Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger

“If you don’t know Cork O’Connor, get to know him now.” ---Booklist

Corcoran O’Connor is the Ojibwe-Irish sheriff-private investigator central character of a series of award-winning mysteries by William Kent Krueger. Krueger is one of the three authors that make up the Minnesota Crime Wave, a group that visited Carnegie-Stout Public Library in January 2007 as part of The Big Read programming for The Maltese Falcon. It’s not sacrilege to mention Kent Krueger in the same sentence as Dashiell Hammett; yes, Krueger’s books are that good. Heaven’s Keep is the ninth in the series which began in 1998 with Iron Lake. The tenth, Vermilion Drift, came out in September 2010, and Krueger has already signed contracts for two more Cork O’Connor mysteries.

Taut suspense, a strong sense of place and believable characters are Krueger’s hallmarks. Leaving their north woods Minnesota home, Cork and his thirteen-year-old son Stephen travel to the Wyoming Rockies to try and find what happened to their wife and mother Jo, whose plane is missing. Jo, an attorney, was traveling with tribal representatives to the National Congress of American Indians to discuss oversight of Indian gaming casinos, when the plane goes down in a blizzard in the Washakie Wilderness. Cork and Jo had quarreled over his interest in going back to work for the Tamarack County sheriff’s office just before she left, so Cork feels the additional weight of an unhappy parting. Will Cork be able to say “I’m sorry” to Jo? Was the plane sabotaged to prevent its occupants from speaking out on gaming issues? Was the pilot a stereotypical drunken Indian? Read Heaven’s Keep to find these answers and discover how Krueger keeps his readers enthralled and asking for more.

~ Michelle, Adult Services

Steampunk

Yearning for a distant age filled with wonder, adventure, invention, and style? Steampunk may be the answer.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of speculative fiction (a catch-all phrase for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and those unquantifiable books in between) that re-imagines the Victorian age to better fit the visions of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.

Evans, Greg. Luann. . 31 Oct. 2010, United Feature Syndicate.


Steampunk has been growing in popularity since the late 1980's, but in recent years it's started to expand beyond the confines of fictional worlds. There are multiple conventions at which Steampunk aficionados gather to compare fashion and home decorating tips. From an article on Steampunk style and fashion in the New York Times to a recent episode of the popular show Castle, you can't seem to avoid the excitement.

If you're interested in further exploring Steampunk, you might enjoy these Steampunk books available at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library.

We also have a selection of movies with Steampunk elements available for check out.

Or you can stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor to pick up a bookmark listing Steampunk authors.

Luka and the Fire of Life

There are a lot of great young adult books being published these days and a lot of big name authors are trying to tap into this lucrative demographic. However, Salman Rushdie had a more personal motivation behind Luka and the Fire of Life, his second YA novel. Published in 1990, Haroun and the Sea of Stories was written for Rushdie’s first son. Twenty years later, Rushdie had another young son asking for a book of his own so the author returned to the world he created in Haroun. In the book, young Luka has heard all about the adventures of his older brother Haroun and yearns for a story of his own. When the boys’ father falls into a magical coma, Luka sets off on a quest to wake him.

Much of Rushdie’s fame comes from the controversy surrounding his novel The Satanic Verses. The fatwa and assassination attempts sometimes overshadow how much fun his writing can be. Luka is a celebration of the power and joy of storytelling and the book is crammed full of wordplay and whimsy. Luka’s compatriots include a dancing bear named Dog, a singing dog named Bear, and the Insultana of Ott, the young queen of a people who take such innocent joy in insulting everyone that no one really takes much offence. At one point, the whole group pauses in their quest to watch Aphrodite best Freya in the daily gladiatorial battle of forgotten goddesses a beauty.

Luka is worlds away from the brooding angst of Twilight or the grim politics of The Hunger Games. Neil Gaiman’s books provide better reference points, with either the surreal imagery of Coraline or the mix-and-match mythology of American Gods. Rushdie’s infectious glee will likely appeal to fans of The Phantom Tollbooth.

~Andrew, Adult Services

Wait Until Spring, Bandini

Carnegie-Stout Public library has several novels and short-story collections by one of America's most underappreciated writers of literary fiction, John Fante (1909-1983).

Fante’s debut novel, Wait Until Spring, Bandini, is a semiautobiographical story about a young Italian American boy, Arturo Bandini, who lives in small-town, Depression-era Colorado. During "the deep days, the sad days" of a hard winter, when Arturo's out-of-work immigrant father disappears and his mother suffers a breakdown, Arturo becomes obsessed with Rosa, his beautiful classmate at Catholic school who barely acknowledges him.

When Wait Until Spring, Bandini was published in 1938, columnist Lee Shippey of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "It is a book of veracity and understanding and contains scenes no reader will ever forget ... there is a lot of heartbreak and bitterness in it." And when John Fante wrote about Arturo Bandini again in Ask the Dust in 1939, this next novel soon became known as "the greatest novel ever written about Los Angeles."

If you enjoy literary fiction but haven't heard of John Fante, or if you're just interested in a story about growing up Catholic in a small town, check out Wait Until Spring, Bandini.

~Mike, Adult Services

Thanksgiving!

The Holiday Season has begun, and with all the family gatherings, elaborate feasts, and gift giving stress you might be looking for a bit of a distraction. We here at Carnegie-Stout Public Library have some Thanksgiving reading suggestions to help you maintain your sanity.


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Looking for a cookbook or a history of Plymouth colony? Check out This List of Thanksgiving Non-Fiction Titles.

Looking for a story of Thanksgiving and all the family drama that entails? Check out This List of Thanksgiving Novels.

Do you enjoy a good murder mystery or love story? Check out This List of Thanksgiving Mystery and Romance.

Would you rather watch a movie than read a book? Check out This List of Thanksgiving Movies.

Have suggestions or questions? Let us know!
You can leave a comment on this post, call the library at (563) 589-4225, or stop by in person!