Monday, December 28, 2009

Recommended Reads: The Hour I First Believed

Recommended Reads: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb is a masterful writer; if you've read his books I Know This Much is True and She's Come Undone, you know that he sucks you in, and you feel like you are living alongside the characters. In this story, Lamb tells a fictional account of a teacher who has survived the Columbine shootings, and the after-effects on her and the people in her life. The parallel story is that of her husband's discovery of his family history. Difficult to describe without revealing the plot, this book will keep you up late turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Recommended Reads: The Monuments Men

Recommended Reads: The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M Edsel (940.53 EDS)

During WWII, thousands of cultural artifacts were destroyed or stolen, and many remain missing today. Saving and preserving some of Europe's greatest masterpieces was the job of a few curators and archivists call the Monuments Men. Understanding that culture is connected to the success of warfare, these unique soldiers and citizens worked hard long after the Nazi defeat to recover the missing treasures. This exciting story reads like the latest thriller by Ken Follett but it is a true story of a little known episode of World War II.


Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Recommended Reads: Charming Billy

Recommended Reads: Charming Billy by Alice McDermott (FIC MCD)

This National Book Award winner is set in a tightly knit Irish Catholic Bronx neighborhood in the mid-twentieth century. The novel opens as Billy Lynch's friends and family gather at a small bar after his funeral to share their memories of Billy. The story then moves back and forth in time as various characters describe Billy's life from his return after WWII to his early death from alcoholism at age 47. The power of this novel lies in its lyrically descriptive language and realistic depiction of the struggles and sorrows of an Irish-American community. This is a quiet and contemplative novel recommended for readers who enjoy realistic fiction.

Monday, November 30, 2009

November DVDs

November DVDs

The Accidental Husband
Angels & Demons
Bruno
Four Christmases
Funny People
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Heat
I Love You, Beth Cooper
Lemon Tree
The Merry Gentleman
Monty Python: Almost the Truth
My Sister's Keeper
Star Trek
Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Trick 'r Treat
The Ugly Truth
The Way of the Gun

New November Books

November Books

Adventure
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
The Wrecker by Clive Cussler
The Crisis by David Poyer

General Fiction
The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
At Home on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball
I Never Fancied Him Anyway by Claudia Carroll
A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini
Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs
A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor
A Wish for Christmas by Thomas Kinkade
Wishin' and Hopin': a Christmas Story by Wally Lamb
A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott


Historical Fiction
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
New York by Edward Rutherfurd

Horror
Under the Dome by Stephen King

Mystery
Mrs. Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings by Emily Brightwell
Heat Wave by Richard Castle
The Red Velvet Turnshoe by Cassandra Clark
Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle
Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany
Bryant & May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler
What Remains of Heaven: a Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris
Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart
The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page
Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb
Earthway by Aimee Thurlo

Romance
Love Under Cover by Jessica Brody
Rainwater by Sandra Brown
Santa in a Stetson by Janet Dailey
Under the Mistletoe by Linda Howard
Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

Science Fiction/Fantasy
First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt

Short Stories

Ford County by John Grisham
A Good Fall by Ha Jin
Snow Angels by Fern Michaels
A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro


Suspense/Thrillers
Mariposa by Greg Bear
The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw
Ice by Linda Howard
Crush: a Karen Vail Novel by Alan Jacobson
Breathless by Dean Koontz
The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
Broken Jewel by David Robbins
Haiku by Andrew Vachss
Hollywood Moon by Joseph Wambaugh

Urban
Section 8: a Hood Rat Novel by K'wan
Nikki Turner Presents Street Chronicles: Backstage by Nikki Turner

Friday, November 20, 2009

Recommended Reads: What I Thought I Knew

Recommend Reads: What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen (306.874 COH)
Alice has long since reconciled with her infertility. Although she is recently divorced, she is planning to marry her boyfriend who loves her 9-year old adopted daughter as much as she does. At the age of 44, she is finally beginning to feel happiness as she plans her wedding. However, she begins to suffer strange abdominal symptoms from an illness her doctor cannot seem to diagnose. Although the doctor tells her she is not, she begins to suspect she is pregnant. However, the pregnancy test comes back negative. An ultrasound performed for the purpose of looking for a tumor reveals that she is almost 20 weeks pregnant (turns out that a pregnancy test only works in the first trimester). The rest of this incredible story deals with her struggles to accept what a pregnancy means for her at her advanced maternal age, and the real possibility of severe complications to the fetus. This, compounded by the fact that no doctor, even a high-risk pregnancy doctor, would accept her as a patient at such a late stage of the pregnancy. Spell-binding…


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Recommended Reads: After

Recommended Reads: After by Amy Efaw (Y EFA)

After centers on 15 year old Devon Davenport, a straight A student and star soccer player who is arrested and charged with murder after she gives birth and throws the infant in the trash. Devon is sent to a juvenile detention center where she claims she didn't know she was pregnant. A sympathetic lawyer is assigned to Devon's case and the plot hinges on whether Devon will remain in the juvenile system or be tried as an adult (where she could face a life sentence for attempted murder). The book is a swiftly paced page turner that deals compassionately with the horrible phenomenon of "dumpster babies."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Recommended Reads: Little Bee

Recommended Reads: Little Bee by Chris Cleave (FIC CLE)

On a beach in Nigeria, the lives of two very different women intersect. British Sarah Summers is the editor of a successful woman's magazine while Little Bee is a teenage girl from a small Nigerian village. A horrific crime briefly unites these women and has far reaching consequences. The novel begins several years after the tragedy in Nigeria, when Little Bee is released from an immigrant detention center in Britain and sets off to find Sarah, who is trying to cope with turmoil at work and at home. Alternating chapter by chapter between the voices of Little Bee and Sarah, the author skillfully creates two complex female characters. The beautiful prose and thought provoking storyline make Little Bee a rewarding read.

Monday, November 02, 2009

October New DVDs

New DVDs added

October 6
My Life In Ruins
Year One

October 13
Drag Me to Hell
Land of the Lost
The Proposal
The Haunted Airman

October 20
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

October 27
Orphan

Also New to the Chicago Ridge Library
The Burning Bed
Fighting
House of Saddam
My Fair Lady
The Shift
I.O.U.S.A.
Laugh and Learn About Childbirth
WWE: Wrestlemania XXV: 25th Anniversary

October New Books

New Books added

Fiction

General Fiction

War Dances by Sherman Alexie
Though Waters Roar by Lynn N. Austin
Sins of the Father by Angela Benson
Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford
The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
Home For Christmas by Andrew M. Greeley
Last Night In Twisted River by John Irving
Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury
The Pursuit of Other Interests by Jim Kokoris
The Winter Man by Diana Palmer
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry
Somebody Else's Man by Daaimah S. Poole
A Deep Dark Secret by Kimberla Lawson Roby
The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere
Windfall by Penny Vincenzi
The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh

Historical Fiction

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
To Try Men's Souls by Newt Gingrich
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Horror

Poe's Children by Peter Straub
Dracula the Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker

Mystery

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl
Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie
Blackwork by Monica Ferris
Scary Stuff by Sharon Sloan Fiffer
A Fatal Feast by Jessica Fletcher
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle
Locked In by Marcia Muller
Hardball by Sara Paretsky
The Professional by Robert B. Parker
The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell

Romance

Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole
Once in a Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge
Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham
A Wicked Lord at the Wedding by Jillian Hunter
Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Angels at Christmas: Those Christmas Angels/Where Angels Go by Debbie Macomber
Hot on Her Heels by Susan Mallery
A Creed Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
Southern Lights by Danielle Steel
Dirty Old Men (and Other Stories) by Omar Tyree
Covet: a Novel of the Fallen Angels by J.R. Ward

Science Fiction/Fantasy

And Another Thing . . . by Eoin Colfer
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan
Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit by Mercedes Lackey
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
The Ghost King: Transitions, Book III by R.A. Salvatore
Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber
The Golden Shrine by Harry Turtledove
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters

Suspense/Thrillers

True Blue by David Baldacci
Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly
The Gates by John Connolly
The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia D. Cornwell
Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn
The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah
Blood Game: an Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller by Iris Johansen
Evidence: an Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerma
Abandoned by Cody McFadyen
The War After Armageddon by Ralph Peters
Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim by Anne Rice
House of Reckoning by John Saul

Westerns

Other Men's Horses by Elmer Kelton

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Recommended Reads: The Thirteenth Tale

Recommended Reads: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (FIC SET)

With the nights growing colder and longer, November is a perfect time to spend time indoors with The Thirteenth Tale. Book lover Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian bookstore and occasionally writes biographies of obscure writers. One day she receives a letter from famous author Vida Winter inviting Margaret to her crumbling mansion to write her biography. Vida has told many outrageous stories about her past but now she is prepared to tell the truth. As Vida spins her gothic tale of crazy family members, ghosts, and evil twins, Margaret is driven to confront the ghosts of her own past. Reminiscent of romantic ghost stories, like Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca or Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, this suspensful story will keep readers riveted until the last page.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Recommends Reads: Half Broke Horses

Recommended Reads

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Fic Wal)

Born in a dirt dugout in West Texas in 1901, Lily Casey Smith, the heroine of this "true-life novel" lives a truly adventurous life. Growing up on a ranch in the southwest, Lily begins to help her father break half wild horses at the age of six. She becomes a schoolteacher at 15, spends time working menial jobs in Chicago (and marries her "crumb-bum" first husband) and after returning to Arizona races horses, sells bootleg liquor, runs a vast ranch with her second husband, and learns to fly a plane. Recalling the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Half Broke Horses is a fast moving tale about a strong, indomitable woman.


(Read more about the real-life Lily Casey Smith here)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Recommended Reads


Recommended Reads:


What to do about the state of health care in America? This is a question that has been dominating today's headlines. Washington Post journalist Reid approaches the issue from an unique angle--he travels to several countries with different health insurance systems to find relief for his aching shoulder. Along the way, Reid describes the differences among the systems focusing on coverage, cost, and quality. From the private non-profit health insurance plans of France and Germany to the goverment financed National Health Insurance system in Great Britain, Reid visits highly regarded doctors and explores what works and what does not about each plan. This thought provoking book asks the question, "Does a wealthy country have an ethical obligation to provide access to health care for everybody?"

Monday, September 28, 2009

September Fiction

New Books added

Fiction

Adventure

Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler

General Fiction

The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson
Mama Dearest by E. Lynn Harris
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Twisted Tree by Kent Meyers
Vanishing Act by Fern Michaels
No Time to Wave Goodbye by Jacquelyn Mitchard
God Ain't Blind by Mary Monroe
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
Ladies of the Lake by Haywood Smith
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks


Historical Fiction

Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctrow
Blood's a Rover by James Ellroy
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
A Separate Country by Robert Hicks
Stardust by Joseph Kanon
The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet by Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott
Love and Summer by William Trevor
Cottonwood Whispers by Jennifer Erin Valent


Mystery

The Tale of Applebeck Orchard by Susan Wittig Albert
13 1/2 by Nevada Barr
There Goes the Bride by M.C. Beaton
Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark
The Silent Spirit by Margaret Coel
Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins
The Ninth Daughter: an Abigail Adams Mystery by Barbara Hamilton
Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger
The Price of Malice by Archer Mayor
The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith
Gallows Lane by Brian McGilloway
A Drunkard's Path by Clare O'Donohue
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Dark Tiger by William G. Tapply
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Romance
Silent Killer by Beverly Barton
Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan
The Missing by Beverly Lewis
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Lucky Break by Carly Phillips
Windfall: Impulse/Temptation by Nora Roberts
Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs

Science Fiction/Fantasy
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
Green by Ted Dekker
The Phoenix Transformed by Mercedes Lackey
The Quiet War by Paul McAuley
The Vampire Archives by Otto Penzler
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Suspense/Thrillers

Stray Affections by Charlene Baumbich
Evidence of Murder by Lisa Black
Intervention by Terri Blackstock
Capitol Offense by William Bernhardt
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain
Red to Black by Alex Dryden
The Hidden Man by David Ellis
Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane
Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay
Bloodroot by Bill Loehfelm
The Spire by Richard North Patterson
Rough Country by John Sandford
The Night Monster by James Swain
Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods

Monday, July 27, 2009