| by: Shannon McGregor, Adult Services Librarian, Nichols Library | |
Title: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 1 Author: Laurell K. Hamilton Summary: This graphic novel is an excellent adaptation of Hamilton's novel Guilty Pleasures. The world of vampires, zombies, ghouls, and were-rats comes to the page in full colour. The story seems less of a mystery and more of a horror novel as a result of the illustrations. | |
Title: Brooklyn Author: Colm Toibin Summary: Jobs are scarce in Ireland in the 1950s, so young Eilis Lacey must leave her village of Enniscorthy to seek her fortune in Brooklyn. With the help of an Irish priest, she is employed at a department store, takes a room at a boarding house, and starts college at night. She meets a charming and attractive Italian man and falls in love. When tragedy strikes at home, Eilis returns to Ireland and is faced with the decision to stay or return to the freer, more exiting life she's created in New York. Detailed descripitions, a leisurely pace, sypathetic characters and lyrical language make this novel accessible and engaging. | |
Title: Ghost Walk Author: Marianne Macdonald Summary: Dido Hoare, single mother of 6-month-old Ben, daughter of elderly-crotchety Barnabas, sometime amateur sleuth and owner of a London antiquarian bookstore, returns for a second adventure. Dido already has her hands full when old Tom Ashe, an occasional customer, collapses on her doorstep. She gets him to hospital, but he soon leaves against medical advice. Ashe turns up later with an ancient-looking piece of jewelry to thank her, but the next morning he's found murdered. Dido is compelled to investigate, particularly when it turns out she has been named executer of Ashe's surprisingly large estate. Sympathetic characters and a suspenseful plot make this an entertaining mystery. | |
Title: Go Down Together Author: Jeff Guinn Summary: A very factual unromanticized account of the lives, crimes and deaths of the Barrow Gang. A must read for anyone interested in Bonnie and Clyde. | |
Title: Haunting Bombay Author: Shilpa Agarwal Summary: Set in the '60s in Bombay, this ghost story intrigued me, because it is written by an almost M.D. who had grown up in the U.S. I was surprised to find how well she captured the period. | |
Title: The House of Bilqis Author: Azhar Abidi Summary: A moving story set in Pakistan in the '80s. The widowed aristocrat Bilquis Ara Begum prepares to receive her son, who has settled in Australia, and his white Australian wife. Despite her entreaties, her son continues to live in Australia. A parallel story tells of the love of Mumtaz, the Begums' maid, and Omar, a terrorist. | |
Title: Lincoln : An Illustrated Biography Author: Philip B Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III and Peter W. Kunhardt Summary: Based on the photographs saved from destruction by a young collector in 1902, this book uses the resources of the Meserve Collection as a basis for the photographic biography of Abraham Lincoln. A fabulous collection of photographs are a highlight in this book includng those of Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner and other leading photographers of the day. Through these photographs we get a wonderful biographic study of Abraham Lincoln, the family man, the politician and the President. | |
Title: Plant Seed, Pull Weed Author: Geri Larkin Summary: Good book mixing gardening and philosophy. The author learns a lot about life from her gardening job. Teaches Buddhist philosophy in a light hearted way. | |
Title: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt Author: Edmund Morris Summary: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt focuses on his career from 1958 to 1901 before he became the president of the United States. During that time Roosevelt built himself up from an asthmatic youth to a robust man. This fascinating book covers his early marriage to Alice Lee and his second marriage to Edith Carow, as well as his ranching days in the Badlands, the books he authored, his days as assistant secretary of the Navy and Spanish American War where he lead the Rough Riders in the taking of Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill in Cuba. | |
Title: Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School Author: Katherine Darling Summary: Amusing enough book about the author's exploits in cooking school, but I think I've read too many books of this sort at this point ( Julie and Julia, The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, Girl Cook, etc.) so it didn't seem particularly fresh to me. All of her classmates were flat caricatures, especially those that she portrayed in an unflattering light. A quick snack of a read, but don't expect it to be terribly filling. | |