Read Into the Holidays - Montgomery City

Montgomery
City-County
Public Library 2011
Read Into
The Holidays
From the Desk of the Library Director
Season’s Greetings:
December 2011
Dear Montgomery:
Welcome to the 2011 edition of Read Into the Holidays. As everyone knows, libraries
provide an opportunity for people to tour the world through the written word. I am
honored to have the opportunity to write these words to you, the reader, and welcome
you to a world of exploration through the written word.
Often patrons ask our staff for recommendations on what to read next.
The staff
cannot provide that guidance without having a true love for the written word.
Montgomery is truly blessed to have a Public Library staff that is well read, recognizes
authors and can make such recommendations when requested. The library is, as well,
blessed to have users, City and County officials and a Mayor who value not only
reading, but the process of life-long learning through reading and access to information.
Every member of the Library Staff submitted a review for this year’s book.
These
reviews represent their personal commitment to the process of learning and growing as
members of our staff, but more importantly as members of the Montgomery
community. Through the use of material that they have either listened to or read, the
staff, Friends of the Library, members of the many book discussion clubs meeting in our
Public Library, and other citizens who wanted to be a part of this year’s compilation of
reviews, we submit to you our gift.
As you read during the year, feel free to submit your review of a book to be included in
the 2012 edition of Read Into the Holidays. This 2011 edition is a gift from our staff to
you to cherish and share with other members of our community.
Our wish for you, our users, is that you have a safe and Happy Holiday Season and the
New Year proves to be prosperous beyond worldly possessions.
Enjoy!
Jaunita McClain Owes
Library Director
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The History of the Southern Christmas
The first documented Roman Catholic Christmas service in what would become the Southern United
States took place in Spanish St. Augustine in 1565. The first Anglican service was held in Jamestown, Virginia
in 1607. Roman Catholics, Dutch Reformed, and Lutherans all brought their traditions, but Christmas in the
South was mostly influenced in the second half of the 17th century and 18th century by Anglican planters,
settling Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas. Religious services were deemphasized by the English, who
indulged in the worldly pastimes of feasting, drinking, dancing, sporting, and gaming. The festivities often
lasted until ‘Twelfth Night’ (Twelfth Night is a Christian holiday celebrated 12 days after Christmas, on
January 6. It marks the end of the Christmas season), and had grown by the 18th century to include balls, hunts,
and open houses. Tables and sideboards groaned not only under the weight of Christmas delicacies well-known
to us, such as roast turkey, eggnog, cakes, and pies, but by every edible that could be raised, caught, or gathered
from the bounty of the Eastern seaboard. Gift-giving was not as central to the colonial Christmas as today,
although the wealthy commonly gave small gifts to the poor, servants, and slaves, and perhaps a few gifts to the
children. All classes saluted Christmas morning raucously by shooting off fireworks, firearms, and the clanging
of pots and pans. Other imported Old English customs included Christmas carols, Yule logs, kissing under the
mistletoe, and decking homes with greenery. Schoolboys earned themselves some holiday liberty through the
custom of “barring out the schoolmaster”, in which they would stock up on provisions and barricade themselves
inside the schoolroom.
The Southern taste for Christmas gaiety continued into the 19th century. The din and explosions from
the gunfire and fireworks explosions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were said to rival Independence
Day. Southern urban-dwellers, especially residents of Baltimore, Savannah, Mobile, and St. Augustine, hosted
Christmas Eve masquerades, known as “fantasticals”, which resembled the New Orleans Mardi Gras
celebration. In former French territories, nativity scenes, Midnight Mass, reveillon (Christmas Eve feast
following Midnight Mass), New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night parties remained popular through the 1800s.
The French gave gifts to the children on New Year’s Day. Over the 19th century, most Protestant
denominations, such as the Baptists and Congregationalists, lost their hostility to Christmas as a “Catholic”
feast day and brought
observances into their churches and homes.
Antebellum African Americans imported and developed their own traditions. In North Carolina, a
masquerade tradition, known as Jonkonnu, which still survives in the Caribbean, was celebrated. In Alabama,
some slaves observed an all-night vigil on Christmas Eve, during which they sang, danced, and prayed.
Alabama, in 1836, became the first state to recognize Christmas Eve as a legal holiday and, in 1870,
Christmas was recognized as a national holiday. During the latter 19th century and 20th century, Christmas
traditions became less regionally and ethnically bound as mass immigration and increasing commercialization
popularized Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and gift-giving across America.
By Pamela Sage, Head of Reference and Information Services
Sources: Encyclopedia of Christmas by Tanya Gulevich and The Christmas Encyclopedia by William D. Crump
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Easy/Juvenile
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor
JF O’CONNOR
All locations
The story takes place in a small southern town called Carter, Georgia, where Owen Jester
and his family live. After Owen’s dad loses his job with the hardware store, Owen and his family
move in with his ailing grandfather and his live-in nurse. His grandfather and the nurse, Earlene,
live on a farm, and Owen sets out to explore it from day one. He is often in trouble with Earlene,
and would love to get away from her watchful eyes. He captures, from Graham Pond, the
biggest, greenest bullfrog in town, takes him home, and names him “Tooley”, for his rockmusician cousin who lives in Alabama. Owen now considers him a pet, and so he puts him in a
cage. He tries to feed him bugs, but Tooley won’t eat, and just sits and stares.
When his nosey neighbor, Viola, comes over to see the frog, she tells Owen that his frog
is not happy because he lives in a cage. She says he should put him back in the pond. Tooley
seemed to be very sad, and Owen began to wonder if Viola was right, after all.
One night, after Owen had checked on Tooley and turned off the light to go to bed, he
hears the train whistle blow (as it did each night) and the clatter of the train gets louder and
louder as it approached Carter. The train went whizzing by. Suddenly, Owen hears a strange
noise that he has never heard before from the train tracks behind his grandfather’s house. He
goes to investigate, and discovers what had made that noise—a two-passenger submarine—the
Water Wonder 4000.
Owen now has a “fantastic secret” that he only shares with his two best friends, Travis
and Stumpy. This was the beginning of their exciting summer adventure. The trio tries
brainstorming ways to move the submarine to the pond, but none of them work. They soon
learn that they can’t accomplish their plans without Viola’s help. The four of them find a way to
transport the sub to the water, and take it for a ride in Graham Pond!
Eventually Owen’s “fantastic secret” is revealed when the men from the railroad
company come searching for the Water Wonder. This leads to a surprising ending for Owen and
his friends. Children will enjoy the adventure, mystery, and humor in this story. I recommend
this book for ages 7-11.
Anita Berry, Librarian I, Governor’s Square Branch Library
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
JF DiCAMILLO
All Locations
Bink and Gollie is a story about two best friends who are completely different only
having one thing in common, which is skating. While Bink is more carefree and unapologetic
about who she is, Gollie attempts to be the most level headed of the two. Bink yearns for
brightly colored socks, yet Gollie is annoyed by them. However, with the phrase “I long for
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speed” both girls put away their differences, strap on their skates and roll all their differences
away. No matter how extremely opposite the girls may be, one thing remains, their unspoken
bond and love for one another is effortless and endearing.
I highly recommend this book because of my passion for skating and the friendships that
were formed with my own friends. We all are from different backgrounds but the love of skating
and the love for each other is just like Bink and Gollie, unconditional. Bink and Gollie is a quick,
easy read for children and they will enjoy all the adventures that lie ahead.
Zipporah Bonney, Library Assistant I, Governor Square Branch Library
The Mask Wearer by Bryan Perro
JSF PERRO
All locations
Amos Daragon was born in Omain. Omain was a beautiful place with unpaved streets, beautiful
hillsides, and snowy mountain tops. The only person that lived above their means was Lord
Edonf. He even lived in a castle and ruled everybody. People had to pay taxes on the full moon
in each month. Amos’s mother and father were craftspeople who decided to build a home in
Omain, which was a bad choice. When Lord Edonf found out about it, Amos’s father, Urban,
worked for twelve years trying to pay off a debt he could never repay. Amos’s mother, Frilla,
watched as her husband would be treated like a slave. She soon learned that they were the
poorest family in the village. They were so poor they couldn’t send Amos to school so Amos and
his family left Omain for a new place to live. Once again Amos began to see life come back in
his family. Amos’s life also began to change as they traveled through different towns and places
meeting different people. Each place brought new trials for Amos. On this journey Amos went
on a search for four masks and sixteen stones that made the masks magic.
Doris Brown, Library Assistant I, Tech Services
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
E WILLEMS
All Libraries
Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus stars Pigeon, the Bus Driver, and you!
The Bus Driver has to step away for a minute and he asks you, the reader, to make sure the
Pigeon doesn’t drive the bus. Can you do it? Can you make sure the Pigeon doesn’t drive the
bus? Pigeon can be very persuasive! With hysterical animation, Mo Willems’ Pigeon tries his
best to persuade you to let him drive the bus. It’s up to you to tell him “no.” All of Mo
Willems’ Pigeon books and his Piggy and Gerald series lend themselves to interactive story
telling. Let Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus be your first fore into the world of Mo
Willems. Don’t be surprised if you enjoy reading about the Pigeon as much as the child you are
reading to does!
Rachel Chenault, Librarian I, Rosa L. Parks Branch Library
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You Can Be a Friend by Dungy, Tony & Lauren
E DUNGY
All Libraries
Tony Dungy, a retired NFL coach, along with his wife, Lauren, wrote You Can Be a
Friend to teach children about the importance of friendship, consideration, and unselfishness. I
enjoyed reading this book because it can be used to teach valuable lessons to children about
becoming friends with other kids regardless of their appearance, disability, or nationality. Many
people do not understand or realize the importance of looking beyond the outer appearance of
someone but into their hearts. The child, Jade, in this book learned that lesson and became
friends with Hannah, the new girl in the neighborhood. Hannah was confined to a wheelchair.
They became so close that Jade changed her birthday party venue from the water park to the zoo
in order for Hannah to attend and have fun. This is a great book and if you like this book by
Tony Dungy, you will like You Can Do It. This is a fiction book aimed at children between the
ages of 4-8.
Kay Crawford, Library Assistant I, Juliette Hampton Morgan
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz
J 614.5942 BUCHLOZ
Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Hampstead, Lewis, Lowder, Main
If you have ever wondered about the food in the Harry Potter books this is the book for
you! While not recognized as a part of the Potter franchise it is filled with recipes for foodstuffs
mentioned in the book along with interesting side notes on the food item in history. Dinah
Bucholz, who started cooking at the ripe old age of nine, writes in a simple, straight forward
manner, resulting in even the most basic of cooks being able to master these recipes without the
use of a wand. So if you have inadvertently given your house elves clothing and find yourself
wanting a Treacle Tart or have the thirst for Pumpkin Juice this is the book for you! Adults and
children will both enjoy reading this book.
Julia-Ann Jenkins, Branch Head, E. L. Lowder Regional Library
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall
E ALLARD
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis (BOT E ALLARD, Morgan)
This book has to be one of my all-time favorites. To have a teacher that is sweet and nice is
always the teacher of every student’s dreams, but not every student understands how to
appreciate a teacher of that character until they have experienced one that is the opposite.
Miss Nelson is Missing is a book for all ages, and will have your attention from beginning
to end. If you enjoy books with a little humor and a lesson to be learned this is the book to
choose.
LeBaron Judkins, Library Page, Morgan Library
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Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
JF DRAPER
All branches
This novel is about an eleven year old girl who suffers from a birth defect, which leaves
her disabled. Because of this disability, she is totally dependent upon her parents to do
everything for her. The name of this very special and inspirational character is Melody. Melody
is a very bright young lady who has lots of thoughts and feelings that twirl around in her head
everyday. If society gives this young lady a chance, it would be surprised at the things she has to
say. Because of her condition, society has labeled her as being “special” and an embarrassment
to be around.
Finally, with the help of a caring teacher and an aide, Melody gets the chance to “speak”.
Melody has been afforded a talking computer that helps her communicate with society. Now, this
same society has a chance to learn that Melody has more to offer that meets the eye. This
computer has helped Melody in more ways than one, she can finally tell her parents how she
feels. More importantly, tell them how she feels about them. This book is an interesting read for
anyone who has not had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of a “special” person’s life.
Because I myself had a “special” sister, whom I like to call God’s “special angel”, this book was
a great read for me. It also made me wonder…did my sister have all these thoughts and emotions
in her head that she longed us to understand.
Kesha McClain, Library Assistant I, Coliseum Branch Library
It’s a Book by Lane Smith
E SMITH
All Locations
Have books become obsolete in this technological society? Have IPads, Kindles and
Nooks……taken over? Lane Smith’s book It’s a Book certainly gives that impression. The key
stars in this children’s book are a monkey, a jackass and an occasional appearance of a mouse.
The jackass is very curious about this thing that the monkey has in his hands. The jackass is the
really techy and deep into his computer jargon type. He asks…What is it?...What can it do? Does
it have blogging, scrolling, tweeting abilities?
Each inquiry that the jackass makes is answered with a “No”… “It’s a Book” by the
monkey. You have to check out the expressions on the faces of the characters. They will crack
you up with laughter. This timely picture book is written as an easy fiction but I would
recommend it for older children who still remember books. Lane Smith has authored and
illustrated several award winning books for children.
Joan Means, Branch Head, Governor’s Square Branch Library
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Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
JF LEAV
Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Lewis, Lowder, Morgan
This book is a wonderful love story and fantasy that will pull you in and not let you go.
The story centers around 16 year-old Keturah who is the storyteller in her small village.
Keturah’s gift of storytelling in a time of Kings, Lords, and Dukes was much appreciated around
a fire in the evening. Keturah sees Lord Death when she is lost in the woods that surround her
village and the bargaining begins. Now, she must weave a story so wonderful that she will be
able to stay alive! The story that Ms. Leavitt weaves using her words like magic is almost poetry
at times. I would recommend this book for fifth graders and up.
Sharon Phillips, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Reference Librarian
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? by Eric Carle
E591.3 CARLE
Located at All Branches except Hampstead
Eric Carle is famous for his illustrations, and he does not disappoint his readers with this
non-fiction book. This cute book looks at animal mothers from around the world. At the end of
the book, Mr. Carle lists animals by name and gives us the names of the babies, parents, and
groups of each. I would recommend this book for very young children under four.
Sharon Phillips, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Reference Librarian
Chewy Louie by Howie Schneider
E SCHNEIDER
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square
Father brings home a cute little black puppy, who, as puppies do, chews. Louie is an
expert and voracious chewer. Chewy Louie is chewing up everything so excessively they try to
hire a trainer to see if that would stop the chewing, but to no avail. He ate toys and his food bowl,
and then he started on the back porch! I would recommend this book to anyone under third
grade.
Sharon Phillips, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Reference Librarian
The Story of a Boy Named Will, Who Went Sledding Down the Hill
E KHARMS
by Daniil Kharms, Illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governors Square, Rosa Parks, and Ramer
This book was written in 1993 and it is a deceptively plain white book on the outside. I
picked it up one afternoon while straightening the shelves and opened it to find a delightful story
and illustrations. Willie indeed went for a sled ride down a hill very fast and ran into a variety of
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animals and one human. The story line is cute but the illustrations make the story. The eyes on
the characters are incredibly fun. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Sharon Phillips, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Reference Librarian
A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson
E HOPKINSON
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Ramer, Pintlala, Pike Road, Pine Level,
Rosa Parks
A Band of Angels was based on a true experience about nine jubilee singers in 1871.
Seven were born as slaves and two were not born into slavery. However, this book was mainly
about one person, Ella Sheppard Moore. She was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Ella played the
piano so beautifully at her father’s funeral. In 1868, she decided to go to Fisk School, which was
for people that were once slaves. She joined the Jubilee Singers to raise money to save their
school. The school became a University in 1871 after the jubilee singing competition.
Margeret Smith, Page, Juliette Hampton Morgan
Three By the Sea by Mini Grey
E GREY
All Libraries
Three By the Sea is a story about friendship. It is story of the relationship between a
black cat, a white dog and a gray mouse that lived in a beach hut by the sea shore. The three
animals had particular chores around the hut. The dog tended the garden, the cat tended the
house work and the mouse did all the cooking.
One day a stranger came ashore announcing that the dog, the cat, and the mouse were
bearers of the “Lucky Winners from The Winds of Change Trading Company.” This caused
problems among them to the point that the mouse ran away and the cat and dog ended up saving
the mouse. They decided to ask the stranger to leave. The stranger left, leaving them with some
valuable items. There was a valuable lesson learned through this story.
Minnie H. Stringer, Librarian I, Rufus A. Lewis Library
The Longest Christmas List Ever by Gregg & Evan Spiridellis
E SPIRIDE
All Libraries
The Longest Christmas List Ever is a story little boy named Trevor who woke up one
Christmas morning after opening his presents, discovered that he did not add a particular toy to
his list. Therefore, he decided to start his list the day after Christmas. By the next Christmas he
had over 500 items and more. On Christmas Eve he carried many, many boxes to the Post Office
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and found that it would cost him over six trillion dollars to mail. He had only a nickel, two
dimes, and three dirty rocks. He was told by the postman to shorten his list. He rushed home to
shorten his list, but it was too late to mail it. He went to bed thinking “no list, no gifts.” He
woke up on Christmas and was in for a big, big surprise. This was a most enjoyable story.
Minnie H. Stringer, Librarian I, Rufus A. Lewis Library
Dream Big Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi
E YAMAGUC
All Libraries
Dream Big Little Pig is the story of pot-bellied pig that had big dreams. She had
encouragement from her family to pursue her dreams in life. She tried to become a ballerina, a
model, and a singer. Her family continued to tell her to pursue her dream. One day while
watching the other animals ice-skates she decided to learn to skate. She fell down many times
but got back up. She practiced and practiced with these words in her head “I know I can, I know
I can.” She found herself spinning, swooping and swizzing and not falling. Everyone cheered
her on because she never gave up on her dream.
Minnie H. Stringer, Librarian I, Rufus A. Lewis Library
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Young Adults (YA)
Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria Became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a
Reporter, and a Scoundrel by Michaela MacColl
YA F MACCOLL
All branches
Michaela MacColl has written an historical fiction novel based on Queen Victoria as a
child. Prisoners in the Palace is full of engaging characters and the story itself is empowering.
MacColl uses newspaper articles, journals and letters interspersed throughout the chapters to
develop the storyline. There is a little bit of everything in this story: drama, deception, romance,
suspense, irony, even humor. The best part about it: a portion of the story is based in fact.
Liza, the protagonist, shares experiences that resonate with all young women, regardless
of the era: a longing for family, acceptance, success and independence. Her determination is
admirable, especially when she is “out of her station” reprimanding or encouraging Victoria in
ways that were much more woman to woman than servant to royalty.
Liza is supported by a cast of other intriguing and interesting characters, including Will,
the young entrepreneur publishing his own news, Inside Boy (the aforementioned scoundrel), the
Baroness Lehzen, Sir John Conroy and the Duchess, Victoria’s conniving mother, and most
importantly, of course, Princess Victoria.
Learning about the life of the young Victoria, before she became Queen, is a real treat.
One has likely never imagined the circumstances leading up to her acceptance of the Crown.
Although much of the story is fiction, Victoria’s story is largely based in fact, leaving the reader
entertained with a grasp of the childhood history before she became Queen Victoria and set the
standard for what would become the Victorian Era.
Taylor Barth, Librarian I, Hampstead Branch Library
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston
YA 741.5973 TAMAKI
All Libraries except Hampstead
The only thing Emiko had to look forward to for the summer was babysitting and more
babysitting after being fired from her coffee job. Emiko has no real direction. All of her geek
friends have gone to summer camp. Emi knows life is a mess but you have to work hard to get
through it. She goes to the mall like most teenagers do to hang out but when she hears a
commotion and runs toward it a flier blows into her hand. This was an advertisement for an
underground art scene called “freak show” where creative souls perform art on stage. Gathering
all the courage she can muster, she attends the freak show and performs. The wife of the family
she babysits for kept a diary and Emiko found it. She made copies and read them on stage at the
Factory Club. Everyone loved her. Emi was now this electric urban art star. She thought there
might be something more out there for her. This was a quick read, an extremely fun book and
teens will be drawn to Emiko. We girls can all relate. This is a Comics/Anime/Graphic Novel.
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About the Authors: Mariko Tamaki is a writer and performer from Toronto who is very
interested in “freaks” and “weirdoes”. She is a graduate student in Linguistic Anthropology at
the University of Toronto. Steve Rolston is a Canadian artist and writer of comic books and
graphic novels. He got his big break from Oni Press as the pencil and inker of the first four issues
of their on-going Queen and Country comic series
Sandra Berry, Librarian I, Pintlala Branch Library
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
YA F GODBER
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Governor’s Square, Coliseum, Rosa Parks, Ramer, Pike Road,
Pine Level, Pintlala
This book begins in the midst of a funeral procession. The young 18 year old girl named
Elizabeth Holland was said to have been thrown in the river but by whom? Could it be her
fiancé, Henry Schoonmaker, who really has his eyes on marrying the younger Holland daughter,
Diana? Could it be her presumably best friend Penelope Hayes, who was jealous of her
engagement to the devilishly handsome Schoonmaker? No one knows, but we must take a look
at the events that have led up to such a tragic event. The year is 1899 and we are on the dawn of
a new century. The city is Manhattan and in it four teenagers are making quite a scene. Diana
and Elizabeth Holland are known by fellow Manhattan dwellers to be quite wealthy sisters;
however, after their father’s death, the family finds out that they are not as wealthy as they
thought. The mother panics but quickly thinks of a way to save their family from
embarrassment: Elizabeth must marry wealthy Mr. Schoonmaker’s son, Henry. The only
problem is that Elizabeth, unlike all other girls, isn’t in love with Henry. She has eyes for her
servant, Will Keller.
Elizabeth’s friend by social rank, Penelope, has had her eyes on Henry for a long time.
She would do anything to get him to marry her including exposing her friend to be broke, or
maybe even get rid of her all together. Henry Schoonmaker causes his family a lot of
embarrassment. He has been featured in many newspaper articles partying, getting drunk, and
being seen leaving the houses of young girls early in the morning. The father has had enough of
Henry’s reckless behavior and insists that he marries someone to change his foolishness or else
be disinherited. Can any girl really tame this rebellious teen?
One ride in the countryside on a breezy afternoon changes everything for these teenagers.
The horses get out of control, and the carriage is overturned into the river. Elizabeth Holland is
reported to be dead by Penelope but the body cannot be located in the river. Is Elizabeth really
dead? What made the carriage overturn? The answers can be found inside this book and in the
sequel Rumors. Young and old alike will be impressed by New York resident Anna Godbersen’s
debut novel. The twists and turns in the plot will keep readers entertained and the historical
details really help readers picture in their minds what it was like to be living at this time.
Kari Burton, Library Assistant I, Morgan Library
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The Bully by Paul Langan
YA F LANGAN
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor's Square, Rosa Parks, Pintlala, Pike Road
The Bully is the fifth book of the Bluford series written by Paul Langan. In this book,
Langan writes a fictional story about a teenager named Darrell Mercer. After moving from one
state to another, Darrell becomes the center of everyone’s laughter at his new school. Darrell is
not only the laughing stock of the school but the personal “pick on me” kid for Tyray Hobbs.
Darrell is so devastated about his current situation that he takes his life into his hands and
decides on making a drastic change. The change would either make him or break him.
I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers who are experiencing the same kind
of abuse as Darrell. This book will teach children how to take control and not allow anyone to
treat him or her in a way that will affect them physically, mentally, or emotionally. This is a
great revelation of the things that kids are going through at school.
Cherlyn Hall, Library Assistant I, Coliseum Branch Library
Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter, Young Adult E-book Series (OverDrive)
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Book 1)
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Book 2)
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Book 3)
Only the Good Spy Young (Book 4)
This is a great series that reminds me of the sitcoms of the seventies—all nice and
humorous and almost believable—unlike today’s reality, in-your-face shows. The realities in
these books are that the girls are being trained to be spies in a dangerous world outside of the
sheltered old mansion that serves as their school. However, outside of the exclusive school for
girls is something possibly more dangerous than double agents—boys. Ally Carter does a great
job keeping the reader on their toes with just enough violence and only a kiss or two. I can’t
wait for GG#5!
Julia-Ann Jenkins, Branch Head, E L Lowder Regional Library
Ashes of Roses by Mary J. Auch
YA F AUCH
Available at all branches
Margaret Rose Nolan and her family moved from Ireland. They spent several weeks on a
ship bound for New York City. They left Ireland in hope of a better life in the United States.
Margaret Rose is a sixteen years old girl dreaming of becoming an American Girl. Then her
family received some bad news when arriving: they denied her baby brother permission into the
United States due to a contagious disease. What were her parents going to do? They decided
that her Dad would go back to Ireland with the baby and leave her Mom, Rose, and her little
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sister with her Dad’s brother, Uncle Patrick. That would have worked out great if Uncle Patrick
were not married to a mean woman with two mean daughters. It did not take long before the
family realized they could not live with Uncle Patrick. Her mother decides that she has had
enough and is going back to Ireland to join her husband and baby. Did Rose and her little sister
go back to Ireland? To find out what happens----read this book.
Linda Johnson, Young Adult Department, Morgan Library
Outrunning the Darkness by Anne Schraff
YA F SCHRAFF
All Libraries
Out Running the Darkness is the first book of the Urban Underground Series. The story
is about two high school students who had been friends since childhood. Jaris wants to ask his
friend Sereeta out on a date, but he is afraid she will say “no”. She tells him that he reminds her
of her cousin, Eugene, who is often referred to as a nerd.
Jaris and his grandmother have conflicting ideas on various issues regarding Jaris’ life.
The two of them just don’t agree on many things. She doesn’t like the school that Jaris attends.
In addition, she doesn’t like his father, and is not happy with the father’s current job as a
mechanic. The conflict between Jaris and his grandmother has forced Jaris to be torn between
love for his grandmother and his father.
Edwina Martin, Library Assistant I, Rufus A. Lewis Library
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
YA F FITZ
Morgan, Coliseum, Hampstead, Lewis, Governor’s Square, Lowder, Pike Road, Pintlala
There is much discussion among high school students about the dreaded “summer
reading list”; and I have heard so much talk about The Great Gatsby that I was compelled to read
this book with my own high school daughter. This book is a classic and I also read it as part of
my own high school summer reading list. The story moves quickly along, drawing you into the
lives of the characters of the 1920s. The characters are much the same as the people we see
today and embody for the most part, the same obsessions: ambition, greed, money and the desire
to live the American Dream. Fitzgerald has crafted a complex tale that captures human nature
with all of its flaws. It’s also a well woven love story that mixes past events with revenge, lust,
greed and finally great loss.
The story is set among a millionaire community on Long Island. The bachelor Gatsby
gives fabulous parties at his mansion that last all night long and are the season’s most talked
about events. Gatsby is the romantic hero. His fascinated neighbor, Nick Carraway, becomes
Gatsby’s friend. Nick is the sensitive observer (and narrator) on whom the moral foundation of
the book rests. Their friendship escalates to the point that Gatsby reveals that his fortune was
acquired by shady means and he is guilty of a love affair with Daisy, the wife of a now
prominent, wealthy man. He hopes to prove to Daisy that he has become an upscale man.
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Gatsby beseeches Nick to help him meet Daisy once more, and Nick at last agrees – arranging
tea for Daisy at his house. The two ex-lovers meet and soon the affair is in full swing. In the
aftermath of the emotional confrontation by Daisy’s husband, Tom, Daisy hits and kills a woman
on the drive back home. Gatsby feels that if Daisy does not remain in his life, then his life is
nothing and he decides to take the blame. The man, George Wilson, discovers that the car that
killed his wife is owned by Gatsby. Wilson goes to Gatsby’s home and shoots him. Nick quietly
arranged a funeral for his friend. Disgusted and saddened, he leaves New York.
Fitzgerald painted two separate portraits of Gatsby. First, a man who has everything-money, cars, a huge mansion and all of the material possessions anyone could hope for; and the
other, a man who has everything but what he most desires, the love he would give up everything
for.
Fitzgerald’s picture is a snapshot of history that is both fascinating and horrific at the
same time. The Great Gatsby captures the American Dream in a time when it had descended
into decadence.
I enjoyed this classic much greater as an adult than I did as a high school student.
Fitzgerald’s well developed yet shallow characters portrayed the gateway to iniquity even in the
1920s: greed, ambition, and money…with a little bit of lust thrown in for good measure! It
reminded me that we see this same tragic train wreck repeat itself over and over and yet are
helpless to do anything but observe the events as they unfold, much as Nick did. Give this old
classic a chance, or a second chance. I am glad I did.
Desiree Maurer, Technical Services
In the Absence of My Father by Quebe Merritt Bradford
YA F BRADFORD
All eleven locations
This is a wonderful young adult fiction book written by a local high school English
teacher working in the Montgomery Public School System. This novel is about two brothers,
Chocolate and Mariner, who lost their mother at the age of 11 and 9. This is a heartfelt story.
You can’t just read this book without feeling Chocolate’s pain, frustration and fears. This story
is fast paced and will keep you interested in what is going on with the boys. Before the death of
his mother, Chocolate was an exceptional and gifted student, scoring the highest on all
standardized tests and making all A’s in the classroom. After the death of his mother the boys
and their father moved in with their abusive Auntie Gene. Gene was very abusive to the
children, especially Chocolate. There were many times he had to sleep outside in the cold or go
without food.
Regardless of how his aunt treated him, he would always remember how kind and sweet
his mother was to he and Mariner. She encouraged them to do their best and to always pray.
Chocolate’s grades started falling below the F line. Each day he had to deal with personal fears,
family problems, verbal and physical abuse and a lack of love and encouragement. His father
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didn’t show concern or love to them. He was in his own world. He didn’t care what Auntie
Gene said or did to them. He was not the same father that they knew before the death of their
mother.
It was things that his mother taught them that helped them to survive. Chocolate
remembered that his mother always stressed getting a good education, so Chocolate decided to
focus on getting a good education and being a good role model for his brother. So, he started by
trying to pull his grades up and staying out of trouble. He would not let anything keep him from
reaching his goals.
This story reveals many things children have to deal with, things that they don’t share
with adults such as being bullied by other teens and adults, loneliness and lack of love. Today’s
children can learn a lot from reading this book such as how to appreciate your living parents,
having a home where love is shared, money in your pocket and food on the table and in the
refrigerator to eat when you get ready. After reading this book, it taught me how to be more
grateful for what I have. You must read the book to see what I mean!
Gertie Scott, Branch Head, Coliseum Boulevard Branch Library
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
YA SF MIEVILLE
Available at all 11 Library locations
Twelve-year-old Zanna is the “Shwazzy” – the Chosen One who is prophesied to liberate
UnLondon, a bizarre parallel version of London, England, from the Smog. The Smog is a
gaseous entity that turns the people of UnLondon into Smombies (Smog + Zombies =
Smombies) and other creatures. Like King Arthur, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter before her,
the Chosen One goes into battle against the dark side. Unlike those chosen ones, she is taken out
of the fight during her first encounter with the bad guys, leaving the people of UnLondon to
wonder what is up with that prophecy. Deeba, Zanna’s best friend, cannot forget about the
people of UnLondon and returns as the UnChosen One to help them fight the Smog.
Un Lun Dun takes the traditional heroic journey readers have come to expect and turns it
upside down. Deeba would be the funny sidekick in another fantasy novel. She certainly doesn’t
look the part of the typical hero with her short stature, chunky figure, and messy black hair.
Deeba’s decision to replace Zanna as the hero of UnLondon, despite the lack of even a footnote
in the prophecy about her, makes Un Lun Dun truly great. The novel suggests that you don’t
have to be blond-haired, blue-eyed and/or a “chosen one” to take on a great challenge – you
simply have to care enough about others to take action. Deeba’s heroic journey culminates in the
book’s extremely satisfying final scene.
In addition to creating an inspiring and unconventional heroine, China Mieville populates
UnLondon with weird characters including a half-mortal/half ghost boy, the binjas – garbage
cans that fight like ninjas, the Black Windows – creepy spider-like windows that open onto
nightmarish rooms, and Curdle – an adorable milk carton that acts like a puppy. Some of these
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characters are good and some are bad, but all of them make UnLondon live and breathe as a
wonderland that readers will want to re-visit.
Fans of the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books will enjoy a trip to Un Lun Dun. Like
a good travel guide, the book provides a glossary of British terms to help American readers
understand unfamiliar words and phrases.
Matt Williams, Librarian I, Pike Road/Pine Level Branch Libraries
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Non-Fiction
What in the World is Going On? by Dr. David Jeremiah
236 JEREMIA
All locations except Hampstead
In the New York Times Best Seller, What in the World is Going On? Dr. David Jeremiah
identifies and describes ten of the most important end time Bible prophecies, some of which have
already come to pass. They are:
•
Rebirth of Israel as a nation on May 14, 1948.
•
Growing worldwide oil crisis.
•
Reunification of the nations of the Ancient Roman Empire.
•
Rapid worldwide growth of Islam.
•
Rapture of the Church.
•
America’s role in end time prophecy.
•
Seven Year Tribulation under the worldwide rule of the Antichrist.
•
Invasion of Israel by a horde of troops from a group of nations led by Russia and Iran.
•
Battle of Armageddon.
•
Second Coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In each chapter, Dr. Jeremiah gives a very lengthy and detailed description of each Bible
prophecy, always backing up everything that he says with much scripture from the Bible.
Anyone who reads this book will find that it is a very good study guide; not only for
understanding what is happening now, but also for what is going to happen in the future. One
will also acquire a feeling of peace knowing that, even in these wild and chaotic days, God is and
will always be in control no matter what is going on in the world. If it has been difficult for you
to understand end time prophecy in the past, then reading Dr. Jeremiah’s book will help you to
understand it all much better. It is a very thought-provoking book that must be read by all who
wish to understand what is going on in the world today and why and to be prepared for what is to
come in the future.
Tommy Anderson, Collection Development Librarian
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Why the West Rules for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal about the
Future by Ian Morris
909 MORRIS
Morgan Library
Remember history class where the professor explains the rise and fall of great
civilizations, and the advancement of human society? Has it ever occurred to anyone about why
the West is seen as the most dominant society in world affairs? Indeed many have wondered,
which leads to Ian Morris’ (Professor of Classics and History at Stanford University) book, Why
the West Rules for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal about the Future. The
debate on why the ‘West rules’ has been a contentious issue since it became clearly evident that
Western culture had surpassed other civilizations around the 18th century.
Two adversarial sides developed holding a common theme within each camp. Morris
describes the first group as the long-term, lock-in theorist, who believe that the Western rise was
an inevitable and unchangeable event. Biology, sociology, philosophy, geography and even
weather were some of the professed reasons that these historians believed it was a foregone
conclusion that the West would become the principal authority in the world.
Morris labeled the opposing thinkers as the short-term, accident theorist, who thought that the
West ascendance was a coincidence rather than a predetermined outcome. To some historians the
West was just plain lucky in its rise.
However, Morris’ theory counters both thoughts on different aspects. In his book, Morris
compares the West to the East and demonstrates how both societal ‘cores’ switched every several
hundred years as the strongest culture. Additionally, each region formulated its own ideas and
techniques to harness their own environments. For Morris, the fact that both cores were at one
point the most powerful in the world, and that each core evolved to adapt to different locations
proves that the course of history is neither a predestined occasion nor a fortunate occurrence
purported by men with ‘dumb luck,’ but just the steady march of human development.
For any person willing to hear a different point of view on the shape of world history this
is a must read. It is not a complicated or tedious history book, but rather a witty and well thought
out lecture; however, it is lengthy with a little more than 600 pages. Whether one agrees or not
with Morris, his idea brings an interesting twist to an old debate.
Devon Beaty, Library Assistant I, Morgan Library
Shockwave : Countdown to Hiroshima by Stephen Walker
940.5425 WALKER
Morgan Library
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
530.092 BIRD
Morgan, Lewis, and Lowder Libraries
J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatterer of Worlds by Peter Goodchild
Morgan Library
18
B OPPENHEIMER
Fifty miles north of Ground Zero, an eighteen-year-old girl was traveling in the front
seat of a car next to her brother-in-law, Joe Willis. The girl’s name was Georgia
Green, and Joe was driving her to an early-morning music lesson in Albuquerque.
They still had some way to go. As they passed the town of Lemitar along an empty
Highway 85, a flash of extraordinary brilliance suddenly filled the landscape.
Georgia grabbed her brother-in-law’s arm. “What was that?” she cried.
Joe stared at her. Georgia Green was blind.
Twenty-one days later, on the other side of the world…..
For the rest of his life, Sunao Tsuboi would never forget how beautiful the garden
looked that night. The trees, the lake, the little rainbow bridge, the ancient wooden
teahouses dotting the banks, the smell of fresh pine, the white heron sleeping on the
rock. The perfect stillness of it all. Outside, beyond the garden walls, the city slept in
the darkness. In the blackout, it was almost possible to believe there was no city out
there at all, no houses, no army, no war. As if he and Reiko, lying together under the
stars, were the only people alive in the world. That is how he remembered it the night
before the bomb.
The above italicized passages are just two of the many engaging vignettes from Shockwave:
Countdown to Hiroshima by Stephen Walker. The teenage blind girl and her brother-in-law were
witnesses to the world’s first nuclear explosion, the “Trinity” test conducted in the New Mexico
desert on July 16th, 1945. The rendezvous of the two young lovers was a garden on the outskirts of a
city called Hiroshima. They parted a little after midnight, Walker informs us. Afterward, “he
[Sunao] would remember this as the happiest night of his life…Tomorrow was going to be a
beautiful day.” But that was the last time he would see her for “Tomorrow” was Monday, the 6th of
August, 1945. About 8 hours later – 8:15 a.m. to be exact – the light that a blind girl saw three
weeks earlier descended on Hiroshima, instantly destroying almost everything within a radius of
8,000 feet, killing perhaps 71,000 people outright from the blast and fires alone. In the following
five years, radiation exposure would cause deaths to continue into the 200,000 range.
History is, for the most part, a slow, gradual evolution of nations and cultures, infrequently
punctuated with huge, seminal events that rapidly transform everything within a few generations.
Within the last hundred years, World War II provided by far the most savage and singular cleavage
that separated the world that was from the world that we live in today. And of the entire war, no
event was more transforming than the development and use of nuclear weapons.
It’s legacy: By the 1960s, the four-engine propeller aircraft of World War II had been
superseded by missiles that can be launched from underground silos or submerged submarines,
delivering multiple warheads per missile, each one of which is more than 25 times more powerful
than the bombs used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki (destroyed three days later), passing between
continents in half an hour. By the 1980s, the nuclear arsenals of the world had ten tons of TNT for
every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth.
Shockwave is a dramatic and human-oriented account of the three-week period that began
this horrific transition. It reads much like the diary of some omni-present observer, as it darts from
the top-secret Los Alamos facility in New Mexico that was built to house the scientists and
technicians who designed and built the bombs, to Potsdam Germany, the meeting place of President
Truman, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier Stalin to decide destiny of the Post-war world, to the
B-29 Enola Gay en-route to Hiroshima. Witnesses include survivors, soldiers,
politicians, and
scientists. “I have tried,” the author writes in his introduction, “ to present one of the most decisive
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moments in history as it was experienced by people famous and obscure, powerful and ordinary, who
lived it in the moment” “… I have been shocked, disturbed, thrilled, appalled, entranced, amazed,
and deeply moved.” So will the reader.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From a television interview in 1965: Appearing aged well beyond his sixty years, looking
down and away, his voice halting and slow, the man recalls the pivotal event of Trinity twenty years
before:
You knew the world would not be the same. A few people … laughed. A few people
cried. Most people were silent … I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the
Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty,
and to impress him, takes on multi-armed form, and says, ‘Now I am become Death,
the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all felt that, one way or another.
There was another baleful legacy to these events, and that was the creation (or at least the
intensification) of the national-security state and its obsession with secrecy. And it’s most prominent
victim was none other than the man quoted above, who quickly emerged after Hiroshima as “the
father of the atomic bomb”, J. Robert Oppenheimer. His life is the subject of two excellent
biographies: the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning American Prometheus : The Triumph and Tragedy of
J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and J. Robert Oppenheimer : Shatterer
of Worlds, by Peter Goodchild.
Born in 1904 to a German immigrant and wealthy textile importer, Oppenheimer attended the
Ethical Culture School in New York where he became immersed in literature, the arts, and science.
He proved to be a prodigy, giving a lecture to the New York Mineralogical Club at the age of twelve,
mastered Harvard University’s curriculum in three years, summa cum laude. He went on to attend
universities in England and Germany in the 1920s, becoming enamored of the revolution then
sweeping the world of physics, the quantum theory. Able to speak six languages, he assumed a dualprofessorship at the University of California (Berkeley) and the California Institute of Technology,
and worked hard to make the United States a leader in theoretical physics, a position that we still
enjoy.
With the conquests of Nazi Germany over most of Europe in 1940, and the subsequent fear
of Hitler acquiring a nuclear bomb, Oppenheimer, at the behest of General Leslie Groves, stepped
onto the national stage as the civilian-scientist head of the American nuclear bomb (code-name
Manhattan) Project. Though highly controversial in the following years, there seemed little doubt at
the time that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki helped to break the will of the kamikazeobsessed Japanese government. (From Shockwave, after receiving reports on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki: “’Would it not be wondrous,’ said [Imperial Japanese Army]
General Anami, the war
minister, ‘for this whole nation to be destroyed like a beautiful flower?’”). Oppenheimer quickly
became a national hero, with cover stories in Time and Life magazines, was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Merit in 1946, and was feted by politicians and military brass on all matters atomic.
It was not to last. In the 1930s, Oppenheimer, like so many academics and intellectuals,
acquired left-wing associations. His wife, Kitty, was previously married to communist who went to
fight – and die – in the Spanish Civil War on the Loyalist side. His only sibling, Frank, also a
physicist, and his wife Jackie, formally joined the Communist Party of California. A number of his
graduate students and faculty friends came under FBI attention even before the U.S. entered the war.
“From 1942 to 1955 … Oppenheimer was followed, his phone was tapped, his mail was opened, and
his offices and homes were bugged.”
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Through all of this, there was never produced any evidence of Oppenheimer being careless,
much less treasonous, with classified information. And it is no small irony that U.S. intelligence
authorities never learned of the two Soviet agents that were active in Los Alamos, Klaus Fuchs and
Ted Hall, until well after the war, Fuchs in 1950, Hall not until 1995! The primary post-war animus
towards Oppenheimer seems to have come about because of his opposition to the development of the
thermonuclear, or hydrogen bomb, a weapon a hundred times more destructive than the fission
bombs that the Manhattan Project produced. Such was the hysteria of the times, that in December
1953 President Eisenhower was persuaded to relieve Oppenheimer of his security clearance.
Determine to re-gain his good name, Oppenheimer asked for a hearing before a “security
board.” The hearing was conducted in secret, with no photographers or reporters, and his lawyers
were often kept in ignorance whenever any documents or testimony were deemed “classified.” No
new facts were ever produced that various government agencies were not already aware of. Still, it
was to no avail. On June 29th, 1954 the board upheld the denial of his clearance. There was no
appeal.
Oppenheimer was devastated. He was practically branded a Soviet spy by the government he
had served loyally for 12 years. He died of throat cancer on February 18th, 1967, at the age of 63.
Much of Oppenheimer’s life seems soap-operish. He had on-again, off-again extra-marital
affairs, one with an unstable young CP volunteer and medical student who committed suicide during
the war, and another with the wife of a scientist-colleague. Kitty Oppenheimer, a woman of
“mercurial personality” seemed always on the verge of becoming alcoholic. Their two children, a
son, Peter, born in 1940, and a daughter, Katherine (“Toni”) born in 1944, predictably suffered for
the stress because of their father’s travails in the post-war years. Peter appeared to be resented by his
mother, according to some observers. He would grow-up to “shun journalists and would not talk
about his parents.” Toni, on the other hand, “seemed serene and sturdy.” However, she committed
suicide in 1977, at the age of 33. It didn’t help that the FBI prevented her from acquiring a job as a
translator with the United Nations, not for anything she did but simply because of animus toward her
father. “Everybody loved her,” a family friend sadly reflected, “but she didn’t know that.”
Biographers Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin quote physicist Freeman Dyson, who summarized
Oppenheimer’s life poignantly with the following statement:
A Faustian bargain is, when you sell your soul to the devil in ex-change for
knowledge and power. And that of course, in a way, is what Oppenheimer did. There
is no doubt. He made this alliance with the United States Army, in the person of
General Groves, who gave him un-dreamed of resources, huge armies of people, and
as much money as he could possibly spend, in order to do physics on the grand scale,
in order to create this marvelous weapon. And it was a Faustian bargain, if ever
there was one. And of course we are still living with the devil ever since. Once you
sell your soul to the devil, there is no going back on it.
Biographer Peter Goodchild, making use of the following quote from a 1951 book titled Loyalty of
Free Men, observed:
Any American hearing of a foreign country in which the police were authorized to
search out the private lives of law-abiding citizens, in which a government official
was authorized to proscribe lawful associations, in which administrative tribunals
were authorized to condemn individuals by star-chamber proceedings on the basis of
anonymous testimony, for beliefs and associations entailing no criminal conduct,
would conclude without hesitation that the country was one in which tyranny
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prevailed.
“In such a country was Oppenheimer ‘tried’ “, writes Goodchild.
Oppenheimer’s life provides a riveting story of a dizzying rise to international prominence
that was followed almost immediately by a steady, then precipitous, fall from grace, as well as
absorbing social and political history of mid twentieth-century America. I rate both books as
excellent. American Prometheus is the longest (at nearly 600 pages), but is rich in detail.
Goodchild’s Oppenheimer is shorter in length at 288 pages, but it does provide rather more detail
(including many illustrations) on the Manhattan Project and the details of the first atomic bombs.
David Blackledge, Extension /Outreach Services
AK-47 the Weapon that Changed the Face of War by Larry Kahaner
623.4 KAHANER
Morgan
It would be an exaggeration to say that everything bad in the world that that has happened
during the last 60 years is due to the AK-47…but it may not be too much of a stretch. The rifles,
designed to protect Russia from German invasion, may have arrived too late to make a difference
in World War II, but they’ve played a key role in nearly every conflict since.
Journalist Larry Kahaner describes how the AK-47 is perhaps the most prolific weapon in
history. As many as 100-million have been produced worldwide, often as incentives to lure
countries to Communism during the Cold War. The guns are cheap (global price tags are as low
as $10), easy to operate (allowing pre-teens with scant training to become lethal soldiers) and
largely indestructible. Kahaner cites examples of AK’s being submerged in mud or buried in soil
for a year and still capable of automatic fire after several minutes of good shaking. The
weapon’s durability allows rifles to be transported from one global hotspot to another. Each
gun’s combat career can span decades!
Kahaner tracks down the gun’s inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov to capture his thoughts on
the weapon’s widespread use and fame (or infamy). He lives a meager existence in a Russian
apartment and is widely sought after for gun shows around the world. He also receives deep
gratitude from countries that have managed successful coups thanks to the AK-47 (one country
uses an AK image on its new flag).
Readers learn the AK-47 had integral roles in the Vietnam War, numerous revolutions in
Africa, the Iran-Contra scandal, Osama Bin Laden’s reign of terror and countless other wars.
Society is justified to be concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but Kahaner
proves the automatic rifle with the iconic banana clip is worthy of our attention too.
Reviewed by Michael Briddell, Director, Public Information & External Affairs
What To Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff
618.24 MURK
Morgan, Coliseum, Rufus Lewis, Lowder, Pike Road, Pintlala, Ramer, Rosa Parks
This book was given to me by a friend after I found out I was expecting my first child.
Being a new mother I had a lot of questions and this book answered all of them. The book took
me from my first trimester to my very last and gave detailed information on my baby’s growth.
The book gave information on the changes my baby was going through and some of the
22
symptoms I was having. In this book you will find out what the doctor will be checking for on
every visit and it gives both mother and father pointers on things to do to get prepared for the
arrival of the new baby. What to Expect When You’re Expecting was like my bible during my
nine months of pregnancy, taking it with me everywhere and reading it every chance I got. I
recommend this book for every new mother, and it can be a refresher for those mothers who are
expecting once again.
Fredriatta Brown-Greene, Juliette Hampton Memorial Library
Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man by Steve Harvey
All locations
306.7 HARVEY
Straight Talk, No Chaser, is the follow up to the bestseller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a
Man: What Men Really Think about Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment. The book
was a page turner from the first page. This nonfiction book is full of relationship advice. It
answered many questions that I had and clarified things pertaining to men. Steve Harvey spoke
on everything from dating, being single with kids, marriage, in-laws, friends, intimacy, and
loving yourself. If you are looking for a relationship book with no nonsense advice consider
reading both of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man and Straight Talk, No Chaser.
Zella’Ques Brown, Librarian II, Morgan Library
The Chunnel: The Amazing Story of the Undersea Crossing of the English Channel by Drew
Fetherston
624.1 FET
Morgan
I wanted to read this book because I am drawn to engineering and science in the REAL
world. It turned out to be more about the politics and financing of the endeavor. I was proud that
a distant cousin of mine, Frank Davidson, was the first person to invest a lot of money in the
project. His wife, a French heiress, had a rough crossing in 1956 and demanded that he do
something about it. Unfortunately he lost his fortune just like many after him.
This book also tells about other humorous ideas and failed projects to cross the channel
such as a bridge on floating piers. Before the invention of the airplane, the only way to invade
England was by sea. It was widely believed that the tunnel would not only provide a way for the
French to invade England but also rabid dogs, foxes and vermin.
On the financial side, the Chunnel is one of the biggest financial investments in the
world. It makes the Jefferson County sewer system finances look like nickel and dime deals and
it was restructured many more times. Read it and compare!
Thomas Davidson, Page, Morgan Library
23
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
613 POLLAN
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Rosa Parks, Pintlala, Pine Level, Pike
Road, Ramer
Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto isn't a diet program or a menu
plan, it's a real look at the way Americans produce, market, and eat food. With so many products
claiming to be “healthy” or “natural”, it is hard to know how many of these foods actually live
up to their claims. Typically, our grocery stores are stocked with foods that are so processed that
they can no longer truly be classified as “food.” These products look like food and taste like
food, but don't be fooled, they are the result of scientific manufacturing. Pollan says, “Don't eat
anything that your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.” In this book, there are
examples of people who have changed their lifestyles and stopped eating processed foods, and
they saw a total reversal in their health problems. Pollan's motto is, “Eat food. Not too much.
Mostly plants.” Through this manifesto, Pollan makes his readers aware of the serious problems
within the current food industry.
Michael Pollan has managed to write an enlightening and interesting book on a subject
that is relevant to all people. I recommend this book for anyone who wants a more conscious
look at how the food industry is affecting their lives.
Katie Gray, Page, E L Lowder Regional Library
Life by Keith Richards with James Fox
B RICHARDS
Ramer, Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor's Square, Hampstead
Few rock stars demand more attention than Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Whether it's for his run-ins with the law or his legendary guitar riffs, Richards has always been in
rock's spotlight. In his autobiography, Richards tackles these subjects with an honesty and
openness that only he can muster. He also deals with topics such as his relationships with his
Rolling Stone bandmates, including legendary lead singer Mick Jagger, other musicians such as
Chuck Berry, Gram Parsons and John Lennon, the band's mega-tours, and, of course, the their
classic music. I have been a huge Stone's fan for a number of years and when I heard that
Richards was writing his autobiography I was very curious as to how it would read. Richards,
though, puts together a story that is funny, fascinating and well-told. He pulls no punches and
always calls things like he sees them regardless of who or what he is talking about. Life is a
must-read for any fan of the Stones, rock music or interesting autobiographies.
James Greer, Branch Head, Ramer Branch Library
The McGillivray and McIntosh Traders on the Old Southwest Frontier, 1716-1815 by Amos J.
Wright, Jr.
976.02 WRIGHT
Pintlala
This book is a compendium of extensive research, including genealogy of the
McGillivray and McIntosh families and their relationship to several Creek Indian leaders.
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Scotch traders were sent by the British government from Charleston, South Carolina to the
Indian country before the Revolution. Eventually, they were based in Savannah, and the state of
Georgia was in control of the Indian trade. Various trading companies were formed, often with
the same members. Brown, Rae, and Co. was one of the early trading companies. The Indians
traded animal skins for trade goods and the skins were sent to Europe, where there was much
demand. The Creek Indians had become increasingly dependent on European goods as they had
had contact with the Spanish very early and had contracted smallpox earlier than most groups.
The author suggests that the Creeks had developed sophistication in dealing with foreign
political groups as a result of this early contact with the Spanish. In the early days there was
competition between Spain, Britain, and the French for the Indian trade. Fort Toulouse was a
French outpost.
The Indian traders were expected to spend at least six months a year in Indian territory.
While there, many of them had families with Indian women. This was often in addition to their
families elsewhere. Lachlan Lia McGillivray came to America in 1737. His family had
supported the Stuart Rebellion in 1715. He took an Indian wife named Sehoy, who was from
the powerful “Wind Clan” of the Creek Indians. They became the parents of Alexander
McGillivray, the famous Creek leader. Alexander was noted for his wisdom and diplomacy in
dealing with all of the different political groups. His father, Lachlan Lia, was a loyalist, who
went back to Great Britain before the Revolution and transferred his vast holdings to his nephew,
John Lachlan, who was the 10th chief of the McGillivray clan in Scotland. Unfortunately, many
of these loyalist lands were confiscated by the U. S. government after the war. Alexander
McGillivray died in 1793 in Florida. He may have been poisoned by the Spanish. Chief William
Weatherford was defeated by Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and he lived
until 1824. Chief William McIntosh was assassinated in 1825 by some other Creek chiefs who
did not like it that he had signed a treaty agreeing to the removal of the Indians from Alabama to
the West. The McIntosh family had taken the side of the Americans in the Revolution.
This book is not an easy read. The arguments are not easy to follow as the author
presents many different opinions from many historians, but he does include many interesting
accounts of Alabama in the early days. The library has other books on this period in history
which could help increase the reader’s knowledge of the Indian role in Alabama history.
Cheryl Head, Reference Librarian, Morgan Library
Homosexuals in History by Alfred Leslie Rowse
BOT 301.415
Morgan
This book examines evidence which suggests certain historical figures lived alternative
life styles. Until recently, living the alternative lifestyle was dangerous, but through the gay
rights movements, tolerance and social acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex relationship
are almost accepted as a social norm. Although this book talks about the great contributions
which were made by homosexuals, it does not address the issue of what is taken away from
society.
Maneia James, Library Assistant I, Morgan Library, Circulation Department
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The Boys of the Dark by Robin Gaby Fisher
Morgan, Governor’s Square
365 FISHER
Two young men getting locked up in the Florida School for Boys is only the start of this
chilling thriller. Set in the 1950s, the two young men have committed a crime that most would
consider minor, but being sent to this institution was more than just punishment for what they
did, suffering unspeakable abuse, including whippings and rape. This book will have you in tears
and will give you a new sense of what goes on in correctional institutions.
This book is an adult read and is armed with detailed information that could be scary for
a child under the age of 13. Although it is graphic, it can give an understanding of what cruelty is
and also help develop ways in your mind to put an end to such devastation.
LeBaron Judkins, Library Page, Morgan Library
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
Morgan, Lowder, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Pike Road, Pine Level, Ramer, Lewis
155.2
Have you ever felt like you were "stuck in a rut", or that what you wanted most in life
seemed to be out of reach? Has it ever seemed like you would never be able to attain that love
you've always wanted, that job you've aspired to have or the life of your dreams because
circumstances just wouldn't allow it? If so, the answer to it all may be as simple as being able to
relate to a couple of mice.
In Who Moved My Cheese? Dr. Spencer Johnson tells the story of four creatures; two,
named Hem and Haw, are tiny human-like characters, and two, Sniff and Scurry, are mice. When
searching for their "cheese" (another way of describing all of those things you desire most in
life), these four creatures use very distinct methods to pursue their cheese, and have very
different results. Written as a simple, easy-to-read story, this tale helps the reader to analyze
themselves in terms of how they deal with and adapt to change, and learn how various methods
of doing so can lead to extremely varied outcomes.
Although this book could be easily overlooked as a mere children's story, the lessons
contained within are perfect for all ages. Dr. Johnson's book has been used for business training,
educational training, and personal development since it was first published, and it continues to be
used to help people learn to adapt and overcome change in pursuit of their goals in life. So, if
you seek a way to "get out of your rut", find this book, find your "cheese", and find the life
you've been wanting.
Greg Loggins, Page, Rosa L. Parks Branch Library
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Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? by Whoopi Goldberg
395.1 GOLDBERG
Governor’s Square, Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Pike Road, Hampstead
Do we have any Whoopi Goldberg fans out there? If you are a Whoopi Goldberg fan, you
know Whoopi will speak her mind in her own comical down to earth way. Deep within the pages
of Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? Whoopi has written about some things that really
bother her, and she has found out by talking to others that the same stuff was bothering them too.
She has noticed that there is an overwhelming lack of common courtesies and manners in our
society. It seems that rudeness and disrespect have become the norm. Where is the good old
home training these days? Each chapter will deal with some deep subject matter that will
astonish, amuse and make you think about our world’s condition.
Whoopi Goldberg is a fabulous comedy actress that has appeared in several movies. She has
won numerous awards and high honors including an Emmy, an Oscar and a Grammy. Whoopi
has also written a children’s book about manners called Whoopi’s Big Book of Manners. Ms.
Goldberg is currently a host on ABC’s The View.
Joan Means, Branch Head, Governor’s Square Branch Library
Running With the Giants by John C. Maxwell
CD 221.9 MAXWELL
Morgan
John C. Maxwell is the author of over 50 books. He uses internet tools such as Twitter,
Facebook, and even an online blog to teach and spread his inspiring views about leadership.
Maxwell is currently living in Florida and is a teaching pastor.
Running with the Giants uses Bible based stories to encourage and inspire listeners not to
give up on their dreams. Maxwell uses stories about Noah, Esther, Joseph and many other heroes
of the Bible to get his point across. My favorite quote from the book was: “Live in the Faith
Zone not the Safe Zone”. In this quote Maxwell was talking about Moses having to leave his
comfort zone in order to experience what God had in store for him.
I really enjoyed listening to Running with the Giants and would recommend it to anyone
who is looking for encouragement.
Shondra Mixon, Library Assistant I, Morgan Public Library
While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil
Rights Movement by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
B MCKINSTRY
Hampstead, Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Pike Road
Birmingham native Carolyn Maull McKinstry recalls the events leading to the tragic
bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Sunday, September 15, 1963. She was just
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moments away from the restroom where four of her friends became victims of a tragedy. This
unfortunate event became a major turning point for the Civil Rights Movement. She also shares
how the untimely death of her friends affected her from that moment throughout her adult life.
The details from McKinstry’s firsthand experience of the many events that occurred during this
era help the reader to imagine how horrific it was to be in the midst of continuous strife, turmoil,
and injustice in the South. She also expresses the anger and resentment she possessed for those
who were responsible for the numerous acts of hatred that were committed. This book informs
those who are not very familiar with the struggles that many minorities encountered. However it
also reminds the world of how grateful we should be to those who were instrumental in
improving race relations and increasing justice and equality.
Patina Moss, Librarian Assistant II, Hampstead Branch Library
Open Wide the Freedom Gates: a Memoir by Dr. Dorothy Irene Height (1912-2010)
BOT Morgan Media Department
LPB Morgan, Extension Services, Governors Square, Lewis, Rosa Parks
I began reading this book because of my personal desire to know how & what made Dr.
Height such a phenomenal woman and my curiosity, immediately, was settled.
Dr. Height, born prior to the great depression in 1912, grew up through the great
depression in Rankin, Pennsylvania, a small steel suburb of Pittsburgh. Born in Richmond,
Virginia, Dr. Height learned, at a very young age, how to live and work in a diverse population.
It bears reporting that in the 1920s, Dr. Height attended a fully integrated high school, though
she was not allowed to participate in public integrated venues. Graduating with honors from
Rankins High School and as the Vice President of the Student Government Association, Dr.
Height earned her undergraduate and graduate degree from New York University. Her choice of
New York University was after she was rejected by Barnard College for enrollment in 1929.
Though admitted on a full four-year scholarship, Barnard College did not allow her to enroll
because Barnard had met its quota of Negro (2) students for that school term. Dr. Height
attended New York University on a full four-year scholarship which she had won in an Elks
Oratorical Contest.
As for Dr. Height, reared in a religious home, attending church programs throughout the
formative years of her life, so would her adult life become; full of upward struggles, successes
and achievements for the equitable and fair treatment of women of all ethnicities. She was an
early worker with the YWCA, which is where she came to meet and get know Mary McCloud
Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, and eventually became a member of the YWCA Board of
Directors.
Founded by Mrs. Bethune, Dr. Height will become the President of the National Council
of Negro Women (NCNW), a position held by her for forty years, orchestrating not only the
programs and services of the organization but making such an indelible mark upon the global
community in the areas of social work, civil rights, leadership, citizenship, entrepreneurship and
religion. Everything that she undertook was for the benefit of the life of someone else. She
records in her memoir that she has visited five of the seven continents, dined with the most
significant and highest decision makers of the world and come away with a strong sense of
having made a difference in the politics of the world. Dr. Height counted among her friends:
WC Handy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McCloud Bethune, Michele and Barack Obama, Bill &
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Hilary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson, A. Philips Randolph, Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. &
Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. A more powerful list of friends,
associates and sisters of the world, perhaps, could not be found as is counted among the friends
of this dynamic woman.
Her memoir paints a picture of a person who never gave up as she restructured and
redirected the service activities of The NCNW, The YWCA, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Inc. An answer of NO, was unacceptable to Dr. Height when the need was to right the unfair
treatment of women in the world. Known worldwide for her love of hats, Dr. Height was at the
table when the National Voting Rights Act was signed into law, she was there upon the
assassination of Dr. King and she was there at the inauguration of the first African American
President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama.
Though published in 2005, Dr. Height’s memoir brings a real sense of pride in oneself in
regards to the possibility of what America truly should be to all of us: The Home of the Brave
and Justice for all!
It is a great read and would be a great selection for students who will begin to work on
Black History month projects in a few weeks.
Jaunita Owes, Library Director
The Strawberry Letter: Real Talk, Real Advice, Because Bitterness Isn’t Sexy
by Shirley Strawberry
646.7008 STRAWBERRY
Governor Square, Morgan, Lowder, Coliseum, Hampstead
Shirley Strawberry is the author of The Strawberry Letter and the co-host of the
nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Show. After becoming a part of this show, she began
receiving letters. She started reading them on the show. This became a very popular segment of
the show. This is how The Strawberry Letter came to be a book of letters. The Steve Harvey
Show is the avenue where Shirley counsels and gives advice to her listeners. The letters deal
with anything from cheating, boyfriends, money issues, baby-mama drama, marriage, you name
it. It even deals with ladies with low self-esteem, depression, finding acceptance and even
motherhood.
Shirley gives motivational encouragement to her listeners. She tells of how she overcame
bad decisions and how she takes on life’s issues on a daily basis. She talks about how to
encourage those who are in need of elevation in the work place and the importance of looking
your best at all times. Also, she advises to keep up with world issues, so that you can be well
rounded and knowledgeable of current events. In addition, Shirley discusses about the
importance of education. She is not a college graduate, but she’s inspired to finish her education.
This is an easy read and mostly an eye-opener for those of us who continue to face some of these
same problems in our lives today.
Tabitha Pack, Library Assistant I, Governor’s Square Branch Library
29
The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker
362.88 DEB
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Pintlala, Ramer
Mr. Gavin DeBecker has made a business out of what he learned in his childhood and
perfected as an adult. With cases from real life, he explains why we should never dismiss fear
when it arises. He tells us that our bodies have made hundreds of predictions by the time we
actually feel fear. Those predictions come from our intuitive process. Our tendency is to dismiss
or rationalize our intuition, and that puts us in danger. We need to learn the difference between
anxiety, worry, and fear. Worry is a choice, anxiety is one of fear’s messengers, and fear
always demands action. “Worry is the fear we manufacture – it is not authentic,” states Mr.
DeBecker. This book was eye opening in the subject addressed but also in how well Mr.
DeBecker details his evidence that we should never dismiss our intuitive feelings. We can learn
the signals and predictive strategies to keep us safer.
I recommend this book for every woman and to parents so that they can teach their
children to trust their intuition. Energy expended on useless emotions cannot protect us but we
can learn to listen to our intuition and protect ourselves.
Sharon Phillips, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Reference Librarian
The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream by Sampson Davis
All locations except Hampstead
610.922 SAMPSON
The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream is about three
childhood friends named Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, & Rameck Hunt who grew up in the
inner city of Newark, New Jersey. All three of them were poor and from single-parent homes.
At an early age they made this pact with each other to not become a statistic of the street. Things
were not easy for them and there were some troubles on the way. Two of them ended up in a
juvenile detention center before they were 18. However, in the end Sampson Davis and Rameck
Hunt became medical doctors. George Jenkins fulfilled his childhood dream and became a
dentist. These three African-American males beat the odds and now that they are successful, they
give back to the community through their ‘Three Doctors Foundation’. This is an interesting
story about survival and success.
Terry Reed, Facilities Manager
Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
Morgan, Governor’s Square, Pine Level, Ramer, Rosa Parks
248.4OSTEEN
Your Best Life Now by Pastor Joel Osteen is an inspiring book for anyone who is looking
to be motivated by the word of God and simple everyday principals of life. Pastor Osteen speaks
of knowing the power behind your thoughts and your words. He tells us that if we take the time
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to speak positively over our lives we can change not only our outlook on life, but the power in
our words can actually change the direction of our lives also. Most of the time we will repeat
bad things that have happened to us over and over, not knowing that this will actually cause our
lives to repeat a cycle of depression and regret. Pastor Osteen tells us that even when we are
having a bad day, rejoice in the Lord. Praise God through any and all circumstances and He will
be sure to enrich your life. Pastor Osteen’s seven steps guide you to think positively; build up
your image of yourself; give; and rejoice. With these practices, you can live your best life now.
I enjoyed the setup of the book and the way Pastor Joel Osteen used everyday examples to
magnify how important it is to be your best.
Valory Richardson, Library Assistant I, E L Lowder Library
Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth by Dr. Douglas Palmer at al.
Hampstead Branch
560 PREHIST
Hi, my name is Opabinia. This isn’t my best view – the folks at DK Publishing captured
me in all my glory on page 73 of Prehistoric Life with my equally handsome invertebrate friends
Wiwaxia, Hallucigenia (I call him “LSD”), and Marella pictured nearby. You won’t encounter us
on your beach vacation. We lived in the seas of the Middle Cambrian period. Paleontologists
uncovered us in the Burgess Shale of Canada.
I’m really excited about the book in which the folks at DK Publishing featured us. When
they say, this is the “definitive visual history of life on earth”, these folks really mean it. Every
living thing (okay, I exaggerate, almost every living thing), microbes, invertebrates, vertebrates,
and plants from the Archean Period (4 billion years ago) to the Quaternary Periods (2 million
years ago to present) is represented in this book. The pages are crammed with eye-popping
visuals combined with text prepared by the top paleontologists, paleobiologists, geologists, and
natural historians in the world. My typist, Miss Sage, purchased her own copy and she says she
spent weeks of exquisite intellectual pleasure immersing herself in this resplendent tome. Dinos?
You say you want to hear about the dinosaurs? They don’t hold a candle to us Cambrian fellows
– nature truly broke the mold with us - but theropods, sauropods, and ornithishians abound in the
pages. Yes, Jurassic Park fans, T. Rex and Velociraptor are there, but there were some equally
terrifying characters in the seas and air in those days.
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At the moment the circulating copy Prehistoric Life at Hampstead is the only one
available, but Miss Sage has been begging for a copy for her reference collection at Morgan
Library, so hopefully you’ll be able to visit me there by the time this is published. Miss Sage has
her own copy, but she says it will have to be pried from her cold dead hands for her to donate it.
So, if you don’t believe me, take it from her that this is the best book on prehistoric life ever to
have been published.
Typed for Mr. Opabinia by Pamela R. Sage, Head of Reference and Information Services,
Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library
Semi-Homemade Cooking by Sandra Lee
All Libraries
641 LEE
Semi-Homemade Cooking is a great cook book for those looking for simple and quick
recipes. It has easy to follow recipes, tips on grocery shopping, and food storage. In addition,
the book has great ideas on how to use leftovers and prepare wonderful dishes out of the
leftovers. Readers will find excellent budgeting tips and beautiful illustrations of prepared
dishes. Each chapter is broken down by types of meals (appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes
deserts and snacks) that can be prepared in just a matter of minutes.
Yusuf El Shabazz, Library Assistant I, Rufus Lewis Library
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Fiction
Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson
F JACKSON
Morgan Library
The Yada Yada Prayer Group is the first in The Yada Yada Series written by Neta
Jackson. The book is about a group of women who were attending a women’s conference.
During the conference each person was assigned a number and broken down into a smaller group
to pray. At the first meeting they were surprised to see all of the different racial, ethnic and
social backgrounds represented. The initial reason the group decided to stay in touch with each
other after the weekend conference was, while attending the banquet, one of the group members
encountered a personal tragedy. Once the members realized they lived in the same general area,
they decided to meet once a month. As each woman comes to terms with her life and the lessons
learned from the relationships within the group, they grew closer.
They helped each other through trials and tribulations. Through prayer and a little
determination they soon understood that God put this group of women together for a purpose.
This was an excellent read. It was wonderful to see how such diverse women could come
together for the common good. As their friendships are put to the test and their trials turn into
triumphs they learn there is victory in Jesus!!
Alicia Bailey, Library Assistant I, Morgan Library
Torn Between Two Lovers by Carl Weber
F WEBER
At All Branches
Torn Between Two Lovers is a continuation of the drama created by Carl Weber dealing
with Loraine, Leon, Michael, and Jerome. The story picks up with Loraine rebuilding her
marriage to Leon after Jerome destroyed it with underhandedness in Big Girls Do Cry. There is
a whole lot of lying and deceitfulness going on in this story. Leon finds out that Loraine is still
continuing her affair, even after the renewal of their vows, and he is still hiding his own secret,
but he wants Loraine to choose between him and Michael. Like the title of the book Loraine is
torn between two lovers.
The troubles began when Lorraine and Leon decided to renew their vows after being
separated for some time. This is a must read for Carl Weber fans.
Courtney Baker, Library Assistant I, E L Lowder Regional Library & Celia Hendricks,
Administration
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His Christmas Pleasure by Cathy Maxwell
LPF MAXWELL
Morgan, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Lewis, Lowder
This book was chosen purely by accident and not for the season of its release. This book
had crossed my path several times. One particular time I queried a patron, and it was
recommended highly. As I began to read I became interested in how these totally different
individuals would fare initiating and maintaining a marital relationship. The red head and the
Italian elope for different reasons, but love does eventually enter the equation which makes this
story well worth the read. The story shows how two people can have such disparate
temperaments and upbringing, but can still form a strong bond between each other. The reader
will never know if there is a happily ever after unless there is a sequel written. However, one
can assume that there is a happy ending. Readers will find this to be a very satisfying read.
Patricia Blair, Librarian I, Rufus A. Lewis Regional Library
In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz (An Arcane Society Novel, Book One of the Looking Glass
Trilogy)
LPF KRENTZ
Lewis, Lowder, Coliseum and Governor’s Square
For the Arcane Society enthusiast, Ms. Jayne Ann Krentz has finally flushed out the
character Fallon Jones who has an acerbic personality and is the head of Jones & Jones Detective
Agency. Ms. Krentz manages to make him quite likable and gives him an extraordinary love
interest in the form of his assistant, Isabella Valdez. Isabella whose life is shrouded in a bit of a
mystery and psychic talent complements Fallon’s. It was enjoyable to read how their interaction
and relationship evolve as they accidentally, and then more intentionally, set out as a team to
solve several mysteries in Scargill Cove. The addition of some very quirky characters in the
Cove, and Isabella's grandmother, completed this very pleasurable reading experience.
Patricia Blair, Librarian I, Rufus A. Lewis Regional Library
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
F PERKINS
Morgan, Lowder, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Extension
The novel Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is unlike any other slavery literature that I have
read. Ms. Perkins-Valdez constructs a tale of the relationships between the slave masters and their
black female slaves, known back then as wenches. The women were taken on trips each summer to a
resort location and treated as wives in one respect but never as emancipated women. Their journey to
Tawawa House was conflicting for them to say the least. The four heroines collectively and
individually experienced pain and humiliation that was incredibly appalling. These females were
subjected to such inhumane treatment that a lot of us have not even imagined. I could only think
about my African-American heritage and ancestry. I deeply appreciate what the women of my race
endured as their indomitable spirit and courage was revealed throughout these pages. There are some
tender moments as well as humorous episodes in the novel. You will find yourself laughing, crying
and sometimes shaking your head in disbelief and anger. I highly recommend this for all high school
students and adults interested in the history of our country.
Shirley Ford Bridges, Library Assistant I, Rosa L. Parks Branch Library
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Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer
F SPENCER
Morgan
Author Scott Spencer has a well-deserved reputation for excellently capturing the
intricacies of life and relationships and weaving together to craft captivating stories. Man in the
Woods doesn’t do anything to damage this.
I’m not revealing any of the novel’s climactic surprises. Early on in the story, the main
character accidentally kills someone and the remainder of the book examines the impact it has on
the protagonist and many of the other characters. The killer’s self-torment and the
rationalizations made by others (even though they are unaware of nature of the misdeed) are
superbly written.
Characters include a recovering alcoholic who becomes a media darling, a craftsman
wood-worker with wealthy clients, a gambler fleeing violent gangsters and a host of other welldeveloped personalities whose thoughts on society are at times riveting. “Man in the Woods”
provokes readers to ponder “when decent people do bad things, can their actions be forgiven?”
For the past 30 years, Spencer has made a literary career of injecting strong passion and
impulsive acts with consequences into stories that become unstoppable page-turners. “Endless
Love” and “A Ship Made of Paper” (his best work, in my humble opinion) are two of his earlier
triumphs. Spencer is a master of using the subtle aspects of life to provide meaningful depth and
realism to his novels. He continues the pattern in Man in the Woods making it a book well worth
reading.
Reviewed by Michael Briddell, Director, Public Information & External Affairs
Chocolate Goodies by Jacqueline Thomas
LPF THOMAS
Morgan, Governor’s Square, Lewis
Jacqueline Thomas is a spiritual fiction writer. She has written many books. I have read
several of her books I find them to be smooth reading and enjoyable.
This is a story about an upscale family who owns a chocolate factory. Once their
daughter Coco Stanley graduates from college she opens up her own chocolate company in the
upscale neighborhood A new business opens up across the street from her business with teenage
boys hanging around and Coco doesn’t like that until she meets the owner, Mr. Ransom Winters.
Mr. Winters is proud of his new business, D-Unit, for at-risk teens that for whatever reason have
been suspended from school. Mr. Winters offers tutoring and counseling for the students and
they are allowed to work in local businesses. After Coco and Mr. Winters meet they form an
everlasting relationship. After allowing two of the teens to work in her shop Coco is attacked by
one of the teens. Will this end Coco and Mr. Winters relationship?
Juanita Brown, Library Assistant I, Morgan Library
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
F SETH
Locations: Lowder, Coliseum, Governor’s Square
A gripping tale of family drama set during the early years of Indian independence in the
1950’s, A Suitable Boy is the story of four families intertwined by marriage, religion, and politics.
The members of the Mehra, Kapoor, Khan, and Chatterji families quickly draw you into their daily
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lives, their joys and their struggles. There is a large cast of characters, from a poet, to a lawyer, a
courtesan and a shoemaker. Vikram Seth paints a picture of an early independent India that the
reader can taste, feel, touch, and smell. To label this book a romance, drama, or historical fiction
would be selling it too short. Vikram Seth’s international bestseller is a painting of life in India, with
all the drama, beauty, violence, and romance that life entails.
Rachel Chenault, Librarian I, Rosa L. Parks Branch Library
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
LPF LINDS
Morgan Library
Dexter Morgan is an attractive, well-paid, well-respected bloodspatter technician with the
Miami Homicide Division. He brings donuts to work in the mornings, flirts with the lady behind
the records desk, and is always ready to submit to some good-natured banter with his sister,
Deborah, a sergeant on the squad. Everything about Dexter is squeaky ‘boy-next-door’ clean.
Dexter has a dirty little secret, though…he’s a serial killer. Guided by the entity inside his head
he calls his ‘Dark Passenger’ and the rules set forth by his stepfather he calls the ‘code of Harry’,
good old Dex carefully selects his victims from the very worst dredges of society. Murderers,
rapists, pedophiles…anyone that has seemingly escaped justice for one reason or another become
Dexter’s nighttime playground. However, a new killer has made a mark on the Miami scene,
draining his victims of blood and dissecting them in unusual ways. The police are baffled, but
dearly demented Dexter knows that they are messages to him personally, a horrifying and
grotesque way to reach out and touch someone. This series is wonderful because Jeff Lindsay’s
Dexter is the model sociopath, blending in with the crowd through careful observation of the
human condition yet not understanding why. He is such a likeable, witty guy and with his choice
of ‘victims’, it becomes easy to get in the corner of this modern-day vigilante. With an excellent
cast of characters, sharp humor, and interesting plot lines, Lindsay introduces you to and makes
you comfortable with a new kind of dark side…unless, of course, Dexter is following you.
Jonathan Conner, Acquisitions Department
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume
Lowder
F BLUME
The book is about a twelve year old Jewish girl named Margaret Simon. Margaret and her
parents have just moved from New York to Farbrook, New Jersey where Margaret’s grandma
lives. Margaret is glad about being close to her grandma but is concerned about making new
friends. Margaret has a very special relationship with God; she talks to God about everything.
Her parents are not religious but her grandma is Jewish. Margaret is trying to decide for herself
what she believes. She has never been in a church or temple before moving to New Jersey, but
she believes in God. Margaret is hoping her grandma can help her make up her mind about
religion. Margaret makes friends with three girls, Nancy, Gretchen and Janie. The girls form a
secret club to talk about private things, like boys. There is one thing that Margaret does not talk
to her friends about and that is God. Her friends wonder why she never talks about God or why
she has not joined the Jewish Community Center. After reading the book you will understand
why and find out if she ever talks to her friends about God.
Brenda Davis, Librarian II, Reference Department, Morgan Library
36
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
All Locations
F PICOULT
Jodi Picoult, who has previously written eighteen best-selling novels, does not disappoint
in her newly published bestseller, Sing You Home. What do you do after you have been married
nine years and the ex-wife you have tried to impregnate informs you that she is not only lesbian
but needs you, a born-again Christian, to sign over your legal rights to some frozen embryos so
that she and her lesbian partner may start a family? This is a controversial tale of a born-again
Christian man who struggles with infidelity and alcoholism; a millionaire deceitful pastor and his
adulterous wife; an immunocompromised lesbian who wants a child, and the frozen embryos
each of these individuals is after. The case goes before a judge who will eventually decide who
makes the better parent. As a very intense read, this novel is geared toward members of an
objective audience who embrace controversy. The story has many twists to offer the readers. It is
filled with mysteries, ambiguities, lies, hatred, faith, love, and death. Although this story is
contrary to my beliefs, I have no qualms about reading it. It places me in an omniscient position
to empathize with each character as I am seeing their point of view and emotions. A few
drawbacks of this novel: the pace at which the story reaches a climax is quite slow; characters
constantly recall past events during climax; and the repetitiveness of the story being told -although it is being told by another character in their point of view, I find this backtracking rather
tedious. I believe the author intended to rouse controversy by placing a lying pastor, his
adulterous wife, a fornicating born-again alcoholic Christian, and a lesbian married couple in a
story. The question at hand is who makes the better parent? On what grounds do you judge the
potential better parent? One might automatically argue that the Christian makes the better parent,
however in this novel no character is without fault. The purpose of this novel is to inform the
reader that we may not all have the same struggle, but we all inevitably struggle; and at no point
can we stone another who struggles just because their struggle is not our own.
Carlene Dickerson, Page, Reference Department, Morgan Library
What Mother Never Told Me by Donna Hill
Governor’s Square, Morgan, Lewis, Extension Services
LPF HILL
In Donna Hill’s highly anticipated sequel to Rhythms, she brings us the unfinished story
of Cora McKay, her husband David, and the granddaughter they raised from infancy as their
own, Parris. The novel, What Mother Never Told Me, delves into the impact that lies can have on
an entire generation of family. What do you do when you find out that everything you have
based your life on is a lie? After the funeral of her grandmother, Cora, Parris learns that her
grandmother and grandfather lied to her about her mother. Her mother is not dead, as she had
been brought up to believe. Upset and angry, she asks her grandfather to tell her the truth, and he
does. She learns that her mother Emma is in fact, very much alive, and living a luxurious life in
Paris with her husband while passing herself off as a white woman. Angry, and wanting to find
37
the answers to her questions, she travels to Paris, France in search of the mother who abandoned
her as an infant because when she was born, she came out black, and would expose her for who
she really was. However, the answers she seeks leave her more confused and angry than ever.
She decides to let the past stay in the past and not re-open old wounds. However, her trip to Paris
in search of her mother sets off a chain of events that will have life-altering consequences for all
involved.
What Mother Never Told Me is a wonderful story that shows what happens when a secret
is kept and unexpectedly brought to the surface. The secret Cora Parris’ grandmother kept from
her husband, David, continued into the next generation, with their daughter, Emma, who felt that,
her father, David, had not gotten over the fact that he was not her biological father, but that a
white man was, and he barely acknowledged her. Hurt and angry, Emma longs to start a new life,
as a white woman, and leave her past behind. Emma does find love and a new life but must hide
who she really is, and her past from the man she loves. Her actions come back to tear down her
new life and cause pain to her husband. Parris, her daughter, returns to her life, to put an end to
the lies and deceptions of the past.
Christine Flynn, Library Page, Governor’s Square Library
To Love, Honor and Betray by Kimberla Lawson Roby
F ROBY
All Library locations
Well, well, Rev. Curtis Black is back again. Rev. Black has a child from a previous
relationship. The mother to his daughter dies, so that means Rev. Black has to raise his daughter,
whose name is Curtina. The problem is his wife, Charlotte; she doesn't want anything to do with
Curtina. Charlotte wants Rev. Black to give Curtina to relatives. Who do you think will betray
the other? All you Rev. Curtis Black fans must read this book!!!
Diane Griffin, Librarian I, Ramer Branch Library
Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deidre Madden
F MADDEN
Morgan
Deidre Madden is an instructor at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Her book centers
on the relationship between three talented and famous people. Molly Fox is a highly successful
stage actress in Ireland and England. Andrew is a successful art historian who hosts his own TV
program. The narrator, the third person, is a successful author of plays who had known the other
two people for a long time. The lady playwright and Andrew both grew up in Northern Ireland
and came to Dublin and London to work. Along the way, the lady met Molly Fox, a budding
young actress, and began to write plays for her that made both of them famous. Molly and
Andrew later met and also became friends. Thus a triangle was created. The book explores the
relationship between the three characters and their private selves. Molly, the actress, is the
hardest to understand as she moves from one identity to another.
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The reader senses that the playwright may have come to a bare patch in her creative life.
The entire book covers one day in the life of the narrator, who is spending the day in Molly’s
home in Dublin to regroup. Here she is surrounded by Molly’s belongings and begins thinking
about her life and Molly’s. Andrew is also vital to the novel. Molly herself is not present that
day. She has mysteriously travelled to London for her birthday. The book is a thoughtful
presentation of likeable and vulnerable characters that explores the relationship between life and
art. We see Andrew’s emphasis on memorials to the dead, specifically his brother, who was
killed in the “Irish troubles”. The narrator, feeling sadness that she does not have a normal life
with children, instead spending all of her time creating different characters for the stage,
ironically is so self-effacing that her name is never mentioned in the book. I enjoyed the book.
Cheryl Head, Librarian II, Reference Department
The Ridge by Michael Koryta
F KORYTA
Pike Road, Lowder, Governor’s Square
The Ridge is a mystery and suspense novel in a science fiction vein. It takes place in rural
Kentucky where a lighthouse stands on a ridge overlooking the wooded countryside. The owner
and builder of the lighthouse is the town drunk, Wyatt French. Wyatt phones the local sheriff,
Kevin Kimble, and poses the question, “Which would you rather have [investigate]: a homicide
or suicide?” “Now what if,” Wyatt French said, “the suicide victim wasn’t entirely willing?”
The next phone call Wyatt makes is to Roy Darmus, the columnist for the local
newspaper, the Sawyer County Sentinel. Wyatt tells Roy to investigate the story that is about to
unfold dealing with the evil spirits of the ridge. Roy and Kevin are both bothered by their phone
calls but are convinced that Wyatt is on one of his drunken binges. To add fuel to the fire, a big
cat sanctuary is moving to the ridge near the lighthouse. Audrey Clark owns 67 tigers, lions,
leopards, and one extremely rare black panther. She has already had a run-in with Wyatt because
the lighthouse lights are too bright and will bother the cats. Against Wyatt’s wishes, the
lighthouse lights are dimmed.
Everyone mentioned above is caught in an invisible, evil web when Wyatt’s dead body is
discovered in the lighthouse. Roy and Kevin work together in trying to solve the mystery
surrounding Wyatt’s death.
My favorite character in the book was Kevin Kimble because he stayed focused no matter
what was thrown his direction. I also liked the character Audrey Clark. I appreciated the fact that
she was trying to make a better life for the unwanted and mistreated cats. For a supernatural
novel, the book almost seemed believable.
I would compare Koryta’s work to books written by Dean Koontz, but told in a milder
tone. I would recommend this book for adult as well as young adult audiences. There is little to
no foul language and the violence is not gruesome. I had not read any books by this author, but
since have read So Cold the River and I am now reading Cypress House. Koryta’s books are a
great read and every bit of a fast paced page-turner and thrill ride.
Jeanine Hughes, Library Assistant II, Pike Road Branch Library
39
Ashes of Roses by Mary J. Auch
F AUCH
Available at all branches
Margaret Rose Nolan and her family moved from Ireland. They spent several weeks on a
ship bound for New York City. They left Ireland in hope of a better life in the United States.
Margaret Rose is a sixteen years old girl with a dream of becoming an American Girl. Then her
family received some bad news when arriving; her baby brother is denied permission into the
United States due to a contagious disease. What were her parents going to do? They decided
that her Dad would go back to Ireland with the baby and leave Ma, Rose, and her little sister with
Dad’s brother, Uncle Patrick. That would have worked out great if Uncle Patrick was not
married to a mean woman with two mean daughters. It didn’t take long before the family
realized they could not live with Uncle Patrick. Her mother decides that she has had enough and
is going back to Ireland to join her husband and baby. Did Rose and her little sister go back to
Ireland? To find out what happens---read this book.
Linda Johnson, Librarian II, YA Department, Morgan Library
The Confession by John Grisham
F GRISHAM & CD F GRISHAM
All 11 library locations
Would you let an innocent man die on death row and risk your career? Would you help a
convicted felon clear his conscious? This is the moral tussle confronted by Reverend Keith
Schroder in The Confession by John Grisham. Travis Dale Boyette is the man who seemingly
has a change of heart and demands to see the Reverend with a stunning admission. He has a long
criminal history and is currently on parole for various offenses. For Boyette, a supposedly
terminally ill man, revealing the truth to Keith about a hideous murder of a woman outside of
Slone, Texas, this is the only way to ease his conscious. Donte´ Drumm, a star high school
football player in Slone, Texas, is the guy that has been convicted and is on Death Row instead
of Boyette for this crime. Donte´ was coerced into a confession by the detective who was
working on the case for months to find closure.
Donte´s attorney, Robbie Flak, believes his client is innocent; yet, when he receives a call
from Keith about Boyette’s confession he balks at the charge. However, with time running out
and each appeal failing, Flak begins to listen. Now it’s a race against the clock for Keith,
Boyette, and Flak to save Donte´ from execution.
This is one of John Grisham’s better works. He seems to become more talented with
each book. The novel shows a great deal of emotion, struggle, and is an action paced work. If
you enjoy this book, then I recommend that you read one of his other twenty-one works which
include: A Time to Kill, The Firm, and A Painted House, and you do not have to read them in any
particular order.
Mary K. Lee, Library Assistant I, Circulation Department, Morgan Library
40
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
F BINCHY
Coliseum, Lowder, Governor’s Square, Ramer, Pintlala, Pike Road, Pine Level
Maeve Binchy’s novel, Tara Road, is a story of young, innocent love that soon leads to
the ultimate betrayal. Ria, young and innocent, falls in love with Danny, a dashing, hardworking businessman, who together builds a seemingly perfect life in their dream home on Tara
Road in Dublin. Many characters with varying personalities surround this couple to bring life,
humor, and mystery to this story which was one of Oprah’s “Must Read” selections.
This story takes place in present day Dublin and Connecticut where Ria and Marilyn
swap houses for a couple of months to escape the tragic events that are occurring in their homes.
In doing so, the two ladies discover more about each other than either would allow even their
closest friends to know. This knowledge, though, enables Ria and Marilyn to help each other
through a most difficult time in their lives without either knowing that their deepest secrets were
discovered.
Maeve Binchy is a popular novelist who writes stories of family, love, and intrigue. Her
characters are real and are developed in such a way you feel you know them personally. Her
stories are usually set in Ireland, her homeland, and the reader will occasionally find Irish dialect
which adds to the richness of the story. This book has been enjoyed by many of our patrons who
are often inquiring about her other books. Tara Road is most enjoyable, therefore, I am
suggesting this as a book worth reading.
Wes Little, Librarian I, Coliseum Branch Library
The Baby Discovery by Rebecca Winters (Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited)
Morgan and Governor’s Square Libraries
LPF WINTERS
The Baby Discovery is a Harlequin Romance about an engineer by the name of Zane
Broderick. Zane was working on a new project involving a new prototype train which would save
energy in the Utah area. He stumbled across a newborn male child who was left to die in the cold.
Zane was quick to react and wrapped the child in his wool coat. He brings the child to the emergency
room where he meets Meg Richins, the emergency room nurse. Meg immediately falls in love with
both Zane and the infant child who later becomes affectionately known as “Johnny”.
It is a long and tedious month before Johnny can leave the hospital. Zane decides that he
wants to adopt the child as his own. Zane is a single dad and he will run the risk of the courts not
giving him custody of Johnny if he is not married. This could possibly mean the birth mother could
come and try to get the baby back. Zane comes up with the idea of marrying Meg and becoming a
family. What Zane does not know is that Meg has a deep secret concerning children that will hurt
their chances of being a totally happy family.
The story is a roller coaster of emotions that will leave you misty-eyed. I am a believer in
happy endings and this is one book that did not let me down. I recommend this as a wonderful feel
good book.
LaRuth Martin, Librarian II/Computer Lab Manager, Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library
41
The Christmas Secret, Donna VanLiere
Morgan, Lewis, Lowder
F VANLIER
Christine Eisley, the main character of the story, is a waitress and single mother of two,
who is struggling to keep her kids. Her rent payments are behind and she is facing eviction at the
worst possible time of the year. She is always running late for work and worrying about the nosy
neighbor who always watches to see if she leaves her kids home alone.
Christine’s manager has warned her that the next time she is late she will be fired. The
Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, she is leaving home for work and at the end of her
driveway is a stalled car! Christine finds an older lady in the car passed out and slumped over
the steering wheel. She administers CPR, and someone calls an ambulance. Christine drives the
lady’s car to her job for the family to get later; and when she gets to work, she is fired. It is only
a few weeks before Christmas and Christine is without a job. She wanders the streets, crying,
looking for another job. She enters Betty’s Bakery and Restaurant and talks with the owner and
is hired on a temporary basis; thus, a chain of events begins that takes you up to and through
Christmas and beyond.
The story alternates between Marshall Wilson of Wilson’s Department Store, who sends
his grandson in search of the mysterious ‘Christy’ and Christine’s dilemma and her new friends.
It all comes together in the end as Christine learns more about the new people in her life, and as
those people come together to give her kids a wonderful Christmas. The Christmas Secret is a
really interesting novel that reads like a mystery with many twists and turns that leave you
wondering, what’s next?
Donna VanLiere, the author of The Christmas Secret is a New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author. She has published ten titles including The Christmas Shoes and The
Christmas Blessing, both of which were adapted into movies. She is the recipient of a Retailer's
Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, an Audie Award for best
inspirational fiction, a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year and was recently inducted
into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence joining such luminaries as
Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Senator John Glenn. She lives
in Franklin, Tennessee. The Christmas Secret, the movie, is tentatively scheduled to air on Life
Time soon.
Rebie Morris, Administrative Assistant
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
F STEINBECKPB/ CLASSIC
Located all branches in various editions
Loneliness is one of the key factors in this story. We see throughout this story that one’s
emotions can have adverse effects on the way people deal with life’s situations or problems.
Lenny and George had to be lonely; their friendship begins because George saved Lenny from
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getting into trouble. Curley’s wife had to be lonely because she always needed someone around
to help fill the void in her life when Curly was nowhere to be found. I thought that everyone in
this story was lonely at some point in his or her life. Although many characters in this story are
lonely, they are in desperate search of a friend that they can talk to; some of them make friends
and some do not. I think that the author of this book tried to make the readers feel that emotion
of loneliness. He tried to help the readers understand that what we feel can have a negative or
positive outlook on the situations we already face. The lesson that is learned in this book is we
have to take care of one another. We have people in our lives for a reason; some are there to help
us and some are there only to see us fall.
Laquisha Thomas, Library Assistant I, Pintlala Branch Library
Somebody Pick Up My Pieces by J.D. Mason
F MASON
Pine Level (only)
Charlotte Rodgers is a mother that abandons her three little girls to chase her own
dreams, but only to have her life almost taken from her by a man (Uncle) that will be a nightmare
to her for many years to come. But, her daughters will forever live a life of regret after finding
her again. This book was not a book that I would have read, but I was captured by the writing of
this author. This book is graphic and may not be suitable for some readers.
Shirley A. Toston, Librarian I, E L Lowder Regional Library
Samson by Jacquelin Thomas
F THOMAS
All Locations
Jacquelin Thomas’s novel, Samson, is based on the biblical story of Samson. This book
begins with Samson, a minister, who is about to do his trial sermon. Samson is a man with many
secrets that will cause him to wrestle with his spiritual life and the flesh. He encounters many
relationships that will cause him a big price tag on life…..I could not put this book down. It kept
me with the suspense of wanting to know what the next relationship would bring into his life.
Shirley A. Toston, Librarian I, E L Lowder Regional Library
Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
F JENKINS
All Libraries
Bring on the Blessings has been noted by some readers as a story of forgiveness and
personal growth. Receiving millions of dollars after divorcing her husband, Bernadine Brown
feels compelled to find a worthy cause for spending the money. After receiving the money, she
prayed for wisdom and direction of her spending. While searching the internet, she discovered
the town of Henry Adams, Kansas was for sale. The historical town was founded by slaves that
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were freed after the Civil War, and the citizens were struggling with the town’s survival and
maintaining its historical legacy. Bernadine buys the town with hopes of saving and preserving
the town’s legacy. Due to her experience as a social worker, she also sees the town as a way of
providing homes for foster children.
After purchasing the town, many of her ideas of reviving the town are met with
reluctance and opposition from some of the town’s folks. However, the Mayor, Trent July, is
impressed with her ideas for the town’s revitalization, and supports her efforts in preserving his
hometown and its legacy. Readers will be amazed and experience an “Oprah Moment” as
blessings for this small town are revealed page after page.
Glenda Walker, Branch Head, Rufus A. Lewis Library
Getting To Happy (and Waiting to Exhale) by Terry McMillan
F MCMILLA
Available at all locations in regular, large print, and audio formats
Terry McMillan brings the four African American women back from Waiting to Exhale
after fifteen years in Phoenix, Arizona. When we last saw each of these four women, their lives
were in upheaval. Savannah, a single woman, and PR executive, moves to Phoenix, is dating a
married man and taking care of her mother. Gloria owns her on beauty salon in Phoenix is a
single mom of a teenage son. Bernadine, married with two children discovered her husband had
been seeing a younger white woman. Robin is a single bright young woman working at an
insurance company; however, she’s not too smart when it comes to choosing a man.
Now, returning in the sequel titled Getting to Happy, the women Savannah, Gloria,
Bernadine and Robin are all going through midlife crises in their lives. Savannah, a wife,
mother, and TV producer, is doing well for herself. However, she is unhappy with her husband
and their marriage. Gloria, in high spirits, has the world at her hands, then tragedy strikes,
changing her life in an instant. Bernadine, living through two devastating divorces is depending
on medicine to help her to get through day to day life. Single mom Robin, the youngest of the
four women, loves to shop, but is struggling to find the love of her life by using the Internet. The
four women find themselves going through some trying times in their lives, whether it’s
happiness or sadness, but it all brings them close together as friends should be and that’s what
Getting to Happy is all about.
If you are a person on the go and enjoy reading a good book but don’t have the time, try
BOT (CD’s), you may enjoy it. Instead of reading, you may enjoy listening to the spoken word
by a narrator telling the story in a pleasant voice.
Sabrina D. Wells, Library Assistant II, Extension / Outreach Library Services
44
Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
F FLAGG
All locations
I just love Alabama author Fannie Flagg! Many readers know her best from Fried Green
Tomatoes fame – the book and the movie. In this 2006 book, she again carries us to Elmwood
Springs, the small town locale of two of her previous novels (Welcome to the World, Baby Girl
and Standing in the Rainbow). Being a Southerner herself, Ms. Flagg creates characters that you
can easily imagine having as a distant cousin or just living next door – down-to-earth folks,
memorable, each a bit odd in their own way, even eccentric as Southerners are known for being.
The plot centers around feisty 80-year old Elner Shimfissle from the point where she falls out of
a fig tree after disturbing a hornet’s nest and “temporarily” dies. A series of short chapters after
this opening follows Elner into the heavenly hereafter where she has humorous encounters with
her late sister Ida as well as notable deceased figures such as Thomas Edison and Ginger Rogers!
Meanwhile, Elner’s friends and relatives back on the earthly plain of Elmwood Springs mourn
her passing in some surprising ways – probably just as much a reflection on them as on Elner.
When she “returns” from the dead, she shares not only her “travel” experiences, but also her
new-found wisdom about the meaning of life, family, and love. It’s a definite slice of small town
Southern life at its best -- and most eccentric. Over the years of reading regional Southern
literature, I have found few authors who can weave a story as well as Fannie Flagg. I thoroughly
enjoyed reading this book, highly recommend it, think I may be related to some of these folks,
and can’t wait to read Miss Flagg’s latest creation out earlier this year, I Still Dream About You.
Vivian B. White, Assistant Library Director
Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux
F DEVERAUX
All locations
Jude Deveraux is famous for her Romance and Historical Romance novels. Her writing style
lets one believe that they are in the midst of the book’s characters. As of December 2010, she has
written 57 novels with most of them having been on the Best Seller list. This is the third in the
Edilean trilogy. The reader is encouraged to discover what are Scarlet Nights.
Main characters include Mitzi Valdo, the brains of the operation, Stefan, her son, a.k.a. Greg
Alders, Mike Newland, his sister, Tess, and Sara Shaw. Many of the characters are cousins who live
in the small town of Edilean, Virginia. Everyone seems to know everyone and usually their business.
The people of Edilean love Mike and dislike Greg (Stefan). Brewster Lang is an ornery old coot.
Mike comes to capture Stefan and Mitzi, notorious criminals, and to find out why Stefan
wants Merlin’s Farm. There are many dangers on the farm besides Brewster and his traps. When
Mike reveals part of why he is in Edilean, Sara tells her best friend Jocelyn and Jocelyn’s husband
Luke. The conspiracy and romance build. Sara is engaged to Greg, but falls in love with and marries
Mike. She often wonders if the marriage was for real or to help solve the case.
Edilean plans their annual Scottish Fair. Undercover officers are there to help Mike capture
the Valdos. All goes well until the games begin. Colin stages a sword fight with Mike, and Mike
beats Anna, the champ, at jump rope. Then the action begins. (Facts about Jude Deveraux were
taken from a Wikipedia article.)
Mary Wilhoite, Librarian II, Reference Department, Morgan Library
45
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
F FOLLETT
Located at All 11 libraries in the MCCPL System, as book on CD at the Morgan and Hampstead
locations, and as an eBook and audio book on the library’s OverDrive downloadable media
service
Young Billy Williams never imagined a life outside of his hometown of Aberowen,
Wales. He expected to go to work in the coal mine on his thirteenth birthday, and perhaps help a
congregation establish a new church in his spare time. Likewise, the aspirations of Billy’s older
sister, Ethel, stop at becoming head maid at the local lord’s manor house. However, the year is
1911, and passions both personal and political will lead Billy and Ethel, and a large cast of
characters, down paths they never expected to follow as the world creeps ever closer to the
devastating conflict of World War I.
Fall of Giants is the first book in Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, which will follow five
families from various nations as they weave in and out of each other’s lives across the 20th
century. The scale of this book feels a bit daunting at first, and the five and a half page long
character list may create second thoughts about embarking on a journey with these fictional
people. However, Follett keeps a sharp focus on eight key characters, including Billy and Ethel,
and the reader experiences the book’s events through their eyes.
That cast includes Ethel’s employer, Lord Earl Fitzherbert (called Fitz), who is unhappily
married to a Russian princess. His marriage gives him a straying eye that falls upon Ethel, and
Ethel enjoys that attention. Meanwhile, Fitz’s sister, Lady Maud, has fallen in love with Walter
von Ulrich, a German intelligence officer working in England. Across the continent in Russia,
the reader meets Grigori and Lev Peshkov, brothers whose parents were killed at the orders of
Russian royalty, including that princess to whom Fitz is married. Grigori dreams of a new life in
America, but the constant trouble that Lev gets into may mean that dream never comes true.
Finally, the reader gets to know Gus Dewar, a promising young American who becomes an
advisor to President Woodrow Wilson as the war drums begin to sound in Europe.
The audio book version of Fall of Giants is performed by actor John Lee, who gives a
unique voice to each major character. Lee deftly handles all of the accents from upper-class
English to working-man Welsh, and from German nobleman to Russian peasant. Hearing the
different accents creates an immersive experience that likely can’t be duplicated by reading the
print or eBook editions of Fall of Giants.
While Lee helps bring the characters to life in the audio book, Follett makes the listener
and the reader care about these fictional characters while weaving them in and out of real
historical events. The impending violence of World War I and the Russian Revolution creates
feelings of dread and suspense for the reader. Specific battles within those conflicts are
particularly harrowing; leaving the reader hoping beyond hope that beloved characters will come
out of them alive, if not unscathed. The historical context also provides fascinating insights into
the motivations behind the war and the revolution.
Fall of Giants is historical fiction on an epic scale, but its greatest strength is its cast of
characters. Readers will come to love some of these characters, and loathe some of them, as well.
Their very personal hopes, fears, dreams and desires will keep readers invested in the story as
Follett unfolds his grand tale.
Matt Williams, Librarian I, Pike Road/Pine Level Branch Libraries
46
Love, Honor, and Betray by Kimberla Lawson Roby
F ROBY
Rufus Lewis, Lowder, Pine Level, and Ramer
Love, Honor, and Betray is the latest book in the Curtis Black Series by Kimberla
Lawson Roby. Roby’s latest novel begins with Charlotte (Curtis’s Wife) not excited about
becoming a full-time step-mother to Curtis’s daughter Curtina. Charlotte is not thrilled at all
about Curtina living with them, being that Curtis’s daughter is a result of an extramarital affair.
Although Charlotte had a child from an extramarital affair, she feels as if she is justified for her
feelings toward Curtina. Charlotte begs Curtis to let her go and stay with relatives, but Curtis is
adamant about her staying with them and becoming a family.
As with the previous Curtis Black Series, Charlotte and Curtis are tempted in many ways
to be unfaithful to each other. With Curtis choosing his daughter to live with them, Charlotte has
become bitter and angry towards her husband. She soon decides that since Curtis won’t take her
feelings into considerations, she has every reason to do what she wants to do, right or wrong.
Charlotte’s “I don’t care attitude” has put a strain on her marriage. Their marriage becomes so
estranged that they are not communicating to each other, just existing. Since their marriage is
barely surviving, one of them falls prey to being unfaithful, and their marriage begins to spiral
out of control. Roby continues to keep you wanting to read more of this series as well as her
other books. Love, Honor, and Betray is a page turner full of twists and turns that will keep you
burning the midnight oil to finish the novel.
Stacie Williams, Librarian I, E L Lowder Regional Library
47
Mystery
The Ranger by Ace Atkins
M ATKINS
Morgan, Lowder, Coliseum, Ramer
Ace Atkins was born in Troy, Alabama in 1970. He is a graduate of Auburn University,
has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in journalism, and was the 2010 winner of the Alabama
Library Association Author Award for fiction for Wicked City, a fictionalized account of Phenix
City’s gangster days. I have read all of Mr. Atkins’ previous books (8), and I was looking
forward to this one with great anticipation, Mr. Atkins already successful, and with the
expectation that he would join the ranks of James Lee Burke, Robert Crais and Stephen Hunter.
I was disappointed.
While he does a fair job of evoking rural Mississippi, the characters are pretty flat and
one dimensional, the story/plot was unoriginal (see 50% of all western novels and films: good
guy comes home, finds home town corrupt, good guy cleans up home town), and I was just
expecting a whole lot more. James Lee Burke’s lyricism was not here, Robert Crais’ humor was
not here, and Quinn Colson is no Bob the Nailer.
That said, it was still a fun read. Quinn Colson, a Ranger, comes home on leave to attend
the funeral of his uncle. It turns out the uncle, the local sheriff, died under mysterious
circumstances. Colson begins an investigation with the help of the attractive female deputy and
they find corruption and meth labs everywhere. The action is good but falls short of outstanding.
It does appear to be the beginning of a series (see full title: The Ranger: A Quinn Colson Novel).
In sum, I liked the Nick Travers novels much better, but if you are looking for a good
beach book or something to help pass the time until football season begins, it’ll do.
Tim Berry, Head Librarian, Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library
Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark
M CLARK
Morgan, Lewis, Coliseum, Governor’s Square, Pintlala, Lowder, Rosa Parks, Ramer
Mary Higgins Clark, known for her wonderful suspense novels, has teamed up with her
daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, also a talented mystery novelist, to write the Santa Cruise. If
you’re familiar with previous novels by these two authors, you’ll find some familiar characters in
this book.
The story line is based upon the owner of a cruise ship providing a free holiday cruise to
‘Good Samaritans’. Along the way some unsavory characters are introduced while sleuths on
the ship, both professional and amateur, put their talents to the test in order to get to the bottom
of some strange occurrences.
The authors keep the reader engaged throughout the novel while providing mystery and
suspense as well as humor in this holiday novel.
Dina Campbell, Library Administration Office
48
Guest Contributors—Lightening Readers Book Club
Humbug Mountain, by Sid Fleischman
JF FLEISCHMAN
Morgan
The main character of this book is Wiley, a young boy whose father is a newspaperman, a
man that goes from town to town starting newspapers. He leaves when someone in the town gets
angry with him. Wiley, his father, mother, and sister, Glorietta have to leave town because
someone tried to kill their goose. They decided to go to Sunrise, a place on the Mississippi River,
which the family inherited from Wiley’s grandpa. Wiley likes to read a set of books about a man
called Quickshot Billy. Quickshot Billy kills gangsters. He wears a shiner - a ring with a mirror
on it - to see people behind him.
When Wiley’s family gets to Sunrise, they find a small, uninhabited island. They explore
the island. When they find Grandpa’s riverboat, they expect to find Grandpa in it. Instead, they
find two gangsters. After they get the gangsters out of the river boat they find out the boat is
haunted. Food is stolen from the riverboat. Soon they find the culprit. It was Grandpa’s plot! The
book ends in them finding Grandpa.
Sierra Jay, Lightening Readers Book Club
Journey Between Worlds by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
JSF ENGDAHL
Morgan
Journey Between Worlds is divided into four different sections, Earth, Space, Mars, and
Phobos. Mel is a girl who was born on Earth and has no wish to ever leave Earth, which is why
she is horrified when her father buys tickets for a trip to Mars. Mel has just completed high
school and she has everything planned out. She is going to marry a man named Ross and
together they are going to live in a house by the sea. Mel decides to go because she really wants
to spend time with her father so she accepts to go to Mars for a yearlong trip.
On the space ship, the Susan Constant, Mel meets a second generation Martian named
Alex. Mel and Alex soon become close friends during the long weeks of space travel. Mel also
befriends a woman named Janet who thinks Mars is an uncivilized and dangerous place. Janet
influences Mel to think that way also.
On Mars, Mel is utterly bored. All she wants to do is to go home to Earth. The only thing
that she enjoys on Mars is visiting Alex and his family. When it is finally time to leave tragedy
strikes and Mel is unable to leave Mars. Mel writes Ross and he tries to arrange passage off but
Mel has doubts, she wants to leave Mars but she does not want to leave her friends. What will
she choose, Mars or Earth?
Emily Jay, Lightening Readers Book Club
49
Animals with Awesome Armor: Shells, Scales, and Exoskeletons by Susan K. Mitchell
All branches except Hampstead
J 591. 47 MITCHELL
This book is about armor in the animal world. In the middle ages, knights wore heavy,
metal armor that protected them in battle. Some animals have thick shells and others have tough
skin. Other animals have bony armor. Armor can be made of many things, but a turtles’ armor
is made of bone. It is one of the best and toughest types of armor in the animal world.
This book talks about many other animals and their armor also. My favorite thing in this
book was learning about the armadillo. An armadillo can have three bands, six bands or nine
bands of armor. These bands are made of bone. What I found interesting is that armadillos are
closely related to sloths and anteaters. Moreover, did you know that the horseshoe crab is not a
crab at all? It is related to ticks, spiders, and scorpions. If you like animals with armor, you will
have to read the book and find out!
Ian Wallace, Lightening Readers Book Club
Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight by Katherine Paterson
J 398.22 PATERSON
All branches except Hampstead
The setting of this book is in medieval times with King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table. Parzival was never called by his proper name; in fact, the book says he did not
know he had one. He was actually a prince, and his mother was a queen, but she did not want
him to know it. His father was a king and a knight who had been killed in battle. He was an
ignorant little boy, and did not long for learning because he had never seen a book. It is hard to
imagine not being able to read! If you want to find out what happens next READ THE BOOK!
Emilie Wallace, Lightening Readers Book Club
Medieval Castle by Fiona MacDonald
J 940.1 MCDONALD
Morgan
Fiona MacDonald calls the book I chose a Medieval Castle. This book tells you what it
would be like to live in a castle and many other facts about the medieval ages. There are three
sections of this book that I like the best. The first one is called Fighting Men; here it talks about
foot soldiers and the different types of weapons that they would use. The second one is called
Castle Under Siege, and in this section, it talks about how people would break into a castle and
how they would defend a castle. The third one is called Tournaments. It talks about
jousting, coats of arms, and Heralds. I think that this is a great book for anyone in the ages of
four to 40.
Seth Harding, Lightening Readers Book Club
50
Anno’s U.S. A. by Anno Mitsumasa
E ANNO
Morgan, Governor’s Square, Rosa Parks
Anno’s Flea Market by Anno Mitsumasa
E ANNO
Morgan, Lowder
Anno’s Counting House by Anna Mitsumasa
E ANNO
Morgan, Ramer
The last time I went to the library, I mostly got books for school but I did not get enough
so I got three more. One of them was called Anno’s U.S.A. Some of you are probably
wondering if it has any words in it-- it does not. I like the book because it has amazing pictures. I
think that it would be a great book for a little kid to look at. Anno’s U.S.A. is about a family
traveling from the country into the city.
The other book is called Anno’s Flea Market. This book is about a husband and a wife
going to the flea market. First, they have an empty basket. When they walked in the flea
market they bought food, then they walked out. It is surprisingly long. The last book is called
Anno’s Counting House. The pages are pictures of inside of houses when you turn the pages you
can see the outside of the house. The windows are uncovered so you can see some of the house.
Katrinnah Harding, Lightening Readers Book Club
51
Montgomery City-County
Public Library
Board of Trustees
2011 Directory
Thomas McPherson, President
County Appointment
321 N. Anton Drive
Montgomery, AL 36105
Phone H #834-9636
Phone W #264-7919 F #264-7917
Cell #202-5533
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2012
Catherine Wright
County Appointment
3865 Colline Drive
Montgomery, AL 36106-3357
Phone W #420-4252
Cell #315-6854
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2014
William Fain
County Appointment
7029 Mid Pines Circle
Montgomery, AL 36117
Cell #398-3344
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2015
Gary Burton, Secretary
County Appointment
13812 U.S. Hwy 31
Hope Hull, AL 36043-5104
Phone H #288-7414
Phone W #281-9439 F #264-7917
Cell #315-2235
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2014
Amy Knudsen
County Appointment
2926 Jamestown Drive
Montgomery, AL 36111-1211
Phone W #244-2587
Phone H #834-1808
Cell #549-5005
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2012
Lynda Borden
County Appointment
P.O. Box 59
Pine Level, AL
*Cell #334-322-1486
Phone H #334-584-9294
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2013
Paulette Moncrief
County Appointment
4216 Green Meadow Drive
Montgomery, AL 36108-5010
Phone W #834-0033
Cell #399-2456
pmoncrief@montgomerycommaction.
com
Term Expires: June 1, 2013
Mary McLemore
President, Friends of the Library
122 Laurelwood Drive
Pike Road, AL 36064-2213
Phone H #277-0039
[email protected]
Jaunita Owes, Library Director
City-County Public Library
P.O. Box 1950
245 High Street
Montgomery, AL 36102-1950
Phone #240-4300
Fax #240-4977
[email protected]
Vivian White, Asst. Director
City-County Public Library
P.O. Box 1950
245 High Street
Montgomery, AL 36102-1950
Phone #240-4300 Fax #240-4977
[email protected]
Library Home Page
http://www.mccpl.lib.al.us
Katie Bell
City Appointment
3613 Winterset Court
Montgomery, AL 36111-3361
Phone H #284-1800
Cell #318-1509
Fax #284-4002
[email protected]
Term Expires: June 1, 2012
MCCPL FOUNDATION BOARD
CHARTER BOARD
April 2011
Carl Barker, President
ServisFirst Bank
One Commerce Street, Ste. 200
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-223-5800 (W)
334-652-1294
334-223-5858 (Fax)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2014
Sylvia Harper
City Appointment
8549 Wexford Trace
Montgomery, AL 36117-8227
H #277-9956 Phone W #265-1594 H
#207-2144
Cell #207-2144
[email protected]
Term expires: September 21, 2013
Lynn Beshear, Executive Director
Envision 2020
600 South Court St., Ste. 311
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-269-0224 (W)
334-462-0220 (Cell)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2014
Jim Earnhardt, Vice President
City Appointment
4013 Meredith Drive
Montgomery, AL 36109-2344
Phone H #279-8859 W #261-1525
[email protected] (H)
Term Expires: June 21, 2013
Anne Hamner
7518 Wynford Circle
Montgomery, AL 36117
334-277-5151 (H)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2012
Courtney Williams
City Appointment
P.O. Box 2069
Montgomery, AL 36102-2069
Phone W #241-8054
Fax W #241-8254
Fax #281-9419 [email protected]
Term Expires: September 21, 2012
Joe Hampton, Division Manager
Selma and Montgomery
ALAGASCO
435 Lee Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-241-4267 (W)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2012
Janet Waller
City Appointment
2307 Allendale Place
Montgomery, AL 36111-1636
Phone H #264-8923
Cell #504-250-1219
[email protected]
Term Expires: September 21, 2014
Jim Hodgson, CPA
Moody & Hodgson
900 South Perry Street, #C
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-834-5205 (W)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2012
(Board Treasurer)
Eddie R. Johnson, Treasurer
City Appointment
P.O. Box 302101
36065-0059 Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone W #242-9960
[email protected]
Term expires: June 21, 2011
Sam Martin, President and Publisher
The Montgomery Advertiser
425 Molton Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-261-1582 (W)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2012
Chester Mallory
City Appointment
P.O. Box 6056
Montgomery, AL 36106-0056
H #288-5584 Phone W #262-7773
Fax #264-3344 Cell #303-4802
[email protected]
Term expires: September 21, 2014
Leslie Sanders
City Appointment
P.O. Box 160
Montgomery, AL 36101-0160
Cell #652-8285 Phone W #832-3301
Term expires: September 21, 2012
Derek Parrish, Chairman and CEO
SMC Terminus Group, LLC
1 Commerce Center, Ste. 610
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-262-7791 (W)
334-313-2117 (Cell)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2013
(Board Vice President)
52
Sheron Rose, Director Human
Resources
Team Relations, Gov’t Affairs
Hyundai Motor Mfg Alabama, LLC
700 Hyundai Blvd.
Montgomery, AL 36105
334-387-8004 (W)
334-714-4426 (Cell)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2013
Frank Wilson, Esq.
504 South Perry Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-263-2560 (W)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2013
(Board President)
Emily Lowder Wootten, Director
The Lowder Family Foundation
7852 Long Acre
Montgomery, AL 36116
334-271-6231 (H)
334-546-2283 (Cell)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Term expires April 2014
(Board Secretary)
Christopher Vucovich, Registered Rep
Vucovich & Associates
8135 Old Federal Road
Montgomery, AL 36117
334-239-9110 (W)
334-467-5438 (Cell)
[email protected]
Term expires April 2014
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Thomas McPherson, Jr., President
MCCPL Board of Trustees
P.O. Box 251121
Montgomery, AL 36102-1121
334-264-7919 (W)
334-202-5533 (Cell)
334-264-7917 (Fax)
[email protected]
Jaunita Owes, Director
Montgomery City-County Public Library
245 High Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-240-4300 (W)
334-354-6333 (Cell)
334-240-4977 (Fax)
[email protected]
Catherine Wright, Chairman
Finance Committee, MCCPL Board of
Trustees
3865 Colline Drive
Montgomery, AL 36106
334-420-4252 (W)
334-315-6854 (Cell)
[email protected]
Locations
Juliette Hampton Morgan
Memorial Library
245 High Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
240-4999
Coliseum Boulevard
Branch Library
840 Coliseum Boulevard
Montgomery, AL 36109
271-7005
:
E. L. Lowder
Regional Library
2590 Bell Road
Montgomery, AL 36117
244-5717
Rosa Parks
Branch Library
1276 Rosa Parks Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36108
240-4979
Governor’s Square
Branch Library
2885-B E. South Boulevard
Montgomery, AL 36111
284-7929
Pike Road
Branch Library
9585 Vaughn Road
Montgomery, AL 36064
244-8679
Rufus A. Lewis
Regional Library
3095 Mobile Highway
Montgomery, AL 36108
240-4848
Pine Level
Branch Library
21 Kohn Drive
Pine Level, AL 36065
1-334-584-7144
Pintlala
Branch Library
255 Federal Road
Pintlala, AL 36043
281-8069
Ramer
Branch Library
5444 State Highway 94
Ramer, AL 36069
1-334-562-3364
http://www.mccpl.lib.al.us
Hampstead
Branch Library
5251 Hampstead High St.
Suite 107
Montgomery, AL 36116
244-5770