Happy Diamond Anniversary

Happy Diamond Anniversary

     Sixty years ago on 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth was crowned the fortieth monarch since William the Conqueror.  She is the second longest reigning monarch in English history;  only Queen Victoria has reigned longer and that is only by three years.  When you have ruled for 60 years, you don’t just celebrate on that one day, but for a whole year.  While the majority of the celebrations were in June, many other events will take place throughout the year.  Check the Queen’s official website for loads of information.  During her reign she launched 21 ships, sat for 129 portraits, sent approximately 45,000 Christmas cards, and received some unusual gifts, such as two tortoises, a 70 year-old bull elephant, and two black beavers. 

There is a more serious side to her duties.  There have been 12 Prime Ministers that have served under her and she has given her Royal Assent to more than 3,500 Acts of Parliament.  She is a patron to over 600 charities and organizations, over 400 of which she has held since she became Queen.  To know more about Her Royal Majesty, you might like to read one of the following,  Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth II and her Court, The Real Elizabeth, and Jubilee: Queen Elizabeth II: 60 Years on the Throne or watch the following DVDs: The Diamond Queen and Queen and Country.

     While Queen Elizabeth is one of England’s longest reigning monarchs, Lady Jane Dudley’s reign had to have been one of the shortest.  She was fifth in the royal line of succession after King Henry VIII.  In Coronation of Glory: The Story of Lady Jane Grey, everything was going great in Lady Jane’s life until King Henry’s heir, her cousin, died.  It was then that all the maneuvering began to get Lady Jane on the throne before Princess Mary or Princess Elizabeth.  Lady Jane won, only to lose the crown 9 days later and her life shortly after.  Quite often the path to the throne was not an easy one as shown in the following books: Sovereign Ladies, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth and Mary, The Women of the Cousins War, Magnificent Obsession, and She Wolves: the Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth. The Mequon-Thiensville Community Book Club will meet December 18^th at 1:30pm to discuss Sister Queens: the Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox.

     If you would like these historical events to come to life, you might want to try our books in historical fiction.  The first two books on our list have received the Man Booker Award.  This prize is the world’s most important literary award and is given to the “best novel in the opinion of the judges.  The whole aim of this award is to increase the reading of quality fiction and to attract the intelligent general audience.”  Any of these books would be a great read:  Bring up the Bodies, Wolf Hall, Kingmaker’s Daughter Elizabeth I: a novel, Queen Defiant: a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Confession of Katherine Howard, The Favored Queen, The Red Queen, The White Queen, The Queen’s Lover,  The Lady Elizabeth, The Boleyn Inheritance, Innocent Traitor: a novel of Lady Jane Grey, The Constant Princess, Murder Most Royal, The Queen of Subtleties, A Royal Ambition, The Fifth Queen, and The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn.

     Happy anniversary to Her Royal Majesty, may her reign be a long and happy one.  Good reading to all who enjoy a look back in history.

    

Picture courtesy of Easicat

Fall into Reading

Now that cool days are coming back and the autumn leaves are spiraling about, it’s time to finish up those chores outside and think about spending the days indoor reading.  This means the beach tales of summer now shift to the more serious books of fall and then gradually to long winter reads.  What makes one book more seasonal than another depends on the individual reader’s taste.

If you like the sweet taste of fresh apples in the fall you may just be ready to take a bite out of these apple titles.  Remember, we have plenty of titles to taste, so eat away.

An apple for the creature edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

This is a collection of thirteen new stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

The new book of apples: the definitive guide to over 2,000 varieties by Joan Morgan and Alison Richards

Beautifully illustrated, this book includes full historical, geographical gardening and botanical notes on each variety of apple.

Belle in the Big Apple: a novel with recipes by Brooke Parkhurst

Belle Lee, a food loving southern belle, relocates to New York City and finds herself employed by a morally corrupt news operation, a job she eventually quits to pursue interests in cooking and writing.

There should be plenty of pumpkins around this year.  All those warm days this summer were actually good for the pumpkin crop, according to farmers. There’s plenty of the canned stuff readily available and lots of pumpkins to decorate.

The perfect pumpkin by Gail Damerow

Offers growing and harvesting techniques, crafts and carving projects, recipes, and tips on winter storage.

Remember those hobbies you put aside when the weather was too nice to resist? Well, it’s time to bring out the knitting, crocheting and the crafts you plan on giving for gifts.  If you need additional ideas examine these books:

The knitter’s year: 52 make-in-a-week projects—projects quick gifts, and seasonal knits by Debbie Bliss

Presents directions for quick knitting projects that are designed to be completed in one week or less, organized by seasons of the year.

Warm hats for wee noggins: 19 knit designs sized for preemie to 12 months by Glenna Anderson Muse

Glenna Anderson Muse designed these knit hats for babies in the hospital where she works as a respiratory therapist. The 19 designs use medium weight yarn and are based on one of four basic hat styles.  Seasonal looks include all holidays.

Create a bewitched fall-o-ween: 45 project for decorating and entertaining by Kasey Rogers and Mark Wood

Step-by-step instructions to help crafters adorn every part of their home and yard with festive creations.

Life’s a puzzle in more ways than one.  At our house we like to spread out a jigsaw puzzle on the unused dining room table, build to completion and then begin another.  Mystery books can offer just the same thrill as the clues help to solve the puzzle.  Try a mystery or two this season.

Apple turnover murder by Joanne Fluke

When baker Hannah Swensen agrees to be a magician’s assistant at a massive fund-raising event, she gets more than she bargained for when the show’s host--an ex-lover of both Hannah and her younger sister--is found dead.

Harvest of murder by Ann Ripley

When Dr. Peter Whiting, a strange old biologist who knows a formula for doubling life expectancy, is brutally murdered, Louise Eldridge--television gardening show host, mother and wife--attempts to uproot the killer and uncover a conspiracy.

Wicked autumn: a Max Tudor novel by G.M. Malliet

His tranquility as the established vicar of a New Age village shattered by the murder of an unpopular woman, former MI5 agent Max Tudor struggles with past demons while trying to identify a killer in his peaceful community.

Book clubs traditionally begin anew in the fall.  Individuals come together to share, discuss and debate. Titles selected are wide and varied.  Add a little spice this time around--or maybe just a cup of tea to keep you warm and reading. 

Cider house rules: a novel by John Irving

The practices of Dr. Wilbur Larch--obstetrician, orphanage director, ether addict, and abortionist--are hindered, abetted, and continued, in turn, by his favorite orphan, Homer Wells.

A cup of tea by Amy Ephron

When a privileged New York socialite, Rosemary Fell, and a penniless young woman, Eleanor Smith, fall in love with the same man, they question whether the triangle of passions will destroy them or bring them closer.

Happy reading!

Picture courtesy of EasiCat

2012 National Book Award Finalists

Established in 1950, the National Book Award is an American literary prize given to writers by writers and administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization.  Writers such as William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, Philip Roth, John Updike, Norman Mailer, Flannery O’Connor, and Alice Walker have all won the Award.  Each year, the Foundation selects a total of twenty judges, including five in each of the four Award categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature.  Judges are published writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field, and in some cases, are past NBA Finalists or Winners.  Each panel reads all of the books submitted in their category over the course of the summer.  This number typically ranges from 150 titles (Poetry) to upwards of 500 titles (Nonfiction).  In September, each panel compiles a “shortlist” of five Finalists.  This year’s finalists were announced on October 10, 2012.

Fiction Titles

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

Nonfiction Titles

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1945-1956 by Anne Applebaum

Behind the Beautiful Forever: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. 4 by Robert Caro

The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez

House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid

Poetry

Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations by David Ferry

Heavenly Bodies by Cynthia Huntington

Fast Animal by Tim Seibles

Night of the Republic by Alan Shapiro

Meme by Susan Wheeler

Young People’s Literature

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander

Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Internet Safety

                Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month?  Are you up to date with the latest ways to keep your data safe on the internet?  If you are in need of a refresher there are many ways to keep yourself safe while navigating the web.  With more commercial and banking transactions taking place online it is becoming more important to be aware of how your information could be stolen or how you could fall for a scam.  A great resource created by the Federal Trade Commission called OnGuard Online gives a great overview of ways to keep yourself and your data safe online.

Public WiFi
                If a wifi network does not ask you for a password to access it you need to be careful about what information you  are inputting into your browser online.   OnGuard’s resource page on public wifi gives a great overview of ways to keep yourself safe on open networks.  One of the best tips is not to type passwords or credit card information online while using public wifi.  If you do, make sure that you don’t have one password for all of your online accounts.  It may be convenient to remember but if someone gets that password then they have access to everything you do online.   Always make sure that you check a site’s privacy information to make sure that they are keeping your data safe and try to only go to websites you are familiar with.

Internet Scams
                Snopes, the online urban legend debunker, is also known for their great detective work on online scams.  Many of these scams are perpetuated through e-mail.  A good rule is to make sure to only open e-mails from people that you know.  If a link in an e-mail seems fishy don’t click on it.  Some e-mails try to appear like legitimate businesses to get you to click on their links so always do a quick Google search about the content of the e-mail before you click a link that looks suspicious.  If you didn’t start a transaction with the company in question it is probably a scam.  When you do find out an e-mail is a scam always be sure to delete it right away.
                Computer scams aren’t always started online.  The FTC has recently started cracking down on scam calls tricking people into paying for virus removal that they don’t need.  If you suspect that you have a virus always take the computer to someone in person to fix the problem.  Never let a company access your computer remotely unless you are 100% sure they are a legitimate company.

                The more you are aware of the different scams and ways people can steal your information online the better you can protect yourself.  So take time to get educated this month and happy web surfing!

*Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Think non-fiction is boring? Think again!

While looking over a list of all the books I’ve borrowed from the library in the past few months, I was surprised to discover that I read a lot of non-fiction books.  Even more surprising, they span the Dewey Decimal numbers, from the 100s to the 900s.  Let me recommend a few:

From the 100s—Philosophy and Psychology:  Better than normal:  how what makes you different makes you exceptional by Dr. Dale Archer.  The author contends that what society perceives as a mental health issue, to be tackled, may in fact be a trait that enables one to succeed.  He gives countless examples to prove his point.

From the 200s—Religion:  Real Marriage:  the truth about sex, friendship & life together by Mark and Grace Driscoll.  A pastor and his wife share biblical truths that will help you have not just a good enough marriage, but a great marriage.

From the 300s—Social Science:  How to be richer, smarter and better looking than your parents by Zac Bissonnette.  Excellent advice for young adults from the author of Debt-Free U:  how I paid for an outstanding college education without loans, scholarships, or mooching off my parents.

Also from the 300s--Escape from camp 14:  one man’s remarkable odyssey from North Korea to the west by Blaine Harden.  You will be mesmerized by this account of a man who was born in a prison camp in North Korea and miraculously escaped.  You may even find yourself seeking out more non-fiction works about the Hidden Kingdom!

From the 600s—Applied Science and Technology:  Martha’s American food:  a celebration of our nation’s most treasured dishes, from coast to coast by Martha Stewart.  Travel the country with this lavishly photographed treasury of regional dishes, from New England clam chowder to chocolate bourbon pecan pie.

Also from the 600s—The $100 start-up: reinvent the way you make a living, do what you love, and create a new future by Chris Guillebeau.  Countless examples of people who turned their passions and hobbies into businesses so lucrative they quit their “day jobs”.

From the 700s—Arts and Recreation:  The world of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes; a book about the making of the show and also about life in England between 1910 and 1920, accompanied by gorgeous photos, both from the show and from the times.  Get your Downton Abbey “fix” while you wait for season 3!

From the 900s-History and Geography:  In my father’s country:  an Afghan woman defies her fate by Saima Wahab.  After escaping the country where she was expected to remain at home, to stay uneducated and isolated from men, a young Afghan woman returns to her homeland as an interpreter and cultural advisor to the US army.

Also from the 900s, the biography section, at 920 and 921:  The vow:  the true events that inspired the movie by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter.  I enjoyed the movie, so I thought I’d read the real story.  It will probably be a surprise to no one that the movie bears little resemblance to the actual events.

This is just a small sampling of the books and topics you’ll find in our non-fiction section.  So the next time you stop by the Weyenberg Library to browse for a great read, don’t just peruse the New Fiction.  Cross over to the other side of the rotunda and check out the fascinating books in the New Nonfiction section.  You’ll be sure to find something that grabs you.

Photo courtesy of Google images.