Book Club Books: Winter and Spring 2012

Do you wish you had the time to join a book club, but there just aren’t enough hours in a day?  Do you like reading book club books even though you aren’t in a book club?  Well, here are some recent titles that have garnered some attention and publicity, and may be the next big book club title!

If you like coming of age stories, books like Jane Eyre or The Catcher in the Rye, then these titles may be for you.

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman

Shelter by Frances Greenslade

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

If you like historical fiction books, these titles may intrigue you.  Read about China, the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the sinking of the Titanic.

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

The Red Chamber by Pauline Chen

The Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris

The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

Girl Reading by Katie Ward

The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman

If you enjoy reading about families and their tragedies, secrets, and relationships, than these titles may be perfect for you!

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker

The O’Briens by Peter Behrens

The Affair by Alicia Clifford

The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway

A Good American by Alex George

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

If you enjoy reading books about friendships, whether it is a story about 3 girls from a small Texas town or 4 women that first met at school in Bombay, than these titles may be just right for you.

Tumbleweeds by Leila Meecham

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

You may find yourself interested in reading about Olympic athletes this summer and what drives them.  These two titles may offer some insight into the mind of an Olympic athlete.

Running the Rift by Naomi Beriaron

Gold by Chris Cleave

If you enjoy medical dramas or would like to read a book that offers insight into a doctor’s practice, than these books may appeal to you.

Monday Mornings by Sanjay Gupta, M.D.

The Healing by Jonathan Odell

All of these titles are available in EasiCat; just follow the links to learn more about each book.  By clicking on “Availability,” you can see which libraries in the Eastern Shores Library System have a copy of each title.  By clicking on “Place Request,” you can request the book to be sent to the Frank L. Weyenberg Library for pickup; just enter your library card barcode and PIN number (last 4 digits of your telephone number).  EasiCat also provides summaries and professional reviews for some titles.  Just click on the title of the book in EasiCat, and you should see Summary or Reviews appear to the right side of the title.  Then just scroll down and enjoy!

*Image pulled from Google Images.

TRIPLE CROWN OF THOROUGHBRED RACING

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races run by three year old Thoroughbred horses.  These races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.  The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown and is run over 1 ¼ miles dirt track.  The second leg, the Preakness, is run over 1 3/16 miles of dirt track, and Belmont Stakes, the third leg, is run over 1 ½ miles and is the longest dirt track in Thoroughbred racing. 

In recent years, it has become very rare for a horse to win all three races as individual horses have become more specialized and can only run a limited range of distances.  Twenty-nine horses have come into the final race with the ability to win the Triple Crown, but only 11 have succeeded.  Will “I’ll Have Another” be able to do it?

Triple Crown Winners: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937),  Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978).

The Kentucky Derby was held on May 5, 2012 at Churchill Downs (Louisville, KY). 

Winner: “I’ll Have Another”

Preakness Stakes was held on May 19, 2012 at Pimlico Raceway (Baltimore, MD).

Winner:  “I’ll Have Another”

Belmont Stakes will be run on June 9, 2012 at Belmont Park (Elmont, NY).

For more information about the Triple Crown, horseracing or famous racehorses check out these reads:

Down to the Wire: the Lives of the Triple Crown Champions by Robert L. Shoop

Secretariat by William Nack

The Horse God Built: the Untold Story of Secretariat, the World’s Greatest Race Horse by Lawrence Scanlon

Secretariat’s Meadow: the Land, the Family, the Legend by Kate Chenery Tweedy

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

The Great Match Race: When North Met South in America’s First Sports Spectacle by John Eisenberg

The Race for the Triple Crown: Horses, High Stakes, and Eternal Hope by Joe Drape

Kentucky Derby Dreams: the Making of Thoroughbred Champions by Susan Nusser

Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20^th Century edited by Jacqueline Duke

For Children:

Assault, the Crippled Champion: the King Ranch Racehorse by Marjorie Hodgson Parker

Seabiscuit vs War Admiral by Kat Shehata

Race Horses by Michael Sandler

Thoroughbred Racing by Kent Baker

Movies:

Seabiscuit

Secretariat

Thoroughbred

Seabiscuit: America’s Legendary Racehorse

Picture from http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/sports-around/2012/may/6/triple-crown-schedule-can-ill-take-another-sweep-a/

What’s New in Historical Fiction?

I’m a historical fiction fan.  I love to be transported to a different time or place, to learn how other people live, and to discover how the events of history affect the lives of ordinary people.  So I was not surprised at the popularity of Downton Abbey, the PBS show that took us back to Edwardian England, or of Khaled Hosseini’s books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which opened our eyes to the beauty and horror of living in Afghanistan.

If you’d like to travel without buying a plane ticket or a time machine, visit the library and pick up a historical fiction novel.  Here are a few from our New Fiction collection:

If you enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, you may enjoy The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot.  Perinot writes about sisters Marguerite and Eleanor, whose marriages to the King of France and the King of England place them on very different paths.  Other books from the days of the kings and queens of Europe include the young adult novel  Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill, Sacrilege:  a thriller by S. J. Parris, A Parliament of Spies:  a mystery by Cassandra Clark, The King’s Agent by Donna Russo Morin, The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, The Forest Laird:  A Tale of William Wallace by Jack Whyte, The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melvany, The Queen’s Lover:  a novel by Francine Grey, Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown and The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau.

For something a little more edgy, try the thrillers by Tom Robb Smith:  Child 44, The Secret Speech, and the newly released Agent 6.  These books trace the activities of agent Leo Demidov, whose biggest problems come not from the criminals he is tracking, but the Stalinist government under which he works.  Other books about the Soviet Union include The Darkening Field by William Ryan and The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen.

Laurent Binet has written a novel with an intruiging title:  HHhH, the engrossing true story of two men who escaped from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and were recruited by the British to parachute back into their native country with the mission of executing Reinhard Heydrich, “the Butcher of Prague”.  Millions of Europeans faced life-and death decisions during WWII, and some of their stories are told in books like The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer, No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel , Restoration by Olafur Olafsson, and Trapeze by Simon Mawer.

Moving across the pond to our country, historical fiction novels can take you back to the days of the Civil War.  Blue Asylum:  a novel  by Kathy Hepinstall tells the tale of the wife of a slaveowner who is cast into an insane asylum simply because she does not share the beliefs of her fellow southerners about slavery.  Her experiences among her fellow inmates promise to change her life.  Other Civil War tales include A Blaze of Glory:  a novel of the battle of Shiloh by Jeff Shaara, and The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites.

The immigrant experience is one which all of our ancestors share. Three novels currently on the New Fiction shelf tell the tales of Irish immigrants:  The O’Briens by Peter Behrens, a saga of the grandson of an Irish immigrant who rises from poverty to riches, The Gods of Gotham by Lindsay Faye, relating the tale of an Irish immigrant who joins the newly formed NYPD, and May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy, a sweeping novel of four separate individuals who lives become entwined.

Whether you want to travel far or near, to a time centuries ago or just in the last few decades, historical fiction novels can take you there.  Come pick one up soon!

 Photo courtesy of Google images

Citius, Altius, Fortius…

            Swifter, Higher, Stronger.  This is the motto of the modern Olympic Games.   Baron Pierre de Coubertin, creator of the modern Olympics, borrowed this phrase from Father Henri Martin Dideon to describe the goals of great athletes around the world.

            The very first Olympics began about 776 B.C.  These Olympics were held every 4 years and they were a celebration of Greek culture, religion, and athleticism.  Held in the valley of Olympia, the games started with the lighting of a flame from the altar of Zeus.  It was extinguished at the close of the activities.  In the beginning, about 40,000 people would come together for the religious ceremonies and one contest.  This was a sprint of about 200 meters (210 yards).  As time went on other events like boxing, wrestling, a four horse chariot race, long jump, discus throw, and javelin throw were added.  The winners would be awarded a wild olive wreath that had been cut with a golden knife by a child.   Contestants no longer just came from Greece, but also from the Macedonian and Roman empires.  All athletes, free man or slave, could enter the races.  Some of the most famous competitors were Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great.  After existing for more than 1100 years, the ancient games were finally abolished by Emperor Theodosius of Rome, who felt the games were too pagan.  A more thorough description of these games can be found in The Olympics: a history of the games by William Johnson.

            It was another 1500 years before the games were revived in1896.  At that time 245 male competitors from 14 nations came together to compete; women were not allowed.  During the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, 204 countries came together and 10,900 people , male and female, competed.  The DVD Beijing 2008 Highlights will show you the best of the best during those games.  This summer, July 27^th, the London 2012 Olympics will begin.  In The Complete Book of the Olympics 2012 Edition you will find the rules and regulations of every event in this year’s games.  It’s also a great historical source for the top finishes of every event since 1896. Further, it contains special highlights from past Olympic events. 

Did you know that croquet and tug of war were once Olympic sports?  It’s thrilling to see the world’s best athletes compete, but I really love the stories behind the scenes.  100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History by Bud Greenspan captures the spirit of these games.  As Dan Jansen said, “No one has been able to express the spirit, the triumphs, the tragedies and the magic of the Games as Bud has.”  More personal accounts are written in such books as The Happiness of Pursuit, Good as Gold, Olympic Gold: A Runner’s Life and Times, Wonder Girl, Something in the Air,  Triumph: the Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler, and in the DVD Chariots of Fire. 

We would like to think that the high standards of the Olympics have remained untarnished, but as man has changed, so have the games.  Tarnished Rings, Nazi Games: the Olympics of 1936 and Rome 1960: the Olympics That Changed the World are three books that show how war, politics, corruption, and social issues have changed the games.  If fiction is more to your liking, then Private Games, The Second Son, Running: a Novel, and Bryant and May on the Loose: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery may interest you.

            With all this information, you should be more than ready for the 2012 Olympics.  You may be so pumped up that you even want to give this athletic thing a try.  While most of us are not up to Olympic caliber, we can still become weekend warriors.  In Easicat there are many great books on running, tennis, table tennis, cycling, archery, target shooting, track and field, and wrestling.  For those of you who are serious about athletics, you might be interested the Badger State Summer Games.  These games have been in existence since 1985 and are an annual Olympic-style competition for amateur athletes from Wisconsin.  The primary weekend for these games is June 22^nd thru the 24^th; however, some of the events will be held on other dates.  So, whether you choose to watch or compete--may the games begin.

Picture courtesy of:      http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=easyvectors&cp=37&gs_id=34&xhr=t&q=easyvectors.com/browse/other/olympics&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=easyvectors.com/browse/other/olympics&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=88a220285a8bc50a&biw=1280&bih=827