Thursday, May 30, 2013

Minecraft Libraries

What is this obsession with Minecraft? Everyone at my house seems to be talking about it, from my seven year old grandson to my twenty-five year old son.  From what I've been able to figure out, it's a video game, fabulously successful, that is a kind of virtual Lego game.  The appeal of the game is that it is a vast, open sandbox, and players use textured virtual blocks to build whatever they want. The game can be played as a hard-core survival test or as a casual, creative pastime.  What does that have to do with books, or libraries?





The New York Public Library

Well, apparently many people build books and book shelves, bookstores, and libraries.  Check out Book Riot's Ten of the Most Beautiful Libraries built in Minecraft.  And if you want to know more, there's a good article in the June 3, 2013 issue of Time Magazine available at the library, "The Mystery of Minecraft."

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Newest Title from Suzanne

A Broken Vessel 
Julian Kestrel, Bk 2
Author: Kate Ross

Julian Kestrel stalks a diabolical killer through high places and low life in Regency England. — In London's notorious Haymarket district, Sally Stokes, a bold and bewitching Cockney prostitute, picks up three men one after the other and nicknames them Bristles, Blue Eyes, and Blinkers. From each of them Sally steals a handkerchief -- and from one of them she mistakenly steals a letter that contains an urgent plea for help from a distraught young woman.

Luckily, Sally's brother is none other than Dipper, reformed pickpocket and valet to gifted amateur sleuth Julian Kestrel. After the writer of the letter is found dead, the authorities dismiss her death as suicide. But to Kestrel it looks like murder, and he forms an unlikely -- but highly entertaining -- alliance with Sally to track down the three clients. The two embark on a quest that leads them from a house of reclamation for fallen women to the abodes of England's highest-ranking families as they race to unmask a dangerous killer.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ Week Ending May 27, 2013

A LIGHT IN THE RUINS by Chris Bohjalian

Two parallel stories:  one takes place in 1943 and involves a wealthy Italian family, the Rosatis, who uneasily extend their hospitality to the occupying Germans while their young daughter falls in love with one of the German soldiers, as partisans hide in an Etruscan burial site on their property. The second story, in 1955, follows a detective in Florence, Serafina Bettini, with her own emotional and physical scars from the war, who is assigned the murder investigation of a gruesome series of killings targeting the Rosati family.  Serafina follows a trail that suggests the murders point to events that occurred the war, and finds her own history intertwined with the Rosati family. And interspersed, the voice of the killer, expressing his hatred of the family, and cruelly plotting their murders.  Part mystery, part love story, part tale of revenge--Chris Bohjalian has written a story filled with flawed, damaged and spirited characters, set against the Tuscany hills.  

This newest Bohjalian book will be out in early July.

~ Katherine 

Monday, May 27, 2013

Celebrating Our Heroes on Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time to gather with friends and family, welcome summer, fire up the grill and relax, and after many days of rain, we can celebrate on a beautiful sunny day today.  But most of all, Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the heroic men and women who gave their lives in serving and protecting our country and freedoms. 

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by  Mitchell Zuckoff.

On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished.

Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures.

Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc. – led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza – who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight and recover the remains of its crew.



The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokow


"In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. There, I underwent a life-changing experience. As I walked the beaches with the American veterans who had returned for this anniversary, men in their sixties and seventies, and listened to their stories, I was deeply moved and profoundly grateful for all they had done. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come to understand what this generation of Americans meant to history. It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced." ~ Tom Brokow.  This book pays tribute to the generation of Americans who fought in World War II, telling the stories of individual men and women who, united by common purpose and values, served their country overseas and returned to create modern America.


 In February 1966, U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over "neutral Laos." He crashed deep in territory controlled by North Vietnamese army regulars and the communist Pathet Lao, who would eventually capture him and hold him prisoner in a fortified jungle prisoner-of-war camp. But German-born Dengler was no ordinary prisoner. Already a legend in the Navy for his escape and evasion skills---amply demonstrated during training in the California desert---he would initiate, plan, and lead an organized escape from the POW camp, becoming the longest-held American to escape captivity during the Vietnam War. Caught in a most desperate situation, imprisoned not only by the enemy but by the jungle itself, Dengler's heroic impulse was to not only get himself out but to free all the other POWs---Americans, Thai, and Chinese---some of whom had been held for years.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Library Cats

My favorite library (other than The Brookfield Library, of course), was the Douglas County Library, in Minden, Nevada.  For a few years, we lived in the Carson Valley, and this was the only library my children ever were excited about visiting.  Why, you might ask?  It was the home of Baker and Taylor, two handsome Scottish Folds cats.


Baker and Taylor spent much of their time at the checkout counter delighting children and adults, and in 1988, Baker and Taylor became the official mascots of Baker & Taylor Books. Their photos now appear in advertisements and on posters, shopping bags, calendars, note cards and other material distributed at events. 


If you travel down to the Lyme
Public Library, you might have an opportunity to visit with Emma.  This pretty gray and white kitty came to the library in 1993 from a local shelter, and her favorite place is the stool at the circulation desk.   She's found that it's a great location for petting and stroking, and supervising the circ desk. She just celebrated her 10th anniversary as their library cat.


There's also a rumor of two library cats at the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon, CT, named Monte and Minouche, but no pictures were available.  A road trip is definitely in order to check this out..
 
If you haven't read Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, please put it on your "to be read" list"--it's available in regular and large print, audio and e-book, as well as for children.  This is a wonderful story about an abandoned kitten from the heartland, who transformed a sleepy library, inspired an  American town, and captured the hearts of animal lovers everywhere, and he'll certainly capture yours.

 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Proof of Heaven

 
PROOF OF HEAVEN
by Eben Alexander
133.9013/ALEXANDER

I've read many books about near-death experiences, and Proof of Heaven:  A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, by Eben Alexander III, M.D., is notable among them for a couple of reasons.  As a physician, he was a skeptic about near-death experiences.  Secondly, his near-death experience was quite elaborate.

In 2008, Dr. Alexander's brain was attacked by a rare type of bacterial meningitis-encephalitis of unknown cause and he was in a weeklong coma.  As his doctors considered halting treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open and he had come back.  He made a miraculous recovery.

While in a coma, Alexander journeyed to three realms beyond Earth, guided by an angelic being.  He was able to journey between these realms repeatedly:  he refers to them as the Earthworm's-Eye View, the Core, and the Gateway.  He also encountered a great light with whom he communicated and perceived to be the creator of the universe.

Alexander's older son advised him that before delving into the literature on others' near-death experience that he should write down everything that happened to him, and so he did, completing the initial recording of his journey six weeks later.  His previous view of consciousness--that the brain generates it--was replaced with a conviction that humans are conscious in spite of our brains, and that consciousness is at the root of all existence.  "Consciousness is the most profound mystery in the universe," he asserts.  Alexander now promotes a more complete reconciliation of modern science and spirituality.

With his knowledge as a physician, Alexander dispels a list of possible medical explanations for his near-death experience.  That he has the credentials to do this makes his story the more credible and fascinating.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Literary travels

"Books are the plane, and the train, and the road.  They are the destination, and the journey. They are home."  Anna Quindlen



No time or funds to travel? Armchair travel is a wonderful option--you can sit on your porch swing and lose yourself in some exotic locales.  Do you have any favorite books that evoke a sense of place?  Any favorite cities or countries you like to visit through books?

Australia.  Breath by Tim Winston, takes place in a fictional coastal town of Western Australia, and follows a group of boys whose youthful urges to seek out the farthest limits of courage, endurance and sanity through surfing.  Who can forget Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, the bestselling 1970's novel set in the outback.  One of my favorite memoirs, The Road from Coorain, by Jill Ker Conway, remembers her early life on a remote sheep station, to her college days at Harvard. 

Africa and South Africa.  A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley, enjoys the exotic beauty of Botswana as Detective Kubu unravels a mystifying murder and uncovers a very tangled web of conspiracy. The popular No. 1 Ladies Detective series by Alexander McCall Smith is a somewhat gentler set of mysteries that also takes place in Botswana. Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible takes you on a different kind of journey into the Belgian Congo with a missionary family in the 1960's.  And Deon Meyer is an amazing South African author who takes you into his country with his exciting thrillers that are filled with action, excitement and intense tension. 

Hong Kong.  Janice Y. K. Lee's 2009 novel, The Piano Teacher, set in the 1940's and '50's, is a wonderful soap opera of a tale, with themes of love, betrayal, honor and secrets. Gail Tsukiyama's Night of Many Dreams also takes place during the 1940's, and years later, with memorable and multi-dimensional characters.  Have you ever read any of the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries?  Don't miss Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha, with an ominous plot involving drugs, smuggled diamonds, a famous cat burglar turned Interpol agent, a mysterious psychic, and, of course, murder.

Norway Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson, set in the easternmost region of Norway, begins with an ending, and deals with a sixty-seven-year-old man who must come to terms with his past, specifically an incident that occurred when he was fifteen.  Karin Fossum, a crime writer, is known as the Norwegian queen of crime, and her Inspector Sejer books have been translated in at least 25 languages and won several prestigious awards.  In for a classic? A great historical epic,  Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway and written by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset, tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman. 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

BOOK REVIEWS FROM MELANIE

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

This one's made up of 20 short stories each about a different person (all high school students), many of whose lives intersect. It was well written, as Levithan usually is, but it did get a bit confusing dealing with so many people and so many relationships. I almost felt the need to draw myself a character web.

 



Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan
 
This one was pretty good. It was a pretty short, quick read about three young people in NYC and how their lives were affected by 9/11. It starts when the attack happens, and goes through the aftermath for each, in alternating chapters. I recommend it; I already made my mother read it.

~ Reviews from Melanie--Thank you!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

52 Weeks 52 Books / Week Ending May 20, 2013

LOST CAT: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE,
DESPERATION, AND GPS TECHNOLOGY
By Caroline Paul and
Drawings by Wendy MacNaughton

This is a charming story about a cat who goes missing in San Francisco. Anyone who has ever had a cat as a companion will empathize with the authors.  How many of you have immediately started to worry when you cat is not home at his or her normal time? (Of course this does not apply to those of you who have indoor only cats.)  This short book is a must read for any cat lover--filled with humor, love and great illustrations. 
 ~Katherine


"Caroline Paul was recovering from a bad accident and thought things couldn't get worse. But then her beloved cat Tibia disappeared. She and her partner, illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, mourned his loss. Yet weeks later, Tibia waltzed back into their lives. His owners were overjoyed. But they were also...jealous? Betrayed? Where had their sweet anxious cat disappeared to? Had he become a swashbuckling cat adventurer? Did he lovesomeone else more? His owners were determined to find out."

Tibia's day

"Using GPS technology, cat cameras, psychics, the web, and animal communicators, the authors of Lost Cat embarked on a quest to discover what their cat did when they weren't around. Told through writer Caroline Paul's rich and warmly poignant narrative and illustrator Wendy MacNaughton's stunning and hilarious 4-color illustrations, Lost Cat is a book for animal lovers, pet owners, and anyone who has ever done anything desperate for love."

Offical website for Lost Cat: http://www.lostcatbook.com




SIX YEARS by Harlan Coben

As usual, Harlan Coben delivers a good mystery, some romance, with plenty of twists....it's always good news when there's a new Coben book out!  ~ Katherine

"Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.

But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for…but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.

As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on a carefully constructed fiction."  From the publisher

Monday, May 20, 2013

More from MELANIE

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

I pretty much read this just because I need to finish what I start, and I wanted to be able to give a real criticism of the whole series while being sure that I had given it a fair shot. These books were all pretty bad. Everyone knows what they're about, so I don't need to get into that. The writing wasn't very good, the story causes more eye rolls than I could count and the main character was one of the most annoying I've ever subjected myself to. James is British and was trying to write a book that takes place in Washington state. She used too many words that we don't really use here. This would've been fine if she'd just had it take place in England, but didn't fit for America. I could go on all day listing out what I hated about it, but I'll just leave it at this- if you want to read a cheesy romance novel, pick this one up. If you have an appreciation for literature, you should probably keep searching. This series was written as Twilight fan fiction, and lives up to that. 

Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker

Set in the 50's or 60's, about a girl living at a home for unwed pregnant teenagers. The writing was pretty simple, but I liked it. It was nice to see how the main character, Anne, grew in the time she was there. I'd recommend more for teenagers than for adults.

~ Reviews from Melanie

Saturday, May 18, 2013

FROM MELANIE

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl


LOVED this one! Part 1 of 4 tells the story of Ethan (a regular teenage bot) and Lena, a Caster (similar to a witch) who will become either a Light or Dark Caster on her 16th birthday. Aside from the fantasy aspects, I think the authors tell the story very realistically- about teenage outcasts, small southern towns and teen relationships. Highly recommend, I've already begun the 2nd in the series!





Dirty Little Secrets by Kerry Cohen

This one's a nonfiction follow-up to Cohen's memoir, Loose Girl (which I loved.) Dirty Little Secrets is part sociology, part self-help, part parenting. Centers on the sex culture in American teenagers, but also explores the issue with adult reflections. The tagline on the cover is "It's not about when girls are having sex- it's about why." That sums it up better than I could hope to. Highly recommend, Cohen is wonderful! An honest, smart and insightful book.

~ FROM MELANIE

Monday, May 13, 2013

52 Weeks 52 Books / Week Ending May 13, 2013

WOOL by Hugh Howey

While science fiction isn't my genre of choice, who could resist picking up this book--after reading about the explosive success of WOOL.  Author Hugh Howey self-published the beginning of Wool, actually a short story, and gave away copies.  Eventually it became a book of five novellas, and with word of mouth praise,  sales exploded--over 500,000 copies have been sold.  Howey has sold film rights and a print only deal  to Simon and Schuster, keeping the rights to publish e-books himself, a very lucrative deal. 

Really good sci-fi creates a world so well developed that you're right there with the people of the book.  In the dystopian world of Wool, you feel the rungs and flights of the never ending staircase that runs through the 147 levels of the Silo, where survivors have lived underground for hundreds of years, as the earth's toxic air will kill anyone who steps outside. Wool 1 opens with a "cleaning" and  the reader quickly learns what happens to those residents who question those in authority. The characters are carefully drawn with multi-layered personalities and the setting is chilling. The world of Wool continues on, with its secrets and sinister intrigue, with revelations of those remaining, and hope even in the direst of circumstances.

~ Katherine 

Friday, May 10, 2013

Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

Even though I knew the outcome, this book kept me awake until 12:20 a.m.  I just couldn't go to bed until I finished it.  Where these men found the courage, strength, and stamina to try to climb Everest -- without all the climbing gear and sub-zero clothing of today's climbers -- I'll never know.
                 ~~Anita Barney 

“Tell me the story of Everest,” she said, a fervent smile sweeping across her face, creasing the corners of her eyes. “Tell me about this mountain that’s stealing you away from me.” In 1924 George Mallory departs on his third expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Left behind in Cambridge, George’s young wife, Ruth, along with the rest of a war-ravaged England, anticipates news they hope will reclaim some of the empire’s faded glory. Through alternating narratives, what emerges is a beautifully rendered story of love torn apart by obsession and the need for redemption.  [Amazon.com review]

AN AGATHA RAISIN MYSTERY from SUZANNE

Hiss and Hers (Agatha Raisin, Bk 23)
Author: M.C. Beaton

"This is the 23rd Agatha Raisin and I still enjoy this series. The mysteries are great and the characters are like old friends."

     ~ Suzanne

If only the bossy, beloved Agatha Raisin were as lucky at finding the right man as she is at catching killers in M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling mystery series Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin is as feisty as ever—armed with her famous wit and biting sense of humor. This time, though, there's some biting of a whole other sort going on. Agatha has fallen head over heels in love—again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man—including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike. Rising to the occasion, Agatha rallies her little detective agency to find the killer, only to learn that George had quite a complicated love life. But murderously complicated? Well, if she can't have George, at least Agatha can have the satisfaction of confronting the other women and solving the crime. With Hiss & Hers, once again, "M. C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery" (The New York Times Book Review) in the irresistible adventures of the irrepressible Agatha.


Thank  you for sharing, Suzanne!

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

52 Weeks 52 Books / Week Ending May 6, 2013

WAVE by Sonali Deraniyagala 

Just after Christmas in 2004, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Sonali Deraniyagala was the sole family survivor of the tsunami that followed a 9.1 earthquake that occurred in the Indian Ocean.  More than 230,000 people lost their lives that day, including Sonali's husband, her two young sons, and her parents.  Sonali was found battered and dazed, but alive after the waves receded, and in this soul-searching memoir, she describes the absolute horror and devastating loss, grief and overwhelming guilt that followed over the next days, months and years. Her extended family watched over her, as she attempted suicide and tried to numb her pain with alcohol and drugs.  She was devastated by memories that confronted her everywhere--her home in London, her parent's home, and eventually in Sri Lanka where the hotel they stayed in once stood. She raged at the renters who took over her family home, after her brother rented it out against her wishes. At first her memories are too painful, but over time, as she revisited family sites and remembered the things she loved about her husband, children and parents, and shared memories with other family and friends, she is able to remember her family, honestly and lovingly. 

Sonali's memoir is a heartbreaking story, but her eventual healing shows a brave woman who understands the true meaning of survival and love of family.  Just have the tissues close by.   ~ Katherine


Friday, May 03, 2013

Three Great Nonfiction Titles from Jaclyn

The title says it all! ~ Jaclyn    


All I Really Need To Know I Learned From Watching Star Trek by Dave Marinaccio

"Wit and wisdom for intelligent life forms who have gotten past kindergarten. For generations of Trekkies, Star Trek TV episodes, movies, and books are nothing less than scripture. With ad man Marinaccio's light-heavyweight collection of down-to-earth essays, the cult of the faithful has gained a new theologian and exegete. If a viewer is unsure of what an episode, character, or turn of plot in Star Trek really means, this short, sweet book will explain the intention of Gene Roddenberry (the series' Moses) and show how to apply the show's wisdom to life. Captain Kirk is the author's dominant lodestar for ethical and business success, a blend of good soldier and bold innovator. The captain always checks in with Starfleet Command and delegates responsibility when he beams down off the ship, and he is people-oriented enough to get the most out of the all-too-human Dr. McCoy and the half-human Mr. Spock. Marinaccio feels that leadership sometimes requires breaking the rules, as Captain Kirk ignores the Prime Directive (not to interfere with any civilization they explore) when ethical imperatives are involved....A delightful mix of satire and inspiration, nostalgia for a time when William Shatner could still pull in his gut, and patient optimism for the talent and moral vision of ``the Next Generation.'' 
        - Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP




 History made interesting! Wow! ~ Jaclyn


 The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer 

 A moving, vividly told memoir full of heart, drama, and exquisite comic timing, about a boy striving to become a man, and his romance with a barJ .R. Moehringer grew up listening for a voice: It was the sound of his missing father, a disc jockey who disappeared before J.R. spoke his first words. As a boy, J.R. would press his ear to a clock radio, straining to hear in that resonant voice the secrets of masculinity, and the keys to his own identity. J.R.'s mother was his world, his anchor, but he needed something else, something more, something he couldn't name. So he turned to the bar on the corner, a grand old New York saloon that was a sanctuary for all types of men-cops and poets, actors and lawyers, gamblers and stumble bums.....When the time came for J.R. to leave home, the bar became a way station-from his entrance to Yale, where he floundered as a scholarship student way out of his element; to his introduction to tragic romance with a woman way out of his league; to his stint as a copy boy at the New York Times, where he was a faulty cog in a vast machine way out of his control. Through it all, the bar offered shelter from failure, from rejection, and eventually from reality-until at last the bar turned J.R. away. Riveting, moving, and achingly funny, The Tender Bar is at once an evocative portrait of one boy's struggle to become a man, and a touching depiction of how some men remain lost boys."   ~from the Publisher

 Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

The extraordinary New York Times bestselling account of James Garfield's rise from poverty to the American presidency, and the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy, from bestselling author of The River of Doubt, Candice Millard.

James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nation's corrupt political establishment. But four months after Garfield's inauguration in 1881, he was shot in the back by a deranged office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack, but become the object of bitter, behind-the-scenes struggles for power—over his administration, over the nation's future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history." ~ from the Publisher  


Thanks for sharing, Jaclyn!

Thursday, May 02, 2013

From Trevor: A Great Nonfiction Title

Daring Greatly:  How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown.

"Terrific Book" ~ from Trevor

"Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt

Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable, or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.

In Daring Greatly, Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book that Dr. Brown’s many fans have been waiting for, Daring Greatly will spark a new spirit of truth—and trust—in our organizations, families, schools, and communities." 

 ~ from the Publisher

Thanks for posting this book, Trevor!

52 Weeks 52 Books / Week Ending April 29, 2013

THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND by Jennifer McMahon

"The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again." 
~ from the Publisher

I've read other books by Jennifer McMahon, but had a few issues with this one.  The plot was intriguing but parts of the book seemed implausible to me and I guessed the killer fairly early on--and this was disappointing because surprises make it so much more fun.  The author goes back and forth in time in telling the story, which is not everyone's cup of tea.   
 ~ Katherine

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

TWO JUSTIN CRONIN THRILLERS FROM JACLYN:

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Slow start, but definitely got better.   ~ Jaclyn
 
 " An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world."  ~ from the publisher


The Twelve by Justin Cronin Book 2 of the The Passage Trilogy

 "With The Twelve, the story continues. In the present day: As a man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos, desperate to find others, to survive, to witness the dawn on the other side of disaster. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, has been so broken by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced by loss of electrical power to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a minefield of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

A hundred years in the future: Amy, Peter, Alicia, and the others introduced in The Passage work with a cast of new characters to hunt the original twelve virals… unaware that the rules of the game have changed, and that one of them will have to sacrifice everything to bring the Twelve down.
The scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic tale of sacrifice and survival begun in The Passage surges forward in its breathtaking sequel—The Twelve."  ~from the publisher

Thanks, Jaclyn!