July 2009

  • Women on the Water

    The first voice came to me as we anchored in the peaceful silence of Squirrel Cove, B. C.   In The Curve of Time, Wylie Blanchet’s classic Northwest boating  story of the remote boating community of British Columbia in the 1930’s, she was telling me of the summers long ago when she took her five children… Continue reading

  • Great Fantasy Audiobooks for the Road

    Parents everywhere are looking for solutions to their annual summer dilemma…  “How do we find audiobooks that the entire family – adults included – can enjoy for that long car/airplane/boat trip?”  Here are a few suggestions that are guaranteed to entertain:  The Amulet of Samarkand, by Johnathan Stroud Read by Simon Jones CDJ St892A Nathaniel,… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Starbucks and Animal Ignorance

    Looking for a summer read? Here are two suggestions from librarians at our Fremont Branch and downtown at the Central Library:  How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill This goes down like a Mocha Frappuccino on a chilly day. Gill grew up in… Continue reading

  • Vegetables at the White House: Tradition or travesty?

    As Librarians we are often called upon to decide a debate. Here is a timely one: Some people are upset that the Obamas planted a garden on the White House grounds, but isn’t it true that the White House used to have a fully functional farm, with livestock and crops, and they’re just reviving this… Continue reading

  • Teen books are hot with adults

    I’m a teen services librarian and lately I’m delighted to find that I’m serving more and more adult patrons.  Many teen book virgins feel some trepidation, but there is no need, there is something for almost everyone in the Teen section. Teen books are often fast-paced reads, but don’t let that fool you: They are not simplistic. Teen publishing… Continue reading

  • Books for Tour de France followers

    Written from the perspective of a participant, The Rider by Tim Krabbe takes the reader into the heart of a 150-kilometer bicycle race. Krabbe does an amazing job of containing the strategy, thrills, motivation and accumulated folk history of bicycle enthusiasts in a scant 150 pages. The reader will feel the burning of over-burdened muscles,… Continue reading