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Staff Recommendations – February 2008

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INDEXES TO PAST STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: BY TITLE | BY REVIEWER
TV SERIES/SPECIALS ON DVD | AGATHA CHRISTIE | LGBTQ+ | STAR TREK | STAR WARS

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February 2008 Recommendations

carvedinboneCarved in Bone
by Jefferson Bass (Bass)

Jefferson Bass is the pseudonym of Bill Bass, the creator of the original Body Farm. This title is the first in a projected series that will appeal to lovers of forensic mysteries.

( official Carved in Bone page on the official Jefferson Bass web site )

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Recommended by Rayma S.
South Branch Library


freedomspromiseFreedom’s Promise
by Dianna Crawford (Crawford)

This series focuses on the early pioneers headed for the Tennessee Valley. If you like a good story with inspirational overtones, you will like this series.

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Recommended by Dorene O.
Administration — Bennett Martin Public Library


davidcopperfieldDavid Copperfield
by Charles Dickens (Dickens)

Full of richly imagined characters, humor, and pathos, this is Dickens’ most autobiographical novel. Perhaps because of that, it also is among his most realistic, with less of the exaggeration found in some of his other works.

( The David Copperfield Site ) | ( David Copperfield via Project Gutenberg )

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Recommended by Peter J.
Virtual Services/Webmaster


nebraskalandscapeThe Nebraska Landscape – Images From Home – Volume One
by Michael Forsberg (917.82 For)

I fell in love with Nebraska once again. Have you ever seen an image so beautiful that tears well up in the corners of your eyes? That is exactly what happens to me when I look at the photographs presented in Michael Forsberg’s small album The Nebraska Landscape – Images From Home – Volume One. This book is filled with scenic photography as beautiful as any mind can conceive. Forsberg has an eye for connecting the viewer to a sacred stillness that sits deep within the landscape. This stillness is filled with a vital energy which unites man with nature; his use of lighting, subject, and perspective on the horizon all come together to tell a story about the Nebraska countryside. Linger for a while at these incredible photographs and fill yourself with the beauty and light that exists in our natural world. After reading The Nebraska Landscape you’ll surely want to experience more of Mr. Forsberg’s inspiring visual narrative. Fortunately for us he has another book in print; I would encourage you to look at it as well.

( official Michael Forsberg web site )

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Recommended by Patty L.
Walt Branch Library


goodbrotherbadbrotherGood Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth
by James Cross Giblin (jB B6439)

Truth is stranger than fiction in this very complete work by Giblin. The author goes well beyond the cursory history book summary of the Wilkes family and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, exposing nine people in the plot against him. Many of the sources he uses are handwritten correspondences between the major players in this true drama. Much of the text is brought to life with photographs, paintings, and playbills. Giblin orchestrates his writing in such a way as to give a clear picture of the chronology of events. The reader gets to know Junius Brutus Booth and his sons well enough that they must be viewed as the real people they were, rather than textbook villains. The power of his story was such that I was fascinated to locate Edwin Booth’s voice on the internet, as recorded onto Thomas Edison’s new invention, the phonograph. A wonderful resource for grades 6 and up.

( James Cross Giblin entry on Wikipedia )

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Recommended by Kay V.
Youth Services Department — Bennett Martin Public Library


Black History Month icondreamkeeperThe Dream Keeper and Other Poems
by Langston Hughes (811 Hug)

One of the best collections of his poetry!

( The Langston Hughes Society ) | ( Langston Hughes page on Wikipedia )

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Recommended by Rayma S.
South Branch Library


curseofthenarrowsCurse of the Narrows
by Laura MacDonald (940.3 Mac)

Imagine a disastrous man-made explosion in Halifax (Nova Scotia) harbor in 1917. Then imagine that bad weather makes the situation even worse as the town tries to figure out the extent of the damage and start to recover. It really happened. The author pieces together news accounts, official records, personal memories, and scientific and medical information in a fascinating narrative about the World War I munitions ship filled with high explosives which was struck by another ship and blew up, destroying much of Halifax. Interestingly, this event also brought about some good things in regard to disaster relief and medical practices. A real page-turner!

( official Curse of the Narrows page on the official Laura MacDonald web site )

Becky W.C. and Scott C. both appeared on KZUM Book Chat to talk in-depth about this title

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Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library


runRun
by Ann Patchett (Patchett)

I love to read Patchett’s fiction because you never know where she will take you. Her latest novel is set in Boston and the action of the novel takes place all in a few days when Doyle, former white mayor of the city and, his two twenty-something adopted black sons, Tip and Teddy, find their lives intersecting with a black single mother, Tennessee and her 11-year-old daughter Kenya after Tennessee throws herself in front of a car to save Tip from the oncoming vehicle. The action plays out amid a snowstorm that has brought many parts of the city to a standstill. Issues of family, race, identity and our connections to each other all come into play as the story evolves.

( official Run page on the official Ann Patchett web site )

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Recommended by Vicki W.
Youth Services Department — Bennett Martin Public Library


100flowers100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names
by Diana Wells (582.13 Wel)

Winter is a great time to dream about flowers and flower gardening. Plotting and planning next season’s garden will be even more satisfying when you learn the origin of the names of some of your favorite blooms. Fuchsia, camellias, lobelia and clematis-their stories are all here. What will truly amaze readers of this delightful little book is the danger and difficulty early plant collectors went through to bring these garden stalwarts back to the West. Death, disease and utter devastation were often the price that these botanical pioneers paid to send back plants that we now take for granted. Hopefully, after looking through this book, you appreciation for these common garden flowers will “grow”!

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Recommended by Lisa V.
Reference — Bennett Martin Public Library


elsewhereElsewhere
by Gabrielle Zevin (YA PB Zevin)

Elsewhere is an entertaining, poignant story about a teenager whose life on Earth is cut short. This is the story about her life after death. Liz wakes to find herself en route to the strangest place you can imagine. It is Elsewhere – where you go to live after you die. The unusual part: you get younger every day, and one day will be young enough to be reborn as an infant on Earth. Grow with Liz as she tries to handle the unfairness of her situation — she will never become old enough to get her driver’s license. She doesn’t get to go the prom. Find out who did and didn’t come to her funeral. And most importantly, as all teenagers will, she dreams of finding her first love — but will anyone want to love her? Will Liz ever fit in here? And isn’t it weird to live with a grandma who is no older than your mom?

( official Elsewhere page on the official Gabrielle Zevin web site )

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Recommended by Julie H.
Walt Branch Library


Screening Room

formatdvdastimegoesbyDVDAs Time Goes By
(DVD 791.457 As)

Another great TV series from BBC, this one starring Judi Dench as Jean. Lionel and Jean are young lovers who lose track of each other during the Korean War. They are accidentally reunited 40 years later. Watch as they try to figure out their relationship. A wonderful, character-driven program. The Lincoln City Libraries owns the entire 9-yearr series.

( official BBC site for the series )

Recommended by Charlotte K.
Reference — Bennett Martin Public Library


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