Monday, March 29, 2010

Book Review: Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay, a new outing for Corcoran O’Connor and the dark North Woods, audio book by William Kent Krueger, read by Buck Schirmer.

I first read about deliberate, thoughtful sheriff Corcoran O’Connor in Mercy Falls, and I see from Amazon that he has been treading those pineneedle-covered forest trails, running into the occasional degenerate murderer, for several books. The last one I read is Thunder Bay.

Thunder Bay is actually in Canada, but the story begins in Minnesota. O’Connor has resigned as sheriff of Tamarack County. His friend, an almost 100-year-old Ojibwe medicine man named Henry, is hospitalized and asks O’Connor to find his son, who would then be 73. Son? What son? O’Connor had known the old man all his life, no mention of a son.

He reluctantly agrees and at least googles the mother’s name, one of two clues the old man had. The other clue is a gold watch with a beautiful Latin woman’s picture in it. Of course, through the wonder of Inspector Google, he finds the connection right away. The son, a zillionaire industrialist, is a recluse a la Howard Hughes on an island near Thunder Bay.

O’Connor journeys to the place, bringing the watch. By then, he has learned the old man’s story, which we readers learn to the tune of half the book. I won’t go into it—but I cried and I am not usually a sappy mess.

The son is a wackypack, with long white hair and a closetful of clean bathrobes and surgical masks. Or is he?

I will leave it to you.

There is a second story line I won’t go into and all I can say is that the book nimbly dodges Nancy Drew World a few times, for which I was thankful.

Buck Schirmer? The reader? Wonderful bass voice. My gosh, you could take a bath in his voice. I asked my daughter why I never meet anyone with a voice like that. She said it was because I never went anywhere.

Oh.

Star Lawrence owns a health website called HEALTH’Sass at http://healthsass.blogspot.com/ and a recession site at http://hopeycopey.blogspot.com/. She can be reached at jkellaw@aol.com.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Book Review: Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me

Comedian Howie Mandel's Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me is a hilarious and revealing autobiography, which details his childhood, his rise as a standup comic, and most importantly his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mandel tells of the horrific childhood vacation to Miami Beach that most likely reinforced his compulsive behaviors. (If you have a weak stomach, just know that you’ve been warned!) He lets us into his germaphobe mentality and the antics he's mastered to deal with the regular world. His knuckle-bumping, surgical masks, and faking injuries in order to keep germs at a distance are a sad way of life, but also very funny in Mandel's conversational style of writing. The most surprising story isn't Mandel’s OCD, but rather that he wasn't the first choice of producers for Deal or No Deal and didn't even want to do the pilot, although this game show is what has made the comic a household name! - Kathy (Sunset)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Book Review: An Irish Country Doctor

If you would like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with something more than corned beef and cabbage, why not try An Irish Country Doctor, a novel by Patrick Taylor? Dr. Barry Laverty is fresh from medical school in Belfast when he takes a position as an assistant to Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly in the rural village of Ballybuckleboo. Dr. O’Reilly has his own unconventional ways of dealing with his patients; his motto is to “never let the patient get the upper hand.” Life is changing rapidly in the 1960’s, even in Northern Ireland, and Dr. O’Reilly’s methods often conflict with young Barry’s “modern” medical knowledge. An eccentric but endearing cast of characters blend together to teach Barry lessons not only about medicine and healing but life and death as well.

The author is a doctor who had a practice in rural Northern Ireland before becoming a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He also wrote a medical humor column in addition to numerous scientific and medical literature. This well written novel has great character development and wonderful descriptive elements. Taylor’s attention to detail includes a bit of Irish slang which is explained in a glossary. Also in the back of the book are authentic Irish recipes provided by Mrs. Kinkaid, the housekeeper. By the time you’re done with the book, you’ll be craving that corned beef and cabbage and wanting to hop on the next plane to Ireland.

Following An Irish Country Doctor (2007), Patrick Taylor has continued the series with An Irish Country Village (2008), An Irish Country Christmas (2009) and An Irish Country Girl which was released in January. An Irish Country Courtship will be released at Christmas. -Linda (Downtown)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Books about THE PACIFIC

HBO's The Pacific, a 10-part miniseries about World War II and Marine involvement in the Pacific Theater, premiers on March 14. While the miniseries is based on soldiers' memoirs published after the war, there is no single book from which the program is drawn.

Numerous new and re-released titles are related to The Pacific, however. R.V. Burgin, one of the soldiers featured in an episode of the series, has released the new memoir Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific.

A memoir written in the 1950s by Robert Leckie provided much of the inspiration for the television series, and Leckie also appears as one of the main characters. A writer before the war began, Leckie went on to write numerous other books about the war, including Strong Men Armed : The United States Marines Against Japan and Okinawa : The Last Battle of World War II.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Spring Break @ your library

Chandler Schools are on spring break March 15-29, and Kyrene School District's spring break is March 15-19. How to keep your kids busy? Check out these library events!

All branches
Cover to Cover Club from In-N-Out Burger - Kids age 4-12 can read 5 library books to earn a certificate for a free burger from In-N-Out. Pick up a reading log at the library and read between March 6 and April 17. (Note: Hamilton branch kids can turn in their reading logs at the Downtown branch during Hamilton's closures.)

Downtown events
GameHall - Get your game on! Rock Band, Wii Sports, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and more. Tuesdays, 3/16 and 3/23, 3:30 - 5:30.
Crime Caper - Tweens, get ready to figure out who done it! Please register online. Thursday, 3/18. 2:00 pm.
Once Upon a What? - East Valley Children's Theatre presents a delightful adventure tale. Saturday, 3/27, 2:00 pm.

Sunset events
From Seeds to Snacks - Learn about how seeds grow and watch them get made into a yummy snack. Tuesday, 3/16, 1:00 pm.
Crime Caper - Put on your detective badge to solve the crime. Please register online. Wednesday, 3/17, 2:30 pm.

Basha events
Crime Caper - Tweens, get ready to figure out who done it! Please register online. Monday, 3/15, 2:00 pm.
Once Upon a What? - East Valley Children's Theatre presents a delightful adventure tale. Saturday, 3/20, 11:00 am.

Please note: the Hamilton branch library will have reduced hours during the school's Spring Break closure, for maintenance work. Click here for more information.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Can't find the book you want? Make a purchase suggestion!

Looking for a book but can't find it in the library catalog? You can easily make a purchase suggestion right from the library's homepage.

Start at chandlerlibrary.org and click the Search the Catalog button in the upper left.



Next, look for the Suggest a Purchase button.






Enter as much information as you have, but all fields are not required. Title and author are critical, and ISBN if you have it. Your library card number is a required field. If the library orders your suggestion, a hold will be placed for you and you'll be notified when it comes in for you.
Our ordering department will send you a response within a few days, to your email address on file.



Note: Making a suggestion for purchase does not guarantee that the Chandler Public Library will order your suggestion. For books that are esoteric, scholarly, or out of print, it's best to request an Interlibrary Loan. Ask a librarian for more information.