Staff Review: Death Without Cause

Wahlert High School and University of Iowa graduate Pamela Klauer Triolo now lives in Texas.  When she emailed the Library last summer to ask if we’d like to accept a copy of her first novel, I was pleased to find Death Without Cause was already on our shelves.  Now that I’ve read her book, I’m equally glad to report that I want to read The Imposter, the next title in her planned series of health care mysteries featuring nurse Santos Rosa, but it doesn’t have a release date yet.

Robin Cook and Tess Gerritsen are authors of medical thrillers I’ve read in the past.  Pamela Triolo compares favorably; a bit less graphic and a touch more cozy.  All three authors use their medical backgrounds to give an insiders’ view of health care settings, professional ethics and politics. 

The first chapter of Death Without Cause begins with Santos and fellow nurse Patrick Sullivan facing a tense code blue emergency when a local public figure scheduled for a routine knee replacement begins hemorrhaging.  The following chapters alternate from Santos’ point-of-view to the thoughts of an unnamed hospital employee who is plotting a deadly game for patients.  I like that many of the chapters are relatively short; some are less than a page long.

Triolo’s cast of characters and well-plotted storyline kept me absorbed.  The good guys weren’t perfect, and the bad guy wasn’t inexplicably evil.  His motivation, if not his identity, was revealed as the story progressed.  There was a balance in not only the characters, but the action as well.  Details of Santos’ family life and friendships counter the riveting medical action.  Triolo’s time spent working in hospital is evident in her knowledgeable account of how staff respond to unexpected and unexplained problems for patients.  If I ever end up in a critical care situation, I’d want a team like Santos’ co-workers from the Texas Medical Center in my corner. 

The descriptions of Houston reinforce my desire to visit Texas someday; I’d like to attend the Nutcracker Market.  Maybe Pamela Triolo will be there autographing copies of her next book.

 - Michelle, Adult Services

February Magazines of the Month: Mental Floss & Macworld

Mental Floss is a magazine of entertaining trivia, puzzles, intellectual humor, and general edutainment. The magazine was started by two students at Duke University, and has been publishing eight issues a year since 2001. Regular contributors include A.J. Jacobs, Ken Jennings, and John Green. Their website and blog is packed with even more wacky entertainment:  mentalfloss.com

Mental Floss is one of the titles available through our collection of Zinio downloadable magazines.

Macworld is the oldest continuously published magazine specific to the world of Mac products, with their first issue appearing in 1984. Between their print issues, their website (www.macworld.com), and their weekly podcast, Macworld will keep you up to date on all things Apple.

Macworld is also available through our collection of Zinio downloadable magazines.

What to do when you've finished "The Empty Hearse"?

If, like me, you've been waiting for PBS to air the latest season of Sherlock, you'll probably understand the dread in anticipating the wait for series four. That's why we put together some reading and viewing suggestions to help keep you entertained (when you aren't rewatching the first three seasons).

Sherlock, a co-production with the BBC, takes the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and reworks them for the modern world. Dr. Watson has a blog, and Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) has amazing cheekbones. Each episode is more like a short film than a typical TV episode, which contributes to the years fans have had to wait for the second and third seasons.

We've tackled some of the many variations on Holmes's story on the blog before, and the field is likely to only become more crowded, now that much of Doyle's writing is in the public domain. If you're looking for a fun comparison, Elementary is another series that updates the mythology of Sherlock Holmes to the present day. Though in this version, Holmes lives in New York City, and Watson is played by Lucy Liu.

Reading suggestions for fans of Sherlock:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This moving story about a teen, Christopher, who employs the methods of Sherlock Holmes to investigate the vicious murder of his neighbor's dog. Christopher's autism makes it difficult for him to understand the people around him, but his focus leads him to uncover a dark secret in his own family.

The Devotion of Suspect X  by Keigo Higashino
This award-winning Japanese mystery tells an intricately plotted tale of cat and mouse. Ishigami, a solitary math teacher, helps his attractive neighbor cover up the murder of her abusive ex-husband. A crime complicated when Dr. Yukawa, Ishigami's successful rival, enters the investigation.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
As the end of the world approaches in the form of an asteroid, Detective Hank Palace is focused on his first murder case. Offbeat and intricately plotted, readers will appreciate Palace's outsider perspective.

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
A darkly convoluted plot drives this character-driven mystery set in 17th century England. The conflicting perspectives, the complex politics, and the changing understanding of medicine adds to the tension.

Staff Review: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Presented with an unexpected day off last week when the cold and a burst pipe closed the library on Tuesday, I did the only reasonable thing: read a great book.

Ancillary Justice is the first novel by prolific short story author, Ann Leckie. The wonder of this book is how Leckie created a story that was both familiar and unexpected. A character who is an AI, even an AI who is a ship, is a classic of the Science Fiction genre. What makes the story feel fresh is Leckie's attention to world building and characterization.

As a reader, I'm drawn to stories of grandly imagined, future civilizations grounded by the perspectives and experiences of a few characters, or space opera in the best sense of the term. Ancillary Justice is a perfect example of what I'm looking for when I want a space opera. Justice of Toren, a 2000 year-old war ship created by the Radch Imperium, makes for a compelling narrator: she is both an outsider and someone who knows the culture intimately.

The plot starts with Justice of Toren posing as a human named Breq as she nears the end of a decades long quest, and is unexpectedly confronted by someone she knew centuries ago. Through alternating chapters, you're introduced to the pieces of her past that have brought Justice of Toren to the frozen, backwater planet of Nilt. 

Ancillary Justice is a solid foundation for a proposed trilogy, and Leckie provides an intriguing introduction to a large and dangerous universe. From the complex internal politics of the Radch to the ominous threat of the alien Presger, I'm eager for the next book to come out. I've checked her website, and there's no date as yet, but that's what our Author Alerts feature is for.

If you're looking for something else to read in the mean time, I suggest checking out:

Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. Not a series proper, but a loosely connected collection of novels and short stories that give an anthropologist's eye view to the future. Start with The Left Hand of Darkness, which provides a similarly unique perspective on gender.

Iain M Banks's Culture series. With intricate plots and complex world building, it's easy for the reader to lose themselves in the Culture Universe. As an added appeal, some of the characters are vast AI intelligences (even starships).

~Sarah, Adult Services

January Magazines of the Month

Our January magazines of the month are Essence and Ebony. You can stop in to Carnegie-Stout and read the latest issues, or check out issues from past months to enjoy at home!

 

Essence magazine began publication in the 1970s, and is today owned by Time, Inc.  Essence is a fashion and lifestyle magazine for African-American women. The magazine organizes and sponsors the yearly Essence Festival in New Orleans every July, featuring a line-up of prominent African-American musicians and cultural figures. You can check out more about the magazine on their website: www.essence.com

 

John H. Johnson of Chicago, Illinois began publication of Ebony, which features coverage of African-American celebrities and politicians, in 1945. Mr. Johnson was also the founder of Jet (magazine of the month in January 2012) which has news features, along with features on celebrities and dating, diet, fashion, and other advice. You can read more about Jet and Ebony on their website: www.ebonyjet.com

Reading Resolution, 2013

In 2012 I made a reading resolution for New Year's: listen to at least one audiobook each month. It turned out to be so much fun that I decided to set a new reading resolution for 2013: read at least one mystery novel each month.

As much as I enjoyed adding audiobooks to my reading routine, it seems that mysteries just aren't my genre. While I greatly enjoy books that incorporate elements of mystery and suspense, if the main focus of a story is whodunit I'm done with it the minute that I solve the puzzle. The result is that I checked out a number of mysteries this year, but only read a few cover to cover. Below I've listed the ones that I enjoyed the most.

Suspect by Robert Crais
I started my year off with the newest title by Robert Crais, Suspect. Crais is known for his series of hardboiled mysteries featuring Elvis Cole, an LA private eye. I wasn't looking to jump into a series though, so I was happy to see that Suspect is a stand alone title. It's a suspenseful and fast-paced tale of a LAPD cop, Scott James, who is hunting for the men who killed his partner.  James is aided in his investigation by his new partner, Maggie, a German Shepard. Maggie carries her own wounds from her deployment in Afghanistan. I liked this book so much that I've already blogged about it once, and I went and bought a copy for my mom to read.

Invisible Murder by Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis
Invisible Murder is actually the second book in a series, I recommended the first, The Boy in the Suitcase, in an earlier blog post. While you could certainly jump into this series with the second book, if you skip the first, though, you'll miss a lot of the character development. This fast-paced, gritty series is the product of Danish coauthors Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis. Nina isn't a detective, she's a dedicated nurse, who finds herself unable to balance the pressures of her job working with refugees for the Red Cross with her life as a wife and mother.


The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes is known for writing humorous chick-lit, not mysteries, but! with a title like The Mystery of Mercy Close and a main character who is a private investigator, I'm going to go ahead and count this as a mystery. Because this is the fifth novel in her series following the Walsh sisters, that means I have four other books to read and enjoy. Helen Walsh is struggling with a bout of suicidal depression, a new relationship, and a missing person case involving a former boy band (that her ex is managing). I listened to the audiobook, and Irish narrator Caroline Lennon provided a clear and lively delivery.


The Last Policeman by Ben Winters
At first glance, the premise of a setting where there are only six months until the end of the world might seem unbearably depressing, and that isn't wrong. The Last Policeman, first of a trilogy, is not a cheerful book, but there is something hopeful in the story. Hank Palace was promoted to detective shortly after the announcement that the asteroid Maia is on an unavoidable collision course with Earth. Hank has dreamed of being a detective since he was a kid, but trying to solve his first murder in the chaos of looming disaster is nothing like he expected. The plot is fast-paced and twisted, but it's the characters that make the story shine. Even the characters who don't rate names are vividly alive, and it's terrible to think how they'll all be dead so very soon.


Trying to read 12 mysteries in 2013 left me feeling pressured (self-imposed goal or no), but I never would've discovered these books without reading books outside my comfort zone. I want to keep pushing my reading interests, so for 2014, I plan to explore the world of superhero comics. It's hard to tell where to start with a genre that's been building backstory for decades, but luckily I have coworkers to help guide me on my journey.

Staff Review, picture books for people who like chickens

Since I am a certified chicken geek, here are two more reviews of picture books featuring hens who have adventures.

Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo and Harry Bliss

Louise was bored with life in the chicken coop.  She went to sea and was saved from becoming dinner for pirates by a storm.  After seven days at sea Louise returned home, but not for long.  She became a high wire act in a circus until a close call with a lion made her miss the safety of the henhouse.  Louise decided to visit a faraway bazaar for her next trip.  When a fortune-teller said a dark stranger was in her future, Louise didn’t know that meant the stranger would kidnap and imprison her with a bunch of other chickens.  She picked the lock and freed the hens, who made her miss her home.  Her flock mates asked where she had been, and Louise told them of her travels.

While I found the main character appealing if not fully developed, the plot elements stretched my credulity.  Maybe the supporting characters will have larger roles in future installments.

Daisy Come Home by Jan Brett

Like Louise, Daisy longed for adventure.  As the smallest hen in Mei Mei’s flock, Daisy was picked and pecked by the other chickens.  One dark and rainy night, Daisy decided she had had enough and went outside to find a place to sleep away from the flock.  She didn’t realize the market basket she used for her nest would float away down the river.  Along her journey Daisy encountered a dangerous dog, a wallowing water buffalo, monkeys, and a fisherman who thought he would sell Daisy at market along with his fish.  When Mei Mei went to market to sell eggs, a friend told her that a fisherman had a basket from her farm.  No spoiler alert needed; you’ll have to read the book to learn the outcome.

Daisy’s story is more realistic than Louise’s, both in its plot and illustrations. The relationship between Mei Mei and Daisy adds depth to the characterizations.  The setting of Daisy Come Home is more limited than the broader scope of Louise’s exploits, but I particularly enjoy its local color.  Both reviewed titles offer a similar perspective; a weltanschauung from a chicken-eye view.  I recommend both stories for fans of chick lit.

 - Michelle, Adult Services

Our Favorite Books of 2013, part two

It's time once again for the staff of Carnegie-Stout Public Library to pick our favorite books of 2013. It's a mix of books new in 2013, and books new to us in 2013. This is the second half of our list, you can check out the first set of our favorite books of 2013 by clicking here. If you're wondering what other patrons have been reading this year, you can check out the What Dubuque is Reading Pinterest Board. We'd love it if you'd share your favorite books from this past year in the comments

Andrea, Circulation: Growing up, I did not read many books that are considered “the traditional classics.” Trying that now as an adult, I finally picked up To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Published in 1960 and set in the South, this is a time that I do not know very well.  Aware of this fact, I wanted to keep reading it once I started.  Seeing the world through the eyes of Scout and Jem in 1930s Alabama, I was able to learn many lessons about inequality and justice.  I can't imagine this is how people used to live, yet this was a normal occurrence to them with change slow in coming.   Now I am finally able to understand all of the nuances brought out by this book in the world today and how many actual Boo Radleys there are in our own lives.  I am now thankful for my first journey into the classics and I am waiting for my next trip very soon. 

Amy, Youth Services: Pure Trilogy by Julianna Baggott (Pure, Fuse, and Burn): These books take place during the post-apocalyptic future world.  A cataclysmic event has happened and all of the people outside the "dome" suffer from fusing's of materials and other people that were near them at the time.  Pressia has a doll head fused to her hand.  She meets up with Partridge who is an escaped "pure" dome-dweller.  Together they brave the desolate and treacherous countryside to find her mother that she is sure survived the cataclysm.  They also search for the secret that will free the Wretches (those outside the dome) of their fusing's forever.  I'm anxiously awaiting the 3rd installment of this trilogy.  It's due to be released in February 2014.  I liked the fast pace of these books and the intriguing story.
You might also enjoy checking out Allison's review of Pure.

Sarah, Adult Services: It's hard to pick just one book for this list, which is why it's nice that I get to post reviews for my favorites throughout the year.  Even so, I'm picking two books. A friend insisted that World War Z by Max Brooks was worth reading despite the zombies, and while I did have zombie themed nightmares, it was an amazing audiobook. It's a full cast recording, so each narrator who shares their experiences in the zombie war has a unique voice and character. Zombie stories, like much of science fiction, are used as metaphors for the problems in modern society, and Brooks does a brilliant job of that. My second choice is The Human Division by John Scalzi. I read this in a standard print copy, as opposed to its original release as a series of short stories. I think this was the strongest title in his Old Man's War series, but I'm a sucker for collections of interconnected short stories. If I have a complaint, it's that the ending is a little too open, but I'm hopeful that means there will be a book six.

Michelle, Adult Services: Jan Brett's brand new book Cinders: a chicken Cinderella is my Christmas present to myself.  Cinderella is not my favorite fairy tale, but Jan Brett's spin on the story and her illustrations are incredible.  The four page center foldout is a magical ballroom scene that gives new meaning to "chicken dance"!  I love looking at the details in the borders around each set of pages.  Brett knows chickens; this is evident in her drawings and her description of the flock's pecking order.  Cinders, her Cinderella, reminds me of Doofus and Dorcas, my Silver Gray Dorking hens.

Angie, Circulation: The House of Hades is the 4th book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan– a secondary series that follows the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Much like the Harry Potter series, the heroic adventures in this book appeal to a wide audience - middle-grade through adult readers. For those unfamiliar with the Percy Jackson world - the setting is the modern world, with a twist: The gods of Olympus (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc.) and the monsters of mythology like giants, the Titans and Tartarus, are real and causing chaos) and it is the job of a group of 7 demi-gods (teens who have one mortal parent, one godly parent) to defeat those monsters who are out to destroy the human race. This book takes a darker turn than some of the other books in the series, but the demigod characters really come into their own in this book. With humor and daring, the demigods come to believe that they might be able to pull off the impossible when they work as a team.I listened to the audiobook version of this book– and the performance by narrator Nick Chamian was commendable. I highly recommend anyone listen to the entire series on audiobook. The stories are exciting and funny.

Emily, Youth Services: Gulp by Mary Roach. One would not expect a "journey through the alimentary canal," which is what we now call the digestive tract, to be an enjoyable, let alone funny, read but it is! The subject is well researched with both historical and modern references. Mary Roach covers every - yes, every - aspect of the digestive process with facts, stories, and humor. Gulp is a thorough yet light-hearted examination of a serious and often unpleasant subject.

Our Favorite Books of 2013, part one

It's time once again for the staff of Carnegie-Stout Public Library to pick our favorite books of 2013. It's a mix of books new in 2013, and books new to us in 2013. And if you just can't get enough of librarian reading suggestions, check out the Twitter hashtag #libfaves13 for the favorite reads of librarians across the nation and around the world. We'd love it if you'd share your favorite books from this past year in the comments!

You can browse our favorite books from past years here:
Staff Picks 2011, new books
Staff Picks 2011
Staff Picks 2012, part one
Staff Picks 2012, part two

 

Andrew, Adult Services: I’d love this book even if it was just a chunk of paper bound together as an excuse to print the clever title, but it quickly becomes apparent that Ryan North knows Hamlet very well and is quite aware of the bizarre genius of making a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book out of what may be the most famous example of literary indecision. North’s humor is gleeful and smart, alternating between Dungeons & Dragons references and insightful critique of the play. His wry commentary on the treatment of Ophelia is particularly enjoyable. I’ll be playing around in these 600+ pages for some time to come!

Jackie, Circulation: Drinking and Tweeting by Brandi Glanville is exactly what I expected it to be and more! It is an honest, sad, hysterical, sarcastic account of Brandi's life. This book shares her ups, downs, and everywhere (and I do mean everywhere) in between! It is a candid account of her life before Real Housewives of Orange County and her separation from her cheating husband (Eddie Cibrian). She speaks openly about dealing with the loss of her relationship, having a woman move in on her life and children (LeAnn Rimes), reinventing herself, and getting back into the dating world. She briefly discusses her spot on the Real Housewives show but it is not the driving force of the book by any means. This is a great, funny, quick read! If you have ever had relationship blunders you will surely relate to Brandi!

Mary, Youth Services: My favorite read in 2013 was The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Kelsey Moore. Excellent book with touching stories and a big splash of humor. It's about the enduring bond of three high school friends though the ups and downs of life. Reminded me of the nostalgia settings in the Fannie Flagg's books.

Laura, Circulation: The Legend of Broken by Caleb Carr. This is a truly unique historical novel with the feel of a fantasy even without any supernatural elements.  Although mostly speculative, it feels natural and believable, mysteriously set . . . somewhere . . . in a post-Roman Europe, in a dangerous culture that has maybe sown the seeds of its own destruction.  Precise, flowing prose and a jaw-dropping plot twist made this my favorite book of the year.  I've never read anything else like it!

Mike, Adult Services: A book I enjoyed this year was Mississippi Solo: A River Quest by Eddy L. Harris. It was published in 1988 and is out of print, so I bought a used paperback copy on eBay. When he was 30, Harris canoed the length of the Mississippi River by himself, and his book takes readers along on the three-month journey, from camping on sandbars to locking through dams to exploring quirky river towns like Dubuque, where Harris ate Yen Cheng egg rolls under the Town Clock. Harris's bubbliness is weird, and he goes overboard with his anthropomorphic descriptions of the river, but his book reminded me of my younger days when I lived three blocks from Ol' Man River in Savanna, Illinois, especially the days I spent with friends in flat-bottom boats. Now at 60, Harris is raising money to paddle the river again, this time with documentary filmmakers in tow: www.eddyharris.com. If Harris makes it back to Yen Cheng, his crew is bound to shoot some interesting footage. If not, he has at the very least inspired one aging river-rat wannabe to save up for a canoe.

Allison, Adult Services: I picked up Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block expecting a standard YA end-of-the-world survival story, with some teenage love drama thrown in. While there is a world-ending catastrophe and romance, the book was anything but standard. Drawing on Homer's "Odyssey" (which, I'll be honest, I only skimmed in high school. It isn't necessary to be familiar with the tales, but, I appreciated Block's book more after a little review) the story begins when a cataclysmic earthquake destroys the West Coast and a wall of water sweeps seventeen-year-old Penelope's family away. After narrowly escaping death at the hands of looters, Pen sets off on a perilous journey to find her family, encountering human-devouring giants, sirens,  lotus-eaters and witches, and gathering three companions to aid her quest. Magic and the fantastic is woven throughout the narrative, which skims back and forth from Pen's present journey to her life before the Earth Shaker, when she was just on the precipice of discovering her sexuality. Even though the book wasn't at all what I though it was, I was enchanted by the magical realism and love that suffused the story.

Lisa, Circulation: Historical fiction is my favorite genre, so I really enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford. I learned about part of American history that I never really knew about before. Set in Seattle during World War II, the story centers around the evacuation of Japanese Americans to internment camps hundreds of miles away from their homes. They are denied their belongings and the lives they have established there. It is a story of a shamful part of American hisotry, but also of family ties and bonds between fathers and sons. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. 

Amy, Youth Services, The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier (Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, and Emerald Green): Gwen has inherited the time-travel gene from her ancestors.  She travels through time in London with Gideon, another time-traveler, to search for the "Circle of Twelve" which are other time-travelers and find out what her own destiny is.  She is the Ruby in the Circle of Twelve and once all the pieces of the puzzle are put together, her own destiny will be revealed.  These books were very interesting and had a refreshing story that separates it from all the similarly written dystopian YA novels of this year.

Staff Review: The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

One of my favorite books from this year is The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan. One look at the beautiful cover showing a Degas painting and I was hooked on this story about three sisters living in poverty in Paris in the late 1800s. Their father has died due to poor working conditions and their depressed mother has slipped into an absinthe addiction to escape the drudgery of trying to take care of her family as a laundress. The girls are forced to work as dancers at the Paris Opera, earning just enough to survive, but the competition is fierce and the oldest sister, Antoinette, loses her position and falls into a relationship with a young man who is accused of murder.

The other sisters are also working as dancers with 14 year old Marie showing the most promise. She is naturally gifted but has trouble asserting herself over the other dancers. When the painter Degas takes notice of her, she finds another way to earn money and begins posing for him in his studio and must walk the line between her desperation and moral standards.

The book is told from both girls’ point of view and portrays the seamier side of Paris and the struggle between survival and maintaining your dignity in a society that values only beauty and opulence. The descriptions of the city and Parisian life are both beautiful and horrible, but the Van Goethem sister’s tenacity and spunk will keep you engaged throughout the book.

~Michelle, Circulation

If you're looking for more works of historical fiction inspired by the works of great artists, check out this read alike post for The Painted Girls.

Staff Review: Innocence by Dean Koontz

What does it mean to be human? Is there such a thing as a “damaged” person? If you want to explore these questions while reading an eerie, enchanting tale, then I recommend reading Innocence by Dean Koontz. I came to this book having read his Frankenstein and Odd Thomas series, but this was his first stand alone book for me. Innocence has the endearing traits I’ve come to expect from Koontz, like characters I loved and respected and villains who were, well, outrageously villainous. Also some utterly creepy marionettes . . .

In Innocence, we meet Addison Goodheart, a being so deformed that he is rejected on sight by any person he encounters.  Even so, he is an essentially happy, if lonely, man who deeply loves humanity even though he is rejected by it. He lives in hiding in an unspecified American metropolis that feels a little bit surreal and very mysterious. When he dares to make a real connection with another person, he begins an adventure of discovery and danger.

You shouldn’t read this book if you like easy answers. You’ll be asking yourself, “What IS this guy’s deal anyway?” In fact this question is so compelling that you will keep reading through all the (sometimes slow) backstory and present day until you find out. Or don’t. All I will say is that if you keep reading, you won’t be disappointed. It’s an intriguing book with a very satisfying ending.

~Laura, Circulation

Advance reader's review copy was provided by the publisher.

If you're looking for more Dean Koontz, check out our Dean Koontz read alike post.

December Magazine of the Month

It's December, and that means holiday entertaining! Our magazines of the month will help you get the celebrations started.

 

Martha Stewart Living is part of our Zinio collection of digital magazines. Our book collection includes a number of her cookbooks and other helpful titles. We'll assume that you are already familiar with Martha's empire, but if not, check out her website to learn more: www.marthastewart.com 

Bon Appetit is our second magazine of the month. With a focus on food and entertaining, this magazine has been in publication since 1956. Their website includes recipes, tips, tricks, and recommendations: www.bonappetit.com

Reading NaNoWriMo: "Shades of Milk and Honey"

The bulk of my attention for November has turned to NaNoWriMo, which means less time for reading (even if I'm woefully behind target for my word count). Luckily there are many books that I've enjoyed, but haven't had a chance to review here on the blog, so today I'm here to sell you on the novels of  Mary Robinette Kowal, who happened to write the first of her Glamourist Histories series, Shades of Milk and Honey, during NaNoWriMo.

[Side note: If you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year, we're having a Come Write In session tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. and then at 7 p.m. the book club is discussing another NaNoWriMo book, The Night Circus, which Andrew reviewed here.]

I first read Shades of Milk and Honey in 2011, and I picked up the most recent in the series, Without a Summer, this past August. I really enjoy the way Kowal mixes Jane Austen-like Regency romance with a system of magic that fit naturally with the setting. Even better, this has proven to be a series that holds up well to rereads. A fourth book, Valour and Vanity is scheduled for publication next year, and I'll probably be pre-ordering a copy.


In fact, I liked Shades of Milk and Honey so much, that I named it my favorite book of 2011 (I generally try to read at least a few of the Hugo and Nebula nominees each year). Months later I remembered to add a (very) short review to my Goodreads account, and then was floored when Ms. Kowal (or some person in charge of her Goodreads profile) "liked" my review.

It was a helpful reminder that these days it's not uncommon for social media savvy authors to interact with their fans, and not just the fans who sought out their mailing address, email, or blog comment section. It's fairly easy to use keyword tracking to find mentions of your name (especially if a library @ tags the author), or the title of your most recent novel.

In fact, we now have a half-serious joke about trying not to look like we're stalking Rainbow Rowell on Twitter. We aren't. We swear. Though, speaking of, did you know her most recent novel, Fangirl, is also a NaNoWriMo novel?

Of course, it seems unlikely that a group of librarians encouraging readers to love a favorite book as much as we do would be mistaken for creepers. But the other side of an author's ability to connect with fans online, is that it's astonishingly easy for readers to learn about the lives of their favorite authors. Long gone are the days when a young reader might pour over the about the author paragraph in the back of a favorite paperback trying to guess if the author is a cat or a dog person.

For example, we all recently learned how (not so) easy it is to (apply a rigorous research method and) impersonate Patrick Rothfuss on Twitter. In fact, Ms. Kowal applied some of the same methods she used to achieve a writing voice similar to Jane Austen's in order to out Rothfuss Rothfuss (who, it should be noted, failed to hit the 50,000 word mark during NaNoWriMo, and that's okay).

I also learned, in the course of writing this blog post, that Ms. Kowal is an accomplished voice actress, who has narrated several audiobooks. If you'd like to learn more about the author, she keeps a blog on her website: www.maryrobinettekowal.com
She also tweets as herself: @MaryRobinette

~Sarah, Adult Services


One final note: I couldn't think of a way to work in a link to my review of Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer, which was also written during NaNoWriMo.

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop with Dr. Marianne Choquet

If you weren’t able to make the first of our two writing workshops with Dr. Marianne Choquet, don’t fret! We’ve put together a brief overview of the story mapping exercise so that everyone can join us on Wednesday, December 4th at 7 p.m. If you were one of the participants in our first workshop, remember to keep track of your story map and key to bring with you in December. We'll also be providing a microphone for Dr. Choquet's use.

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop
This two-part workshop is for writers with a story to tell who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the writing process. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers as they create a map and a key of sorts from which to write a first draft.

Dr. Choquet divided the presentation into three parts:
1)    An inspirational overview of the writing process and discussion of her experience writing her first novel.
2)    A guided meditation to calm the mind and allow participants to access the truth of the story within their hearts. (Meditation guide at bottom of this post)
3)    The creation of story maps during which Dr. Choquet answered questions.

The act of storytelling is an act of generosity. You are giving a part of yourself to the people who hear/read your story. Your story will also give back to you as you create it. As Dr. Choquet said, “creativity and generosity thrive together.”

Mapping is an exercise in ownership of space (think of the explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci whose influence led to the naming of the American continents).  By mapping your story you will find that you have a clearer sense of its direction and purpose. The most important thing to remember in the creation of your map is that there is no wrong or right way to create your map.

What you need to create your map:
1)    A place where you can concentrate.
2)    A large piece of paper.
3)    Your choice of pens, markers, pencils, crayons, glitter, etc.
4)    A snack or treat is also fun!

When creating your map, you are discovering the journey of your story, and that journey may take many forms: a map of geographical locations, the shape of an object, a timeline, a web, or anything else that feels right to you.

Questions to ask yourself when creating your map (the key):
1)    Where does your story start?
2)    Where does it end?
3)    What physical locations/points in time are important to your story?
4)    Why do you want to tell this story?
5)    Who do you want to tell this story to?
6)    Who is telling this story? Who is the narrator?
7)    What do you want to give with this story?
8)    What do your characters want?
9)    What do you want this story to do to your reader? To you? To the characters within it?
10)    Imagine the reader finishing your story. What would you like them to say about it?

Most importantly, don’t rush yourself and give yourself the time to really focus. Likewise, don’t overthink. Your first instinct is often your best. This is only the first step on your journey as a storyteller, and there’s always time to change and refine later.

Follow this link to learn about our other NaNoWriMo events.

Meditation Guide
I always begin with deep belly breathing, in and out through the nose, for at least counts of five, both inhalation and exhalation. This time, Wednesday eve, I brought fire to the belly, imagining a fire glowing there, and steadily, with breath, tending the flame. At a certain point, when it feels time, I tell people to imagine a gold ball (I like to work with gold) spinning at their tailbone. And from there, with timing that feels right all the way through, I guide that ball through the legs to the bottom of the feet, shooting golden roots to the center of the earth, and back up through the body to the crown feeling the golden rays moving out as well as in from above, I especially like to work with gold in the hands and fingers before writing. I eventually guide people to their heart, and to imagine themselves small, standing at the altar of their heart. For this workshop, I then, after some time of guiding people to see their story as they stand there at the altar of the heart, to hear it whispering to them, I tell them to place this story they want to tell on the altar, all of it, in whatever form it comes. I eventually tell them to open their eyes and write where the story begins. To close their eyes, to see it and hear it again, and then to open their eyes and write where it ends. After that, I tell them to fill the page with it. At that point the guided meditation ends and it becomes a meditation in creativity for each person. The overall idea is to feel the energy inside oneself, to feel the connection to earth and ether, to enter one's heart and claim that space as one's own, to feel the electricity in the body and to create with it.

NaNoWriMo and the Magazines of the Month

It's November once again, which for most people means time to start thinking about holiday gatherings and snow removal, but for some special few of us, November is something more. You might call us crazy, but every number thousands of people band together over the often solitary quest to write an entire novel in one month. That's right, it's time for NaNoWriMo!

In celebration and support of Dubuque's WriMos Carnegie-Stout has arranged a series of speakers, Come Write In sessions, displays of material to help you on your writing journey, and even the magazines of the month fit in the spirit of NaNoWriMo: 

 

Both Writer’s Digest and The Writer provide resources for writers, from the novice to the established, ranging from advice on publication, networking opportunities, writing prompts, advice and interviews, and more. The Writer began publication in 1887, making it one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the United States. Writer's Digest has been in publication since the 1920s, and is produced by the same publishers as the annual Writer's Market. 

NaNoWriMo Events at Carnegie-Stout

Come Write In!
Tuesdays in November (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th), 6-7 p.m.
Join us in the coffee bar area on the 2nd floor of Carnegie-Stout as we share the fun and frustration of participating in NaNoWriMo. The library will provide a pot of coffee to share, free WiFi, and you can even check out a lap top if you want! Come early, stay late (we're open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays).

Pathway to Publishing
Sunday, November 17th, 2-3:30 p.m.
Council Bluffs author Marcia Calhoun Forecki will speak about becoming an author.  She has published nonfiction and short stories and contributes to an internet zine and has a blog on Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations.  Join Marcia to share your love of stories, books and writing in celebration of NaNoWriMo.

Mapping the Story You Want to Tell
Wednesday, December 4th, 7-8:30 p.m. 
This is the second of two lectures. If you missed the first (on October 30th), you are still more than welcome to join us, as we can also celebrate surviving NaNoWriMo! Dr. Marianne Choquet, a humanities lecturer at UW-Platteville, will direct this two-part workshop for writers with a story to tell and who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the process of writing. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers and to create a map from which to write a first draft.
 
And if you're registered on the NaNoWriMo website, feel free to add me as a writing buddy: nanowrimo.org/participants/ssmithdbq

~Sarah, Adult Services

We Geek Words: Dictionary Day

Today Carnegie-Stout wishes Noah Webster a happy 255th birthday, though we assume that Noah Webster is not an undead monster out there somewhere googling his name. But in case he is, happy birthday!

In Webster's honor, October 16th is known as Dictionary Day. A day to celebrate all things lexicographical, etymological, a dash of the linguistic for good measure. This is the day for every word nerd who's ever spent an hour trying to think of the perfect piece of vocabulary to describe something. Raise your hands if you spent hours memorizing word roots in hopes of making regionals, if not the National Spelling Bee. If you can back your opinion on the use of the word "literally" with research, today is your day.

If you're looking for a way to celebrate, you can check out our Dictionary Day blog post from 2011 for some reading suggestions, or come on down and browse the 400s. We also have DVDs of Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound available for check out.

There are also a number of great online options for your dictionary based entertainment! Did I miss one of your favorites? Share a link in the comments.

Oxford Dictionaries has a blog with info on word origins, changing slang, and more. It was Oxford Dictionaries Online who shocked a nation by announcing the inclusion of "twerk" shortly after Miley Cyrus's VMA performance.

In response to the scandal of twerking in the (online) dictionary, Mental Floss compiled a list of 16 words from the print edition of the Oxford Dictionary that were once as scandalous as twerk, but are now utterly obscure.

Kory Stamper is a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, and her blog about life as a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster (Harmless Drudgery) is a source of constant delight. Start here with a post about the headaches of responding to dictionary fan mail and feedback. Stamper also helps to create Merriam-Webster's "Ask the Editor" web video series, an example of which is hopefully embedded below.

I Read Banned Books: Rainbow Rowell

I had a book review for a different title half composed before I started seeing stories about a Minnesota school district that had canceled a visit by author Rainbow Rowell, after parents complained that her YA novel, Eleanor & Park, was inappropriate for teens.

Attentive readers of the blog, and those of you whom I'm liable to offer unsolicited reading suggestions, are likely aware that I'm a bit of a fan. In fact, this isn't even the first time I've recommended Rainbow Rowell's books on the library's blog. You can read my review of her first novel, Attachments, by clicking here, and you'll see Eleanor & Park in this list of books I'd particularly enjoyed reading in the first few months of 2013.

You're probably not surprised if I say I find this school district's decision disappointing. Libraries, booksellers, and passionate readers of all stripes have been calling attention to censorship for more than 30 years with the annual celebration of Banned Books Week. That 2013's Banned Books Week is *this* week, Sept 22nd-28th, makes this story an excellent example of the ongoing challenges that books of all sorts continue to face.

You might think that book challenges and bans only happen in other place, countries with repressive dictators, or in some dim past, but they don't. Which is why we take the time every year to remind you that it's okay to say "I don't want to read this" or "I don't think my child should read this," but that is not at all the same as saying "No one should read this."

As I mentioned, I very much enjoyed Eleanor & Park, and I've strong-armed several people into reading it. It's a great story of first love and discovering your own strength in the face of (mild spoilers) bullying, abuse, poverty, racism, and all those other everyday challenges of being a teen. The idea that someone would prevent a teen from reading about these sorts of issues, the sorts of horrible things that teens face every day in the real world, in the name of protecting them, astounds me. You can't protect people from reality, but the right book can offer an individual a chance to escape their reality.

Which brings me to Rowell's most recent novel, Fangirl, which covers quite neatly the way that a reader can turn to a fictional world to help cope with the real world. Fangirl is also a YA title, though I suspect it has some appeal for readers of New Adult fiction too. It's an uplifting story of self-discovery, with quite a bit of drama, a sweet romance, and enough humor to keep the drama from overwhelming.

Cath, our protagonist, is unwillingly starting her freshman year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her twin sister, Wren, is much more eager for a fresh start, away from their needy dad, the mother who left them as children, and their shared identity as Simon Snow super fans. Simon Snow is the star of an incredibly popular fantasy series, in the style of Harry Potter, and Cath is in the process of writing one of the most popular Simon Snow fanfics* on the net.

So if you're looking for a good book to read for Banned Books week, I can recommend Rainbow Rowell. We do have a wait list for all of her books though, so you might also want to come in and check out our display of banned and challenged books by the Recommendations Desk. We're taking mugshots again this year, if you want proof of your controversial reading taste!

~Sarah, Adult Services

*fanfic, along with fan fiction and fic, are terms used to describe fan created stories that use the characters or worlds created in their favorite works of fiction, like Star Trek, Harry Potter, or Twilight, to create something new. Fun facts! Fifty Shades of Grey began as a Twilight fic, and City of Bones grew out of Harry Potter fic.

And while I'm down here, I'm going to point out Fangirl's awesome cover art by Noelle Stevenson, creator of the excellent webcomic Nimona.