My kitchen has been out of commission for a few weeks, and I’ve been compensating for not cooking by reading lots of books about food. I started a couple of weeks ago with Marion Nestle’s doorstopper of a book, What to Eat. For a book on nutrition and food marketing, it has some surprisingly funny moments, and Nestle’s clear, humorous tone keeps a tough topic interesting. It’s also chock full of information about making food choices, and explains what is nutritionally important and what’s just marketing hype. If you enjoy Michael Pollan’s books on food, try What to Eat....

Well, it didn't take me a whole month to finish four books (although usually I'm lucky if I finish one book in a month!). I only finished two of the four I blogged about earlier. Samatha Bee's book had to go back to the library because someone else was waiting for it. But hey, I can check it out again at a later date.

I also had to return (guiltily after renewing it 3 times!) In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise by George Prochnik. I kept trying to read it. It would hold my ...

...and so are the books! On my nightstand I currently have 4 books. They sit taller than my alarm clock. And I'm reading each one. I just can't decide what I'm in the mood for. I start one, put it down, then pick up the next.

At the bottom of the pile (which means I started it first and I've already renewed it once!) is In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise by George Prochnik. I read a review and thought, "yes, this is what I want to read about!" I think I got ...

...We haven't forgotten you! We have just been very busy in this transition from school to summer (and summer vacations!). But we still have lots of good books coming in. And we have new displays up in the library: historical fiction in the Readers Advisory area... "Here comes the Bride" in the new books area...we celebrate GLBT Pride and Container Gardening on the endcaps in Fiction... And look for Summer Reading to start next week all over the library!

Please check back soon! Until then, happy reading.

About 400 pages into Laurie R. King’s The Language of Bees, I started wondering how the author could possibly wrap up all the plot twists by the end of the book. Well, it turns out that she couldn’t. Instead of the resolution I look forward to at the end of a good mystery novel, this book ended with the words, “To be continued…” Thankfully the next book in the series, God of the Hive, has just been released, and I can (hopefully) find out how the story ends soon.

But was this just the start of a tantalizing ...

I was eagerly awaiting a new book by an author I’ve enjoyed in the past.  She writes wonderful stories of characters in crisis, who are about to undergo a change or make a self-discovery.  Her stories are smart and her dialogue flows.

I placed my hold early and (yeah!) I got the first copy when it arrived in the library.  I was excited to be the first one to hold the fresh, crisp book in my hot little hands.  And then, I looked at the book, and I noticed that, my, it’s awfully THICK.  No matter, I’ve read many long ...

… and lots of signs. It’s quite amusing. But it’s not supposed to be.

 
The New York Times recently published an article on the subject of “Chinglish” and what the Shanghai Commission for the Management of Language Use (yes, it’s real) is trying to do about it. They’ve already fixed over 10,000 public signs, with the help of volunteer English speakers. Example: you no longer will need to find the public “urine district” or the closest “cash recycling machine.” Hopefully all that giggling by English speakers visiting Shanghai will stop as well.

 
Misunderstood Chinglish signs just might be ...

For those of our patrons heading off to Scotland on May 11, through our Armchair Travel program, we’d like to offer some reading suggestions for your trip! 

  

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith 

The Kilt Maker by Anne Douglas

The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin

Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott

Starburst by Robin Pilcher

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

When will there be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Happy Travels!

On May 2, LeBron James was announced as the winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2009-2010 season. This is the second MVP trophy for James; his win last year made him the first Cavalier to win the award.

If you aren’t on LeBron James overload between his MVP success and the playoffs, check out these recent books on our local hero:

LeBron James: the Making of an MVP by Plain Dealer writer Terry Pluto (796.323. PLU)

 
A Ring for the King by David Lee Morgan (796.323 MOR)

 
Shooting Stars by, the man himself, ...

I intended to blog about Earth Day last week, I really did. I had some books in mind, but you know how it goes – the next thing I knew it was today, and it’s time for a new topic. So instead of Earth Day books, I thought why not end of the earth books?

“End of the world – fiction” is a real library subject heading, brought to you by the Library of Congress (yes, the same people who are archiving Twitter). We have quite a lot of EOTE books here, from Victor Gischler’s fast-paced, sometimes ...