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Staff Picks

Dream BIG 4 Real! Great Nonfiction Books Full of Nocturnal Animals

Whoa. We're already in Week 6 of Dream BIG 4 Real. The summer is flying by. Just like some of the Nocturnal Animals in this week's book list.

1. The Bat's Cave: A Dark City by Joyce Markovics
J 599.4 MAR

2. The Best Book of Nighttime Animals by Belinda Weber
E 591.5 WEB

3. Black Out! Animals That Live in the Dark by Ginjer L. Clarke
E 591.5 CLA BEGINNING READER

Time for a Cookout? Find Great New Grilling Reads in the Nonfiction Department

One month of summer is already over. But you still have plenty of time to clean your grill and try out some new recipes. New grilling cookbooks to check out include: Charred & scruffed : bold new techniques for explosive flavor on and off the grill by Adam Perry Lang and Rao's on the grill : perfectly simple Italian recipes from my family to yours by Frank Pellegrino.

David Zinczenko, author of the very popular Eat This Not That series has written Grill this, not that! : backyard survival guide.

Other healthy grilling cookbooks include Cooking Light's Way to Cook Grilling and Grilling Vegan Style by John Schlimm.

-RC

Dream BIG 4 Real! Great Nonfiction Books Under a Star-Spangled Sky

Week 5 of Dream BIG 4 Real will have you gazing at a Star-Spangled Sky (when your nose isn't buried in a book).

1. Galaxies: Immense Star Islands by David Jefferies
J 523.1 JEF

2. I Wonder Why Stars Twinkle: And Other Questions About Space by Carole Stott
J 520 STO

3. Night Sky Atlas by Robin Scagell
J 522 SCA

Dream BIG 4 Real! Great Nonfiction Reads about Camping Out

It's Week 3 in our Dream BIG 4 Real series. Here are just a few of the amazing books we have about Camping Out. Add them to your summer reading list today!

1. The Boys' Book of Survival: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere by Guy Campbell
J 796.54 CAM

2. Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids' Guide, From the Backyard to the Backwoods by Lynn Brunelle
J 796.54 BRU

Dream BIG 4 Real! Great Nonfiction Books Leave You Moonstruck

Welcome to Week 2 in our Dream BIG 4 Real series. These great books about the moon and space travel will leave you Moonstruck.

1. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
J 629.45 STO

2. Eyewitness Books: Moon by Jacqueline Mitton
J 523.3 MIT

3. Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin
E 523.3 CRE

Dream BIG 4 Real! Great Nonfiction Reads about Following Your Dreams

Dream BIG 4 Real is a weekly list of amazing informational books that tie in to our Summer Reading theme, Dream Big READ. Don't forget to include nonfiction books in your summer reading log. Now, let's get this reading party started with books about Following Your Dreams!

1. Ballerina Dreams: A True Story by Lauren Thompson
J 618.92 THO

2. The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley
JB HAW

'"There are Things I Want You to Know" about Stieg Larsson and Me' by Eva Gabrielsson

To understand Stieg's work, I said, one had to know who he really was.--pg. 185

I picked up this book yearning to learn more about the author who died before his novel legacy was even published. That fact in itself intrigued me; I just really wanted to learn more about Stieg Larsson's life from an unbiased source. With this relatively short biography, you get the straight facts--no beating around the bush, just the candid and honest facts--from the one constant presence in his life: Eva Gabrielsson.

Book Review: The Language of Flowers by Southern Voices Author Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I do not exactly know what I was expecting when I opened The Language of Flowers and started reading, but I do not think that I was expecting to be completely and utterly amazed and captivated by the story right from the very first paragraph:

For eight years I dreamed of fire. Tree ignited as I passed them; oceans burned. The sugary smoke settled in my hair as I slept, the scent like a cloud left on my pillow as I rose. Even so, the moment my mattress started to burn, I bolted awake. The sharp, chemical smell was nothing like the hazy syrup of my dreams; the two were as different as Carolina and Indian jasmine, separation and attachment. They could not be confused. (pg 3)

Best Juvenile Nonfiction of 2011

Part three of three. We did not read as many nonfiction titles this year. We are making a New Year's Resolution to improve on that in 2012.

Best Juvenile Fiction of 2011

Part two of three. We read (and loved) a lot more mysteries than usual.

Best Picture Books of 2011

Here's the first of the three-post series about our favorite children's books of 2011. Apparently, we had a soft spot for pet-themed picture books this year.

Best Teens Books of 2011

Teen literature is a favorite among many of the librarians at Hoover. Two-thousand and eleven was a year for sequels, the return of favorites and debut talent writing wonderful books for teens. Here is our list of the best;

Across the Universe by Beth Ravis

Title with Alabama tie wins National Book Award

The Kid Zone's pick actually won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature! Not only is it a completely amazing read, it also features our great state. Make sure you add Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai to your holiday reading list. Once you've finished it, you'll definitely want to take a look at this interview with the author.

Hugo? What's That?

I know what you're thinking. You're running through all the things named Hugo that might be important enough to feature on our library blog. I bet you thought of Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. You might even have come up with the Hugo Award, which recognizes excellent science fiction and fantasy every year. But I'm referring to the Hugo created by Brian Selznick in his groundbreaking, Caldecott Award-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Martin Scorsese has brought it to theatres, and it is getting rave reviews. Read the book first (of course you will), then take a trip to the movies and see why everyone's talking about Hugo.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Think back to 2006. Do you remember the first time you heard that a group of astronomers had decided that Pluto was not a planet anymore? Remember that sad feeling of “Oh, poor Pluto” or maybe you got angry and thought, “Why are they picking on Pluto? What did Pluto do to anyone?” Now you have someone to blame. Meet Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered “the tenth planet”, which ultimately led to the downfall of Pluto. In How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Brown raises the question of what exactly is a planet. You think that the answer would be simple, but Brown raises several important arguments that might change your views on the former planet. How I killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming made me wish

Panda Bear - "Tomboy"

Panda Bear is the stage name of Noah Lennox, one of the founding members of Animal Collective. Lennox is an incredibly prolific musician, releasing material with other bands in addition to his work with Animal Collective and Tomboy is his fourth solo album to date. Tomboy is yet another showcase for Lennox’s ability to make complex and peculiar compositions full of drones and swirling melodies almost sound radio-friendly.

*A Singular Woman* by Janny Scott

A Singular Woman, the biography of President Obama's mother reads like a travel book. This book takes the reader from Ann Dunham's early childhood in Kansas, teen years on Mercer Island in Washington state, college at the University of Hawaii and anthropological field work in Indonesia. This is a fascinating look at the woman who President Obama says "was the single constant in my life."

-JR

Meet a real life Mr. and Mrs. James Bond

The name is Baer, Bob Baer.

The Company We Keep by Bob and Dayna Baer, former CIA field operatives, reads like a Bond spy thriller. These two professionals are adventuresome, daring and self-confident. Their world is full of shades of grey. Life in the field is dirty and monotonous. There's no glamour in Tajikistan or Bosnia. Side trips to the Swiss Alps and the French Riviera lend a touch of Bond to their work. Learn more about Bob Baer's CIA career by reading his first book, See No Evil. -JR

New Books by Erik Larson and David McCullough

This summer is starting off with a bang for me since two of my favorite nonfiction authors have new books. Both are currently best sellers as to be expected. Erik Larson who wrote the Devil in the White City has written a new book, In the Graden of Beasts . It focuses on William E. Dodd the American ambassador to Nazi German in its early period. This look at the beginnings on Hitler's Germany is fascinating.

Meg Cabot's new series: *Abandon*

Once you have died and gone to the Underworld, nothing will ever be the same. Seventeen year old Pierce is trying to put her life back together after she escaped from Death, but he just won’t let her go. And she isn’t sure if she wants him to.

The first book in bestselling author Meg Cabot’s new series creates a modern day retelling of Persephone. Riding high on the mythology trend, Abandon follows reckless and headstrong Pierce as she deals with the aftermath of her death. Though she was given a second chance at life, she cannot forget him. Abandon artfully sets up the trilogy and leaves you begging for more!

May is National Bike Month

Spring has sprung and we’ve been flirting with Summer-like temperatures. You may be thinking of ways to get outside and get active. Lucky for you…May is National Bike Month!

The NHTSA and AAA have teamed up to sponsor a campaign known as Roll Model in an effort to have parents and caregivers set a good example of bike safety.

Books of interest:

Attack of the Slugs!

No, this is not the title of a 1950s schlock-fest movie; it is indeed happening in a garden very near you. On a late night walk with the dog, I noticed a couple of slugs on my back porch. This is not a big surprise since every morning I see the tell- tell signs of the slime they have left behind. I decided to go grab a flashlight and see just what these two slugs were up to— where they were headed, how long it took for them to get there and what they would do when they got there.

The Farmer and the Horse

First it was organic foods, then locally produced, in recent years the move towards using animal power in lieu of diesel for farm production has increased substantially.

Normally relegated to pioneer reenactments, animal power is making news (On Small Farms, Hoof Power Returns), even though they are generally seen as only feasible for small farms.

Check out the documentary, The Farmer and the Horse, for the ups and downs of using animal power.
-AD

What We're Reading

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

The First Thursday Book Group will meet to discuss this book on Thursday, May 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 in the Theatre-level conference room.

Radio gal Frankie Bard, poses a question to a dinner party, “What would you think of a postmistress who chose not to deliver the mail?” This serves as the dramatic backdrop of Sarah Blake’s compelling novel, The Postmistress. As war rages through Europe, two women isolated physically and emotionally, reside in fictional Franklin, Massachusetts, on the coast of Cape Cod, listening to war reporter Frankie Bard as she details the blitz in London. For the postmaster (never call her a postmistress), Iris James, it’s only a matter of time before the war ends up on Franklin’s

Rawhide Down by Del Quentin Weber

I just finished reading Rawhide Down by Del Quentin Weber, a reporter for the Washington Post. The book is about the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan March 30, 1981 outside the Washington D.C. Hilton hotel. It reads like a thriller even though we all know the outcome.

Weber has a unique way of following those involved: the E.R. trauma team at George Washington Hospital, surgeons, nurses, Mrs. Reagan, White House staff, Vice President Bush, the President's cabinet, Secret Service agents, FBI agents, D.C. police and, the shooter, John Hinckley, Jr. He weaves a tapestry of 24 hours in the people whose lives intersected that day.

Great Irish Fiction for March

The month of March always brings out the Irish in me, and I have just enjoyed two books set in Ireland: the audio version of Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Girl and the print version of Maeve Binchy's Minding Frankie.

The first is read by John Keating and it is delightful to hear his variety of Irish accents, changing for each character. This book is the latest in Taylor's Irish country doctor series and fills in the background of the doctor's housekeeper, Kinky Kincaid. In Minding Frankie, I love the continuing saga of Binchy's residents of St. Jarlath's Crescent, in Dublin. She skillfully interweaves the lives of a diverse population and makes the reader want it to keep on going. I can't wait for the next book in either series!

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes

In Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes, Elizabeth Bard captures the sights, sounds AND TASTES of Paris, the cultural challenges of an expat living in France and the angst of a Renaissance woman trying to find her place in a practical world. If you liked Eat Pray Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, you’ll love this delicious memoir!
NK

Beirut by Samir Kassir

Interested in the history of Beirut, known as the "Paris of the East" ? Check out the new book Beirut by Samir Kassir.

Staff Favorites: Juvenile Nonfiction 2010

Staff Favorites: Juvenile Fiction 2010

And now, our favorite children's fiction of 2010. Quite a range of genres, so there's something for everyone!

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