Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins

Ms. Lukins has written a cookbook that features menus for celebrations throughout the year. The first section of the book is A Year of Celebrations. It begins with a buffet, Ring in the New Year , which includes pork tenderloins and a “platter of plenty” that has a wide array of roasted and blanched vegetables. This dinner is topped off with a pineapple upside down cake. She ends the holidays with A Toast to the New Year complete with recipes for Sparkling Crab Salad and chocolate truffles. She provides the recipes and suggests the music, drinks and table settings for the occasion. In her introduction to each holiday, she gives us a quick overview of the holiday and its special meaning or traditions.

The second half of Celebrate! is dedicated to Celebrating Our Lives. Recipes and ideas for occasions such as The Big Raise, A Gracious Housewarming and my favorite, Celebrate a Ripe Tomato. Her recipe for the Garden Tomato Tart uses frozen puff pastry which makes this easy to make. Recipes for appetizers, main dishes and desserts are plentiful and easy to make. This is a delightful cookbook/ party planner which is fun to read and even more fun to use. Celebrate! - Reviewed by Deb

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

This book transported me to India in the 1500’s. This is the fictionalized story of a real woman named Nur Jahan. She was born to a poor Persian nobleman and his wife. After suffering through a great many difficulties, her family’s luck began to change. As a beautiful young woman, she experienced life in the Imperial harem (the zenana) and began to understand the role of women and the power that they exerted. While there, she falls in love with Prince Salim, but unfortunately is required to marry a cruel Persian soldier, Ali Qui. We follow the parallel lives of Prince Salim and Nur Jahan through their marriages and births of children to the conquest of an empire.

Indu Sundaresan engages the reader of this historical romance through the use of vivid descriptions of clothing, food and customs. She gives the reader a peek into the daily life of both the poor and nobility. I am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Power Behind the Veil. - Reviewed by Deb

The Touch by F. Paul Wilson

In the third entry in the Adversary Series (the first being The Keep, the second one being the first Repairman Jack novel, The Tomb), a caring and compassionate doctor by the name of Alan Bulmer is given the ability to heal people by just touching them. This ability, called The Touch, or Dat-tay-vao, unfortunately comes with a price, which I dare not reveal here, as it one of this book's many wonderful plot twists.

I love this book. The main character may be the sweetest and most sympathetic main character of any book I have ever read, which makes all the bad things that happen to him even more tragic. The book moves at a fast pace, but the author also allows enough time for character development and does his best to make everyone as three dimensional as possible. There is a villain in this story, but even he is not drawn out to be totally evil. And one supporting character who starts out as being a bit aloof and anti-social eventually mellows out and turns out to be quite a nice guy in the end. The plot twists are absolute genius and the story is very unpredictable. It is also a very fast read. I plowed through it just one day!

Though the front cover makes this out to be a horror novel, it is really a medical thriller, with elements of horror and the supernatural thrown in. There is even a sweet romance in the book. A very touching and moving book. I think it is one of F. Paul Wilson's best books ever. A must read! - Reviewed by Rich

Dewey: a Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

What’s not to like about this New York Times bestseller? A true story about a cat which was found almost frozen in a library book-drop on January evening, adopted by the library staff, beloved by everyone who used the library, and who eventually became known around the world? Too cute for words - yet I fell I love with Dewey, identified with the daily routine at the Spencer Public Library and admired Vicki, who was the library director at Spencer for twenty years. Vicki’s personal history of her family, along with the history and values of Spencer made this book more than just a story about a personable and appealing feline. Recommended. - Reviewed by Janet


Vicki Myron was interviewed on the Charles Osgood Sunday morning show television program and a friend of mine called me to tell me to look at it. When I listened to the interview and saw that she wrote a book about an orange cat(my favorite type), I just had to read this book.

This is a very touching story not only about the cat Dewey and the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa but about the town, its people, and the changes it has been through over the last two decades.

The author shares a lot with us about her life with all its challenges and ups and downs. This book made me cry and laugh and this was fine. It’s a wonderful story not only for those of us who work in public libraries.

I heard it will be made into a movie with Meryl Streep that I am looking forward to watching. - Reviewed by Patricia

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I feel I should start this review with a disclaimer: I am not the target audience for this book. Perhaps if I were, my review would be quite different, since the popularity of this book indicates that the writing holds appeal to one group or another.

That said, Twilight is a strange book. Now, I love a good vampire story, I really do. I also love a bad vampire story, because let's face it - vampires are awesome. The modern-day vampires are monsters, and that appeals to the tough little kid in all of us, and they are tragic romantic heroes, and that appeals to the wide-eyed and full of wonder little kid in all of us. But Twilight isn't so much a book about vampires as it is about restraint. So much restraint perhaps, that it approaches the idealized courtly love of a medieval story from a young adult book of the early 21st century.

The story centers around Bella Swan, a young lady (high school junior) who moves back to the Pacific Northwest to get away from her mother and her mother's new boyfriend. The first third of the book must be much maligned in the Pacific Northwest, because the major feature of that section of the book is discussing how much the Pacific Northwest is terrible. Bella really honestly hates it, until she spots Edward, whose major personality feature seems to be that he's gorgeous and that he doesn't want to hang around with Bella.

After a rocky start and some admittedly decent set-up, Bella realizes Edward is a vampire and their courtship starts. It basically consists of Bella wanting to know Edward better (in every sense of the word) and Edward insisting he's dangerous. Edward's claims of danger are undermined by his a. inability to leave Bella alone and b. the fact that nothing about him seems dangerous in any way. His thirst for blood is under control. His reaction time is so inhumanly fast that nothing can hurt him (or anyone with him). He insists that if he lost control he could really hurt Bella, but his control is so exacting we never believe him. He doesn't even burst in to flame in the sunlight... he just sparkles. In the end, we're left wondering what the downside is to being a vampire, and why he's so dead-set against allowing Bella to become one.

There's really not much to recommend for this book or the series. The book is paced oddly, spending most of the book on set-up of the world they live in and what vampires are. The characters are often one-dimensional; Bella is inhumanely distant emotionally, and inhumanly clumsy physically. Edward doesn't have much going for him, in terms of personality. Bella's father seems to exist only because she has to have one parent or another to live where she does. And most of the other humans in the book (with the possible exception of the Native Americans) are written in such a way as you feel they do nothing but compare, poorly, to the vampires...

And yet...I can’t help but want to know what happens to these characters next. I can't explain why. But I'm very, very interested in reading the rest of the series. Which can only mean that even if I can't identify it, there must be something right about this series. Off to read New Moon now. - Reviewed by John

Without the King: the Shocking and Astonishing Story of the Kingdom of Swaziland

In 2006, when filming took place, Swaziland was the last absolute monarchy in Africa and one of 4 remaining worldwide. King Mswati III was chosen from the 250 children of the 110 wives of his father to inherit the throne. Though he is educated and well-spoken, he appears to be unable to comprehend the facts of life that most of his subjects face daily. Swaziland has a 69% + poverty rate, an incredible HIV rate of 42.6% of its 1.1 million people and more than 80,000 AIDS orphans. Interviews with the king’s first wife and oldest daughter are compelling. You will never forget the image of Princess Pashu shaking the hands of very young children orphaned by AIDS. It’s obvious they would have much preferred being given a piece of bread. - Reviewed by Nancy

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

An elderly man – a regular library patron - sparked my curiosity about Philip Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials. Although they were shelved in the Young Adult section, he told me that they were based on John Milton's Paradise Lost and recommended them for adults.

He was listening to the audio books on CD, read by the author. I, too, listened to the three books - read aloud to me over the course of several months by a friend (a great way for us to experience books together!)

The Golden Compass was the most exciting – filled with brave children, evil parents, arctic places with cool names like “Svalbard” (a real place that is home of the global seed vault about 700 miles from the North Pole!), armored polar bears, and physical "daemons," which are spirits in personalized animal forms attached to every human. In the finale, a massive explosion of energy released from the separation of a child from his daemon rips a hole in the universe that the young heroine, Lira, travels through to a new world.

In the second book, The Subtle Knife, Lira meets Will, who uses a magical knife to cut anything – even windows into more worlds. From this point and throughout the third book, The Amber Spyglass, the adventure follows the two children as they explore the world of the dead and confront a fundamental choice between good and evil that parallels the story of Eve’s choice in the Garden of Eden.

I really enjoyed these books. They were fun and also thought-provoking in that they raised questions of spirituality, organized religion and the existence of a supreme, divine "Authority,” as well as scenarios of global climate changes. Sometimes, though, I felt that the three books could have been consolidated into one, for it seemed like the author was repeating himself. Although that may allow each book to stand on its own, I advise reading them in order.

We began reading/listening to these books last winter, the same period of time that the first book in the trilogy, The Golden Compass, was released as a movie. I haven't seen it yet, but the library has the DVD. I’ve placed a hold on it and am looking forward to watching it.

I would recommend the Dark Materials trilogy to adults and youth who enjoy fantasy/science fiction, or just want to read a good adventure tale. - Reviewed by Joyce

Exit...Stage Left by Rush

I am a big fan of the Canadian progressive hard rock trio Rush, but I have never been a fan of their live albums, especially this one, Exit...Stage Left. Why? Mainly because Rush live are very similar to Rush on their studio albums, since they try to do the songs live the exact way they are done on the studio albums. And since the sound of their studio albums (at least from the era represented here, '74 to '81) were so perfect and the sound on this live album is not, there is not too much reason to want to have this.

I certainly approve of the song selection. Any Rush album to have songs like on it Xanadu, Jacob's Ladder, Beneath Between Behind, La Villa Strangiato, Freewill, A Passage To Bangkok (included on the original LP and remastered CD, but not here),and Red Barchetta is more than worth owning. For the casual Rush fan, their three most well known songs, Tom Sawyer, The Spirit Of Radio (a tune I’ve never liked!), and Closer To The Heart, are included here, the last one featuring a children’s choir. It is the mix that I have the biggest problem with. Alex Lifeson's guitar is very low in the mix, which is disappointing because it was so loud on the studio albums and a big part of their sound back then. I could also do without Neil Peart's drum solo, which is in the middle of the instrumental YYZ. Peart gets a chance to show off enough during the songs, so a drum solo from him is unnecessary.

The front and back cover, which show at least one object and/or person from every Rush album from their debut to 1981’s Moving Pictures, is kind of amusing. I like Alex Lifeson’s classical guitar solo Broon’s Bane, partly because it is one of the few times on the album his guitar is audible. And I like the introduction to Jacob’s Ladder, during which Rush play part of a Sam Cooke song; it may be the only moment of spontaneity on the whole album!

Like the first live album, All The World’s A Stage, Exit…Stage Left marked the end of an era for Rush. The next four albums (which include my least favorite album, Power Windows) would see Rush veer further away from their original hard rock roots and add more and more synthesizers and keyboards. I like this album, but do not consider it a must have for Rush fans. - Reviewed by Rich

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

This debut mystery begins in Birmingham, England in 1984. Kate Meaney is 10, a loner who lives with her grandmother after her father has a stroke and dies, and is obsessed with becoming a detective. Her world revolves around her imaginary detective agency, Falcon Investigation, which she runs with her stuffed toy, Mickey the Monkey. Kate lives next door to a sweets shop, and offers surveillance to the owner and his son, Adrian, who at 22 is Kate’s main friend in her solitary life and the only adult who knows of her desire to one day be a private detective. She also does undercover spying at the new shopping center, Green Oaks, and it is there that she suddenly disappears one day, never to be seen again. Adrian, pulled into the police station for questioning, also vanishes after the anguish of being accused of her abduction.

After Kate is lost, the novel jumps to 2003, where Adrian’s sister, Lisa, is an assistant manager at a record shop in the Green Oaks mall. She knows her brother is alive only because he sends her a mixed tape every year on her birthday, but it is not until she finds a stuffed monkey in the mall that she begins to think constantly of Kate and Adrian’s disappearance. Shortly after finding the monkey, a lonely security guard working the night shift at the mall begins to see a girl show up on his CCTV cameras that looks like Kate.

Part mystery and part ghost story, the novel also has funny moments to it, and a budding romance between Lisa and Kurt, the security guard haunted by images of Kate. Both Lisa and Kurt are hiding secrets, including Kurt’s horrible one of seeing Kate the day she was disappeared. Everything is artfully tied together at the end, and readers do get to find out what happened to Kate. Full of wonderfully detailed characters, a haunting desire to find out what happens to Kate, and many surprises, I was enchanted by this novel and couldn’t put it down. While heartbreaking, I highly recommend this gripping book. – Reviewed by Sarah

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron has a good sense of humor. This book is light and enjoyable and will make you smile and maybe even laugh. Included in a list of “What I Wish I’d Known”: “Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of thirty-five you will be nostalgic for at the age of forty-five, you can order more than one dessert and you never know.” I agree. Ephron is currently blogging for the Huffington Post. - Reviewed by Nancy

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Rachel Carson was a writer, scientist and the mother of modern ecology. This excellent documentary chronicles her investigation into the effects of chemicals upon our ecosystem. When she wrote the book, Silent Spring, in 1962, she was both hailed and hated. Because of her research and documentation of the hazards of chemicals, the U.S. Government began Congressional Hearings regarding their use and regulation.

Her insights into the interdependence of nature are still valid and meaningful for us today. After watching this dvd, I am re-reading Silent Spring (632.9 Carson) as well as her biography ( Biography Carson). - Reviewed by Deb

State of Play by David Yates

This 2008 release had a great cast with a plot that got more and more twisted with each episode. I love movies like that! They grab you and suck you in and you just have to watch it to see what’s going to happen next. It’s a combination murder-mystery, big-business political intrigue, with enough suspense and drama to keep you constantly revising your expectations of what will happen next. Timely, too, in that the subject matter basically deals with corporate greed and the effects it has on everyday people. The end of every episode was better than the last, with the final three leaving me with a dropped jaw, making for really fun viewing.

I had been wanting to see more of James MacAvoy after watching his wonderful performance in Atonement. He was good in this series, too, and the rest of the cast were convincing in their parts as well. It had moments of comedic relief which also helped. Just when the tension got almost unbearable, the writer inserted some great, anxiety busting gut reactions to the horrible intrigue going on around the characters: nervous giggling, uncontrollable laughter at the absurd audacity of the two-timing politicians and CEO’s involved. When it really counted, though, the human tragedy of the story was not at all overlooked. The ending left me really thoughtful, wondering about human nature. Good movie viewing, definitely some violence, more than I care for, but I’d give it 3 ½ stars! – Reviewed by TCPL Staff

Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins

Addressing the realities, insecurities, fears and joys of modern life, Emily Perkins takes us into the world of Tom and his wife, Ann. Perkins invites us into an intimate connection with this young couple trying to hold their complex lives together. Set in England, the story opens after Ann has died and Tom is seeking to make sense of her death and of her life. Sensitively and honestly, Perkins uses Tom’s voice to carry us back into their lives before her death and into the sense of fragility that haunts them. The descriptions of their love, the excitement of their pregnancy and of the challenges, both seen and unseen, they face drew me deeply and quickly into the story. Knowing that Ann has died, I followed along wondering if her death was caused by the hooded man who she’s seen following her, a health problem or some other incident. While this suspense is one focus of the book, it by no means overshadows the story. The writing moves along quickly but not without the well-written details and descriptions of subtleties that made me feel as if I knew Ann and Tom as friends. This is a great book for readers who enjoy a bit of suspense without ending up being kept awake by nightmares! It also offers an insightful tale of what it’s truly like to live in these times. - Reviewed by Cassandra

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

Furies of Calderon, by Jim Butcher, is a solid fantasy novel which has one extra thing going for it - it’s not like other fantasy novels. While I'm a fantasy fan, people who like the genre do have to admit one thing - much of it (by no means all, but much of it) - is written as a Tolkien rip-off. The same medieval societies, the same "fear but respect" magic, the same elves, dwarves, orcs, and other such things. Furies of Calderon is different.

There is no question this is a pure fantasy novel, unlike Butcher's other, more popular series The Dresden Files which takes place in the modern day. This is a world where magic is real. So real, in fact, that everyone has a little of it. Every human has at least a little bit of "fury-craft", the ability to manipulate elemental creatures called Furies. Furies come in six types - earth, air, fire, water, metal, and wood - and humans usually have at least a little ability in 1 or 2 of those types, which allows them to shape items made of those things, or manipulate emotions that are like those things (firecrafting calls up anger, for example), or even have simulacrums of living creatures made of those things - we meet a dog made of stone, for example. Most humans just have enough to make life a little easier - to light lamps, or keep the rain off, or make the field a little easier to plow... but some, mostly nobility, are incredibly powerful and can do things that well qualify as "magic". Everyone in the entire world... except Tavi.

Tavi is 15, and by 15 most students have at least a bit of skill (it seems to start no later than puberty, sometimes earlier) in furycrafting. Tavi can't do it at all. He is seen - at best - as fundamentally disabled - while the crueler folks among his village think he's a freak of nature. Tavi is smart, sensible, and caring, but seems destined to live an abnormal life, and probably alone. He's being raised by his aunt and uncle in a small valley and outside a small village. It’s utterly unimportant, and far removed from the political intrigues of the Roman-like cities and civilization of the Aleran Empire. Or it would be, except that his valley is the border in to the lands of the Marat, a nomadic, almost-human people who have gone to war with Alera before, and seem poised to do so again.

Tavi, his friends (including one newly arrived), and his family must do more than just survive the coming storm of clashes between those loyal to the empire and those who oppose it, and of the marauding Marat - if possible, they have to avert it. If you want to read a fantasy novel with a fully-constructed and realized setting but are a bit bored of the same old thing, you should read Furies of Calderon, the first book in a 6 book cycle called Codex Alera, 4 of which are already published - the 5th will be out in November. - Reviewed by John

Frommer's Portable New York City 2008 by Brian Silverman

Autumn is a wonderful time of year to explore New York City. Frommer's Portable is an easy to use pocket sized guide book. The book begins with a calendar of events, how to get there and getting to know the New York City neighborhoods. The maps included in this guide are excellent. Restaurants and hotels are listed from inexpensive to very expensive. They include excellent descriptions of specialty dishes and listings for the best pizza and bagels in the city.

Exploring New York City is a chapter about the top attractions in New York City, their histories, hours and fees. I especially enjoyed reading about the museums and Central Park and other places to play. For shoppers, there are hints on where to go and what to buy. The last chapter is about New York City after dark and has numerous suggestions for attending the theatre and musical events. I spent a week in New York City this past summer and wish that I had taken this pocket guide with me! - Reviewed by Deb

Whisky by Juan Pablo Rebella

There is so much going on in this film and a lot of it lies beneath the surface. Jacobo, a sock factory owner in Uruguay finds himself having to get ready for a visit from his younger, more vivacious and quite prosperous brother Herman. Herman has run a very successful sock factory in Brazil for the past twenty years. Family ties have been lost but Herman does manage to come to visit for the ritual of placing a memorial stone for their mother’s grave. Jacobo has taken care of their mother during her final years. He doesn't want his brother to think he is alone now, so he enlists Marta a longtime employee to masquerade as his wife. I was taken with how well the film moved cinematically and with its subtleties. I won’t tell you why the title is Whisky - you’ll have to see it to find out. - Reviewed by Patricia

51 Birch Street by Doug Block

This documentary tries to answer one of the most basic questions children often have about their parents – are they really happy together? Documentary filmmaker Doug Block believed that his parents, Mike and Mina Block, had a strong, but maybe not entirely loving, marriage that lasted for 54 years. When Mina died suddenly of pneumonia, Mike shocked the family by taking a trip to Florida and reconnecting with his old secretary from work, Kitty, three months after Mina’s death. Did this mean Mike had been cheating on his wife for over 30 years?

Struggling with the news that his father has married his secretary, and that he will be moving to Florida and selling the Long Island family house, Doug Block tries to learn more about his parents and what went wrong. This process is helped greatly by old photographs, interviews with family and friends, and a surprise treasure trove of daily diary entries from Mina herself. When Doug finally agrees to read his mother’s diaries, he is in for a shock about her marriage over the years. A surprise conversation with his father towards the end of the documentary explains his father’s side of a difficult marriage and a renewed sense of love at the age of 83. Highly recommended for documentary lovers and those interested in family histories. – Reviewed by Sarah

The Manning Sisters by Debbie Macomber

This romance by Macomber features the story of two sisters living in different states. When Christy visits her sister Taylor in Montana, she ends up unexpectantly falling in love with the local Sheriff. The only problem is that she is engaged to another guy – in Seattle. Should she stay with the man she is involved with, or follow her heart? This book is very suspenseful and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good romance to read. The Manning Sisters is made up of two books that Macomber wrote in the early 90’s – The Cowboy’s Lady and The Sheriff Takes a Wife. –Reviewed by Jackie

Rat Salad: Black Sabbath, the Classic Years, 1969-1975 by Paul Wilkinson

First of all, don't let the title Rat Salad (which is also the title of an instrumental from the album Paranoid) scare you off, for if you do, you will be missing a great book. There have been many books written about Black Sabbath, but none of them go into such detail about the songs (from their debut album to Sabotage) as this book does. The author gives a background on Black Sabbath and throws in many other personal details about the band. He also lets us know what else was going on in the world at the time that these albums were released (both politically and musically), as well as talking about himself (though I'm not sure if the tidbit about his baby sitter was necessary!). But...the main focus here is on the songs themselves. I like that he states very clearly in the beginning of the book why he only goes up to the album Sabotage and why he didn't interview any of the Black Sabbath members for the book.

I sing and play guitar and percussion, but am hesitant to call myself a musician and I feel that I learned quite a bit from this book. After reading it (or even WHILE reading it), I found myself going back and listening to the first six Black Sabbath albums again and trying to listen more carefully. I'm not put off that the author uses big musical terms that I have never heard of (but should have), like 'subtonic' and 'submediant', but at no point in the book does it ever feel like he is talking down to the reader. Wilkinson uses a very smooth and flowing conversational tone, which makes the book both informative and entertaining to read. Besides, if one does feel a little overwhelmed by some of the big musical terms,he does explain all of these in a glossary in the back of the book. Also, by using all these big musical terms, he shows exactly WHY Iommi's guitar riffs were so unique and so special.

If you love the music of Black Sabbath as much as Paul Wilkinson and I do, then you will love this book. - Reviewed by Rich

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

The haunting relationship between Portland, Oregon cop Archie Sheridan and the most famous female serial killer, Gretchen Lowell, continues in the newest thriller by Chelsea Cain. Set just weeks after the end of her first book, Heartsick, Archie has stopped his weekly visits to Gretchen and is trying to kick his addiction to painkillers. When bodies are found in a Portland park, Archie is reminded of Gretchen constantly because that is where her first victim was found murdered. A sudden phone call from the prison explaining that Gretchen has been beaten and raped by a prison guard brings Archie back into Gretchen’s life. Little does anyone know that Gretchen is planning her escape from prison and is soon on the run – right into capturing Archie all over again.

Full of psychological intrigue, a fascinating and unhealthy sexual relationship between the hunted and the hunter, and page-turning suspense and build ups, Cain has written another superb thriller. A subplot featuring reporter Susan Ward and her investigation into a fallen Senator who ends up dead adds to the intrigue of the book and develops Susan more in this novel. For a review of Heartsick, please view http://www.tcpl.org/sarah/2007/10/55-heartsick-by-chelsea-cain.html - Reviewed by Sarah

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

Told through a series of letters between writer Juliet Ashton and those who lived through the WWII German occupation of Guernsey, this historical fiction was engaging and imaginative. I learned a lot about what life must have been like during the five years that the English lived under German rule, but I was also taken with the lively and witty writing of the authors. It was a great summer read, one of those books that you can’t put down and when you finish, you wish for more. - Reviewed by Janet

Ready When You Are by Martha Rose Shulman

Summer is coming to a close, the kids are headed back to school and now we are again faced with the age old question, “What’s for supper?” Ms. Shulman shares more than 200 favorite “new comfort food” recipes in her book. In the introduction, she tells the reader, “These recipes are meant to be liberating.” She takes traditional recipes and lightens up the ingredients and gives us suggestions for how to prepare dishes in advance and what to do with the leftovers. She also advocates cooking many ingredients on the weekend and then using them throughout the busy work week.

Soups and stews such as minestrone, seafood gumbo, pasta e fagioli and Peruvian seafood chowder would be a hearty and filling meal as the nights become cooler. A recipe for the “Last of Summer vegetable stew” makes the most of what is left in our gardens. Roast lemon chicken with honey and Greek cheese and squash pie are easy to make and a welcome change to the weekly menu. Her dessert recipes are simple to assemble and a great ending to any meal. Some of her favorites are Bill’s Trifle, honey baked apples and homemade chocolate pudding. Delicious! - Reviewed by Deb

Secret Servant by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence, is sent to Amsterdam to purge the archives of a murdered terrorism analyst, Solomon Rosner. While in Amsterdam he uncovers a plot to kidnap Elizabeth Halton, daughter of the American Ambassador to England. Warnings to British authorities are not acted upon in time and Allon gets to the scene just as Elizabeth Halton is being kidnapped by terrorists. We follow Allon as he and his team crisscross Europe in hopes of rescuing her before the terrorists kill her.

Silva has given us an exciting novel that provides some background on the plight of the Islamic and Israeli world in the East and throughout Europe. -Reviewed by Rosie

Aristrocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox,1740-1832 by Stella Tillyard

Through excerpts from the many, many letters the sisters exchanged, you meet four 18th century woman in this book and, in a way, listen in on their conversations with one another. The oldest, Caroline, though “vastly frightened” elopes with a man her family disapproves of adamantly. Emily marries twice, has 22 children (half of whom survive to adulthood), and loves to gossip, gamble and spend money. Louisa, referred to by her sisters as “that sweet angel”, marries the wealthy owner of the Castletown estate in Ireland. Sarah has something darkly independent, even perverse, in her nature. She gains the admiration and love of the future king of England, but ends up marrying Bunbury who doesn’t love her as much as she doesn’t love him. You can find this book on the shelf with the call number 929.2 Lennox. - Reviewed by Nancy

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Early in the 1900's, a brother and a sister leave their village in Greece to escape a Turkish invasion. As immigrants, they arrive in the U.S. and wind up in Detroit, Michigan, where another relative had previously emigrated. Their romance becomes the kernel for a family saga that spans three generations.

Eugenides narrates his tale through the character of Cal, a hermaphrodite who carries a rare genetic mutation that begins to manifest when she/he reaches puberty.

In the beginning of the book, during the flight from Greece, the author painted a very gruesome picture of the burning of Smyrna - my mistake was to read it at night before going to bed - however, most of the novel was very entertaining. The author created some enjoyable characters that were quite believable.

For me, the ending was a little disappointing in that the threads of the story seemed to snip off rather than gracefully weave together, but overall, I would recommend this book to older teens and adults. - Reviewed by Joyce

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace--One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

One man can make a difference! Greg Mortenson is a mountain climber who failed in his attempt to ascend K2 in 1993. As a result, he was cared for by villagers in a remote mountain area of Pakistan. As he recovered from his failed climb, he came to understand the culture and issues facing these poor villagers. He learned that: " The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family."

David Oliver Relin recounts Greg’s vision to help reduce the results of poverty in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg kept his promise to his caretakers by raising money to build schools and bridges and improve the quality of life. As the founder of the Central Asia Institute, Greg’s humanitarian mission has extended throughout the world.

This book is an inspiring tale of perseverance and of the kindness of a courageous man. - Reviewed by Deb

Dick Francis

If you have not read a Dick Francis novel, now is a good time to start. Francis takes you behind-the-scenes into the world of horse racing with a number of different characters: jockey, trainer, owner, accountant, artist, and private investigators, to name a few. Dick Francis was himself a professional steeplechase jockey winning more than 350 races and a grand champion in 1954. He won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best Novel three times. Readers of any age who enjoy a good mystery will appreciate the detail of the racing world and the story lines.

If you like to start at the beginning, Dead Cert, was his first racing novel, but there is no need to read them in order. He wrote 36 novels and for years every March I would await the newest selection. Each title stands on its own and rarely does a character appear in more than one novel. The mysteries are fast paced with a strong appealing protagonist in his 20s or 30’s who is honorable with a high moral sense, and a high pain tolerance generally due to his rigorous and demanding years as a jockey.

With the renewed interest in horse racing after the Kentucky Derby and interest in Big Brown, this author is especially appealing. Francis is a consistent and reliable author, who writes a good story and is perfect for a summer read. -Reviewed by Rosie

Watchmen by Alan Moore

Watchmen by Alan Moore is considered one of the greatest graphic novels of all time; it is the only graphic novel to have made Time magazine's list of top 100 novels of all time. Reading it, one can see why it is so highly thought of, and rereading it, one can find new details that escape notice the first time around. Moore has set us up with a story that is surprisingly detailed, interlocked, and complex but makes sure to lay out all the details of the story in such a way that, as long as one is paying attention, it is not hard to follow at all.

The story does begin to feel a bit dated because the time period it takes place in is receding further and further from our thoughts; it was published in the late 80s and took place in 1985; 20 years later 1985 might as well be 1285 for some readers. However, it is perhaps saved from being completely obscured by the passage of time because the 1985 the story takes place in is not the 1985 we all lived through; it is a 1985 where superheroes are quite real and where one, who can create matter at will, has completely changed the course of history, technology, and the like. He is also the one thing keeping the world from mutually assured destruction, and therein lies the entire problem.

The story plays out like a mystery, and while there are superheroes and some superheroics, the costumed crime-fighters are presented in a very realistic way – far more realistic than in your average comic book – as is their impact on the world. The mystery unfolds and gets deeper and more complex, and in the end, it is solid detective work and investigation, not super powers, that gets the job done. There is no 4-color comic book ending where good is right and evil wrong, but instead the motivations and actions of multiple individuals are both called in to question and supported by the results, if not the means.

This is a thinking person’s graphic novel, and it well deserves the accolades it has accumulated over the years. - Reviewed by John

Eden's Outcasts: the Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson

Sharing a birthday and almost sharing the same day of death, the story of Louisa May Alcott and her father, Bronson Alcott, is complex and intertwined. Most readers will know Louisa May Alcott as the author of Little Women. Fewer readers will know about her father, Bronson, who was a teacher, philosopher, starter of a utopian society, and friend of Emerson and Thoreau. Matteson expertly explores their relationship – a relationship complicated by Bronson’s career faltering while his daughter became more and more famous. Highly readable and full of fascinating historical detail, this biography won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. – Reviewed by Sarah

The Tompkins County Public Library will host a reading and signing by Pulitzer Prize winner John Matteson, Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 1:00 PM in the Borg Warner Community Meeting Room. Eden’s Outcasts is a complement to the 2008 Community Read selection, March by Geraldine Brooks, which tells the story of the absentee father from Alcott’s Little Women. Copies of Eden’s Outcasts will be available for purchase from the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation on the day of the event.

Chinese Fiction

Celebrate the opening of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games by reading some Chinese fiction books from the Tompkins County Public Library. From historical family sagas to modern-day mysteries set in China, our reading list has something for everyone. Each month librarians create thematic reading lists for those looking for a good book to read. To sign up for our monthly booklist newsletter service, please visit http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/bookletter/addnluser.html?sid=6631. To view the Chinese fiction booklist, please click on the title, "Chinese Fiction" above. - Posted by Adult Services Staff

Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz

If you like dogs and farms that have animals on them with names, then this is a book for your enjoyment. The cover drew me to this book. There is a resting Border Collie laying down near some summer flowers. This of course is unusual because these dogs are very active. In this non- fiction book, Katz chronicles his days at his farm in upstate NY. He calls the farm Bedlam Farm.

His insights about his animals including 4 donkeys, 1 large steer and one cow, a flock of sheep and 4 dogs along with a cat called Mother, a rooster and hens are very funny. But he also conveys many pearls of wisdom about his move from an urban area, his love of dogs and his new place in the farm community. Katz reveals his deep connection to his wife Paula who mostly lives downstate but visits often. -Reviewed by Patricia

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy

An odd assortment of disillusioned people from varied backgrounds meet each week for an evening class to learn to speak Italian. These classes culminate in a once in a lifetime trip to Italy where some of them make decisions which change their lives for the better! If you like Maeve Binchy's writing, check out the writings of Elizabeth Goudge, Rosamunde Pilcher, Belva Plain, and Anne Rivers Siddons. -Reviewed by Deb.

March by Geraldine Brooks

Set during the Civil War, March, explores the moral complexities of war, racism, slavery, and family. Told from the view of Mr. March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s classic, Little Women, the historical novel follows March as he decides to join the Union forces in his forties as a chaplain. Author Geraldine Brooks based Mr. March on Louisa May Alcott’s father, Bronson Alcott, and like Alcott, the main character is an abolitionist, participates in the Underground Railroad, and has radical beliefs in education. Throughout this Pulitzer Prize-winning story, glimpses of March’s life before his marriage, and his letters home to his wife and girls convey wonderfully lush historical details and a beautiful love story. - Reviewed by Sarah

This summer, the Tompkins County Public Library is sponsoring our 7th annual Community Read. We urge all Tompkins County residents to read this historical novel and meet with friends, neighbors, community organizations, and area libraries to discuss March by Geraldine Brooks. TCPL has 300 copies of March for people to check out, and copies are available at all other local libraries. We also have copies in various foreign languages, as well as foreign language copies of Little Women. TCPL also has extra copies of Little Women available, as well as the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Eden’s Outcasts: the Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson (Matteson will be at TCPL on August 16th at 1 PM for a lecture). Copies of Cornell’s New Student Reading Project title, Lincoln at Gettysburg by Garry Wills, are available in addition and together these books offer readers a wonderful reading complement to the Civil War era.

Please join us for our Community Read Kick-Off this Saturday at 1 PM in the Borg Warner Community Meeting Room, when Jan Turnquist, director of Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott's famed childhood home, will assume the identity of Alcott to tackle 19th Century issues like suffrage, abolition, the Underground Railroad and equal education. For more information, please visit: http://www.tcpl.org/march/events.html.

Lover of Unreason by Yehuda Koren

If you’re intrigued by the Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes story, you’ll want to read this fascinating biography of Assia Wevill whose existence very probably helped push Sylvia toward suicide. More than just the beautiful ‘other woman’ in the Hughes marriage, Assia’s past included escaping the Holocaust, life in the newly created Israel, three husbands as well as a talent for art, translating poetry, creating advertising campaigns and seduction. She and her 4 year old daughter by Ted died in 1969. - Reviewed by TCPL Staff

The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus

April is a single mother who supports herself working as a stripper in the Puma Club for Men in Florida. When her normal babysitter, Jean, ends up in the hospital, April is forced to take 3-year old Franny to work with her. Leaving her with the house mother while she dances, April becomes involved with Bassam, a Muslim who is on his way to becoming a September 11th hijacker and who pays April to talk to him in the Champagne Room about why she chooses to dance for a living. With April being occupied with high-spending Bassam, Franny wanders into the parking lot of the club and is snatched by a disgruntled club customer who has been thrown out for getting too close to a dancer.

Set mainly over one night shortly before the September 11th attacks, author Dubus explores a multitude of characters in short, effective chapters, drawing readers into their sad lives and the impending doom of the terrorist attacks. Although over 500 pages, this is a fast-paced, taut exploration of fate, sexuality, and power. Dubus is the author of the acclaimed novel, House of Sand and Fog, and if readers liked that novel, they are sure to enjoy this electrifying novel. - Reviewed by Sarah

Manhunt: the Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assassin, escaped from Ford's Theatre the night of Lincoln's assassination with a broken leg. He headed South and was aided by several sympathizers for twelve days until his luck ran out. Mr. Swanson describes Booth's motives for killing Lincoln and his flight from Washington, D.C. in great detail, engaging the reader into the life of a famous killer. - Reviewed by Deb.

The Hummingbird's Daughter by Louis Alberto Urrea

The Hummingbird's Daughter is a fascinating tale of Mexican history that focuses on a young woman now known as Santa Teresita. The author, Urrea, explains that she was a distant relative and that he spent 20 years researching the novel.

The story follows the life of Teresita, illegitimate daughter of a 14 year old peasant, Cayetana (the "hummingbird" ) and a powerful Mexican land owner, Don Urrea (surname of the author), a man driven by his instincts for land, money, sex and power. Teresita possessed a special talent for healing and becomes the student of the old curadera of the ranch who recognizes her gifts.

The personal evolution of Teresita's life upon the backdrop of the Mexican revolution kept me turning the pages. The book dives into Christian mysticism and surfaces on the gruesome frontiers of a cruel Mexico, harsh for Indians and the "people."

I thought the ending of this work was a bit unsatifsying, but, generally, I would recommend it to anyone with a taste for Latin American fiction - especially historical fiction, which, some say, the Spanish do best. - Reviewed by Joyce