Staff Picks
Welcome to the library's
"Staff Picks" section of our web site!
Please visit often -- we
plan to make additions to this section frequently.
Not only will you get
to know more about some of the great materials – old and new –
which are
available at this library, you'll get to know us a little better,
too!
-- Tom Kern, Library
Director
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Title: Blues de Musicien, by the Pine Leaf Boys
A dynamic group of young musicians, the Pine Leaf Boys emerge onto
the popular scene with their newest album, Blues de Musicien. The
album blends traditional Creole and Zydeco music with elements from
more contemporary styles such as blues, jazz, and French-Canadian
rock. The album, nominated for a Grammy award in 2007, has been
cited as one of the fore-running albums in the re-emerging Cajun
music scene, which almost disappeared altogether in the 1980s and
90s. The Pine Leaf boys play traditional Zydeco favorites, but also
resurrect more obscure songs by famous Cajun musicians with a more
contemporary feel. It’s a high-energy, easy-listening album that
will satisfy both Creole purists and fans of more contemporary
folk-rock alike.
Call Number: P
PINE BM P 33
Click here to read more about this
CD on Amazon.com!
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Title: I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley
When I heard that the essays in this book were written in the vein
of David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell, I knew I couldn’t pass this one
up. In her first book, Sloane Crosley, a twenty-something New
Yorker, shares her humorous take on being young in the city today.
Whether skewering her experiences as an indentured bridesmaid to an
estranged high school friend, baking an ill-advised cookie in her
boss’s likeness in a misguided attempt to gain favor at her first
job, or managing to lock herself out of both her new and her old
apartment on the same day in the process of moving, the essays are
often hilarious and sometimes pathetic, but never dull. This book is
a rare and original treat from a new voice in the genre of
contemporary American humor—check it out!
Call Number: 814.6
CRO
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: A Skating Life, by Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Hamill’s A Skating Life is a very interesting and captivating book about “America’s Sweetheart’ – an Olympic gold medalist. Family depression, friction with her parents, two failed marriages, financial difficulties and other personal tragedies are some of the many difficulties Dorothy has faced, and she candidly describes them in this book. These difficult times are all intertwined along her journey to becoming an Olympic champion. I grew up in the same era as Dorothy Hamill and I was amazed at the roller coaster of a life that she has endured. From the outside looking in, all we see are the smiles and the medals around the necks of our Olympic heroes. I was quite saddened to learn that someone robbed her of her precious jewelry collection while she was staying at a hotel preparing for yet another competition. This book reveals many incidents that brought tears to my eyes -- none moreso than the struggle that she had throughout the years with her mother. I was happy that Dorothy and her mother were able to talk about and resolve some of their past issues, and in the end have a more normal mother-daughter relationship. I really enjoyed his book – I couldn’t put it down.
Call Number: 921
HAMILL
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul , by Karen Abbott
If you are anything like me, you may never have even heard of
Chicago’s Everleigh Club, an exclusive brothel operated by sisters
Ada and Minna Everleigh from 1900 to 1911 on South Dearborn Street,
but its fame once reached across the world. The Everleigh Club
played host to everyone from Prussia’s Prince Henry, who famously
drank champagne from one of the courtesans’ shoes, to legendary
boxer Jack Johnson. The Everleigh sisters spared no expense in
making their establishment the most sought-after (and expensive) of
its kind at the time in Chicago, perhaps even in the world, and the
sumptuous details of the locale, colorful history of the
proprietors, and detailed description of Chicago politics,
corruption, and reformers attempting to rid vice from the
crime-ridden city are skillfully brought to life by author Karen
Abbott. If you liked Erik Larson’s
The Devil in the White City,
which documents late 1800s Chicago,
Sin in the Second City is a great follow-up.
Call Number: 306.74
ABB
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
The author chronicles Scott’s first year of high school. Scott
writes letters (as a guy his age shouldn’t be writing in a journal)
to his unborn brother about what high school is like. He gives his
humorous opinions on whether it is better to get bullied on the bus
or to catch a ride to school with a new friend who “borrows” cars
and doesn’t pay for gas. He also uses his wit to deal with the tough
guys at school who beat him up, but will he ever get the nerve to
approach the girl of his dreams?
Call Number: LUBAR
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: Julia Child, by Laura Shapiro
Call Number: 921 CHI
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman
Call Number: 304.2
WEI
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Title: A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah relates the story of how he underwent a transformation from mischievous child to ruthless child soldier in this captivating memoir of his youth in war-torn Sierra Leone. Harrowing in detail, sad, and yet hopeful, Beah’s account of the events that took place in his life shed new light on the psychology of children who are turned into brutal warriors by forces outside their control. After several years of participating in armed conflicts, Beah was rescued by UNICEF, rehabilitated, and became a spokesperson for their cause, eventually graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio. A Long Way Gone will haunt you long after you put the book down, serving as a reminder of the need for advocacy for children everywhere who are caught in armed conflicts.
Call Number: 966.404
BEA
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Compact Disc: Once: Music from the Motion Picture, Original Soundtrack
Glen Hansard, frontman for the Irish band The Frames, and classically-trained Czech musician Markéta Irglová make beautiful music together on the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed film Once. The musicians, who also play the lead roles in the film, create songs that tell the story of love, heartache, loss, possibility, and hope, and portray the emotions of the characters. The music is more than good enough to stand on its own, even if you have not seen the film. The melodic arrangements range from both of the characters singing songs solo, to harmonies featuring the duo, to collaborations with a band for a larger sound. The sound is part Irish, part rock, and part ballad. And if you like the music…the movie is now playing at the Catlow Theater in Barrington!
Call Number: L
ONCE ONC H 86
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Book: The Fence Bible: How to plan, install, and build fences and gates to meet every home style and property need, no matter what size your yard, by Jeff Beneke
I don’t know about you but I absolutely love to watch the Home and Garden channel on television or any DYI show. In half an hour, a tumbledown house or yard is instantly transformed in to something fabulous! Unfortunately the program does not list a 1-800-FIX-MYHOUSE in the closing credits.
Your library has the answer to your woes. Or should I say many hundreds of answers. One of them is the wonderful “The Fence Bible: How to plan, install, and build fences and gates to meet every home style and property need, no matter what size your yard.”
Instead of looking at ugly garbage cans, I will have a lovely fence with dark blue morning glories growing on it.
Call Number: 717 BEN
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Book: Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman, a professor at MIT, takes on the imaginative mind of legendary scientist Albert Einstein. In this work, Einstein contemplates the properties of time in a collection of short vignettes. His "mental experiments" are both abstract and relatable. Lightman does an excellent job of taking on the iconic thinker. He is able to be intellectually stimulating without being pedantic. Einstein's Dreams transcends a scientific work by reading like a social commentary and has a narrative structure that mirrors that of Italo Calvino or Jorge Luis Borges. It's short and engaging -- more bang for your buck!
Call Number: LIGHTMAN
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Book: Finn, by Jon Clinch
If you’re looking for a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading the last page you won’t want to miss this first novel by Jon Clinch. All at once powerful, dark, riveting and utterly heartbreaking, Finn goes beneath Huck Finn’s Mississippi to reveal the dark secrets hidden behind Mark Twain’s classic tale. Clinch reveals the story of Huck’s parentage – a story of forbidden love and loss – with pitch perfect prose that pulls the reader into the story and makes this book a tough one to put down.
Read the book and meet the author when he visits Wauconda Area Library this November!
Call Number: FINN
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Book: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up the latest book by Khaled Hosseini, author of the spectacularly popular first novel The Kite Runner, do it now! I liked The Kite Runner but Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is even better. It is currently number one on the New York Times Bestseller List for fiction.
Again the setting is Afghanistan, with the action taking place over several decades. This time we are introduced to two women, Mariam and Laila, whose lives become intertwined due to forces beyond their control. Rather than giving away any more of the plot details, I simply want to recommend this exceptional story written by an equally brilliant author.
For more information about the author and both of his books, go to Khaled Hosseini’s website at http://www.khaledhosseini.com.
Call Number: HOSSEINI
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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DVD: Babel, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
I recently saw the movie Babel and it has been on my mind quite a bit. Not only was it disturbing and challenging, the events were thought provoking as well: we are interconnected in ways we can’t even imagine. And tragedy is universal. We don’t understand each other – that’s the main message of the film, hence the title.
It revolves around 4 different sets of people, three tales more closely connected and one less so which is located in Japan. First, the Japanese tale is about a deaf mute teenage girl who experiments in sexuality in dangerous ways likely due to her inability to communicate; her father once owned a gun that ends up critically wounding an American tourist in Morocco. Second is the tale of the Moroccan family which is torn apart by this event – the sons are given the gun by their father to kill jackals, but end up shooting at the tourist bus instead creating an international incident. Third, the American tourists’ tale (the couple played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who is shot), includes their marital problems which add to the heavy drama already in place. Fourth, the tourists’ children at home in the USA are brought (illegally) to Mexico to attend their nanny’s son’s wedding, resulting in perhaps the most unsettling tale of them all. This movie is not going to make you feel better. It will leave you haunted and wondering about tragedy, immigration, terrorism, travel, cultural differences, and the amazing lack of communication that exists between all of us.
Call Number: BABE
Click here to read more about this
DVD on Amazon.com! Click here to read reviews about this DVD on RottenTomatoes.com!
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Book: The Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
This is a story of how the lives of three people from different backgrounds intersect. It tells how a successful art dealer and his wife happen to meet an itinerant man and the bond that eventually develops between them. It is a spiritual journey that neither one expected to make, yet is compelled to make. The story is told from two different perspectives; of Ron Hall the very successful art dealer reluctantly responds to his wife’s desire to help out at a shelter for the homeless. And of Denver Moore the modern day slave who fiercely rejects any friendly overtures from this odd couple. The unlikely friendship that develops between Ron and Denver is wonderful to see unfold and the love that they share for the same woman, Debbie Hall whose vision and calling brought them together.
Call Number: 921
HALL
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Book: The Blade Itself, by Marcus Sakey
This psychological thriller debut by Chicago author, Marcus Sakey, will keep you up at night until you finish the last page. Two friends, Evan and Danny, grow up on the South Side of Chicago and lead a life of petty crime. This all changes after a robbery of a pawn shop goes horribly wrong. Danny escapes and Evan takes the fall when the police show up. The real story begins seven years later when Danny has built a comfortable, honest life as a construction manager on the North Side. When Evan is released on early parole, Evan is determined to draw Danny back into a life of crime. Danny struggles with guilt, honoring his childhood friend, and preserving his new life. The lines between good and evil are blurred until to the explosive conclusion. Might there be a sequel? Let’s hope so!
http://www.wauclib.org/adultweb/Readalikes/ChicagoMysteries.htm
Call Number: SAKEY
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Book: Kate Remembered, by A. Scott Berg
One of the finest biographers of our time, A. Scott Berg provides a fascinating portrait of Katherine Hepburn’s life. Fiercely private, Hepburn was remarkably candid with Berg, on the condition that the biography was published only after her death. Berg’s narrative reads like a collection of stories about a dear friendship, which is what Berg had with Hepburn. The strength, wit, humor and grace of Katherine Hepburn shine through this biography. You will be heading for the DVD shelf to experience or revisit Hepburn’s movie magic after reading this book.
Call Number: 921
HEPBURN
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DVD: Why We Fight, directed by Eugene Jarecki
This DVD is a no holds barred description of
why we have to war since fighting the last “good” war (WWII).
The filmmaker Eugene Jarecki interviews many current public figures
and many in the military establishment about our political and
economical reasons for going to war. The film hits home when during
his last speech as President of the U. S., Dwight Einsenhower warns
us about the growing influence of the “military-industrial complex”
has in making foreign policy decisions and ultimately making us an
economy that depends on war.
Call Number: 956.70443
WHY
Click here to read more about this DVD on Amazon.com! Click here to read reviews about this DVD on RottenTomatoes.com!
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BOOK: The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
This fantasy-filled story follows the adventures of the young heroine, Lyra, as she attempts to rescue kidnapped children. Complete with magical witches, armored bears, and the complex golden compass that guides Lyra, this story is sure to please. I highly recommend listening to the audio version which is narrated by a full cast. Harry Potter fans just might find a new favorite in this series! This title is part of the His Dark Materials Series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass).
Call Number: PULLMAN
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BOOK: The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture, by John Battelle
Have you ever wondered about the who’s, why’s and how’s of Google, the internet search giant? This is the book for you: The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. Author John Batelle provides an easy to follow, not too technical story of Google, how it came to be, how it works, how it has evolved over the last few years, and what its future holds. It is fun to read about founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page as college kids with an idea, fledgling entrepreneurs celebrating big success over Burger King. It is also fascinating and informative, and can even be intimidating at times: the sheer numbers are staggering to contemplate as well as Google's ability to manipulate and direct users discriminately. Google is now quoted as having 60% of all search engine queries. Where Google will lead next and its potential in various arenas proves how powerful this company has become.
I hope you enjoy this terrific non-fiction book. If it happens to be checked out, while you are waiting for it why not spend some time looking at the other new non-fiction titles that have just arrived at the library . . . there is sure to be something here to please every reader’s tastes.
Call Number: 338.761
BAT Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, by John Grogan
Every now and then I treat myself to a dog story. Dog stories are like dogs themselves -- you can always count on them if you just give them a chance. Marley and Me is a book you can count on to take you on the emotional roller coaster that is the relationship between a dog and his or her human. Anyone who has ever been lucky enough to be part of a dog's life will greatly enjoy this book. Even if you've never known a dog or are a "cat person," it is certain that you will laugh and cry as you read the author's unsentimental account of his life with Marley, a 97-pound Labrador retriever who, though expelled from obedience school and behaviorally challenged, proves to have the indomitable spirit and unconditional devotion so representative of what so many of us love about our dogs.
Call Number: 636.7527
GRO
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: Popular Music from Vittula, by Mikael Niemi
This is the story of Matti, a young boy growing up in the farthest north of Sweden close to the Finnish border. He has loads of intense, coming of age experiences that are sure to resonate, amuse and endear the reader. This book is written in a vignette format, each chapter relating a new drama in Matti’s life, taking place in the early 1960’s. The first time hearing rock and roll (the Beatles!), first alcohol, first sexual experience, bullies at school, BB gun fights in the woods, extremes of a Finnish sauna, weddings with adults drinking and eating themselves into oblivion, Grandma’s funeral – some things are particular to a small village in Scandinavia, some things are universal to growing up anywhere. This is a superbly written book, enchanting, magical, weird and perhaps even gross at times; Mikael Niemi captures exactly the emotions of a nostalgic look back at childhood, while at the same time making Matti’s memoir seem alive and wonderfully present. One of the American Library Association’s Notable Books for 2005, an international bestseller (apparently selling more copies in Sweden than any other book, ever), Popular Music from Vittula will be a memorable read and maybe even one of your favorite reads of 2006.
Call Number: NIEMI Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II, by Richard Kurson
This book is a fascinating look at the competitive and dangerous world of deep sea “wreck” divers. These divers risk their lives for a glimpse of history in sunken boats and submarines. In 1991 a boat captain, Bill Nagel learned of an unidentified wreck off the New Jersey coast. He assembled a team of divers which included two men, John Chatterton and Rich Kohler, with vastly different philosophies on diving. Together these men forge a friendship while rewriting World War II Naval History. This book will immerse you in the culture, intrigue, danger and mystery of diving the Atlantic.
Call Number: 940.5451
KUR Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: The
Other Boleyn Girl: A Novel, by Philippa Gregory
I just finished Philippa Gregory’s novel, The Other Boleyn Girl. It is a tremendous book, with great characterizations and wonderful subplots within an exciting and descriptive story. I love historical fiction and this book was a treat: you could visualize and imagine exactly what it was like at Henry VIII’s court, as well as what life was like for the common folk of the period as well. Narrated by Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn’s sister, the characters literally jump off the page. The sisters act as a foil to each other as only sister-rivals can, and their politically ambitious Howard family is depicted exceptionally by Gregory – the reader can’t wait to find out what scheme they are up to next. This is a story of love, drama, deception, intrigue and ambition to name a few. If you are looking for a compelling page turner and to escape our modern reality, take a step back in time and read this book!
Call Number: GREGORY Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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Summer Reading: 1776, by David McCullough (and related biographics):
I've enjoyed reading (and listening) this summer more than any other -- perhaps as a means of escaping the unrelenting heat, but more than likely because of the subject matter. I started with the audiobook of David McCullough's reading of his own book, 1776, which only whetted my appetite for more information. "1776" is a misnomer for McCullough's book, which, though riveting (the "plot" is loaded with intrigue and suspense, even though we already know the ultimate happy ending), only begins to shed light on the most important year in American history, focusing mainly on George Washington's activities that year. I quickly moved on to Joseph Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington, which provides much of the context surrounding the narrow perspective provided by 1776, and makes a man out of the myth. After so much Washington, though, it only made sense to dive into that vast historical ocean of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Henry, and others. I just finished McCullough's John Adams and am now well into Merrill Peterson's Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography. (1072 pages, and well worth the time investment if you'd like to learn more about this most fascinating period in history). At the same time, I'm checking out Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin, an American Life by listening to the audiobook while I'm dead-heading the flowers, taking the dog for her walk, grocery-shopping with my wife, or driving the kids here and there. Getting these various perspectives of the same time in history is like putting together a puzzle with thousands of tiny pieces -- many pieces look the same, but with subtle differences which make it more challenging (and MORE FUN). I'm now in the thick of some great reading (and listening) -- books from past and present -- life is good!
Book Call Number: 973.3 MCC
Audiobook
Call Number: 973.3
MCC
Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: Blink:
the Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink is about how we use our intuition – the sixth sense that helps us make quick decisions and judgments – and it is a revealing and captivating account. Malcolm Gladwell gives the reader examples of how powerful our instincts are, starting with John Gottman, an expert who can predict divorce rates by observing married couples’ conversations. A couple is videotaped for 15 minutes discussing something innocuous like the family pet. After analyzing the tape, Gottman can predict with about 90% accuracy whether the couple will still be married in 15 years. But it’s not just “gut instinct” leading Gottman’s predictions: the data from the conversation is evaluated intensely – each second is assigned a code indicating positive or negative emotions and categorized accordingly. So actually what appears to be intuition is really a complicated process, just like our brains have to analyze diverse information in order to reach the outcome of our gut reactions. “Thin slicing,” as Gladwell puts it, “is the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience.” Moreover, it seems that if we are able to focus on the simplicity of the decision, we are more likely to succeed – the more information we are given, the harder the decision becomes. Other examples of quick perception leading to success: heart attack analysis in emergency rooms, speed dating, car sales, Pepsi versus Coke, and Pentagon war games. Yet Gladwell is swift to point out the hazards of snap judgments – and provides examples of its failure, including the police’s murder of Armadou Diallo in New York.
All in all this was a fascinating look at how our brains work when making decisions. No wonder Blink is currently number one on the New York Times Bestseller List for Non-fiction!
Call Number: 153.44 GLA Click here to read more about this book on Amazon.com!
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BOOK: Heal
Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain, by
Dr. David Buchholz
This book has literally changed the way I live. It wasn’t easy and I have to work on it everyday but it has been worth it! I have suffered from migraine headaches most of my life. I had heard several of the things in this book before, if you have migraines you know how everyone thinks they know the “thing” that will solve your problem, but they never worked for me. Dr. Buchholz explains how important it is to do those “things” in a certain way. I had to give up chocolate and caffeine completely. I also had to stop taking the many different Dr. approved migraine medications that I was relying on f |
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