The last werewolf - Glen Duncan

The last werewolf - Duncan, Glen

Summary: Jacob Marlowe has lost the will to live. For two hundred years he has wandered the world, enslaved by his lunatic appetites and tormented by the memory of his first and most monstrous crime. Now, the last of his kind, he contemplates suicide --until a violent murder and an extraordinary meeting plunge him straight back into the desperate pursuit of life--and love.

Staff Comments: The book on CD has a great narrator/reader

AudioFile Reviews
Jake is thought to be the world's last werewolf. Chronicling his final months, narrator Robin Sachs expertly captures his introspection and fatalism, followed by his determination to live when he discovers he's no longer alone. Just as Jake is being hunted by anti-paranormal agents and stalked by vampires that want his help to walk in daylight, he finds her. Tallulah--a female werewolf. Sachs leads listeners through Jake's emotional journey to reclaim his life and protect the woman with whom he wants to build a future. Languidly, Sachs evokes Jake's reminiscing tones as he writes journal entries about his overwhelming hungers and insatiable lusts. Tight pacing secures listeners' attention to Duncan's paranormal thriller. J.M. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Check Availability

Maybe one day - Melissa Kantor

Maybe one day - Kantor, Melissa

Summary: "Zoe thought that being cut from her ballet program was the worst thing that could hapen, but when her best friend, Olivia, is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Zoe quickly learns that not being able to dance is the least of her problems"-- Provided by publisher.


Booklist Reviews
The worst thing ever happens to forever friends Olivia and Zoe when they are cut from their prestigious ballet troupe. Livvie joins other activities, but Zoe is adrift without the one thing that mattered to her. Then Livvie is diagnosed with leukemia, and Zoe's life is fractured once again. She spends as much time as possible with Livvie, while needing to keep up at school and navigating the growing connection between herself and Calvin, Livvie's crush. Kantor ably steers the reader through the intensity of Zoe's brief life-changing experience, weaving in realistic high-school dynamics and Zoe's search for anything to take her mind off her sadness. What she finds is solace by subbing for Livvie at the beginning ballet classes at a community center and kissing Calvin any chance she gets. Though this contemporary cancer story laced with everyday and extraordinary experiences will undoubtedly draw comparisons to that other cancer book, Livvie's cancer story and Zoe's emotionally complex web of friendship, fear, loss, love, pain, have their own appeal, and are well worth reading. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The serpent of Venice - Christopher Moore

The serpent of Venice - Moore, Christopher

Summary: "Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal-Fool Pocket.This trio of cunning plotters--the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago--have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising him an evening of spirits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio's beautiful daughter, Portia. But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged and the girl is not even within the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool and he has more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve. Greed, revenge, deception, lust, and a giant (but lovable) sea monster combine to create another hilarious and bawdy tale from modern comic genius, Christopher Moore"-- Provided by publisher.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* What do you get when you stitch Othello, The Merchant of Venice, and "The Cask of Amontillado" together? Well, you get this rollickin' adventure in which Pocket, the royal fool introduced in Moore's Fool (2009), is lured to Venice, where he thinks he'll be having a fun time with the beautiful Portia, but where three men (including a fella named Iago) are actually planning to murder him. To some, the idea of combining two Shakespeare plays and an Edgar Allan Poe short story might be vaguely chilling. To begin with, Moore, author of such delights as Sacre Blue (2012) and The Stupidest Angel (2004), has to move the events of the plays from the late sixteenth century to the thirteenth to keep the chronology in line with the events recounted in Fool, which means "Amontillado" is moved roughly 500 years back in time. And let's not forget that the plays are tragedies, whereas this book, which also interpolates elements of King Lear, from which Fool was derived, is a farce. The upshot is, if you're the kind of reader who insists Shakespeare is untouchable, then this novel will probably annoy you on general principles. On the other hand, if you're a fan of Moore's brand of history-mangling humor, you'll dive right in with a big grin on your face. The grins win in the end. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Woman at Otowi Crossing - Frank Waters

Woman at Otowi Crossing - Waters, Frank

Summary: Based on the real life of Edith Warner, who ran a tearoom at Otowi Crossing, just below Los Alamos, The Woman at Otowi Crossing is the story of Helen Chalmer, a person in tune with her adopted environment and her neighbors in the nearby Indian pueblo and also a friend of the first atomic scientists. The secret evolution of atomic research is a counterpoint to her psychic development.In keeping with its tradition of allowing the best of its list to thrive, Ohio University Press/Swallow Press is particularly proud to reissue The Woman at Otowi Crossing by best-selling author Frank Waters. This new edition features an introduction by Professor Thomas J. Lyon and a foreword by the author's widow, Barbara Waters.The story is quintessential Waters: a parable for the potentially destructive materialism of the mid-twentieth century. The antidote is Helen Chalmer's ability to understand a deeper truth of her being; beyond the Western notion of selfhood, beyond the sense of a personality distinct from the rest, she experiences a new and wider awareness.The basis for an opera of the same name, The Woman at Otowi Crossing is the powerful story of the crossing of cultures and lives: a fable for our times.

Check Availability

The greatest movie you'll never see - Simon Braund

The greatest movie you'll never see: unseen masterpieces by the world's greatest directors- Braund, Simon

Summary: Goes behind the scenes of more than fifty unmade films to explain why they never made it to the final cut.

Library Journal Reviews
The Greatest Movies You'll Never See is exactly that: a book filled with movie gems that have never come to fruition, because of lack of funds, troubled stars, or demon-haunted directors. What makes this book so interesting is that it lets the reader know exactly what film history is missing, but it also offers a handy guide to the who, what, where, and why of the forgotten creations. The book contains bits and pieces of discarded scripts, movie posters that were already drawn up to sell the film, and a brief background of what may have caused the films' early demise. While continuous reading of this can be monotonous—the "Will It Ever Happen?" scale seems a bit redundant as most of the films will obviously never be made—this is an excellent quick reference for film lovers who want to lament what could have been. VERDICT A succinct and readable book that is sure to pique the curiosity of any film lover and those interested in the film industry's dark side.—Jennifer Thompson, Richland Lib., Columbia, SC

Check Availability

Suspension - Richard Crabbe

Suspension - Crabbe, Richard

Summary: In the tense aftermath of the Civil War, the construction of the East River bridge becomes a target for a group of Southern partisans, led by a fanatical captain, as Detective Tom Braddock's investigation into a murder uncovers hints of the conspiracy and puts his own life in jeopardy. A first novel. 15,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Kirkus Reviews
Adman Crabbe wrote his debut novel mostly while commuting on the Staten Island ferry (or so we're told)—a method that has much to recommend it in this brawny, lavishly detailed detective saga about a Confederate plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge when it first opens for business in 1883.Honest Tom Braddock is the burly heart of the story, as the Irish-American cop and veteran of the bloody days at Gettysburg whose first clue that something is amiss in a routine murder investigation comes when the dead man proves to have a tiny key in his stomach. The man, a worker on the nearly completed bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was also a widower who left behind a young son, a boy whom Braddock comes to care about as the investigation proceeds. But the sympathetic detective has a major conflict in his life that impedes his progress: he's on the take in a city-wide protection scheme run by his precinct captain, a creep whom Braddock is increasingly unwilling to work for. His reluctance imperils his life aswell as a good chunk of his supplementary income, and when he starts piecing together the puzzle left by the corpse, there's danger from that quarter as well; he closes in on the plotters, who've had their eyes on him from the beginning—and a lot of practice in eliminating those who stumble on their secret. The Confederate mastermind, Captain Sangree, has nursed a grudge against Washington Roebling, the bridge's builder, ever since they came together at Gettysburg, where Sangree witnessed the death of his courageous younger brother. Although some among his band, having sweated and strained for 13 years in helping construct it, are now loathe to blow it up, they follow orders, and Braddock is in the race of his life without fully knowing why.Though some stretches of incredibility crop up as this extensive plot unfolds, superb detail and abundant action make this a solid page-turner. Copyright 2000 Kirkus Reviews

Check Availability

In a country of mothers - A. M. Homes

In a country of mothers - A. M. Homes

Summary: Jody Goodman, an aspiring filmmaker, and Claire Roth, a middle-aged counselor of troubled souls, develop a friendship that allows each to escape her prescribed role - (Baker & Taylor)



Publishers Weekly Reviews
In two previous books, Homes ( The Safety of Objects ) has written about people caught in the midst of change and unable (or unwilling), at first, to control or understand it. Naturally, one of her best subjects is adolescence; Jack , her first novel, tells of a boy coming to terms with his estranged father's newfound homosexuality. Here, Homes enlarges her scope with exhilarating assurance, paying equal attention to people young and mature as they pass from what they once were to whoever they must finally be. The novel concerns Jody, a frail but driven young woman pursuing a film career, and Claire, a successful, middle-aged psychiatrist who, many years ago, gave up a child born out of wedlock to foster parents. The third-person narrative shifts between the two women as Jody becomes Claire's intermittent patient and steady obsession, and the doctor, though happily married with a family of her own, becomes convinced that Jody is her long-lost child. But for Homes, this plot twist, despite its considerable suspense, serves mainly as a useful route for exploring the flux, passion and perversity of binding love. She does this with wit, skillful pacing and a sympathy for characters and their dislocations that borders--agreeably--on the uncritical. (May) Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information.

Check Availability

A bride's story - Kaoru Mori

A bride's story - Mori, Kaoru

Summary: As she and her husband adjust to their arranged marriage, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her.



Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Life is busy in nineteenth-century Central Asia for 20-year-old Amir as she settles into her new role as a bride and gets to know her 12-year-old husband, Karluk. But her happiness is threatened when her nomadic family decide they need her back, seeing a more profitable marriage arrangement. Mori's artistic skill and love for this time period are evident in every pen stroke of this lush hardcover manga. The highly detailed clothes, rugs, and woodwork of the Caucasus region are brought to vibrant life, encouraging readers to linger over the panels. A five-page fox hunt, told entirely through movements, immerses readers in the quiet attention of the highly tuned skills on display. By the end of this first volume, the plot is only beginning to bloom, but there is ample enjoyment in watching the small, everyday activities that make up the family's life—laundry, hunting, raising children. Amir's cheerfulness is infectious, both to her new family and to readers. There is some nudity, and the age difference between Amir and her husband might raise eyebrows, but the strong female characters and unique historical setting make this manga a terrific addition to teen or adult collections. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Yotsuba&! - Kiyohiko Azuma

Yotsuba&! - Azuma, Kiyohiko

Summary: Yotsuba is the charming new girl in town in this all-ages shojo manga by the author of the popular Azumanga Daioh series. In seven stories, the green-haired four-year-old discovers air conditioners, doorbells, cicadas, swings and more, and does it all with the energy of a small hurricane. Her excitement is contagious and infects her handsome young adoptive father as well as the gaggle of pretty girls next door, all of whom get tangled up in her adventures as they try to keep up with her. But is there something strange about Yotsuba's lack of familiarity with the earthly world?

Publishers Weekly Reviews
Yotsuba is the charming new girl in town in this all-ages shojo manga by the author of the popular Azumanga Daioh series. In seven stories, the green-haired four-year-old discovers air conditioners, doorbells, cicadas, swings and more, and does it all with the energy of a small hurricane. Her excitement is contagious and infects her handsome young adoptive father as well as the gaggle of pretty girls next door, all of whom get tangled up in her adventures as they try to keep up with her. But is there something strange about Yotsuba's lack of familiarity with the earthly world? The mystery of her origins is partially revealed in the final story: her father, Mr. Koiwai, found her and took her in, but Azuma seems to hint that there's more to be explained about Yotsuba. Koiwai sums up the reaction everyone seems to have to this little bundle of energy: "She can find happiness in anything," he says. "Nothing in this world can get her down." The plots here are little more than setups to explore everyday objects or concepts through the eyes of the irrepressible Yotsuba, but the genuinely sweet formula works, thanks to Azuma's solid storytelling and deft humor. (June 6) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Check Availability

Year of the jungle - Suzanne Collins

Year of the jungle - Collins, Suzanne

Summary: Suzy spends her year in first grade waiting for her father, who is serving in Vietnam, and when the postcards stop coming she worries that he will never make it home.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Collins mines her own experience to tell a tender personal story of war seen through a child's eyes. First-grader Suzy's father is deployed to Vietnam. At first, though she misses him, she dreams of the exotic jungle. But as the year goes on, marked by Christmas trees and candy hearts, things get harder. His postcards arrive less and less frequently, while news of the war, and its real dangers, comes more and more often. In the end, Suzy's father returns, and while some things are different, some things are the same. Collins' unflinching first-person account details the fears and disappointments of the situation as a child would experience them. And where more realistic illustrations would feel overwrought and sentimental, Proimos' flat, cartoony drawings, with their heavy lines and blocky shapes, are sturdy and sweet, reflecting a child's clear-eyed innocence. While small personal details and specific references to Vietnam fix the story in one child's individual experience, it is these very particularities that establish the kind of indelible and heartfelt resonance that is universally understood. Indeed, children missing parents in all kinds of circumstances will find comfort here. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Heard of a little series called The Hunger Games? Yes, well, this is by the very same author. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Running like a girl - Alexandra Heminsley

Running like a girl: notes on learning to run - Heminsley, Alexandra

Summary: "In her twenties, Alexandra Heminsley spent more time drinking white wine than she did in pursuit of athletic excellence. When she decided to take up running in her thirties, she had high hopes for a blissful runner's high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes on iTunes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets--and failed miserably. The stories of her first runs turn the common notion that we are all "born to run" on its head--and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal. Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin, but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father--a marathon runner--and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon"-- Provided by publisher.

Booklist Reviews
Heminsley did not run. Not ever. There was perhaps a shuffle here or there when absolutely necessary, but voluntarily putting on shoes and pounding the pavement? Absolutely not. Until one day, following a terrible breakup, Heminsley began to walk, and before long, with the encouragement of her family, simple walking morphed into running and then into competing in marathons. It's not all medals and smiles at the finish line, though, as Heminsley humorously tackles the many thorny issues new runners encounter, from chafing to proper sports-bra fit to injury recovery to restroom emergencies. In this account of one woman's transition from nonrunner to runner, the most important change that takes place is not losing weight or developing a more-fit physique, but rather the mental transition Heminsley makes to believing she is a runner. This is an amusing and inspiring account, sure to provide the gentle push a newbie runner needs. Helpful tips for first-time runners are appended. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The bear - Claire Cameron

The bear - Claire Cameron

Summary: "A powerfully suspenseful story narrated by a young girl who must fend for herself and her little brother after a brutal bear attack. While camping with her family on a remote island, five-year-old Anna awakes in the night to the sound of her mother screaming. A rogue black bear, 300 pounds of fury, is attacking the family's campsite, pouncing on her parents as prey. At her dying mother's faint urging, Anna manages to get her brother into the family's canoe and paddle away. But when the canoe dumps the two children on the edge of the woods, and the sister and brother must battle hunger, the elements, and a dangerous wilderness, we see Anna's heartbreaking love for her family--and her struggle to be brave when nothing in her world seems safe anymore. Told in the honest, raw voice of five-year-old Anna, this is a riveting story of love, courage, and survival"-- Provided by publisher.

Publishers Weekly Reviews
Inspired by a fatal 1991 bear attack on a couple camping on an island in Ontario's Algonquin Park, Cameron's novel of fear and survival recounts the fictional escape from a similar attack of five-year-old Anna and her two-year-old brother, Alex (nicknamed "Stick" for his sticky fingers). Anna's narrative begins midattack after her father has tossed her and her brother into the storage chest they call "Coleman." Squished in the darkness between Stick and her teddy bear, Anna sees a black furry animal through a crack, but all she can picture is her next-door neighbor's dog Snoopy. In daylight, she climbs out of Coleman to discover what remains of her father and to catch her mother's last words urging her to put her brother in the canoe and paddle away. What follows is a vividly portrayed wilderness ordeal (poison ivy, hunger, rain, isolation) juxtaposed with glimpses of the inner resources young Anna draws upon (imagination, family, memory, hope), all seen through the eyes of a child who can express, if not entirely understand, her own resentment and protectiveness of her brother, her love and longing for her parents, her fear and empathy for the predator, and her determination to persevere. Upping the emotional ante, Cameron shows the children's rescue, Anna's encounter in a hospital with a child psychologist, and, years later, her return to the island with Alex as adults. Intensity, as well as Anna's voice, make reading this book a challenging but ultimately uplifting experience. (Feb.)

Check Availability

The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth LaBan

The Tragedy Paper - LaBan, Elizabeth

Summary: While preparing for the most dreaded assignment at the prestigious Irving School, the Tragedy Paper, Duncan gets wrapped up in the tragic tale of Tim Macbeth, a former student who had a clandestine relationship with the wrong girl, and his own ill-fated romance with Daisy.


Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* It's an Irving School tradition: each graduating senior chooses the incoming senior who will inherit his dorm room and leaves a treasure for the new occupant. Duncan hardly expects his treasure to be life changing. After all, it's just a stack of CDs narrated by Tim, the strange albino student who came to Irving for the first time last year. Yet as Duncan becomes more obsessed with each successive CD, he also becomes more determined to make the most of his senior year opportunities with fellow student Daisy and as the organizer of this year's senior game. Debut novelist LaBan takes us into private-school culture as well as the heads of two charming yet very different teenage boys and their parallel love stories. Eventually, LaBan's ever-building suspense reaches a harrowing climax. The private school aura heightens the book's fascination. Nonexistent parents; well-intentioned, likable faculty on the periphery; elaborate dorm rooms with overstuffed closets; and even the romantic, snow-covered campus all contribute to a setting that adds heft and intrigue. Finally, LaBan weaves a single underlying thread through both boys' narratives—the tragedy paper. A senior-year requirement possessing its own myths and legends and assigned by the very exacting, personable Mr. Simon, the paper must answer for both the Irving graduate and the reader the ultimate question: how do you define tragedy? Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The meaning of Maggie - Megan Jean Sovern

The meaning of Maggie - Sovern, Megan Jean

Summary: Writing a memoir of the previous year of her life while dreaming of the day she will become president, high achiever Maggie confronts the difficult realities of her father's battle with multiple sclerosis, in a story published to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A first novel. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

Horn Book Magazine Reviews
In her debut novel, Sovern introduces readers to eleven-year-old Maggie Mayfield, a female counterpart to Family Ties's Alex P. Keaton. Maggie's parents were clearly free spirits in their younger years, and her dad is ready to reminisce about those glory days at the drop of a hat. But Maggie has set her own path for a more responsible adulthood: she's going to be rich, and she's going to be president of the United States. Thinking there's nothing she can't conquer, Maggie is stymied by her dad's mysterious illness -- which is slowly (perhaps too slowly) revealed as multiple sclerosis. Maggie's family uses humor to deflect their pain, but this behavior also allows self-absorbed Maggie to ignore what's really going on at home. As she tells her story in flashback, Maggie's unreliable narration puts the responsibility on readers to see both the seriousness of her situation and the subtleties in the family dynamics. For example, she dismisses her two older sisters as a couple of "hotties." While it's true they may be beautiful, they're also involved with taking care of their father, making Maggie's lunch, and generally helping out at home. Maggie's self-realizations come quickly, mostly during the time her father is hospitalized for a serious infection on her twelfth birthday. But her distinct voice, with a snarky superiority that often masks her true vulnerability, creates a character who's not easy to love but tough to forget. betty carte Copyright 2014 Horn Book Magazine.

Check Availability

Mark of the dragonfly - Jaleigh Johnson

Mark of the dragonfly - Johnson, Jaleigh

Summary: Since her father's death in a factory in the Dragonfly territories, thirteen-year-old Piper has eked out a living as a scrapper in Merrow Kingdom, but the arrival of a mysterious girl sends her on a dangerous journey to distant lands.



Kirkus Reviews
Heart, brains and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum. Thirteen-year-old Piper is a forthright machinist in dismal Scrap Town Number Sixteen (as charming as it sounds). Her skill at machine repair is unsurpassed, but the recent loss of her father has left her orphaned, with a need to trade destitution for something greener. While scavenging debris left by a violent meteor storm, Piper finds an unconscious girl, Anna, who wakes with severe amnesia and a propensity for analytical chatter and who bears the dragonfly tattoo given to those in the king's inner circle. When a menacing man comes looking for Anna, the girls board the 401 (an antique locomotive run by a motley crew), radically accelerating Piper's plans for a new life. Though Piper is initially driven by the prospect of a reward for returning Anna to what she assumes is a wealthy home, the staggeringly different girls eventually form a bond far stronger than just strategic alliance. Though there are initial echoes of Hunger Games–ian dystopian despair, these are quickly absolved as the book becomes something all its own. Consistent and precise attention to detail, from the functioning of a security system to the communicative abilities of a telepathic species, thrills. This is foremost a rugged adventure story, but there is a splash of romance (and a fabulous makeover scene). A well-imagined world of veritable adventure. (Steampunk. 11-15) Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Check Availability

Freedom summer - Susan Goldman Rubin

Freedom summer: the 1964 struggle for civil rights in Mississippi - Susan Goldman Rubin

Summary: Offers an account of the civil rights crusade in Mississippi fifty years ago that brought on shocking violence and the beginning of a new political order.


Kirkus Reviews
In time for the 50th anniversary of the pivotal civil rights event, Rubin presents heroes, villains and everyday people in 1964 Mississippi. Freedom schools, voter-registration drives and murders drew national attention to Mississippi during the Freedom Summer, and actions there affected the civil rights movement elsewhere, all culminating in the Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. The number of eligible black voters rose from 6.4 percent prior to Freedom Summer to 60 percent by the end of 1966. Two threads weave through Rubin's narrative—a detailed story of the murders of civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman and a less focused, anecdotal picture of freedom schools and voter registration, drawing on extensive personal interviews. Though archival material and many photographs are included, too many pages of dense text are unrelieved by visuals. The extensive research is well-documented, and young readers may find much of interest in the websites recommended. Overall, the account is accessible and passionate, taking the events of that violent summer into the present, when, in 2005, 80-year-old, wheelchair-bound Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of the murders of Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman and sentenced to three 20-year jail terms. A fascinating treatment of a key civil rights moment. (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Check Availability

Trains and lovers - Alexander McCall-Smith

Trains and lovers - McCall-Smith, Alexander

Summary: In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: 'You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one.'

Booklist Reviews
The latest from McCall Smith, Scotland's contemporary answer to Anthony Trollope, is a stand-alone novel, set on the train from Edinburgh to London. Unfortunately, the novel is a rare misfire for McCall Smith, the architect of the "everyone brings problems to one place" frame used to such wonderful effect in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and in the elegantly interlocking stories in the 44 Scotland Street and Corduroy Mansions series. The frame here has four people in one train compartment: three men (from Scotland, the U.S., and England) and one woman (from Western Australia) settle in to tell each other tales of their past loves. It would take a derrick to suspend this I beam of disbelief, beginning with the startling fact that these twenty-first-century travelers occupy the entire journey by taking turns talking—there's not an iPad in sight. Those who expect the sort of assignations promised by the cover art will be disappointed; there's not even any flirting. Still, if readers can ignore the screeching narrative wheels, there are the usual rewards to reading McCall Smith, including his deft descriptions of landscape and the physical characteristics of his characters—and, of course, his wise and witty reflections on love and luck. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

The 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen R Covey

The 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen R Covey

Summary: A holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach revolutionized the way people solve personal and professional problems and go on to lead extraordinary lives. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey revealed a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity. Principles that give the security to adapt to change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

Review
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.

This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. amazon.com

Check Availability

The fresh 20 - Melissa Lanz

The fresh 20: 20-ingredient meal plans for health and happiness 5 nights a week - Lanz, Melissa

Summary:  The founder of The Fresh 20, a budget-friendly meal-planning service, presents a cookbook that shows busy home cooks how, by using just twenty organic ingredients per week, to create five whole, delicious meals in just minutes.

Check Availability

Lexicon - Max Barry

Lexicon - Barry, Max

Summary: Emily Ruff belongs to a secretive, influential organization whose "poets" can break down individuals by psychographic markers in order to take control of their thoughts. Then she makes a catastrophic mistake and falls in love with Wil Jamieson who holds the key to a secret war between rival factions of "poets." In order to survive, Wil must journey to the toxically decimated town of Broken Hill, Australia, as the world crashes toward a Tower of Babel event which would leave all language meaningless.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Words have power to persuade, to coerce, even to kill. And so they have since the days when wordsmiths were called sorcerers. Streetwise teenager Emily knows nothing of this until she is recruited to join a clandestine international organization that seems bent on taking over the world through the power of language—the reason, perhaps, that its members call themselves poets. In the meantime, a young man, Wil, is kidnapped from an airport by two mysterious men determined to unlock a secret buried deep in his brain. Yes, Wil and Emily will be brought together in due course, but in the meantime there is a great deal, some of it abstruse, about language in this fast-paced, cerebral thriller that borders on speculative fiction, but none of it slows the nonstop action that takes readers from Washington, D.C., to a small town in the Australian desert, a town whose 3,300 residents have all died mysteriously and violently. Could the cause have been the power of words at work? The poets sometimes seem a bit too omnipotent, and the book's chronology is occasionally a bit confusing, but otherwise this is an absolutely first-rate, suspenseful thriller with convincing characters who invite readers' empathy and keep them turning pages until the satisfying conclusion. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Wildwood Imperium - Colin Meloy

Wildwood Imperium - Meloy, Colin

Series: The Wildwood Chronicles 

Booklist Reviews
The third tome in the Wildwood Chronicles continues the quirky adventures of 12-year-old Prue as she reenters the Wood to find that the postrevolution world she helped create isn't going especially smoothly. In fact, she finds herself involved with a plot to resurrect Alexei, the automaton prince, who is foretold to bring peace to the land. But there is another resurrection in progress, too: naive teenager Zita is gathering the materials to bring back the evil Alexandra. A third story line—the most purely enjoyable—involves the Unadoptables as they join up with a band of beatnik saboteurs intent on raiding the Titan Tower, where an important hostage is being held. Meloy is the Wes Anderson of authors (characters with names like Ambrose Pupkin are many), and he nails the tone of this gentle, but not inconsequential, adventure; though filled with few genuine surprises, it is a warm, comforting read, and its massive page count allows readers to further lose themselves in the enchanting stroll through some very unusual woods. Final illustrations (including color plates) not seen. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This best-selling series continues to get a major publisher push: an author-illustrator tour, launch events, limited-edition art prints, stickers, videos, playlists, you name it. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability

Finnikin and the rock - Melina Marchetta

Finnikin and the rock - Melina Marchetta

Summary: Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.

Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* In her latest title, Marchetta, author of the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award winner, Jellicoe Road, steps deftly into the fantasy genre. Ten years before the story's start, assassins crept into the kingdom of Lumatere and murdered the royal family, with the possible exception of Balthazar, heir to the throne. As rumors circulated that Balthazar survived, a mystic cast a curse that created a magical barrier around the kingdom and prevented thousands who had fled from returning. Marchetta focuses her tale on 19-year-old Finnikin, the son of a former royal guard, who is serving in exile as an apprentice to Sir Topher, a former advisor to the murdered king. While aiding refugees, they meet a young novice who can enter others' dreams and claims that Balthazar has chosen Finnikin to "take his people home." As Finnikin gathers forces to return to the kingdom, intrigue and double-dealing ensue. The skillful world building includes just enough detail to create a vivid sense of place, and Marchetta maintains suspense with unexpected story arcs. It is the achingly real characters, though, and the relationships that emerge through the captivating dialogue that drive the story. Filled with questions about the impact of exile and the human need to belong, this standout fantasy quickly reveals that its real magic lies in its accomplished writing. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

Check Availability