11/4: New at the library this week

Movies:

Where the wild things are (view clips, trailers and interviews)
The happy elf (view trailer)

(all movies are on dvd unless otherwise noted)

Audiobooks

Seduced by moonlight / Laurell K. Hamilton
I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. and Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Fairie.
Now there are those among me who whisper I am more.
They fear me even as they protect me. And who can blame them?
I’ve awakened the dazzling magic that’s slumbered in them for
thousands of years. But the thing is, I can’t figure out why.

My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, is no longer distracted by her usual sadistic hobbies. Her obsession has turned unwaveringly to me. The mission to get me pregnant and beat my cousin Prince Cel to the crown is taking longer than expected. Even though I spend each night with the Queen’s Ravens, my immortal guards, no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something else is happening. My magic courses through me uncontrollably. And as I lock my half-mortal body with their full-Sidhe blooded ones, the power surges like never before.

It all began with the chalice. I dreamed of it, and it appeared, cool and hard, beside me when I awoke. My guards know the ancient relic well—its disappearance ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. But it is here with us now. My touch resonates with its force, and they’re consumed with it, their Sidhe essences lit up by it. But even as they cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it. Me, a mongrel, only half fey and part mortal. The Unseelie court has suffered for so long, and there are some who would not have it weakened further by an impure queen. My enemies grow in number every day. But they do not know what I am capable of. Nor, for that matter, do I. . . . (Meredith Gentry Series, #3; read a sample chapter)

10/28: New at the library this week

Audiobooks

Suspect / Michael Robotham (unabridged; cassettes)
At forty-two, psychiatrist Joe O’Loughlin seems to have it all: a thriving practice, a beautiful wife, an adoring daughter. But Joe’s snug, happy world is crumbling. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he’s dreading the inevitable and all too palpable deterioration of his body and mind. Then, when the police ask for his help in solving the brutal murder of a woman they assume is a prostitute, he’s horrified to recognize the victim as a nurse he once worked with, and with whom he had a bit of a past. As Joe begins to suspect that one of his patients may be responsible, the police zero in on him.(read a sample chapter)

Mark Twain / Geoffrey C. Ward; Dayton Duncan; Ken Burns (unabridged; two copies: cassettes & CD)
A companion audiobook to the 4-hour PBS television series.
Using material from Twain’s works, diaries, and letters, Mark Twain follows the great writer/humorist/lecturer/people’s philosopher from the Hannibal, Missouri of his childhood, to the Europe and Middle East of his travels (and hilarious travel books); from his beginnings as a newspaperman to his storied life as (in his own words) “the most conspicuous man on the planet.”(read an exerpt)

The rise of Theodore Roosevelt / Edmund Morris (abridged; cassettes)
A biography published on the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt becoming president. (read a sample chapter)

The king of torts / John Grisham (unabridged; cassettes)
The office of the public defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit D.C. every week.

As he digs into the background of his client, Clay stumbles on a conspiracy too horrible to believe. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of a complex case against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, looking at the kind of enormous settlement that would totally change his life—that would make him, almost overnight, the legal profession’s newest king of torts… (read an exerpt)

10/10: New at the library this week

Movies:

The counterfeiters
Defiance

(all movies are on dvd unless otherwise noted)

Books:

Crazy for the storm : a memoir of survival / Norman Ollestad
From the age of three, Norman Ollestad was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the charismatic father he both idolized and resented. These exhilarating tests of skill prepared “Boy Wonder,” as his father called him, to become a fearless champion—and ultimately saved his life.

Flying to a ski championship ceremony in February 1979, the chartered Cessna carrying Norman and his father crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains. “Dad and I were a team, and he was Superman,” Ollestad writes. But now Norman’s father was dead, and the devastated eleven-year-old had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone.

A long trek home : 4000 miles by boot, raft, and ski / Erin McKittrick
In June 2007, Erin McKittrick and her husband, Hig, left Seattle for the Aleutian Islands, traveling solely by human power through some of the most rugged terrain in the world. This is the story of their unprecedented trek along the northwest coast and their encounters with pelting rains, ferocious winds, blizzards, and bears, as well as with the tiny communities that dot this wild region. (Seldovia author)

10/1: New at the library this week

Audiobooks

Undue influence / Steve Martini (unabridged; cassettes)
Paul Madriani is back in a complex web of murder and deceit — this time within his own family. His wife Nikki has just died of cancer. On her deathbed, Nikki made Paul promise to look after her younger sister, Laurel Vega, who is mired in a bitter child-custody battle with her ex-husband, a powerful state senator.

When Jack Vega’s new wife is found slain execution-style, Laurel becomes the prime suspect. Paul — remembering his promise to his wife — has no choice but to take Laurel’s case. But as he tries to mount a defense and probes deeper into the lives of those involved, he discovers a trail of betrayal and duplicity that hides the truth at every turn. (Paul Madriani Series #3)

For whom the bell tolls / Ernest Hemingway (unabridged; cassettes)
The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal.

Goodnight, Irene / Jan Burke (unabridged; cassettes)
For thirty-five years the identity of the dismembered woman found under the Las Piernas pier has remained a mystery. What secret did she take to her grave? Southern California reporter Irene Kelly has uncovered a maze of forensic records and confidential files that suggest a motive far more sinister than anyone imagined. The discovery has brought her close to Detective Frank Harriman, and closer still to exposing a killer who will resort to anything to keep his secrets buried — and Irene silenced forever.

9/10: New at the library this week

Books:

Catching fire / Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. (Age Range: Young Adult; Hunger Games Series, #2)

Silence of the grave / Arnaldur Indriðason
Inspector Erlendur returns in this gripping Icelandic thriller When a skeleton is discovered half-buried in a construction site outside of Reykjavík, Inspector Erlendur finds himself knee-deep in both a crime scene and an archeological dig. Bone by bone, the body is unearthed, and the brutalizing history of a family who lived near the building site comes to light along with it. Was the skeleton a man or a woman, a victim or a killer, and is this a simple case of murder or a long-concealed act of justice? As Erlendur tries to crack this cold case, he must also save his drug-addicted daughter from self destruction and somehow glue his hopelessly fractured family back together. (Reykjavik Thriller Series, #2)

9/8: New at the library this week

Movies:

Planet earth
You don’t mess with the Zohan
My fair lady
The curious case of Benjamin Button

(all movies are on dvd unless otherwise noted)

Books:

Last kiss / Luanne Rice
For nearly a year after the tragedy that claimed her teenage son, Charlie, Sheridan Rosslare has lived a quiet life on Hubbard’s Point, tucked away in the beach house where they spent their happiest days. But Charlie’s girlfriend, Nell Kilvert, is determined to find out what really happened on the night none of them will ever forget. She summons the one man she believes can uncover the truth–Gavin Dawson, who long ago thought he would always be at Sheridan’s side. Now his boat sits anchored within sight of the window of the woman he once loved–and still loves. Both of them had believed in the power of love and forgiveness, connection and reconnection, to work magic. They thought they’d lost that faith forever. Can they find it one last time? (read an exerpt)

The deep blue sea for beginners / Luanne Rice
Years ago, Lyra Davis left behind a world of wealth and privilege and the people she loved most in the world, unable to reconcile the expectations of her celebrated family with the longings of her own wild heart. Now she lives quietly among a community of expatriates on the isle of Capri, slowly, carefully learning to live fully for the first time, flourishing in the friendship of a singular man who recognizes in her a kindred spirit. (read an exerpt)

8/29: New at the library this week

Audiobooks

Lord John and the brotherhood of the blade / Diana Gabaldon (unabridged; CD)
Seventeen years earlier, Grey’s father, the Duke of Pardloe, shot himself, days before he was to be accused of being a Jacobite traitor. By raising a regiment to fight at Culloden, Grey’s elder brother has succeeded in redeeming the family name, aided by Grey, now a major in that regiment. But now, on the eve of the regiment’s move to Germany, comes a mysterious threat that throws the matter of the Duke’s death into stark new question, and brings the Grey brothers into fresh conflict with the past and each other.

From barracks and parade grounds to the battlefields of Prussia and the stony fells of the Lake District, Lord John’s struggle to find the truth leads him through danger and passion, ever deeper, toward the answer to the question at the centre of his soul–what is it that is most important to a man? Love, loyalty, family name? Self-respect, or honesty? Surviving both the battle of Krefeld and a searing personal betrayal, he returns to the Lake District to find the man who may hold the key to his quest: a Jacobite prisoner named Jamie Fraser. Here, Grey finds his truth and facesa final choice: between honour and life itself.

Genghis : bones of the hills / Conn Iggulden (unabridged; CD)
From the fierce cold plains of Mongolia to the Korean Peninsula, Genghis’s brothers, sons, and commanders have made emperors bow, slaughtering vast armies of fighting men. But as Genghis enters a strange new land of towering mountains and arid desert, he stirs an enemy greater than any he has met before. Under his command, Shah Ala-ud-Din Mohammed has thousands of fierce Arab warriors, teeming cavalry, and terrifying armored elephants. When Genghis strikes, the Arabs prove their mettle. On the verge of defeat, Genghis is forced to leave his own vast encampment, and the women and children in it, in the path of an enraged, savage enemy.

8/15: New at the library this week

Movies:

The reader
The secret of Roan Inish
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow your dreams
Hello Kitty goes to the movies
Princess stories : A gift from the heart
Princess stories : Beauty shines from within
Barbie as Rapunzel

(all movies are on dvd unless otherwise noted)

8/12: New at the library this week

Games

The orange box (XBox360)
Halo 3 (XBox360)
Guitar Hero III (XBox360)
Def Jam Fight for NY (XBox)
Fable: The lost chapters (XBox)
Matrix: Path of Neo (XBox)

Movies:

Billy’s bootcamp : Basic training
Billy’s bootcamp : Ultimate bootcamp
Billy’s bootcamp : AB bootcamp
Billy Blanks’ tae bo : Capture the power
Rachel getting married
TrueBlood : Strange Love
Revolutionary road

(all movies are on dvd unless otherwise noted)

Books:

Spirit basket : Over 200 years of adventures in Alaska / Marie Osborn Reid
This novel portrays historical events experienced by an Alaska Native family over more than two centuries. Generations of teenagers adjust from subsistence living to invasion by Russian fur traders, the purchase by America, gold fever, WWII detention, huge earthquake, disastrous oil spill, and much more. Each chapter is a new adventure of a new generation.

Ch.1 Harvest of the Fur Seals, Attu Island in 1745
Ch. 2 Escape, Aleutian Islands in 1770
Ch. 3 The Governor’s Daughter, Kodiak in 1794
Ch. 4 The Priest, New Archangel, Russian America in 1834
Ch. 5 Coming of America, Sitka in 1867
Ch. 6 Gold Nuggets, from Sitka to Nome in 1900
Ch. 7 Return, from Fairbanks to Seward in 1925
Ch. 8 Evacuation, from St. Paul Island to a Southeast camp in 1942
Ch. 9 Earthquake, in Anchorage in 1964
Ch. 10 The Spill, in Valdez in 1989
Ch. 11 Olympic Games, in Fairbanks in 2010
(read exerpts)

A plague of secrets / John T. Lescroart
The first victim is Dylan Vogler, a charming ex-convict who manages the Bay Beans West coffee shop in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. When his body is found, inspectors discover that his knapsack is filled with high-grade marijuana. It soon becomes clear that San Francisco’s A-list flocked to Bay Beans West not only for their caffeine fix.

But how much did Maya Townshend—the beautiful socialite niece of the city’s mayor, and the absentee owner of the shop—know about what was going on inside her business? And how intimate had she really been with Dylan, her old college friend?

As another of Maya’s acquaintances falls victim to murder, and as the names of the dead men’s celebrity, political, and even law- enforcement customers come to light, tabloid-fueled controversy takes the investigation into the realms of conspiracy and cover-up. Prosecutors close in on Maya, who has a deep secret of her own—a secret she needs to protect at all costs during her very public trial, where not only her future but the entire political landscape of San Francisco hangs in the balance, hostage to an explosive secret that Dismas Hardy is privilege-bound to protect.

7/18: New at the library this week

Audiobooks

Incident at Vichy / Arthur Miller (CD)
In a small and dark room, nine men are assembled under a shadowy pretext. As the tension builds, the men are questioned – are they the sort of people whom the new Nazi regime considers “inferior?” Starring Lawrence Pressman, Arye Gross, Gregory Itzin and Raphael Sbarge. Written by Arthur Miller.

Arcadia / Tom Stoppard (CD)
Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia merges science with human concerns and ideals, examining the universe’s influence in our everyday lives and ultimate fates through relationship between past and present, order and disorder and the certainty of knowledge. Set in an English country house in the year 1809-1812 and 1989, the play examines the lives of two modern scholars and the house’s current residents with the lives of those who lived there 180 years earlier. Arcadia leaves us with the view that if the universe is an apparently doomed machine, then whilst we are alive, we might as well dance. Features an interview with Ira Nadel, Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, and the author of “Double Act: A Life of Tom Stoppard.”