Staff, Board,
& Volunteer Favorites 2002
FICTION
F BORO
Borowski, Tadeusz. This Way for the Gas, Ladies
and Gentlemen
I do find the question of what my favorite book is impossible
to answer because I love so much (not everything, I hasten
to add). I tend to want to single out what I'm reading when
I'm asked the question. So what I'm reading now is a powerful
and disturbing book, a book that breaks down simple preconceptions
and stereotypes, and a book that all people should read
because genocide has become so easy (in terms of logistics
and psychologically).
--Owen Rogal, adult program volunteer
F FLAG, LARGE TYPE F FLAG, CD F FLAG, TC F FLAG Flagg,
Fannie. Standing in the Rainbow
The fictional city of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, is home
to a host of ordinary, yet memorable, characters who with
heartwarminig humor and honesty share with the reader the
joys, sorrows, and hopes of their lives. We learn to care
about these people and to rejoice in their successes and
regret their losses.
--Karen Madesian, Circulation Services
Manager
F FRAN, LARGE TYPE F FRAN, CD F FRAN, TC F FRAN Franzen,
Jonathan. The Corrections
Franzen depicts the typical and not so typical American
Family in this fine book. The book focused on some uncomfortable
truths about family life and the interactions between family
members. I could relate to several of his scenarios as part
of my own family. It was very funny in parts in a wicked
fashion and I found myself laughing out loud at some of
the family members.
The first part of the book took me a while to read since
Franzen has a very complicated style of writing. I got all
wrapped up in his choice of words and interesting style
of prose. I think Franzen ran out of gas towards the end
of the book as I found myself skimming in parts and his
characters were not as well developed as in the first part
of the book.
As you may remember, this was one of Oprah's picks and Franzen
was distraught that he was counted among one of her favorites.
I do think Franzen is smart like a fox as this publicity
probably helped book sales.
--Pat Laas, Library Board President
F GRIS, LARGE TYPE F GRIS, CD F GRIS
Grisham, John. Skipping Christmas
Reviewers were harsh with this book, possibly because it ignores
the norm. It isn't a lawyer book as Grisham usually writes,
and it begins with a bah-humbug sort of attitude toward Christmas.
The well-written plot tells of one family's difficulties in
expressing and experiencing that type of attitude. Does it
all end well? You decide. I thoroughly enjoyed this little
book. And I enjoyed John Grisham's method of expressing his
thoughts on the commercialization of Christmas.
--Carol L. Scharff, Media Services
F HEAR
Hearn, Lian. Across the Nightingale Floor
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Star Wars in this fictional
feudal Japan story. First in a coming trilogy that has already
sold the movie rights!
--Crystal, Youth Services Assistant
F HURS
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching
God
This is the book I enjoyed reading most in the past twelve
months. Hurston provided a fast-paced narrative that took
me into the American South of one hundred years ago and
into a culture I've had little opportunity to come to know.
I appreciated Hurston's carefully crafted, lively characterizations
and less-than-sentimental treatment of her protagonist.
--Michael Hustedde, adult program
volunteer
F KANO, LARGE TYPE F KANO, TC F KANO
Kanon, Joseph. The Good German
This is a very atmospheric novel set in Berlin immediately
after World War II. It is also a love story and somewhat
of a thriller. The story revolves around Jake, a network
correspondent, and Lena Brandt, his former mistress. But
at the end, I felt like the MAIN character was Berlin itself
and the tortuous lives her people led during and after the
war.
--Faye Clow, Director
F KEYE
Keyes, Marian. Watermelon
This book is the first in a series of five. Each book focuses
on the trials and tribulations of a different sister in
the family.
Watermelon is a comic look at the often appalling circumstances
of real life and relationships, familial and otherwise.
--Anne Burdakin, Development Director
F ONAN
O'Nan, Stewart. A Prayer for the Dying
Just after the Civil War, a horrible diptheria epidemic has
gripped the town of Friendship, Wisconsin, in a vise of fear
and death. Jacob Hansen, Friendship's sheriff, undertaker,
and pastor, is soon overwhelmed, though he continues to do
what he can. "Is it possible to be a good man in a time
of madness?"
I'm not a devotee of what are considered "horror"
books, but this one really was compelling reading-a real page-turner
at only 195 pages. It's dark, poetic, surreal, and chilling.
The use of the second person singular and the present tense
took some getting used to, but once I realized the protagonist
was inside and outside of himself at the same time, I felt
it added a lot to the character and to the uniqueness of the
narrative.
--Hedy N.R. Hustedde, Information Librarian
F PRIC
Price, Reynolds. Noble Norfleet
Reynolds Price is one of my favorite southern authors. His
use of language is very distinctive. Having read a number
of his books, I would recognize the cadence of his dialogue
anywhere.
This is the bizarre tale of a Carolina teenager, the aptly
named Noble Norfleet, whose insane mother kills his younger
brother and sister with an ice axe. The parentless boy entangles
himself in a love affair with a high school teacher and
eventually escapes his hometown for a tour of duty as a
medic in Vietnam. He returns home to a solitary life as
a civilian nurse. Noble's tumultuous love affairs do nothing
to assuage his loneliness. As he faces late middle age,
he comes to a realization of where his duty and the meaning
of his life lies.
--Rita Rosauer, Senior Manager
F QUIN
Quindlen, Anna. Blessings
Matriarch Lydia Blessing and Skip Cuddy, caretaker of her
estate, form an unlikely alliance when an abandoned baby
is found on the doorsteps of "Blessings".
--Karen Madesian, Circulation Services
Manager
F TRIG
Trigani, Adriana. Milk Glass Moon
This third book in the "Big Stone Gap" series
continues the life story of Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney.
It tells the story of a shifting mother-daughter relationship
and the joys and pains these changes bring about to all
of those involved.
--Karen Madesian, Circulation Services
Manager
ROM ROBE, LARGE TYPE ROM ROBE
Roberts, Nora. The Chesapeake Bay series:
Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor, Chesapeake Blue
--Mary Burkhead, Circulation/Periodicals
M COBA, TC M COBA
Coban, Harlan. Tell No One
When Dr. David Beck begins getting e-mails from his wife-who
has been dead for eight years-all sorts of people-the FBI,
the wife's father, David's sister and her lesbian lover,
and various thugs and other criminals get involved.
This is a real page-turner full of suspenseful plot twists.
--Karen Madesian, Circulation Services
Manager
M MCCA
McCall Smith, Alexander. The No. 1 Ladies'
Detective Agency
This is the first of a mystery series only recently released
in the United States. The detective is an African female,
Precious Ramotswe. This first book acquaints the reader
with Precious' background while she solves her first few
cases. Along the way you gain insight into a different way
of thinking, a different culture. At the end, you are anxious
for the next excursion to Botswana.
--Faye Clow, Director
YA F COHN
Cohn, Rachel. Gingerbread
Cyd Charisse lives with her mother and stepfamily in San
Francisco. She's met her biological father just once in
a Texas airport when she was five. Now that she's sixteen,
she wants to see him again-if for no other reason than to
get away from her mom for a while. She also wants to get
away from Shrimp, her soulmate, who apparently has other
ideas about that.
I thought this was a fresh, funny look at a teen's struggle
to find her place in her family. No huge anxiety-ridden
episodes; Cyd Charisse doesn't resort to drug abuse or other
dangerous acting-out techniques. A normal teen in a normal
family-this should be read by teens and the adults who love
them.
--Maria Levetzow, Young Adult Services
J* BARR, JE B, KIT JE
Barrett, Judi. Cloudy With a Chance
of Meatballs
I learned to read with this book. It is a true masterpiece.
--Greg Rosenberg, Maintenance Page
NONFICTION
252.6 TA
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Home By Another
Way
This is a compilation of sermons that have been preached
by Barbara Brown Taylor , who has been recognized as one
of the greatest preachers today. They are moving, thought
provoking, and comforting.
--Vicki Seeck, Children's Aide
284.1 LI
Lischer, Richard. Open Secrets: A Spiritual
Journey Through a Country Church
This is an account of a young pastor's three-year ministry
in a small Lutheran congregation in southern Illinois. As
I read this book, I saw my own childhood as I grew up in
small Lutheran congregations just like this one.
--Vicki Seeck, Children's Aide
362.76 PE, CD 362.76 PE
Pelzer, Dave. The Lost Boy: A Foster
Child's Search for the Love of a Family
This is the sequel to the #1 international bestseller A
Child Called "It". The author describes his childhood
as an "F-child"-a foster child and searches for
a place to call "home". This book is his search
for answers and love. Pelzer made the reader understand
the life of a child whose own mother wouldn't say his name.
I found this "autobiography" to be very thought-provoking.
At times I was angry and in tears while other pages brought
triumph and smiles. Your heart goes out to young Dave.
--Shar, Reception
641.5 CO
Colwin, Laurie. Home Cooking
642.4 CO
Colwin, Laurie. More Home Cooking: A
Writer Returns to the Kitchen
These books are compilations of columns that were written
by the late Laurie Colwin for Gourmet Magazine. They are
charming recollections about what makes a certain recipe
or food memorable in the life of a family. The recipes are
good; don't miss the broccoli soup!
--Vicki Seeck, Children's Aide
792.028 MA
Maher, Bill. Does Anybody Have a Problem
With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits
The author of this book, Bill Maher, is also a comedian and
former talk show host. This book is appealing because it's
funny. It is a contemporary book. I like this book because
I used to watch "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher".
--Mark William Edwards, Page
796.522 KR, LARGE TYPE 796.522 KR, TC 796.522 KR Krakauer,
Jon. Into Thin Air
This is an account of the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest
written by journalist Jon Krakauer, who was a member of
the ill-fated team led by Rob Hall. This is not only a gripping
account of what happened, but also a reflection of the author's
attempts to personally come to grips with the tragedy and
his role in it.
--Vicki Seeck, Children's Aide
798.4 HI, LARGE TYPE 798.4 HI, TC 798.4 HI
Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American
Legend
The author tells the rags-to-riches story of one of the
most famous racehorses in history.
She also describes the world of horseracing in the 1930s-from
the elite compounds on the East Coast to the dirt tracks
of Tijuana.
--Barb Reardon, Information Librarian
This is a terrific story, not only about an unusual and
fascinating horse but the humans who owned, trained and
rode him. Each one of Seabiscuit's races is described with
such enthusiasm that the reader becomes a part of the excitement
at the track in the 1930s. You do not have to love horses
to enjoy this book. For me, it was a part of our history
(and heritage) which I knew absolutely nothing about.
--Susan Groff, Volunteer-Information
Services & Technical Services
808.81 HO
Housden, Roger. Ten Poems to Change Your
Life
These ten poems range from the contemporary Mary Oliver's
The Journey to Walt Whitman's 1855 Song of Myself, from the
13th century Persian mystic Rumi's Zero Circle to the 16th
century Spanish monk St. John of the Cross' The Dark Night.
My husband and I go to a different cemetery each Memorial
Day and, in 2002, I found myself reading this book of poems
aloud to him in the car. After reading Housden's commentary
on each, I was compelled to read each poem aloud again. It
was especially fitting on that day of graveyards and commemorations
that I would read W.S. Merwin's For the Anniversary of My
Death:
Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveler
Like the beam of a lightless star…
I have given this book as a present to two friends already
and find that it is one I come back to for myself with regularity,
because it makes me feel something wonderful about life.
--Hedy N.R. Hustedde, Information Librarian
942.032 RE
Reston, James. Warriors of God: Richard
the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade
When President Bush used the word "crusade" regarding
our response to the World Trade Center attacks, he riled
the East. At that point, I realized that the Crusades remained
a sensitive issue. I determined to understand that feeling
and started with Reston's book. Warriors of God is full
of rivalries among Christians, murderous retaliations, miscalculations
by both leaders-all the stuff of history. But I think its
most important message is that the Crusades were a conflict
that has never ended. Another good work to pick up to understand
the Crusades is The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
by Amin Maalouf 909.0976 MA. I'm reading that
now.
--Faye Clow, Director
945.31 DE
De Blasi, Marlena. A Thousand Days in
Venice: An Unexpected Romance
This is the true story of the author, who met a man in Italy
while traveling. He wooed her until she agreed to sell her
house in the U.S., move to Italy, and marry him. Wonderful
descriptions of Italian food and scenery.
--Judi Sarafin, Information Librarian
Bettendorf Public Library does not own the following book,
but can get it for Bettendorf residents through interlibrary
loan:
Fackenheim, Emil. What Is Judaism? An
Interpretation for the Present Age
Fackenheim struggles especially with how can we even think
of a God who would allow Auschwitz. It is definitely not just
a book for Jews although that is his target. He asks and tries
to answer just how is Judaism to be understood today if at
all. By implication, that certainly raises questions to me
about the Christian church whose long-term teachings about
Jews and its silence during the Holocaust played a large role
in creating and abetting the Holocaust.
I heard Fackenheim initially in the summer of 1983 when he
gave a talk at Yad Vashem where I was studying. He deeply
touched me then and I wanted this past year to reconnect with
his thinking since 1983.
--Art Pitz, adult program volunteer
SOUND RECORDINGS
CD JZ JONES
Jones, Norah. Come Away With Me
With mostly new songs written by Jones' guitar and bass
players, this album still manages to fit in covers from
Hank Williams ("Cold Cold Heart") and Hoagy Carmichael
("The Nearness of You"). A very pop-friendly singer,
Jones' cd has not left my cd player since I bought it months
ago.
--Maria Levetzow, Young Adult Librarian
CD RC DAVE
Dave Matthews Band. Crash (also
TC RC DAVE); Before These Crowded Streets
The music has such a full sound! The lyrics are incredibly
interesting. They really make me think. The music conveys
so many different messages. Some songs make me mad at society
and others make me happy to be alive. Dave Matthews Band
is just great music all-around.
--Shane Simmons, Page
Williams, Robin. A Night at the Met
--Mark William Edwards, Page
VIDEORECORDINGS
VC F GENE The General
VC F OUR Our Hospitality; Sherlock Jr.
VC F STEA Steamboat Bill, Jr.
In this writer's opinion, Buster Keaton created the funniest
and greatest early film comedies. These videos provide bellyachin'
laughter. Use with caution-only watch Buster Keaton if you
want to be totally entertained.
--Carol L. Scharff, Media Services
Saturday Night Live-The Best of Chris Farley
Saturday Night Live-The Best of Phil Hartman
--Mark William Edwards, Page
READING
By Ruth Stone from Ordinary Words
811.54 ST
It is spring when the storks return.
They rise from storied roofs.
In the quick winter afternoon
you lie on your bed
with a library book close to your face,
your body on a single bed,
and the storks rise
with the sound of a lifted sash.
You know without looking
that a servant girl
is leaning out in the soft foreign air.
A slow spiral of smoke
from green firewood
is reflected in her eyes.
She moves down an outside stair
absently driving the poultry.
The storks are standing on the roof.
The girl wraps her hands in her apron.
Small yellow flowers
have clumped among the tussocks
of coarse grass.
She listens with her mouth open
to something you cannot hear.
Your body is asleep.
She smiles.
She does not know a cavalry is coming
on a mud rutted road,
and men with minds like ferrets
are stamping their heavy boots
along the pages.
