"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."
~St. Augustine
The end of February means Spring Break is just around the corner. I for one am already planning my trip and finding help at the library. We've got maps, travel guides, and books about myriad destinations around the world. And if you aren't planning on going anywhere, let a book do all the work by allowing you to explore different places, people, and cultures without leaving home!
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
MATCHED is a story of a society where statistics and probability rule. "Bad" genes have been bred out of the gene pool, so disease, crime, and other unsavory aspects of human life are virtually nonexistent. Also, people are no longer allowed to create things. There is no writing or painting, and cursive is considered a lost art. The story centers around Cassia, who at the beginning of the book has just had an important birthday. When teenagers turn fifteen, they receive their Match, a mate that has been selected for them based on the probability their match will be successful, determined by several factors. Cassia's Match turns out to be her best friend, and she is ecstatic. However, just before the screen goes blank, she sees another face. So, which mate is truly her Match? The story unfolds in a compelling way, with Cassia's eyes slowly being opened to the cruelties of a society where choice is at a premium. I couldn't put the book down, and I look forward to the next installment. Call #: F MOO
FICTION HARDCOVER
TICK TOCK, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) The New York detective Michael Bennett enlists the help of a former colleague to solve a rash of horrifying crimes that are throwing the city into chaos. Call #: F PAT
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, by Deborah Harkness. (Viking, $28.95.) The recovery of a lost ancient manuscript in a library at Oxford sets a fantastical underworld stirring.
Call #: F HAR
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
DEAD OR ALIVE, by Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood. (Putnam, $28.95.) Many characters from Clancy’s previous novels make an appearance as an intelligence group tracks a vicious terrorist called the Emir.
Call #: F CLA
THE SECRET SOLDIER, by Alex Berenson. (Putnam, $25.95.) When the king of Saudi Arabia is threatened, the former C.I.A. operative John Wells goes undercover to help.
Call #: F BER
THE INNER CIRCLE, by Brad Meltzer. (Grand Central, $26.99.) An archivist discovers a book that once belonged to George Washington and conceals a deadly secret.
Call #: F MEL
THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $28.95.) A man who committed a crime but allowed another to be sent to death row in his place now wants to admit his guilt, but must convince the authorities he’s telling the truth.
Call #: F GRI
ROOM, by Emma Donoghue. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) A mother’s prison is her young son’s entire world.
Call #: F DON
STRATEGIC MOVES, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) In the 19th Stone Barrington novel, the New York lawyer works with the C.I.A. to transport a fugitive.
Call #: F WOO
SWAMPLANDIA!, by Karen Russell. (Knopf, $24.95.) The pleasures and miseries of life at a failing alligator theme park in the Everglades.
Call #: F RUS
WHAT THE NIGHT KNOWS, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam, $28.) Someone is murdering entire families, recreating in detail a crime spree that took place two decades earlier.
Call #: F KOO
THE SENTRY, by Robert Crais. (Putnam, $26.95.) Joe Pike and Elvis Cole, Hollywood private eyes, try to help a woman who is not as innocent as she appears.
Call #: F CRA
THE WEIRD SISTERS, by Eleanor Brown. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) Three sisters from a highbrow family return home, each with a secret she’s unwilling to share.
Call #: F BRO
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, by Donald Rumsfeld. (Sentinel, $36.) The former defense secretary’s memoir discusses his role in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Call#: 352.293 RUM
UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Random House, $27.) An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.
Call#: BIO ZAM
CLEOPATRA, A biography of the last queen of ancient Egypt.
Call#: BIO CLE
BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER, by Amy Chua. (Penguin Press, $25.95.) A Chinese-American mother makes a case for strict and demanding parenting.
Call#: BIO CHU
DECISION POINTS, by George W. Bush. (Crown, $35.) The former president’s memoir discusses his Christianity and the end of his drinking; his relationships with members of his family; and his decisions on 9/11, Iraq and Katrina.
Call#: 973.931 BUS
I BEAT THE ODDS, by Michael Oher with Don Yaeger. (Gotham, $26.) This memoir by the Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle describes how he broke out of the tough streets of Memphis and into a world of opportunity.
Call#: BIO OHE
THE PIONEER WOMAN, by Ree Drummond. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $25.99.) The proprietor of ThePioneerWoman.com describes her marriage.
Call#: BIO DRU
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOL. 1, by Mark Twain. (University of California, $34.95.) In his autobiography, published unexpurgated for the first time, Twain is pointedly political and willing to play the angry prophet.
Call#: BIO TWA
CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOKS
SILVERLICIOUS, written and illustrated by Victoria Kann. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99.) Pinkalicious has a loose tooth, and it’s her sweet tooth. (Ages 4 to 8)
Call #: E KAN
OF THEE I SING, by Barack Obama. Illustrated by Loren Long. (Knopf, $17.99.) In a letter to his daughters, the president has a message about heroes. (Ages 5 to 8) Call #: J 973.9 OBA
LOVE SPLAT, written and illustrated by John Bemelmans Marciano. (Viking, $17.99.) written and illustrated by Rob Scotton. (HarperCollins, $16.99.) Splat likes Kitten. Spike likes Kitten. Well, Kitten? (Ages 3 to 7)
Call #: E SCO
WHEREVER YOU ARE, MY LOVE WILL FIND YOU, written and illustrated by Nancy Tillman. (Feiwel & Friends, $16.99.) All about the tenderness a parent feels for a child. (Ages 4 to 8)
Call #: E TIL
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
I AM NUMBER FOUR, by Pittacus Lore. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Members of another civilization live secretly among Earth-dwellers. (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F LOR
THE LOST HERO, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $18.99.) A return to Camp Half-Blood and semi-divine characters old and new. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
WITCH AND WIZARD, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. (Little, Brown, $9.99.) One of each, a sister and brother, flex their new powers. (Ages 10 and up) Call #: YA F PAT
DELIRIUM, by Lauren Oliver. (Harper/HarperCollins, $17.99.) Coming of age in a society that imposes "a cure for love." (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F OLI
MATCHED, by Ally Condie. (Dutton, $17.99.) In this dystopian romance, a girl rebels against a deterministic future society. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F CON
TORMENT, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99.) A novel about the nephilim, the children of humans and fallen angels. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F KAT
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day."
~A.A. Milne, from Winnie the Pooh
Come show your love for books and libraries by checking out one of our newest releases. Also, please join us for our discussion of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" on Thursday, February 17 at 5:00 p.m. at the library. It is the story of one family who chose to eat locally for a year, which resulted in lots of hard work, good food, and memorable experiences in butchering turkeys.
FEATURED NEW RELEASE
SHERLOCKIAN When I was a young girl, I bought a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories. I had recently been on an Agatha Christie kick, and there’s something about the gloomy British countryside with its mysterious manors and haughty aristocrats that appeals to me and makes for an excellent setting for mysteries. However, I remember being sorely disappointed. Holmes was too cold and unlikable, and Watson was unrealistically bumbling and slow. So, I was a little wary of reading a story about Conan Doyle and his rabid fans (or Sherlockians as they call themselves). It did not disappoint, though. It is especially interesting because it tells two stories – one in present day, involving the murder of the preeminent Sherlockian, who some believed was killed because of his announcement of having found the lost journal of Arthur Conan Doyle. The book also follows Doyle and Bram Stoker as they try to find a serial killer that has been murdering young girls in London. Doyle of course employs many of the same deductive tactics as his main character, which makes for interesting reading. He isn’t quite as pompous as Holmes, but he comes close. Bram Stoker’s character is a breath of fresh air. It is a treat to read the dialogue between two such famous writers and their feelings about their work and their posterity. I preferred reading Doyle’s story rather than the current one, which chronicled the investigation of the murder by a young Sherlockian, Harold White, and his sidekick, Sarah. The characters were a bit one-dimensional, and I found myself indifferent to how their story turned out. Call #: F MOO
FICTION HARDCOVER
TICK TOCK, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) The New York detective Michael Bennett enlists the help of a former colleague to solve a rash of horrifying crimes that are throwing the city into chaos. Call #: F PAT
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.
Call #: F LAR
THE INNER CIRCLE, by Brad Meltzer. (Grand Central, $26.99.) An archivist discovers a book that once belonged to George Washington and conceals a deadly secret.
Call #: F MEL
STRATEGIC MOVES, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) In the 19th Stone Barrington novel, the New York lawyer works with the C.I.A. to transport a fugitive.
Call #: F WOO
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
Call #: F STO
SHADOWFEVER, by Karen Marie Moning. (Delacorte, $26.) Hunting for her sister’s murderer, MacKayla Lane is caught up in the struggle between humans and the Fae.
Call #: F MON
DEAD OR ALIVE, by Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood. (Putnam, $28.95.) Many characters from Clancy’s previous novels make an appearance as an intelligence group tracks a vicious terrorist called the Emir.
Call #: F CLA
THE SENTRY, by Robert Crais. (Putnam, $26.95.) Joe Pike and Elvis Cole, Hollywood private eyes, try to help a woman who is not as innocent as she appears.
Call #: F CRA
THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $28.95.) A man who committed a crime but allowed another to be sent to death row in his place now wants to admit his guilt, but must convince the authorities he’s telling the truth.
Call #: F GRI
ROOM, by Emma Donoghue. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) A mother’s prison is her young son’s entire world.
Call #: F DON
WHAT THE NIGHT KNOWS, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam, $28.) Someone is murdering entire families, recreating in detail a crime spree that took place two decades earlier.
Call #: F KOO
CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (William Morrow/HarperCollins, $25.99.) Characters from Phillips’s earlier novels reappear as a woman persuades a friend to call off her wedding to the town’s popular mayor.
Call #: F PHI
THE RED GARDEN, by Alice Hoffman. (Crown, $25.) A mysterious garden offers the key to understanding a small Massachusetts town through 300 years of passionate history.
Call #: F HOF
FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years.
Call #: F FRA
NONFICTION HARDCOVER
UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Random House, $27.) An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.
Call#: BIO ZAM
BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER, by Amy Chua. (Penguin Press, $25.95.) A Chinese-American mother makes a case for strict and demanding parenting.
Call#: BIO CHU
THE NEXT DECADE, by George Friedman. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The geopolitical forecaster who wrote "The Next 100 Years" details the enormous transition he expects over the coming 10.
Call#: 919.831 FRI
CLEOPATRA, A biography of the last queen of ancient Egypt.
Call#: BIO CLE
DECISION POINTS, by George W. Bush. (Crown, $35.) The former president’s memoir discusses his Christianity and the end of his drinking; his relationships with members of his family; and his decisions on 9/11, Iraq and Katrina.
Call#: 973.931 BUS
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOL. 1, by Mark Twain. (University of California, $34.95.) In his autobiography, published unexpurgated for the first time, Twain is pointedly political and willing to play the angry prophet.
Call#: BIO TWA
IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, by Rebecca Skloot. (Crown, $26.) The story of a woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her permission in 1951. Call#: BIO LAC
LIFE, by Keith Richards with James Fox. (Little, Brown, $29.99.) The Rolling Stones guitarist’s revealing autobiography is also a portrait of the era when rock ’n’ roll came of age, with the music itself as the book’s core.
Call#: BIO RIC
CHILDRENS PICTURE BOOKS
OF THEE I SING, by Barack Obama. Illustrated by Loren Long. (Knopf, $17.99.) In a letter to his daughters, the president has a message about heroes. (Ages 5 to 8) Call #: J 973.9 OBA
MADELINE AT THE WHITE HOUSE, written and illustrated by John Bemelmans Marciano. (Viking, $17.99.) Madeline and the other little girls befriend Candle, the lonely only daughter of the president. Call #: E MAR
KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, $17.99.) A little girl and her well-loved companion take a trip that leads to unexpected discoveries. (Ages 3 to 7). Call #: E WIL
CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS
I AM NUMBER FOUR, by Pittacus Lore. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Members of another civilization live secretly among Earth-dwellers. (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F LOR
THE LOST HERO, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $18.99.) A return to Camp Half-Blood and semi-divine characters old and new. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)
Call #: J F RIO
WITCH AND WIZARD, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. (Little, Brown, $9.99.) One of each, a sister and brother, flex their new powers. (Ages 10 and up) Call #: YA F PAT
TALES FROM A NOT-SO-POPULAR PARTY GIRL, by Rachel Renée Russell. (Aladdin, $12.99.) The further reflections of Nikki Maxwell on the agonies of middle school; a "Dork Diaries" book. (Ages 9 to 13) Call #: J F RUS
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, by Beth Revis. (Razorbill, $17.99.) The spaceship Godspeed travels to a new Earth carrying 100 frozen people. (Ages 14 and up)
Call #: YA F REV
MATCHED, by Ally Condie. (Dutton, $17.99.) In this dystopian romance, a girl rebels against a deterministic future society. (Ages 12 and up)
Call #: YA F CON
