TWO NEW REVIEWS FROM SUZANNE

I have two books this week. The first is a cozy mystery set in Victorian England. I liked the characters immediately and thought it was a good mystery. I already have the second book in the series in my bookshelf. 

       ~ From Suzanne

The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries - Mrs. Jeffries, Bk 1
Author: Emily Brightwell

IS THERE A DETECTIVE IN THE HOUSE? She keeps house for Inspector Witherspoon... and keeps him on his toes. Everyone is astonished by the inspector's Scotland Yard successes - but they don't know about his secret weapon. In fact, even he doesn't know about his secret weapon... because she's as ladylike as she is clever. No matter how messy the murder or how dirty the deed, Mrs. Jeffries' polished detection skills are up to the task... proving that behind every great man there's a woman - and that a crime-solver's work is never done...

This book I wasn't so sure about and ended up loving it. You end up rooting for Queen Victoria and her demon fighting skills! ~ Suzanne

Queen Victoria Demon Hunter
Author: A. E. Moorat

London, 1838. Queen Victoria is crowned; she receives the orb, the scepter, and an arsenal of bloodstained weaponry. If Britain is about to become the greatest power of the age, there’s the small matter of the undead to take care of first. Demons stalk the crown, and political ambitions have unleashed ravening hordes of zombies even within the nobility itself.

But rather than dreams of demon hunting, Queen Victoria’s thoughts are occupied by Prince Albert. Can she dedicate her life to saving her country when her heart belongs elsewhere?

With lashings of glistening entrails, decapitations, zombies, and foul demons, this masterly new portrait will give a fresh understanding of a remarkable woman, a legendary monarch, and quite possibly the best demon hunter the world has ever seen.

Thanks for sharing your reviews, Suzanne!

THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, and Top Crime Novels of All Time

We just read THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES by Jussi Adler-Olsen in our mystery group, "Book 'Em!--and I'm into his second book, THE ABSENT ONE as I write this.  THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES was given starred reviews by three of the four top review sites--and a definite thumbs up by our book discussion group, and is the first of the Department Q series. 

Carl Morck used to be one of Copenhagen's best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl--who didn't draw his weapon--blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. The new Department Q is a department of one, and Carl's got only a stack of Copenhagen's coldest cases for company. When Carl demands an assistant, he gets a lot more than he bargained for--a mysterious Muslim named Hassad who dons rubber gloves to clean thoroughly, makes bad coffee, drives like a madman, and acts like a Syrian Sherlock Holmes. Carl is content to put his feet up and do little or nothing, but Assad digs into the case files. He locates valuable bits of information, smoozes with the secretaries, and goads Carl into acting like a detective. This unlikely pair soon become wrapped up with a challenging cold case--the disappearance five years earlier of Merete Lynggaard, a beautiful, talented, and dedicated young politician. Did Merete fall overboard while she was a passenger on a ferry? Did she commit suicide? Or did someone abduct her? Is she really dead?  This is Scandinavian crime fiction at its best.

Just for fun, I ran across a list of the 101 Top Crime Fiction Novels of All Time, and found I've only read about 20 percent of them.  Take a look--how many have you read?  Do you think anything is missing?  I would have liked to see THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO there. What do you think?

~ Katherine

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ THE ROSIE PROJECT ~ Week Ending November 25, 2013

“But I’m not good at understanding what other people want.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ said Rosie for no obvious reason. I quickly searched my mind for an interesting fact.
‘Ahhh…The testicles of drone bees and wasp spiders explode during sex.”
― Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project

THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion  

Don Tillman is a brilliant scientist, but hopeless at social interactions. Determined to find a wife, Don develops a sixteen page questionnaire for “The Wife Project.” When Rosie Jarman walks in with her “Father Project, ” Don quickly discounts her as a candidate for his lifelong partner, but is caught up in helping her find out who her biological father was. As Don narrates the book in first person, the reader gets to share in the challenges he faces in dealing with Asperger's Syndrome, trying to navigate many situations that unsettle his scientifically calculated approach to daily existence. This novel is a wonderful tale of two very different people developing a relationship and how they accommodate each other's uniqueness. The ending may leave you with questions about the outcome of the Father Project, but the Wife Project seems pretty well settled.  Look for a sequel.......  ~ Katherine

Earth from Space and More Coffee Table Books

EARTH FROM SPACE by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

For lovers of "coffee table books," EARTH FROM SPACE is a magnificent and telling book about our changing planet. 

"From space, Earth is a magnificent sight, splashed with vivid colors, patterns, textures, and abstract forms. Views from above can also provide telling information about the health of our planet. To help us understand the more than 150 breathtaking satellite photographs in Earth from Space, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, an aerial photographer and devoted environmental activist, discusses the impact of deforestation, urban sprawl, intensive farming, ocean pollution, and more. Using high-resolution imagery, we can monitor the evolution of vegetation around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, snow loss on Mount Kilimanjaro, and the health of migratory bird populations. Earth from Space’s compelling selection of satellite images raises important questions about our future, while also showcasing the planet’s beauty—leaving no doubt that it is something crucial to protect."  ~ From the Publisher

Madagascar. Near-infrared is often used to detect vegetation, which may appear in the final image as red, such as the mangrove trees here along the Betsiboka River's estuary. Nearby rice and cassava plantations are in lighter red, yellow and pink.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is the founder of GoodPlanet, an organization dedicated to preserving the environment, and the award-winning author of more than forty books, including the international bestseller "Earth from Above." He is a traveler, photographer, and former hot-air balloon pilot, and is world renowned for his astonishing photography books. His seminal work, "Earth from Above", has been published in numerous languages and was the basis for a worldwide photo exhibition. Arthus-Bertrand's work regularly appears in "Geo, Life, National Geographic", and "Paris-Match."

Looking for more coffee table type books? We have a few on our center display.  And.... Check out HuffPost Books article on 15 Gift-Worthy books! 

~ Katherine 

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ 419 ~ Week Ending November 18, 1013

419 by Will Ferguson

How far would you go for revenge?

"A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine. A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa. And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims. Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: "Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help..." 

Most of us have received those scam emails, and hopefully promptly deleted them, but Ferguson's novel tells the tale of one elderly man who got caught up in a Nigerian email swindle scheme.  In Canada, it is determined that Laura Curtis’ father has committed suicide after he's lost his home and life savings to a scammer.  Ferguson ties together the story of Laura's quest for revenge with the Lagos scammer who snared Laura’s father and is in the clutches of a local crime syndicate, as well as a young pregnant woman who has fled her desert home looking for safety and a young storyteller's son from Nigeria who is trying to survive the political and social troubles of Nigeria's oil-soaked delta. The title, “419,″ is the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud, and especially known for e-mails asking for assistance involving the theft of a large sum of money out of Nigeria. Winner of the 2012 Giller Prize, and a good read.  ~ Katherine

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ MY STORY ~ Week Ending 11/11/13

MY STORY by Elizabeth Smart

More than a decade after her kidnapping from her Salt Lake City home by ersatz street preacher Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, Elizabeth Smart tells her tale of almost a year of captivity, and finally, rescue and retribution, and how she physically and mentally survived her ordeal. She tells a compelling story of why she waited for rescue rather than trying to escape (Mitchell made it clear that he would go after her family), and how she never fell under any kind of "Stockholm Syndrome." Elizabeth Smart has been able to take her mother's advice to reclaim her life.  Even though many months were stolen from her, the future is hers, and the choice to live it fully and happily, is her choice to make.  She's gone on to college, marriage and has created a foundation to prevent and stop predatory crimes.  ~ Katherine

THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE and DANCE OF THE WINNEBAGOS ~ REVIEWS

Thank you to Suzanne for sending in two book reviews!

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Author: Katherine Howe

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest—to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.

As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past then she could have ever imagined.

I really liked this book. Although I didn't find it scary, I did find it very interesting.


Dance of the Winnebagos Jackrabbit Junction Mystery - Volume 1
Author: Ann Charles
Note: Coming soon to The Brookfield Library

From the Multiple National Award-winning Author of the Deadwood Mystery Series! "Ann Charles delivers laugh-out-loud dialogue, unforgettable characters, and pulse-pounding suspense." ~Vicki Lewis Thompson, New York Times Bestselling Author When Claire's grandfather and his army buddies converge in the Arizona desert to find new wives, it's her thankless job to keep them out of trouble with the opposite sex. But when she finds a human leg bone and partners with a reluctant geotechnician to dig up secrets from the past, trouble finds her. If she doesn't stop digging, she could end up dead.

I really enjoy this author. She makes mysteries interesting and very funny. There's a nice element of romance which I normally don't like but I think she writes it very well. 

~ Reviews from Suzanne

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ BIG BROTHER ~ Week Ending November 4, 2013

Are we our brother's keeper?  

When Pandora, a successful entrepreneur living in Iowa with her stepchildren and her financially unsuccessful, "addicted to exercise" husband, arrives at the airport to pick up Edison, her older brother, he's gone from a very attractive slim and hip guy to a morbidly obese man in a wheelchair.  

What do you do? What can you say?  Do you ignore the elephant in the room?

Her brother, a talented jazz musician has been in a downward career spiral for some time, and overate in a "big" way to deaden his personal pain. He and Pandora grew up in Hollywood in a very visible, dysfunctional family. Their mother may have committed suicide, and their father, a washed up television star, contacts them every so often to gleefully criticize any failures and ignore any accomplishments. 

But Pandora has always adored her brother, and wants to save him, and she's faced with a choice. She can try to change the path her brother has taken, find out the real reason he's over eating, and force him to go on a diet with her support, or she can drive him back to the airport and let him get on with the destruction of his body and his life. One choice may destroy her marriage, the other her brother.  

Lionel Shriver, a National Book Award finalist So Much for That and author of the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, writes about marriage, family ties and obesity with wit and sensitivity.  She tackles an issue that is extremely personal, yet socially obvious and ostracizing. And she throws in a plot twist that you don't see coming.  ~ Katherine

" Let no man thirst for lack of Real Ale." — Toast on a matchbook from Commonwealth Brewing, Massachusetts

 “Next to music beer was best.” — Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Don't miss our beer brewing class this Friday, starting at 7:00 p.m. here at the library.  The class will be led by Mark and Tess Szamatulski, owners of Maltose Express Home Brew and Wine Making Supply store in Monroe, CT for more than 20 years, and they will cover following a recipe, sanitizing, wort cooling, fermentation, and more.  Samples of homebrew will be served. The program is free to those attending, but there is an age requirement of 21+.  Please register if you are planning to attend.

Tess Szamatulski is the author of two beer recipe books:  

• Clone Brews : Recipes for 200 Commercial Beers
• Beer Captured : Homebrew Recipes for 150 World Class Beers 

Copies of her books will be available for purchase at the program, or you can check them out at the library, along with additional beer recipe titles already in our collection.

To get in the spirit of the event, here are some great literary quotes about beer from Flavorwire!

Are These the 13 Most Underrated Books?

Lists of books are always entertaining.  Several of my favorite books are on this list, and there are some I've been meaning to read forever.  Some of them are unfamiliar, which gives more credence to the idea that they are underrated, right?

Check out the list.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Do you have a sleeper favorite that should be included? What is it?

 Are These the 13 Most Underrated Books?

A Few Seemingly Random Titles

Can you guess what these books have in common?

They are all featured this week on our DearReader online book site. 
 

With 5 minutes a day and an email address, you can join one (or more!) of DearReader’s FREE online book clubs!

 

 

For one week, you can sample books, and decide if you want to read them.  From there you can request them from the library, or choose to purchase them. 

 

There are 12 categories/genres of books.  Something for everyone!  Click here for DearReader.

In the spirit of Halloween, past

A few literary grave stones and markers. I love Dorothy Parker's "Excuse My Dust."