6/24: New at the library this week

Books:

• The cold moon / Jeffery Deaver — On a freezing December night, with a full moon hovering in the black sky over New York City, two people are brutally murdered - the death scenes marked by eerie, matching calling cards: moon-faced clocks investigators fear ticked away the victims' last moments on earth. Renowned criminologist Lincoln Rhyme immediately identifies the clock distributor and has the chilling realization that the killer - who has dubbed himself the Watchmaker - has more murders planned in the hours to come.
• The hard way / Lee Child —Military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he's thrust into an explosive situation that's about to blow up in his face. For the only way to find the truth- and save two innocent lives- is to do it the way Jack Reacher does it best: the hard way.
• Kill me / Stephen White — We’ve all been there. A loved one or a dear friend becomes desperately ill or is tragically injured. Someone—maybe even you—says, "If that ever happens to me, I wish someone would just . . . kill me." What if you could choose when to die? But once you decide, you can’t change your mind. Ever. No matter what.
• The saboteurs / W. E. B. Griffin — The all-new return of Griffin's bestselling series about the OSS in World War II.
• Giada's family dinners / Giada De Laurentiis — The young and glamorous chef applies her cooking style to everyday meals.
• Edible and medicinal plants of the West / Gregory L. Tilford — invites anyone interested in plants, personal well-being, and a healthy environment to discover the healing powers of the herbal world. Full-color photographs face detailed descriptions of 250 plant species in the western United States and Canada, covering field identification, habitat and range, edibility, medicinal uses, and more.
• Parallel destinies / Judy Ferguson — Ferguson has built on a special historic connection, the mystique between Alaska and the Slavic East by portraying the parallel destinies of the Balkans and Alaska, the Last Frontier.
• Beyond the killing tree : a journey of discovery / Stephen Reynolds — Memoir of a game warden whose experiences in Alaska and New Mexico transform him from a hunter to a protector of wildlife.
• Blood at the root / Peter Robinson — When the brutally beaten body of a young man is found in an alley, Eastvale's Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his coleague, Detective Constable Susan Gay, have no choice but to lock up the three Pakistani youths who seemingly started it all after an argument in a pub. But they're out in no time and Banks is in big trouble with the Chief for risking a racial incident with the arrest.
• Exercises for osteoporosis : a safe and effective way to build bone density and muscle strength / Dianne Daniels — an essential book for any and all at risk for this debilitating disease, with over 100 detailed exercises for all people, at all levels of fitness, and at all stages of the disease.
• At risk / Patricia Cornwell — A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, an attractive but hard-charging woman, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk, its motto "Any crime, any time."
• Dispatches from the edge : a memoir of war, disasters, and survival / Anderson Cooper — Few people have witnessed more scenes of chaos and conflict around the world than Anderson Cooper, whose groundbreaking coverage on CNN has changed the way we watch the news. In this gripping, candid, and remarkably powerful memoir, he offers an unstinting, up-close view of the most harrowing crises of our time, and the profound impact they have had on his life.
• 30-minute get real meals : eat healthy without going to extremes / Rachael Ray — The bestselling cookbook author and Food Network star serves up another helping of creative, hassle-free recipes that are ready to rock your tastebuds in less than thirty minutes. The latest addition to Rachael's runaway hit series of 30-Minute Meals cookbooks is designed for cooks who want to look and feel great but long for the fun and the flavor that's missing from their extreme low-carb meals.
• Dead watch / John Sandford — From the author of the bestselling Prey novels comes an extraordinary story of murder, passion, and deadly ambition-a political thriller like no other.
• The Medici dagger / Cameron West — Hollywood stuntman Reb Barnett lives on the edge to avoid the nightmares of his past -- until an anonymous phone call pulls him from his world of cinematic illusion and sends him to Italy on a desperate quest where danger and violence are chillingly real. Reb seeks Leonard da Vinci's Circles of Truth, a coded fifteenth century map that will lead him to the Medici Dagger,an ingenious but lethal invention -- a weapon so light and indestructible it's worth a fortune to arms manufacturers.
• The enemy / Lee Child — Jack Reacher. Hero. Loner. Soldier. Soldier's son. An elite military cop, he was one of the army's brightest stars. But in every cop's life there is a turning point. One case. One messy, tangled case that can shatter a career. Turn a lawman into a renegade. And make him question words like honor, valor, and duty. For Jack Reacher, this is that case.
• The war of the worlds / H. G.Wells — large print edition
• Heart of darkness / Joseph Conrad — large print edition

Battle of the Books 2006-07

We've had several inquiries already from those eager to jumpstart their reading for next winter's competition. The tentative title list for all levels is online now, but keep in mind that there's usually at least one or two in each level that change before the list is finalized in the fall around when school starts. We'll be checking this list against our collection and posting a list of the specific titles we have on hand later this month, but just glancing through I am seeing several that I'm fairly confident we'll have available. As usual, we'll put all of our battle titles together in a display, so watch for that to be coming soon too.

6/10: New at the library this week

Videos:

• The long kiss goodnight

DVDs:

• The curse of the were rabbit
• Jarhead

Books:

• My sister's keeper / Jodi Picoult — examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another?

• In the bleak midwinter / Julia Spencer-Fleming — Clare Fergusson, St. Alban's new priest, fits like a square peg in the conservative Episcopal parish at Miller's Kill, New York. She is not just a "lady," she's a tough ex Army chopper pilot, and nobody's fool. Then a newborn infant left at the church door brings her together with the town's police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who's also ex-Army and a cynical good shepherd for the stray sheep of his hometown. Their search for the baby's mother quickly leads them into the secrets that shadow Miller's Kill like the ever-present Adirondacks.

• Killer dreams / Iris Johansen — If you close your eyes, he'll get you. Sophie Dunston knows all too well how dreams can kill. As one of the nation's top sleep therapists, she specializes in the life-threatening night terrors that her ten-year-old son, Michael, suffers from. But she is also an expert in another kind of terror --the kind that can turn a dream life into a living nightmare in the blink of an eye.

• Wisdom of our fathers : lessons and letters from daughters and sons / Tim Russert — What does itreally mean to be a good father? What did your father tell you, that has stayed with you throughout your life? Was there a lesson from him, a story, or a moment that helped to make you who you are? Is there a special memory that makes you smile when you least expect it?

• Middlesex / Jeffrey Eugenides — The breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; nominated for the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award, Fiction; 2002 Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Transgender.

Upcoming Event: Book and bake sale 6/17

The library will be participating in a special bazaar on the Saturday during the Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival: June 17, from 11 am to 3 pm in the Multipurpose Room. We're hoping that Seldovians will help the library out by baking and donating items that we can offer for sale. If you are able to make a donation, please contact Shirly Giles at 234-7856 to arrange for delivery of your baked goods. And if not, please plan to stop by the bazaar and browse our books (adult books 50 cents each or three for a dollar; children's books just 10 cents each!). All of the money we raise will go directly to increase our collection.

6/2: New at the library this week

DVDs:

• North Country

Books:

• School's out-- forever / James Patterson — Brave bird-kid Max and her flock fly south on a perilous quest to find their parents, after having rescued Angel and recovered secret documents about their origins. But just when they think they've finally escaped the hungry claws of evil Erasers, they're discovered by an FBI agent and forced to face perhaps an even worse nightmare: going to school.
• The bookwoman's last fling / John Dunning — Denver bookman Cliff Janeway would have liked Candice Geiger. She loved books with a true bookwoman's passion. Her collection of first-edition children's books is the best that Janeway ever hopes to see.
• The Lady & Sons just desserts : more than 120 sweet temptations from Savannah's favorite restaurant / Paula H. Deen — The queen of Savannah's The Lady & Sons restaurant, Paula Deen knows how to please a hungry crowd. In The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, Paula shares the down-home recipes that made her famous, including her signature Gooey Butter Cake (with luscious variations). Peach Cobbler, Turtle Cake, Sweet Baby Carrot Cake, Lemon Curd Pudding, and Pecan Dreams.
• The Complete step-by-step guide to home sewing / Jeanne Argent — This is an eminently practical book, crammed full of attractive ideas for improving any room. Whatever your style, whatever the mood you want to create, 'Home Sewing' delivers excellent technical guidance on an impressive range of topics.
• Life, 100 photographs that changed the world — The power of pictures is celebrated in this portfolio of the most forceful still images of all time.
• A Gathering of Saints in Alaska : an informal chronicle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state of Alaska / Patricia B. Jasper