Archive for September, 2009

“The Lost Symbol”

September 19, 2009

LostSymbolDan Brown’s eagerly anticipated new novel returns with Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon exploring the mysteries of the Freemasons. Langdon is called to Washington D.C. to deliver a lecture but he arrives to find that his close friend has been kidnapped and in order to save his life Langdon must cooperate with the kidnapper to solve an ancient mystery.

This book kept me up until 1 a.m. on a work night, which is extremely rare for me. I was fascinated with the history, the architecture, the symbols, the science, – everything. The plot was not what was most important to me. It was everything else that Brown uncovered in his research that was most fascinating.

Brown has hit the jackpot again. Look for a movie in the future and increased tourism in Washington D.C.

Highly recommended!

“West of Washoe”

September 16, 2009

washoeIt’s 1864 in Virginia City, Nevada Territory. Statehood is in the future for Nevada and Gil Ross is sent by the government to inspect the potential wealth of the region. Ross, a former magazine writer and now a mine inspector quickly becomes embroiled in the violence and treachery of the region.

Between armed holdups, duels, torching of the newspaper office , befriending Samuel Clemens, and being left to die in a mine there’s so much going on in this short novel.  And there’s so much interesting historical detail here about life in the Washoe region, I couldn’t put it down.

Jan

“the girl who stopped swimming”

September 15, 2009

swimmingWhen Laurel Hawthorne sees the ghost of Molly, her daughter’s best friend, leading her to Molly’s body in Laurel’s backyard pool, Laurel’s comfortable life in gated Victorianna gets turned upside down. Laurel will need to confront the dark secrets of her past including her relationship with her parents, her wacky sister Thalia, and her distant husband.

Author Joshilyn Jackson’s Southern roots shine through in this novel. Laurel and Thalia are complex, fascinating characters who come to life in this well-written psychological novel.

Highly recommended. – Jan

Senior Enrichment Day Book Discussion

September 10, 2009

Some of you may be planning to attend the book discussion that I will be leading at Senior Enrichment Day at SUNY Cortland on October 16. The book for discussion is Khaled Hosseini’s second novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

A Publisher’s Weekly review states “Afghan-American novelist Hosseini follows up his bestselling The Kite Runner with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women.”

Copies of the book are available through the Finger Lakes Library System. You can reserve a copy online www.flls.org/cortlandlib or give us a call at 753-1042.

If you can’t be at Senior Enrichment Day, our adult book discussion group at the library will be discussing A Thousand Splendid Suns on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome!

Jan

September book discussion

September 10, 2009

Our adult book discussion group will be meeting on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. (NEW TIME!) to discuss “The Bean Trees” by Barbara Kingsolver. Copies are available within the Finger Lakes Library System. Reserve your copy online or by giving us a call at 753-1042. Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend!

Keeping Current #2

September 4, 2009

In July 2008 I posted titles to 10 magazine articles from current issues on our shelves in hopes that folks would think about maybe coming down to the library on a regular basis to peruse the magazines and enjoy a reading respite. I thought I would do it again to remind folks that we have more than 50 magazines that we subscribe to which include the arts, sports, fashion, food, health, business, gardening and many more. Current issues must be read in the library but older issues can be checked out.

Here’s what caught my eye today:

“Post-Pundit America: The End of Attack Politics” – Utne Reader

“Mixed Signals (How to See Yourself as Others See You) – Psychology Today

“Top Travel Writers’ Dream Assignments” – Smithsonian

“The Best New Idea in Business” (the Zipcar) – Fortune

“John Calvin: Comeback Kid” – Christianity Today

“The Way Green Design Changes How We Live, Learn, Work & Play” – Audubon

“What Washington Doesn’t Get About Health Care” – The Atlantic

“Grass Roots” (the Adirondacks is a haven for small-time marijuana growers and a thruway for big-time dealers) – Adirondack Life

“How to Survive Almost Anything”  – National Geographic Adventure

“Why the Beatles Broke Up” (the Inside Story) – Rolling Stone

Jan

Explore the Internet

September 3, 2009

It’s time to sign up for the next “Explore the Internet” class here at the library. The class will be held Wednesday, September 16 from 6:30 – 7:45 p.m. If you are new to the Internet or just need to learn some tips and techniques that will make you a better searcher, then this class is for you. The class will be taught by the assistant director of the Cortland Free Library who was a former news researcher at The Post-Standard and who wrote an Internet column in that newspaper. Teens and adults are welcome to attend.

Basic computer skills are required and you must pre-register. Call 753-1042 to register. Class size will be limited to 8 participants.

“Way of the Peaceful Warrior”

September 3, 2009

warriorA friend told me that I just had to read Dan Millman’s “Way of the Peaceful Warrior.” Millman, who wrote this book in 1980, tells the story of his encounter with Socrates, an old man who works at an all-night gas station. Millman, who at the time was a college student and world-class gymnast, felt that something was missing from his life. His encounter with Socrates, a peaceful warrior, changes Millman’s life and has inspired countless others.

If you enjoyed Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth” you would enjoy this spiritual saga. Some of Tolle’s teachings are here too – living in the moment and letting go of your mind.

Jan