insight into the challenges those staffers face. The fact that its author has a former Vice President for a father certainly adds to the sense that she understands the political scene.

With lots of humor, political intrigue, and interesting description and dialogue, Sammy's Hill is a fun place to explore. You can find it in the Adult Fiction area of the Waterloo Public Library.

Donna's Day

2008-07-10T16:10:00.003-06:00

Question for parents: Do you have young kids driving you crazy because they are "bored" and they have nothing to do during the summer? Have no fear; Donna's here.

You may recognize the name of Donna Erickson, author of Donna's Day (306.8743 ERI). I'm not sure if she's on TV anymore, but Donna Erickson used to have (or has) her own show on PBS with the same title.

She has a creative way of making learning fun for kids. One of the chapters called "Atlas in the Kitchen" has parents cooking with kids and learning about other cultures, such as China, India, and Africa.

Not all activities are for inside. "Hikes and Bikes" includes some outdoor activities.

Because some of the activities are sloppy and goopy, kids will really enjoy this book. So...parents before getting too excited with Donna's suggestions, be sure to have plenty of old clothes handy for the kids and turn "Donna's Day" into your day of fun with the kids. You never know. The time you spend with the kids (with the help of Donna) might very well be the days that your kids will remember the rest of their lives.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Hanged Man's Song by John Sandford

2008-07-08T15:02:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Reading The Hanged Man's Song took me into a world that I could never have imagined otherwise. The main character is a creative soul -- a painter -- who also happens to be a gifted computer hacker named Kidd. Kidd is part of an informal group of hackers and others who have worked together before on various projects; the man at the center of the group is a superhacker named Bobby who has been around since the beginnings of the internet. However, few people actually know the real names or identities of their fellow hackers, and Kidd has only met one of them face to face--John. When Bobby seems to vanish from cyberspace, Kidd investigates, with the help of his friend LuEllen and John.

The story focuses on their investigation into the murder of Bobby--and the theft of his laptop, which gives access to a treasure trove of highly confidential files. Whoever has taken the laptop begins leaking stories to the media, resulting in damaged reputations and careers for several members of Congress. Kidd's concern is that whoever has the laptop has figured out how to hack through the encryption protecting the files--and it is not clear whether or not there is information that might prove incriminating to Kidd, LuEllen, John or any of a number of others in Bobby's circle of cyberfriends. So they set out to recover the laptop and find Bobby's killer.

The characters are nicely developed, the dialogue is lively, and the writer makes the world of hackers very real. The shadowy world of Kidd, John and LuEllen is an intriguing one, and yet, also disturbing. They uncover the reason for Bobby's murder--and the identity of his killer. Woven into the story are themes dealing with racism in our society, and the bonds that go beyond race, as well as the ability of some people to use various identities, and the universal desire for justice--even for someone that others consider a criminal. However, the involvement of the federal government, and several prominent politicians, is also intruiging. It turns out that in its efforts to target terrorists, a group has begun to investigate a number of people, and turned up damaging information. It is this group's files that are on Bobby's laptop.

Now that I've discovered Kidd--and John Sandford--I have yet another author to add to my list. The Hanged man's Song is the fourth in a series about Kidd, so I have some catching up to do. In addition, the author has another series (Prey). The book is available in several formats at the Waterloo Public Library, including adult fiction, large print and audio book.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

2008-07-08T14:13:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

You know the old joke about not reading a book because you're waiting for the movie? I've learned that the book is often very different than the movie, and for that reason I am glad that I haven't seen Atonement yet. However, I had seen it advertised and was intrigued by its premise--that something a young girl sees and misunderstands has profound consequences for all three people involved. Set in England in the 1930s and then into the start of World War II, the novel has a great deal of description that takes the reader back in time. However, so many of its themes have to do with families, relationships, the struggle for independence and the push/pull between parents and children and sometimes siblings--and those seem curiously modern.

Other themes have to do with the differences in social class, and the misunderstandings relate to the difference in status between two of the main characters. Briony and Cecilia Tallis are the daughters of a wealthy family; Briony is just 13, imaginative, and a writer of short stories. Her older sister Cecilia has just returned from college and at 19 is feeling uncertainty about her future. She finds herself stepping back into her old role: her mother has frequent headaches and her father works too much and is often absent, so Cecilia serves as hostess when they entertain. The Tallis family lives on a large estate, and has several household servants, including a cleaning woman who lives nearby in her own cottage with her son Robbie. Robbie has grown up with the Tallis children, and since Robbie's father left many years ago, Mr. Tallis has made a point of helping Robbie get an education.

Robbie is a remarkably intelligent young man who finds himself seeing Cecilia not as his former playmate and friend, but as an attractive and desireable young woman. What happens between them begins on a sunny afternoon: Mrs. Tallis asks her daughter to prepare a bouquet of flowers for a guest coming with Leon--the oldest child. When she goes out to the fountain to fill the vase, she meets Robbie, who offers to fill it for her. They tussle a little playfully at first and then it happens--the vase gets broken and parts of it fall into the water. When she sees Robbie prepare to go in to retrieve the pieces, Cecilia impulsively takes off her clothes and jumps in to get the pieces of the vase.

What seems to be a minor incident is misinterpreted by Briony, who witnesses it from a second floor window. She feels protective of her sister and convinced that Robbie is a threat. As a group of three cousins arrives and becomes part of the household, and then her older brother brings home a friend, the dynamics of the family shift, and even as Robbie and Cecilia are trying to come to grips with their changed relationship, Briony is struggling with her own emotions.

To say more about the plot would be to reveal too much; however, the book does a skillful job of presenting the events through the eyes of a child, who later realizes her mistakes. It also gives insight into the experiences of the nurses caring for wounded troops, and the struggle for survival of the soldiers retreating to Dunkirk. All in all, it is a satisfying read. You can find Atonement in several formats, including hardcover, large print and as an audio book.

a non-traditional father

2008-07-07T07:25:00.007-06:00

The Velveteen Father by Jesse Green (306.8742 GRE) is not your typical story about a father with children.

You see, Green is a gay man who fell in love with Andy, a guy who had just adopted his first child, a baby boy named Erez. Instantly, Jesse became a father. This is his autobiography reflecting on the joys and pains of raising him. He contemplates on how much trouble gay couples have with adopting because of the stigma in society - with excuses ranging from "a child needs a mother" to "gay men are pedophiles." Although Green's Jewish mother is supportive of her son in many ways, she has no desire to consider Erez as part of her family.

After Jesse and Andy have been together for a while, Jesse and Andy decide to adopt another child.

The Velveteen Father provides a different slant on what it's like to be a father.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Did Jack the Ripper live in San Francisco

2008-07-02T16:12:00.003-06:00

The mystery of who Jack the Ripper was has fascinated the imagination of the public for years. Even though Jack the Ripper reportedly killed many women in England, he was never caught by Scotland Yard.

Author Robert Graysmith proposes that Jack the Ripper left England and settled in San Francisco - an idea I had never heard before. In his book, The Bell Tower, he believes that an Emmanuel Baptist Church pastor named "Jack" Gibson could be the same guy. He was from Glasglow and London and apparently had some of the same features according to first-hand witnesses who believe they saw Jack the Ripper.

Although I'm not sure just how far to believe this book by an author who has been nominated seven times for the Pulitzer Prize, The Bell Tower still makes for a very fascinating read about a person who has entered the imaginations of the public -Jack the Ripper.

You can find The Bell Tower on the second floor under the Dewey call # 364.1523 GRA.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Ferraro: the first woman running for vice-president

2008-07-01T11:57:00.001-06:00

Political pundits have been debating whether Hillary Clinton will be asked by Barack Obama to run for vice president. If she is and she accepts, she would not be the first woman to run for vice president. That honor is held by Geraldine A. Ferraro.

If you're only in your twenties or thirties, you may not know who Geraldine Ferraro is. You would though if you listened to politics in the '70s and '80s. Like Hillary Clinton, she was elected as a congress woman (only this was back in 1978). She was asked by presidential candidate Walter Mondale to be on the ticket as vice president. Their opponents: Ronald Reagan for president and George Herbert Walker Bush for vice president. And everyone knows the outcome of that election.

Ferraro: My Story is her autobiography written with the help of Linda Bird Francke. It's found in the biography section under the Dewey call #973.927 FER.

By reading this book, you'll understand the impact she had on women in politics. This book, which was published in 1985, just a few years after her defeat for vice president. To bring you up to date on her life, she was the U.S. Embassador for Human Rights from 1993 to 1996 under President Bill Clinton.

Wouldn't it have been something if Hillary Clinton received the Democratic presidential nomination and she chose to have Geraldine Ferraro as her running mate?

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Maisie Dobbs : a novel by Jacqueline Winspear (2003)

2008-06-30T18:37:00.003-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007.

Having had foot surgery earlier this summer, I have plenty of time to read. Fortunately, several of my favorite writers have brand new books out. One of them is Jacqueline Winspear and An Incomplete Revenge, the newest addition to the very excellent Maisie Dobbs series (which I will review later this week). If you haven’t read any of these books yet, you should really go back to the first title—Maisie Dobbs (2003), which introduces you to the main characters and gives you a better understanding of the context of these books.

The books cover the period of time between the end of the First World War and the 1930s in England. The country has experienced the loss of thousands of soldiers—the brothers, sons, husbands and fathers who went off to war. Some soldiers came home while others returned with injuries to the mind and body; however, many did not return, and their absence had a profound effect on their families, small towns, and country overall. The series does an excellent job of showing what life was like for those who lived in this era.

Jacqueline Winspear has created a remarkable female character in Maisie Dobbs. Maisie is a complex woman: intelligent, compassionate, independent, and extremely observant and intuitive. She was born to poor but hardworking parents, her mother died when Maisie was only 14. Afterwards, her father concluded that the best alternative was for Maisie to go to work as a servant in a large household for Lady Rowan Compton. There she discovers a marvelous treasure: the large library. She is so hungry to learn that she works all day and then sneaks into the library to read at night. When her activity is discovered, she expects punishment. However, her employer senses something special about this young girl and arranges for her to study with Dr. Maurice Blanche, who is an old friend.

Not only is Maurice a highly intelligent man, he is also a man who has consulted with Scotland Yard and known for using his psychological and investigative insights to solve puzzles and unravel criminal cases. Maisie becomes his protégé after going to University, where she meets Priscilla, a lively young woman from a wealthy family who takes an immediate liking to Maisie.

Priscilla takes Maisie home to a party; Priscilla’s brothers are going off to the military, and one of the other guests is a young doctor named Simon. He and Maisie quickly fall in love. When the Great War breaks out, Maisie gets trained as a nurse and sent to France. Priscilla volunteers to become an ambulance driver. Once in France, Maisie gets assigned to a field hospital on the frontlines—and eventually gets the opportunity to work with Simon.

The events that take place in France change all of their lives forever: Simon, Maisie, and Priscilla. Each book in the series brings out a little more information about these characters, and the impact of the War on their lives. When Maisie returns from France, she is a very changed woman; however, her relationship with Maurice, her father, and Lady Rowan give her the strength to open her own practice. In the first book, Maisie’s first case presents itself as fairly simple: a man is convinced his wife is having an affair and hires Maisie to find out the truth. Her investigation uncovers a killer, and a series of secrets.

The Waterloo Library has all of the books in the series: each one is well worth the read. Several of them are available in large print, the older copies can be found in Adult fiction, and the newest one is located on the new books shelf.

Maisie Dobbs (2003)
Birds of a feather (2004)
Pardonable lies (2005)
Messenger of truth (2006)
An incomplete revenge (2008)

Candy Apple Red

2008-06-30T14:34:00.006-06:00

c Waterloo Public Library 2007

Just when I thought that I had enough “favorite” new authors, I recently came across several new writers who have me hooked after one book. One of them is Nancy Bush, and while reviewers compare her to Janet Evanovich—and I can see why—I would have enjoyed Candy Apple Red whether or not I had ever read any of the popular Stephanie Plum novels. Candy Apple Red introduces us to Jane Kelly, a young woman in her 30s who used to be a bar tender back in Los Angeles, and now works part time for a private detective.

The story takes place in Lake Chinook, Oregon and Bush does a skillful job of making the setting an essential part of the story. People who live on the lake are as apt to take their boat to Foster’s On the Lake, one of the local restaurants, as they are to drive. Foster's is where the locals go to enjoy a cool drink or fancy dinner. While Foster’s prices are generally beyond Jane’s budget, she goes there serveral times throughout the book. The description of the lake, and the island in the middle of it, are nicely done and made me nostalgic for the days I spent living out east, in Newport, Rhode Island.

Jane is an interesting character. She is likeable, flawed, and stubborn--and very curious. She is also tougher than she thinks she is, and does not see herself as a sentimental person; however, when she inherits an ugly dog named Binky from an elderly aunt, she is forced to take responsibility for the well being of someone else. She renames the dog "the Binkster" and the dog becomes a key character in the book.

Jane rents a little cottage on the lake and supports herself serving eviction notices for a local landlord and doing temporary jobs for a friend, Dwayne, who is a private detective, and one of her friends. Dwayne is one of those wonderful male characters who at first appears to be a good old boy from Texas who is laid back; however, there is more substance to this cowboy than first meets the eye. He’s smart, tough, and extremely loyal to his friends. He is also incredibly charming, with a drawl that he seems to turn on and off, and is doing his best to persuade Jane to come work with him full time.

As the story opens, Jane is still trying to get over Murphy, the old boyfriend responsible for her move from L. A. to Oregon: unfortunately, the relationship didn’t last. One of Murphy’s best friends, Bobby, killed his entire family—his wife and children--and then disappeared four years ago. Bobby’s father, Cotton, is wealthy, owns the island, and clings to his belief in his son’s innocence--as does her exboyfriend, Murphy. Cotton is also divorced from Bobby's mother, Tess, and has remarried a much younger woman.

Tess hires Jane to find out if Cotton has been helping his son stay in hiding. There is a big party coming up on the island, and Jane goes to the party. Tess is hoping that Cotton will open up to Jane, since she is Murphy's exgirlfriend. Things get really interesting when Jane finds out that Murphy is coming back to town for the party....and then they see each other, and start remembering their attraction for each other. In the meantime, Jane follows up on a handful of tips, and the story really takes off.

Along the way we learn more about her family--she has a mother back in L. A. and a twin brother, who is a cop--and meet some of her other friends. The contrast of Murphy and Dwayne as two males who both know what Jane should be doing with her life provides another storyline that hooks the reader in, along with great dialogue and description.

I had hardly finished the book when I got my hands on Electric Blue--the second Jane Kelly book in what I hope is a long series.

Andrew Wyeth

2008-06-23T14:53:00.006-06:00

After graduation from high school, I remember that one of the first art books I received from a friend was on the artwork of Andrew Wyeth (which had little on his life). Like many of my friends who accumulate books, I know I still have it, but it's probably buried under some stack of art books.

My interest in Andrew Wyeth was recently renewed while visiting an art museum that had some of his work, along with famous father's (N.C.). It was one of those trips I took with my best friend Tom (you know . . . the one who gets excited about museum cafes). He didn't go with me to the museum, though (he wasn't hungry).

When I checked out Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life by Richard Meryman (759.13 WYE in the biography section), I got more than I had anticipated.

The first painting discussed is Wyeth's pivotal "Christina's World." It's a very strange image: an expansive landscape of grass with a woman lying in the foreground who's pulling herself toward the desolate buildings in the the distance. This is how the author introduces the readers to the life of Wyeth - through Christina Olson's world.

Christina was a stubborn woman who had a crippling disease. She saw her father's health decline and spend several years in a wheelchair. She told herself she would be as self-sufficient as possible without the wheelchair. Andrew Wyeth actually painted her as she was, crawling with just her two arms back to her house. Andrew had an immense attraction to her way of life, a life most would never want to live.

Meryman does a really good job of giving the background story on many of Wyeth's most famous pieces. If I thought Wyeth's paintings were powerful before, I'm even more in awe after reading about his subjects and how his paintings evolved.

Now if I could only remember which pile has my own book was in . . .

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

A childhood at sea

2008-06-18T16:54:00.002-06:00

For the first 8 years of her life, Burgess Cogill lived her life in the open the open sea. Her father commanded various sailing ships that was based out of San Francisco.

She was born on the Snow & Burgess schooner on September 5, 1902. The shipping industry (and San Francisco) was quite different then as anyone reading her book, When God was an Atheist Sailer ( 910.45 COG), will quickly notice.

The book is very slim and full of old black and white photographs, making this the perfect read during a lazy afternoon.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Author travels the route of Marco Polo

2008-06-16T07:36:00.005-06:00

Author Tim Severin, along with two buddies, travelled the route of Marco Polo. Tracking Marco Polo (910.92 SEV) is the result of their journey. The book is part travelogue and part history lesson.

Beginning in London, they made their way through Europe and the Middle East on motorcycles. The book is very helpful with understanding each leg of their journey by including maps showing both routes: Marco Polo's and Tim Severin's .

To give you a feel for the book, let's take a look at Severin's experiences in Venice. In that chapter, he weaves Polo's family history in the town. During Polo's visit, he was caught in a battle between two cities: Venice and Genoa. Polo was captured and thrown into prison where he met a fellow prisoner who was a professional storyteller. This storyteller persuaded Polo to write down his travels and publish a book, which they did (and proved to be very popular). Because readers did not believe that the stories were true, it was promoted as a work of fiction.

However, Tim Severin proves to modern-day readers that the stories Polo wrote about were indeed true. In some locations, it took Severin time to find certain sites, but, with a little detective work, he does find many of them.

Here's a sample of his eloquent writing about one of the sites, Goreme, which is locate in what is now Turkey:

"Supposedly there are 365 churches hollowed out of the sandstone columns of Goreme, for each rock cone thrusts upward like a rotten tooth riddled with cavities. We crawled from cavern to cavern, up worn steps and into innumerable passageways and grottoes, till at last we were brought out on a little platform at the very pinnacle of one mound, and could look across at the other pillars with their sockets of cave mouths."

Because this book is copyrighted in 1964, readers will get a taste of life in the Middle East before 9/11.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The life of a black family

2008-06-10T08:28:00.002-06:00

Maggie's American Dream is divided into two sections: James Comer's autobiography and Comer's mother's history. Of the two, I think most will agree the section on his mother is much more dramatic and interesting.

Maggie was born in Mississippi in 1904. Her family life was one of poverty and segregation. Maggie's father died when she was fairly young. Her stepfather wasn't a very good role model. When he settled into another city for work, he only sent one ticket for Maggie's mother and none for the kids. He worked a little here and there, constantly moving the family. Her stepfather became very upset with Maggie's desire to learn. She had to sneak behind the family's back to learn to read.

Maggie told herself that she was going to make sure that all of her kids would get a proper education. That dream was accomplished with all of her five kids. They all went to college.

Maggie's American Dream is a very inspiring book about enduring hardships and becoming a stronger family. The book is located in the biography section under the call number 973.0496 COM.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Waterloo's Walnut Neighborhood

2008-06-04T11:47:00.001-06:00

Here's another book (more like a booklet) that I found while remodeling the second floor. Walnut Neighborhood is a book about the historic section of Waterloo bordered by Franklin Street, East Fourth Street, Dane Street, and Highway 63. According to this book, there are about sixty homes dating back to the early 20th century in this neighborhood.

There are eighteen residents interviewed in this book. This is the kind of book I like to read - the writing is very easygoing and homey. Throughout the book, there are wonderful prints done by youth who were members of the Boys and Girls Club or knew the people interviewed.

I have a special attachment to this book since I used to live at Walnut Court Apartments, which is within this district.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

I've always been a sucker for bad puns

2008-06-03T15:41:00.000-06:00

If you don't know it already, we are doing some major remodeling on the second floor of the library. One of the benefits of shifting thousands of books is getting a chance to see books that are so slim they get overlooked - like today's selection, Shoes to Live in Iowa, a paperback book with less than 70 pages.

Author John Ellerbach and illustrator Scott Fabritz have a way of poking fun of Iowa without being mean. Although the jokes are tongue-in-cheek, there is a lot of trivia about the state that you can use to amaze all of your friends.

All I ask is that you don't tell friends who live in surrounding states about this book. The way I look at it, Minnesota has enough jokes about Iowa without adding to it!

Shoes to Live in Iowa is on the second floor under the call # 977.7 ELL. If you have trouble finding it, because of its slender size, be sure to ask for my help at the reference desk. Maybe with two pairs of eyes we can find it on the shelf if we are lucky.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Iowa town of Postville

2008-05-19T07:23:00.002-06:00

Postville has been in the news a lot lately. In one of its articles, The Des Moines Register mentioned Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen G. Bloom. The Waterloo Public Library owns a copy.

Author Stephen G. Bloom had never stepped foot in Iowa until he was accepted for a teaching post at the University of Iowa. As a practicing Jew, he wanted to connect with other Jewish families. He was quite surprised at how different Iowa is compared to San Francisco, where he previously lived. In his attempt to meet other Jews, he began traveling beyond Iowa City. His travels led him to the northeast Iowa town of Postville. He was amazed to find that in a small town, with a population of about 2,000 would have a relatively large Jewish population.

According to the 2000 census, Postville has a population of 2,273. 1,809 are classified as white and 469 or Hispanic. In the "other race" category, there are 387. Many of the "other race" are Ukranian and Russian immigrants. That's quite a switch from the almost German/Norwegian heritage of years ago.

Bloom explores the history of the town and while doing that interviews many of the residents from the Hasidic Jews to those of German descent. Agriprocessors, the kosher meat plant, was formed in 1987 when a group of Jews came in. Postville went through a lot of economic hardship before the plant came in.

The Hasidic Jews are much stricter with their routine and tradition than the author. This created problems once the book came out. Many of the Jews were upset over how the book was written. In fact, the paperback copy that we own has an afterward where Bloom talks about how the book has brought him a lot of grief. Be sure to read it.

Postville by Stephen G. Bloom is on the second floor under the call number 977.733 BLO.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Tornadoes in Iowa

2008-05-19T07:22:00.004-06:00

On May 15, one of the local TV stations mentioned the 40th anniversary of the devastating tornado that hit Charles City.

I was talking to my father about this newscast, and that brought up the discussion about another tornado that tore through northeast Iowa. Dad still remembers looking out his door when a tornado destroyed a church that was between Dunkerton and Waterloo. It made both of us wonder just how often tornadoes did hit Iowa in the past.

The library has a book to answer questions like that called Tornado: Accounts of Tornadoes in Iowa by John L. Stanford (977.703 STA). There is one chapter that covers the memorable tornadoes chronologically from 1803 - 1986.

When Dad and I checked May 15, 1968, we were given much more information on what happened that day in Iowa. We remembered only the tornado that hit Charles City, but tornadoes hit Oelwein and Maynard as well as other communities in Iowa. Author John L. Stanford does a good job of writing about the events; it's not dry. Plus, the book is filled with black and white pictures of the tornadoes and the destruction they left.

In the chapter called "Tornado origins and characteristics," the author mentions that tornadoes can occur any time of the year. It includes a chart showing tornado activity from 1959-1971. This chart shows activity every month of the year except February and December. But in the text, it mentions that there have been a few reports of tornadoes in December and February in the twentieth century. Because there have been so few in those months, the chart does not show them.

The book also clarifies a disagreement that I have with my dad. He calls them cyclones as well as tornadoes. I told him that they are called tornadoes in Iowa. I was surprised to find out that they are indeed cyclones according to the definition given by meteorologists. According to the author, Iowans called cyclones until rather recently.

Now, you'll have to excuse me. I have to apologize to my father for arguing with him about what to call these storms.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

History of the International Harvester

2008-05-07T16:19:00.003-06:00

As you might expect from a retired farmer, my dad's favorite pastime is visiting about the good old days of farming. A few weeks ago, I took him information on John Deere's history, which he enjoyed.

Now he and I have moved on to the International Harvester Company. Because he didn't farm with them, Dad's not as familiar with it. Although the title is a real downer - A Corporate Tragedy (338.7 MAR) - author Barbara Marsh does a thorough job of explaining the history.

The author begins the story in 1831, when Cyrus McCormick developed and patented a plow. This is the same guy who is well-known for his reaper, which he developed a few years later. In 1902, several companies merged to form the company the International Harvester Company, the world's largest farm machinery conglomerate. The two major companies were McCormick and Deering, an earlier competitor with overseas operations. Harvester had sales of $101.2 million in 1910. The company was already into tractor selling. They had an agreement with another company to manufacture one-cylinder tractors for them. The Famous Farmall tractor first came off their assembly line in 1924. In fact the first Farmall tractor was sold to an Iowa farmer. It was manufactured to compete against Ford, who was the leader in tractor sales at the time. In the 1950s, there was increased competition with Deere and Massey-Ferguson for the farmers' money. The company fell on hard times during the 1970s and '80s. Trying to stay out of bankruptcy was a real challenge for a company. Several of the executives during this time blamed the financial problems on the union. The author also makes the claim that the company had overextended its product line, trying to be involved in too many projects at one time.

If you're thinking of checking out A Corporate Tragedy right now, you'll have to wait. Dad and I are still using the book to discuss the International Harvester Company, a company that's heavily involved with the history of farming.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The history of the Amana Colonies

2008-05-06T11:44:00.002-06:00

Diane L. Barthel has written a fascinating book on the history of an Iowa tourist attraction: the Amana Colonies.

In Amana: From Pietist Sect to American Community (335 BAR), Barthel takes the reader back to 18th century southern Germany where a group of Christians was dissatisfied with the Lutheran tradition. They called themselves the Society of True Inspiration. In 1843, they arrived in America. From New York, they made their way into the heartland by the mid 1800s.

The author compares the early Iowa settlers of this society to the Amish. Both wore simple clothing, and discouraged new technology.

Those in the Amana settlement believed in communal living. Everything was done for the whole of the group. They were self supporting.

Because of the influence of surrounding towns, they loosened up their rules. More modern clothing was accepted. Drinking alcohol was allowed. Instead of German, English became the language they used. Part of this was to get the tourist dollars in, especially after good roads were built and people began owning cars.

Diane Barthel's Amana continues through the 1970s when more and more private businesses were allowed into the community, and the Amana Society created a museum for the tourists, detailing their heritage.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The life of a sportscaster

2008-05-01T07:46:00.005-06:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that today's selection is very atypical: I'd Love to but I Have a Game by Marv Albert (070.4497 ALB in the Biography section). I grew up in a household where watching sports was not a productive way to use your time. And ... my worst subject (is it a subject?) in school was gym class where you had to play football, soccer, and all of those other games that got you sweaty.

As far as sports reporters go, I knew little. I didn't know who Frank Gifford was until I saw Kathy Lee on "Live with Regis and Kathy Lee" talk about her husband. Of course I did know Howard Cosell. (With that voice, who didn't?) So, I did know two sportscasters when I was younger.

I didn't begin to appreciate sports until I had my first roommate who was a HUGE sports fan. That's when I found out about more of the sports announcers. But, I still didn't know of Marv Albert. Or maybe I did, but didn't pay any attention.

As far as understanding anyone in that field, I knew nothing; I was rather naive. But with the help of Marv Albert's humorous autobiography, I know that it's much more hectic hobnobbing with the rich and famous than I realized.

If his on air banter is as funny as his writing, I wish that I had paid attention to him throughout his long career. I'll have to ask my sports-loving friends if he's still employed.

Note: If you want to read about his 1997 sexual assault charges, don't read this book. I'd Love to But I Have a Game is copyrighted in 1993.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Poison Pen

2008-04-28T07:50:00.004-06:00

After reading Poison Pen (070.92 KEL in the Biography section), it's quite obvious that author George Carpozi, Jr. doesn't care for Kitty Kelley.

In case you didn't know, Kitty Kelley has written some rather scandalous books on some prominent people: Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, and Jackie Onassis. She loved to dig up dirt on celebrities.

Kelley's writing career started simple enough writing newspaper and magazine articles. A publisher, Lyle Stuart, was impressed with an article she wrote for a new diet plan. Stuart was known for publishing controversial books that other publishers wouldn't touch. The first book Stuart asked Kelley to write was on Jackie Onassis, someone she didn't know nor even meet. Gossip columnist Liz Smith was kind enough to give her boxes of information on Jackie. That gave Kelley a tremendous jump start on the research. While the book was climbing the best-seller list, her relationship with Liz Smith was sinking.

According to Carpozi, Kitty Kelley has burned a lot of bridges during and after writing the books. Carpozi is one of them. At the time when Kelley was researching the life of Sinatra, Carpozi gave her free access to his book he had written on the singer. So ... at one time, Carpozi must have been on good terms with Kelley ... but that was in the past. Now, Carpozi is getting his revenge.

The title, Poison Pen, could be referring to Carpozi's writing as much as Kelley's.

If you are curious about the books that Kelley has written, her are the ones that we carry:

Elizabeth Taylor: the Last Star (791.43 TAY in the Biography section)
The Family: the Real Story of the Bush Family (929.2 BUS)
His Way: the Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra (781.64 SIN in the Biography)
Jackie Oh! (973.922 KEN in the Biography section)
Nancy Reagan: the Unauthorized Biography (973.927092 REA in the Biography section)
The Royals (941.085KEL)

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The struggles of U.S. workers

2008-04-17T16:46:00.002-06:00

From the Folks who Brought you the Weekend by Priscilla Murolo and A. B. Chitty (331.0973 MUR) gives a really good overview of how working conditions have changed over the years.

The book begins with the first European settlers in America using the Native Americans for forced labor, for example, the Spaniards used Aztec and Inca slaves to do the mining. Spaniards weren't the only group by any means to exploit Native Americans as the book details.

After the depletion of this indigenous population, entrepreneurs turned to indentured servitude. Some Europeans were willing to go into debt for getting transportation to the New World, which they had to work off once they arrived. Convicts, orphans, and kidnapped children were shipped from Europe to America, and forced to work in fields and factories. According to the authors, some of the convicts were forced to work for up to fourteen years. After fulfilling their time, if they survived, everyone except for convicts and debtors received "freedom dues" giving them a little money and a section of land. The statistics from 1607 to 1623 are rather depressing: 20% of these people went on to self-employment; about 50% died before they worked off their debt/punishment; the other 30% worked for others or returned to there native country.

Then came the extremely devastating black slave trade from Africa to fill the jobs. I won't go into any detail on this part of American history - the library has a lot of good books just on this specific topic.

Before the Industrial Revolution, much of the economy was agricultural, which required long hours of hard manual labor. (And to think that I used to complain about how hard it was to be a farmer's son. Of course, I had it easy; we had machinery, electricity, etc. to make farming much easier. My father, who worked as a farm-hand after leaving my grandparents' farm received free room and board and 50 cents a week.) After the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing companies were established requiring long hours in a dirty, noisy, dangerous environment. There was none of this 40 hour-a-week business that many have now. There were no federal regulations for safety, no maximum number of hours to work each week, nor minimum age for workers.

At the beginning, when workers started joining together to demand better working environments and other improvements, companies balked. Some really nasty fights, riots, broke out. This part of the book is really interesting, with all of the underhanded tactics that both sides (the workers and the companies) used for intimidation. There was a lot of bloodshed. Police were called in. This was the beginning of the formation of unions.

Throughout U.S. history companies have enticed (or forced) immigrants to come into this country to do the dirty work. Just to name another group of immigrants, Chinese immigrants started coming in larger numbers during the 1800s.

This book is a great way to get a better understanding of labor in the U.S. - and it might just give you another perspective on all of the controversy over Mexican immigrants and labor that the country is facing now. Of course, I do realize that the immigration debate is also concerned with legal and illegal immigration, but I do feel that readers will still learn something From the Folks who Brought you the Weekend.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Whether you call it " squirrel likker" or "creepin' wiskey," it's still moonshine

2008-04-14T16:00:00.001-06:00

Because I grew up in Iowa, I never encountered any moonshiners. The only ones I ever saw were on TV: Grannie who made her "rheumatism medicine" on The Beverly Hillbillies and the moonshiners who kept Otis sauced on The Andy Griffith Show.

Mountain Spirits by Joseph Earl Dabney (364.133 DAB) gives a fascinating history of making and selling this corn alcohol. The author interviewed quite a few old timers who used to make and/or drink moonshine and lament the fact that good moonshine is so hard to come by nowadays. Their stories are just a riot. Here are some of the quotes:

"A mountain man likes his coffee strong enough to float an iron wedge, and likker strong enough to make a rabbit spit in a bulldog's face."

"I had a '34 Ford. It was a cold night. I put a few pints of corn whiskey in the radiator and put some in my own radiator. A Yankee was riding with us, and said he was freezing to death. We gave him a drink. It was over 100 proof. His tongue lit up like fire bugs. He tried to holler. We stopped the car and he broke off ice in the ditch and ate it."

"Yeah, I drunk a lot of corn likker in my time. Now you can't hardly get it. The people don't make corn. They don't make nothin' right no more. Now, good sugar likker's good, though, if it's made right. But all this old bastard beading stuff they make it out of these days, hell, it'd kill a dead snake. Make it on old tin, sheet arn, anything but what they ort to. It'd kill a dead snake."

Not all of the book is humorous, though. There were plenty of problems between moonshiners and the "Revenue." According to the author, in 1972 (when I was in high school), the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms destroyed 2,090 illicit distilleries and poured out almost one and a quarter million gallons of fermented mash. 3,191 people were arrested.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

These aren't just any kids

2008-04-08T11:48:00.003-06:00

When I picked up Just Another Kid by Torey L. Hayden (371.94 HAY), the book jacket piqued my interest. Hayden is an elementary teacher who works with special needs children. There is Leslie, an autistic girl who still wears diapers and is known to have many accidents. Geraldine and Shemona (who refuses to talk) are sisters from Ireland and have witnessed the devistating violence there. Dirkie is a boy who has lived most of his life in institutions because his family is so awful. Mariana is eight and wants to have a best friend. Shamie starts school a little later, and he's the cousin of Geraldine and Shemona.

Anyone who has ever worked with special needs children knows that even a small group like this can be a handful. Mariana has trouble keeping her underwear up in class. Dirkie is constantly making suggestive sexual acts to both people and inanimate objects.

Hayden wants to have an aide since she had trouble controlling group and getting away to change Leslie's diapers. Unfortunately, as with other school systems around the U.S., this school system had no money for another person. The unlikeliest person volunteered to help.

Leslie's mother, Ladbrooke, a depressed alcoholic who had verbal matches with Hayden, offered to help. She's the least likely person to do this type of job. She can't even control Leslie, so how was she expected to control the rest of the kids? Ladbrooke is not a people person - she can't carry on a normal conversation; she comes off as cold and arrogant; she doesn't hug people. Hayden has trouble believing that Ladbrooke can have a master's degree since Ladbrooke is so inarticulate. Hayden has her doubts, but in her desperation, she agrees.

This is Hayden's remarkable story for just one school year - which is more than most people would have in a lifetime.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

It's in his eyes

2008-04-07T07:44:00.007-06:00

Half of Only the Eyes Say Yes (362.19683 VIG) is written by Stephane Vigand and half is written by her husband Philippe. That in itself is not that unusual. What is unique is how the book was initially written. You see, Philippe has no control of his body -except his eyes and sometimes (with great effort) he might be able to move a finger just a little. The doctors explained that one of his two vertebral nerves had erupted, causing the condition called Locked-in syndrome.

Philippe, a publishing executive, was walking to work one day in July, 1990, when he heard a loud noise and collapsed on the ground. For the next few months, he was in a coma. When he woke up, he was completely paralyzed. What the doctors and his family didn't realize was that he could hear everything around him. His mental capabilities were the same as before the incident. It wasn't until a speech therapist noticed that his eyes reacted to conversation. A crude board with the alphabet was designed. With a little patience, his wife Stephane was able to watch where his eyes fell on the sheet while he was spelling out words.

A special computer was designed that could register his eye movements, save the text, and print it. That's how he wrote his section of the book.

This story is very touching, written from two perspectives. The love they have for each other is quite obvious.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

2008-04-03T16:22:00.001-06:00

Don't use this book as an example for writing a term paper. John Edgar Wideman writes in a very creative style in Fatheralong (813.54 WID in the Biography section). Some people might be put off by his free assocation and run-on sentences. He writes openly, honestly what he feels.

At the time he wrote this, he was the same age as I am (52). That's the only similarity I could relate to.

I'm white. He's black.

My parents stayed together until my mother's death a few years ago (over 50 years). He grew up never really knowing his father. Wideman knew who his father was, but he spent little time with him. His parents had been divorced for about twenty years. Even before the divorce, he didn't know his father, since he wasn't around much. He was brought up by strong women - not men.

He has a brother in prison. I'm lucky - all of my siblings haven't seen that side of the bars.

Just because his life is completely different than mine doesn't mean I didn't get something out of this book.

He begins the book by accepting a trip with his father to South Carolina to reconnect with their heritage. Traveling with someone you know, but not well, who purposely stayed away from participating in the milestones in his child's life could be awkward. The trip allows the author to reflect on his life and his family's heritage - and get to know his father.

It's a powerful book; the author displays his anger at how blacks have been (and still are) treated. It's part history, part philosophy, part travelogue (like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance).

I find it ironic that one of the towns they are trying to find is called Promised Land (no kidding).

After I began reading this book, I started researching the author and reading reviews of Fatheralong. It seems as though people either love it (so emotional) or hate it (so rambling, disjointed). I discovered that it's often a reading assignment in school.

Although it's used in schools, I'm sure it's not used for teaching proper grammar!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

What's a "Mummy Congress"?

2008-03-28T09:42:00.002-06:00

When people think of mummies, they might think of Egypt. Of course Egypt does have many, but they aren't necessarily the best preserved.

Interestingly, the Mummy Congress is a group of people really interested in the study of mummies. Some might think of the location as being rather desolate and inappropriate - it's held in northern Chile.

The author of The Mummy Congress (393.3 PRI), Heather Pringle, is a journalist who was able to attend this rather obscure event. She was able to meet some of the most passionate followers in the studies of mummies. This lead her around the world, talking to various scientists.

Although there aren't as many photographs of mummies as in other books, there are some taken throughout the world. Mummification has been used throughout human history (and even into the 20th century).

Anyone who has an interest in this subject should pick up this book. It provides a wonderful overview of the world of mummification, whether it was done by nature or by humans.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bathroom humor

2008-03-18T07:47:00.010-06:00

Sometimes I am just amazed at what authors will write about. I happened to come across Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper (394 HAR) by accident. It has everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask, about the history of the restroom.

Just like an encyclopedia, the entries are alphabetized. But don't worry, the material is not as dry. Each entry is fairly short. Remember my blog entry on 3-10 called "The Terrible Hours" where I talked about deplorable bathroom facilities on a submarine? Well, this book answers the questions about how the bathroom is handled in many difficult environments from submarines to space ships to trains.

Because it's written by a British man named Adam Hart, the history of the restroom is centered mostly on Great Britain, however several other countries (including the U.S.) are included.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Planning a trip with a loved one? Read this before you go!

2008-03-10T09:24:00.002-06:00

How many times have you heard this? Her idea of camping is a place with bathroom facilities with hot water - like a Howard Johnson. His idea, roughing it in a tent where bears can actually find you.

If you and your spouse can't agree on how or where to travel, read Traveling While Married by Mary-Lou Weisman (910.408 WEI) before you decide. This is a light-hearted send up on how to travel. The whimsical drawings by New Yorker artist Edward Koren also adds charm to this book.

After all, the goal of the trip is to come back still married - hopefully to each other!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The terrible hours

2008-03-10T09:23:00.003-06:00

Question: Why would anyone want to even agree to having this type of job?

After World War I, the Navy began working on developing submarines to counteract the German U-Boats. The living conditions were wretched. Would you want to live in a metal can that has no shower, no laundry, no refrigeration, no air conditioning, no fresh water, and NO BATHROOM?

Peter Maas, author of The Terrible Hours (910.9163 MAA), writes about these dreadful conditions and more. Men lived close together, with no way of bathing, smelling of body odor. When the sub surfaced, the men draped themselves over the main deck railing to go to the bathroom. Not my idea of a good time.

In 1939 the Army was testing a new submarine called the Squalus. It might have been new and improved for that time, but it still lacked comfort (as listed above). The engineers who designed the Squalus that they had developed a fail-safe way of preventing the sub from sinking. A sinking sub was almost a sure death for all the crew, a metal coffin slowing sinking to the ocean floor. This one was different; it was divided into compartments that could be sealed off from one another with watertight doors.

The trial dive was to the continental shelf with an average depth of 250 feet, however there were some depressions that were more than 600 feet deep. Everything was fine until they were down about sixty feet. That's when water started pouring into the engine rooms. When it rested on the bottom of the ocean, it was total darkness - even the emergency lights stopped working.

Charles "Swede" Momsen was a U.S. Navy officer knew about the extreme dangers submarine crew members had been in, all those lives that could not be saved. He thought there had to be a way to save stranded crew members. Because Momsen had developed new technology for rescue, he was called in to try to save the crew from the watery grave.

The Terrible Hours is a disturbing, yet fascinating, book to read.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Being a grandmother sounds like so much fun!

2008-03-07T09:52:00.001-06:00

Grandchildren are so much fun, I should have had them first by Lois Wyse (818.5402 WYS) is full of short, witty stories about being a grandmother. Here are a few of the authors observations:

They're not yet grandparents, but they are two stops past Kids 'R' Us, so the license plate on their hot little two-seat sports car reads, "KDSRGON."

If you want to take ten years off your body, just put a black leotard or black tights. Black hides black-and-blue (as in veins, spidery and otherwise) and tights hide loose (as in thighs and other parts of the body too disgusting to mention).

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

pompeii

2008-03-04T14:27:00.005-06:00

This past year, I know of two people who went to Pompeii to see the ruins. Both were extremely impressed with what they saw. For those who can't get there to see the sights first-hand, check out Pompeii: The Vanished City (937.7 POM).

If you're not familiar with the history of Pompeii, it's an old Roman city located by Mt. Vesuvius, a volcano. In AD 79 Mt. Vesuvius exploded so violently and swiftly that it buried the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii with the people still in it.

Workers in the winter of 1767-68 came upon dozens of skeletons, but it wasn't until the middle of the 1800s that researchers got serious with excavating the 10 to 20 feet of debris covering Pompeii. What they found was absolutely chilling: adult figures clutching babies, animals chained up animals prevented from escaping death, and just baked bread still in the ovens.

The beauty of their architecture can still be seen, with their large murals in paint and mosaic on the floors and walls.

Even if you don't wish to read the text, Pompeii is still worth checking out just for the gruesome photographs.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

They sold everything EXCEPT the kitchen sink

2008-02-29T10:49:00.003-06:00

This past week, one of my brothers was talking to me about a Sears (or was it Montgomery Ward?) catalog from the early '70s. It brought back memories of plaid bell-bottom pants and gaudy shirts with those platform shoes. Oh, those were the good ol' days!

It got me thinking: The library has old Sears catalogues from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I checked out the 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue (659 SEA). Talk about an unusual mix of products for sale! My gosh, I showed this to my father who remembers some of these outdated items. It was great to see his eyes while he reminisced. I used that tired old saying, they sold "everything including the kitchen sink." But I was wrong. Let me flip through the pages looking for the kitchen sinks with you:

Oh, cool. Pages 3 and 4 have the different buildings that manufacture their products. There's a cream seperator plant in Iowa. (Interesting. At this time William Galloway Company, a major Waterloo company, also manufactured and sold - through catalogues - cream seperators. When he first started, Galloway hired away from Sears one of the catalogue executives.)
What is that strange contraption on page 173? There is an attachment to put on your bicycle so that you can bike on the railroad tracks. I wonder how long they sold those before they discovered this is dangerous?
Starting on 194, there are wonderful illustrations of "talking machines" - early record players - for $14.95. It also includes two pages of records you can buy, but I don't recognize too many of the songs. My dad might, though.
Ah, there's the index starting on page 525. But I'm stubborn - I'm going to find the kitchen sinks on my own, thank you very much. I don't need help.
Need a plow? Sears has plenty to offer on pages 536 and 537. One's as low as $7.73.
I wonder if my parents bought their windmill through Sears. I see they are sold on page 558.
Starting on page 595, you can buy a complete six-room house (no charge for the building plans) for as low as $725. It's a $1,100 value. I'm sure that would come with the kitchen sink, but I want to find it seperately.
Hey, I'm getting close. Page 607 has lavatories. The kitchen sinks can't be too far away. But the next pages have only plumbing parts.
Now, we're getting into hunting and fishing gear - quite a ways away from plumbing.
There are the rugs for sale.
Here are several pages of shoes.
Now we have the clothing. Look at how the woman are portrayed. And we think today's women are encouraged to be thin. Those corsets look wicked.
I'm to the last page with lot purchases and special closeouts. Still no kitchen sinks.

Okay, time to use the index. It's listed as pages 608-609. I turn to that page. Something's wrong. There is page 606, 607... What? The next page is 610. It's a printing error.

I am right, Sears did sell everything EXCEPT the kitchen sink!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

A result of a woman doing genealogy

2008-02-28T09:19:00.005-06:00

Isn't it amazing what can happen when a person gets involved in genealogy! Author Mary Kelly was researching her husband Orr's family history when she came upon some scant information on these two Iowa brothers who served in the Civil War. After much research, the Kelleys ended up writting Dream's End: Two Iowa Brothers in the Civil War (973.7477 KEL).

Andrew and Barney Brayman grew up on a farm in Bellair, Iowa. Andrew left home at the age of seventeen to fight in the war. A year later, his brother Barney also joined the army.

What really makes this book unique is that these were just "regular" farm boys. And, as the jacket proclaims, they were just two "among millions...(who) had little, if any, impact on the outcome of the war." Yet, I feel that this book about these two guys who left no diaries or letters is worth telling.

With the resurgence in genealogy we are noticing in the library, who knows? Maybe someone in the Cedar Valley area might follow the path of the Kellys and come up with their own fascinating book about "regular people" from the past.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The perfect book for those who are "always the bridesmaid, but never the bride"

2008-02-27T13:21:00.002-06:00

Normally to promote a book, I'd scan the cover and put that on the blog, but I couldn't pass this up. "#34 Create gorgeous curtains" is just one of the entries in this slim, hilarious book titled 101 Uses for a Bridesmaid Dress (818.5402 WAL). Remember that old Carol Burnett "Gone with the Wind" spoof? I got a real kick out of author Cindy Walker and artist Donna Mehalko's twist on the dress/windowdressing concept.

I really can't say that I "read" this book. Saying I "looked" at it is more appropriate, since this review contains more words than the book. But I suppose if you consider the old phrase, "a picture is worth a thousand words," it's a tome - there are 53 charming, airy illustrations that do speak volumes.

Last night, after going to bed, I had visions of these old dresses in their new incarnation. There's idea #23 flashing through my head, now #43. Unlike counting sheep, this kept me awake. I began to dream that "O" or "Martha Stewart Living" should have a regular feature on recycling old bridesmaid dresses (or maybe prom dresses!). There are already enough suggestions in this book to last a few years. For Father's Day, what guy wouldn't love to have hand-made fly fishing waders, a sunshade cover for his golf cart, or (the old standard) a tie?

Forgive me for stopping this review...I need to get to Goodwill before they close in an hour. I have shopping to do. (I've never been asked to be a bridesmaid.)

If you see a bespectacled man selling fancy golf club covers made out of satin and ribbon during next summer's craft shows, stop by. It might be me. Maybe I can interest you in some merchandise that's just right for the man or woman in your life. But don't expect to see any window curtains. I'm saving those for my own redecorating!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

David

2008-02-26T12:48:00.002-06:00

From the very first frantic paragraph, you can tell that life is rough for David's mom, Marie Rothenberg, who's the author of David (362.1 ROT). Marie's and David's lives were never to be the same after March 3, 1983. David was only six years old.

Charles, Marie's ex-husband and David's father,had requested to take David for a week. In the past, Marie had no trouble with Charles spending time with David, but this time she felt uneasy.

Charles seemed to be such a doting father to David, buying him anything he wanted and, according to Marie, did not believe in punishing him if he caused trouble.

Marie just had an uneasy feeling about David's visit this time. Charles had been fired from his job, but there was another job he had lined up. When Marie didn't hear from Charles nor David for a few days, she called his house several times. There was no answer and no return phonecall. She called the place he used to work. They had not heard from him. She called the company he was going to start working for. She was informed that he had not been hired there. She found out that David has not been going to school.

Unknown to Marie, Charles took David to Disneyland. Because the weather was so bad, the two spent a lot of time in the hotel room. Because of his mental state, Charles set David on fire, which he surprisingly survived. The burns were so severe, he had to get his fingers amputated. His body required extensive skin grafts.

During the trial, Charles blamed Marie for making him do that to his son. Talk about a sick man!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Short stories by Bob Greene

2008-02-18T17:54:00.002-06:00

You may recognize the author of this book: Bob Greene. For many years, he's been a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, which has been syndicated to hundreds of newspapers.

Don't let the title of this book fool you. You might think Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights: Of Cloudless and Carefree American Days (973.9 GRE) is going to be the sentimental and sweet ponderings of Bob Greene. Granted many of these stories are, but not all.

These stories (only a few pages long each) cover an eclectic variety of subjects, from his light-hearted look at a baking competition at a county fair to the heartbreaking story of a dirty, abused boy beaten by his parents.

I'm sure there are stories in here that everyone can relate to.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Endangered waters

2008-02-16T08:49:00.001-06:00

A week or so ago, I saw a newspaper article talking about the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico partially due to the runoff of farmer's fertilizer. As you may already know, that's not the only body of water that is being destroyed. Ocean's End by Colin Woodard (363.7394 WOO) discusses the gulf, as well as other problem areas.

The author is very upset when he went to the Black Sea, which used to be a big vacation spot for tourists. Now that business has dried up, because of the awful polution in the Black Sea. Heavy population along the Danube River, and the rerouting of it for providing energy has damaged the rivers ability to remove waste before it drains into the Black Sea. This place used to be popular for swimming; now the sea's covered in sewage and smells awful. Woodard calls it a "dead sea" because all of the native marine life has been pretty much killed off. Unfortunately, like so many other locations, non-native, invasive species have taken over.

Another area he investigates is off the coast of Newfoundland. He spends time there, checking out the major industry - the fishing industry. There are all types of fish caught and processed, but the big one is cod. Cod is a hardy fish that survives in several locations around the world - some hot, some cold. He witnessed fishing nets that are larger than many ocean vessels dragging in the water, catching an incredible number of fish at one time. This overfishing is occuring too quickly for nature to replenish the stock.

Woodard also talks about the decline of the coral reef off Belize. Another chapters deals with the plight of the Republic of the Marshall Islands which is slowing becoming engulfed by the rising sea level.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008