New and Featured Books for 07/10/2013:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

Unseen by Karin Slaughter

The Newcomer by Robyn Carr

Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich

Little Green by Walter Mosley

Hidden Order by Brad Thor

Dirty Rotten Liar by Noire

Nemesis by Bill Pronzini

The Good Luck Girls Of Shipwreck Lane by Kelly Harms

Please Don’t Tell by Elizabeth Adler

Before Watchmen: Minutemen/Silk Spectre written and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair by Len Wein and John Higgins and illustrated by Jae Lee, John Higgins, and Steve Rude

Superman, vol. 2: Secrets And Lies by Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen, Scott Lobdell, and Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Dan Jurgens, Jesus Merino, Vicent Cifuentes, and others

Green Lantern Corps, vol. 2: Alpha War by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Fernando Pasarin

Let It Burn by Steve Hamilton

Freud’s Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

Bomb Shell by Catherine Coulter

NON-FICTION:

Difficult Men: Behind The Scenes Of A Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos And The Wire To Mad Men And Breaking Bad by Brett Martin

Circle Of Friends: The Massive Federal Crackdown On Insider Trading – And Why The Markets Always Work Against The Little Guy by Charles Gasparino

Here Is Where: Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History by Andrew Carroll

Rose Kennedy: The Life And Times Of A Political Matriarch by Barbara A. Perry

Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside The Center by Ray Monk

Hunting Che: How A U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture The World’s Most Famous Revolutionary by Mitch Weiss and Kevin Maurer

A Survival Guide For Life: How To Achieve Your Goals, Thrive In Adversity, And Grow In Character by Bear Grylls

True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure by Andrew Weil, Sam Fox, and Michael Stebner

Cooking Italian With The Cake Boss by Buddy Valastro

Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned To Cook by Alex Guarnaschelli

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Please note that books mentioned here could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk, OR call us, OR send us an email at robinsbaselibrary@gmail.com and  we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

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Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

07/02/13.

06/18/13.

06/06/13.

05/31/13.

05/28/13.

New and Featured Books for 05/28/2013:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Montaro Caine by Sidney Poitier

Power Play by Ben Bova

Orion And King Arthur by Ben Bova

Mirror Image by Ice-T and Jorge Hinojosa

Inferno by Dan Brown

My Father’s Ghost Is Climbing In The Rain by Patricio Pron

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz

The Square Of Revenge by Peter Aspe

Magician’s End by Raymond E. Feist

Zero Hour by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø

A Conspiracy Of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva

Flora by Gail Godwin

Screwed by Eoin Colfer

NON-FICTION:

The Cooked Seed: A Memoir by Anchee Min

I Fired God: My Life Inside – And Escape From – The Secret World Of The Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult by Jocelyn R. Zichterman

Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping Of Jessica Buchanan And Her Dramatic Rescue By SEAL Team Six by Jessica Buchanan and Erik Landemalm with Anthony Flacco

Confessions Of A Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding In Plain Sight by M. E. Thomas

Work With Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men And Women In Business by Barbara Annis and John Gray

The Unwinding: An Inner History Of The New America by George Packer

The Feud: The Hatfields & McCoys – The True Story by Dean King

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Please note that books mentioned here could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk, OR call us, OR send us an email at robinsbaselibrary@gmail.com and  we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

05/09/13.

04/29/13.

04/22/13.

04/17/13.

02/28/13.

New and Featured Books for 02/07/2013:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

The Night Ranger by Alex Berenson

The Love Song Of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne

The Man In 3B by Carl Weber

See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

See Glass Winter by JoAnn Ross

Man In The Empty Suit by Sean Ferrell

NON-FICTION:

How Literature Saved My Life by David Shields

The Real Jane Austen: A Life In Small Things by Paula Byrne

The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets Of Happy Couples And What They Reveal About Creating A New Normal In Your Relationship by Chrisanna Northrup, Pepper Schwartz, and James Witte

Undaunted: The Real Story Of America’s Servicewomen In Today’s Military by Tanya Biank

American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T And GM And The Way We Do Business In The USA by Ed Whitacre with Leslie Cauley

Data,  A Love Story: How I Gamed Online Dating To Meet My Match by Amy Webb

Ike And Dick: Portrait Of A Strange Political Marriage by Jeffrey Frank

Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures Of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives by Becky Aikman

Beyond Belief: The Secret Life Inside Scientology And My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill with Lisa Pulitzer

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Please note that books mentioned here could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk, OR call us, OR send us an email at robinsbaselibrary@gmail.com and  we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

01/31/13.

01/02/13.

12/27/12.

12/12/12.

12/04/12.

New and Featured Books for 01/31/2013:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Empire And Honor by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Private Berlin by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

Until The End Of Time by Danielle Steel

Speaking From Among The Bones by Alan Bradley

The Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady

The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber

Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas

Suspect by Robert Crais

Insane City by Dave Barry

NON-FICTION:

Cesar Millan’s Short Guide To A Happy Dog: 98 Essential Tips And Techniques by Cesar Millan

The Future: Six Drivers Of Global Change by Al Gore

To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink

American Isis: The Life And Art Of Sylvia Plath by Carl Rollyson

Divided We Fail: The Story Of An African American Community That Ended The Era Of School Desegregation by Sarah Garland

Naked Statistics: Stripping The Dread From The Data by Charles Wheelan

The Genius Of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods

Remembering Whitney: My Story Of Love, Loss, And The Night The Music Stopped by Cissy Houston with Lisa Dickey

* * *

Please note that books mentioned here could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk, OR call us, OR send us an email at robinsbaselibrary@gmail.com and  we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

01/02/13.

12/27/12.

12/12/12.

12/04/12.

11/20/12.

11/19/12.

New and Featured Books for 06/14/2012:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Burning Midnight by Loren D. Estleman

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Cast On, Kill Off by Maggie Sefton

Flex Mentallo: Man Of Muscle Mystery by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely

Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank

Brightest Day, volume 1 by Geoff Johns by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Fernando Pasarin, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, and Joe Prado

Captain Swing And The Electrical Pirates Of Cindery Island by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Raulo Caceres

Equal Of The Sun by Anita Amirrezvani

KBL: Kill Bin Laden – A Novel Based On True Events by John Weisman

Heat Rises by Richard Castle

Winner Take All by T. Davis Bunn

NON-FICTION:

I Am Intelligent: From Heartbreak To Healing – A Mother And Daughter’s Journey Through Autism by Peyton Goddard and Dianne Goddard with Carol Cujec

Bruce Springstreen And The Promise Of Rock N’ Roll by Marc Dolan

FDR’s Alphabet Soup: New Deal America, 1932 – 1939 by Tonya Bolden

Barack Obama: The Story by David Maraniss

A Nation Of Wusses: How America’s Leaders Lost The Guts To Make Us Great by Ed Rendell

Confront And Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars And Surprising Use Of American Power by David E. Sanger

The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs In 20th Century Science by Alan Lightman

She Captains: Heroines And Hellions Of The Sea by Joan Druett

Groupon’s Biggest Deals: The Inside Story Of How One Insane Gamble, Tons Of Unbelievable Hype, And Millions Of Wild Deals Made Billions For One Ballsy Joker by Frank Sennett

That Woman: The Life Of Wallis Simpson, Duchess Of Windsor by Anne Sebba

The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie To Everyone – Especially Ourselves by Dan Ariely

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Please note that books mentioned here could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk, OR call us, OR send us an email at robinsbaselibrary@gmail.com and  we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books for Adults:

06/07/12.

05/31/12.

05/01/12.

04/26/12.

04/19/12.

New and Featured Books for 03/01/2012:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Tigerlily’s Orchid by Ruth Rendell

The Fear Index by Robert Harris

The new thriller from author/journalist Robert Harris, who wrote The Ghost, which was adapted into The Ghost Writer, which was directed by Roman Polanski. Check out reviews from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and there’s a nice interview with the author at CBS’s Author Talk.

The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh

God’s Gift To Women by Michael Baisden

Side Jobs: Stories From The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Djibouti by Elmore Leonard

A book about modern day pirates by the author who’s been called “The Great American Writer” by Stephen King. You can find an excerpt from Djibouti at Esquire and reviews of the novel from The New York Times and The Millions. You can check out Leonard’s blog, and also read about his admiration for Kathryn Bigelow at The Wall Street Journal.

The Death-Ray, written and illustrated by Daniel Clowes

All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry

In My Father’s House by E. Lynn Harris

The Wreckage by Michael Robotham

The Angel Esmerelda: Nine Stories by Don Delillo

Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels Of The 1920s, edited by Rafia Zafar

and

Harlem Renaissance: Four Novels Of The 1930s, edited by Rafia Zafar

This is a very exciting two volume set looking at classic works of fiction from an important time in literature and African American history, and featuring authors like Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen, Jean Toomer, and George S. Schuyler, and others. As author Junot Diaz says in his blurb on the back of the 1920s edition, “To have all these novels in one place is the best gift any reader could ever ask for.”

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

Camouflage by Bill Pronzini

Shattered by Karen Robards

Gets off to a bit of a slow start, but another fine example of romantic suspense done right by Robards. Check out an excerpt at the author’s website.

NON-FICTION:

New Men: Manliness In Early America, edited by Thomas A. Foster

This is a very intriguing historical gender study of what it was like for men, fresh from the Old World, coming into the New World, and how the definitions of being an American Man were set, based on old prejudices, manners, and mores, through the colonial periods into the revolutionary era, and shaped by a new culture, society, economy, and political system, and factors such a racism and warfare.

Lions Of Kandahar: The Story Of A Fight Against All Odds by Rusty Bradley and Kevin Maurer

Shades Of Glory: The Negro Leagues And The Story Of African-American Baseball by Lawrence D. Hogan

The Insider’s Guide To Colleges, 2012: Students On Campus Tell You What You Really Need To Know, compiled and edited by the staff of The Yale Daily News

Cooking In Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers In The South, 1865-1960 by Rebecca Sharpless

This book has been said to show the real version of what was tamefully dramatized in The Help, and that alone makes it fascinating, beyond its being a very insightful and informative read, from what a few patrons have told me. And as one review nicely pointed out, the book is very successful in its goal to “discover how African American cooks successfully functioned within a world of extremely hard work, low wages, and omnipresent racial strife.”

A Quick Start Guide To Google Adwords: Get Your Product To The Top Of Google And Reach Your Customers by Mark Harnett

A Quick Start Guide To Cloud Computing: Moving Your Business Into The Cloud by Mark I. Williams

Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out On The Power Of The Word, edited by Toni Morrison

Firebrand Of Liberty: The Story Of Two Black Regiments That Changed The Course Of The Civil War by Stephen V. Ash

The Elements Of User Experience: User-Centered Design For The Web And Beyond by Jesse James Garrett

This is the second edition of the book, a nice refinement from the first edition, and helpful in taking a lot of the simple ideas for good design that you might use on the internet and bringing to other things. Check out an interview with the author from the publisher.

Border War: Fighting Over Slavery Before The Civil War by Stanley Harrold

The Triple Agent: The Al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated The CIA by Joby Warrick

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Please note that books could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books:

02/02/11.

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

12/23/11.

And for Young Adults:

02/21/12.

02/09/12.

01/31/12.

And for Kids/Juvenile Readers:

02/28/12.

02/23/12.

02/16/12.

01/28/12.

Author quotes: Burning books.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. once said, “We must be careful what we pretend to be,”  which is one of my favorite quotes of all time, but Vonnegut was a highly opinionated and prolific author and essayist, and he was always a good source for a good quote or a witty turn of phrase.

The other day I got into a conversation with a few patrons not just about the need for intellectual curiosity in people, especially in this day and age, but the need for constant access to the tools that could inspire and grow that curiosity in these modern times, and it reminded me of something Vonnegut had said a few years before his death (in 2007):

“While on the subject of burning books, I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

And still on the subject of books: our daily news sources, newspapers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books do we learn what’s really going on.”

-from A Man Without A Country, his 2005 memoir/essay collection.

You can find an excerpt from the book over at The Guardian, which includes the portion the above text comes from. Much of this book, and in particular this excerpt, are very political with Vonnegut discussing his disappointment in the then-current political climate of the country. Whether you agree with Vonnegut’s politics there or not, you have to admire that there are some nuggets of common sense true for all people, and that he always maintained a strong humanistic outlook on life.

Also, on a side note, in the paragraph preceding the above quote Vonnegut references Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, his documentary about the September 11 attacks and everything after, and reminds us that the title of the documentary is a reference/parody of Ray Bradbury’s great, classic science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451. That novel refers to the fact that 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the combustion point, at which paper and the information on it will burn.

The gist of it is this: Not to toot our own horn (too much) but libraries curate and cultivate information, and with information comes intelligence, which is never a bad thing and always in short supply. The library is a resource that you should never let go to waste.

by Eddie Campbell, from here.

Elsewhere on the internet:

Vonnegut’s obituary in The New York Times.

15 things Vonnegut said better than anyone else ever has or will.

Venus On The Half-Shell by Philip José Farmer under the name “Kilgore Trout.”

Vonnegut’s advice for writers.

Vonnegut’s story diagrams.

“Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut’s classic short story.

An interview with Vonnegut in The Paris Review.

“2BR02B,” a 1962 short story that appeared in Vonnegut’s third collection, Bagombo Snuff Box.

“The Big Trip Up Yonder,” a short story that appeared in Vonnegut’s first two collections under different names.

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis.

Dave Eggers reviews Vonnegut’s first collection of unpublished fiction.

At the library we have quite a few books both by Vonnegut and about his life and work, including When Mortals Sleep, a posthumous release of previously unpublished short fiction by the author, as well as And So It Goes – Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, a new biography of the author by Charles J. Shields, and…

Vonnegut And Hemingway: Writers At War by Lawrence Broer, which draws interesting parallels between these two literary artists, who previously might have been only been coupled together by how vastly different they were. Both were born under the spectre of hereditary insanity, forged in wartime experiences, and used their writing as a means of therapy and survival. And how much more fitting to see them linked, since Hemingway was our quoted author last week? I hope you’ll come and check them out.

New and Featured Books for 02/02/2012:

Come and check out these and some of the other new books and materials (or at least new to us) added to our library collection…

FICTION:

Gideon’s Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

The newest novel by the acclaimed author who won the Pulitzer Prize for Middlesex. You can find reviews for this book at The New York Observer, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times. There’s also an interesting interview with the author at The Economist.

We also have an anthology of classic and contemporary short stories that was edited with Eugenides, entitled My Mistress’s Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, From Chekhov To Munro. It deals with love in its many, many forms and would make for very interesting reading as we approach Valentine’s Day.

Flashback by Dan Simmons

Robocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

A summer blockbuster movie in book form, and soon to be made into a movie by none other than Steven Spielberg. What else do you need to know?

A Devil Is Waiting by Jack Higgins

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

NON-FICTION:

100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People by Susan M. Weinschenk

I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down by Jennifer Hudson

Living Longer For Dummies by Walter M. Bortz

The Ethics Of Spying: A Reader For The Intelligence Professional, edited by Jan Goldman

The Ghost Map: The Story Of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic – And How It Changed Science, Cities, And The Modern World by Steven Johnson

Extra Virginity: The Sublime And Scandalous World Of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller

If there’s one thing we want from our food, it’s scandal and conspiracy, right? Americans are comparatively new to the romance of olive oil, but could that love be fraudulent?

The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman

Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World At War, December 1941 by Stanley Weintraub

A fascinating and extensively researched look at the first few weeks of the second World War.

Degradation: What The History Of Obscenity Tells Us About Hate Speech by Kevin W. Saunders

Prophets And Princes: Saudi Arabia From Muhammad To The Present by Mark Weston

* * *

Please note that books could be checked out between the time they end up on the blog and when you come to check them out. If you don’t see the items you’re looking for then please come up to the front desk and we’ll put your name on the reserve list for when the item returns.

* * *

Previous New/Featured books:

01/27/12.

12/27/11.

12/23/11.

12/19/11.

12/17/11.

12/16/11.

And for Young Adults:

01/31/12.

And for Kids/Juvenile Readers:

01/28/12.