Independence Day

The Fourth of July is fast approaching and we all know what that means: fireworks, parades and barbeques are on the horizon.  Did you know that John Adams originally thought that the 2^nd of July would be the day which later generations would celebrate as Independence Day because that was the day the Continental Congress voted to declare independence?  Check out his letter to his wife Abigail.  If you are looking to find out more fun facts like this about the Fourth of July and the history surrounding it check out these books:

American scripture : making the Declaration of Independence by Pauline Maier

Inventing America : Jefferson's Declaration of independence by Garry  Wills

Honorable treason : the Declaration of Independence and the men who signed it  by David Freeman Hawke

The story of the Declaration of independence by Dumas Malone

The birth of the United States, 1763-1816  by Isaac Asimov

Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July by James A. Colaiaco

The complete idiot's guide to the Founding Fathers and the birth of our nation by Ray Raphael

Looking for more of a visual experience?  Check out this DVD:

1776

Perhaps you are looking for something that has more of a story to it.  Check out these fiction titles:
Liberty : a Lake Wobegon novel by Garrison Keillor
4th of July : a novel by James Patterson

Star spangled murder : a Lucy Stone mystery by Leslie Meier

Looking for ideas for your backyard barbecue?  Check out these great grilling books:
The big book of outdoor cooking and entertaining : spirited recipes and expert tips for barbecuing, charcoal and gas grilling, rotisserie roasting, smoking, deep-frying, and making merry by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Grill! : quick and delicious recipes for indoor and outdoor grilling by Pippa Cuthbert
Bobby Flay's grill it!  by Bobby Flay

Need some more direction?  Check out this DVD: Boy meets grill. Blazin' barbeque

Sharing the Fourth of July experience with your kids?  These titles will give them a great overview about the holiday and how it is celebrated:
Celebrate Independence Day by Deborah Heiligman
My first Fourth of July book by Harriet W. Hodgson
Fireworks, picnics, and flags by James Giblin

Want to give your kids a more hands on experience for the Fourth?  Check out this craft book:
Star-spangled crafts by Kathy (Katharine Reynolds) Ross

These fun titles will be sure to entertain your kids while sticking with the Fourth of July theme:
Henrietta's Fourth of July by Syd Hoff
Hurray for the Fourth of July by Wendy Watson
Hats off for the Fourth of July! by Harriet Ziefert
Fourth of July mice! by Bethany Roberts

For more information about the Fourth of July including fun facts and safety tips check out USA.gov.

* Picture courtesy of Google images

Escape to Wisconsin…

     Where could you travel and at one point feel you were in Cape Cod, the next in Norway, the next in the Adirondacks, and next on a paddle boat on the Mississippi with Mark Twain?  Welcome to Wisconsin!  As you travel from the cranberry bogs filled with crimson fruit in autumn, to the old tobacco barns scattered in the hilly La Crosse countryside, back in history to Old World Wisconsin, to the peace and serenity of Devil’s Lake, to the 40’ drop of Copper Falls, to the rustic farms  of the Amish, to the dunes and lighthouses of the Peninsula, to the  bluffs of the Niagara Escarpment, and to one of the most beautiful state capitols you’ll ever see in the United States, you can see that we are lucky to live in such a beautiful and diverse state.  As schools let out and summer finally arrives, many thoughts are of a perfect getaway.  What better place to escape to than here in Wisconsin. 

     We have many great books to help you plan your special getaway.  In Wisconsin Day Trips by Theme the trips are listed by themes such as lighthouses, waterfalls, extreme adventures, garden tours or romantic getaways.  Traveling with children?  Kids Love Wisconsin lists 500 places to visit that would interest children between the ages of 2 and 15.  Do you want to travel in an environmentally green way?  Green Travel Guide to Northern Wisconsin and Green Travel Guide to Southern Wisconsin list the best green restaurants, lodgings, activities, and shops in Wisconsin.  Some of you may have traveled quite a bit in Wisconsin and would like to see parts of the state that aren’t as well traveled or are different.  Books like Backroads and Byways of Wisconsin, Backroads of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin: a Guide to Unique Places will take you off the beaten path.   If you would like to find some of the strangest and wackiest people, places and things in Wisconsin, then Wisconsin’s Curiosities: Quirky Characters Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff will be your best guide.  While many of the above mentioned books list great restaurants to try, these next books list tours of unique restaurants, wineries, and breweries to visit.  Wisconsin’s Best Beer Guide, Hungry for Wisconsin, and Wineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota will list the best of the best in our state.  On your travels, if you happen to pass a horse drawn buggy, don’t think your car has turned into some kind of time machine taking you back to the 1800’s.  It’s more likely that you’re traveling through an Amish community like the ones mentioned in Wisconsin Day Trips.  For those of you who would like to experience the history of our state, Historical Wisconsin Getaways is a great way to travel back into our state’s unique history.  You will get a feeling of the people and the places that helped to build this great state.

     Most people will travel by car to get to their chosen destination; however, there may be some of you who may be more adventurous.  In that case, you might be interested in Canoeing and Kayaking Wisconsin, Motorcycling Across Wisconsin, Sunday Rides on Two Wheels, and Road Biking Wisconsin.  All these books have routes along some of the most breath-taking spots in Wisconsin, turning your trip into one you won’t soon forget.

     There are more guides in Easicat for traveling in Wisconsin.  You can also go to TravelWisconsin.com or EscapeToWisconsin.com for more information about various destinations and activities happening at those locations in our state.  Whether you go for a day, a long weekend, or for a week or more, enjoy yourself--enjoy all that is Wisconsin.

Picture courtesy of  Easicat

Vacation Time!

Schools out—it’s vacation time!

If you’d like some ideas for traveling in Wisconsin, you don’t have to go any farther than your local library.  These books will help you enjoy the best our state has to offer:

Rock climbing Minnesota and Wisconsin

Canoeing and kayaking Wisconsin

Wisconsin day trips by theme

Going farther afield?  Go to Easicat, choose “Subject” from the dropdown box, and type your destination and the word “guidebooks”.  You’ll find plenty of books to help you plan your trip.  But if you’d rather be an armchair traveler, your library is really indispensible!

Travel the world with the folks in these books:

Catch and release by Blythe Woolston

Contents may have shifted by Pam Houston

In the bag by Kate Klise

The family beach house by Holly Chamberlin

Saving cicadas by Nicole A. Seitz

Passing love by Jacqueline E. Luckett

For a vacation with thrills, suspense, and even murder, you might enjoy these titles:

The next one to fall by Hilary Davidson

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Pampered to death by Laura Levine

Wrecked by Carol Higgins Clark

And for the ultimate in vacations gone awry, commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking by diving into one of these titles:

The dressmaker by Kate Alcott

Gilded lives, fatal voyage by Hugh Brewster

Down with the old canoe:  a cultural history of the Titanic disaster by Steven Biel

Amanda/Miranda, a Young Adult title by Richard Peck

Escaping Titanic:  a young girl’s true story of survival, a fascinating true picture book by Marybeth Lorbiecki

If you’re really enjoying the travel theme, check out Book lust to go:  recommended reading for travelers, vagabonds and dreamers by Nancy Pearl.  This book is filled with suggestions that will keep you busy the whole summer!

Picture courtesy of Google images

Audiobooks on the Go

Thinking about heading south?  Maybe the west coast is where you want to be?  Any which way you head this summer it might be a smart idea to take along a couple of books on CD.

With so many choices out there where does one begin?  Well, if you want something current then browse our new audiobook shelves.  Each month we order fifteen or more new titles. On any given day a good variety of mainstream fiction as well as informative titles may be found. Recent additions include titles such as “Home” by Toni Morrison, “Both of us: my life with Farrah” by Ryan O’Neal, “The shoemaker’s wife” by Adriana Trigiani and a new thriller I recently enjoyed, “The expats” by Chris Pavone.  Items on order to watch for include the titles, “The red house” by Mark Haddon and Alan Furst’s new spy novel, “A mission to Paris.”

If the reader is important to you then I have a few suggestions.  Scott Sowers does a fantastic job with the John Hart thriller books. The titles are “The iron house”, “The last child”, and “Down river”. I’ve listened to all of these even though they are more dark and edgy than I like. I found Sowers husky voice to be a perfect fit for this drama. Look for Sowers latest narration of “Scarecrow returns” by Matthew Reilly. One of the reasons I like the Louise Penny mysteries so well is because of Ralph Cosham’s delightful accent for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and the cast of characters from the village of Three Pines.  I am equally taken with David Colacci as he narrates the investigations of Commissario Guido Burnetti in Donna Leon’s mystery series.  Look for Leon’s latest title, Beastly things. And, then there’s George Guidall. In one word I would describe him as “exceptional.”  I was introduced to his comfortable style while listening to the Lillian Jackson Braun cat series, but his credits extend far and wide beyond this series.  New titles Guidall is currently narrating include “Chasing midnight” by Randy Wayne White, “Kill shot” by Vince Flynn and “The shadow patrol” by Alex Berenson. Other male readers I favor include Tom Stechschulte, Daniel Oreskes, Frank Muller and Simon Prebble.

Barbara Rosenblat is perhaps one of the most well known women narrators out there and certainly one of the most prolific readers.  Not only does Rosenblat narrate the titles from bestselling authors like Diane Mott Davidson, Kathy Reichs, and Lisa Scottoline; she is also well known as the voice of Amelia Peabody in Elizabeth Peters mystery series. Her work extends far beyond these authors and includes many juvenile titles like the Judy Moody series from Megan McDonald. Like Rosenblat, I also enjoy the voice of Blair Brown.  I’ve listened to her give voice to the many quirky characters in Anne Tyler’s novels and a couple of Sue Miller titles. Brown’s credits also include many works by Isabel Allende. Actress Kathleen McInerney does a fine job of narrating Linda Castillo’s riveting books.  Start with the first title “Sworn to silence.” McInerney’s many narrations include books by Kristin Hannah, Emily Giffin, Danielle Steel and Judy Blume.

Non-fiction listeners will enjoy “Brothers, rival and victors” by Jonathan W. Jordan.  This book describes the complex relationship between Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton, and Omar Bradley.  Wayne W. Dyer brings us a new title “Wishes fulfilled: mastering the art of manifesting.” Listeners continually ask for the gripping title, “Unbroken: a World War II airman’s story of survival, resilience, and redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand. I always like to recommend any of Bill Bryson titles as they are fun. Audiences will most certainly enjoy the 2011 Audie Award winner for non-fiction, “The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot; read by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin.

If your summer plans include a family vacation there are lots of options available for family listening.  Any of the Harry Potter titles are always a good choice.  Listeners will be held spellbound by the voice of Jim Dale.   Jules Verne’s “Around the world in 80 days” is another fine performance by Dale. A perennial favorite among listeners is E.B. White’s own reading of his book “Charlotte’s web”. Listeners may also enjoy titles such as Kate DiCamillo’s, “The tale of Despereaux” or “Because of Winn Dixie” read by Cherry Jones. “Chasing Vermeer” by Blue Balliett and read by Ellen Reilly is sure to please.  Carl Hiaasen’s titles transition well to audiobooks try “Scat” read by Ed Asner. Nathaniel Parker does a good job narrating “Artemis fowl” by Eoin Colfer.  Look for these titles and more at your Library.

June is audiobook month. Choose an audiobook.  Get caught listening.

*Image pulled from Google Images.