What’s on my reading list- a bit of mystery and suspense

You’ve probably heard the expression “So many books, so little time” before.  It can be a real conundrum to know where to begin.  It’s alot of pressure (but, oh what a delicious kind of pressure to have!)

Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag

Once upon a time I had the perfect family. I had the perfect husband. I had the perfect children. I had the perfect life in the perfect home. And then, as in all fairy tales, evil came into our lives and destroyed us. Four years after the unsolved disappearance of her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lauren Lawton is the only one still chasing the ghosts of her perfect Santa Barbara life. The world has given her daughter up for dead. Her husband ended his own life in the aftermath. Even Lauren’s younger daughter is desperate to find what’s left of the childhood she hasn’t been allowed to have. Lauren knows exactly who took her oldest child, but there is not a shred of evidence against the man. Even as he stalks her family, Lauren is powerless to stop him. The Santa Barbara police are handcuffed by the very laws they are sworn to uphold. Looking for a fresh start in a town with no memories, Lauren and her younger daughter, Leah, move to idyllic Oak Knoll. But when Lauren’s suspect turns up in the same city, it feels to all the world that history is about to repeat itself. Leah Lawton will soon turn sixteen, and Oak Knoll has a cunning predator on the hunt. Sheriff’s detective Tony Mendez and his team begin to close in on the suspected killer, desperate to keep the young women of their picturesque town safe. But as the investigators sift through the murky circumstances of an increasingly disturbing case, a stunning question changes everything they thought they knew.

 

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women where an inmate has information on a string of grisly murders including the murder of an Atlanta family, a young woman on death row and an assortment of homeless people across the U.S.  If you’ve read previous books featuring Scarpetta then you know that the plot is twisted and disturbing and sure to have you checking that your windows are locked.

 

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich. Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying. Only one other person has seen the missing photo-Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back. Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii? Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It’s complicated.

 

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George -  Inspector Lynley goes undercover to investigate a death that has been ruled an accidental drowning.  The investigation reveals that the victim’s family are harbouring a number of secrets and potential motives.

 

 

- – - Christine B.

Academy Awards – books made into movies

 You may be interested in knowing that many of the movies nominated for Academy Awards were originally books.  And what better place to get the books then from the library??!!  Which movie do you think will win the Best Picture award?  Which movie is the best adaptation of the book?

                   

Movie: The Descendants starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Brad Pitt – Best Actor; Directing; Film Editing; Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Based on the book:   The Descendants  by Kaui Hart Hemmings

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Movie: The Help starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer

Nominated for: Best Picture; Jessica Chastain – Actress in a Supporting Role; Octavia Spencer – Actress in a Supporting Role

Based on the book: The Help  by Kathryn Stockett

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Movie: Moneyball starring Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill

Nominated for: Best Picture; Brad Pitt – Actor in a Leading Role; Jonah Hill – Actor in a Supporting Role; Film Editing; Sound Mixing; Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Based on the book:     Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by Michael Lewis

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Movie: Extremely Loud & incredibly close starring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock

Nominated for: Best Picture; Max von Sydow – Actor in a Supporting Role

Based on the book:    Extremely loud & incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer

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Movie: War Horse starring Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson,  David Thewlis

Nominated for: Best Picture; Cinematography; Art Direction; Music; Sound Editing; Sound Mixing

Based on the book:     War Horse  by Michael Morpurgo

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Movie: The girl with the dragon tattoo starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Nominated for: Rooney Mara – Actress in a Leading Role; Cinematography; Film Editing; Sound Editing; Sound Mixing

Based on the book:   The girl with the dragon tattoo  by Stieg Larsson

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Movie: Tinker tailor soldier spy starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy

Nominated for: Music; Writing (Adapted Screenplay); Gary Oldman – Actor in a Leading Role

Based on the book:    Tinker,tailor,soldier,spy by John le Carré

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Movie: The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant

Nomated for: Meryl Streep – Actress in a Leading Role; Makeup

Based on the book:     Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher

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Movie: Drive starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

Nominated for: Sound Editing

Based on the book:     Drive  by James Sallis

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Movie: Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell

Nominated for: Costume Design

Based on the book:    Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Bronte

                         

What We’re Reading: Started Early, Took My Dog

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

This is the fourth in a mystery series featuring tough-as-nails (but with a soft spot for dogs and damsels- in- distress) police-officer turned private investigator Jackson Brodie.  In this outing, Brodie’s client is a woman in her thirties who wants to find her birth parents. Both adoptive parents are dead,  documents have been lost or destroyed, and the social worker who handled the case is strangely missing. The story is narrated by several characters, with plots gradually converging on an outcome that is both unexpected and rather heartbreaking.   I grabbed this title off the Fast Reads shelf over Christmas and was so absorbed by the story that I managed to finish it in speedy time -   although it probably slowed down my gift-wrapping and cookie baking.

I just finished The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, a true crime book that the library is promoting for its Winter 2012 Featured Titles. A copy of the book had been placed in the staff room for a couple of days to give people a chance to look at it…I picked it up and was very reluctant to put it down after 10 minutes! I did however, manage to grab an ebook copy of the book so that I was able to continue following the bizarre life of Chip Smith aka Clark Rockefeller aka Christopher Chichester…Originally, from a small village in Germany, named Christian Gerhartsreiter by his working-class parents, he emigrated to the United States at age seventeen. Not satisfied with his background he decided to completely reinvent himself, taking on several personas until he  emerged as Clark Rockefeller, minor member of the fabulously wealthy Rockefeller family. With the Rockefeller name, he was able to gain access to fancy clubs, make friends with people in high society and eventually marry a woman who earned a salary that could keep him living in the lap of luxury. But a nasty divorce, and his decison to kidnap his daughter after he lost custody of her was the beginning of the end of his elaborate charade. What I was really fascinated by was how easily Gerhartsreiter was able to convince so many people that he was someone he was not, and for so many years – even after his arrest, he was pulling his scam, with some success.  It left me wondering how good a judge of character I am and if I too might so easily have be fool by such a con artist! 

- – - Pat

What We’re Reading: The Hobbit, or, There and back again

The Hobbit, or, There and back again / by J.R.R. Tolkien

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

I recently enjoyed re-reading Tolkien’s wonderful and imaginative story of Bilbo Baggins and his “unexpected” adventures with the Dwarves.  It was so enjoyable to read Tolkien’s classic tale of this “well-to-do” hobbit and his journey away from his comfortable and quiet existence in Bag-End, Under-Hill. 

Published in 1937, The Hobbit is Tolkien’s first tale of the wizard Gandalf, Middle-Earth, the Elves of Rivendell and the many characters and places later depicted and enjoyed in The Lord of the Rings stories.

With the director Peter Jackson currently working on his movie production of The Hobbit, I thought it was timely to re-visit this delightful story - and enjoy one of the very best fantasy and adventure tales ever written.

If you’re interested in the production of the movie, the video blogs of the cast and crew are very entertaining and can be viewed at the following site:

http://www.thehobbitblog.com/?cat=1

A trailer has been released for the first “Hobbit” movie which is due out this December:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/

- – - Catherine P.

What We’re Reading: Niagara Falls: An Intimate Portrait

I love Niagara Falls, and I am not using the term “love” loosely. It is home, not only in the sense that I grew up not far from Niagara Falls, but also in that I feel peaceful, happy, and at ease whenever I visit the falls. So it was only natural that while unpacking one of the boxes of books for the collection at the new Harper branch, I claimed Niagara Falls: An Intimate Portrait by John Grant and Ray Jones for myself. I triumphantly snatched it out of the box, and took it home with me that day.

The front cover indicates that this book is “The Companion to the PBS Television Program,” and seeing as I had watched and enjoyed this show, I expected to derive similar enjoyment from this book. I was not disappointed. Readers need not have watched the show, as the book stands on its own. It covers all the aspects that are synonymous with the falls: tourism, geology, history, conservation, electricity, honeymoons, and my least favourite, namely, daredevils.  It documents matters that are closely tied with Niagara Falls, such as the evolution of the Maid of the Mist from a transportation vessel to the tourist attraction familiar to us today. It also relates instances that were significant to the greater world, such as Nikola Tesla’s successful attempt at using alternating current to deliver electricity to areas further away than had been possible previously. There are also revealing insights of individuals whose work is tied with the falls, for example a Maid of the Mist captain, or the owner of a bed and breakfast. Moreover, the authors of Niagara Falls: An Intimate Portrait continually acknowledge that Niagara Falls has different meanings to different people. To me, it is home. What is it to you? 

- – - Agnieszka H.

If I could be a literary character . . .

    

Really, what is there not to love about an eleven year old girl who names her bike “Gladys?”   If I could be one literary character (besides Anne Shirley, of course) I would choose to be Flavia de Luce, the heroine of such delightfully named tomes Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag besides others.   Living in a dilapidated post-war English mansion with her stamps-obsessed father, looks obsessed and book obsessed older (and rather domineering) sisters, Flavia is oft neglected, oft rejected and oft apt to find a body in the veggie patch. 

- – - Andrea D.S.

What I’m Watching: British Mystery Series

If you enjoy British mysteries then you will adore Foyle’s War. 

Foyle’s War is set in Hastings on the southern coast of England during WWII.  The terrors of nightly bombing raids are only matched by the fear and hysteria of the population at the prospect of the seemingly inevitable German invasion. It is in this environment that Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, of the Hastings Police on the south coast of England, works. Denied a transfer to the war effort, Foyle is nonetheless forced to confront the darkest acts of humanity on a daily basis. With his official driver, Sam, and his subordinate, Paul Milner, Foyle investigates murders, looting and theft, crimes of opportunism, crimes of war, crimes of passion and crimes of greed, because crime isn’t stopped because of warfare.

Starring: Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell

For a list of episodes and the order in which to watch them check out the Foyle’s War website. 

With six fabulous seasons (all available at your library) you will have many evenings of entertainment and enjoyment to help you through the winter months.  

You also may enjoy:

           

A Touch of Frost - An old-fashioned, gritty detective show based in England. This brash policeman follows his moral compass, shows compassion for the common man and always solves the case. Starring David Jason, who is regarded as the most popular actor on British TV.

Inspector Lynley mysteries - British crime investigation series based around aristocratic, Oxford-educated Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his working-class assistant Sergeant Barbara Havers.

Midsomer Murders - A veteran DCI and his young Sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer.

 Wire in the Blood - A psychologist gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England.

Rebus - The first of the REBUS programs introduces the Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus as he untangles the various strands of the interwoven web of criminal intrigues from Leith, Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Glasgow and points between.

Prime Suspect - A female police detective investigates a series of series of crimes while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades

- – - Christine B.

Winter 2012 Featured Titles

Every few months, we choose two recently published books – a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction – as our Featured Titles of the season. These are interesting books with some buzz that we don’t want you to miss.

Our Featured Titles this winter are Death Comes to Pemberley, a new mystery novel by P.D. James, and Mark Seal’s intriguing true crime book The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: the Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter.

 For more information on these great winter reads, and to see our related reading suggestions, visit our Featured Titles page.

         

What We’re Reading – Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly

I love to read about the body –especially the brain – and how it works. This book, Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly  is written by a medical doctor, offers a wonderful examination of how your body and brain work together to help you lose weight.

Dr. McCleary informs readers that it is our brains that get hungry since it is the only organ in the body that does not store energy. The brain relies on food intake and our body’s fat stores to supply all its energy. Insulin levels increased via bad carbs make fat stores inaccessible. Dr. McCleary tells us how to correct this by making proper choices and allow the body to use energy from its fat stores. He gives a 7 day food plan that can be adjusted to one’s personal caloric intake, so that the body will naturally go from burning glucose (sugar in the blood) to burning fat stores. Other key ideas are scattered throughout the book as “Brain-Belly Basics”.

The author points out that most of us eat when we are not really hungry, but are feeling stressed or emotional. We have to be aware of our own bodies and how they feel throughout the day, and understand that feeling hungry may not mean we need to eat. Those pangs may simply mean that our body is changing to burning fat cells (if we are eating properly).

Another item I found interesting concerns a recent study that revealed that, along with genes, what a woman eats during pregnancy plays a part in whether the child will be over or underweight. This is similar to how our kids are trainable at a certain ages, and then the brain closes that window of opportunity.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in losing weight. I think that these are the basics of how our bodies work to store fat and to keep us alive and how to live a happy life.

- – David B.

What We’re Reading: What a Wonderful World!

What a wonderful world…..

I recently saw 50 Wonders of the World by Hugh Thomson in our list of new books and thought it looked interesting and something fun for my son and I to read together. I placed a hold and the day it came in I got a call from Circulation begging me to pick up the book as it was taking up a lot of space on the hold shelves. I hadn’t noticed the book was marked “oversize” in the catalogue and is approximately 1.5’x 2.5’. Not exactly a “lap book”.

However, this beautifully photographed book is well worth the strength it takes to hold! It is organized by continent and includes both ancient architecture like the Taj Mahal and more modern wonders such as the Sydney Opera House.  The text is interesting and informative without being “dry” as the author shares his choice of 50 wonders of the world.  His selections reveal some amazing architectural achievements created over the centuries and also educates us about the extraordinary peoples and civilizations, some long gone, others that we know little about, who created these buildings.  We also learn about key roles they played as centers of religion, culture, or trade.

I was reminded of the destruction in 2001 by the Taliban of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.  These two 6th century monumental statues of standing  Buddhas were carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. I remember watching the destruction on the news and being so saddened that these truly awe inspiring statues had survived centuries relatively unscathed only to be destroyed as “idols” despite international protest and pleas. It is truly incredible that so many of these man-made wonders have remained over the centuries, some damaged or destroyed and rebuilt, others so isolated or remote (or fortunate) they remained safe from political strife and war.

My son was especially impressed with the Minaret of Jam until he realized it was not a building made of jam or full of jam. You’ll have to check out 50 Wonders of the World to learn what it really is!

- – Suzanne P.