New Fiction—May  2008

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, by Jack Finney

On a quiet fall evening in the small, peaceful town of Mill Valley, California, Dr. Miles Bennell discovered an insidious, horrifying plot.  Silently, subtly, almost imperceptibly, alien life-forms were taking over the bodies and minds of his neighbors, his friends, his family, the woman he loved—the world as he knew it.

First published in 1955, this classic thriller of the ultimate alien invasion and the triumph of the human spirit over an invisible enemy inspired three major motion pictures.  Call # F Finn

Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes (a new translation by Edith Grossman)

From Publishers Weekly

There would seem to be little reason for yet another translation of Don Quixote. Translated into English some 20 times since the novel appeared in two parts in 1605 and 1615, and at least five times in the last half-century, it is currently available in multiple editions (the most recent is the 1999 Norton Critical Edition translated by Burton Raffel). Yet Grossman bravely attempts a fresh rendition of the adventures of the intrepid knight Don Quixote and his humble squire Sancho Panza. As the respected translator of many of Latin America's finest writers (among them Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa), she is well suited to the task, and her translation is admirably readable and consistent while managing to retain the vigor, sly humor and colloquial playfulness of the Spanish. Erring on the side of the literal, she isn't afraid to turn out clunky sentences; what she loses in smoothness and elegance she gains in vitality. The text is free of archaisms the contemporary reader will rarely stumble over a word and the footnotes (though rather erratically supplied) are generally helpful. Her version easily bests Raffel's ambitious but eccentric and uneven effort, and though it may not immediately supplant standard translations by J.M. Cohen, Samuel Putnam and Walter Starkie, it should give them a run for their money. Against the odds, Grossman has given us an honest, robust and freshly revelatory Quixote for our times.  Call # F Cerv

Charles W. Chesnutt: Stories, Novels, and Essays, by Charles W. Chesnutt (Library of America)

Before Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, before James Weldon Johnson and James Baldwin, Charles W. Chesnutt broke new ground in American literature with his innovative exploration of racial identity and his use of African American speech and folklore. Rejecting his era's genteel hypocrisy about miscegenation, lynching, and "passing," Chesnutt laid bare the deep contradictions at the heart of American attitudes toward race and history, and in the process created the modern African American novel. The Library of America presents the best of Chesnutt's fiction and nonfiction in the largest and most comprehensive edition ever published, featuring a newly researched chronology of the writer's life.  Call # F Ches

Song of Erin, by B.J. Hoff

The mysteries of the past confront the secrets of the present in bestselling author BJ Hoff’s magnificent Song of Erin saga.

In her own unique style, Hoff spins a panoramic story that crosses the ocean from Ireland to America, featuring two of her most memorable characters. In this tale of struggle and love and uncompromising faith, Jack Kane, the always charming but sometimes ruthless titan of New York’s most powerful publishing empire, is torn between the conflict of his own heart and the grace and light of Samantha Harte, the woman he loves, whose own troubled past continues to haunt her. Originally published to strong sales nearly a decade ago, this new edition combines two of BJ’s best novels into one saga-length volume.  Call # F Hoff

Mummy Dearest (Claire Malloy Mysteries, #17), by Joan Hess

After a somewhat long and, at times, strange courtship, Claire Malloy -- a single, widowed mother of a teenage daughter and a bookseller in Farberville, Arkansas - has finally said 'I do' to her swain, Lt. Peter Rosen of the Farberville Police Department. Now they are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. Well, Claire is on her honeymoon - accompanied by Caron, her teenaged daughter, and Inez, Caron's best friend and frequent partner in adventure. Peter is mostly away on various mysterious consultations with equally mysterious government agencies is his new, completely undiscussed, role in law enforcement.

Staying at the glamorous Winter Palace in Luxor, Claire is intent on a quiet, uneventful honeymoon involving shopping, tourist sites, and, when it can’t avoided, drinks with the local British expatriate contingent. But despite her determined efforts to avoid any involvement in criminous events, the tenor of the trip quickly switches from bucolic to creepy.  First, Caron and Inez are chased through darkened deserted alleys by persons unknown. Then a blond college student of their recent acquaintance is kidnapped by two young men on horseback in a scene reminiscent of a Rudolf Valentino film. Something is clearly afoot in this tourist paradise, and now Claire will stop at nothing to find out what.  Call # F Hess

Viewpoints Critical: Selected Stories, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This impressive collection of reprints dating back to 1973 and a handful of new stories displays Modesitt's breadth of experience and knowledge to great effect. The Great American Economy mocks those who micromanage the national economy for political advantage. Rule of Law elegantly revives the age-old topic of computerized justice. Iron Man, Plastic Ships draws powerfully on Modesitt's experience as a navy helicopter pilot in Vietnam, as does The Swan Pilot, a modernized fairy tale with a twist. Beyond the Obvious Wind connects with the Corean Chronicles as Black Ordermage and Sisters of Sarronnyn, Sisters of Westwind do with the Recluce saga. As in Modesitt's novels, eloquent prose and skilled characterization are evident, only slightly diminished by occasional outbreaks of slow pacing. Readers will find this an excellent showcase of a very fine writer's highest quality work. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Call # F Mode

Postsingular, by Rudy Rucker

From Publishers Weekly
Alt-cultural folk strive to save Earth from digitized doom in this novel from the prince of gonzo SF. A computer mogul's threat to replace messy reality with clean virtuality and by a memory-hungry artificial intelligence called the Big Pig propels nanotechnologist Ond Lutter, his autistic son, Chu, and their allies on an interdimensional quest for a golden harp, the Lost Chord, strung with hypertubes that can unroll the eighth dimension and unleash limitless computing power. Though he tries to unite the hard and the fuzzy sides of physics, Rucker (Mathematicians in Love) favors the flower power of San Francisco over the number crunching of Silicon Valley. His novel vibrates with the warm rhythms of dream and imagination, not the cold logic of programming (or, for that matter, plotting). Playing with the math of quantum computing, encryption and virtual reality, Rucker places his faith in people who find true reality gnarly enough to love.  Call # F Ruck

Keeper of Dreams: Short Stories, by Orson Scott Card

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Multiple Hugo- and Nebula-winner Card offers short, revealing commentaries on these 22 compelling short stories, novelettes, and novellas, noting that short work has inspired some of his best and best-known long fiction. These short science fiction, fantasy and literary stories, along with a handful of Hatrack River tales (related to the Alvin Maker series) and four stories written by a Mormon, about Mormon culture, for Mormon readers, illustrate Card's fascination with complex child protagonists, touchingly portrayed in Inventing Lovers on the Phone; absorption with moral dilemmas, wrapped up in family love and tensions in Worthy to Be One of Us; and new views of old traditions, familiar and discomfiting in Homeless in Hell and Christmas at Helaman's House. Card intended several of the included stories, like the powerful In the Dragon's House, to open novels not yet written, but even on their own they provide significant examples of his perennial themes: morality, salvation and redemption. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Call # F Card

We Shall Not Sleep, by Anne Perry

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The depth and passion of Perry's fifth and final volume in her acclaimed WWI series won't disappoint readers who have followed this engrossing and moving tale from its inception with No Graves as Yet. In the last days of the war, the Reavley family—Joseph, an army chaplain; his brother, Matthew, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service; and their sister, Judith, an ambulance driver—find themselves together in the mud, blood and trenches of Flanders. Throughout the series, the three have been locked in a deadly struggle with someone they call the Peacemaker, who they believe is a high government official who had their parents murdered in his quest to involve England in an odious peace effort with Germany. A breakthrough arrives with a German officer who's willing to go to England and reveal to the authorities the identity and mission of the Peacemaker, though the family must first solve the mystery of a murdered nurse before unmasking the Peacemaker. At the finish, Perry neatly and satisfactorily ties up all the loose ends from the preceding novels.  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Call # F Perr

Icing on the Cake, by Laura Castoro

From Booklist

The author of A New Lu (2005) returns with a tale of two businesses run by one woman. After her husband left her for the much younger Brandi, Liz Talbot throws herself into her burgeoning venture, the No-Bagel Bakery. Liz is hoping, despite the lingering fear of all things containing carbs, that her store will succeed nationally and be made into a franchise. But ex-hubby Teddy manages to throw a wrench in her plans when he has a fatal fall while on a mountain bike ride with his new wife. Liz is stunned to learn he hasn't changed his will, leaving her in charge of Talbot Advertising, the company they built together. Brandi is none too pleased, and immediately gets an injunction, forcing the unlikely pair to work together. Castoro's winning tale of a woman coming into her own in midlife will no doubt make fans of readers searching for novels that go beyond the usual focus of chick lit. Kristine Huntley. Copyright © American Library Association.   Call # F Cast

New NonFiction—May 2007

Bringing Nature Home:  How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, by Douglas W. Tallamy

From Booklist

Tallamy takes an obvious observation—wildlife is threatened when suburban development encroaches on once wild lands—and weds it to a novel one: that beneficial insects are being deprived of essential food resources when suburban gardeners exclusively utilize nonnative plant material. Such an imbalance, Tallamy declares, can lead to a weakened food chain that will no longer be able to support birds and other animal life. Once embraced only by members of the counterculture, the idea of gardening with native plants has been landscape design's poor stepchild, thought to involve weeds and other plants too unattractive for pristine suburban enclaves. Not so, says Tallamy, who presents compelling arguments for aesthetically pleasing, ecologically healthy gardening. With nothing less than the future of North American biodiversity at stake, Tallamy imparts an encouraging message: it's not too late to save the ecosystem-sustaining matrix of insects and animals, and the solution is as easy as replacing alien plants with natives.  Call # 639.9 Tall

 Human Smoke: The eginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, by Nicholson Baker

Bestselling author Nicholson Baker, recognized as one of the most dexterous and talented writers in America today, has created a compelling work of nonfiction bound to provoke discussion and controversy -- a wide-ranging, astonishingly fresh perspective on the political and social landscape that gave rise to World War II.

Human Smoke delivers a closely textured, deeply moving indictment of the treasured myths that have romanticized much of the 1930s and '40s. Incorporating meticulous research and well-documented sources -- including newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, and diaries -- the book juxtaposes hundreds of interrelated moments of decision, brutality, suffering, and mercy. Vivid glimpses of political leaders and their dissenters illuminate and examine the gradual, horrifying advance toward overt global war and Holocaust.

Praised by critics and readers alike for his exquisitely observant eye and deft, inimitable prose, Baker has assembled a narrative within Human Smoke that unfolds gracefully, tragically, and persuasively. This is an unforgettable book that makes a profound impact on our perceptions of historical events and mourns the unthinkable loss humanity has borne at its own hand.   Call # 940.5311 Bake

 The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, by Eric Weiner

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Fortified with Eeyoreish fatalism—I'm already unhappy. I have nothing to lose—Weiner set out on a yearlong quest to find the world's unheralded happy places. Having worked for years as an NPR foreign correspondent, he'd gone to many obscure spots, but usually to report bad news or terrible tragedies. Now he'd travel to countries like Iceland, Bhutan, Qatar, Holland, Switzerland, Thailand and India to try to figure out why residents tell positive psychology researchers that they're actually quite happy. At his first stop, Rotterdam's World Database of Happiness, Weiner is confronted with a few inconvenient truths. Contrary to expectations, neither greater social equality nor greater cultural diversity is associated with greater happiness. Iceland and Denmark are very homogeneous, but very happy; Qatar is extremely wealthy, but Weiner, at least, found it rather depressing. He wasn't too fond of the Swiss, either, uncomfortable with their quiet satisfaction, tinged with just a trace of smugness. In the end, he realized happiness isn't about economics or geography. Maybe it's not even personal so much as relational. In the end, Weiner's travel tales—eating rotten shark meat in Iceland, smoking hashish in Rotterdam, trying to meditate at an Indian ashram—provide great happiness for his readers.  Call # 910.4 Wein

The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide, by Mary Lou & Robert J. Heiss

From Publishers Weekly

Purveyors of fine tea, the Heisses' documentary dexterously weaves through the wars, economic upheavals and embargoes surrounding what was once considered the elixir of immortality. Though tea usage may predate written history, evidence suggests that Camellia sinensis's invigorating leaves were first cultivated centuries ago in the tea gardens of indigenous minorities in Northwestern China and along the Indian, Myanmar and Tibetan borders. Chinese monks recognized the energizing effects and medicinal value of this evergreen plant and, by touting its benefits, ignited a thirst for tea that quickly spread west via oceangoing tea clippers and along the Silk Road. The famed East India Company flourished, teatime became social tradition, and cream and sugar were found to balance tea's astringency. In this guide, the Heisses outline at length the production process from tea bush to tea cup, along with the nuances of regional varietals like China's sweet green tea and India's Darjeeling. An engaging historical and cultural study, this guide is geared toward both novice and consummate consumers intrigued by the world's 2,000-year-old tea habit.  Call # 641.3372 Heis

King’s Gambit: A Son, a father, and the World’s Most Dangerous Game, by Paul Hoffman

rom Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Hoffman's masterful, exhaustive tale of chess, its soaring triumphs and crushing discontents is filled with enough international intrigue and warped, shady characters to pass for the latest James Bond sequel. Along with the stereotypical lunatic Russian grandmasters (the normally even-keeled Russian asked that his chair be X-rayed and dismantled to make sure [Bobby] Fischer hadn't implanted a harmful radiation emitter inside it), chess-crazed Bulgarians, Canadians, Libyans and the occasional American plow through the contemporary chess world in search of victory. In clear, thoughtful prose, Hoffman (The Man Who Loved Only Numbers) describes the players—([Short] doesn't glare at his adversary, slam down the rooks, twist the knights into the board, rock back and forth, tap his feet or pace the tournament hall snorting like a feral animal) and the game ( On the seventeenth move, Vaganian made an impressive rook sacrifice to break up the advanced pawns in front of Joel's king and launch an attack). Hoffman's only misstep is to set the whole enterprise up as his own father-and-son conflict, a sticky memoir structure that detracts from the built-in appeal of the larger story. Otherwise, Hoffman has achieved something singular; a winning, book about the royal game that will satisfy the general reader, kibitzer and grandmaster alike.   Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Call # 794.1 Hoff

Spooky Campfire Tales: Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Supernatural Lore, retold by S.E. Schlosser

Unfold a camp chair, huddle close to the fire, and get ready for thirty creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences from times past. Set deep in the woods where no sane person would dare to go, along murky bottomless lakes, and on cobblestone streets that empty before sundown, the

stories in this entertaining and compelling collection will have you looking over your shoulder again and again.

Bone-chilling, frightful folklore traditions are kept alive in these expert retellings by master storyteller S. E. Schlosser and through artist Paul Hoffman’s evocative illustrations. You'll meet ghosts and witches, hear things that go bump in the night, and feel an icy wind on the back of your neck even as you inch

closer to the crackling, glowing embers. Whether read in a group around the campfire on a dark and silent night or alone with a flashlight from the safety of your sleeping bag, this is a collection to treasure.  Call # 398.2 Schl

Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding, by Scott Weidensaul

From Publishers Weekly

Weidensaul (Return to Wild America) traces bird watching in America from colonial times to the present, when powerful binoculars and other sophisticated technologies have revolutionized the sport. He entertainingly describes many early naturalists who shot and collected birds, including Mark Catesby, John and William Bartram, some military men and an intrepid woman named Martha Maxwell. By the late 19th century, when entire bird populations had been decimated for sport, food and the millinery trade, formidable society ladies began demanding avian protection, the Audubon Society was created and recreational birding, featuring binoculars instead of guns, was born, aided by the emergence of field guides like Roger Tory Peterson's. Today, says Weidensaul, there are millions of birders in the United States, and the sport has entered a new phase, emphasizing competitive birding, lists, rarity chasing and Big Year records. For Weidensaul, this is not a good thing. He finds that people who concentrate on competition and listing often forget the enjoyment of mere observation and the importance of conservation. A naturalist and federally licensed bird bander, he is passionate about birding. His vivid descriptions of his own experiences should send many a reader out of doors to look for the small, contained miracle that is a bird.    Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Call # 598 Weid

Garden Your City, by Barbara Hobens Feldt

Barbara Hobens Feldt is the founder and director of Friends of Pier 84’s decentralized Manhattan Botanical Garden. Her efforts, which include planting native species and organizing volunteers, have transformed neglected urban spaces into people-friendly, and educational gardens. Feldt is an active member of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta and of her block association. She has volunteered for the City of New York Parks and Recreation Department, earning park warden status, joined the Clinton Community Garden, organized Adopt-A-Tree programs, established planting beds in local parks, and solicited grants for plants, irrigation systems, fences, and soil improvement. Feldt is a gifted gardener, an articulate, ardent speaker, and an active member of the nationwide urban gardening community. She lives in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.  Gardening has been perpetually challenging in urban areas. 'Garden Your City' shows how to overcome these obstacles with ease.  It offers solutions, support, and resources for urbanites who would love to grow their own flowers and vegetables or who want to join or initiate community gardening efforts.

Changing Works: Visions of a Lost Agriculture, by Douglas Harper

From Library Journal
"Changing works" refers to the common practice of farm neighbors exchanging and combining their labor to do large jobs such as threshing and haying. In the United States, this tradition had died by the mid-20th century owing to technological advances in farm machinery and other factors. Here, Harper (sociology, Duquesne Univ.) documents the resulting social, economic, and environmental changes via interviews with a number of dairy farmers from upstate New York. He focuses on life in the Northeast, especially New York state, with discussions of farm machinery and the switch from horses to tractors, harvesting, dairying, gender roles in farming, and, of course, changing works. Also discussed are old (mid-century) photographs of typical farm work, nearly 100 of which are reproduced here, along with numerous photographs taken more recently by the author. Harper concludes that while modern technology has greatly reduced the amount of backbreaking human labor required, much has been lost socially and environmentally in the continuing trend toward larger and fewer farms.  Call # 630.973 Harp

Words without Borders: the World Through the Eyes of Writers, ed. By Samantha Schnee

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In his introduction, Andre Dubus III points out that, in a time when globalization is a fact of life, and only 6% of books in translation are translated into English, there exists "fertile territory for misunderstanding, unresolved conflict, and yes, war." Luckily, this timely literary collection from the editors of wordswithoutborders.org brings the world, freshly translated, to curious English speakers everywhere, picking up where their Literature from the Axis of Evil left off. In this new anthology, 27 well-known authors (Günter Grass, Jonathan Safran Foer, Naguib Mahfouz, etc.) were asked to recommend work by a favorite non-English writer. Choices span the globe, including Haiti (Evelyne Trouillot), Norway (Johan Harstad), Bosnia (Senadin Musabegovi) and Palestine (Adania Shibli). Ma Jian sets his breathtaking chase of a short story in modern-day China, Jo Kyung Ran deals with family and identity in Korea, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma's gripping, forceful story gives voice to children making their homes in Indonesian gutters. Top-notch writers, editors, and translators have created a stimulating, acutely relevant collection that readers will want to take their time enjoying.    Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.   Call # 808.83 Word