Reading 2.0

Summer reading survey

2008-07-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Superstorms: Extreme Weather in the Heart of the Heartland

2008-07-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

Superstorms: Extreme Weather in the Heart of the Heartland by Terry Swails

Review by Bridget

When I grabbed Superstorms: Extreme Weather in the Heart of the Heartland, it was just for fun. I wanted to check out some pictures and see if there were any stories about places I had lived in. I didn't pay attention to the author and was surprised to to find out it was out own Terry Swails. The majority of the book is about weather in the Quad-Cities. It covers everything from ice, blizzards, floods, to hail, tornadoes, and extreme temperatures. It has great pictures of places in the QCA (that) everyone is familiar with. It was an easy to understand book that reads quickly. The stories were interesting and meant a lot more to me since I knew the people and places in the book. It also reminded me of why I love living in the midwest and how great the people in our communities are when hit with tragedies like our many floods. Next time you're at the library, grab this book. I promise you will enjoy it.

Summer reading quick picks

2008-07-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Sail by James Patterson & Howard Roughan is an etertaining (albeit somewhat far fetched) summer read. I enjoy fiction that is fast-paced and light, and "Sail" is both. Enjoy it!
review by Jennie

Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran is an amazing look at the life of a woman who lived and survived as a Tibetan nomad after being torn from her Chinese military group. The author includes historical perspective and detailed information on the Buddhist religion.
review by Valerie

Train from Marietta

2008-07-16T07:09:00.001-07:00

Train from Marietta by Dorothy Garlock
A fun adventure and romance. Kate, raised in New York and born into a wealthy family, heads west to work as a nurse. Kate is kidnapped off the cross-country train and must be rescued by a Texas rancher.

Review by Carol

Check out Dorothy Garlock's website for her biography, recipes, and more books.

The Lady and the Panda

2008-07-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Lady and the Panda by Vicki Constantine Croke

Summer Reading Program Review by Jane

Can a socialite dress designer from Manhattan locate a baby giant panda in Tibet and bring it to a US zoo?
After her adventurer husband died, Ruth Hackness decided to embark on his quest. What a trek to "find" herself as well as Su- Lin.
Read an article on Ruth here

A Wolf at the Table

2008-07-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors and Possible Side Effects, has written another memoir, A Wolf at the Dinner Table: A Memoir of My Father.
As a part of our Summer Reading Program, Penne from our Princeton Branch, wrote this review.

A Wolf at the Dinner Table is a rare insightful view of family life through a very young child's eyes. (Augusten's family suffered) much cruelty and mental abuse. It would be hard to be a friend to Mr. Burroughs, but he does give you hope. It might be helpful to read his other books too.

Visit the author's website here

Remember me?

2008-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella, author of the popular shopaholic series, is a fun fast read for the ladies. Kinsella describes the premise for the book...what if you woke up and didn't recognize your life? What if you lost three years of memory--and everything had changed in that time?
The novel follows Lexi, who at one moment is commiserating with her friends about her dead end job and loser boyfriend, then, after a fall down the stairs, wakes up with a life where she is married to a handsome man and is a ruthless manager making the big bucks. Much like the TV show Samantha Who, the story is very unbelievable, but the characters are great and the fun lies in Lexi's quest to figure out just how she got to where she is today.
Recommended for fans of Shopaholic, Emily Giffin, Janet Evanovich, and The Devil Wears Prada.

Water for Elephants

2008-06-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

Join us as we discuss Water for Elephants on June 30th at 6:30pm.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is about 91 yr old Jacob, who recalls his past working for a second-rate circus during the Great Depression. Many interesting characters and situations make Jacob's life one worth reading. Stop by the library to pick up your copy now.

Click to hear a passage from the book
Gabcast! Reading 2.0 #5

2008-05-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what Anne of Green Gable's life was like before she arrived on Prince Edward Island? Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson is just the book for you! Through her adventures at school and in fosterhomes and orphanages, Anne's vibrant personality, imagination and dramatic flair shines through. You will meet Katie Maurice and Violetta her dear friends that help her through all her tribulations. And you will be cheering for Anne when she finally arrives at the Cuthberts.

Maggie, Eldridge

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

2008-05-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Join us for our Book Discussion on June 2nd at 6:30pm
We will be discussing The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

What Friedman means by claiming 'the world is flat' is that barriers to communication have diminished and access to people, places, products, and ideas is easier than ever. His book discusses this phenomena, how it developed and what the future holds.

Listen to an interview with author Friedman here

Read the author's blog which expands on his ideas and experiences

Quick Pick

2008-05-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

"The Barefoot Believers" by Annie Jones (Center Point Large Print
edition)
---This is a GOOD book and if you like happy endings, this
is for you. If you have sisters, even better. Keep your hankie close.

- Margie, Eldridge

Amish Fiction

2008-05-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have read two series by Wanda Brustetter, The Daughters of Lancaster and The Brides of Lancaster. They are both Amish fiction and are really good reads.

Click here to visit Wanda's website.

I have read a lot of Beverly Lewis- juvenile, young adult, and adult fiction. They are really good too.

See Beverly Lewis' series here

--Margie, Tech Services, Eldridge branch

The Killer's Wife

2008-04-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

I would recommend The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd. This is his debut novel, and I hope he writes more. What is the life like for a convicted serial killer's wife and young son? Thought by many to have knowledge ofher husbands' crimes or perhaps be a participant, she changes her name and moves across the country. But she is not safe when the father of one of the victims traces and confronts her. It is gripping and keeps you reading to find out what happens.

-Maggie

A Grief Observed

2008-04-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Easily the saddest book I have ever read, C.S. Lewis' book A Grief Observed is his journal he wrote after his wife Joy died of cancer.
It was the first time in his life that he had experienced such a sudden jolt of pain and it is evident in his words that he was completely lost. Lewis' faith was tested and he shares his doubts and anger towards God with readers.
"What chokes every prayer and every hope is the memory of all the prayers H. and I offered and all the false hopes we had. Not hopes raised merely by our own wishful thinking, hopes encouraged, even forced upon us, by false diagnoses, by X-ray photographs, by strange remissions, by one temporary recovery that might have ranked as a miracle. Step by step we were 'led up the garden path.' Time after time, when He seemed most gracious He was really preparing the next torture."

It is a very personal experience that few people are willing to share with the world. As time passes, Lewis comes to conclusions about death and life that will give hope to anyone who has lost a loved one.

"God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't."

Paul Ingram's Book Talks

2008-04-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Paul Ingram from Prairie Lights visited the library on April 8th. Here is a list of the books he brought along to talk about.

The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
Can I Keep my Jersey by Paul Shirley
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Custodian of Paradise by Wayne Johnston
Discovery of France by Graham Robb
Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in Iowa by Connie Mutel
The Flowers by Dagoberto Gilb
The Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris
Go With Me by Castle Freeman
Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by Arthur Compte-Sponville
Lush Life by Richard Price
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle
Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy
Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
Slip of the Knife by Denise Mina
Tenderness of Wolves by Stephanie Penney
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
What is the what? by Dave Eggers
Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom

Click HERE to search the library catalog for these titles

Click HERE to visit the Prairie Lights Bookstore website

Quick Pick

2008-04-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

CENTURY GIRL, 100 Years in the life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies by Lauren Redniss (2006)

A dreamy new style of biography! 100 years of art, dancing, performing on
the stage and of life. An inspiration for all ages!
- Penne, Princeton

From the book jacket...
The Ziegfeld Follies, Florenz Ziegfeld's stage spectacular, promised
the best performers, the most lavish sets, and the most ravishing
girls. Doris Eaton Travis was one of these prized beauties and, at 14,
was chosen as the youngest chorus girl in the Follies.
"Mine eyes are yet dim with the luminous beauty of a girl
named Doris," one Chicago reviewer wrote. Today, at the age of 102,
Eaton is the last living Ziegfeld girl.

The Righteous Men

2008-04-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

I would recommend The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne which is a 2006
paperback available at the Eldridge Branch.  If you were a fan of The
DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, you will enjoy this book.
It is the story of an ancient prophecy that foretells the end of
everything and the fledgling reporter that tries to prevent it.  It is a
murder mystery with a conspiracy theory and theological commentary.  It is
very readable and quite compelling with twists along the way.

Maggie, Eldridge

An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England

2008-04-01T11:18:00.001-07:00

Join Scott County Reads for our next book discussion on April 28th at 6:30pm.

Click on the Gabcast player to hear the first page of the book

Gabcast! Reading 2.0 #4

Mozart's Ghost

2008-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Mozart's Ghost by Julia Cameron is a modern day love story with a twist. Anna is a school teacher by day and a medium by night. When a concertpianist moves into her apartment building, she begins to be visited by theghost of Mozart. And Mozart begins to play matchmaker. This is acharming, entertaining read that is fun from beginning to end.

Review by Maggie, Eldridge

Eleanor vs. Ike

2008-03-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Eleanor vs. Ike by Robin Gerber is a fictional "what if" book.

The year is 1952, and Eleanor Roosevelt is running against General Eisenhower for the presidency. Written by a political commentator on women and

leadership, this is fast paced and almost suspenseful. Since we are in the midst of a presidential campaign, it is interesting to see how things were done in 1952. Although fictional, there are many historical events and people involved in the story. For those of us who were around in that era, it is interesting to read about Sam Rayburn, Estes Kefauver, EdwardR. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Adlai Stevenson. Read the book to find out the winner!

vs.

photos from about.com and columbia.edu

Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

2008-03-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Join us for our Scott County Reads book discussion on March 24th.

We will be discussing The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. In this humorous memoir, Bryson recalls his childhood growing up in Des Moines the 1950s.

Check out a review here

Little Heathens

2008-03-08T07:41:00.001-08:00

"Little Heathens" Hard Times and High Spirits on a Farm during the Great Depression, by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (2007)
Since I was raised in IL & IA this was a familiar book. It was like a
conversation with Grandma! The families, the dinners and the hard work ethic are things I remember. An important history for the midwest. It reminded me of things I need to write down for my grandchildren.

Keep on the sunny side........Penelope Miller, Princeton Branch

Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up

2008-02-28T11:51:00.001-08:00

Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up By John Allen Paulos

Review by Paul, Director

John Allen Paulos is a mathematician who teaches at Temple University and a gifted interpreter of the everyday. In this small text Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. In his other books Paulos dealt with reading newspapers, playing the stock market, and understanding what all those graphs and charts and formulas really mean. Here he looks at God and looks at twelve of the most common arguments for God, including the argument from design, the notion of first causes among others in his insightful and humorous style.

His approach begs the question; if physicist, a biologist and a mathematician walk into a bar and Barkeeper says, ''Any of you believe in God?'' Which of the three is most likely to say yes?

Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey: The River of Doubt

2008-02-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey: The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

I recently finished another great book about Theodore Roosevelt, which concentrates solely on the months he spent exploring the uncharted Rio Duvida which flows wildly through the rainforests of South America. The journey was a long and treacherous one, as described by Roosevelt-

"We have had a hard and somewhat dangerous but very successful trip. No less than six weeks were spent... forcing our way down through what seemed a literally endless succession of rapids and cataracts. For forty-eight days we saw no human being. In passing these rapids we lost five of the seven canoes... One of our best men lost his life in the rapids."

The story begins after Roosevelt's defeat as a Progressive Party candidate in 1912. To get away from it all, he plans another grand adventure in South America. Taking over a month to travel through the rainforest to the mouth of the Rio Duvida, Roosevelt and his son Kermit began to realize they were not prepared for the journey. Numerous members of the party were sent home and heavy supplies were abandoned before they even began their descent. No non-native had ever traversed the river, so Brazilian army commander Rondon lead the trip and vowed to survey and record every inch of the river.

The trip began slowly as Rondon stopped numerous times to measure the river's curves. As they began to run into dangerous rapids, the men had to dock their boats wade through the piranha infested waters and carve a path through the rainforest filled with natives so primitive, they had not yet even conceived of boats. The rapids almost took the life of Roosevelt's son Kermit, and soon after did take the life of one of the paid workers on the journey. Things got even worse as the natives attacked the party's dog and Roosevelt became deathly ill. At one point he begged the party to go on without him, but his son refused to let him die alone in the rainforest.

The author does a fantastic job describing the rainforest as it was in 1913-14, very primitive and untouched by humans. She also gives great background on each of the main players in the story- Rondon, Cherrie- a naturalist sent to collect bird specimens, and the two Roosevelts. This journey down the uncharted waters of the dangerous Rio Duvida (now the Rio Roosevelt) isn't known by many, but is a fantastic tale for fans history, social studies, and geography.

The Roosevelt River today

Book discussion for February

2008-02-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Our next book discussion will be on February 25th at 6:00pm. We are discussing Tom Perotta's book, The Abstinence Teacher. Tom was an Oscar- nominee in the "Writing - Adapted Screenplay" category for his adaptation of his novel Little Children.
The Abstinence Teacher is about a teacher who questions her school when they try to get her to teach abstinence only sex education. Come to the Scott County Library in Eldridge to pick up your copy and join us on the 25th for a lively discussion!

Listen to an excerpt from the book. Gabcast! Reading 2.0 #3 - Abstinence Teacher

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Discussion on February 25th at 6pm

Summary from Tom's site-

Stonewood Heights is the perfect place to raise kids. It's got the proverbial good schools, solid values and a healthy real estate market. It's the kind of place where parents are involved in their children's lives, where no opportunity for enrichment goes unexplored.

Ruth Ramsey is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school. She believes that "pleasure is good, shame is bad, and knowledge is power." Ruth's younger daughter's soccer coach is Tim Mason, a former stoner and rocker whose response to hitting rock bottom was to reach out and be saved. Tim belongs to The Tabernacle, an evangelical Christian church that doesn't approve of Ruth's style of teaching. And Ruth in turn doesn't applaud The Tabernacle's mission to take its message outside its doors.

Adversaries in a small-town culture war, Ruth and Tim instinctively mistrust each other. But when a controversy on the soccer field pushes the two of them to actually talk to each other, they are forced to take each other at something other than face value.

The Abstinence Teacher exposes the powerful emotions that run beneath the surface of modern American family life and explores the complex spiritual and sexual lives of ordinary people.

Click here for Tom Perotta's website!