2/27: New at the library this week

DVDs:

• Dracula
• In harm's way
• Carrie
• Nutty Professor II
• Good morning Vietnam
• The exorcist III
• Mission to Mars
• Gone in 60 seconds

Books:

• Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West / Gregory Maguire — When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? (read an exerpt; sample chapter)
• Hollywood Station / Joseph Wambaugh — For a cop, a night on the job means killing time and trying not to get killed. If you're a cop in Hollywood Division, it also means dealing with the most overwrought, desperate, and deluded criminals anywhere. When you're patrolling Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, neither a good reputation nor the lessons of scandals past will help you keep your cool, your sanity, or your life when things heat up. (read a sample chapter)
• The bronze horseman / Paullina Simons — Tatiana and Dasha Metanov are not just sisters, but close friends. They share a bed in the communal apartment where they live under Soviet rule in Leningrad, a city of lost grandeur where people now struggle in poverty along its once romantic streets. In the summer of 1941, war is the furthest thing from their minds. Then the horrifying announcement comes crackling over the radio: the German army has invaded. It is against this background that Tatiana falls in love with a Red Army officer, Alexander—the very same soldier who is the object of Tatiana's beloved sister's affection. As the relentless grip of winter closes in and the German army advances, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn into an impossible love that could tear Tatiana's family apart. (read an exerpt)
• The summer garden / Paullina Simons — This is the climactic book in Paullina Simons' epic trilogy that began with the international bestseller, the heartbreaking The Bronze Horseman. From the bestselling author of The Girl in Times Square, comes the magnificent conclusion to the saga that was set in motion when Tatiana fell in love with her Red Army officer, Alexander Belov, in wartime Leningrad in 1941.
• Murder at the opera / Margaret Truman — Political opera has been alive and well in Washington D.C. since the city became the nation's capital, and the Washington National Opera company, housed at the Kennedy Center, is no stranger to politics itself. Murder at the Opera re-introduces a popular couple who have appeared in some of the earlier Capital Crimes novels: law professor Mac Smith and his wife, Georgetown gallery owner Annabel Reed-Smith, who has a professional relationship with some of the Washington National Opera's most renowned players - its trustees. (Capital Crimes Series, #22) (read a sample chapter)
• Mornings on horseback : the story of an extraordinary family, a vanished way of life, and the unique child who became Theodore Roosevelt / David G. McCullough — is about the world of the young Theodore Roosevelt. It is the story of a remarkable little boy, seriously handicapped by recurrent and nearly fatal attacks of asthma, and his struggle to manhood: an amazing metamorphosis seen in the context of the very uncommon household (and rarefied social world) in which he was raised. (read an exerpt; sample chapter)
• The path between the seas : the creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 / David G. McCullough — The building of the Panama Canal was one of the most grandiose, dramatic, and sweeping adventures of all time. Spanning nearly half a century, from its beginnings by a France in pursuit of glory to its completion by the United States on the eve of World War I, it enlisted men, nations, and money on a scale never before seen. Apart from the great wars, it was the largest, costliest single effort ever mounted anywhere on earth, and it affected the lives of tens of thousands of people throughout the world. Here in all its heartbreak and eventual triumph the epic adventure is brought vividly alive by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of such books as The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Truman, and John Adams. (read an exerpt)
• Surprisingly simple quilts / Martingale & Company — Add beauty and brilliance to quilts without all the work! Great fabric and color combinations are the key to gorgeous quilts, and this collection of patterns proves that easy and eye-catching can make the perfect quilting team. Choose from over a dozen projects that require no templates-truly quick and easy to complete.
• The book of lost things / John Connolly — High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things. (read a sample chapter)
• Blue rodeo / Jo-Ann Mapson — Owen Garrett is sitting on his horse surveying a bundle of activity: A newcomer in town, Margaret Yearwood, dressed only in a man's workshirt and panties, is running back and forth between a water faucet and two amorous dogs engaged in what Owen calls "the natural order" - and one of those dogs is his own blue heeler, Hopeful. When Margaret's attempts to separate them fail, Owen takes the opportunity to introduce himself to his new neighbor, who he soon learns shares his desire to leave the past behind.
• Point blank / Anthony Horowitz — When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It's up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this nefarious plot, before they find him. (Alex Rider Series; Age Range: Young Adult) (read an exerpt)
• Skeleton Key / Anthony Horowitz — Working as a secret agent for Britain's most exclusive agency, Alex Rider has seen it all. He's been shot at by international terrorists, stood face-to-face with pure evil, and saved the world—twice. But fifteen-year-old Alex is about to face something more dangerous than he can imagine: A man who's lost everything he cared for—his country, his son—a man who has a nuclear weapon, and will stop at nothing to get his world back. Unless Alex can stop him first... (Alex Rider Series; Age Range: Young Adult) (read an exerpt)