Final We Shall Remain Program This Thursday!

Thursday, April 30th

7:00 pm in the Library Community Rooms

Jerome Kills Small, Professor of Language, Philosophy and Native American Thought at the University of South Dakota-Vermillion, will discuss Wounded Knee of 1890 as well as portray Dr. Charles Eastman, a Pine Ridge doctor and notable scholar of the early 20th century.

This will be the final installment on the We Shall Remain community programs, which compliment the PBS series. Click here to be taken to the
PBS We Shall Remain website.

Bookworm

Fiction
Night and Day by Robert B. Parker: Police chief Jesse Stone, dealing with a junior high school principal who conducted a surprise inspection of female students' underwear before a dance, investigates the crimes of a peeping Tom who breaks into the homes of his victims and forces them to strip at gunpoint.

Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child: When paleoecologist Evan Marshall and his small group of scientists discover a large, ancient animal encased in ice two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, the media threatens to reveal the creature on television, despite warnings from Native Americans that a mythic killing machine maybe released.

Irish Tweed by Andrew M. Greeley: Nuala Anne McGrail, a problem-solver from Connemara, warns her loyal husband, Dermot Coyne, that some evil looms over their family, and when the Coynes' nanny's suitor is brutally attacked, old feuds and new-world politics are brought into focus.

The Jesus Chronicles: Luke's Story by Tim LaHaye: An apocalyptic novel that examines the life and ministry of Jesus through the life story of the Gospel writer, Luke.

Any Place I Hang My Hat by Susan Isaacs: Political reporter Amy Lincoln searches for the mother who abandoned her when she was just a baby, and along the way discovers the importance of family and just how much her mother's abandonment impacted her life.

Corsair by Clive Cussler: The 6th Oregon novel and adventure of a dilapidated ship with sophisticated equipment and a rakish, one-legged captain, Juan Cabrillo. Corsairs are pirates and come in many varieties. When the U. S. Secretary's plane crashes the Oregon is sent to search for it and the passengers. Then he must stop the terrorist who wants to change the summit plans.

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke: Baker owner and part-time sleuth, Hannah Swensen, investigates the murder of beautiful fitness instructor, Ronni Ward, while trying to clear the name of her detective friend, Mike Kingston.

Nonfiction
The Everything Heatlth Guide to Migraines by Paula Ford-Martin: Information about symptoms, coping methods, medicinal and natural treatment options, identify the different types of migraines, myths and misconception, and more.

The Autism Answer Book by William Stillman: In a time when parents are overwhelmed with confusing, and often conflicting, information, The Autism Answer Book provides them clear and confident counsel by providing straightforward answers to their most pressing questions.

The Perfect Insult For Every Occasion by A.C. Kemp: Sometimes a well-spoken insult is the proper response -- use language and zingers to your advantage. Essential advice for gaining the upper hand at school, work, parties, reunions and defend yourself against know-it-alls, answer rude questions in an equally rude manner, deliver impeccable insults, master put-downs.

"Then Osborne Said to Rozier" The Best Nebraska Cornhusker Stories Ever Told by Steve Richardson: Chronicles more than four decades of the greatest Nebraska football stories as told by coaches, players and fans--from the growth of Memorial Stadium under Bob Devaney to the tumultuous tenure of Bill Callahan.

Famous Firearms of the Old West by Hal Herring: Follows the life stories of a pistols and rifles instrumental in shaping America's history, including the lives of the shooters themselves, which provides a natural history of individual guns and a vivid portrait of famous western characters, paired with the guns that helped make them famous or infamous.

The Golden Warrior: The Life and Legend of Lawrence Arabia by Lawrence James: A study of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable figures, T. E. Lawrence. He was involved in the Middle Eastern anti-imperialist movement and wrote about his experiences, and became an advisor to Winston Churchill.

A Soldier's Best Friend by John C. Burnam: An affecting testimonial to the bond between American soldiers in Vietnam and their canine helpers, veteran John C. Burnam’s account of his tenure as a scout dog handler patrolling the jungles of Vietnam with his German shepherd, Clipper, at his side.

Brown Bag Program This Friday!

Patricia Jones reviews

The Historians Wizard of Oz:

Reading L. Frank Baum's Classic

as a Political and Monetary Allegory

by Ranjit S. Dighe

Friday, May 1st at noon

in the Alliance Learning Center

Community Rooms
Join us for this free program sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Cookies and Coffee will be served. The library will be closed from noon until 1:00 to host the event.

Based on the Book

This week's based on the book feature is Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally, which was made into an Academy Award winning movie by Steven Spielburg in 1993. I am going to have to admit that I have never seen the movie. I was only 13 when it was released and it wasn't on the top of my "movies to watch" list, but now I think I might have to give it a try. We have the movie, the book and the audio book available for checkout.

"Schindler's List is a remarkable work of fiction based on the true story of German industrialist and war profiteer, Oskar Schindler, who, confronted with the horror of the extermination camps, gambled his life and fortune to rescue 1,300 Jews from the gas chambers.

Working with the actual testimony of Schindler's Jews, Thomas Keneally artfully depicts the courage and shrewdness of an unlikely savior, a man who is a flawed mixture of hedonism and decency and who, in the presence of unutterable evil, transcends the limits of his own humanity."

Click Here to watch an interview with Steven Spielberg on Schindler's List

The book synopsis was found at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Book Review Sunday

Library Director Dena Crews will review The Lance and the Shield: the life and times of Sitting Bull by Robert Utely

Sunday, April 26th

2:00pm at the Library

The program is part of a series of events we are hosting throughout the month of April to compliment the PBS series We Shall Remain, which chronicals Native American history from the arrival of the Mayflower to Wounded Knee. It airs on Mondays at 7:30pm.

A Stranger in Her Own City

I watched a short documentary film the other night called A Stranger in Her Own City directed by Khadija Al-Salami, which chronicles a day in the life of a Yemen girl who dares to defy her cultural norm by appearing in public without a veil or a male escort. I found a portion of the film on You Tube, and thought I would share. It is an amazing story. I had never really seen anything this up-close and personal concerning the Muslim Fundementalists before and found it quite educational.



The entire film is available for purchase at wholphindvd.com

Bookworm

Fiction on CD
True Detectives by Jonathon Kellerman: Detectives and brothers, Moses and Aaron, who have a turbulent family history that sets them at odds, are pulled into the same case when Caitlin Frostig disappears. Investigation of one of the suspects pulls them into the sinister, seamy side of the city.

The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer: Thea Sperelakisis a brilliant medical doctor and her father Petros is a celebrated internal medicine specialist. When Petros is injured and in a coma, Thea fights to keep him alive and discovered that the accident wasn't an accident. Petros sends her a message with his eyes.

Runner by Thomas Perry: Jane Whitefield comes out of retirement to help a young woman who is trying to escape an abusive relationship with her real estate mogul boyfriend who will do anything to get her and their unborn child back.

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer: A novel inspired by the true story of George Mallory's dream of reaching the top of Mt. Everest. On his third attempt he was seen 600 feet from the top in 1924. But he died and his body was found in 1999. Questions still remain about whether he reached the top.

Angels of Destruction by Keith Donahue: When a nine-year-old girl arrives at the doorstep of Mrs. Margaret Quinn, a widow who has previously lost her daughter, the two enter into an agreement to pass the young orphan off as a newly discovered granddaughter, Norah Quinn, who gradually displays strange magical qualities.

Large Print Fiction
The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lillian Jackson Braun: Polly Duncan is off to Paris, temporarily leaving Jim Qwilleran without his lady companion. Good thing there's lots to keep Jim busy. Like a mysterious death from a bee sting that leaves everyone but Koko the Siamese in a state of confusion.

Blaze by Richard Bachman: Abuse suffered at the hands of his father and in foster homes and orphanages has left Clay Blaisdell with reduced mental skills, making him the perfect partner to seasoned criminal George Rackley who has a plan to kidnap the infant heir to a huge fortune, and who continues to aid and abet Clay even after he is murdered.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg: Three sisters living in Chicago at the end of World War II struggle to cope with rations, metal drives, and the uncertainty of their futures as their boyfriends and fiancés fight overseas.

Pandroa's Daughter by Iris Johansen: Dr. Megan Blair, raised by relatives after the death of her mother, is forced to fight for her life when she is contacted by childhood acquaintance Neal Grady, now a government agent, who informs her that her mother, a psychic, was murdered by underworld kingpin Molino, and that the crime lord is now looking for Megan.

Cell by Stephen King: Maine artist Clayton Riddell, elated after closing the deal for his first comic book, comes down to Earth quickly when a brain-zapping energy burst--The Pulse--strikes, reducing cell phone users to zombie-like creatures, and leaving Clayton desperate to find a way home from Boston to see if his wife and son have survived.

The Woods by Harlan Coben: Prosecutor Paul Copeland is distracted from his high-profile case against some wealthy college students when his past intrudes with the discovery of the body of a middle-aged man who was one of four young campers presumed to have been murdered twenty years earlier--a crime that occurred while Copeland was neglecting his duties as a security guard to enjoy a tryst with his girlfriend.

The Collectors by David Baldacci: Members of the Camel Club have a mission to find out what is really happening behind the closed doors of America's leaders. Now they are trying to solve two murders and get a shot in the arm with a con artist in high-heeled boots.

I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark: Kay Lansing, daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy Carrington family, overhears an argument at the New Jersey estate as a child that proves crucial when as an adult she marries Peter Carrington, who is subsequently charged with murder.

Panning For Murder by Jessica Fletcher: Mystery author Jessica Fletcher's vacation cruise to Alaska becomes challenging when she becomes caught up looking for clues to the disappearance of a friend's sister, Wilimena, who set sail on an earlier voyage, making no secret of the fact that she was going to claim the treasure her aunt, a famous madam in Alaskan history, is reputed to have hoarded away during the gold rush.

Community Program Wednesday Night!

Tom Buecker from the Nebraska State Historical Society Museum at Fort Robinson will discuss the Cheyenne Outbreak of 1879

Wednesday, April 22

7:00 pm

Alliance Public Library

Community Room

The program is part of a series of events we are hosting throughout the month of April to compliment the PBS series We Shall Remain, which chronicals Native American history from the arrival of the Mayflower to Wounded Knee. It airs on Mondays at 7:30pm.

Tiffany's "To Read" List

I thought I would share another book from my "To Read" list with you. Working in a library, my list keeps getting longer and longer, and makes me feel like I don't read enough :-) although I did read The Road, which I posted about last week, and I absolutely loved it! It was probably one of the best books I have ever read (right up there with The Art of Racing in the Rain.) No wonder it won the Pulitzer. Be looking for a review in the next week or so, and I believe I will be giving a copy away, too. Yay!

So this week I have chosen The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I started to read the book last November, but I became distracted with the holidays and have yet to pick it back up. The book is another Pulitzer Prize winner, taking the cake for 2008. It also won the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award. We have the book in our collection, and it can be found at FIC DIA.

Synopsis:
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukœ-the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.

Click Here for an excerpt via The New Yorker

Open House & We Shall Remain Tomorrow

Don't forget that tomorrow we will have an Open House from 3:00 to 7:00 to celebrate National Library Week followed by a dicussion with Jim Henson, Historian in resident at the Museum of the Fur Trade, on the Crow Raid on Bordeaux Trading Post and the Battle of Crow Butte.

The dicussion is part of our April community programs taking place in conjunction with the PBS We Shall Remain series, which premiered on Monday, April 13. For more information on the series, click here.

The Bookworm

FICTION
We'll Always Have Paris by Ray Bradbury: A new collection of never-before-published stories, with prose that soars and sings.

While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky: Molly and Robin Snow are sisters who have been close, Molly receives the news that Robin has suffered a heart attack and has a grim prognosis. Their parents collapse and their brother withdraws, so Molly has to make the decisions and makes discoveries that destroy some of her beliefs about the sister she thought she knew.

Kill For Me by Karen Rose: Susannah Vartanian and Luke Papadopoulos investigate the brutal attacks of six teenage girls and find themselves pulled into the dark world of Internet chat rooms, where they uncover an intricate web of deception that could lead them to the killers, but only if they can find the killers before the killers find them.

The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich: Nine-year-old Omakayas and her family, members of the Ojibwa tribe, are forced to leave their island on Lake Superior in 1850 when white settlers move into the territory, and comes to realize that the things most important to her are her home and way of life.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates: Frank and April Wheeler become dissolutioned with their mediocre lives and decide to move to France in order to develop their true artistic sensibilities.

Fool by Christopher Moore: A twisted and insanely funny tale of a moronic monarch and his deceitful daughters, plots, subplots, betrayals, a ghost (there's always a ghost), as seen through the eyes of a man wearing a codpiece and bells on his head.

Run For Your Life by James Patterson: A killer who refers to himself as The Teacher stalks New York City, murdering powerful, arrogant people and drawing the attention of Detective Mike Bennett, who tackles the case while also caring for his ten children, who all have the flu virus simultaneously.

NON FICTION
Ethics Since 1900 by Mary Warnock: This book is an up to date a well-informed and discriminating account of the main ethical problems of the twentieth and 21st centuries.

Baseball's Best 1,000 by Derek Gentile: Ranks the top one thousand players from the history of baseball, with statistics, records, and brief biographical profiles for each player.

The Reading Answer Book by Karen Morris: Provides answers to more than two hundred questions about beading, covering different types of beads, findings, stringing, working with wire, off-loom beading, repairs, and other related topics.

The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women: New information on women's heart disease and practical suggestions for reducing your own personal risk of heart-related problems.

Just In Case: How to be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Comes by Kathy Harrison: Describes how to evaluate, organize, and prepare for a number of emergency situations, which includes power outages, fires, toxic hazards, terrorism, and other unexpected disasters.

Business Writing Clear and Simple: Includes the fundamentals of writing (composition, form, and style); basic grammar and punctuation; main components and formats of a business letter; sample business letters for every situation; essential writing references for all business situations. You can write quality business correspondence and create a strong impression.

Fly Now! By Joanne Gertstein London: A collection of illustrated aeronautical posters from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum that describes the history of air travel from the hot-air balloons of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Based on the Book

This week's Based on the Book is a little late, as we are short staffed for the time being. I will try to post everyday, but if I don't, keep checking back. It won't be more than a day or two before I post, at which time I'll try to make up for the days I missed.

So, with that said, I have decided to feature Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, which will release on May 15th. It's written by the author of The DaVinci Code and is based on the same characters, though I don't think you have to read The DaVinci Code to follow the story.

Reel Native Videos

PBS has a number of videos posted on their website that we created by Native Americans across the country and deal with issues such as connecting with their Native roots and keeping traditions alive.

Click here and you will be able to browse and view the videos.

Upcoming We Shall Remain Program

To celebrate National Library Week, which is April 12-18, we are hosting a series of community programs throughout the month of April to compliment the PBS series We Shall Remain.

Thursday, April 17th from 3:00 to 7:00

The Alliance Public Library will host an open house followed by a

7:00 discussion with Jim Henson, historian in resident at the Museum of the Fur Trade, on Crow Raid at Bordeaux Trading Post and Crow Butte Battle

To Read: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

For a couple of months now, I have been wanting to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a post-apocolyptic tragedy type of tale that follows a father and his son as they journey through the ashes of what use to be the United States. I actually have a copy of the book to give away here on the blog at some point, but first I think I will read it and then maybe write a review or something.

"His tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful. It might very well be the best book of the year, period."
— San Francisco Chronicle

Here is a video of Oprah interviewing Cormac McCarthy.


P.S. I think it is hilarious when she asks him if he is passionate about writing!

Bookworm

FICTION
Under the Radar by Fern Michaels: The seven friends and their mentor escape to their mountaintop hideaway. During the night they are wakened by an alarm bell and see Charles and Myra entering a helicopter leaving a short note behind.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Three extraordinary women, whose determination to start a movement of their own, forever changes a town, and the way women view one another.

The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer: Thea is a brilliant medical doctor and her father Petros is a celebrated internal medicine specialist. When Petros is injured and in a coma, Thea fights to keep him alive and discovered that the accident wasn't an accident. Petros sends her a message with his eyes.

What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: To salvage her floundering career after leaving her role on America's favorite sitcom and being left by her famous husband, Georgie York fakes a new marriage with her former costar Bramwell Shepard for the Hollywood paparazzi, but begins to question why Bram, whom she had considered an enemy, is being so supportive.

Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein: A young woman, a conservator of rare books and maps, has been assaulted but refuses to cooperate with authorities. Another woman with a rare book is murdered in the same apartment. This leads Alex Cooper to the strange and privileged world of the Hunt family, benefactors of the Library and rare book collectors. Who would kill for a rare book containing the world's oldest map?

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigani: Thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, faced with the seemingly impossible task of helping her family's shoe business rebound from financial ruin, travels to Tuscany in search of techniques and materials which will help her rebuild the company, and while she is there, she learns a secret and has life-changing experiences.

The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker: Charlie Hood knows that there are still outlaws in the American West and prefers to cruise the highways at night and alone to find them. But he is assigned a partner named Terry Laws, a County veteran who everyone calls Mr. Wonderful. Laws is shot dead in the passenger seat and Hood is left find the gunman who didn't think Mr. Wonderful had lived up to his name.

Nonfiction
Classic Farmall Tractors by Kenneth Updike: From the first tractor built in 1924 to the last Farmall model to roll off the line, this richly illustrated history tells the full story of Farmall tractors and fills in a key chapter of American agricultural history.

Windpower by Christopher Gillis: "Windpower" is an examination of one of the many proposed solutions to energy in today's world.

Classic John Deere Two-Cylinder Tractors by John Dietz: The most popular tractors by the world’s favorite tractor manufacturer, these stalwarts of agriculture and industry get their due in this fascinating, fully detailed, extensively illustrated history.

The Naughty Secretary Club by Jennifer Perkins: 50 fun, secretary-themed jewelry projects, plus lots of quirky sidebars covering hot topics. Turn almost anything into a charm -- cake toppers, doll furniture, and hotel keys.

The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller: Tells the story of the short life of Colton H. Bryant, a Wyoming roughneck who fell to his death from an oil rig in 2006.

War History of Uss Leutze by Walter J. Fillmore: The history of a naval ship which became a fighting ship later in the war; a story about the ship, the men, and the families that supported them.

The Way We Die by Leslie Ivan: Explains the medical processes involved in death and dying along with the many ethical, moral and legal dilemmas that confront doctors and the decisions that may have to be taken by relatives. Also explores the topics of euthanasia, assisted suicide, organ transplants, and more.

Based on the Book

This week's feature is House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. The movie was released in November of 2008 and is now available on DVD. I haven't read any of Frank Peretti or Ted Dekker's books, as I tend to read at night and scary stories make it hard for me to go to sleep, but these two author's seem to be the big thing in the supernatural thriller genre.

Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti--two of the most acclaimed writers of supernatural thrillers--have joined forces for the first time to craft a story unlike any you've ever read. Enter House--where you'll find yourself thrown into a killer's deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose...and the only way out is in.

The stakes of the game become clear when a tin can is tossed into the house with rules scrawled on it. Rules that only a madman--or worse--could have written. Rules that make no sense yet must be followed.

One game. Seven players. Three rules. Game ends at dawn.

synopsis taken from www.barnesandnoble.com

Storytime

Let's Celebrate Easter!

Help Stephanie and Tiffany celebrate easter with some hoppy stories!

Tuesday, April 7th at 6:30 pm and

Thursday, April 9th at 10:00 am.

Storytime is for all children ages 3 to 6. Please register your child at the front desk before attending.

National Library Week is just around the corner!

April Brown Bag

Join us tomorrow

for a Brown Bag Presentation with

Don Henderson reviewing

World War II: 4,139 Strange and Unusual Facts

12:00 Noon

in the Alliance Public Library Community Rooms

My "To Read" List

Working here in the library, my list of books I want to read just keeps getting longer and longer, so I figured I would start sharing a title from my list each week. If you would like to share a book from your own "to read" list, simply email the title and your name (optional) to me at luv2read15@yahoo.com and I will post it.

So, two of the books on my list are Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. He wrote Wicked: the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which I absolutely loved and will probably read again someday. These two books continue his "Oz" stories. I am a fan of the Oz books by Frank L. Baum, and while I usually don't read spin offs, Wicked was so different and unique that it didn't bother me at all.

When a Witch dies-not as a crone, withered and incapable, but as a woman in her prime, at the height of her passion and prowess-too much is left unsaid. What might have happened had Elphaba lived? Of her campaigns in defense of the Animals, of her appetite for justice, of her talent for magic itself, what good might have come? If every death is a tragedy, the death of a woman in her prime keenly bereaves the whole world. Ten years after the publication of Wicked, bestselling novelist Gregory Maguire returns to the land of Oz to follow the story of Liir, the adolescent boy left hiding in the shadows of the castle when Dorothy did in the Witch.

A Lion Among Men complements the New York Times bestseller Son of a Witch in fleshing out the world of Oz, seen this time through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion-remembered from Wicked as a tiny cub defended by Elphaba. While civil war looms in Oz, an ancient and tetchy oracle named Yackle prepares for death. Before she can return to dust, however, the Cowardly Lion, an enigmatic figure named Brrr, arrives in search of information about Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West. As payment, Yackle, who hovered on the sidelines of Elphaba's life, demands some answers of her own.

The book synopsis' were found at www.barnesandnoble.com