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Volume 26, Number 11 November 2016 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Cookbook Shelf Travel Shelf
Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf
Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf
Library DVD Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf Self-Help Shelf
Biography Shelf Autism Shelf Education Shelf
Architecture Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Automotive Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Art Shelf Poetry Shelf
Woodworking Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Beer/Wine Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf Economic Studies Shelf
Business Shelf Music Shelf Archaeology Shelf
Language Studies Shelf Military Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Literary Studies Shelf
Sports Shelf Library Science Shelf Genealogy Shelf  
Environmental Studies Shelf Human Sexuality Shelf International Studies Shelf
American History Shelf Civil War Shelf Folktale/Fairytale Shelf
Journalism Shelf Crafts Shelf Technology Shelf
Computer Shelf Wisconsin Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Becoming a U.S. Citizen, eighth edition
Ilona M. Bray, J.D.
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.nolo.com
9781413323047 $29.99 pbk / $16.99 Kindle amazon.com

Now in an updated eighth edition covering the latest "Form N-400", Becoming a U.S. Citizen: A Guide to the Law, Exam & Interview is a practical, reader-friendly guide to making the transition from green card holder to naturalized U.S. citizen, thereby earning benefits including the right to vote, the opportunity to apply for certain federal jobs, faster immigration for family members, protection against deportation, and more. Chapters discuss how to discern whether one is eligible for citizenship, the risks and rewards of applying, how to fill out application forms, preparing for the citizenship exam as well as interviews, and much more. It should be noted that the publisher's website nolo.com includes a wealth of resources for prospective American citizens, such as legal updates to Becoming a U.S. Citizen and in-depth profiles of immigration lawyers in one's area. While Becoming a U.S. Citizen cannot substitute for the counsel of a trained attorney, it is a "must-read" and worthy of the highest recommendation, even (especially!) if one retains the services of a lawyer.

The Illustrated Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Tarcher Perigee
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3657
9780143129264 $22.00 www.tarcherperigee.com

The Illustrated Walden: Thoreau Bicentennial Edition is a classic text by philosopher, naturalist, and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862). The original Walden was published in 1854 and detailed two years spent living in a cabin Thoreau built near Walden pond. An illustrated version was issued in 1897 as a two-volume "Holiday Edition". Now, to celebrate the bicentennial of Thoreau's birth, this beautiful version is being reissued with the complete text and all original black-and-white illustrations intact. A convenient index rounds out this timeless American classic. The Illustrated Walden is a treasure from cover to cover, and a choice pick for gift-giving and personal collections as well as public and college library shelves.

The Development of Managerial Culture
Arthur J. Wolak
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
www.palgrave-usa.com
9781137475619, $120.00, HC, 321pp, www.amazon.com

"The Development of Managerial Culture" by Dr Arthur J. Wolak (President of CMI Chat Media Inc.) deftly examines the differences in underlying values and cultural distinctions in managerial cultures in Australia and Canada. "The Development of Managerial Culture" offers commentary on differences in attitudes to managerial culture and industrial relations through a comparison of national character development to provide context and insight for readers. Dr. Wolak persuasively argues that Canada, lacking the 'Irish factor' in its cultural and socio-political development derived much of its business culture from British colonial traditions. Enhanced with the inclusion of figures, tables, a seventeen page bibliography, and a twelve page index, "The Development of Managerial Culture" is a work of impressive scholarship. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Development of Managerial Culture" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library International Business reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists. For students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, it should be noted that "The Development of Managerial Culture" is also now available in a paperback edition (9781349501878, $115.00) and in a Kindle format ($89.00).

Rittenhouse Writers: Reflections on a Fiction Workshop
James Rahan
Paul Dry Books
1700 Sansom Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5214
www.pauldrybooks.com
9781589881129, $20.00, PB, 275pp, www.amazon.com

James Rahn has led the Rittenhouse Writers' Group since he founded it in 1988, making it one of America's longest-running independent fiction workshops. Hundreds of writers and would-be writers have sought out the group for its remarkable level of instruction and collaboration. "Rittenhouse Writers: Reflections on a Fiction Workshop" is Rahn's personal memoir of the workshop and how his own evolution as both a teacher and a writer (as well as a son, husband, and father) has been intertwined with the establishment and growth of the RWG. In addition, Rahn includes ten short stories written by current and former members of the workshop. These short stories include "On Fire" by Gwen Florio; "Mother - 6/7 Months" by Romnesh Lamba; "Moon Penitent" by Diane McKinney-Whetstone; "The Last Confession" by Tom Teti; "Ivory Is Wrong About Me" by Caren Litvin; "The Conference Rat" by Samantha Gillison; "Dropping a Line into the Murky Chop" by Saral Waldorf; "What She Missed" by Lisa Paparone; "Kingdom of the Sun" by Alice Schell; and "The Letters of Hon. Crawford G. Bolton III" by Daniel R. Biddle. An impressively written, informative and insightful read, "Rittenhouse Writers: Reflections on a Fiction Workshop" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Literary Studies collections, and have a great deal of special interest for all aspiring authors and writer workshop providers. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Rittenhouse Writers: Reflections on a Fiction Workshop" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Bibliophilia
N. John Hall
David R. Godine, Publisher
Fifteen Court Square, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02108-2536
www.godine.com
9781567925616, $18.95, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Flush with $400,000 from the sale of his great-great-grandfather's correspondence with Victorian authors, Larry Dickerson, our unassuming retired blank clerk, amateur editor, and literary neophyte, needs a creative outlet for his newly acquired wealth and fast escalating obsession with all things bookish. Larry's journey begins with collecting rare editions of Victorian novelists but soon spirals rapidly into the abyss of New Yorker authors, his determination to acquire growing with each new purchase. James Thurber, E.B. White, Vladimir Nabokov, J.D. Salinger, and Dorothy Parker all find their way onto Larry's shortlist, standing along previously acquired greats Trollope, Dickens, Thackeray, and Hardy. Being sensible, he approaches the biggest names in the rare book field with childish glee, and with refreshing brashness, finds himself handling copies of authors' most coveted titles, touring the New Yorker offices, and then involved in one of the biggest scandals book collecting has ever seen. Will the thrill of the chase overwhelm Larry's ability to see reason? Will his appetite outpace his resources? Join him on this journey as he discovers just how far he's willing to take his obsession. "Bibliophilia" by John Hall (a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at the Bronx Community College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, who is also the recipient of numerous awards including twice having been a Guggenheim Fellow) is a 'must' for every bibliophile and literary fiction enthusiast! A truly compelling read from beginning to end, "Bibliophilia" is an extraordinary novel and enthusiastically recommended for personal reading lists, as well as both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections.

Hot Sauce Nation
Denver Nicks
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613731840, $17.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

"Hot Sauce Nation: America's Burning Obsession" by Denver Nicks is an inherently fascinating journey of discovery, delving into the history, culture, immigration patterns, and the science of spice and culinarily induced pain. Through the stories of hot sauce makers and lovers, "Hat Sauce Nation" deftly explores the unique hold the dark prince of condiments has over the American heart. Informed and informative, "Hot Sauce Nation" is an inherently fascinating read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Hot Sauce Nation" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Future of Family Farms
Teresa Opheim, Editor
University of Iowa Press
119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
9781609384531, $24.95, www.uiowapress.org

The Future of Family Farms: Practical Farmers' Legacy Letter Project outlines a trend towards the transfer of farmland in the U.S. due to the aging farmer (the average age is fifty-eight, with forty percent of leasing farmers over sixty-five years old). The Farm Legacy Letter project was developed by a nonprofit group to encourage farmers to think about the future of their land. This collection gathers the letters and stories of these farmers under one cover, outlining the major challenges to small-time agriculture in America in general and the Midwest in particular, and considering how what kinds of farmers will make their living from the land, in the future. Any collection strong in agriculture needs this hard-hitting consideration of the forces influencing the American farm's future.


The Cookbook Shelf

The Chew Approved
Ashley Archer
Kingswell
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
www.hbgusa.com
www.thechew.com
9781484776391, $16.99, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Chew Tank is a popular segment on The Chew, ABC's hit show hosted by Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz, and Michael Symon. In Chew Tank, viewers submit their own recipes and compete for a chance to cook with one of the hosts. Compiled and edited by Ashely Archer, "The Chew Approved" is a compendium of the best of these recipes in this fifth companion cookbook to be derived from daytime television show. Just as they do everyday on the hit ABC daytime show, Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz, and Michael Symon will provide 'kitchen cook friendly' tips and tricks that make cooking for family and friends fun and manageable. The palate pleasing, appetite satisfying featured dishes range from Feat, Spinach, Sweet Potato Frittata; Roasted Honey, Ginger BBQ Wings; Fresh-from-the-Farm Coconut Carrot Stew; and Balsamic Marinated Steak House Salad; to Sausage and Beef Casserole; Ratatouille Tart; Strawberry Red Velvet Love Cakes; and Classic Whoopie Pies. A pleasure to browse and inspiring to plan family menus with, "The Chew Approved" is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "The Chew Approved" is also available in a Kindle format ($10.99).

Persepolis: Vegetarian Recipes from Persia and Beyond
Sally Butcher
Interlink Publishing
46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1804
www.interlinkbooks.com
9781566560184, $35.00, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Vegetarian cuisine continues to gain popularity as a culinary life-style. In "Persepolis: Vegetarian Recipes from Persia and Beyond", Sally Butcher (who is the owner of Persepolis, a Persian food store and cafe in London, England) draws upon her years of experience and expertise to create a beautifully illustrated compendium of recipes that will please any palate, satisfy any appetite, and present dishes appropriate for any and all vegetarian dining opportunities from basic family meals to elegant celebration dining. Each recipes is enhanced with the inclusion of a succinct introductory commentary followed by serving numbers, a list of ingredients, and thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' step-by-step instructions. With superbly presented recipes for dishes ranging from Fried Bread with Hulbeh and Eggs; Potato Kufteh; Mush Pea, Yogurt, and Harrissa Soup; Eggplant with Lintels; and Grilled Minty peaches with Chard and Spiced Cashews; to French Fry Stew; Zucchini and Ginger Jam; Turkish Milk and Almond Pudding; and Chili-Fried Peaches with Barberries, "Persepolis: Vegetarian Recipes from Persia and Beyond" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, family, and community library Vegetarian Cookbook collections.

What Good Cooks Know
America's Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
www.americastestkitchen.com
9781940352664, $29.95, HC, 448pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled by the editorial staff of America's Test Kitchen, "What Good Cooks Know: 20 Years of Test Kitchen Expertise in One Essential Handbook" is a deftly written, profusely illustrated, exceptionally organized, impressively comprehensive, and thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' instruction manual comprised of kitchen techniques, tips, tricks, recipes, and reviews for the home cook. Of immense and valuable use for beginners and experienced kitchen cooks alike, "What Good Cooks Know" showcases dozens of equipment recommendations, hundreds of ingredient entries, mini lessons on basic cooking skills and useful kitchen science, plus illustrated step-by-step instructions for 50 of essential recipes. Of special note is the section on 'Outfitting Your Kitchen'. While very highly recommended for school homemaker curriculums and community library collections, it should be noted for personal and family instructional reference lists that "What Good Cooks Know" is also available in a Kindle format ($28.99).

Cookies, Cakes & Pies
Taste of Home Books
c/o RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC
1610 N. 2nd St., Suite 102, Milwaukee, WI 53212
tasteofhome.com
9781617655319 $17.99 pbk / $12.99 Kindle amazon.com

Illustrated with sumptuous, full-color photography on every page, Cookies, Cakes & Pies: Sweet Surprises for Today's Family Baker lives up to its title with 370 delicious dessert recipes. From "Coffeehouse Caramel-Dark Chocolate-Latte Cookie" to "Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake", "Citrus Cream Tartlets" and much more, Cookies, Cakes & Pies is a treasure trove of unforgettable delights sure to be the hit of any party, holiday celebration, or family meal! Highly recommended.

The Monet Cookbook
Florence Gentner & Francis Hammond
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791382883, $35.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Florence Gentner was formerly special assistant to the Carnavalet Museum and the Maison de Victor Hugo. She regularly writes articles devoted to the homes of writers and gives lectures on art history. In the profusely and beautifully illustrated pages of "The Monet Cookbook", Florence showcases 60 of Claude Monet's original recipes alongside glorious reproductions of his paintings, scenes from his life in Giverny, and stunning photographs of the dishes. While Claude Monet is best known as an artist, he was also a gourmand whose culinary journals are filled with detailed recipes and notes about what he ate and with whom he shared his meals. Brimming with the colors and flavors of Giverny, France, each chapter comprising "The Monet Cookbook" features recipes that were served in Monet's famed yellow dining room, eaten al fresco in the gardens at Giverny, or at several of the fine restaurants along the Seine in Normandy. The recipes were selected for their rustic appeal and use of only the freshest ingredients, range from simple galettes and hearty casseroles to fine souffles, seafood dishes, and delicious tarts, cakes, and other pastries. With dishes that range from Grilled Chicken; Nantes Cakes; Potato Pie; and Veal Meatballs; to Baked Eggs with Tomato Sauce; Partridges with Cabbage; Preserved Cherries; and Cepes a la Bordelaise, "The Monet Cookbook" offers a thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' resource ideal for planning truly memorable meals.

The Gaza Kitchen
Laila El-Haddad & Maggie Schmitt
Just World Books
PO Box 5484, Charlottesville, VA 22905
www.justworldbooks.com
9781682570081, $29.99, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents from Gaza, Laila El-Haddad currently lives in Maryl and is an award-winning writer, public speaker, and social activist. She is also the co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced and the author of "Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between" (9781935982173, $27.99 PB, $9.99 Kindle). . Maggie Schmitt is a writer, researcher, translator, educator, and social activist working in various media and exploring the daily practices of ordinary people as a way of understanding political and social realities in the Mediterranean region. Together they have collaborated in producing a truly exceptional culinary compendium showcasing authentic Palestinian cuisine in the pages of "The Gaza Kitchen" and offering thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes for sups, dips, spreads, breads, biscuits, savory pies, eggs and hot mezze, one-bowl means, vegetable stews, rice dishes and stuffed vegetables, seafood, sweets, beverages, pickles, preserves, and special dishes for special occasions. Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, "The Gaza Kitchen" also includes an informative introduction and an invaluable list of resources. Offering a treasury of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying dishes for all dining occasions, "The Gaza Kitchen" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, family, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections.

The Saffron Tales
Yasmin Khan
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.bloomsbury.com
9781632867100, $35.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Yasmin Khan is a writer and cook from London who loves to share people's stories through food. An avid traveler whose passport is never too far from her pocket, she runs cooking classes, pop-up supper clubs and writing retreats around the world. In the beautifully illustrated pages of "The Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen" she has compiled a truly impressive culinary compendium showcasing and celebrating the cuisine of Iran. Replete with cooking tips, lists of ingredients, and thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' step-by-step instructions the dishes range from Persian Ajil Granola; Mixed Herb Kuku; Salad Shirazi; and Spicy Lentil and Tamarind Soup; to Mixed Herb Rice with Baked Salmon; Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Dried Lime and Split Peas; Orange Blossom and Date Pudding; and Choux Buns with Rose Water and Pistachio Cream. Of special note is what Yasmin Khan advices with respect to 'Planning a Meal'. Enjoyable to simply browse through and inspiring to plan menus with, "The Saffron Tales" is strongly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Chickpeas
Einat Mazor
Imagine Publishing
c/o Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472
www.charlesbridge.com
9781623540746, $18.95, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its seeds are high in protein and is one of the earliest cultivated legumes whose 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East. Einat Mazor is a certified chef who studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and currently works as a culinary consultant for restaurants and food companies. In "Chickpeas: Sweet and Savory Recipes from Hummus to Dessert" Chef Mazor has compiled a beautifully illustrated compendium of chickpea oriented recipes for dishes that are as palate pleasing as they are nutritious and appetite satisfying. The thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes range from Hummus Guacamole; Phyllo Triangles Filled with Chickpeas & Cheese; Spicy Carrot & Chickpea Soup; Veggie Burger; and Grilled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout; to Baked Cauliflower Patties; Fish Burgers; Mediterranean Beef Stew; Rosemary & Pumpkin Seed Bread; and Pine Nut Cracker. While "Chickpeas: Sweet and Savory Recipes from Hummus to Dessert" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to family and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that it is also available in a Kindle format ($10.99).

Rock Recipes Christmas
Barry C. Parsons
Breakwater Books
P.O.Box 2188, St. John's, NL A1C 6E6
www.breakwaterbooks.com
9781550816556, $22.95, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

"Rock Recipes Christmas" by lifelong food obsessive, recipe blogger, and food photographer Barry Parsons showcases old-fashioned family cooking at its very best. Every recipe is accompanied by a full-page color photograph to help with the perfect presentation. The thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' holiday season recipes range from Chocolate Orange Cookies; Christmas Chelsea Buns; Spiced Clementine & Orange Marmalade; Cranberry hazelnut Turkey Wellington; and Maple Roasted Vegetables; to Caramelized Onion Gravy; Turkey Parmesan Baked Rotini; Maple and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham; Bacon Cheddar Cornbread Muffins; and Smoky Sweet Spiced Almonds. A delight to browse through and ideal for planning memorable menus with, "Rock Recipes Christmas" is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

The Official Chase 'N Yur Face Cookbook
Chase Bailey
Greenleaf Book Group Press
PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709
www.greenleafbookgroup.com
9780692755853, $24.95, PB, 188pp, www.amazon.com

Inspired by his journey with autism and overcoming food aversions, Chase Bailey's "The Official Chase 'N Yur Face Cookbook" entices people of all ages to experience familiar dishes done in different ways; and to discover new things about food while celebrating life and ourselves. Combining delightful recipes, uplifting anecdotes, fun facts, delectable photographs, and humorous animations, Chase teaches home-cooks how to prepare a wonderful array of dishes under fun chapter titles: Get Up & Go; Feed the Beast; Pick-Me-Ups; Let's Feast; Life Is Sweet; and Cool Breezes & a Santa Ana Wind. Chase's cookbook includes omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes ranging from Barnyard Breakfast Muffins; Grilled Chicken Panini; Heirloom Tomato Basil Salad with Parmesan Crisps; and Spicy Double-Dipped Onion Straws; to Grilled Portobello Rice Bowl; Sloppy Chase with Lamb; Brownie S'Mores Sandwiches; Peanut Butter Cup Pound Cake; and Pizzeria Drink. There is even a bonus recipe for making doggie treats! Of special note is the nine page 'Fun Facts References' section. Profusely and colorfully illustrated throughout, "The Official Chase 'N Yur Face Cookbook" will prove to be a highly prized addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes, second edition
Dave DeWitt
Surrey Books
c/o Agate Publishing
1328 Greenleaf Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572842007, $22.99, PB, 840pp, www.amazon.com

Dave DeWitt has written or coauthored more than 30 books on hot peppers and spicy foods and edited two different magazines devoted to those subjects. He is an adjunct associate professor at New Mexico State University, where he is also a board member of the Chile Pepper Institute. His media company, Sunbelt Shows, Inc., has produced the annual National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show since 1988. Compiled DeWitt, this newly updated second edition of "1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes: Delicious, Easy-to-Make Recipes from Around the Globe" is the latest addition to Agate Surrey's beloved 1,001 series of cookbooks and is its hottest ever. Featured are thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' hot and spices recipes for dishes ranging from Pickapeppa Hot Sauce; Sweet Potato Chips Dusted with Chimayo Red Chile; Lime Oysters with Garlic; and Acorn Squash and Corn Stew with Chipotle; to Brazilian Churrasco with Molho Campanha; Fried Chicken with Green Chile; Red Hot Lover's Vegetarian Lo Mein; and Homestyle Fries with Red Chile Salt and Cilantro Catsup. Showcasing a vast array of hot and spicy favorites that include a huge variety of soups, stews, chilis, and gumbos; a broad selection of barbecue dishes for the grill; and a lengthy list of meatless entrees and vegetable options, hundreds of spicy main dishes from around the globe, and an impressive array of zesty beverages, desserts, and breakfasts, "1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes" continues to be the most comprehensive and exhaustive culinary resource for planning memorable meals of hot and spicy dishes. While very highly recommended for personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that "1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook
Edited by Roxanne Swentzell and Patricia M. Perea
Museum of New Mexico Press
PO Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087
www.mnmpress.org
9780890136195 $24.95 amazon.com

The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook: Whole Food of Our Ancestors is a treasure trove of recipes by, for, and about the indigenous tribes of the Southwestern United States, particularly the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico. All recipes promote the original culinary lifestyle of these peoples, basing recipes on foods eaten before contact with Europe, including chemical-free meat, fowl, fish, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Recipes include Corn Squash Pudding, Turkey Tomatillo Tamales, Prickly Pear Fruit Juice, Jackrabbit Stew, and more. A sizeable portion of The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook is also dedicated to the culinary history and modern-day experience of the Pueblo people, as well as a few vignettes about Pueblo life in the context of hunting, growing, or preparing food. Highly recommended.

Build Your Own Smoothie
Michelle Keogh
Sellers Publishing
161 John Roberts Road, South Portland, ME 04106
sellerspublishing.com
9781416245766 $16.95 amazon.com

Spiral Bound for ease of use, Build Your Own Smoothie is a hands-on cookbook with a unique design. Every page of Build Your Own Smoothie is divided into three horizontal sections that can be freely turned, or mixed and matched with one another: a choice for the smoothie's liquid composition (such as milk and frozen yogurt, or cashew milk and ice cream), a choice for the smoothie's base (such as banana and berry, or apricot with almond butter and honey), and a choice for the smoothie's flavorful boost (such as mango and lime zest, or whipped cream and chocolate). Turning the pages to any three liquid-base-boost combinations yields simple ingredient lists and preparation instructions on the left, and a full-color photograph of the ingredients stacked in a smoothie cup on the right. An index rounds out this intuitive, user-friendly guide to making unique, healthy, and delicious smoothies!

Bringing Home the Seitan
Kris Holechek Peters
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781612436081 $14.95 amazon.com

Seitan is wheat gluten, also known as "wheat-meat", "gluten meat", or "gluten", the main protein of wheat. Properly prepared seitan makes an excellent meat substitute, and an alternative to soybean-based foods. Although a few people are gluten intolerant, the vast majority of people can enjoy seitan as the protein-packed, plant-based foundation of a meal. Bringing Home the Seitan is a vegetarian cookbook especially for those who wish to create and taste seitan dishes for themselves and others. Vegetarian recipes include "Nutty Rice Burgers", "Buffalo Wingz with Perfect Ranch Dipping Sauce", "Italian Wedding Soup", "Avocado Not-Chicken Salad Sandwiches", "Not Beef with Broccoli", and more. A recipe index rounds out this easy-to-use, hands-on cookbook for creative vegetarians everywhere.

There's Always Room for Chocolate
Naomi Josepher, Jon Payson, and Georgia Freedman
Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
9780847848638, $32.50, www.rizzoliusa.com

There's Always Room for Chocolate: Recipes from Brooklyn's The Chocolate Room is recommended reading for any cook who has already made numerous chocolate dishes from other books but who seeks innovative, fresh new ideas. The Chocolate Room creates dishes that incorporate high-quality ingredients with recipes both traditional and new. Here one will find chocolate Canoes with Vanilla Cream Filling (a take-off on the Twinkie), an unusual Chocolate Almond Flan, and a wide variety of puddings, cakes, and baked goods. Yes, there are Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies, but there are also many new surprises, making for an inviting cookbook packed with refreshing new ideas.

Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Dan Doherty's Toast Hash Roast Mash: Real Food for Every Time of Day (9781784721374, $29.99) comes from a chef who focuses on comfort food recipe inspirations that have their roots in breakfast and brunch dishes, but represent adaptations on a theme which may be served all day. A wide variety of dishes are represented, from a Smoked Haddock, Crispy Onions and Curry Sauce hash topped with poached eggs to an unusual consistency and flavor combination for Rhubarb and Custard, or a sandwich variation on a burger, The Paddy Melt, made with Swiss cheese, onion jam, pickles and minced beef. From classic Chicken and Waffles to Toffee Apple, Mascarpone, Granola Crumble, the blends of sweet, savory, and familiar fare with original innovations makes this a powerfully appealing collection. Kevin Dundon and Neil Cubley's The Raglan Road Cookbook: Inside America's Favorite Irish Pub (9781784722364, $34.99) comes from an Irish chef and a writer who focus on the traditional Irish pub and Dundon's Raglan Road restaurant in Florida. Its unique pairing of Irish history and culture on both sides of the pond and its recipes gleaned from the signature dishes of Raglan Road makes for an appealing, oversized presentation packed with full-page color photos to accompany such fare as Beef & Irish Stout Stew, Homemade Chicken Kiev, Lemon Zest Crusted Cod, Cherry Vine Tomatoes & Broad Beans, and a fruit-cased Rhubarb Pannacotta. Nourish: Vibrant Salads to Relish and Refresh by Amber Locke (9781784722326, $16.99) packs over a hundred salad recipes under one cover; and if you're wondering how that many variations could be made on a single dish, read further. These salads are designed to be eye-popping as well as delicious, pairing as many compatible colors as possible into one fish, and in many cases, adding international flavors. Thus, one will find a beautiful Massaged Kale Salad with Oranges & Cranberries, a Simple Carrot Salad consisting of spiral slices of red cabbage, herbs, and peeled heirloom carrots, and an eye-opening Cauliflower Salad made of cauliflower, okra, and edible flowers. "Vibrant" is the key here, and it's represented in a combination of different slicing techniques and an attention to colorful detail to make presentation of prime interest in the salad attraction process. It's always a special pleasure to see a new Diana Henry book, and Simple: Effortless Food, Big Flavors (9781784722043, $32.99) is no exception. Her books excel in taste combinations you won't find in every cookbook, her ingredients are easy to find in ordinary supermarkets, and her approaches to cooking lend an international flavor, yet present no complicated methods, making her books very accessible to newcomers with little prior background in cooking. Here simple classics, such as Chicken Piccata, appear alongside more inviting and unique dishes such as Artichokes, Carrots and Preserved Lemons with Ginger & Honey or Baked Sausages with Apples, Raisins & Hard Cider. The result is a mouth-watering gathering that represents classic Diana Henry attention to foolproof dishes done with flair.

Kyle Books
www.kylebooks.com
c/o National Book Network
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.nbnbooks.com

Annie Rigg edits The Meat Free Monday Cookbook (9781909487499, $22.95), which doesn't come from a restaurateur, but originated as a UK campaign to encourage people to eat less meat. The idea was to make it an easy choice - and the campaign launched in the U.S. in 2003 as a movement that's now in over forty countries. This vegetarian cookbook supports that movement, offering menus for each of the 52 months of the year with two main dishes for each day and supporting ideas for other meals of the deal. Packed with full-page color photos and recipes that include many international influences, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will find much to like here, from Risotto with Artichokes and Split Pea Dahl and Cauliflower Curry to Parsnip Gratin and Eggplant and Dried Apricot Pastilla. Even cooks with plenty of cookbooks on Thai cooking or curries will find much to like, and many new ideas, in 50 Great Curries of Thailand by Vatcharin Bhumichitr (9781909487451, $14.95). While the title may sound as though its dishes will be time-consuming, one of the pleasures of this book is its simple, easy instructions on how to assemble a variety of curry pastes that then can be quickly added to any other dish in the book. Access to an Asian or Thai market for such specialty ingredients as Kaffir lime leaves, pickled bamboo shoots, or fresh lemongrass will make this cookbook a snap to use. Readers who go to the effort of making these pastes (all the recipes are outlined in an introductory section) will find the rest of the book's recipes require very minimal preparation, lending to its use by busy cooks who want Thai curries that are quick to put together.


The Travel Shelf

Food Trails
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781786571304, $24.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Beautifully illustrated throughout, "Food Trails" is an impressive compendium of information that will prove to be especially appreciated by anyone who combines travel with the opportunity of sampling the local delicacies of the places they visit. "Food Trails" is the perfect compendium and resource for planning of perfect weekends around the world for dedicated food lovers. Featured trails include the an homage to Buenos Aires steak, cozy wintertime French Canadian cuisine, Puglia's distinctive dishes, and Parisian patisserie, and so much more! Each individual trail is an itinerary, detailing when and where to indulge in the local specialties. There are 52 trails in all, each with gorgeous photography, a bespoke map, expert writing and practical details of how to get there and where to stay. Unique, informative, perfect for inspiring and planning itineraries, "Food Trails" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Travel Guide reference collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists and travel reference collections that "Food Trails" is also available in a Kindle format ($24.99).

The Enchantment of New York
William Post & Ton Wienbelt, authors
Jasmine van den Hoek, translator
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781510708112, $16.99, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

Residing in Houtrustweg, the Netherlands, media commentator Willem Post is connected to the Institute of Clingeldael in The Hague as an expert on America. Ton Wienbelt is a graphic designer and photographer with years of experience in city portraits and considers New York one of the most photogenic cities in the world and has visited many times and also resides in Houtrustweg, the Netherlands. Together they collaborate to produce "The Enchantment of New York: 75 of Manhattan's Most Magical and Unique Attractions", a profusely illustrated guide to 'the magic and mystery' that is New York, the iconic American 'melting pot' metropolis. Specific destinations ranges from the FDNY Memorial Wall, to Night Court, to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, to the Garden of St. Luke in the Fields, to El Museo del Barrior, to The Back Room Bar, and so many, many more. Each destination includes transit information and a QR code which readers can scan with their smartphones to learn more about the various spots. Unique, informative, exceptionally well organized and presented, "The Enchantment of New York" fully lives up to its title and is very highly recommended for anyone contemplating a visit to the Big Apple! For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Enchantment of New York" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).


The Fiction Shelf

Haylow
Gray Stewart
Livingston Press
University of West Alabama, Station 22, Livingston, AL 35470
www.livingstonpress.uwa.edu
9781604891737, $30.00, HC, 282pp, www.amazon.com

Travis Hemperly is a white southerner who has never been the minority in any room he has ever entered. He has also just joined the history faculty at a historically black college in Atlanta. Off campus, he rekindles a relationship with an old flame, and life looks bright -- until he begins to suspect that a family member witnessed a lynching as a child. Complicating matters, his father is now a talk show host for WCTR -- a Confederate Talk Radio whose listeners debate whether slavery was wrong. In order to remain in his new position, Travis will have to come to terms with some history outside of his area of specialization -- that of his family and that of the South. A deftly written and emotionally complex novel, "Haylow" is a consistently compelling read from beginning to end and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Haylow" is also available in a paperback edition (9781604891744, $17.95).

The Annual Big Arsenic Fishing Contest!
John Nichols
University of New Mexico Press
MSC05 3185
1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com
9780826357205, $24.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

On the surface "The Annual Big Arsenic Fishing Contest!" by John Nichols is a deftly crafted novel that spins a fisherman's tall tale about a ribald angling contest between three middle-aged friends who love (and perhaps hate) each other: a preppy trilingual Machiavelli, an intellectual ghetto pool shark, and a brawny Texan who defies his own macho stereotype. All professional writers, the men have met every autumn for eighteen years at the Big Arsenic Springs on the Rio Grande to fly-cast for trout and argue about life, literature, marriage, and eco-Armageddon. Their escapades reveal a spirited paean to a beautiful river gorge, and also a poignant cautionary fable about male friendship and cutthroat competition. As aging cripples them all, tragedy mars the tournament. "The Annual Big Arsenic Fishing Contest!" is an insightful and bittersweet love story by a masterful storyteller who is able to consistently engage his readers with three unforgettable characters against a New Mexico background. While unreservedly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Annual Big Arsenic Fishing Contest!" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Trail To Elsewhere
Walter L Bryant
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444828238, $20.99, PB, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Seven-year-old Brad and his younger sister Julie are orphaned. They are separated and adopted by different families miles apart in the west. As they grow up, each must face their own challenges: Brad's new brother Saul is hostile and brutal, while Julie, treated as a drudge, sees her only means of escape in marrying a man she does not love. Then Saul falls into criminality with the Coyote Gang. An altercation between the brothers lands Brad in jail - and Saul's path is about to cross with Julie's. Author Walter L. Bryant is master of the western genre and his newest action/adventure novel, "Trail To Elsewhere" is a gun-blazing, cliff-hanging, unexpected plot twisting, consistently riveting read from first page to last. This Linford Western Library large print edition is enthusiastically and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of western novel buffs and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Western Fiction collections.

Bill Doolin: American Outlaw
Bill Brooks
Five Star Books
10 Water Street, Suite 310, Waterville, ME 04901
http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar
9781432832261, $25.99, HC, 244pp, www.amazon.com

Bill Doolin is the leader of the last of the great outlaw bands called the Olklahombres. Doolin has outfoxed the law while trying to walk the line between being a good man and bad. He was a family man and a bank and train and stagecoach robber. By the end of his reign, almost every one of his gang had been gunned down, and now the law was out to finish him as well. But it would not be easy, not even for the likes of the famed U.S. Marshals led by Heck Thomas. Another riveting tale from an acknowledged master of the western genre, "Bill Doolin: American Outlaw" by Bill Brooks is a fictional account based on factual evidence about the last of the badmen and unreservedly recommended for community library Western Fiction collections and the personal reading lists of western action/adventure fans.

Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone
Sequoia Nagamatsu
Black Lawrence Press
http://www.blacklawrence.com
9781625579447, $16.95, PB, 175pp, www.amazon.com

"Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone" is a truly exceptional collection of twelve fabulist and genre-bending stories by Sequoia Nagamatus and inspired by Japanese folklore, historical events, and pop culture. In "Rokurokubi", a man who has the demonic ability to stretch his neck to incredible lengths tries to save a marriage built on secrets. The recently dead find their footing in "The Inn of the Dead's Orientation for Being a Japanese Ghost". In "Girl Zero", a couple navigates the complexities of reviving their deceased daughter via the help of a shapeshifter. And, in the title story, a woman instigates a months-long dancing frenzy in a Tokyo where people don't die but are simply reborn without their memories. Every story in the collection turns to the fantastic, the mysticism of the past, and the absurdities of the future to illuminate the spaces we occupy when we are at our most vulnerable. Original and consistently compelling, "Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone" is a unique and impressively entertaining anthology that is very highly recommended for personal reading lists, as well community and academic library Literary Fiction collections.

Cobalt Blue
Sachin Kundalkar
The New Press
126 Wall Street, Floor 31, New York, NY 10005-4007
www.thenewpress.com
9781620971758, $25.95, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Brother and sister Tanay and Anuja both fall in love with the same man, an artist lodging in their family home in Pune, in western India. He seems like the perfect tenant, ready with the rent and happy to listen to their mother's musings on the imminent collapse of Indian culture. But he's also a man of mystery. He has no last name. He has no family, no friends, no history, and no plans for the future. When he runs away with Anuja, he overturns the family's lives. Ably translated into English for an American readership by from Marathi by acclaimed novelist and critic Jerry Pinto, "Sachin Kundalkar's "Cobalt Blue" is an elegantly wrought and exquisitely spare exploration of the disruption of a traditional family by a free-spirited stranger, and in the process examines a generation in transition. Intimate, moving, sensual, and wry in its portrait of young love, "Cobalt Blue" is a frank and lyrical exploration of gay life in India, of a people living in emotional isolation, attempting to find long-term intimacy in relationships that until recently were barely conceivable to them. Very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections, "Cobalt Blue" by Sachin Kundalkar is a deftly crafted novel about a rapturous love and a fierce heartbreak told with tenderness and unsparing clarity.

Tokio Whip
Arturo Silva
Stone Bridge Press
1393 Solano Avenue, Suite C, Albany CA 94706
www.stonebridge.com
9781611720334, $29.95, PB, 370pp, www.amazon.com

Roberta, Lang and their friends experience the great Japanese city of Tokyo in all its manifestations to their inquiring, observing, and wandering minds as they banter over the details of a party, a film, Songs Common to Dreams, Tokyo's history, the Names of Love. "Tokio Whip" is a distinctly stylistic Yamanote station-by-station tour-de-force discovering the City of Language, the City as Language, and the city that was resurrected from the ash and rubble of World War II. A consistently compelling and deftly crafted novel by an exceptionally gifted novelist, Arturo Silva's "Tokio Whip" is strongly recommended for both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Tokio Whip" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Wisdom's Way: Tales, Treasures, Truths
Steven A. Barben
Llumina Press
www.llumina.com
9781605944296, $13.95, PB, 250pp, www.amazon.com

"Wisdom's Way: Tales, Treasures, Truths" by Steven A. Barben is a collection of over 50 original tales, parables, fables and other stories. "Wisdom's Way" is a compendium of original stories that presents multiple viewpoints, attitudes and perspectives foundational for understanding ourselves, other people, and our societies, which should lead to meaningful self-evaluation, self-improvement and ultimately better, wiser decision making. The reader will want to sit down, relax and enjoy a simple story and then ponder and consider what they've just read. There are no given answers or interpretations allowing the reader make their own judgments, come to their own conclusions and take with them whatever treasures and truths they may happen to find. From beginning to end, "Wisdom's Way" is as thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is compelling and entertaining. While very highly recommended for community, college, and university library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Wisdom's Way" is also available in a Kindle format ($2.99).

Leaving Lucy Pear
Anna Solomon
Viking Books
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
9781594632655, $26.00, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

One night in 1917 Beatrice Haven sneaks out of her uncle's house on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, leaves her newborn baby at the foot of a pear tree, and watches as another woman claims the infant as her own. The unwed daughter of wealthy Jewish industrialists and a gifted pianist bound for Radcliffe, Bea plans to leave her shameful secret behind and make a fresh start. Ten years later, Prohibition is in full swing, post-WWI America is in the grips of rampant xenophobia, and Bea's hopes for her future remain unfulfilled. She returns to her uncle's house, seeking a refuge from her unhappiness. But she discovers far more when the rum-running manager of the local quarry inadvertently reunites her with Emma Murphy, the headstrong Irish Catholic woman who has been raising Bea's abandoned child -- now a bright, bold, cross-dressing girl named Lucy Pear, with secrets of her own. A consistently compelling, expertly narrated, skillfully plotted novel, "Leaving Lucy Pear" showcases author Anna Solomon's impressive storytelling skills and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Leaving Lucy Pear" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).

The Perils Of Command
David Donachie
Allison and Busby
c/o Casemate
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9780749018221, $25.00, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

John Pearce, having negotiated the highly questionable sale of the two French prizes taken in The Devil to Pay, has left HMS Flirt, as well as the crew and the wounded Henry Digby in Brindisi and is headed for Naples to see his lover. In an uncomfortable journey he seeks to work out a way to best both Admiral Sir William Hotham and Captain Ralph Barclay, men who are his sworn enemies. All his calculations are thrown into turmoil when he discovers that Emily is pregnant which, while it is a cause for joy, is also a reason to worry; she is still married to Ralph Barclay and by the laws of the time he can claim the child as his own. In "The Perils Of Command" author David Donachie has once again written an riveting maritime novel that will enthusiastically engage the reader from beginning to end. While highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Perils Of Command" is also available in a paperback edition (9780749018320, $12.95) and in a Kindle format ($6.15).

Leave Me
Gayle Forman
Algonquin Books
PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2225
www.algonquin.com
9781616206178, $26.95, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Maribeth Klein is a harried working mother who's so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn't even realize she's had a heart attack. Surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: she packs a bag and leaves. But, as is often the case, once we get where we're going we see our lives from a different perspective. Far from the demands of family and career and with the help of liberating new friendships, Maribeth is able to own up to secrets she has been keeping from herself and those she loves. With bighearted characters that include husbands, wives, friends, and lovers -- all of whom stumble and trip, grow and forgive, "Leave Me" is a novel about facing the fears we're all running from. In "Leave Me", author Gayle Forman has penned another wonderfully engaging, deftly crafted novel that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. It should be noted for the legions of Gayle Forman fans that her latest novel, "Leave Me", is also available in a Kindle format ($11.88).

The Worst Generation: A Myopic Prosperity
Dan P. Greaney
https://danpgreaney.com
Roundfire Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781785354663, $19.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

"The Worst Generation" by Dan P. Greaney is a novel about Jenny Alhouse, who deplores her parents' contributions to the contemporary world, their generational short-sighted and selfish degradation of economic and environmental well-being. Jenny's recounting of childhood shows much she herself is thankful for, including a stable and caring home, the times she went kayaking with her father, the family trips, a quality education, and the benefits of prosperity. But she also tells the story from her adulthood, and includes the things she could not see as a child such as the economic and environmental plundering, and the inconsideration imbedded in her upbringing that leave her world unstable, uncivil, and unsafe. An inherently fascinating and resonating read from beginning to end, "The Worst Generation" is highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Worst Generation" is also available in a Kindle format ($6.15).

The Two Of Us
Kathy Page
Biblioasis
1520 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor, ON N9A 3L2, Canada
www.biblioasis.com
9781771960991, $14.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

The sixteen short stories by Kathy Page that comprising "The Two Of Us" focus on pairs: intense one-on-one relationships and encounters. Page's various characters undergo genetic testing, garden, overeat, starve themselves, travel, fall pregnant, all while simultaneously driving each other towards moments where they (sometimes unwillingly) glimpse the meaning and shape of their lives, and who they might become. Deftly crafted, consistently compelling, unfailingly entertaining, "The Two Of Use" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Two Of Us" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

A Farmhouse In The Rain
Joe Kilgore
http://joekilgore.com
Top Hat Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781785354342, $24.95, PB, 408pp, www.amazon.com

"A Farmhouse in the Rain" by Joe Kilgore is a deftly crafted novel of war and peace, crime and punishment, love and loss, and eventually hope. It's a saga of three American soldiers and the women they love before, during, and after World War II. During the war, the three are given shelter by a French woman. The next morning she is found dead and the trio realize they were the only ones in the house. While the three survive the war, the questions remain: Who will survive the peace? Who will unite with the love they left behind? And who will be unmasked as the murderer on that fateful farmhouse night at. "A Farmhouse In The Rain" is a consistently compelling page-turner of a read and highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. "A Farmhouse In The Rain" is also available in a Kindle format ($6.15).

The Orange Grove
Larry Tremblay
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, #300, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1246
www.milkweed.org
9781571311191, $16.00, PB, 174pp, www.amazon.com

Twin brothers Amed and Aziz live in the peaceful shade of their family's orange grove. But when a bomb kills the boys' grandparents, the war that plagues their country changes their lives forever. Blood must repay blood, and, in order to avenge their grandparents' deaths, one brother must offer the ultimate sacrifice. Years later, the surviving twin - now a student actor in a wintry Montreal - is given a role which forces him to confront the past. Through a masterfully crafted work of fiction, author Larry Tremblay, himself an actor and director, poses the difficult question: can art ever adequately address suffering? Both current and timeless, written with the sharp purity of desert poetry, "The Orange Grove" depicts the haunting inheritance of war and its aftermath. While very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Orange Grove" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.76).

Echoes of Family
Barbara Claypole White
Lake Union Publishing
9781503938137, $14.95, PB, 412pp, www.amazon.com

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she's finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade...until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past. In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne's mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family. "Echoes of Family" is a riveting read from cover to cover and clearly showcases author Barbara Claypole White as a true master of the storytelling arts. While highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Echoes of Family" is also available in a Kindle format ($4.99).

The Valley of Dry Bones
Jerry B. Jenkins
Worthy Publishing
6100 Tower Circle, Suite 210, Franklin, TN 37067
www.worthypublishing.com
9781617950087, $16.99, PB, 336pp, www.amazon.com

In "The Valley of the Dry Bones", author Jerry B. Jenkins deftly overlays the ancient End Times prophecies of Ezekiel onto the landscape of modern California. After a 17-year drought, multiple earthquakes, and uncontrollable wildfires, the state is desolate. The United States President declares the state uninhabitable and irreparable, directing California's 39 million citizens to relocate. From the air, California looks like a vast abandoned sand box, but to a few groups of people, it's their home. With less than 1% of the population remaining in California at their own risk, the holdouts encounter a clash of cultures, ethnicities, religions, and politics that pits friend against friend with the future of California at stake. In a riveting novel that could be ripped from tomorrow's headlines, "The Valley of the Dry Bones" is another superbly crafted and consistently engaging novel by a master storyteller. While very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Valley of the Dry Bones" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.85).

A Floating Phrase
Trent Portigal
Roundfire Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781785354229, $14.95, PB, 184pp, www.amazon.com

"A Floating Phrase" by Trent Portigal is a deftly crafted novel that explores the nature of art, fear and snow puddles through the experiences of Cesarine, a stop-motion animator caught up in the intrigues of international diplomacy in 1970s continental Europe. At that time, national delegations for international conferences on European issues, such as those leading up to the Helsinki Accords, typically included defectors from the other side of the Iron Curtain. This led to scientists and artists with little experience in diplomacy being involved in high-level politics. A consistently compelling and fully engaging read from beginning to end, "A Floating Phrase" is especially recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. Of special note for personal reading lists is that "A Floating Phrase" is also available in a Kindle format ($6.15).

The Wedding Shop
Rachel Hauck
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530
www.zondervan.com
9780310341543, $15.95, PB, 384pp, www.amazon.com

It's the early 1930s, an Cora Scott is walking in stride as a career woman after having inherited her great aunt's wedding shop in Heart's Bend, Tennessee, where brides come from as far away as Birmingham to experience her famed bridal treatment. Meanwhile, Cora is counting down the days until her own true love returns from the river to make her his bride. But days turn into months and months to years. All the while, Birch Good continues to woo Cora and try to show her that while he is solid and dependable, he can sweep her off her feet. More than eighty years later, former Air Force Captain Haley Morgan has returned home to Heart's Bend after finishing her commitment to military service. After the devastating death of her best friend, Tammy, and discovering the truth about the man she loved, Haley is searching for her place in life. When Haley decides to reopen the romantic but abandoned wedding shop where she and Tammy played and dreamed as children, she begins a journey of courage, mystery, and love. As Cora's and Haley's stories intertwine through time in the shadow of the beloved wedding shop, they both discover the power of their own dreams and the magic of everyday love. A deftly crafted and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end, "The Wedding Shop" clearly showcases author Rachel Hauck as an impressively gifted and original novelist. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Wedding Shop" is available in a Kindle format ($8.99). Ideal for their General Fiction collections, community librarians should be aware that "The Wedding Shop" is also available in a Library Binding edition (Turtle books, 9780606394369, $28.15, 352pp).

Sensing Light
Mark A. Jacobson
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781612435701, $15.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

"Sensing Light" is the story of Kevin, who a gay medical resident from working class Boston, has moved to San Francisco in search of acceptance of his sexual identity. Herb, a middle-aged supervising physician at one of the nation's toughest hospitals, struggles with his own emotional rigidity. And Gwen, a divorced mother raising a teen daughter, is seeking a sense of self and security while endeavoring to complete her medical training. Author Mark A. Jacobson is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco and attending physician at San Francisco General Hospital, began his internship in 1981, just days after the CDC first reported a mysterious, fatal disease affecting gay men that wold eventually be know as HIV/AIDS. In "Sensing Light" he draws upon his own experience and expertise to inculcate a vivid realism to his novel. The result is a consistently engaging and compelling read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Sensing Light" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.26).

Wooing The Echo
Lee Morgan
Cosmic Egg Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781780998961, $22.95, PB, 357pp, www.amazon.com

The first volume in author Lee Morgan's "The Christopher Penrose" series of novels, "Wooing The Echo" a story about chasing a ghost and features echoes of magic. Christopher discovers the darkness that looms behind desire. Christopher is a man haunted and hollow with the loss of a friend unlike any other. When a stranger arrives with the secrets of 'Old Craft' sorcery and communion with the dead, Christopher's fate will be altered forever. On that crooked path the facade of normal life falls away to reveal a world of wonder, but also danger. As the ghosts of the dead stir, what secrets will rise to the surface with them, and will Christopher survive the horror that is love's other face? A consistently compelling and deftly crafted journey into a world of the occult, seething with real, adult and believable magic, "Wooing The Echo" will hold a special and enduring attraction to fans of the supernatural and occult. While highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Wooing The Echo" is also available in a Kindle format ($6.15).

The Life She Wants
Robyn Carr
Mira Books
c/o Harlequin
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
www.mirabooks.com
9780778330141, $26.99, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

In the aftermath of her financier husband's suicide, Emma Shay Compton's dream life is shattered. Richard Compton stole his clients' life savings to fund a lavish life in New York City and, although she was never involved in the business, Emma bears the burden of her husband's crimes. She is left with nothing. Only one friend stands by her, a friend she's known since high school, who encourages her to come home to Sonoma County. But starting over isn't easy, and Sonoma is full of unhappy memories, too. And people she'd rather not face, especially Riley Kerrigan. Riley and Emma were like sisters until Riley went and betrayed Emma, thereby ending their friendship. Emma left town, planning to never look back. Now, trying to stand on her own two feet, Emma can't escape her husband's reputation and is forced to turn to the last person she thought she'd ever ask for help from her former best friend. It's an uneasy reunion as both women face the mistakes they've made over the years. Only if they find a way to forgive each other (and themselves) can each of them find the life she wants. A master of the genre, Robyn Carr has written yet another consistently compelling read that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. A 'must' for the legions of Robyn Carr fans, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Life She Wants" is also available in a paperback edition (9780778319672, $15.99) and in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Mirror Sisters
V. C. Andrews
Pocket Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.pocketbooks.com
9781476792361, $7.99, PB, 384pp, www.amazon.com

As identical twins, their mother insists that everything about them be identical: their clothes, their toys, their friends...the number of letters in their names, Haylee Blossom Fitzgerald and Kaylee Blossom Fitzgerald. If one gets a hug, the other must, too. If one gets punished, the other must be, too. Homeschooled at an early age, when the girls attend a real high school they find little ways to highlight the differences between them. But when Haylee runs headfirst into the dating scene, both sisters are thrust into a world their mother never prepared them for -- causing one twin to pursue the ultimate independence. The one difference between the two girls may spell the difference between life, and a fate worse than death. Very highly recommended for personal and community library collections, author V. C. Andrews is a master of the gothic atmosphere novel and "The Mirror Sisters" is the latest masterpiece and a 'must read' for her legions of fan.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Winter's Child
Margaret Coel
Berkley Books
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
9780425280324, $27.00, www.penguin.com

Winter's Child provides a satisfying "Wind River" mystery saga that continues a series, providing a saga that will attract newcomers and prior fans alike. Myra and Eldon Little Shield find an abandoned baby on their doorstep during a blizzard, and raise the girl as their own. Five years later, she's ready for school - but her adoptive parents haven't faced the truth: that perhaps the white child will be taken from them because they aren't her legal parents. They hire a lawyer hoping to make the adoption official, but when the lawyer's run down, it's up to co-counsel Vicky to unravel a series of clues that point to something more dangerous than a child's uncertain heritage.

Lady Here's Your Wreath / Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief
James Hadley Chase
Stark House Press
1315 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501
www.starkhousepress.com
9781944520083, $19.95, PB, 292pp, www.amazon.com

James Hadley Chase was the pseudonym of Rene Brabazon Raymond and the author more than 90 books and a master of the hard-boiled mystery genre. Brought back into print for a new generation of appreciative mystery buffs by the Stark House Press in their 'Crime Classics' series, two of his long out of print, time-lost classic stories are published under one cover. "Lady -- Here's Your Wreath" is the story of Vessi who is heading toward the gas chamber, when a mysterious phone voice offers newspaperman Nick Mason $10,000 to find the real killer. Vessi's dying words are "Lu Spencer pulled it", but Spencer's organization is not a group you want to tangle with because the shareholders include most of the men who run the city. When Mason decides to check it out anyway, he meets Mardi, Spencer's secretary, a sweet dish with the largest brown eyes. But Mason's also got a gunman on his tail. And the cold-hearted Blondie, who has a knack for turning up when she's least expected. Not to mention the mysterious person who keeps insisting he investigate Spencer. One of them is bound to be wearing a wreath before this game is over. In "Miss Callaghan Come To Grief", gang boss Mendetta is getting old and careless, so it's a cinch for Raven to step in and take over. The first thing he changes is the prostitution racket. Raven feels that too much of the profit is going to the girls. So he rounds them up, takes them off the street, puts them in new houses and rakes off all the profit for himself. And when fresh girls are needed, he simply has them kidnapped. Newspaperman Jay Ellinger senses something is amiss when he hears about a husband whose wife has gone missing. But Sadie is missing for a different reason -- she saw Raven leave Mendetta's apartment, and can put the finger on him. Sadie is now a valuable pawn, able to bring the whole racket down. If only Jay can find her. "Lady Here's Your Wreath / Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief" is very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of hardcore noir thriller buffs and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
Joanna Cannon
Scribner
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.simonsays.com
9781501121890, $25.00, HC, 368pp, www.amazon.com

England, 1976. Mrs. Creasy is missing and the Avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbors blame her sudden disappearance on the heat wave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren't convinced. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. Inspired by the local vicar, they go looking for God -- they believe that if they find Him they might also find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home Spunky, spirited Grace and quiet, thoughtful Tilly go door to door in search of clues. The cul-de-sac starts to give up its secrets, and the amateur detectives uncover much more than ever imagined. As they try to make sense of what they've seen and heard, a complicated history of deception begins to emerge. Everyone on the Avenue has something to hide, a reason for not fitting in. In the suffocating heat of the summer, the ability to guard these differences becomes impossible. Along with the parched lawns and the melting pavement, the lives of all the neighbors begin to unravel. What the girls don't realize is that the lies told to conceal what happened one fateful day about a decade ago are the same ones Mrs. Creasy was beginning to peel back just before she disappeared. All the more impressive considering that "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" is author Joanna Cannon's debut as a novelist, this exceptionally well written and consistently compelling read will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).

Coffin Road
Peter May
Quercus
1290 Sixth Ave., NY, NY 10104
www.quercus.com
9781681443898, $26.99, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

"Coffin Road" author Peter May spins a tale about three disparate cases that may or may not be linked. On the remote Isle of Harris in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a man washes up on a deserted beach, hypothermic and completely disoriented. He has no idea who he is or how he got there. The only clue to his condition is a map of the island showing a desolate, ancient path called the Coffin Road. With a sense of dread and no clear idea what lies at the other end, he knows he must follow the trail if he has any hope of discovering his identity. Meanwhile, homicide detective George Gunn makes the rough ocean crossing to a remote, sea-battered lighthouse on a rock in the northern Atlantic, twenty miles west of the Outer Hebrides, to investigate a brutal murder. Despite its isolation, the tiny island has seen its share of tragedy: more than a century earlier, three lighthouse keepers disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. And now there is a new tragedy, and Gunn must figure out what happened. At the same time, a teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her father's death. Two years after the discovery of the pioneering scientist's suicide note, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that her father would willingly abandon her. And the more she discovers about the nature of his research, the more she suspects that there is much more to her father's death. A consummately skilled and original storyteller, "Coffin Road" fully showcases novelist Peter May's total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre. While strongly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Coffin Road" is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.99).

Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay
Reed Farrel Coleman
Putnam
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
9780399171437, $27.00, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

All is quiet in Paradise, except for a spate of innocuous vandalism. Good thing, too, because Jesse Stone is preoccupied with the women in his life, both past and present. As his ex-wife, Jenn, is about to marry a Dallas real-estate tycoon, Jesse isn't too sure his relationship with former FBI agent Diana Evans is built to last. But those concerns get put on the back burner when a major Boston crime boss is brutally murdered. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Jesse suspects it's the work of Mr. Peepers, a psychotic assassin who has caused trouble for Jesse in the past. Peepers has long promised revenge against the Mob, Jesse, and Suit for their roles in foiling one of his hits -- and against Jenn as well. And though Jesse and Jenn have long parted ways, Jesse still feels responsible for her safety. Jesse and Diana head to Dallas for the wedding and, along with the tycoon's security team, try to stop Peepers before the bill comes due. With Peepers toying with the authorities as to when and where he'll strike, Jesse is up against the wall. Still, there's a debt to pay and blood to be spilled to satisfy it. But whose blood, and just how much? A consistently riveting read from beginning to end, and highly recommended for community library collections, "Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay" is also available for personal reading lists in a Kindle format ($13.99).

Matrimony in Miniature
Margaret Grace
Perseverance Press
c/o Daniel & Daniel, Publishers
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
www.danielpublishing.com
9781564745750, $15.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

When murder happens in the small town of Lincoln Point CA, there aren't many degrees of separation between the victim and retired teacher Gerry Porter. How can she stay away from the investigation when the crime scene is the venue for her marriage to Henry Baker? But this time, nephew Detective Skip Gowen tries to discourage Gerry's and granddaughter Maddie's efforts to solve "The Case." He couldn't live with himself if the murderer learns of their efforts and comes after them. "Matrimony in Miniature" is another consistently engaging and compelling mystery by Margaret Grace and continues to reveal this author as a master of the genre. A deftly crafted and unfailingly entertaining read from cover to cover, "Matrimony in Miniature" is enthusiastically recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

The Raven
Mike Nappa
Revell
c/o Baker Publishing Group
6030 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301
www.bakerbooks.com
9780800726454, $14.99, PB, 432pp, www.amazon.com

As part of his regular street performance, a deception specialist who goes by the name The Raven picks his audience's pockets while they watch. It's harmless fun -- until he decides to keep the spare wallet a city councilman doesn't seem to miss, hoping for a few extra bucks. When he finds not money but compromising photos of the councilman and his "personal assistants". That's when the Raven hatches a plan to blackmail the councilman. However, he quickly finds himself in over his head with the Ukrainian Mafia and mired in a life-threatening plot code-named, "Nevermore". Private investigators Trudi Coffey and Samuel Hill must scramble to sort out the clues (and their complicated feelings for each other) to rescue The Raven and save hundreds of lives from a wildcard bent on revenge. A deftly crafted, exceptionally well written thriller by a true master of the genre, Mike Nappa's "The Raven" is enthusiastically recommended for community library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Raven" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99). Librarians should be aware that "The Raven" is also available in a large print hardcover edition (Thorndike Press, 9781410494955, $29.99) and in a complete and unabridged CD audio book format (Oasis Audio: 9781613758472, $14.99).

Bright Midnight
Chris Formant
www.chrisformant.com
Astor + Blue Editions
9781941286920, $16.95, PB, 275pp, www.amazon.com

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Peter Ham - all of them iconic rock stars, all of them dead at age twenty-seven. How could a group of great musicians all die at the same age? All evidence points to the deaths being unrelated, but were they really? Gantry Elliot is a relic of rock and roll era still writing for Rolling Stone magazine covering "classic" rock and roll and struggling for relevance in the age of hip-hop and electronic dance music. Even though he's an encyclopedia of music trivia, Gantry can't compete with the new kids on the block and is now reduced to watching the clock tick down on his once dynamic career. But Gantry's vast knowledge may be the only thing that can unravel the Myth of 27. When anonymous packages start showing up at his office and then his home, Gantry initially shrugs them off as another Myth of 27 conspiracy nerd trying to get attention. As the clues became more intimate, more personal, more sinister, he realizes this is not a game: someone knows the truth, and the truth may put Gantry's life in serious danger. Considering that it is author Chris Formant's debut as a novelist,"Bright Midnight" is an exceptionally compelling and consistently engaging read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Bright Midnight" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.99).

Dying for Christmas
Tammy Cohen
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781681772615, $25.95, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Out Christmas shopping one December afternoon, Jessica Gould meets the charming Dominic Lacey and impulsively agrees to go home with him for a drink. What follows is a Twelve Days of Christmas from hell as Lacey holds Jessica captive, forcing her to wear his missing wife's gowns and eat lavish holiday meals. Each day he gifts her with one item from his twisted past, including his dead sister's favorite toy, disturbing family photos, and a box of teeth. As the days pass and the "gifts" become darker and darker, Jessica realizes that Lacey has a plan for her, and he never intends to let her go. But Jessica has a secret of her own -- a secret that may just mean she has a chance to make it out alive. Author Tammy Cohen is a master of the suspense/thriller genre and her latest novel, "Dying for Christmas" is a truly riveting read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Dying for Christmas" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).

Cat Got Your Diamonds
Julie Chase
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781629538426, $24.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Grandeur and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets are family and no bling is too big. Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker's dream come true--until the glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon. And Lacy becomes public enemy #1. Now Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants out before his name is tarnished by association. To make matters worse, a string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans residents on edge. To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night. But can Lacy sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the catwalk? Author Julie Chase is a master storyteller with a positive gift for whimsey and wit compelling the reader's riveted attention from beginning to end. While enthusiastically recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Cat Got Your Diamonds" is also available in a paperback edition (9781683311973, $15.99) and in a Kindle format ($9.89).

Endgame
Jeffrey Round
The Dundurn Group
3 Church Street, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5E 1M2
www.dundurn.com
9781459733251, $15.99, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

When Harvey Keill, ex-manager of the Ladykillers, arranges a reunion for his notorious punk band on a remote island off the coast of Seattle, it seems as though the group's glory days are about to return. One by one, the band members and their guests arrive. Lead singer Spike Anthrax, bassist Pete Doghouse, and guitarist Max Hardcore confront one another for the first time since their well-publicized and highly acrimonious split fifteen years earlier stopped them from finishing their musical testament to punk rock genius: Endgame. They are joined by an entourage of groupies, girlfriends, one of America's best rock critics, and a real estate agent invited to put the island up for sale. But where's Harvey? No matter -- a party's a party, right? Wrong. Once everyone has gathered, a dark secret emerges from the past to haunt them and, one by one, the guests begin to fall prey to a mysterious fate. In the brilliant tradition of Agatha Christie, "Endgame" by Jeffrey Round is a consistently compelling read replete with unexpected plot twists and turns making it highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for dedicated mystery buffs that "Endgame" is also available in a Kindle format ($5.38).

Beloved Poison
E. S. Thomson
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781681772141, $25.95, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Ramshackle and crumbling, trapped in the past and resisting the future, St. Saviour's Infirmary awaits demolition. Within its stinking wards and cramped corridors, the doctors bicker and backstab. Ambition, jealousy, and loathing seethe beneath the veneer of professional courtesy. Always an outsider, and with a secret of her own to hide, apothecary Jem Flockhart observes everything but says nothing. And then six tiny coffins are uncovered, inside each a handful of dried flowers and a bundle of mouldering rags. When Jem comes across these strange relics hidden inside the infirmary's old chapel, her quest to understand their meaning pries open a long-forgotten past?with fatal consequences. In a trail that leads from the bloody world of the operating room and the dissecting table to the notorious squalor of Newgate Prison and the gallows, Jem's adversary proves to be both powerful and ruthless. As St. Saviour's destruction draws near, the dead are unearthed from their graves while the living are forced to make impossible choices. And murder is the price to be paid for the secrets to be kept. A simply riveting read from beginning to end, "Beloved Poison" by E. S. Thomson will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections and clearly establishes the author to be a true master of the genre. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Beloved Poison" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).

Driven
Toby Vintcent
Arcadia Books
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, 124 Byers Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9781910050712, $18.00, PB, 470pp, www.amazon.com

To a Formula One driver, speed, wheel-to-wheel combat, and danger are all part of everyday life. But things turn sinister at the Monaco Grand Prix: Remy Sabatino's car is sabotaged, and a teammate only just defies death when he suffers a horrific crash. Are these incidents in any way connected? Matt Straker, former Marine and corporate intelligence director, is brought in to investigate, but he soon realizes that the perpetrators are incredibly and deviously clever. It is only by outsmarting them that he can uncover a major conspiracy intent on far more than one man's life. They're after a prize so great they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Clearly, British author Toby Vintcent draws upon his experience and expertise as an avid Formula One racing fan to deftly craft a riveting novel that pays considerable attention to descriptive accuracy in detail and background. While very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of mystery buffs and racing fans that "Driven" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

Infamy
Robert K. Tanenbaum
Gallery Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781476793191, $27.00, HC, 368pp, www.amazon.com

When a former Army veteran suddenly murders a colonel in New York, he claims that he had to do it because he was being used in mind control experiments. Surprisingly, a top Wall Street criminal defense lawyer, one with ties to the White House, decides to defend the killer, arguing that his client suffered from post-traumatic stress from his tours in Afghanistan and that it's his patriotic duty to assist him. As New York District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp prepares a murder case against the veteran, he meets with investigative reporter Ariadne Stupenagel, who suspects that one of her sources for a story on high-level government corruption was a victim in the shooting. This points not to a random act of violence, but a hired killing that goes to the top levels of our nation. Karp goes up against corruption so powerful that he, his family, and his friends are in danger if he intends to prosecute those responsible for the murder of an FBI whistle-blower. "Infamy" is a swiftly paced thriller, ripe with intrigue, murder, corruption, and dramatic courtroom battles, all of which are deftly combine by a master storyteller to make "Infamy" another must-read for the legions of Tanenbaum fans. While very highly recommended for community library Legal Thriller collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Infamy" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).

The Adjustment League
Mike Barnes
Biblioasis
1520 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor, ON N9A 3L2, Canada
www.biblioasis.com
9781771960823, $14.95, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Back in the 1980s, the patients in a psychiatric hospital formed what they called 'The Adjustment League' as a means of protecting themselves against the depredations of a corrupt and abusive staff. Many years later, the leader of this group (a man known only as "The Super") receives a letter leading to the discovery of a pornographic ring in need of "adjustment". A deftly crafted noir mystery/suspense thriller of a novel by an author who is a master of the genre, "The Adjustment League" is a riveting read from cover to cover and highly recommended for community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Adjustment League" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.11).


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics
Andrew Phillip Smith
Watkins Publishing
Angel Business Club
www.watkinspublishing.com
9781780289137, $16.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Are Gnostics still a part of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic community and can their roots be chased back to John the Baptist? Among the casualties of the western intervention in Iraq and the recent activities of ISIS are the Mandeans of Southern Iraq. These peace-loving people are now fleeing to the west . They are the last Gnostics, the only surviving remnant of the ancient sects who taught the direct knowledge of God, created their own gospels and myths and were persecuted as heretical by the church in the second and third centuries. The Mandeans place weekly river baptisms at the centre of their religious life and the primary exemplar of their religion is none other than John the Baptist. What is the real history of this mysterious and long lived sect? Can the Mandean peoples really be traced back to the first century? And who was John the Baptist? "John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: The Secret History of the Mandeans" follows the history of the Mandeans from their present plight back through their earliest encounters with the West, their place in Islamic counties, their possible influence on the Templars, back to their origins as a first century baptismal sect connected to John the Baptist and beyond. An impressive work of historical scholarship, "John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: The Secret History of the Mandeans" is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Religion/Spiritual collections in general, and Gnostics Studies supplemental reading lists in particular. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: The Secret History of the Mandeans" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.99).

No God but One
Nabeel Qureshi
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530
www.zondervan.com
9780310522553, $17.99, PB, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Nabeel Qureshi is a speaker with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. He holds an MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School, an MA in Christian apologetics from Biola University, and an MA in religion from Duke University. His is also an Islamic convert to Christianity. In "No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity" he addresses such questions as: Can Allah and Jesus both be God?; Is the idea of God as a Trinity problematic?; How does the Quran compare to the Bible?; Did the Council of Nicaea randomly decide the Biblical canon?; What is the difference between Jihad and the Crusades?; If Jesus is God how did he die on a cross and who was ruling the universes when Jesus was dead?. An inherently fascinating and impressively informative read, "No God but One" is very highly recommended for all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "No God but One" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99). Church and community librarians should be aware that "No God but One" is also available as an MP3 CD audio book (Brilliance Audio, 9781531832087, $14.99).

Angels Plain & Simple
Beleta Greenaway
Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781571747556 $14.95 amazon.com

Angels Plain & Simple: The Only Book You'll Ever Need is a succinct guide to connecting with angels, whether through meditation, dreams, using decks of special cards, or other means. A deeply spiritual book, open to readers of all religious faiths, Angels Plain & Simple discusses modern-day encounters with angels, herbs and plants with connections to angels, the meaning of heaven and angels in the afterlife, and much more. "In Victorian society, it was well known that little children were under the protection and guardianship of special angles... An angel who particularly loves children is Paige, so it is she who will minister sick or unhappy children. If a request is made to an angel of children, the gift of a baby can be granted to couples that are finding it hard to conceive." A handful of black-and-white illustrations enhance this soulful addition to spirituality or New Age shelves.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Goddess and God in the World
Carol P. Christ and Judith Plaskow
Fortress Press
P.O. Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209
http://fortresspress.com
9781506401188, $29.00, www.fortresspress.com

Goddess and God in the World: Conversations in Embodied Theology comes from two feminist theologians who met while each was earning her PhD in Religious Studies at Yale University, and represents the third book they've worked on together - and, perhaps, the most revealing. Half of the book is autobiographical in nature, describing each author's life and spiritual evolution. The second half represents an interactive dialogue between the two, in which they consider the elements and nature of the God and Goddess in the world. While the two friends and colleagues have basic differences in perspective which are explored within this dialogue process, their similarities, questioning attitude, and respectful discussion will prove intimate and revealing to any who also feel close to spiritual alternatives in the world. From the metaphysical cause of evil to the infinite nature of the divine, these conversations are recommended for feminist and alternative spiritual thinkers alike.

Work and Wealth in Scripture
Lawrence A. Clayton
Resource Publications, Inc.
2205 Benton, Searcy, AR 72143
www.resourcepublications.net
9781620322567, $21.00, PB, 164pp, www.amazon.com

What do you do with your money? What do you think of your boss? Do you like your work? Is it satisfying? Are you satisfied with your answers? Do you know that God, through Scripture, offers us answers? Two of the most fundamental challenges for all humankind are deciding how to live and, if we accumulate riches, deciding how to use them. Did you know that God expects all humankind to work? For the Christian, all work is part of your Christian calling, whether you collect garbage for a living or sit in Washington deciding affairs of state. And what does Scripture have to say about riches? Did you know that Jesus directed more attention to the question of how to deal with wealth than just about any other subject he addressed during his three-year ministry? "Work and Wealth in Scripture: How to Grow, Prosper, and Work as a Christian" by Lawrence Clayton is (Professor Emeritus of History, University of Alabama) deftly explore work and wealth as referenced in biblical scripture and seek answers to the above questions and a great many others. Beginning with the first work recorded in the Bible and continuing down to our own contemporary time, when leisure competes with work for our attention and wealth gives us a false sense of security that puts us in danger of replacing God with self, "Work and Wealth in Scripture" will prove to be as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Exceptionally well reasoned, researched, written, organized and presented, "Work and Wealth in Scripture" is unreservedly recommended to the attention of all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Work and Wealth in Scripture" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Option for the Poor and for the Earth, third edition
Donal Dorr
Orbis Books
Price Building, Box 302, Maryknoll NY 10545-0302
www.orbisbooks.com
9781626981621, $45.00, PB, 548pp, www.amazon.com

A theologian and missionary priest who has served as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and as a resource person for the Irish Missionary Union, In the pages of "Option for the Poor and for the Earth: From Leo XIII to Pope Francis" Donal Dorr focuses on Catholic social teaching and economic equality. This is an expanded and revised third edition of a text long recognized as a classic in Catholic Theological Studies. Throughout, "Option for the Poor and for the Earth" Dorr appreciates the decided strengths of Catholic social teaching but is also ready to point out its inconsistencies and weaknesses. In addition to his classic treatments of church documents from the century and a half of Catholic social teaching that began with Rerum Novarum in 1870, Dorr adds his magisterial take on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, and the new encyclical on ecology. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Option for the Poor and for the Earth" is an unreservedly recommended addition for community, seminary, and academic library Christian Studies reference collections in general, and Contemporary Catholic Social Teachings supplemental studies lists in particular. For the personal reading lists of students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject it should be noted that "Option for the Poor and for the Earth" is also available in a Kindle format ($21.49).

Next Door as It Is in Heaven
Lance Ford & Brad Brisco
NavPress
3820 North 30th Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
www.navpress.com
9781631464973, $14.99, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

There was a time when neighbors knew each other's names, when small children and the old and infirm alike had more than their families looking out for them. There was a time when our neighborhoods were our closest communities. No more. Neighborhoods have become the place where nobody knows your name. Into this neighborhood crisis the words of Jesus still ring true: Second only to the command to love God is the command to "love your neighbor as yourself". Brad Brisco is currently the Director of Bivocational Church Planting for the North American Mission Board. He holds a doctorate in the area of missional ecclesiology. In "Next Door as It Is in Heaven: Living Out God's Kingdom in Your Neighborhood" he draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to offer simple principles and practical steps to make the neighborhoods where Christians dwell into communities of love, respect, dignity, and civic virtue. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Next Door as It Is in Heaven" is very highly recommended for all members of the Christian community regardless of denominational affiliations. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Next Door as It Is in Heaven" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Working for Our Neighbor
Gene Edward Veith
Christian's Library Press
98 E. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
http://www.clpress.com
9781942503293, $9.95, PB, 140pp, www.amazon.com

The Protestant Reformation was more than just a series of attempts to correct and counter the perceived corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. It as also a catalyst for social mobility, universal education, and the rise of modern market economies. According to Martin Luther, God himself is hidden in vocation, as he providentially works through ordinary human beings to care for his creation. In their work (not only in the economy, but also in family, church, and community) Christians live out their faith in love and service to their neighbors. For Lutherans, the doctrine of vocation is nothing less than the theology of the Christian life. In its social impact, vocation gave a theological basis for the division of labor, social equality, and individual freedom. In the pages of "Working for Our Neighbor: A Lutheran Primer on Vocation, Economics, and Ordinary Life", author Gene Edward Veith connects vocation to justification, good works, and Christian freedom, and thereby defining how the Lutheran contribution to economics can transfigure ordinary life, and work, with the powerful presence of God. Impressively informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Working for Our Neighbor" is a highly recommended and invaluable addition to personal, church, seminary, and academic library Christian Studies collections. It should be noted that "Working for Our Neighbor" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.99).

Bread for the Journey
Lovella Schellenberg
Herald Press
1251 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22802
www.heraldpress.com
9781513800486, $16.99, HC, www.amazon.com

The basic message of "Bread for the Journey: Meditations and Recipes to Nourish the Soul, from the Authors of Mennonite Girls Can Cook" by Lovella Schellenberg is that you can strengthen your relationship with God by savoring everyday moments while deepen your faith. "Bread for the Journey"is a compendium of meditations for women and specifically written to offer 90 daily devotionals that will provide morsels for both inspiration and reflection, all of which are drawn from God's unending promises in Scripture. Interspersed throughout the devotional are favorite recipes, inviting us to extend our tables and share God's blessing with others. "Bread for the Journey" provides: Daily inspiration for your journey with Jesus; Short prayers and invitations to reflection; Dramatic family stories of suffering, migration, and hope; and 'kitchen cook friendly recipes from the authors of 'Mennonite Girls Can Cook'. Inspiring, encouraging, uplifting, motivating, "Bread for the Journey" is very highly recommended for all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation.

Becoming a Person of Mercy
Max Oliva, SJ
Twenty-Third Publications
1 Montauk Ave #200, New London, CT 06320
www.23rdpublications.com
9781627851602, $12.95, PB, 112pp, www.amazon.com

Many Christians are familiar with the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. But what do they really mean? How can bearing wrongs patiently or comforting the afflicted be relevant in our modern world? In the pages of "Becoming a Person of Mercy: Personal Reflections on the Works of Mercy", Jesuit priest Max Oliva shares stories and insights from decades of ministry around the globe with people whose lives are enriched by giving and accepting mercy. From a First Nations community in Canada to an inner city parish in California, Fr. Oliva provides moving examples of mercy at work and humbly shares his own conversion to compassion experiences. Steeped in scriptural insights and enhanced with the words and deeds of champions of mercy from Pope Francis to Jackie Robinson "Becoming a Person of Mercy" is part practical guide, part spiritual refreshment, and part small-group handbook. Each individual chapter contains questions for reflection and discussion to help us discern how God, the source of mercy, calls us to extend mercy to others, to his own creation, and especially to ourselves. Even the smallest works of mercy, says Fr. Oliva, are graced experiences of God alive within us. Strongly and unreservedly recommended for personal seminary, and church library collections, "Becoming a Person of Mercy" is an informative and inspiring read from beginning to end.

Feeding Your Family's Soul
Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
Paraclete Press
PO Box 1568, Orleans, MA 02653
www.paracletepress.com
9781612618357, $15.99, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

"Feeding Your Family's Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality" by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is a vital tool to enable parents to transform a regular dinner time into a prayerful faith lesson for their elementary school to high school aged children. It will indeed help to fulfill the Catholic Church's vision for evangelization in the family and beyond. Through 52 fun and creative faith lessons (one for each week of the year), "Feeding Your Family's Soul" is one-of-a-kind instruction guide will encourage parents and caregivers to seize the opportunity in teaching the Catholic faith to the children (the captive audience waiting to eat!) while gathered at the dinner table, and while reminding them of the value of coming together as a family to break bread and share hearts. Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, content, commentary, organization and presentation, "Feeding Your Family's Soul" is very highly recommended for personal, family, church Christian Parenting collections.

Befriend
Scott Sauls
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
www.tyndale.com
9781496400949, $15.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

We live in a world where real friendship is hard to find. Suspicious of others and insecure about ourselves, we retreat into the safety of our small, self-made worlds. Now more than ever, it's easy to avoid people with whom we disagree or whose life experiences don't mirror our own. Safe among like-minded peers and digital "friends", we really don't have to engage with those who can challenge and enhance our limited perspectives. Tragically, even the church can become a place that minimizes diversity and reinforces isolation. Jesus models a much richer vision of friendship and in "Befriend: Create Belonging in an Age of Judgment, Isolation, and Fear" pastor and teacher Scott Sauls invites Christians to see the breadth of Christ's love on a journey comprised of twenty-one meditations to inspire actively pursuing God's love through expanding your circle of friends. Real friendship is costly. Love does make us vulnerable. But without risk, our lives will remain impoverished. "Befriend" is extraordinarily well written, organized and presented, making it strongly recommended, especially for all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation. It should be noted that "Befriend" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.57) and as a complete and unabridged CD audio book (Oasis Audio, 9781613758533, $19.99).

Let God Love You
Wendy Ulrich
Deseret Books
57 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
www.deseretbook.com
9781629722009, $17.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

We learn who we are and what we can hope for from others in the context of our relationships with family, friends, and others around us. Some of what we have learned and experienced may even blind us to what is really true about God, leaving us both yearning for and afraid of closeness with Him. Coupling the teachings of Christ and His prophets with gospel-oriented ideas from her counseling background, in the pages of "Let God Love You: Why We Don't; How We Can" by author, psychologist, and devout Mormon Wendy Ulrich probes faulty assumptions that we may bring to our relationship with God. By understanding and healing these false beliefs and then following the teachings of Christ about how we can ''come unto Him'', Wendy deftly asserts that we learn to see God more accurately, rely on Him more trustingly, and become strengthened in His love. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Let God Love You: Why We Don't; How We Can" is very highly recommended. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Let God Love You" is also available in a Kindle format ($10.49).


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Kabbalah and Jewish Modernity
Roni Weinstein
Littman Library Of Jewish Civilization
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR, 97213
www.isbs.com
9781906764623, $49.50, HC, 222pp, www.amazon.com

Something crucial and quite unprecedented happened to kabbalah in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though it had previously been considered a highly secretive and esoteric tradition, its practitioners began to spread its doctrines throughout the Jewish world with missionary zeal. Their goal was ambitious: no less than the remodeling of the religious and ethical attitudes of the entire Jewish population, a reformation of Judaism. In "Kabbalah and Jewish Modernity" by academician Roni Weinstein (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) persuasive argues that kabbalistic innovations were partly a response to changes in the Catholic world-view, revealing an intimate link with Counter-Reformation Catholicism, as well as religious and political changes taking place in contemporary Islamic Ottoman settings. Professor Weinstein sees the emergence of 'Jewish modernity' as the result of developments that were intrinsically Jewish rather than as a response to outside influences during the Enlightenment; controversially, he therefore places its origins in the Mediterranean world of the late sixteenth century rather than in eighteenth-century Berlin. His argument is based on a wide range of Jewish sources-including theological tracts, kabbalistic and ethical literature, hagiographies, mystical diaries, halakhic rulings and response, and community and confraternal regulations-as well as the testimonies of non-Jewish travellers, and Catholic religious literature. A truly impressive work of original and seminal scholarship, "Kabbalah and Jewish Modernity" is extraordinarily informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it unreservedly recommended for both academia as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject. Simply stated, "Kabbalah and Jewish Modernity" is unreservedly and emphatically recommended for college and university library Judaic Studies collections in general, and Kabbalah supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

From Mourning to Morning
Rabbi Simeon Schreiber
Urim Publications
c/o Lambda Publishers
527 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, New York 11225
www.UrimPublications.com
9789655242614, $19.95, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of "From Mourning to Morning: A Comprehensive Guide to Mourning, Grieving, and Bereavement", Rabbi Simeon Schreiber (Senior Staff Chaplain at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida), translates his many years of experience and considerably expertise into a greater understanding of the emotions surrounding death, grieving, mourning, and bereavement in Judaism. From "Mourning to Morning" deftly presents these principles in a comprehensive format. Focusing on the Shiva, the seven day period of mourning in Judaism, Rabbi Schreiber explains the foundation of visiting a house of mourners, and suggests proper etiquette in conducting a visit. With sensitivity and expertise, Rabbi Schreiber provides unique and practical advise on how to cope with death, mourning, and the related issues that we all will inevitably face. Impressively well written, organized and presented, "From Mourning to Morning" is unreservedly recommended.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Embracing Each Moment
Anam Thubten
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-4544
www.shambhala.com
9781611803464, $18.95, HC, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel, and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the US and occasionally abroad. According to Thubten, the awakened life is the essence and aim of the Buddhist teachings. "Embracing Each Moment: A Guide to the Awakened Life" is a guide to cultivating the awakened mind and heart that allows this wonderful kind of life to happen. "Embracing Each Moment" deftly illuminates the path to awakened living in a way that's concise and completely accessible to anyone of any background. The basic message is that happiness primarily arises from our state of mind, though we can't deny the fact that outside circumstances play a big role. If we can learn to embrace each moment of our lives, then we will be empowered to let go of our emotional patterns and false beliefs about ourselves, and thereby discover the compassion that's been there all along. While "Embracing Each Moment" is an extraordinary and very highly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Buddhism collections and supplemental studies reading lists. For students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, it should be noted that "Embracing Each Moment" is also available in a Kindle format ($12.99).


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Comic Book Fever
George Khoury
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
9781605490632, $34.95, www.twomorrows.com

Comic Book Fever: A Celebration of Comics 1976-1986 captures the look and feel of a bygone era of comic book enthusiasm, when comics of all types could be found in every local business, artists proliferated, and comics were experiencing revolutionary trends from limited series publications to new artists and real-world inspirations for comic book heroes. Chapters packed with color photos from comics, ads, and media supplement interviews with major artists and industry professionals with discussions of the social and artistic developments that helped influence and change the comic book world and created a decade of powerful transformation, lending to a book that is a fitting tribute for any comic book history enthusiast.

Bears
Ted Rechlin
Rextooth Studios
rextooth.com
9781591521860 $19.95 amazon.com

Suitable for readers of all ages, Bears is a striking, full-color graphic novel about the natural life of bears in the wild - or during the dangerous occasions when bears cross paths with humans. Three short stories feature a grizzly bear mother with cubs, a young black bear on the run in a suburb, and a polar bear surviving among the arctic ice. "Bear spray. These hikers have come prepared. It won't hurt [the mama grizzly] permanently, but it stings her nose and eyes. When bears attack people, it's bad for everyone... The best thing about bear spray: everybody lives." As educational as it is entertaining, Bears is highly recommended for both school and public library graphic novel collections, and the personal graphic novel shelves of bear fans everywhere!

Elvis
Philippe Chanoinat, author
Fabrice Le Henaff, illustrator
NBM Publishing
160 Broadway, Ste. 700, East Wing, New York, NY 10038
www.nbmpub.com
9781681120768, $19.99, HC, 80pp, www.amazon.com

Ably written by French author Philippe Chanoinat and superbly illustrated by French artist and illustrator Fabrice le Henaff, "Elvis" is the graphic novel biography of a young man by the name of Elvis Aaron Presley who stepped into Sun Studios in 1954 to record his first single "That's All Right". Little did Elvis Presley know that he would soon revolutionize music and culture worldwide. This graphic novel biography starts with the story of "The King's" humble beginnings in Mississippi, detailing, every step of the way, his meteoric rise to the stratosphere of stardom. It includes his service in the military, his extensive record as a Hollywood film star, his complicated family life, finally ending on the last days of the Hound Dog. While guaranteed to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections and a 'must' for the legions of Elvis Presley fans, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Elvis" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.99).

The Pterodactyl Hunters in the Gilded City
Brendan Leach
Secret Acres
237 Flatbush Avenue, #331, Brooklyn, NY 11217
www.secretacres.com
9780996273930, $20.00, HC, 44pp, www.amazon.com

Brendan Leach is an Ignatz and Xeric Award winning Cartoonist and Illustrator. His comics have been published by Secret Acres, Top Shelf Comics, and Retrofit Comics. Brendan's illustration work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and 3 3 Magazine, and his comics have been included in many collections and anthologies, including Best American Comics 2011. His graphic novel "Pterodactyl Hunters in the Gilded City" is a story of sibling rivalry and family tradition in a rapidly changing alternate universe world and set in a version of 1904 New York where generations of working-class hot air balloonists take to the skies each night to defend their city from pterodactyls. A solidly original, deftly written, engagingly illustrated story from first page to last, "The Pterodactyl Hunters in the Gilded City" is very highly recommended for community library Graphic Novel collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Pterodactyl Hunters in the Gilded City" is also available in a Kindle format ($5.99).


The Audiobook Shelf

Selected Poetry by Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll, author
Read by Roger May
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781843799740 $14.98 amazon.com

Stage and BBC radio play actor Roger May lends his vocal talent to Selected Poetry by Lewis Carroll, an audiobook of poems by the author of the timeless classics "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass". Selected Poetry by Lewis Carroll includes not only Carroll's most famous poems, such as "Jabberwocky" and "The Hunting of the Snark", but also lesser-known treasures including "Brother and Sister" and "My Fairy". Selected Poetry by Lewis Carroll is suitable for listeners all ages, and highly recommended for gift-giving as well as for personal and public library audiobook collections. 1 CD, 78 min. 31 sec.

Tong Wars
Scott D. Seligman, author
David Shih, narrator
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781515906582, $37.99, CD, www.amazon.colm

In Chinese culture, the word tong means "hall" or "gathering place". In North America, a tong is a type of organization found among Chinese living in the United States and Canada. These organizations are described as secret societies or sworn brotherhoods and are often tied to criminal activity. From the late 1800s to the 1930s there were intermittent 'wars' between different tong groups -- especially in New York City. Nothing the municipal and state authorities had tried to end this lethal conflict between tong members had worked. Not threats or negotiations, not shutting down the betting parlors or opium dens, not throwing Chinese offenders into prison. Not even executing them. The New York DA was running out of ideas, and more people were dying every day as the weapons of choice evolved from hatchets to automatic weapons and even bombs. "Tong Wars" by historian Scott Seligman is an impressively researched and written history of the conflict and significant individuals associated with it from its origins to it's ultimate conclusion. Expertly narrated by David Shih, "Tong Wars" is a consistently compelling and informative account. This complete and unabridged audio book edition is very highly recommended, especially for community library collections in general, and academic library American History collections in particular. (9 CDs, 11 hours).

The Originalist
John Strand, author
Starring Edward Gero, Kerry Warren, Harlan Work, et. al.
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
www.latw.org
9781682660492 $29.95 amazon.com

L.A. Theatre Works is well-known for their audiobooks of captivating, full-cast performances of both modern and classic plays. The Originalist is an audiobook rendition of a play analyzing the judicial views of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. As an "originalist," Scalia believed in a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution as the foundation of the law. But the Constitution is a short document, and there are limits to how much it can describe; is it even possible to apply laws written 200 years ago to the problems of today without interpretation or guesswork? Edward Gero, Kerry Warren, and Harlan Work play the roles of Justice Anton Scalia, Cat, and Brad in this three-man play, recorded before a live audience at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. A thoughtful political statement as well as a riveting drama, The Originalist is highly recommended especially for public library audiobook collections. 2 CDs, 2 hours 14 min.

The Empty House and Other Stories
Algernon Blackwood
Read by Hugh Ross
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781843799948 $41.98 amazon.com

Superbly performed by professional theater and film actor Hugh Ross, The Empty House and Other Stories is an unabridged audiobook of four classic yet terrifying tales. The novellas are about an abandoned house with nightmarish, re-enacted past; a fearsome trip down the Danube river; a half-beast monster that preys on a hunting party; and psychological deterioration at the core of the human mind. Chilling to the core, The Empty House and Other Stories is highly recommended for connoisseurs of classic horror and public library audiobook collections. The stories are "The Empty House", "The Willows", "The Listener", and "The Wendigo". 6 CDs, 6 hours 38 min. 49 sec.

High Heat
Richard Castle, author
Read by Robert Petkoff
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com
9781478971504 $30.00 amazon.com

Also available in print and ebook formats, High Heat is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a thriller featuring Captain Nikki Heat. A gruesome video and a murderous threat from a terrorist group set Heat on edge; the killers' next target is her husband, magazine writer Jameson Rook, who is supposedly pursuing a story about independent presidential candidate Legs Kline. Heat's desperate search to find the terrorists before they find Rook takes a turn for the bizarre when she encounters a woman who seems to be her long-dead mother! Superbly performed by professional theater actor Robert Petkoff, High Heat is thrilling and suspenseful to the very end, and a choice pick for both personal listening and public library audiobook collections.

Bold Angel
Kat Martin
Read by Lucy Rayner
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781515911203 $44.99 amazon.com

Also available in paperback and Kindle editions, Bold Angel is an unabridged audiobook of war and passionate love. Caryn of Ivesham is antagonistic toward the Norman knight Ral the Relentless. Ral saved her from a fate worse than death, and their wedding could bring peace to her besieged land, yet she cannot forgive him for his conquests - or for the reprehensible cruelty his men perpetrated on her sister. Ral himself is consumed with desire for Caryn, yet lingering doubts remain that his rebellious bride might betray him. Intense and burning, Bold Angel is a choice pick for connoisseurs of steamy historical romance! 12 CDs, 14.5 hours.

The Bette Davis Club
Jane Lotter
Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781531866044 $9.99 amazon.com

The Bette Davis Club is an unabridged MP3 audiobook (plays on MP3-CD enabled players, or transfers to portable devices) filled with laughter and hijinks galore. Fifty-ish spinster Margo Just begins the morning of her niece's wedding with a double martini, but when the young bride suddenly flees with a family heirloom, her mother offers Margo fifty grand to bring both the young woman and the invaluable property back. Margo sets out with the bride's jilted and understandably upset fiance in a cross-country chase, and the adventure only gets more bizarre from there! High-spirited humor is the drink of the day in this delightful comedy. 1 disc, 11 hours 3 min.

The Allure of Julian Lefray
R.S. Grey, author
Performed by Renee Givens and BJ Pottsworth
Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781536611465 $9.99 amazon.com

The Allure of Julian Lefray is an unabridged MP3-CD audiobook (plays on MP3-CD enabled players, or transfers to portable devices) filled to the brim with romance and sexual tension. Josephine Keller is an impoverished young woman lucky enough to land a dream job, as the new executive assistant at Lorena Lefray Designs in New York City. Her task is to assist Lorena Lefray's wealthy and handsome older brother, Julian. Laced with humor and passion, The Allure of Julian Lefray is a pleasure to experience, and superbly performed by Renee Givens and BJ Pottsworth. A treat for connoisseurs of the genre! 1 MP3-CD, 8 hours.

Gut-Shot
William W. Johnstone with J. A. Johnstone, authors
Tom Stechschulte, narrator
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
9781490645759, $TBA, Unabridged, 8 CDs, W0381

Sam Flintlock is an experienced and professional bounty hunter with the scars to prove it. Through a series of unexpected circumstances Flintlock is hired as a body guard for a young man that is publicly accused of the brutal murder of a young school-teacher. But when brought to a hearing, the judge's verdict was not guilty for lack of evidence. And the suspected killer's first guard was murdered by a shotgun blast. That's when the young man's lawyer hires Flintlock -- who knows that some very powerful and dangerous people are trying to make a man look guilty as sin. The only way for Flintlock to get the truth now is to go gunning for it--on a bad man's blood-soaked killing ground. William Johnstone is a master of the western action/adventure genre and "Gut-Shot" is a riveting story replete with unexpected plot twists and deftly crafted characters that are brought vividly to life by the superb narrative storytelling of Tom Stechschulte. Of special note is the introduction of a supernatural element in the form of Flintlock's long deceased grandfather Barnabus who has a deem view of his grandson's intelligence. A wonderfully entertaining yarn, "Gut-Shot" will leave its listeners looking eagerly toward more stories of the bounty hunter Sam Flintlock.

Highbridge Audiobooks
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.highbridgeaudio.com

Lian Hearn draws upon her impressive studies in Japanese medieval culture and history to deftly craft a series of fantasy novels (The Tale of Shikanoko) that have been produced by Highbridge Audio Books into complete and unabridged CD audio books, each of which are deftly narrated by Neil Shah. Volume 1 is "Emperor of the Eight Islands" (9781681681528, $29.99) where a future lord is dispossessed of his birthright by a scheming uncle, a mountain sorcerer imbues a mask with the spirit of a great stag for a lost young man, a stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother, and a powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne, the child who is the rightful heir to the emperor barely escaping the capital in the arms of his sister. And that is just the beginning! Volume 2 is "Autumn Princess, Dragon Child" (9781681681542, $29.99) where a self-assured warrior stumbles into a game of Go that turns fatal. An ambitious lord leaves his nephew for dead and seizes his lands. A stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother. A powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne. A woman of the Old People seeks five fathers for her five children, who will go on to found the Spider Tribe and direct the fate of the country. Volume 3 is "Lord of the Darkwood" (9781681681566, $29.99) sees Shikanoko, at what should be the warrior's hour of greatest triumph, turn his back on those around him, in mourning for a secret love. The Spider Tribe, spurned by their guardian, explore the extent of their powers and ruthless ambitions. Hina, who alone knows the whereabouts of the true emperor, has to forge a new identity of her own. No one must ever know that she is Kiyoyori's daughter. As the traditional powers navigate weakness and disarray, old spirits and new figures enter the epic battle for the Lotus Throne. All the major players of The Tale of Shikanoko are forced to deal with the consequences-expected and unexpected alike-of their past reckless actions. Each of them strives to achieve their destiny, but so far the paths they have followed seem to have done nothing but provoke Heaven's displeasure. An original, complex, imaginative, and highly recommended trilogy, all three volumes of The Tales of Shikanoko series are very highly recommended for personal and community library audio book collections.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.hachetteaudio.com

Tom Wolfe's The Kingdom of Speech (9781478953166, $30.00) is presented as an unabridged audio narrated by Robert Petkoff, a film and television actor who holds many credits to his name and who lends a smooth and evocative voice to a startling examination of language and social science - startling because Tom Wolfe is more commonly associated with powerful works of fiction. This isn't to say that Wolfe doesn't employ some of his most successful fictional approaches here, though: as he surveys Darwinism, evolution, language, and speech over human history, he provides a riveting and often rollicking survey that lends well to a lively audio presentation. Emma Donoghue's The Wonder (9781478911751, $30.00) receives a fine narration by Kate Lock, whose voice successfully brings to life the story of English nurse Lib, trained by Florence Nightingale herself, who is in a poor Irish village to investigate a pre-teen who has eaten nothing for four months. Lib's job is to verify this - but it turns into something more than exposing a hoax as Lib discovers the origins of true wonder in the world she thought she knew so well. A powerful saga of discovery and revelation makes for a riveting account. Robert Hicks' The Orphan Mother (9781478940579, $35.00) receives an engrossing coverage by Adenrele Ojo, whose captivating voice is the perfect accompaniment of choice to tell of Mariah Reddick, a former slave, whose post-Civil War career as a midwife to the women of Franklin, Tennessee is once again about to change in the face of political struggle. This time it's her son who is involved in a rally and a fight, and when murder happens, Mariah faces the destruction of everything she knows, once again. This engrossing novel comes to life in audio. Amy Myers, MD's The Thyroid Connection (9781478938675, $30.00) is narrated by Hilary Bogert who successfully and clearly covers the highlights of a health guide on how to identify thyroid problems and understand their impact on one's life. From exhaustion to brain fog and weight gain, a malfunctioning thyroid can exhibit many symptoms attributed to other things. Here Dr. Myers shows how to work with one's physician to get the tests and treatment that help identify thyroid problems and alleviate their symptoms. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's Woman of God (9781478941668, $35.00) receives a vivid reading by Therese Plummer as it tells of a new pope who promises to be like none other in history. Brigid's faith has always been locked in adversity and she faces vast changes in her life at the same time as the Church is struggling for a new identity and meaning in the world. Diverse purposes dovetail in this story of faith, renewal, and revolution. Maureen Dowd's special brand of political commentary comes to life in The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics (9781478964322, $35.00), a blend of pointed humor and candid criticism of the 2016 election year's ironies and two candidates who have the highest 'dislike' rating of any other election. Dowd's background as a NY Times columnist who has covered Trump and Clinton for decades lends a special authority to her vivid analysis, which should be enjoyed by a wide audience of voters. Affinity Konar's Mischling (9781478912828, $30.00) is narrated by Vanessa Johansson and includes an interview with the author as it tells of Pearl and her twin sister, who are sent to Auschwitz with their mother in 1944 and who become part of a terrible experiment by Mengele. When Pearl vanishes, her sister is convinced she's still alive and a search evolves that is every bit as compelling as the struggle for survival. A powerful saga evolves, which is especially engrossing and gripping in audio. Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World (9781478964759, $35.00) is narrated by John Glouchrevich, Kiff Vandenheuvel and Christine Lakin who bring to life an impressively compelling saga of survival set in 1885 and revolving around an expedition to the wild Alaska Territory. As events continue, the group makes discoveries while a pregnant wife left behind struggles with a winter that will bring changes and challenges into her life. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge's Bullseye (9781478928164, $35.00) is read by Danny Mastrogiorgio and provides an engrossing Detective Michael Bennett thriller revolving around a deadly encounter in Manhattan's Upper West Side, where a storm hides the activities of a team of assassins on the hunt. Bennett may be the only force standing between them and a new Cold War as politics and intrigue evolve into a gripping confrontation that comes to life in audio. John C. Maxwell's Jump Start Your Priorities (9781478909804, $15.00) benefits from Chris Sorensen's smooth and precise reading which captures Maxwell's 90-day improvement plan. The focus on setting priorities for daily success helps listeners stay organized and keep their eyes on their goals. It doesn't just say how to develop strategies: it shows how to manage changing priorities in the process of achievement. All are exceptional audios.


The Library CD Shelf

Immortelle
Deuter
DeuterMusic.com
New Earth Records
NewEarthRecords.com
c/o Sounds True
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
www.soundstrue.com
$13.99 CD / $8.99 MP3 amazon.com

Award-winning New Age musician Deuter presents Immortelle, an album of songs inspired by the mysteries of nature and named after medicinal plants that have aided humanity for countless generations. Deuter has a long history of creating music ideal for accompanying healthful and spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation, dreaming, and massage; Immortelle continues his tradition of music as a soul-searching journey. Deuter has mastered vast repertoire of musical instruments from all over the world; the songs in Immortelle include flutes, keyboards, cello, piano, guitar, and some vocalizations. Immortelle is a treasure for New Age connoisseurs, highly recommended! The tracks are "Monarda" (5:30), "Sonnenbraut" (10:15), "Traubensilberkerze" (10:12), "Lily of the Valley" (7:22), "Vervain" (7:05), "Binsuga" (5:25), "Immortelle" (6:52), and "Cumaru" (6:55). 60 min.

What Lies Beyond
R. Carlos Nakai Quartet
Canyon Records Productions
1761 West University Drive, Suite 145, Tempe, AZ 85281-3220
www.canyonrecords.com
$14.98 CD / $9.99 iTunes

What Lies Beyond is an extraordinary fusion album blending R Carlos Nakai's Native American flue melodies with the creative stylings of saxophonist-keyboardist AmoChip Dabney, the pulsating rhythms of ethno-world drummer Will Clipman and bassist Johnny Walker. The quartet offers a fresh take on global jazz with elements of funk and rock, in this keenly vivacious album. What Lies Beyond is especially recommended for connoisseurs of creative jazz and soaring flute play. Highly recommended! The tracks are "What Lies Beyond" (7:42), "Kathmandu This" (8:07), 'lo Valley (7:10), "On Sunlit Wings" (5:06), "Imazighenation" (8:37), "Fiddy Fo'" (5:53), "Unidentified Identity" (5:32), "Cafe du Monde" (5:07), "Sonoran Spring" (6:25), "Gnu Queue" (4:52), and the iTunes exclusive track "Rancho Improvioso" (3:07).

Walking to You
Rachel Currea
www.rachelcurrea.com
Rachel Currea Music, Inc.
$13.97 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com

Walking to You is a piano solo album of original songs performed with uplifting passion. Inspirational and enlightening, Walking to You is a choice pick to listen to while engaging in creative endeavors, or simply enjoying a nature walk. The tracks are "Walking to You" (3:03), "Song Without Words" (3:41), "Sarah's Dance" (1:55), "Abundance of the Heart" (3:20), "Evening Joys" (3:49), "Forever" (2:38), "Reconciliations" (4:08), "Hear Me Now" (4:04), "It'll Be OK" (2:35), "Once Upon a Time" (3:32), "The Crossing" (1:33), "Waltz in E Minor" (2:14), "Night Butterflies" (2:00), "Celestial Dreams" (4:16), "Starlight Lullaby" (3:41), and "Hymn to the Holy Spirit (piano solo version)" (6:08).

Dancing on the Wind
Shoshana Michel
www.shoshanamusic.com
Privately Published
$14.97 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com

Dancing on the Wind is a New Age solo piano album by Shoshana Michel, who has years of both classical and ragtime music training. Her original music, composed on both piano and keyboard, flows with boundless grace and beauty. Dancing on the Wind is a joy to experience, highly recommended. The tracks are "When Leaves Dance" (4:46), "Heather, Roses and Moonlight" (3:29), "Dancing on the Wind" (3:44), "Love Everlasting" (4:38), "Finding the Light Within" (6:14), "A Night of Lights" (4:21), "Gently Flows the River Tranquil" (4:18), "Wandering" (5:00), "Wishing for You" (5:49), "Dream's Journey" (5:15), and "Quiet Valley" (5:27). 53 min., 5 sec.

It's All in the Family
Sylvia Hutton
Produced by John Mock & Sylvia Hutton
www.SylviaMusic.com
Privately Published
$13.97 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com itunes.com

Grammy-nominated singer Sylvia Hutton's first music album release in 14 years, It's All in the Family is a showcase of Sylvia's extraordinary talent. She co-wrote the majority of its twelve original songs, which connect with her own roots and her lifelong journey. Sylvia's mellifluous voice is pure inspiration to experience! The tracks are "Every Time A Train Goes By", "Somebody's Daughter", "Leave The Past in the Past", "A Right Turn", "All in the Family", "Grandpa Kirby Runnin' the Hounds", "Immigrant Shoes", "Cumberland Rose", "Hope's Too Hard", "I Didn't Know What I Was Missing", "Here Lately", and "Do Not Cry For Me".

Putumayo World Music
www.putumayo.com
www.amazon.com

Two new Putumayo World Music CDs, each featuring songs by a diverse variety performers, are festive, vibrant additions to international music collections. "African Rumba" ($12.99 CD / $9.49 MP3) is a joyous explosion of Afro-Latin dance music. The tracks are "Aminata" (4:56), "Jammo" (3:30), "Mame" (5:10), "Paysan" (4:10), "Boul Topato" (5:36), "Lolita" (2:26), "Tata Masamba" (4:42), "Lonlon Vanvan" (3:29), "Micorrason" (3:13), and "Sin Murri Gossi" (4:11). "Latin Christmas" ($12.99 CD / $9.49 MP3) is a holiday album that celebrates the season with rhythmic Latin and Brazilian songs. The tracks are "Joy to the World" (2:39), "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (2:57), "Blanca Navidad" (3:13), "Jingle Bells" (4:00), "La Peregrinacion" (3:08", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (3:36), "Noche de Paz" (3:03), "Christmas Rhumba" (3:51), "El Anyo Viejo" (3:01), "Ven Ven" (2:03), and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (4:45). Both are joyous, eclectic "best of the best" medleys ideal for parties or public library music collections.

Whaling City Sound
1310 Tucker Road, No. Dartmouth, MA 02747
www.whalingcitysound.com

Whaling City Sound presents two original music CDs sure to appeal to jazz connoisseurs and collectors. "Chance Meeting" ($14.99) is the brainchild of quartet drummer Adam Nussbau, bassist Dave Zinno, guitarist Jay Azzolina, and saxophonist Dino Govoni, whose happenstance first encounter led to creative collaboration. The tracks are "Problem Child" (6:06), "N.T.I." (4:35), "Lament for Michael Brecker" (5:10), "1 of 3" (4:36), "My Maia" (7:19), "Asha" (7:38), "Jimmy's Blues" (6:59), "14" (7:00), "Meatsauce" (3:58), and "Insight, Enlight" (2:55). "Night Music" ($14.99) features songs by Serbian-born guitarist-composer Rale Micic, along with Danny Grissett on piano, Corcoran Holt on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. "Night Music" was inspired by Hungarian classical composer Bela Bartok, and has an innate intensity that reflects the challenge of adapting to life's unexpected changes. The tracks are "Hotel Insomnia" (7:35), "Jano" (5:55), "Melody in a Mist" (1:24), "Late Call" (4:58), "Blue" (4:41), "Nocturne" (1:38), "Night Music" (7:18), "Night Music" (7:18), "Nocturne (reprise)" (1:35), "Afterparty" (4:19), "Sunrise" (9:19), and "Color of the Sun" (5:39).

Tracks
Snowapple
Zip Records
www.ziprecords.com
$10.99 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Tracks is the third album by Amsterdam-based, jazz-inspired band Snowapple. A theme of trains, travel, and connections runs through the original songs, which touch upon topics ranging from rush hour frustration to the plight of refugees, to the bravery of 19th-century explorer and writer Isabelle Eberhardt, who often disguised herself as a man. An unforgettable work of creativity and emotion, Tracks is highly recommended for both personal and public library music collections. The tracks are "Businessmen", "Choo Choo Train", "Any Way", "There Becomes Here", "Isabelle", "Track 22","Rolling Away", "Pi", and "Going My Way".

Fluid Foundation
Performed by Fluid Foundation
17th Street Studios
$9.99 CD / $7.00 download cdbaby.com

Fluid Foundation is the self-titled debut album of a progressive reggae quintet. Songs range from reggae and dube to surf music and hip-hop, as well as contributions from special guests. Overflowing with vivacious rhythm, Fluid Foundation is music to groove to, and a savory delight for connoisseurs of the genre! The tracks are "Liquid Spacey", "Foundation", "Sea Swells", "Tripulation", "Roll With Me", "Spin Me Round", "Take the Lead", "Cruizin'", "Livin' Carefree", and "Times Trippin' Dub".

Whispers from Silence
Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer
HeartDance Records
www.heartdancerecords.com
$12.97 CD / $8.99 download cdbaby.com

Whispers from Silence is a music album designed to encourage deep relaxation, meditation, inner peace, and spiritual awakening. The original, instrumental songs craft a soundscape with gentle yet unpredictable elements. Wind instruments and synthesizers strike a balance between ancient and modern elements in this soothing treasure, highly recommended for unwinding after a difficult day. The tracks are "Awakening Breath" (5:38), "Toward the One" (7:55), "Whispers from Silence" (9:12), "Infinite Space" (7:10), "Way of the Heart" (6:48), "Yugen" (8:32), "Peace Within" (5:46), and "An Ancient Presence" (9:50). 60 min., 51 sec.

Nouvelle Journee
Lorraine Klaasen
Justin Time
www.justin-time.com
$12.98 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Nouvelle Journee (meaning "Joys of New Day") is the latest music album from South African-born, JUNO award-winning vocalist Lorraine Klaasen. The songs honor family ties and social responsibility, and their lyrics span a variety of languages, including the Tsonga, Sotho, isiZulu, and Xhosa languages of South Africa as well as English and French. Nouvelle Journee is a jubilant celebration, highly recommended especially for connoisseurs of international music. The tracks are "Nouvelle Journee" (3:28), "Ke Tshepile Bafatsi" (4:02), "Home Sweet Home" (4:07), "Township Memories" (3:56), "Polokwane" (4:21), "Izani Nonke" (3:50), "Make It Right" (4:04), "Babalazi" (3:37), "Where To Now" (5:15) and "Thulandivile" (4:02).


The Library DVD Shelf

Argentina
A film by Carlos Saura
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
$24.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

Three-time Academy Award nominee Carlos Saura presents Argentina, an extraordinary documentary of Argentina's rich heritage of folklore, music, and dance, spanning centuries-old traditions up to the modern day. Mellifluous performances and stunning choreography distinguish this "must-see" for connoisseurs. Argentina is especially recommended for public and college library DVD collections, and makes an excellent gift for anyone who adores the performing arts! 85 min., color, Spanish language with English subtitles.

Agatha Raisin Series One
Based on the novels by M.C. Beaton
Starring Ashley Jensen
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$59.99 www.acornonline.com

Based on the popular novels by M.C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin Series One follows Agatha Raisin (played by Ashley Jensen), a retired PR executive whose retreat to a small village unexpectedly entangles her in criminal dealings. When she enters the local quiche-baking competition, her entry unexpectedly kills the judge, leaving her the prime suspect for first-degree murder! Can Agatha uncover the true killer in time to save her reputation, and herself from prison? With the help of her former assistant Roy, Detective Constable Bill Wong, and her cleaner Gemma, Agatha just might discover her own, innate talent for sleuthing! A witty blend of dry humor and murder mystery intrigue, Agatha Raisin Series One is highly recommended for connoisseurs of the genre. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette (18 min.) and a photo gallery. 9 episodes on 3 DVDs, 462 min., widescreen, SDH subtitles.

21st Century Great Layouts
TM Books & Video
PO Box 9228, Michigan City, IN 46361
9781936890415 $19.99 www.tmbv.com

21st Century Great Layouts is a DVD especially for model railroad hobbyists and fans. Kicking off an all-new model railroad layout series, 21st Century Great Layouts shows off three hi-rail layouts and a Postwar Lionel layout, using both available control systems - Lionel's LEGACY and MTH's DCS. On display are three hi-rail layouts and an especially detailed Postwar Lionel layout, each skillfully assembled by a different creator, with tips on operating, wiring, and using the new control systems to the fullest. 21st Century Great Layouts is a "must-see" for model railroad enthusiasts, highly recommended. 65 min.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Your Tarot Your Way
Barbara Moore
www.tarotshaman.com
Llewellyn Publications
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com
9780738749242 $15.99 / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

Tarot instructor Barbara Moore presents Your Tarot Your Way: Learn to Read with Any Deck, a user-friendly introduction to connecting with and performing readings of Tarot cards. Chapters walk one through how to do a reading, and the core symbolism of each of the minor arcana, court cards, and major arcana is given its own page. Black-and-white illustrations and real-life examples round out this excellent self-teaching reference and resource, highly recommended especially for novice Tarot readers.

Haunted Bridges
Rich Newman
Llewellyn Publications
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com
9780738748474, $15.99, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Across the country hundreds of bridges harbor some of the creepiest paranormal activity known to man. Invisible hands reach out and touch unsuspecting travelers. Residual ghosts haunt scenes of murders, accidents, hangings, and suicides. At some bridges a voice cries out in the darkness that sends a chill down the spine of anyone who hears it. "Haunted Bridges" by Rich Newman tells the kinds of stories that are told in hushed tones around hearths and campfires as we ponder the unknown late into the night. The stories are at once mesmerizing, unique, and unexpectedly familiar, as if we all know deep down that fate keeps some spirits bound to earth. If you can endure the fear and you don't look away, you will experience the dread and mystery of the unexplained. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented (cities and states are listed for 324 public locations so readers can look up specific bridges), "Haunted Bridges: Over 300 of America's Creepiest Crossings" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Haunted Bridges" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Medium
Konstanza Morning Star
Llewellyn Publications
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com
9780738748139, $19.99, PB, 264pp, www.amazon.com

With precise detail, a wide variety of exercises, and a wealth of expertise, in "Medium: A Step-by-Step Guide to Communicating with the Spirit World" Konstanza Morning Star (an ordained minister, certified medium, national spiritualist teacher credentialed through the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, and a shamanic practitioner) shows how to develop your innate gift of spirit communication. "Medium" explains how mediumship works, how anyone can use it, and how to build a strong spiritual foundation so that your abilities will flourish. "Medium" is a beginner-friendly instructional guide specifically designed to help aspiring mediums gain strong and clear spiritual perception through a nine-step process. Konstanza Morning Star takes the reader inside the medium's mind and body, demonstrating how to actually experience contact with a spirit person through clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, and other spiritual senses. Featuring instructions for creating and conducting a home practice circle, assisting a "stuck" spirit to move on to the light, and much more, "Medium" is a book no aspiring medium should be without. While unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections, it should be noted that "Medium" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).


The Self-Help Shelf

Enough, Already!
Heather Jayne Wynn
http://heatherjwynn.com
Change Makers Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781785353086, $19.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Heather Wynn is on a mission to transform the conversation about women and fitness. She knows you can't hate your body into true health. Instead, through the practices in her do-it-yourself self-help guidebook "Enough, Already!: Finding Happiness Now in a World That Wants to Sell You Perfection Later", readers will learn to make sane and lasting health and physique changes and finally arrive at a place of peace and love -- a state to which you've been worthy all along. Heather's insightful anecdotes from her personal journey as well as her professional work with clients, help readers to clearly and insightfully recognize the absurdity of the expectations for our bodies that we allow outside influences to determine for us, and the type of lifestyle we think we need to live in order to be healthy and fit. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Enough, Already!: Finding Happiness Now in a World That Wants to Sell You Perfection Later" is as informed and informative as it is practical and inspiring. While very highly recommended for personal and community library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Enough, Already!: Finding Happiness Now in a World That Wants to Sell You Perfection Later" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.99).

Grow
Jackie Beere
Crown House Publishing
6 Trowbridge Drive Suite 5, Bethel, CT 06801
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785830112, $16.95, PB, 200pp, www.amazon.com

In "Grow: Change your mindset, change your life - a practical guide to thinking on purpose", author Jackie Beere demonstrates how we can all change our mindsets, learn to learn and chose to think on purpose. Our thoughts and beliefs lead us to develop habits that can predict our success or failure. We can all choose to grow and coach our loved ones to do the same by fostering and sustaining a mindset that will keep us healthy and happy in future years. Jackie Beere believes the key to this is thinking on purpose and metacognition. Jackie shows you how you can understand yourself and others so that you can be flexible, fearless and happy. Jackie shares observations, stories and practical tools to help you, and others you care about, grow. Jackie offers a personal perspective, but one that is informed by wide reading and research in the fields of psychology and cognitive therapy. She has been particularly inspired by Daniel Goleman's work on emotional intelligence, Carol Dweck's research on the power of developing a growth mindset, the founding principles of neuro-linguistic programming, and the latest discoveries about our brains and how they work. "Grow" is an consistently informative, engaging, practical and occasionally inspiring read that is very highly recommended, especially for community library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Grow" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.59).

5% More
Michael Alden
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
9781119281863, $25.00, HC, 208pp, www.amazon.com

"5% More: Making Small Changes to Achieve Extraordinary Results" by Michael Alden (President & CEO of Blue Vase Marketing) presents a painless route to change, with results that can last a lifetime. Whether you want to boost your health, wealth, or wisdom, "5% More" reveals a key technique that makes it stick and shows how to bring goals within reach with only five percent more effort. Readers will learn how to: Accomplish big changes with very small steps; Make bigger leaps in progress each step of the way; Break big goals into manageable milestones; Find a change that you can stick to for the long-term. No matter what the goal, no matter what the baseline, small, incremental steps will result in ultimate success. While is very highly recommended for community library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "5% More" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.55).


The Biography Shelf

William The Conqueror
Peter Rex
Amberley
c/o Casemate
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781445660172, $17.95, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

"William the Conqueror: The Bastard of Normandy" by the late Peter Rex (who was Head of History at Prince Thorpe College for twenty years and who was an acknowledged expert on Eleventh-Century English and Norman history) is an accomplished biography of the Norman king who conquered England in 1066, changing the course of the country forever. Of Franco-Scandinavian descent through his father, Duke Robert 'the Magnificent', William the Conqueror's life is set against his true background, the turbulent Norman Duchy which, even after the Conquest of England, remained his primary concern. William is revealed as the brutal and violent product of his time, much given to outbursts of rage, capable of great cruelty, autocratic, avaricious and prone to a sort of grisly humor, yet, with all that he could also be a loyal friend and affectionate husband and father. His military reputation rests mainly on his victory at Hastings and he showed little sign of strategic or tactical genius. He was a competent rather than inspired general, benefiting from the mistakes and disunity of his foes. Only at Hastings did he meet and defeat a man who was his peer as a leader of men. He inspired great loyalty in some and even greater hatred in others. His primary attribute was his ruthless will which made him the driving force behind Norman ambition in North Western Europe. His propagandists shamelessly manipulated the facts to justify his conquest of England, a dubious enterprise if ever there was one. An inherently and consistently informed and informative account, "William The Conqueror" is a compelling read from beginning to end and very highly recommended for personal and community library collections.

Algren: A Life
Mary Wisniewski
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613735329, $30.00, HC, 384pp, www.amazon.com

The late Nelson Algren (March 28, 1909 - May 9, 1981) was an American writer best known for his 1949 novel about drug addiction "The Man with the Golden Arm" which won the National Book Award and was adapted as a 1955 film of the same name. "Algren: A Life" by investigative journalist Mary Wisniewski is the definitive biography based on interviews with dozens of Algren's inner circle -- including photographer Art Shay and the late Studs Terkel. "Algren: A Life" also examines the author's unpublished writing and correspondence, including hundreds of letters he received from lover Simone de Beauvoir. This is an impressively crafted account that is as entertaining as it is meticulously researched. "Algren: A Life" reveals new details about the writer's life, work, personality, and habits, digging beneath the street-crawling man's man stereotype to show a funny, sensitive, and romantic but self-destructive artist. Readers will learn how, initially celebrated then savaged by literary critics for his continued preoccupation with prostitutes and drug addicts in his fiction, Algren himself was personally haunted by insecurity about his work and practically gave up writing fiction after 1956, and how he finally found a sense of community and acceptance in the artist colony of Sag Harbor before his death in 1981. "Algren: A Life" provides a fresh look at the man whose tough but humorous style and compassionate message enchanted readers and fellow writers and whose boyish charm seduced many women is indispensable to anyone interested in 20th-century American literature. While strongly recommended for community and academic library 20th Century American Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Algren: A Life" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.99).

The Message of the City
Patricia E. Palermo
Swallow Books
c/o Ohio University Press
215 Columbus Road, Suite 101, Athens, OH 45701
www.ohioswallow.com
9780804011679, $59.95, HC, 372pp, www.amazon.com

Dawn Powell (November 28, 1896 - November 14, 1965) was a gifted satirist and novelist who moved in the same circles as Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway, renowned editor Maxwell Perkins, and other mid-century New York literary luminaries. "The Message of the City: Dawn Powell's New York Novels, 1925 - 1962" is a critical biography and study of the New York her novels by independent scholar Patricia Palermo who reminds us how Powell earned a place in the national literary establishment and East Coast social scene. Though Powell's prolific output has been out of print for most of the past few decades, a revival is currently under way with the Library of America publishing house touting her as a "rediscovered American comic genius", and releasing new editions of her collected novels. In 2015 she was posthumously inducted into the New York State Writer's Hall of Fame. Informed and informative, exceptionally well researched, and a consistently compelling read from beginning to end, "The Message of the City" fills a major gap in the story of a long-overlooked literary great. Palermo places Powell in cultural and historical context and, drawing on her diaries, reveals the real-life inspirations for some of her most delicious satire, and an unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library American Biography and 20th Century American Literary History collections. It should be noted for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the life and work of Dawn Powell that "The Message of the City" is also available in a paperback edition (9780804011686, $26.95) and in a Kindle format ($13.19).

The View From The Back Of The Bus
Chris Smith
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
www.unt.edu/untpress
9781574415742, $24.95, HC, 416pp, www.amazon.colm

The late Mel Lewis (1929 - 1990) was born Melvin Sokoloff to Jewish Russian immigrants in Buffalo, New York. He first picked up his father's drumsticks at the age of two and at seventeen he was a full-time professional musician. "The View from the Back of the Band: The Life and Music of Mel Lewis" by Chris Smith is the first biography of this legendary jazz drummer. For over fifty years, Lewis provided the blueprint for how a drummer could subtly support any musical situation. While he made his name with Stan Kenton and Thad Jones, and with his band at the Village Vanguard, it was the hundreds of recordings that he made as a sideman and his ability to mentor young musicians that truly defined his career. Away from the drums, Lewis's passionate and outspoken personality made him one of jazz music's greatest characters. It is often through Lewis's own anecdotes, as well as many from the musicians who knew him best, that "The View From The Back Of The Bus" traces the career of one of the world's greatest drummers. "The View From The Back Of The Bus" is impressively enhanced with the inclusion of previously unpublished interviews, personal memoirs, photos, musical transcriptions, and a selected discography add to this comprehensive and definitive biography. While unreservedly recommended for community and academic library American Biography and Contemporary American Music History collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The View From The Back Of The Bus" is now available in a paperback edition (9781574416534, $18.95) and in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Heart Like A Starfish
Allen Callaci
Pelekinesis
112 Harvard Avenue, #65, Claremont, CA 91711
www.pelekinesis.com
9781938349355, $25.00, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Allen Callaci is the lead singer for the band Refrigerator, an adjunct professor, and a librarian whose work has appeared in MungBeing, the Poly Post, The Huffington Post, BK Nation, Cinefantastique, Crump Comics and various zines in the 90s. He is also a heart transplant recipient. "Heart Like A Starfish" is his personal account of that death-defying journey and the healing that follows for both himself and those around him. With his own illustrations and with cover art by Amy Maloof, "Heart Like A Starfish" is a wonderfully chaotic tale is told in a non-linear style that manages to convey the frenetic events and emotions while still embracing the strength and care and security all around. It should be noted that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of "Heart Like A Starfish" will be donated to Cedars- Sinai Heart Research Institute where the procedure was performed. An inherent and consistently engaging read from beginning to end, "Heart Like A Starfish" is highly recommended for community library American Biography collections. For personal reading lists, "Heart Like A Starfish" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Suburban Gospel
Mark Beaver
Hub City Press
186 West Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306
www.hubcity.org
9781938235191, $16.95, PB, 264pp, www.amazon.com

When the deacons at Mark Beaver's Bible Belt church cue up an evangelical horror flick aimed at dramatizing Hell, he figures he'd better get right with God, and soon. Convinced he could die at age seven and spend eternity roasting on a spit in the fiery furnace of Hades, he promptly gets Saved. But once adolescence hits, the Straight and Narrow becomes a tight squeeze. But "Suburban Gospel" offers more than a look inside Bible Belt suburbia, circa Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority -- it is also a tale of faith and flesh. Beaver invites us into a world filled with Daisy Duke fantasies and Prince posters, Nerf Hoops and Atari joysticks, raggedy Camaros and the neon light of strip malls. As much about the adolescent heart as the evangelical mind, the story explores similar emotional terrain as coming-of-age classics like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life and Mary Karr's Cherry. Suburban Gospel is a tale of growing up Baptist, all right but also of just growing up. Exceptionally well written, inherently fascinating, consistently compelling, "Suburban Gospel" is highly recommended for community library American Biography collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that it is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life
Ruth Franklin
Liveright Publishing
c/o W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780871403131, $35.00, www.wwnorton.com

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life provides a strong biographical study that blends history, literature, and biography in a survey of Shirley Jackson like none other. It follows her mentors, her struggle to balance her literary creations with her life as a wife and mother, and her depiction of her trapped role as part of her horror writing (as in her powerful We Have Always Lived in the Castle), and it offers a different view of Jackson's works and her controversial frankness in an era where women's liberation wasn't a part of social thought. The result is more than another survey of Jackson's works; but deeply probes their origins, their social influences, and the mentors and life from which they evolved: essential reading for any student of Shirley Jackson's writings.


The Autism Shelf

High-Functioning Autism and Difficult Moments
Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D. and Ruth Aspy, Ph.D.
Autism Asperger Publishing Company
11209 Strang Line Road, Lenexa, KS 66215
9781942197249 $21.95 www.aapcpublishing.net

High-Functioning Autism and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Reducing Meltdowns lives up to its title as a step-by-step guide to understand, prevent, and alleviate instances of meltdowns caused by unbearable frustration or sensory overload. "Sometimes (unless the person is a 'runner') an effective preventative strategy is to walk with the individual with HF-ASD. It is important here for the support person to resist talking because during the Rumbling Stage, the individual on the spectrum is beginning to feel overwhelmed. Any additional input simply adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed and will likely move him to the Rage Stage. In addition, even if the individual is able to process what is being said, anything the support person says is usually the 'wrong' thing." The plain-spoken text is thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. An absolute "must-read" for those who have HF-ASD and for educators, therapists, or other professionals who work with people who have HF-ASD, High-Functioning Autism and Difficult Moments is highly recommended, especially for public and college library collections.

The Loving Push
Temple Grandin & Debra Moore
Future Horizons, Inc.
721 West Abram Street, Arlington, TX 76013
www.fhautism.com
9781941765203, $19.95, PB, 280pp, www.amazon.com

Collaboratively written by Temple Grandin (Professor of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University) and psychologist Debra Moore, "The Loving Push: How Parents and Professionals Can Help Spectrum Kids Become Successful Adults" provides an essential roadmap for parents wanting prepare children on the autism spectrum to become successful adults in today's world. "The Loving Push" spells out the steps any parent can take to restore their child's hope and motivation -- and what they must avoid. Included in "The Loving Push", eight life stories are told by people on the autism spectrum. Of special note are the chapters on subjects such as how to get kids off their computers, how to build on their strengths and get back to caring about their lives, and how to find a path to a successful, meaningful life. Informed, informative, practical, insightful, exceptionally well organized and presented, "The Loving Push" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Parenting Skills Development collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of parents, teachers, therapists, and anyone who cares about a child or teen on the autism spectrum needs, that "The Loving Push" is also available in a Kindle format ($10.99).

The Power Card Strategy 2.0
Elisa Gagnon & Brenda Smith Myles
AAPC Publishing
11209 Strang Line Road, Lenexa, KS 66215
www.aapcpublishing.net
9781942197263, $21.95, PB, 94pp

The Power Card Strategy is a visual aid developed by educators and parents to assist students with Asperger Syndrome and autism in making sense of social situations, routines, the meaning of language, and the hidden curriculum that surrounds us wherever we go. What sets The Power Card Strategy apart is that it makes use of children's special interests - to help them make sense of situations they encounter on a daily basis. Exceptionally well organized and presented, and very highly recommended, "The Power Card Strategy 2.0" by autism spectrum experts Elisa Gagnon and Brenda Smith Myles is an ideal, practical, and effective tool for classroom teachers, parents, and autistic children care-providers.


The Education Shelf

Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities
Margo Vreeburg Izzo & LeDerick Horne
Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company
PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
www.brookespublishing.com
9781598577358, $26.95, PB, 181pp, www.amazon.com

"Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities: A Path to Pride and Success" has inspiring and informative answers to how classroom teachers can empower students with invisible disabilities to manage their challenges, accept and advocate for themselves, and reach their goals and dreams? . Told with the authentic voices of adults with hidden disabilities, this exceptionally well organized and presented instructional study will help teachers guide their students on the Path to Disability Pride and support their success in the classroom and community. Personal stories blend with powerful strategies as the Margo Vreeburg Izzo (Program Director for Transition Services at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center) and LeDerick Horne (who was labeled as neurologically impaired in third grade and defies any and all labels, is a dynamic spoken-word poet, and a tireless advocate for children with disabilities) share reflections on their experience with disability and offer up practical teaching tips and interventions based on the latest research. An essential resource for educators, families, and self-advocates, "Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities" covers classroom teachers promoting disability pride within students, schools, and communities; teaches critical life skills, including social-emotional, executive function, reading, and coping skills; reduces the stigma of hidden disabilities; develops mentoring programs that connect students with advice and encouragement; assists college students as they navigate the challenges of campus life and classes; preparing young adults to launch fulfilling careers and responsible, self-determined adult lives; helping students develop authentic and meaningful relationships with others; support students with a range of hidden disabilities, including ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, and emotional and behavioral disturbance. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities" is unreservedly recommended for college and university library Teacher Education instructional reference collections in general, and classroom teacher supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Balancing the Equation
Matthew R. Larson & Timothy D. Kanold
Solution Tree
555 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404
www.solution-tree.com
9781936763689, $24.95, PB, 136pp, www.amazon.com

Co-published with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, "Balancing the Equation: A Guide to School Mathematics for Educators and Parents" by academicians Matthew Larson and Timothy Kanold focuses on classroom teachers involved in K-12 mathematics education and are seeking to help children achieve success. "Balancing the Equation" addresses popular misconceptions and misguided discourses about mathematics education and draw on peer-reviewed research about instruction that can significantly improve students' conceptual understanding. Also presented are: Reasons why expectations for mathematics teaching and learning must be raised; The history of the progression, changes, and disputes in K-12 mathematics education; Insights about mathematics education in an era of mathematics reform; the definition of mathematical literacy and what elements are part of effective mathematics instruction. Of special note are the steps that must be taken to support the teaching and learning of mathematics, so all students can be college and career ready. Simply stated, "Balancing the Equation" is a critically important and highly recommended addition to professional and academic library Teacher Education instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Art Projects for Middle School
Susan Manes
Crystal Productions
PO Box 2121, 401 Hickory Street, Fort Collins, CO 80522
www.crystalproductions.com
CP7243, $24.95, Spiral Binding, 80pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and written by Susan Manes, "Art Projects for Middle School" is comprised more than 50 art projects and rubrics including drawing, painting, sculpting, and multimedia art projects that introduce important concepts like the elements of art, art styles like Abstract Expressionism and Pointillism, and skills such as perspective, proportion and shading. Rubrics help students understand how projects are evaluated. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Art Projects for Middle School" is especially recommended as supplemental school curriculum textbook and would be an invaluable addition to college and university library Teacher Education reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

You're the Principal! Now What?
Jen Schwanke
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416622215, $34.95, PB, 345pp, www.amazon.com

A principal's job is astonishingly complex, and its competing demands can be overwhelming, especially in the first few years. In "You're the Principal! Now What? Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders", Jen Schwanke (a language arts educator and is currently a principal for the Dublin City School District in Dublin, Ohio. and a graduate instructor in educational leadership) draws upon her years of experience and expertise to provide a mentor's guidance to steer new principals through the period of adjustment and set the foundation for a long and rewarding career. "You're the Principal! Now What?" covers: Establishing productive professional relationships; Building and maintaining a positive school culture; Resolving conflict among staff and parents; Supporting students' social-emotional needs; Conducting staff evaluations and delivering feedback; Keeping up with district, state, and federal mandates; Managing the facility and the budget. Standalone chapters provide easy access to the solutions you need for the situations you face. Along with real-life scenarios and critical tips for success, readers will find helpful models of what to do, what to say, and how to say it. "You're the Principal! Now What?" is a source for ideas any time an educational administrator encounters a problem and think, "Now what?" It's the beginning of an ongoing conversation about the wonderful and rewarding work of being a principal. While an essential and core addition to college and university library Educational Administration collections and supplemental studies reading lists, it should be noted that "You're the Principal! Now What?" is also available in a Kindle format ($33.20).

Trust and Verify
Dean Fink, editor
UCL IOE Press
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781782771470, $41.95, PB, 258pp, www.amazon.com

"Trust and Verify: The Real Keys to School Improvement" by Dean Fink (who is an independent consultant with experience in more than thirty countries; a former teacher, principal, and superintendent; and the author or coauthor of five books on leadership and educational change) looks at trust and distrust in educational settings and argues that nations with higher degrees of trust in their professional educators achieve superior results for all students. Not blind trust, however, which if unchecked by some kind of verification system can prove as unproductive for individuals and organizations as intrusive, coercive and time-consuming verification strategies. Both sides of this equation are important, hence the title "Trust and Verify". These behaviors are the real keys to school improvement. "Trust and Verify" is an accessible and compelling study that provides a unique, research-based look at trust and distrust and their impact on school improvement in seven different nations: Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Lithuania, Sweden, and the United States. While unreservedly recommended for college and university library Teacher & Administrative Education collections and supplemental studies reading lists, it should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Trust and Verify" is also available in a Kindle format ($33.56).

Managing the Inner World of Teaching
Robert J. Marzano & Jana S. Marzano
Marzano Research Laboratory
555 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404
http://www.marzanoresearch.com
9780990345831, $19.95, PB, 168pp, www.amazon.com

It is vitally important that classroom teachers work assiduously to cultivate a positive mindset, and choose productive actions by examining their emotions and interpretations in the classroom. By investigating three management phases (awareness, analysis, and choice) classroom teachers can become mindful of factors that influence their interactions with students and learn a process for ensuring positive outcomes. With a careful reading of "Managing the Inner World of Teaching: Emotions, Interpretations, and Actions", teachers will gain concrete strategies and activities that enhance classroom practice and impact student learning. "Managing the Inner World of Teaching" will enable teachers to: Develop a deep understanding of the human mind; Self-assess your mental state in regard to career, family, and friends; Understand how to use the three-phase management process every day to ensure success: Identify and stay true to your moral purpose and ideals to cultivate personal and professional satisfaction; and Gain strategies and activities to enhance the lives of students, and learn to honor each student's self-system. While unreservedly recommended for college and university Teacher Education collections and supplemental studies reading lists, it should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Managing the Inner World of Teaching" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Tiered Fluency Instruction
Chase Young & Timothy Rasinski
Maupin House Publishing
c/o Capstone Press
PO Box 669, Mankato, MN 56002-0669
www.capstonepub.com
9781496608031, $24.95, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Fluency is an important part of literacy comprehension, but how can classroom teachers make sure they are providing the support that all students learning to read require? The collaborative work of Chase Young (Associate Professor in the Department of Language, Literacy, and Special Populations at Sam Houston State University) and Timothy Rasinski (Professor of Literacy Education at Kent State University and the Director of its award winning reading clinic), "Tiered Fluency Instruction: Supporting Learners in Grades 2-5" will prove to be of immense practical help to teachers in meeting meet this challenge. "Tiered Fluency Instruction" is critically important resource that will provide fluency support for all students, including diffluent readers. Of special note are the chapters on RTI Tiers, assessment and ways to integrate technology. While very highly recommended as a core addition to college and university library Teacher Education reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists, it should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Tiered Fluency Instruction" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Creative Block Play
Rosanne Regan Hansel
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
9781605544458, $39.95, www.redleafpress.org

Creative Block Play: A Comprehensive Guide to Learning Through Building is another title that should be in any early learning collection; especially those concerned with incorporating creative block play into the curriculum. It focuses on how to use the simple block toy to foster a child's creativity and ability to engage successfully with others, and photos and stories of different block play activities create many ideas adults can apply to a child's playtime. From organizing a block area and showing kids how to creatively handle loose parts to understanding various stages of block play, Creative Block Play takes a relatively simple play tool and provides new connections to learning.

Stenhouse Publishers
480 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101-3451
www.stenhouse.com

Jennifer Allen's second edition of Becoming a Literacy Leader (9781625310965, $33.33) covers the author's work as she moved to a new school and position as a literacy specialist, and examines what it means to assume such a role in supporting learning and change. While the first edition of this book detailed her work and move, this latest continues the process of evaluating her newfound role as a literacy guide, adding more information gleaned from the ten years since her first discussion and surveying the basics of how she applied her job to the school community. The result is more than just an update of events, but a re-assessment gained from further experiences in the blossoming school system and new position, and is a highly recommended reference for any teacher considering the role of a literacy leader. Kathy G. Short, Deanna Day and Jean Schroeder edit Teaching Globally: Reading the World Through Literature (9781571107923, $37.33) will reach teachers of grades K-8 with a discussion of how a global curriculum operates and why it's important for students to know not only geographical facts about other cultures, but their perspectives and social environment. The tips on how to incorporate such a curriculum in an existing structure comes from an author who has developed and applied her own framework, and shows teachers how to blend an expanded global focus into existing literacy and social studies programs. From concrete examples of approaches that helped open specific countries to students to tables and charts that offer data supporting case histories and examples, Teaching Globally offers a powerful key to fostering student understanding. Vicki Meigs-Kahlenberg's The Author's Apprentice: Developing Writing Fluency, Stamina, and Motivation Through Authentic Publication (9781571109415, $33.33) is a year-long guide filled with weekly lesson plans and strategies for encouraging students to write, and is an interesting new approach that incorporates mentoring, middle grade to young adult published authors, and ideas for turning notebooks, writing assignments, and projects into 'challenges' that spark student interest. From creating characters to using National Novel Writing Month as an impetus for extended writing projects beyond the usual essay or singular paper, The Author's Apprentice is an inspiring survey that breathes new life into student creative writing projects. Kristin Ackerman and Jennifer McDonough's Conferring with Young Writers: What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do (9781625310392, $28.00) is for teachers of grades K-5 and any interested in helping a child build early writing habits. The authors have been teaching writing for several years, and though their classroom experiences and lesson plans they've created a structured program specifically directed to writing teachers. Visual reproductions of student papers accompany extensive notes from common core state standards to creating and keeping writing goals at the forefront of creative assignments.


The Architecture Shelf

Bracket 3: At Extremes
Lola Sheppard, editors
Actar Publishers
355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017
http://actar.com
9780989331760, $39.95, PB, 270pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and edited by Lola Sheppard (who received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University, her Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) with the assistance of Maya Przbylski, "Bracket 3: At Extremes" is comprised of critical articles and unpublished design projects that investigate architecture, infrastructure and technology as they operate in conditions of imbalance, negotiate tipping points and test limit states. Contemporary architects are conditioned, as designers of the built environment, towards the organization of people, programs and movement. Indeed the history of modern urbanism, architecture and building science has been predicated on an anti-entropic notion of programmatic and social order. But there are scenarios in which a state of extremity or imbalance is productive. The contributors to "Bracket 3: At Extremes" seeks to understand what new spatial orders emerge in this liminal space. How might it be leveraged as an opportunity for invention? What are the limits of wilderness and control, of the natural and artificial, the real and the virtual? What new landscapes, networks, and urban models might emerge in the wake of destabilized economic, social and environmental conditions? Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Bracket 3: At Extremes" is a unique, original, and highly recommended addition to professional, college, and university library Contemporary Architecture collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Call of the Cats
Andrew Bloomfield
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
www.newworldlibrary.com
9781608683987 $15.95 pbk / $9.96 Kindle amazon.com

Call of the Cats is the true-life story of author and aspiring screenwriter Andrew Bloomfield, who discovered that a large colony of feral cats lived on the property of his newly acquired home in Southern California. As feral cats, they had essentially reverted to wild behavior, unaccustomed to human touch, and ill-suited as pets. They also suffered a high death toll from harsh conditions and predators. After witnessing the aftermath of a midnight attack that decimated another litter of kittens, Bloomfield decided he would not abandon the cats to suffer the cruelties of nature. Bloomfield began to name, feed, house, rescue, neuter, and even nurse cats as needed, attempting to improve colony's quality of life one cat at a time. The hard work and compassion he put into caring for the cats ultimately rewarded him with a far greater sense of meaning and purpose than he had ever found in pursuit of Hollywood fame and fortune. Call of the Cats is heart-touching, profound, and highly recommended.

Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician, third edition
Bonnie Ballard & Ryan Cheek
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781118914281, $74.99, HC, 536pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a newly updated and expanded third edition (and which is now illustrated in color for first time), "Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician" by the team of Bonnie Ballard (who holds Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and in 1997 developed a veterinary technology program at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where she acts as the program director) and Ryan Cheek (a veterinary technologist and a full time instructor at Gwinnett Technical College) is a comprehensive yet clear methodical introduction to exotic animal practice for technicians in the classroom and clinic setting alike. With an emphasis on the exotic species most likely to present to a veterinary practice, "Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician" covers avian, reptiles, amphibians, fish, small mammals, and wildlife. Featuring anatomy, restraint, common diseases to radiology, surgical assisting, and parasitology, of special note is a new chapter on fish medicine. Of special note is the companion website offering review questions and images from the text in PowerPoint. Comprehensive, exceptionally well organized and presented, "Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician" is an ideal textbook for college and university library Veterinary Reference Collections in general, and Exotic Small Animal Veterinary Services supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for veterinary students that "Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician" is also available in a Kindle format ($44.99).

Insider Training
Christina Potter
Aperture Press LLC
201 Washington Street, Suite 533, Reading, PA 19601
www.AperturePress.net
9780990930297, $19.95, HC, 60pp, www.amazon.com

Common problems of dog owners include dogs ignores you when you call their names; bath time is the stuff of nightmares; barking annoys the neighbors; a new puppy is out of control. If you want a better life for you and your dog, "Insider Training: Chester Gigolo's Dog Training Secrets Revealed" is what-to-do instruction manual to turn to for successfully training your canine companion. "Insider Training", presents easy step-by-step instructions, humorously told through a dog's perspective, to successfully train an age or breed of dog. Whether you're training for the home, the show ring, or the big screen, all breeds large and small will respond to the exercises, sound advice, and insightful tips contained in the page of "Insider Training". Christina Potter has been training dogs for over twenty years. She has trained various breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Chinese Cresteds, Berger Picards, and an Afghan Hound. With "Insider Training: Chester Gigolo's Dog Training Secrets Revealed" she draws upon her impressive experience and exceptionally expertise to prove a thoroughly 'user friendly' guide and do-it-yourself manual that is unreservedly recommended for personal and community library Pets/Wildlife collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Insider Training" is also available in a paperback edition (9780997302004, $11.95) and in a Kindle format ($4.99).


The Automotive Shelf

Mustang: The First 50 Years
TM Books & Video
PO Box 9228, Michigan City, IN 46361
9781936890859, $19.99, DVD, www.tmbv.com

In 1964, Ford's new pony car was immediately embraced by the "Mustang" generation -- namely, those Baby Boomers who blossomed into a huge buying force and were looking for a new car that fit their fun-loving, go-fast lifestyle. The Mustang, which included affordability, performance and cachet, was that car. One million Mustangs were sold in the first 18 months. "Mustang: The First 50 Years" is a superbly produced 2 DVD set that tells the story of America's love affair with the Mustang through the eyes of collectors, enthusiasts, journalists and former Ford employees who were there at the beginning, including Gale Halderman (who designed the 1965 Mustang), Henry Ford III, Mustang expert Jeff Burgy, authors John Clor, Bob Fria, and Matt Stone. Mustangs of all generations were shot in beautiful high definition, wide-screen DVD video and are featured along with rarely seen historical footage from the Ford Archives. There are also profiles on Carroll Shelby, Lee Iacocca and others. Exceptionally informed and informative, "Mustang: The First 50 Years" has a total running time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, and is enthusiastically recommended for personal, community, and academic library Automotive History collections.

The History of Ford Trucks
TM Books & Video
PO Box 9228, Michigan City, IN 46361
9781936890781, $12.99, DVD, www.tmbv.com

The Ford F-150 is the best-selling truck on the planet. Why? To find the answer we go back to Ford's first truck produced in the Ford factory, the Model T one-ton in 1917, then the first factory-built pickup in 1925. We cover Ford's first V8 in 1932, the Streamline Era of the 30s, WWII, and 13 generations of the legendary F-Series, including the 2017 Raptor. "The History of Ford Trucks" is a TM Books & Video DVD that combine rare footage from the Ford Archives with stunning, HD-widescreen footage of Limited Editions like the King Ranch, Harley-Davidson, Raptor, and Lightning. The story of Ford trucks is the story of America. Trucks played a pivotal role in the shaping and expanding of America, the two World Wars, the postwar boom, and still today -- trucks keep America rolling. A story of innovation, determination, and loyalty, this very special automotive history is told through the eyes of journalists, Ford executives, historians, and those who just love Ford trucks. Very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Automotive History collections, "The History of Ford Trucks" has a total running time of 70 minutes.

Linda Vaughn: The First Lady of Motorsports
Linda Vaughn & Rob Kinnan
CarTech Inc.
838 Lake Street South, Forest Lake, MN 55025
www.cartechbooks.com
9781613252321, $39.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Linda Vaughn was born August 11, 1943 in Dalton, Georgia and is an American motor racing personality who has been described as the "preeminent beauty queen of stock car racing". Vaughn was named "Miss Queen of Speed at Atlanta International Raceway" at the age of 18 and has acquired many other titles since then. Vaughan has been a notable ambassador and promoter of various forms of American motor racing for several decades and was chosen to be the queen of the 1961 Dixie 400. In 1976 she even appeared in a movie called 'The Gumball Rally'. Perhaps the most photographed personality in automotive and motorsports history, Linda Vaughn has entertained fans and has been a premier marketer of automotive goods for more than 55 years. Profusely illustrated and with the assistance of Rob Kininan, Linda tells the inherently fascinating story of her life and career in the world of automotive racing promotion in the pages of "Linda Vaughn: The First Lady of Motorsports". Exceptionally informative and impressively well organized and presented from first page to last, "Linda Vaughn: The First Lady of Motorsports" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Automotive Racing History collections and is a 'must' for the legions of Linda Vaughn fans!

Mopar Small-Block Engines
Larry Shepard
CarTech Inc.
838 Lake Street South, Forest Lake, MN 55025
www.cartechbooks.com
9781613252802 $26.95 amazon.com

Automotive Media Award-winning author Larry Shepard presents Mopar Small-Block Engines, a technical guide to Chrysler LA-series and Magnum small-block engines, which power Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth cars and trucks made from 1964 to 2003. Full-color photography on almost every page illustrates this meticulous, step-by-step reference, invaluable for professional auto repairmen and for lay readers with some background in auto maintenance who wish to keep their vehicle's small-block engine in the best possible condition. An excellent and supremely detailed resource!


The Needlecraft Shelf

Block Genius
Sue Voegtlin
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
www.landauercorp.com
9781935726906, $24.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

"Block Genius: Over 201 Pieced Quilt Blocks with No Math Charts" by needlecraft expert and photographer Sue Voegtlin is comprised of 201 classic blocks that can usefully sewing skills, make block exchanges, and/or simple create wonderful block sampler quilts. "Block Genius organizes and presents the blocks in groups of 2 2, 3 3, 4 4, and 6 6 grids with instructions and math provided for 6-, 9- and 12-inch blocks. A veritable block library that will be the quilters practical go-to source for reference, inspiration and instruction. With the exception of a few that were designed by Sue Voegtlin, the block designs presented are all nearly 100 years old. Some designs are still sewn to this day, but many deserve new recognition and use by today's quilters. Of special note is that four-color photography provides color and fabric-choice inspiration to quilters, and each block's evocative name recalls quilting's rich history. Clear instructions and expert advice: exploded diagrams of each block make construction a snap without special rulers. Tips on fabric selection, color choice, cutting pressing and sewing. Simply stated, "Block Genius" is unreservedly recommended for both personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

Patchwork Quilted Bags
Reiko Washizawa
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804846660, $16.95, PB, 96pp, www.amazon.com

"Patchwork Quilted Bags: Totes, Purses and Accessories" by quilting expert Reiko Washizawa is a beautifully and profusely illustrated compendium of full-sized quilting patterns and step-by-step instructions for 19 different projects, along with techniques for assembling the perfect patch, make this quilting book ideal for novice and practiced crafters alike. Projects range in size from large totes to small pouches in a zakka vein. The individual projects range from a bird-themed travel bag, to a colorful clasp purse; to a fold-away eco bag, to a round bag/basket. "Patchwork Quilted Bags" shows creative ways to use every type of patch from squares to yo-yos, and every type of print from florals to newsprint. Pages showcasing different patchwork quilts add inspiration for mixing traditional and contemporary forms. Unique and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and step-by-step presentation, "Patchwork Quilted Bags" is enthusiastically recommended for community library Needlecraft instructional collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Patchwork Quilted Bags" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Singer Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades, and Top Treatments
Susan Woodcock
Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartoknows.com
9781589239319, $26.99, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Susan Woodcock owns HomeDecGal.com, a how-to sewing and decorating resource and workroom in western North Carolina. She began teaching professionally in 2003, and is currently a Craftsy.com instructor. In Singer Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades, and Top Treatments: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Making and Installing Window Decor" she draws upon her years of experience and expertise to write, organize and present a thoroughly 'user friendly' how-to instruction manual that guides the reader step-by-step through the entire process from planning the project to measuring scale and proportion, to selecting necessary tools, fabric, and hardware to actually sewing the curtains and installing them. "Singer Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades, and Top Treatments covers: Window treatment project planning; Window measurements; Calculating scale and proportion; Fabric and hardware selection; Curtains and draperies; Grommets; Gathered and ruched curtains; Pleated curtains; Adding trim, banding, and other embellishments to window treatments; Shades and blinds; Roman shades; Flat shades with dowels; Relaxed draperies; Gathered shades; Top treatments; Common tips and techniques; Cutting and Sewing. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary and a listing of resources, "Singer Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades, and Top Treatments" is unreservedly recommended for community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections. It should be noted for personal DIY needlecrafter's reading lists that "Singer Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades, and Top Treatments" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.57).

Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims
Claire B. Shaeffer
The Taunton Press
63 South Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470
www.taunton.com
9781631866579, $26.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Claire Shaeffer is an internationally respected author, lecturer, college instructor and columnist whose innovative sewing techniques and easy-to-read instructions have guided readers and students through many sewing facets of the garment industry. In the pages of "Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims" Claire presents sewing methods she has developed based on her own meticulous research into couture sewing methods and techniques. Offering a unique, multimedia approach, which includes detailed step-by-step instructions, photos, and how-to video, form an essential resource for needlecrafters looking to elevate their garments to the next level by adding appropriate trims, "Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims" is a must-have resource that gives an overview of the different types of trims that are used in a couture workroom and explains different methods for attaching the trims to a garment. As a bonus readers will learn how to create trims from scratch. Of special note is the inclusion of intriguing garment examples from Claire's impressive personal collection, alongside information on the construction methods used to create them. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, and accompanied by a instructional DVD, "Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims" is highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

Folk Art Quilted Traditions
Suzy Webster
American Quilter's Society
PO Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
9781683390077, $22.95, www.aqsquilt.com

Suzy Webster's Hungarian background led to her interest in Hungarian folk art which, when combined with her penchant for quilting, offers some twelve inspired quilt blocks for newcomers and advanced quilters alike in Folk Art Quilted Traditions. These blocks are then incorporated into different projects that benefit from the folk art tradition. Chapters cover applique layering, fusion, numbering pieces, and quilt stitching the results, creating a powerful gathering of possibilities any quilter will want to know.


The Art Shelf

Picturing Indian Territory
Edited by B. Byron Price
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806155777 $34.95 amazon.com

Picturing Indian Territory: Portraits of the Land That Became Oklahoma, 1819-1907 is an artbook filled cover to cover with striking, full-color reproductions of historic artworks that depicted images of Native Americans living in land designated as "Indian Territory" before the American Civil War. Three, thoughtful essays provide historical context to these artworks, and describe the creation of "Indian Territory" separate from the United States as well as the saga of Oklahoma's eventual statehood. An extraordinary visual record of Native American history, Picturing Indian Territory is unforgettable and highly recommended especially for public and college library collections.

Helio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium
Lynn Zelevansky, et al.
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791355221, $75.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

The late Helio Oiticica (July 26, 1937 - March 22, 1980) was a Brazilian visual artist who was best known for his participation in the Neo-Concrete Movement, for his innovative use of color, and for what he later termed "environmental art", which included Parangoles and Penetrables. The collaborative work of Lynne Zelevansky, Elizabeth Sussman, James Rondeau, Donna De Salvo, and Anna Katherine Brodbeck, "Helio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium" is the most comprehensive study to date of Helio's work. Profusely illustrated with 310 flawlessly reproduced illustrations, "Helio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium" captures the excitement and complexity of Oiticica's paintings, sculptures, and installations. Enhanced with the inclusion of insightful essays covering the entirety of his career, (with special emphasis on his little-known New York period between 1971 and 1978) "Helio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium" thoroughly exploring Oiticica's most acclaimed works while also examining his involvement with music, literature, and his response to politics and the social environment in Brazil. "Helio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium" is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Art History collections in general, and Helio Oiticica supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Abstract Expressionism for Beginners
Richard Klin, author
Lily Prince, illustrator
For Beginners LLC
155 Main Street, Suite 211, Danbury, CT 06810
www.forbeginnersbooks.com
9781939994622 $15.95 amazon.com

Part of the user-friendly "For Beginners" series, Abstract Expressionism for Beginners teaches the reader about the Abstract Expressionism movement that shaped art history in the postwar era. Black-and-white illustrations throughout help illuminate the works of iconic figures in modern art such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, and much more. "During the 1950s, [the Cedar Tavern] became the iconic watering hole where many of the AbEx painters gathered night after night. The booze, dispensed by ex-Marine bartenders, flowed freely - very freely. Jackson Pollock was often on the premises - besotted, antagonistic, brawling." Abstract Expressionism for Beginners lives up to its title in terms of accessibility, and is a choice pick for public library Art History collections.

Creative Strength Training
Jane Dunnewold
North Light Books
c/o F+W Media
700 East State Street, Iola WI 54945
9781440344954, $24.99, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Artists and athletes alike benefit from strength training. Building creative stamina takes encouragement, mentoring, and regular practice. In "Creative Strength Training: Prompts, Exercises and Personal Stories for Encouraging Artistic Genius" by educator and artist Jane Dunnewold, aspiring artists will discover powerful strategies that combine writing and hands-on art-making to overcome creative stumbling blocks, develop a unique voice and make creating art a regular habit. "Creative Strength Training" offers ten specific exercises for making art that stands apart as uniquely yours. Readers will receive support and inspiration from the contributing artists who share how each chapter has improved their practice and helped them evolve. Exceptionally well written, organized, illustrated and presented, "Creative Strength Training" is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, art school, college and university library collections. It should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Creative Strength Training" is also available in a Kindle format ($11.99).

Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Harriet Quick's Vogue: The Shoe (9781840916591, $125.00) appears in an oversized edition including a clam shell case and presents lovely photos capturing amazing styles. Here are some 300 oversized color images of shoes that come from a hundred years of British Vogue, accompanying an in-depth discussion of changing styles and the inspirational sources for their creation. Besides being a 'must have' pick for fashion collections, a secondary strength of this collection lies in its stunning photographic representations of shoes which come from some of British Vogue's most talented artists. Luxurious, revealing, and opulent in structure and presentation, Vogue: The Shoe is not to be missed by any fashion or photography artist or collections catering to them. Judith Miller's Art Deco: Living with the Art Deco Style (9781784721060, $39.99) traces the popularity of Art Deco among collectors and artists alike and is recommended for any who want a basic overview of the movement, its origins, its influence on the art world, and its lasting presence today. An oversized presentation packed with illustrations discusses both specific artists and general impact of the Art Deco period, with chapters displaying examples of works that have found their way into homes, public places, and professional circles. Glassworks, clocks, pottery and sculpture are all covered as part of the exploration of the wide-ranging applications of Art Deco beyond the usual architectural focus. No arts collection should be without this sweeping overview of the style's many incarnations, artists and examples.


The Poetry Shelf

Lost Among the Hours
Alan Britt
Rain Mountain Press
www.rainmountainpress.com
9781495106064, $16.00, PB, 93pp, www.amazon.com

The American poet Alan Britt believes that each poem has its feral destiny. "Lost Among the Hours" is an impressive compilation of some of his best work. Like an artist puts pain to canvas, Britt puts words to paper. The result is a kaleidoscopic swirl of emotion evoking phrases, lines of deliberate human insight, and the consistently compelling presentation of observations both personal and universal. "Lost Among the Hours" is highly recommended for personal reading lists as well as community and academic library Contemporary American Poetry collections. 'American Politics' (for Red Cloud): You know it doesn't matter / who's President // The President doesn't control / the death rate, anyway. // Take genocide, for example. // Not long ago, both parties disguised / cholera as truth, then quarantined / Sioux grandmothers and babes / inside buffalo skins stretched / across warm, moist South Dakota / nights punctuated by insane bullfrogs.


The Woodworking Shelf

The Fundamentals of Segmented Woodturning
James Rodgers
Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721-9875
www.woodworkerslibrary.com
9781610352789, $24.95, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

"Profusely and beautifully illustrated with step-by-step instructions for each project, The Fundamentals of Segmented Woodturning: Projects, Techniques & Innovations for Today's Woodturner", by professional woodturner and woodturning instructor Jim Rodgers provides the most up-to-date guide for any woodturner trying his hand at segmented woodturning. With an emphasis on visual instruction, "The Fundamentals of Segmented Woodturning" offers the new segmenter with a simple, accessible introduction to the established practices while providing advanced segmenters with all the new techniques that have emerged due to the growing popularity of the craft. Starting with the basics, "The Fundamentals of Segmented Woodturning" covers the essentials of tools, the steps of construction, and critical technique of accurate segment cutting before moving on to ring segmented and open segmented turning. Also covered for aspiring segmented woodturners are simple design enhancements to dress up any project, a bowl-from-a-board project that utilizes lamination to create mind-blowing designs, and fun techniques for simple and fast segmented pens and vessels that utilize scrap wood and can be completed in a small amount of spare time. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Fundamentals of Segmented Woodturning" is very highly recommended for both personal, highschool wood shop, and community library Woodworking instructional reference collections.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Span of Empire
Eric Flint and David Carrico
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
9781476781532, $26.00, www.baen.com

The Span of Empire tells of a long battle against opponents who have been terrorizing the galaxy - a battle looking for new soldiers as this book opens. Preceptor Ronz, guardian of Earth, is sending an exploration fleet to gain more allies in the struggle; but the fleet's only find remnants of intelligent species who have been slaughtered by the Ekhat. Even as they search for support, the Ekhat are growing stronger as new warriors come into power. How can the Jao and their contingent win such an impossible battle? Fans of military science fiction will find much to like in this gripping saga of struggle and survival.

Stargate
Pauline Gedge
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613735084, $17.99, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

In the earliest years of the history of the universe, the Worldmaker has turned against his creations with unaccountable malice. One by one the ruling sun lords of each solar system have fallen, succumbing to the lure of forbidden knowledge. The terrible punishment for their crime is isolation where the Gates connecting their worlds to the rest of the cosmos are sealed off. Their innocence lost, their civilizations hopelessly corrupted, the immortal sun people are condemned to languish with their subjects in an eternity of solitude. With courageous and often desperate measures the remaining sun lords are now preparing themselves and their subjects for a battle unlike any they have ever imagined. The final struggle has begun. Unfolding with epic power, "Stargate" is conceived by author Pauline Gedge with a richness, subtlety, and depth that set it apart from most science fiction novels. First published in 1982 but long out of print, this 'Rediscovered Classics' edition of "Stargate" from the Chicago Review Press will prove to be a welcome introduction to a whole new generation of appreciative readers of a truly gifted master of the science fiction genre. While unreservedly recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of scifi fans is that "Stargate" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Grimm Future
Erin Underwood, editor
NESFA Press
PO Box 809, Framingham, MA 01701
9781610373159, $35.00, HC, 272pp, www.nesfapress.com

Compiled and edited by Erin Underwood, "The Grimm Future" is a compendium of fourteen outstanding science fiction and fantasy stories by masters of the genre and blending fresh new science fiction with a futuristic dash of magic. From cover to cover, "The Grimm Future" is a unique and consistently compelling anthology of re-imagined Grimm fairy tales from some of today's most exciting authors along with the original stories that inspired them. The individual stories comprising "The Grimm Future" deftly examines our humanity and what that term might come to mean through the eyes of future generations as society advances into an age when technology consumes nearly every aspect of our lives or has ultimately changed life as we know it. How might these timeless stories evolve? Given the relentless onrush of technology, there is even greater need for fairy tales and Grimm magic in our future. Simply stated, "The Grimm Future" is unreservedly and enthusiastically recommended for the personal reading lists of science fiction and fantasy fans, and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community and academic library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections.

Dungeonology
Candlewick Press
99 Dover Street, Somerville, MA 02144
www.candlewick.com
9780763693534 $24.99 amazon.com

Part of the delightful series of "Ology" pop-up books filled with pull-out items and secrets, Dungeonology showcases the monsters, treasures, and evil labyrinths of the Forgotten Realms (R) setting from the pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Packed with color illustrations (including a 3D hologram on the inside back cover) and fold-out sections, Dungeonology is a beautiful collector's item. Removable paper parts and the fragility of pop-up books make Dungeonology unsuited for public library collections or very young children, but Dungeonology is an excellent giftbook for fantasy fans and role-playing gamers ages 10 and up!


The Beer/Wine Shelf

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2017
Margaret Rand, general editor
Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
9781784721473 $16.99 www.octopusbooksusa.com

Now in its 40th anniversary edition, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2017 is a compact, quick-reference, up-to-date guide packed with information on more than 6,000 wines and growers. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2017 summarizes each wine's styles, quality standing, vintage information, and much more. Made accessible to wine tasters of all experience levels with definitions of technical terms, as well as fascinating vignettes and more, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2017 is an absolute "must" for wine connoisseurs!


The Social Issues Shelf

Workplace Bullying
Judith Geneva Balcerzak
NASW Press
750 First Street, NE, #700, Washington, DC 20002-4241
www.naswpress.org
9780871014900, $49.99, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

Simply stated, "Workplace Bullying: Clinical and Organizational Perspectives" is an instruction manual for how to help anyone stressed out at work; who feels degraded, humiliated, embarrassed, or threatened; who is a victim of workplace bullying. Although the problem of workplace bullying is not new, the incidence, prevalence, and severity have worsened in the United States. In "Workplace Bullying" clinical social worker Judith Geneva Balcerzak draws upon her more than thirty-five years of experience and expertise to provide an understanding of workplace bullying from a theoretical, clinical, organizational, and public policy perspective. While unreservedly recommended for college and university library Social Work Studies collections, "Workplace Bullying" is an especially resource for social workers, clinicians, practitioners, consultants, and policy advocates addressing the concerns of workplace bullying and offers strategies for bullying prevention and intervention, treatment, remediation, and advocacy for those who are or have been bullied in the workplace.

Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West
John Fleck
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610916790, $30.00, HC, 264pp, www.amazon.com

The allocation of water and water rights has long been a point of contention between competing parties for what is now a dwindling resource in the American southwest due to one of the most extended periods of drought in the region's geological history. But having covered environmental issues in the West for a quarter century, John Fleck brings a particular expertise to the pages of "Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West". He acknowledges the serious problems posed by a dwindling Colorado River, and has seen people in the Colorado River Basin come together, conserve, and share the water that is available. Western communities, whether farmers and city-dwellers or US environmentalists and Mexican water managers, have a promising record of cooperation, a record often obscured by the crisis narrative. "Water is for Fighting Over" is a fresh take on western water as it brings to light the true history of collaboration and examines the bonds currently being forged to solve the Basin's most dire threats. Rather than perpetuate the myth "Whiskey's for drinkin', water's for fightin' over," Fleck's fundamental message is that readers can embrace a new, more optimistic narrative -- including a future where the Colorado continues to flow. Very highly recommended for community and academic library Environmental Studies collections, it should be noted for academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Water is for Fighting Over" is also available in a Kindle format ($17.54).


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Being Professional
Adam Coplan
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932498, $24.95, PB, 220pp, www.amazon.com

With respect to the specialized area of screen writing, "Being Professional" by Adam Coplan is a complete course of instruction under one cover. "Being Professional" teaches the ABCs of screenwriting from a practical perspective, rather than a merely theoretical or academic perspective. "Being Professional" highlights the many traps, mistakes, and pitfalls that frequently plague writers of all experience levels and shows them the difference between simply completing a script as an amateur, and taking an idea and executing the best version of it as a professional piece, worthy of industry attention. Of special note are the chapters on editing and presentation, Simply stated, "Being Professional" should be considered a mandatory study manual for anyone and every one who aspires to write a play for film, television, or theatre.

The Writer's Way, ninth edition
Jack Rawlins and Stephen Metzger
Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.cengage.com
9781285438542 $126.95 pbk / $24.99 ebook www.cengagebrain.com

Now in an updated ninth edition, The Writer's Way is a professional textbook designed especially for college writing courses. Formulated around a whole language approach, and the core principles of knowing one's audience and having a good reason to write, The Writer's Way is an intermediate to advanced guide applicable to students refining their skill in all types of writing, from academic research papers to written debates to prose fiction. "A research guide does more than list entries; it's a real instruction manual on doing research in the field. It may summarize or critique the sources it lists, review the biographical materials available, give an overview of what's being done in the field, and even suggest fruitful new lines of inquiry... If you can find a reference guide to your subject, and it isn't out-of-date, begin your research there." The Writer's Way is a superb resource for classroom use or self-study, and a "must-read" for every student seeking a college degree. It should be noted for personal reading lists that The Writer's Way is also available in an affordable ebook edition ($24.99).


The Economic Studies Shelf

Trans-Pacific Partnership: An Assessment
Cathleen Crimino-Isaacs and Jeffrey J. Schott, editors
Peterson Institute for International Economics
1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20036
www.piie.com
9780881327137 $23.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, and Malaysia, and notably not including China. It features provisions designed to reduce both non- tariff and tariff barriers to trade, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. The TPP is currently awaiting ratification to become fully effective. Trans-Pacific Partnership: An Assessment is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors scrutinizing prospective ramifications of the TPP. Individual writings include "Tariff Liberalization", "Liberalization of Services Trade", "Dispute Settlement Mechanism", "Labor Standards in the TPP", "TPP and Digital Trade", "TPP and Exchange Rates", and much more. "Although the TPP does not address all the concerns of labor rights advocates, it represents an important step forward... Implementation of the mandated reforms would deliver significant improvements in Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The monitoring mechanisms attached to Vietnam's plan in particular seem more proactive than past US efforts." Trans-Pacific Partnership: An Assessment offers a timely examination of a pivotal modern political and economic issue, and is highly recommended especially for public and college library Economic Studies shelves.


The Business Shelf

The Etiquette Edge
Beverly Langford
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
www.amacombooks.org
9780814437629, $16.00, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

"The Etiquette Edge: Modern Manners for Business Success" by Beverly Langford (President of LMA Communication, a training, coaching, and consulting firm that specializes in strategic communication and interpersonal effectiveness, and who teaches in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University) gives the reader a crash course on modern business manners. New advice explains how to navigate sticky situations at work, including digital interactions that are easy to misinterpret -- and hard to mend. "The Etiquette Edge covers: interviewing etiquette and dress codes; working in close quarters; communicating upward; the essentials of making a great impression and building relationships; being smart about how and when to use a smartphone; handling difficult conversations with tact and finesse; checking texts and emails for content and tone; creating a polished image on social media; conducting meetings whether in person, online, or over lunch with poise and confidence; and so much more! In our era of self-perceived entitlement, saying thank-you and giving praise are increasingly rare -- but these simple acts are far from empty gestures. They're refreshing reflections of respect. Inconsiderate people and poor conduct may permeate the workplace, but success comes to those who play by a better set of rules. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Etiquette Edge" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Business Management reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for members of the business community and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Etiquette Edge" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Farmer's Office
Julia Shanks
New Society Publishers
PO Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, V0R 1X0
www.newsociety.com
9780865718166, $24.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Specifically written for the benefit of men and women embarking on farming as an entrepreneurial enterprise, author Julia Shanks draws upon her personal experience and expertise to distill years of teaching and business consulting with farmers into the pages of The Farmer's Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business", making it a truly comprehensive, practical, and fully accessible guide. "The Farmer's Office" covers all aspects of launching, running and growing a successful farm business through effective bookkeeping and business management, providing tools to make managerial decisions, apply for a loan or other financing, and offering general business and strategy advice for growing a business. While absolutely and firmly recommended for community and agricultural school instructional reference collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Farmer's Office" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.74).


The Music Shelf

Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac
Sean Egan, editor
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613732342, $28.99, HC, 448pp, www.amazon.com

The music group Fleetwood Mac was a triumph from the beginning with their first album being the UK's best-selling album of 1968. After some low points (such as when founder Peter Green left the group), some fans felt that the band continuing was sacrilege. But then Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the group and their 1977 album, Rumours, became one of history's immortals, a true classic that remained on the charts for years and in the public's affection forever. In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. Compiled and edited by Sean Egan, "Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters" is collection of interviews from across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac's career and features articles from such celebrated publications as Crawdaddy, New Musical Express, Circus, Creem, Mojo, Goldmine, Classic Rock, Blender, and Elle, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print. "Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac" is the only place fans can learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members' own mouths. While unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Popular Music History collections in general, and Fleetwood Mac supplemental studies reading lists in particular, it should be noted for academia and the legions of Fleetwood Mac fans that "Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac" is also available in a paperback edition (9781785582929, $14.25) and in a Kindle format ($9.99).


The Archaeology Shelf

Solomon's Temple And Palace
Yosef Garfinkel & Madeleine Mumcuoglu
Biblical Archaeology Society Press
4710 - 41st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016-1700
www.biblicalarchaeology.org
9789657027301, $50.00, HC, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Solomon's Temple (also known as the First Temple) and the royal palace known from the Hebrew Bible have been a riddle for millennia and of intense interest on the part of biblical archaeologists. Biblical descriptions of these structures have proven difficult to interpret. Yet authors Yosef Garfinkel (Yigael Yadin Chair of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Director of the excavations at Lachish) and Madeleine Mumcuoglu (who participated in the Qeiyafa and Lachish excavations) believe they have unlocked the meaning of these enigmatic Biblical passages, thanks to the discovery of a small stone Temple model at Khirbet Qeiyafa. The present their findings in the profusely illustrated pages of "Solomon's Temple and Palace: New Archaeological Discoveries", providing a new understanding of the Biblical descriptions of the two ancient structures. Impressively well written, organized and presented for both academia and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject, "Solomon's Temple And Palace" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Biblical Archaeology collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Language Studies Shelf

Pliny the Younger: Selected Letters
Jo-Ann Shelton
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
1570 Baskin Road, Mundelein, IL 60060
www.bolchazy.com
9780865168404, $29.00, PB, 296pp, www.amazon.com

Pliny the Younger (61 - c.113), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him. Both Pliny the Elder and Younger were witnesses to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, in which the former died. Pliny was considered an honest and moderate man. He rose through a series of Imperial civil and military offices, the cursus honorum. He was a friend of the historian Tacitus' and employed the biographer Suetonius on his staff. Pliny also came into contact with other well-known men of the period, including the philosophers Artemidorus and Euphrates the Stoic, during his time in Syria. Pliny the Younger wrote hundreds of letters, many of which still survive, that are of great historical value for the time period. Some are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian Tacitus. Pliny served as an imperial magistrate under Trajan (reigned 98 - 117), and his letters to Trajan provide one of the few surviving records of the relationship between the imperial office and provincial governors. Compiled and edited by Jo-Ann Shelton (Professor Emerita of Classics, University of California - Santa Barbara), "Pliny the Younger: Selected Letters" begins with an introduction to Pliny's life and letters, then presents the unadapted Latin texts of thirty letters with same (and facing) page commentaries. Enhanced with the inclusion of genealogical charts, three maps, nine b/w illustrations, a glossary of proper names, and appendix of instructions, an index, and a Latin to English glossary, "Pliny the Younger: Selected Letters" is especially recommended for personal, professional, college, and university library Latin Studies collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Military Shelf

Vietnam's High Ground
J. P. Harris
University Press of Kansas
2501 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049
www.kansaspress.ku.edu
9780700622832, $45.00, HC, 552pp, www.amazon.com

"Vietnam's High Ground: Armed Struggle for the Central Highlands, 1954-1965" by J. P. Harris (a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst) is the story of the struggle for survival in the region known as the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The rugged mountains, high plateaus, and dense jungles of the Central Highlands seemed as forbidding to most Vietnamese as it did to most Americans. During 1954 to 1965, the great majority of its inhabitants were not ethnic Vietnamese. Ngo Dinh Diem's regime initially supported an American counterinsurgency alliance with the Highlanders only to turn dramatically against it. As the war progressed, however, the Central Highlands became increasingly important. It was the area through which most branches of the Ho Chi Minh Trail passed. With its rugged, jungle-clad terrain, it also seemed to the North Vietnamese the best place to destroy the elite of South Vietnam's armed forces and to fight initial battles with the Americans. For many North Vietnamese, however, the Central Highlands became a living hell of starvation and disease. Even before the arrival of the American 1st Cavalry Division, the Communists were generally unable to win the decisive victories they sought in this region. Harris's ground breaking study culminates with an account of the campaign in Pleiku province in October to November -- a campaign that led to dramatic clashes between the Americans and the North Vietnamese in the Ia Drang valley. Harris's analysis overturns many of the accepted accounts about NVA, US, and ARVN performances. Impressively detailed and documented, "Vietnam's High Ground" is extraordinary, comprehensive, and exceptionally well written. While unreservedly recommended for community and academic library 20th Century Military History collections in general, and Vietnam War supplemental studies reading lists in particular, it should be noted for academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Vietnam's High Ground" is also available in a Kindle format ($27.99).


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Career Paths in Psychology, third edition
Robert J. Sternberg, editor
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
www.apa.org/books
9781433823107, $29.95, PB, 584pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and edited by Robert J. Sternberg, and wow in a fully updated and expanded third edition, "Career Paths in Psychology: Where Your Degree Can Take You" continues to be the ideal textbook for students seeking to find an exciting career in psychology. Its comprehensive coverage spans more psychology related careers than ever, with the vast majority of chapters new to this edition. Amidst all the choices, "Career Paths in Psychology" will help future psychologists find their optimal career path as it describe 30 different graduate-level careers (i.e., careers for those holding a PhD, EdD, or PsyD) in three distinct areas of endeavor: academia, clinical and counseling psychology, and specialized settings such as for-profit businesses, non-profits, the military, and schools. Each individual chapter deftly explores a different career, and describes typical daily activities, the approximate range of compensation, advantages and disadvantages of the career, opportunities for employment and advancement, and how to plan one's educational experiences to prepare for this specialty. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Career Paths in Psychology" is a vitally important addition to community, college, and university library Jobs/Careers reference collections.

200 Skills Every Fashion Designer Must Have
Aisling McKeefry
Barron's
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
www.barronseduc.com
9781438008967 $24.99 amazon.com

200 Skills Every Fashion Designer Must Have lives up to its title as a thorough reference and resource for aspiring fashion designers everywhere. Filled with detailed illustrations and full-color photography throughout, 200 Skills Every Fashion Designer Must Have discusses the artistic, creative, and marketing talents that successful designers need to succeed, as well as commonly used artistic concepts such as the different types of repeat print designs. 200 Skills Every Fashion Designer Must Have is a "must" for anyone seeking to break into the business, highly recommended.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Evil Genius
Michael Bigelow Dixon, editor
Smith & Kraus Publishers
177 Lyme Road, Lyme NH 03755-6610
www.smithandkraus.com
9781575259048, $17.95, PB, 263pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and edited by director, dramaturge, playwright and author Michael Bigelow Dixon, "Evil Genius: Monsters on Stage" offers a ground-breaking collection of essays, monologues and one-act plays that feature monstrous characters who haunt and harass the human species. These are monsters for thinking audiences -- monsters that speak their bold and insidious minds. Essays include a history of monsters in dramatic literature as well as a how-to guide to theatrical creature-making. Theater director/designer Julie Taymor introduces the volume with analysis of monsters who've appeared in her own productions. This unique anthology features new dramatic writing from Naomi Iizuka, Jon Jory, Atar Hadari, Richard Dresser, Constance Congdon, Janet Allard, Elizabeth Wong, Mark Stein and 23 more playwrights and poets whose nightmarish works are ready for production, auditions and classroom use. "Evil Genius: Monsters on Stage" is a unique and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, school drama department, community theatre, community library, and academic library Theatre/Cinema/TV reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Infections of Leisure, fifth edition
David Schlossberg, editor
ASM Books
c/o ASM International
9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073-0002
www.asminternational.org
9781555819224, $77.60, PB, 411pp, www.amazon.com

The leisure activities engaged in by Americans, ranging from the mundane to the exotic, expose us all to a growing list of pathogenic microbes, some new and many increasingly resistant to current therapies. Common pets, livestock, traveling, and cuisine all have the potential to cause illnesses that may be difficult to diagnose and treat. Engagingly written by a team of infectious disease specialists and edited by David Schlossberg (Professor of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine), and now in a fully updated and expanded fifth edition, "Infections of Leisure" features nineteen informed and informative articles which are focused on the infection risks associated with particular types of activities, including camping, playing sports, interacting with animals, receiving body modifications, and mountain climbing. This new edition includes vibrant, full-color images, recommended readings chosen by expert authors, and practical tips in each chapter. Useful for health care professionals, microbiologists, and infectious diseases specialists, the information in comprising "Infections of Leisure" will support confident identification of leisure-associated infections and enable informed choices, as well as provide an understanding of the risks posed to human health by hobbies, exotic foods and travel. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Infections of Leisure" is highly recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject and would be a critically important addition to community, college, and academic library Health & Medicine collections.

Outpatient Nutrition Care and Home Nutrition Support
Carol Ireton-Jones, PhD, RDN, Editor
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781498711029, $99.95, www.crcpress.com

Outpatient Nutrition Care and Home Nutrition Support: Practical Guidelines for Assessment and Management is a nutrition support title recommended for any college-level healthcare collection and for any professional reference library concerned about nutritional issues in home health systems. It synthesizes the latest research and best practices information in nutrition for RDNs and other professionals working outside of hospital settings, offering information specific to assessing and meeting nutritional requirements in all kinds of settings. Common nutritional problems and how to manage them receive clear direction in a guide that links risk factors and management challenges with information specific to conditions commonly seen in home health care settings, making for an invaluable reference nutritionists will need.


The Literary Studies Shelf

Writing in a Speaking World
Peter Orton
ACMRS
Arizona State University
PO Box 874402, Tempe, AZ 85287-4402
http://acmrs.org/publications
9780866984935, $68.00, HC, 266pp, www.amazon.com

"Writing in a Speaking World: The Pragmatics of Literacy in Anglo-Saxon Inscriptions and Old English Poetry" by academician Peter Orton is a critical investigation of some manifestations of literate ways of thinking and expression in Anglo-Saxon writings. Two of its main themes are the relationship between runic and roman writing in both epigraphical inscriptions and manuscript poetry, and certain distinctive deictic usages, in particular the use of the first-person pronoun, 'I' or 'me', in reference to non-human subjects (inscribed media or artifacts, particular copies of texts, or the texts themselves). The Old English Riddles, comparable with inscriptions in their use of the first-person pronoun for non-human 'speakers', also sometimes combine runic and roman writing, and shed interesting light on contemporary ideas about literacy and orality. Finally, the Old English 'lyrics' of the Exeter Book illustrate certain difficulties involved in 'reclaiming' the first-person pronoun for human reference, and foreshadow later developments in human subjectivity in writing. A masterpiece of seminal literary scholarship, "Writing in a Speaking World" is enhanced for the benefit of scholarship with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography. Impressively informed and informative, exceptionally well organized and presented, "Writing in a Speaking World" is unreservedly recommended for college and university library English Literary History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Sports Shelf

Basketball Essentials
Ryan Goodson
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
97814925196114, $19.95, www.humankinetics.com

Basketball Essentials: Improve Ballhandling, Shooting, Rebounding, and All Aspects of Your Game offers a close review of the basics of basketball, and adopts a 'learn as you do' approach to the subject using black and white photos paired with sequential instruction to explain the basics of how to play. Novice basketball players receive a survey of all the fundamental skills and how to move them from basic to advanced in the course of practicing, and receive clear explanations of strategies for offensive and defensive maneuvers in an exceptionally clear overview that should be the starting point for any layer newly entering the game.

Power Games
Jules Boykoff
Verso
20 Jay Street, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201-8346
www.versobooks.com
9781784780722, $19.95, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

The Olympics have a checkered, sometimes scandalous, political history. In the pages of "Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics", Jules Boykoff, a former US Olympic team member, takes readers from the event's nineteenth-century origins, through the Games' flirtation with Fascism, and into the contemporary era of corporate control. Along the way he recounts vibrant alt-Olympic movements, such as the Workers' Games and Women's Games of the 1920s and 1930s as well as athlete-activists and political movements that stood up to challenge the Olympic machine. Impressively well researched, written, organized and presented, this exceptionally informed and informative account is a consistently engaging read from beginning to end and very highly recommended for community and academic library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Power Games" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

I'd Know That Voice Anywhere
Frank Deford
Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
154 West 14th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10011
9780802125248 $25.00 www.groveatlantic.com

I'd Know That Voice Anywhere: My Favorite NPR Commentaries is a sparkling sampler of commentaries from celebrated sports journalist Frank Deford, a senior contributing writer at "Sports Illustrated", now well-known for his weekly contributions to National Public Radio's "Morning Edition". This prime selection of Deford's most insightful NPR pieces offers a kaleidoscope of sports highs and lows, as Deford tackles topics ranging from student-athlete cheating, to why gay athletes "play straight" (they're more concerned about negative reactions from the audience than from their colleagues), to questioning a modern economy dominated by golfers, and much more. I'd Know That Voice Anywhere is an eclectic joy to read, highly recommended.


The Library Science Shelf

Acquisitions: Core Concepts and Practices
Jesse Holden
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838914601, $85.00, PB, 132pp, www.amazon.com

All library systems, public, academic, corporate or private, must operate on a defined budget thereby necessitating informed acquisition policies and practices. As a discipline, acquisitions encompasses everything from purchasing and budgeting to enabling access to materials; and every format from books, monographs, and serials to e-books, subscription-based electronic resources, and beyond. In this guide, Holden boils it to down to its essentials while providing a strategic framework that introduces and integrates all aspects of acquisitions. Using a holistic, hands-on approach that's as useful for working librarians as for those studying the profession, "Acquisitions: Core Concepts and Practices" by Jesse Holden (Account Services Managers for EBSCO Information Services and former Head of Acquisitions at the University of Southern California) provides an overview of acquisitions as a library profession, with a discussion of basic competencies, notions of ethics, and the organizing principle of assemblage ; lays out a robust conceptual framework that unifies disparate aspects of acquisitions work and synthesizes its practical aspects; thoroughly examines content acquisitions in all formats, with an in-depth look at digital materials; covers such important trends as the rise of e-books, the ramifications of mobile devices as a mode of content access and interaction, demand-driven acquisition, and shifting expectations regarding paid-for content; tracks advancements in technology, including the widespread implementation of discovery services for content searching; underscores the responsive service component of acquisitions as informed by user expectations, community feedback, and usage standards such as COUNTER and SUSHI; addresses budgetary issues such as changes in services offered by vendors and subscription agents, and the emergence of a new normal for budget constraints and expectations resulting from the recession; and looks ahead to what anticipated changes to acquisitions means for the future. Presenting a model that's both comprehensive and flexible, "Acquisitions: Core Concepts and Practices" demonstrates how technical competencies and ethical imperatives can inform the day-to-day workflow of acquisition librarians and is unreservedly recommended for community, corporate, and academic library collections in general, and Library Science & Librarian Training supplemental studies reading lists in particular.


The Genealogy Shelf

American Place Names of Long Ago
Gilbert S. Bahn
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211
www.genealogical.com
9780806315577, $35.00, HC, 347pp, www.amazon.com

"American Place Names of Long Ago" by Gilbert S. Bahn is derived from George Cram's "Unrivaled Atlas of the World" and contains an index of over 100,000 place names of "every county, city, town, village, and post-office in the United States [showing] the population of the same according to the Census of 1890." Considering just how many nineteenth-century American place names have changed or disappeared in the intervening years, and that 45 percent of the places listed in this index were too small or obscure to have their population counts listed by the census taker, the importance of such a work to genealogists and historians is self-evident. According to Gilbert Bahn, census enumerators listed all place names on their tabulation sheets, even when the population counts were too small to warrant recording. That's how Cram was able to compile an extremely detailed list of place names -- and an accurate list, at that, because the names were recorded by local enumerators and automatically tied in to their respective counties! For purposes of this reprint edition the original format by Cram has been rearranged into three columns; otherwise there has been no change to the original text. Each entry, in alphabetical order within states, gives the place name, the county in which the place is located, and the population of the place at the time of the census. State capitals and large cities are in caps, county seats are in boldface, post offices are in roman type, and places that are not post offices are rendered in italics. Places that were too small for a population count are indicated by an X. This index is an unexpectedly rich source of information and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Genealogical and American History reference collections.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

The Natural Heritage of Illinois
John E. Schwegman
Southern Illinois University Press
1915 University Press Drive, SIUC Mail Code 6806, Carbondale, IL 62901
www.siupress.com
9780809334841 $24.50 pbk / $14.46 Kindle amazon.com

Interspersed with color photography throughout, The Natural Heritage of Illinois: Essays on Its Lands, Waters, Flora, and Fauna consists of ninety-four brief yet scholarly and insightful essays about the natural environment and wildlife of Illinois. Individual writings discuss historical accounts of early Illinois; conservation and management of natural features in Illinois; problems with exotic species and diseases on the Illinois environment; and much more. "In spring 1995 at least part of Illinois' Prairie Chicken flock seems to have turned the corner on its precipitous decline. After three years of introduction of Prairie Chickens from Minnesota and Kansas to overcome inbreeding problems, the population curve is creeping up." Author John E. Schwegman, a founder of the Natural Areas Association, has provided an excellent and fascinating collection, highly recommended especially for public and college library collections.


The Human Sexuality Shelf

What You Need To Know About Human Sex
Dr. Graham Clingbine
Troubador Publishing Ltd.
www.troubador.co.uk
9781785893735 $12.99 amazon.com

What You Need To Know About Human Sex is a no-nonsense sex education book for readers of all ages. Dr. Graham Clingbine candidly discusses sexual identity and sexual orientation; issues of society, religion, and ethics; criminal sexual activity, such as sexual assault or human trafficking for forced prostitution; and much more. "There is probably no such thing as sexually 'normal'. Perhaps a range of behaviours and attitudes cover what most people would consider to be normal... A good rule of thumb may be that whatever people do or think, providing there is no harm done to others, then those things are acceptable." What You Need To Know About Human Sex is an excellent, thoroughly accessible, and non-judgmental primer, especially recommended for high school public library collections.


The International Studies Shelf

Viet Nam: Tradition and Change
Huu Ngoc, author
Edited by Lady Borton & Elizabeth F. Collins
Ohio University Research in International Studies
c/o Ohio University Press
215 Columbus Road, Suite 101, Athens, OH 45701
www.ohioswallow.com
9780896803022 $26.95 pbk / $21.99 Kindle amazon.com

Journalist Huu Ngoc, whose credentials include a twenty-year tenure as a columnist for Hanoi's English-language newspaper "Viet Nam News", presents Viet Nam: Tradition and Change, an in-depth discussion of modern Vietnamese culture and traditions, as well as the challenges besetting Viet Nam today. Chapters discuss Viet Nam's history, identity, and way of life; Buddhism in Viet Nam; exemplary heroes and heroines of Vietnamese history; notable works of Vietnamese literature; how Vietnamese women's lives have changed in recent years; the reverberations of globalization; and much more. "Single parenting, although still a new notion in Viet Nam, is gaining acceptance. But unlike in the West, where middle-class career building and the disintegration of the nuclear family are the main causes, the new phenomenon of single parenting in Viet Nam is another consequence of war. Many women spent their best years fighting and thus missed their chance for marriage. Lonely, they desperately wanted to have children." A handful of edifying line drawings and an index round out this excellent cultural survey, thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds, and highly recommended especially for public library collections.


The American History Shelf

Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson
William Hazelgrove
Regnery Publishing, Inc.
300 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
9781621574750 $29.99 www.regnery.com

Thoroughly accessible to lay readers and scholars alike, Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson is the true story of the women who was America's first female president, in practical reality if not necessarily elective office. In the fall of 1919, an era of fragile peace after the close of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke that left him bedridden. His wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, worked to handle the everyday responsibilities of the Executive Office, including reading all correspondence addressed to her husband. The extent of her governmental work was kept secret at the time, and has been largely forgotten today, but her legacy helped set the groundwork for women in public office. Extensively researched, and enhanced with notes, a bibliography, and an index, Madam President is a timely "must-read", and highly recommended, especially for public and college library collections.

Water Tossing Boulders
Adrienne Berard
Beacon Press
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210
9780807033531 $26.95 www.beacon.org

Award-winning journalist Adrienne Berard presents Water Tossing Boulders: How a Family of Chinese Immigrants Led the First Fight to Desegregate Schools in the Jim Crow South, the story of the Chinese-American Lum family. In 1924, their children Martha Lum and her older sister Berda Lum were prohibited from attending a whites-only middle school, the family's resistance led up to the first US Supreme Court case to challenge the constitutionality of racially segregated public schools, thirty years before the historic "Brown v. Board of Education" decision. Berard has reconstructed a vivid, true-life American story through meticulous research of historical documents and family correspondence. Water Tossing Boulders is a welcome contribution to American History collections, highly recommended especially for public and college library shelves.

The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City
Margaret Creighton
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393247503, $28.95, www.wwnorton.com

The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City: Spectacle and Assassination at the 1901 World's Fair tells of the year (1901) when Buffalo, New York hosted the world's fair meant to celebrate the beginnings of a new century. Fair organizers envisioned it as a pinnacle of beauty and achievement; but in fact the Buffalo Exposition became synonymous with murder, strife, and protest. The key figures of this spectacle come to life in The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City, with chapters reading with the high drama and attraction of fiction as they present a captivating, different viewpoint of an exposition's high and low moments. Vintage black and white images pepper the story line and bring the times and its events to life in a coverage that should be part of any American history holding.


The Civil War Shelf

Women in Civil War Texas
Deborah M. Liles and Angela Boswell, editors
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
www.unt.edu/untpress
9781574416510 $29.95 hc
9781574416602 $23.96 ebook

Women in Civil War Texas: Diversity and Dissidence in the Trans-Mississippi is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors about the perspectives of Texan women during the American Civil War, often called the "Freedom War" at the time. Writings discuss the experiences of both pro-Confederacy and pro-Union women; black slave women and free black women (notably, the latter were uncommon and unwelcome in Texas); Mexican-Texan women; and more. Women in Civil War Texas draws on and distills information from a wealth of primary sources, including wills, court cases, slave narratives, correspondence, and more. Essay-specific notes, a handful of black-and-white photographs, and an index round out this excellent contribution to American History shelves, highly recommended especially for public and college library collections.

Battle of Wills
David Alan Johnson
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781633882454 $28.00 www.prometheusbooks.com

Battle of Wills: Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and the Last Year of the Civil War is a close study of how the markedly different temperaments of opposing generals Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy and Ulysses S. Grant of the Union shapes the course of the American Civil War. Ultimately, Grant's unrelenting determination claimed the upper hand over Lee's military genius. Battle of wills delves into the personal history of each general - how Grant's father worked to earn a successful living as a tanner and leather goods dealer, while Lee's father was imprisoned for bankruptcy and unpaid debts, which spurred Lee to personally uphold a code of respectability and courtesy - traits that, while seemingly positive at first glance, sometimes failed to translate into decisive orders on the battlefield. Battle of Wills also explores how Grant, Lee, and many other officers destined to oppose one another served as comrades-in-arms during the earlier Mexican war (1846-1848). Notes, a select bibliography, and an index round out this welcome addition to public and college library Civil War shelves.


The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

Tales from the Arabian Nights
Donna Jo Napoli, author
Christina Balit, illustrator
National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426325403 $24.99 hc / $13.99 Kindle amazon.com

Featuring stylized, full-color illustrations throughout, Tales from the Arabian Nights: Stories of Adventure, Magic, Love, and Betrayal is a captivating anthology of fairy tales about royalty, love, and daring adventure. Sidebars inform the reader about how these stories reflect history, culture, and geography; Tales from the Arabian Nights also features a map of the Middle East for geographic context, and suggested reference materials for readers who want to learn more. The selected stories Arabian Nights stories featured in Tales from the Arabian Nights include "Ali Baba & The Forty Thieves", the seven voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, "Aladdin", "Maaruf the Cobbler", and a dozen more. Highly recommended, especially for private browsing and public library collections.


The Journalism Shelf

Skewed
Larry Atkins
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781633881655, $24.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias is recommended reading for college-level audiences interested in media and journalism, and focuses on advocacy journalism's bias and processes and how different types of media structures create and influence news and public perception. Chapters consider both the positive and negative roles of advocacy journalism and provide a series of tools helpful in analyzing media presentations. In presenting discussions that help craft a more informed audience, Skewed offers insights that are particularly recommended for classroom discussion and debate for audiences already involved in media studies.


The Crafts Shelf

Making Art from Maps
Jill K. Berry
Rockport Publishers
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 - 1st Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1721
9781631591020, $24.99, www.quartoknows.com

Making Art from Maps: Inspiration, Techniques, and an International Gallery of Artists views maps in a different light than geographer applications: it shows how artists around the world are incorporating maps into fashion, sculpture, and even carved books and jewelry. The project-oriented display includes step-by-step instructions, color photos, materials lists, and a range of techniques for blending color maps into various projects. Brief autobiographical sketches of each map artist and how they got started accompany these selections and round out a crafts guide dedicated to taking maps to a whole new level of artistic endeavor, blending them into everyday life decor.


The Technology Shelf

Artech House Publishers
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
www.artechhouse.com

James Sinopoli's Advanced Technology for Smart Buildings (9781608078653, $159.00) comes from an expert in his field and provides a basic introduction to new technologies that can be used for advanced smart buildings working with security, energy, and control systems. It's a cutting-edge discussion that documents how information technology is changing the building industry and how offices and homes are created, and it discusses the role of the facility data manager and builder, various new smart technologies and their network requirements, how smart technologies are utilized under different conditions, and specifications for future building. Protap Pramanick and Prakash Bhartia's Modern RF and Microwave Filter Design (9781630811570, $179.00) surveys the latest best practices for designing RF and microwave filters, offering engineers and technical personnel a manual packed with information key to designing a filter design software package, and using these filters in different mechanisms. Discussions of prototypes, configuration requirements and processes, transmission lines, power capabilities are accompanied by charts and formulas at every step, reinforcing this technical reference's usefulness to practicing engineers.


The Computer Shelf

Microsoft Access 2016 Programming By Example
Julitta Korol
Mercury Learning
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
9781942270843, $54.95, www.merclearning.com

Microsoft Access 2016 Programming By Example with VBA, XML, and ASP has been updated for Access 2016 and provides programmers with the latest guide to the latest Access interfaces and techniques. Like its previous editions, this "by example" coverage maintains the depth and completeness of information, directs its detailed references to those already familiar with the basics of Access, and blends in hands-on exercises with its wealth of programming specifics, including code and real-world examples. These illustrated exercises form the foundation of a book that is visually and textually clear on all the specifics of applying Access 2016's many new tools to the latest objectives in the business and programming world, making it a top reference.

Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing
Frank T. Willmore, Eric Jankowski and Coray Colina, Editors
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781498745048, $79.95, www.crcpress.com

Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing should be in any college-level collection strong in science and engineering, as well as in many a practicing professional's library, and is designed to help scientists with the basic techniques that can apply to scientific processes from the computer world. Chapters offer direct routines and scientific research and analysis, covering the basics of software engineering and providing references suitable for a wide range of scientific disciplines. With its project examples including modification tips, practical issues and problem points, software design and decision-making, and tips for creating new features, this is a solid reference that reviews the entire process.


The Wisconsin Shelf

Place Names Of Wisconsin
Edward Callary
University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, Third Floor, Madison, WI 53711-2059
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299309640, $21.95, PB, 360pp, www.amazon.com

The names given to the villages, towns and cities that comprise Wisconsin often reflect the state's diverse history and are drawn from Native Americans, the exploring French trappers and traders, and the divers European settlers, as well as place names associated with political figures, land owners, and even postmasters! Alphabetically compiled by Edward Callery (Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at Northern Illinois University and the past president of both the American Name Society and the North Central Name Society), "Place Names Of Wisconsin" is comprised of 2,057 community names ranging from Abbotsford to Zoar. Of very special note is the informed and informative introduction by Professor Callary, as well as the inclusion of a twenty-page list of References. While unreservedly recommended for community, college, university, and local museum library Wisconsin History collections, it should be noted for non-specialist general readers that "Place Names Of Wisconsin" is also available in a Kindle format ($11.99).


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Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
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