VBPL Recommends

Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

noreply@blogger.com (James G) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Amulet is the story of a very brave girl named Emily and her younger brother Navin. After losing their father in a car accident, Emily and her family move to the house of her great grandfather, who went missing some time ago. But trouble finds them again when a dark creature kidnaps their mother and drags her through a door in the basement! Determined to save their mother and guided by a magical stone amulet that Emily found in the house, the two children follow the creature into a mystical world filled with wonder...and danger!

This is a wonderful read for children. Each volume of the series takes the reader to a new part of a magical world the exists parallel to ours. The story's protagonist is a strong young girl determined to protect her family from the dangers of the new lands they find themselves in. The books feature larger than life adventures that are very compelling and move at a pace that is sure to keep the attention of young readers. The artwork is also beautiful. You'll be drawn in as you turn each page and discover breathtaking panoramas of mystical lands. The grand scale of these images will leave you feeling a sense of wonder at the world the author has created for his characters. Glowing forests, castles in the sky, and more await in the world of Amulet!

Amulet is unique among youth graphic novels, but if you like Kazu Kibuishi's style of art, check out his other youth book, Copper. If you're looking for the same style story for an older audience, try The Saga of Rex, by Michel Gagne.

Batman: Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb

noreply@blogger.com (James G) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Gotham City is a mob run town at the beginning of Batman's career, but the Caped Crusader plans to put an end to that. Batman, Lieutenant Gordon, and the fiery District Attorney Harvey Dent make a pact to take down Carmine "the Roman" Falcone, Gotham's biggest crime boss, even if it means bending the rules. But things get complicated when a mysterious killer starts murdering a member of Falcone's organization on each holiday of the year. Batman is forced to divert his efforts to finding this elusive killer, dubbed "Holiday" by the media. Who is this "Holiday", and why are they targeting the Falcone crime family? You'll be guessing until the very last page in Batman: the Long Halloween!

This is a classic Batman graphic novel that captures the spirit of noir detective fiction. It's got great action, a clever mystery, and excellent characterization. The plot keeps you guessing at who "Holiday" is until the end. The crime politics of the Falcone family adds depth to the story, and Batman's gritty no-holds-barred tactics are satisfying for fans of the character.

The artwork also adds to the "noir" feel of the graphic novel. Stark scenes of a stormy Gotham further the hard-boiled tone of the story. And the imagery Tim Sale uses to depict classic Batman villains captures the essence of the characters' eccentric personalities.

If you're looking for other compelling Batman stories, try out Jeph Loeb's other Batman works like Batman: Dark Victory, the sequel to Batman: the Long Halloween, or Batman: Hush. Or if you're looking for a Dark Knight story that's a little darker, check out Batman: The Black Mirror, by Scott Snyder.

Batman: The Black Mirror, By Scott Snyder

noreply@blogger.com (James G) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Richard Grayson, the former Boy Wonder, dons the cowl during Bruce Wayne's absence and becomes Batman in...The Black Mirror!

Batman follows a winding path of murder and mystery that leads him through the grim underbelly of Gotham City. Tangling with new crime bosses and old enemies, Grayson must rise to meet a series of deranged threats to the people of Gotham. But can he fill the shoes that Bruce Wayne left behind?

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon discovers a deep, very personal mystery that leaves a trail of horror and doubt. Memories from Gordon's past come back to haunt him as he hunts an evil that hits close to home...literally! Will he figure out the truth in time, or will he lose his loved ones forever?

With a dark and twisted plot, this is Batman at its finest: gritty, suspenseful bordering on horror, and full of sociopaths. Snyder effortlessly weaves Batman and Commissioner Gordon's storylines together, gradually overlapping the two plots until they combine in an electrifying climax. And the characters have real depth to them. Grayson fights self doubt as he tries to live up to the title of Batman, and the reader gets to know Commissioner Gordon in new and exciting ways.

The artwork is also brilliant. The shadows in each image fill the reader with tension and remind us that this story is dripping with fear. Liberal use of black and red evoke images similar to a psychological horror film.

Combine these elements with pacing that masterfully builds suspense and the result is a gripping story that captures the action and mystery of traditional Batman stories with a healthy dose of sociopathic terror.

If you like Batman: The Black Mirror, check out Scott Snyder's original series, American Vampire. Or if you're looking for some other dark and haunting Batman stories, definitely try Grant Morrison's Batman: Arkham Asylum and Jeff Loeb's Batman: Long Halloween.

Tiny Titans by Franco Baltazar

noreply@blogger.com (James G) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Do you have a daughter, nephew, or grandchild that loves Batman or the Teen Titans? Did you grow up reading comics and want to introduce your children to the wonderful world of superheroes?

Look no further, because the Tiny Titans are on the scene!

Robin, Superboy, Wondergirl, and all the other the sidekicks of DC's big name heroes go to Sidekick School in the charming series, Tiny Titans! Filled with puns, penguins, and age appropriate adventures, this comic series is a highly entertaining read for people of all ages.

Art Baltazar ingeniously writes for multiple audiences with this series, but his primary audience is children. Each book is a collection of stories ranging from one to several pages long. The dialogue is easy to follow and full of school and daily life related humor. The artwork is also appealing to youth audiences, as Baltazar uses simple images with bold lines and bright primary colors.

Older comic readers will also find lots of treats in these books. The series is peppered with inside jokes about the DC Comics world, so older fans will have plenty of enjoyable moments as they flip through these books.

Tiny Titans is perfect for young readers as well as reluctant readers who love superheroes. Be prepared for delightfully playful adventures in Welcome to the Treehouse, Adventures in Awesomeness, First Rule of Pet Club, and many others!

If you like Tiny Titans, also try out Dave Pilkey's Captain Underpants and Ook and Gluk series. And if you're looking for more action packed youth graphic novels, try out the stylistically amazing Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge

noreply@blogger.com (James G) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Thor has been cast out of Asgard for some unknown transgression and now he must find his own path on Earth. Landing in a small town, he is discovered by Jane Foster, a curator at the local museum. Jane tries to help Thor find his place on Earth, but trouble is never far from the Son of Odin. Thor must rise to meet the challenges before him, from killer robots to using cell phones, in Thor: The Mighty Avenger, an incredibly fun tale of adventure, self discovery, and love.

This is unquestionably the best interpretation of Marvel’s Thor that I have ever read. What makes this series so great to me is its tone. Thor: The Mighty Avenger is lighthearted and heartwarming. Many superhero stories have become darker and more serious. So when I read this series, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Thor’s adventures are filled with equal parts adventure and humor, and his relationship with Jane Foster is innocently awkward and adorable.

The artwork matches the tone of the story. Soft colors and clean lines create a sleek, elegant look that is easy to drink in. And the subtle details in facial expressions flesh out the characters in a graceful way. The artist makes the characters appealing without hyper-sexualizing anyone. The characters feel more real and natural.

The plot and artwork come together to make an effortlessly enchanting tale of the early days of the Norse god of thunder. In a way, the story and art mirror Langridge’s portrayal of Thor., an innocent, carefree hero who is quick to fight, but also quick to laugh. The end result is a wonderful series that moves easily between fast paced adventure and endearing humor in a light and incredibly enjoyable way.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger is really in its own class, but if you're looking for more Asgardian action, try out Thor: Ages of Thunder by Matt Fraction, and Thor by J. Michael Straczynski. Also be sure to check out volume 1 and 2 of Brian Michael Bendis' new series, The Avengers!

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

noreply@blogger.com (ddt) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Malcolm Fox is an inspector in the Edinburgh police department's Complaints and Conduct division, an Internal Affairs investigative unit called by the nickname The Complaints. No one wants to work in The Complaints--and no one wants to be under their microscope. In this multi-layered mystery by Ian Rankin, detectives traverse the slippery slope between crime-solving and police misconduct.

While reviewing the case of Detective Jamie Breck, under suspicion for viewing child pornography, Fox is put in the unenviable position of having to work in tandem with Breck under the worst of conditions. Fox's sister is suspected when her abusive boyfriend is murdered, and Breck is in charge of investigating the homicide. Fox and Breck dance a wary tarantella around each other as they pursue their separate inquiries.

As the cases heat up both Fox and Breck are suspended from the force, giving them the unique opportunity to pursue their investigations as private citizens flying under the radar of official police authorities. A pair of ousted cops with scores to settle, they make a craker-jack team who not only solve murders but also develop a professional respect and begrudging friendship in the bargain. Eventually they come to realize they've been set up by the same person, an associate of the dead boyfriend. Breck's skills as a gamer and Fox's years of police experience serve them well in solving the mystery of who framed them--and why.

The Virginia Beach Public Library catalog is the place to check for other books by Ian Rankin, including the second volume in the Inspector Fox series, The Impossible Dead.

The Swinger by Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck

noreply@blogger.com (ddt) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The Swinger by Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck is a salacious, embarrassingly fun read. Give this novel a try if you like a juicy plot with complex characters set against a backdrop of massive wealth and today’s tabloid headline culture. Unfortunately for sports fans, the headlines inspiring this roman á clef ultimately proved to be true.

The title character of The Swinger is Tree Tremont, the phenomenally gifted and successful professional golfer. On track to surpass the great Jack Nicklaus in major tournament wins, Tree has the world on a string. He’s worth a half a billion dollars, his wife is an international beauty, his two small children are adorable, and his parents have devoted their lives to making him a champion. And what a champion he is! Virtually unbeatable on the course, Tree’s competitors are unnerved by the swaggering confidence of his play and read meaning into even the slightest of his facial expressions and physical mannerisms.

Then his perfect life and public image are shattered. The indestructible, undefeatable Tree Treemont is felled by a scandal totally of his own creation. Lust gets the best of him and he indulges to the extreme in the round-the-clock availability of gorgeous women, opulent spending and performance enhancing drugs. Yet somehow the disintegration of his perfectly orchestrated life is oddly liberating—since he was a small child Tree marched to the orders of his retired military officer father and exacting mother. With is life in tatters and his dignity shredded, he has nothing to lose. Will intensive therapy for multiple addictions help Tree rise from the ashes to regain his former glory? Or has his enviable luck finally run out? With this compelling character it could go either way.

Other novels featuring athletes as complex characters are Peter May’s The Runner and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of An American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler

noreply@blogger.com (ddt) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Julia Flynn Siler’s The House of Mondavi reads like a saga akin to the Medici or Borgia families. The Mondavis managed to revolutionize California wine production and earn kudos usually reserved for French vintners, often against a backdrop of great drama!
The Modavi family’s beginnings were humble. Immigrant Cesare Mondavi and his wife Rosa settled in the central California town of Lodi and began making the quick-to-produce and cheap-to-purchase wines the region was known for in the late 1920s and 1930s. At the time of Cesare’s 1959 death, the two Mondavi sons were vying against each other for control of the family business.

Self-confident and a brash, Robert Mondavi experimented with flavor and aging techniques but could be careless with finances and in relationships. Peter Mondavi, cautious and even-tempered, was the steady, stable sibling focused on the family’s monetary well-being. When the brothers inevitably clashed, Robert prevailed. History repeated itself with Robert’s sons, Michael and Timothy, who had vastly different perspectives on the best way for the Mondavi winery to prosper.

Family strife continues to mark this group and in many ways define them. From sibling rivalries and public squabbles to business strategy disagreements and takeover bids to numerous sexual peccadilloes leading to multiple marriages and divorces--there’s always some sort of excitement afoot with the Mondavis. Their conflicts and contests make for constant family unrest, but another result of the friction is the creation of award-winning and marketable wines.

For more great reads about family business dynasties in the spirit trades, try Julie MacIntosh’s Dethroning the King:The Hostile Take Over of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon and The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram by Nicholas Faith.

Fire and Rain by David Browne

noreply@blogger.com (ddt) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

1969 may boast the Summer of Love, but 1970 was a year for the rock and roll ages.

David Browne explores that banner year in Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970. Instantly supernova stars were born with the release of four albums that became the soundtracks of a generation.

James Taylor’s smooth ethereal voice on Sweet Baby James belied a tempestuous past. Son of a UNC college professor, Taylor never acclimated to the South. His teenage and young adult years included a stint in a mental institution and drug addiction. The wildly popular Bridge Over Troubled Water showcased Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s richly transcendent harmonies. By the time Simon and Garfunkel’s signature album was released the relationship had frayed, resulting in a rift between the high school friends who had been singing partners for nearly 15 years.

Personality clashes among Crosby Stills Nash and Young were rampant. Affable yet often drug-addled David Crosby frequently locked horns with the talented and self-absorbed Stephen Stills. Graham Nash served as the peace-keeping diplomat of the foursome while the taciturn and exacting Neil Young stayed on the periphery of the group drama. As with Simon and Garfunkel, the vocal harmonies on Deja Vu soared.

The final of the four seminal releases was the swan song of the Fab Four, sounding the death knell for the world’s first super group. Upon the release of Let It Be, relationships between the individual Beatles were severely fractured. Time may have healed some of the wounds, if there had been the luxury of time. John Lennon would be killed by an assassin’s bullet ten years after Let It Be and before any reconciliation occurred.

Creating music and visual art is a demanding challenge, as chronicled in Fire and Rain. Other intriguing “biographies” of film or musical works include Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris and Love Goes to Buildings on Fire by Will Hermes.

The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by Michael Chabon

noreply@blogger.com (ddt) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Michael Chabon’s The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man is very aptly titled. The delightful, bright illustrations astonish with their warm richness, and the simple yet heart-tugging story is truly awesome. Chabon is best known for quirky, character-driven adult literary fiction such as The Yiddish Policeman’s Union and the Pulitzer Prize winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The author hits a superhero home run with this foray into children’s picture books.

Early literacy skills are evident in the text: varying font sizes make letter recognition easy and fun like the “stylin’ letter A” on Awesome Man’s chest. Colors are a focus with Awesome Man’s red cape and black mask.

It’s the villains he faces—and his own inner demons—that move the story to a new level. Saving the world from his chief nemeses, Professor Von Evil and The Flaming Eyeball, keeps Awesome Man on his toes. The Flaming Eyeball gets away, however, and Awesome Man gets angry. He knows he needs to return to the Fortress of Awesome to chill out and get a grip. He sits on the end of his twin bed, hugging his knees to his chest in his calm-down ritual. Once Awesome Man has his anger under control, he once again does battle with The Flaming Eye and his minions. Mission accomplished!

Awesome Man returns home to the Fortress of Awesome—a pretty cottage with shady trees and a picket fence. There he turns back into his alter ego, a little boy, and throws his arms around his mother in a Power Grip hug.

What a lovely way to tell the story of a little boy who struggles with his anger, fantasizes about being a superhero but wants to return to his mother’s arms for ultimate reassurance that everything will be okay.
For more imaginative tales of youthful caped crusaders, try David Soman’s Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy and Lady Bug Girl.

Heart and Soul: the Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:29:00 +0000

Kadir Nelson is an award-winning artist who has been illustrating other people's stories of African-American history with the kind of painting you expect to see in a museum. Now Nelson weaves his own family's stories into a personal history of America and illustrates it with portraits of endurance and determination. Because this is one family's history, some familiar names and events are missing, like Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre.

There are as many ways of telling America's history as there are families that lived it, but when the past includes slavery, that telling has often been too full of pain to share. Nelson's narrator is a matriarch who acknowledges past humiliations, “Things that might make you cringe, or feel angry. But there are also parts that will make you proud, or even laugh a little...You have to know where you come from so you can move forward.”

Nelson's paintings tell their own stories. The slave standing in the shadow of George Washington is an eloquent reminder of the flaw in the heart of liberty. Famous faces from Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Booker T. Washington to Joe Louis, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. are interspersed with family portraits from different eras. Every page of text is paired with a painting. The great migration to northern factories, the campaign for women's right to vote, the Ku Klux Klan and the rest of the often ignored years between Civil War and Civil Rights are told so the flow of history makes sense.

One chapter describes inventions created by African Americans and concludes that the one that most reshaped the world was Martin Luther King's invention of the peaceful protest. Altogether, Heart and Soul is a celebration of the values and aspirations that make Americans proud. The reminders of when those ideals have been betrayed are balanced by the progress toward becoming the country that fulfills them. And that makes this book a history for every American, no matter when or why his or her family came here.

Nelson's We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro Baseball was reviewed here and Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange featuring Nelson's artwork are also available in the Virginia Beach Public Library. Sharing any of these with a child would make today's holiday more meaningful.

Wandering Son

noreply@blogger.com (PAMan) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Sometimes when searching for my last book to review for the week, I wander across a masterpiece. They typically come accidentally as I hunt for that gem, that book that sometimes gets overlooked, because it's hidden among the shelves of books that are good, but not great. Such is the case for my last pick of the week, Wandering Son by Shimura Takako.

This hardback manga story introduces us to Nitori Shuichi and his friend Takatsuki Yoshino, a girl in his class. Both students in the fifth grade, Nitori and Takatsuki both have friends, loving familes, and a secret. Takatsuki is a handsome girl, so handsome in fact that many of the girls call her by a nickname meant for boys. Nitori, on the opposite end of the spectrum, is a beautiful boy, so beautiful that he should be a model. And, thus, we get introduced to the secret of the friends - Nitori wishes he were a girl and Takatsuki wishes she were a boy.

The story covers very subtly what seems to be a universally accepted reality - it's o.k. for girls to be "tomboys," but in no way is it acceptable for boys to be overly feminine. Fifth grade is all about learning to become adults. It's a time of discovery about what you believe in rather than what the outside world has taught you is right and proper. Wandering Son introduces us slowly to these two characters working through the torture of becoming their true selves. We all had it, and we call all relate to a tale of self discovery, and I feel confident that each volume that follows will leave us begging for more.

Return of the Dapper Men

noreply@blogger.com (PAMan) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Anorev was a world of children and machines. “Neither knew who made the other and both claimed to be first.” The children, being young and on their own, cared for nothing but playing. The machines cared about nothing but working. But, of course, when your days are full of nothing but playing or working, neither becomes very important or significant. After awhile the children went to live underground among the gears and cogs of the world, while the machines lived in the abandoned homes of humans. Neither group interacts with the other, with the exception of one little boy and one robot girl. Such is the world of Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann with art by Janet Lee, a transformational graphic novel.

The narrative of this story is very visual and could easily stand on its own, with clues to the hidden meaning of the upside down world. The complexity of the two main characters, Zoe and Ayden, make for a story whose depth rivals that of Alice in Wonderland, with an equal amount of wonder and questions to keep the reader guessing. Add in what is some of the most amazing art I’ve ever seen, and you have an instant classic. The book includes a description of how the artwork was done for the novel, which had me returning to look at page after page to simply soak in how it was accomplished. Each page is a frameable work of art with layers that kept me staring for hours.

And, of course, let me not forget the Dapper Men themselves. Based on Tim Gunn, most famous for his work on the television show Project Runway, the men enter the scene much like Mary Poppins with not a red hair out of place or a tie untucked. Sometimes it just takes a Dapper Man to get the clocks rewound and the tea brewing to make the world start to move, but it takes the work of two creatures who don’t know better than to not like each other to set things right. Even if you don’t like graphic novels, you really need to give this one a try.

Barton Hollow by the Civil Wars

noreply@blogger.com (PAMan) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Sometimes two voices are meant to be together in music, and it's a miracle when they find each other. Such is the case with Joy Williams and John Paul White who make up the duo The Civil Wars.This first full length effort by the duo really shows off why they've developed such a cult following and why people flock to their live shows. The cd offers a great sound on the edge of folk/pop that is reminicent of the Swell Season and at times even the early work of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Most of the tunes are just the two voices and acoustic guitar which makes for a brilliant simplicity in their melodies and harmonies.

The album is mostly comprised of heartfelt ballads, but the song "Barton Hollow" gives a glimpse on the edge of a great Southern Rock song or Country tune. For those who don't cringe at any cover of a famous song, you'll be amazed at the powerful ballad "I Want You Back," originally done by The Jacksons. The lyrics are downright haunting when you slow them down and keep the music simple.

If you like The Civil Wars, try the Weepies, a slightly more complex band whose unique voices will keep you wanting more.

The Assassin's Accomplice by Kate Clifford Larson

noreply@blogger.com (PAMan) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Ask anyone on the street "who killed Abraham Lincoln," and the one and only answer you'll probably get is "John Wilkes Booth." But anyone with a curiosity for the details of historical stories will know that there was quite a large conspiracy behind the plot that eventually led to the assassination of the president. The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln tells the story of Mary Surrat, the only woman convicted of the crime and the first woman executed by the Federal government.

Surrat, a definite Confederate sympathizer, was the proprietor of the boarding house where the conspirators met to plan the assassination. Throughout history there has been argument back and forth about her guilt, and author Kate Larson started her research thinking she would discover that Mary was actually innocent of the crime she was convicted of. What she discovered was that Mary was quite involved in the plot, and in fact played a major role in the preparation of the deed. The book provides great detail into the various ways that Mary was involved and by the end it's impossible to think she was innocent.

This book brings the entire cast of characters involved in the assasination plot to life and will make you want to read more about the conspiracy to not only kill the president but the Secretary of State, the Vice-President, and Ulysses S. Grant. It also makes for an interesting piece in the role of women in history. If you enjoy the book, you should definitely watch the movie The Conpirator which is a close to historically accurate rendition of the story.

Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins

noreply@blogger.com (PAMan) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Susan Callaway is fat and has been bullied a bit too much for her liking lately. Her act of retaliation with her gay friend leads them both to have to attend an alternative education class with four other students. Each of them did something that normally would have gotten them expelled from school, so Alt Ed is everyone’s last resort.

With a setting of a stuffy trailer, the Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins group includes a tough girl, a football player, a popular cheerleader, and Kale Krassner, a bully whom Susan suspects is behind the harassing phone calls she been receiving. He also happens to be the unknowing recipient of the act of retaliation of Susan and Brendan. Together the group has to come to know each other despite varying issues of homophobia, bullying, rumors, and secrets that lead to a general atmosphere of anger and mistrust. Teens will see in these characters people they know in their own schools and just might get some insight into the “why” behind some pretty typical stereotypes.

With such a wide variety of characters and issues, Atkins takes on a big job here, but hits at the main issue of the problems that come by hating people for the “stereotypes” they might fit in, i.e. jock, gay guy, fat girl, slut, popular girl, and bully: you should get to know the person before you hate the stereotype. Getting to know the "fat girl" leads to everyone, including Susan, realizing that she really is a sweet girl, and slowly but surely each of the group members comes to appreciate something about the other members. I’d have liked to have seen a little more depth to some of the group, but all in all this is a quick read that teens and adults alike will enjoy.

Through the Wormhole Season 1: with Morgan Freeman

noreply@blogger.com (Angella Butler) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Question: What is 13.7 billion years old?

Answer: Our Universe.

Gazing into the starry night sky, it sure is easy to get lost in the moment, but it also conjures up a lot of uncertainty and so many unanswered questions. We may wonder, was the universe created by chance or was there a creator? Can it be that our planet just happens to be the only one in our galaxy which creates and sustains life as we know it? Do aliens exist and are they trying to contact us? What is Einstein's Theory of Relativity really about and could we possibly time travel? And what is dark matter anyway?

These are just some of the questions you may find your own answers for in the television series, Through the Wormhole Season 1: with Morgan Freeman. With beautiful graphics, awesome special effects, up-to-date scientific information, the latest astronomical discoveries and narration by one of the greats in the entertainment industry, how could you go wrong?

Finest Hour [sound recording] by Patton Oswalt

noreply@blogger.com (Angella Butler) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Patton Oswalt is back with his latest CD titled, Finest Hour, and it truly lives up to its name. Patton’s timing and delivery are more polished than ever, and that is saying a lot. Finest Hour is a little different from his previous efforts, being that the material is less niche and nerdy and more about real life and parenting (Patton and his wife have just recently had their first child). For those of you familiar with Patton’s work, you will not be disappointed, though the types of topics covered are a little different. He has not lost his edge, nor his ability to come straight out of left-field with some of the most random yet thought-provoking lines ever written.

To those of you unfamiliar with Patton’s stand-up, this CD would be the perfect first listen, not that the previous titles were bad. Though for some, they might not be as palatable unless you are a huge sci-fi, Lovecraft, Herman Hess or Dungeons & Dragons fan, as there are a lot of random references that relate to such topics that some people, including myself do not always get.

All-in-all, Finest Hour is one of the best comedy albums of 2011 and is definitely Grammy-worthy. So, sit back, push play and get ready to LOL until your stomach hurts. The Ham Incident is my personal favorite. Enjoy!

Virginia Beach Naturally : A Guide to Enjoying the Wildlife of Virginia Beach, VA / Scott F. Bastian

noreply@blogger.com (Angella Butler) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Virginia Beach Naturally captures not only the splendors of our cities wildlife but some interesting facts about the numerous plants, animals and habitats found here. You’ll find information about our local weather and what heavenly objects you might see in our nighttime skies. The author also includes chapters on geology and soil, habitats and watersheds, oceanography, places to go and a safety section. With more than 1,000 photographs inside, you can gaze upon the wings of the elegant luna moth, see a beach moonrise or view the hanging moss at First Landing State Park.

Cattails, dandelions, sea shells, butterflies, white-tailed deer, large-mouth bass and picking buckets full of strawberries, those are a few of my favorite things about Virginia Beach. What are a few of yours? Use this book to explore the world and make some new discoveries of your very own.

There are so many fabulous places in Virginia Beach to go, but I'm in love with Pungo. I was born and raised here and grew up down in Pungo, which is the rural community located in the southern portion of the city. A fantastic place to see some wildlife and a great place to take a long drive. See you around!

The Books of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

noreply@blogger.com (Angella Butler) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Today is January 2nd, 2012. Happy New Year!

365 days left this year to do something awesome...It's a leap year.

Might I suggest some inspiration from one of these Neil Pasricha books. Filled with great humor, the author candidly reminds us all of the little things in life and how awesome they can be. "With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us--sometimes we just need someone to point them out."

Here are the titles and a few of my favorite "awesome" things from each book:

The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things:

Fixing electronics by smacking them.
A long hug when you really need it.
When you nudge the person snoring next to you and it makes them stop.
Waiters and waitresses who bring free refills without asking.
Waking up before your alarm clock and realizing you've got lots of sleep time left.

The Book of (Even More) Awesome:

Old classic board games (Connect Four, Uno, Battleship, etc.)
When your friend makes sure you get into the house safe after dropping you off at the end of the night.
When you meet up with a group of friends and they stop talking to celebrate your arrival.
When batteries are included.
When the dog's really excited you're back home.

The Book of (Holiday) Awesome:

Ripping your present open like a wild animal.
When you can actually hear it snowing.
Just barely wrapping a gift with that tiny scrap of leftover paper.
That one house on your street that gets really, really into Halloween.
Catching someone you love admiring you from across the room.

Also, check out Neil's website 1000 Awesome Things.

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I really enjoy retold fairy tales, so when a new book in the “Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms” series arrives, it goes to the top of the reading pile. Beauty and the Werewolf is the sixth book in this series.

Bella, dressed in a red riding cloak, goes through the woods to Granny’s house for a lesson in herbal medicine. It is dark when Bella leaves. As she makes her way through the darkness, she hears a howl that gets closer and closer. A wolf leaps out of the darkness and chases her. She holds him off with a stick, but it bites her on the ankle before running away.

Next morning Bella is still in bed with her sore ankle when the King’s men rush into her room and demand that she pack her clothes and come with them “By the King’s Orders.”

Where Bella is taken, how she fares, how the kingdom’s Godmother helps her, and how Bella herself becomes a sorcerer’s apprentice, you must read to learn. And the wolf? Is he the mysterious missing Duke she’s heard about?

Mercedes Lackey’s Five Hundred Kingdoms series takes traditional tales from throughout the world and mashes them up delightfully. The overarching premise: All of the kingdoms are under the power and pressure of The Tradition, a mindless force that knows ALL the stories and tries to force anyone who fits onto the traditional path. Benevolent Godmothers often try to help people resist. Princesses living in kingdoms with dragons may be set out as dragon dinner and forced to marry the knight who saves her. Oldest daughters, depending on circumstances, may be forced into the Cinderella story—unless they resist. Resistance is difficult, since most people have no idea that the Tradition even exists. If you haven’t read any of this series, I recommend starting with the first one, The Fairy Godmother, just to get an idea of the framework. This is the story of someone who doesn’t want to be a Cinderella, and eventually becomes a powerful (but benevolent) Godmother. You’ll meet her again in Beauty and the Werewolf.

Mossy Creek : A Collective Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Mossy Creek (and its six sequels) calls itself a collective novel. Collective, yes, because each section is written by a different author. Novel, no, because the short stories have no continuous plot, unless it be the unfolding story of a small town in Georgia, told by its residents.

One of the charms of the series is that each short story is a first person narrative by one of the “Creekites.” The stories are loosely held together by a series of letters from Katie Bell, the town’s gossip columnist, to Lady Victoria Stanhope , whose family originally came from Mossy Creek. The other thread is the ongoing feud between Mossy Creek and Bigelow, the county seat of Bigelow County. Characters reappear in later books, either with their own updated stories, or as part of someone else’s story.

All Sandy Bottoms Crane wanted to do was get her hair done so she’d make a good impression at her job interview for police dispatcher. Things begin to go wrong when hairdresser Rainey insists on giving Sandy a rinse. When a crisis occurs with a Chihuahua and a hawk, all the folks in the vicinity, including Sandy in her protective cape and with hair still being treated, run outside to see what’s happening. You can probably guess some of the rest—but not the peculiar twists of a Mossy Creek story.

Later you’ll meet Millicent Hart, who has always stolen things—a result of her kleptomania; currently she’s trying to get things for her 50-something daughter’s trousseau. Daughter Maggie tells this story. She must look after her mother and try to find the stolen goods, including a tiara belonging to a handsome sculptor, who is also a former professional football player.

Have I mentioned the mayor? Ida Hamilton Walker gets into trouble with the governor (her nephew) and the state police when she shoots up a sign the troopers are trying to put up near her property. She doesn’t want them to replace the town’s longstanding historic motto: “Welcome to Mossy Creek, the town you can count on. Ain’t goin’ nowhere and don’t want to.” When the judge sentences Ida to anger management class, hilarity follows. Can Ida outsmart the governor? What do you think?

The stories are not all humorous— some are touching, some dramatic, some even romantic. You’ll enjoy getting to know Mossy Creek and its inhabitants.
Find , Mossy Creek and its sequels at our library. The short story format makes them easy to read when you have some time. But don’t plan on stopping with just the one story—you’ll want to know what happens in the next one.

The Big Thirst: The Secret life and Turbulent Future of Water by Charles Fishman

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Most of the time we don’t even think about water—it is always clean and available. Only in drought or flood do we worry about it. We take water for granted; much of the rest of the world does not.

In the both fascinating and sobering The Big Thirst, Charles Fishman explores “our relationship to water.” He asks why we in the United States and much of the rest of the “rich countries” use water purified for drinking for all our water needs.

Processing water is the major cost of water. Do we need drinking-quality water for flushing? For watering lawns? For washing clothes? Or for public fountains? Orange County, Florida, home to Orlando, requires the use of recycled wastewater for these activities. A colored pipe system keeps the drinking water separate from clean but non-potable water.

Water has been a limited and regulated commodity in the Southwest United States for years, and yet only in the last decade or so have citizens stopped growing green lawns at their desert homes. Las Vegas relies on tourism, yet it is even drier than Phoenix, Arizona. Water features, fountains, and lagoons lure tourists to casinos and hotels. According to Fishman, Las Vegas is in a water emergency: Lake Mead’s levels have fallen sixty feet in three years. Since Pat Mulroy took over the water district twenty years ago, she has worked with merchants, citizens and casino owners to change the ways water is used. In a nutshell, a major change is that treated and recycled wastewater, OR well water is used for lawns and for water attractions at the casinos.
In India even middle class citizens in the big cities cannot rely on a continuous supply of clean water piped to their homes 24 hours a day. Less prosperous citizens must wait for city trucks to deliver water to the neighborhood every day. In rural areas villagers must walk miles daily to get enough water to survive. Getting water is costly: if you must wait for delivery or walk miles to get it, you are spending time that could otherwise be used for earning money.

Southwestern Australia has been hit with a huge drought for a decade; reservoir levels have fallen dramatically and water supply for field crops has all but disappeared.

The Big Thirst is not only about recycling water, or providing water during drought, or for supplying safe water for everyone, but about changing our relationship to water, to use “the right water for the right purpose.” In Fishman’s final chapter, “The Fate of Water,” he sums up: “This book is an effort to rescue water.”

Lost in Lexicon: an Adventure in Words and Numbers by Pendred Noyce

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:30:00 +0000

Lexicon is a world set on a Cartesian plane. Its villages, which once traded with one another, are either Math or Word towns. Now the towns are isolated. And childless.

Thirteen-year-old cousins Ivan and Daphne find themselves in Lexicon after their great-aunt Adelaide sends them on a treasure hunt. Daphne loves words, but is fearful of math; Ivan is the opposite.

The cousins travel from town to town helping villagers solve simple problems. In the first town Ivan must stop the runaway punctuation. In another, he helps the brickmakers in a math-centric village remember formulas for shapes. In each village the problems seemingly arise because the villagers have become forgetful—they don’t notice that the children are missing until Daphne or Ivan inquire. The cause seems to be nighttime phenomena—beautiful lights that mesmerize the villagers each night, or dense, dense fog. Soon villagers ask Daphne and Ivan to look for their children as they travel.

Directions and road signs are given as coordinates familiar to most people who have ever used a graph: “You are here: (-3, 4/3). To Oscillate, (-2, 1), distance approx. 1.05, direction -1/3.” In the course of their travels Daphne learns to use a compass and navigate on the Cartesian plane. She has some other mathematical successes and discovers she enjoys solving these problems.

Meanwhile, Ivan discovers that he needs to use words, sometimes in critical situations. Naturally he learns to enjoy the power of words and recognize their usefulness. One of the most charming characters Ivan and Daphne meet is “Emily,” an alpaca-like Thesaurus, who telepathically suggests synonyms as they travel.

In spite of its somewhat obvious goal of encouraging reluctant children to enjoy and understand the many uses of words and numbers, Lost in Lexcon is actually an enjoyable fantasy. You’ll like meeting the interesting characters (especially Mistress of Metaphor and Bran) and learning how the cousins manage to find the children and save Lexicon. Joan Charles’ illustrations, especially of the various characters, added to my enjoyment.

The Pun Also Rises by John Pollack

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:30:00 +0000

If you have read past the title, then perhaps you either enjoy puns or are curious about this book.

Have you ever told a knock-knock joke? These are among the earliest puns that children love. They enjoy being silly with words, having recently discovered that words that sound alike mean different things, and that sometimes you can combine them to mean something else.

Puns show up in literature from early Egypt and continue across the globe, in many languages. Languages with multiple sounds for the same words, or multiple meanings for the same sound lend themselves easily to punning. Chinese and English are good examples.

Chinese, a tonal language, is rich in punning possibilities. Chinese puns can, and have been used to make comments against the government-- but since one way of understanding the words is innocent and but playful, the punsters get away with it. Pollack cites the children’s song “The Grass Mud Horse.” “The printed characters … are benign. The spoken words sound like the Mandarin for [a rude epithet].”

Currently lots of folks feel superior about NOT enjoying puns; they think puns are crass, believing the bad press puns have received for a couple of centuries. But puns have a long history of serious use in various cultures. Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero used puns. Wordplay can be a good way to make a serious point memorably, introduce new ideas or connections. Puns abound in Shakespeare; some we "get", but we are unaware of others because of changes in English since the 15th and 16th centuries.

One of my favorite puns in The Pun Also Rises is about Davy Crockett, who was a legend in his time, with many tales told about him. If you remember the theme song for the 1950s Disney TV series, you'll enjoy this riddle:

“How many ears does Davy Crockett have?”
“Three—a right ear, a left ear and a wild front ear.”

I love puns. As you may expect, The Pun Also Rises is full of puns. You’ll also discover fascinating anthropological, historical, developmental, and physiological* information about them. This book is wide ranging and enjoyable to read— interesting facts and amusing puns. For the scholarly among us, Pollack backs up his information with lots of endnotes and a nice bibliography (nearly one quarter of the 211 pages).

*There is a part of the brain that, when stimulated, causes a person to pun compulsively!