Mostly Good and Competent Men

Larry of the Fiction/AV/Teen Department recommends Mostly Good and Competent Men by Robert P. Howard:

Mostly Good and Competent Men, written by the late journalist and historian Robert P. Howard chronologically describes the strengths, weaknesses, and foibles of the governors of Illinois and the resulting successes and failures of their administrations.  In a succinct readable style, Howard links together biography, politics, and history in his review of each of the thirty-seven governors who served during the 170 years from 1818 to 1988.  This book sheds light on the personalities and events that contributed to the shaping of modern Illinois.  The author’s journalistic writing style makes the story of Illinois’ governors informative and easy to read while on the train or over lunch.  It’s a book that you can learn a lot by reading a little bit at a time.

The Devil May Wear Prada, but She Works in Publishing

Ever feel as if you were a character in a novel?  Angel Robinson does.  She has landed a promising new job with renowned literary agent Lucy Fiamma.  Her dragon-lady boss is a nightmare, but Angel quickly adapts to the insane expectations and the exciting work.  When a mysterious manuscript arrives that includes details from her own life, Angel is first intrigued...then disturbed.  The creepy parallels indicate someone she knows is plotting against her, but who?  Her writer boyfriend?  A jealous co-worker?  Another client?  Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg is an entertaining glimpse into the publishing world through the eyes of an underpaid, overworked newbie.  A fun summer diversion for anyone who reads, writes, or works with books.

The City of Lost Children

Krank is a lunatic scientist so very alone that he Frankensteined a family. His dwarf wife is a genetic experiment gone wrong. His confidant is a brain attached to a robot. Krank’s friends include clones he made…of himself. Yet Krank is unhappy, unhappy and aging, so he begins to abduct children from a neighboring harbor town. Oh no, not for company, but to steal their dreams. Dreams will make Krank physically young again. One, played by Ron Perlman, is a carnival strongman whose little brother is among the missing. Will Krank reverse his aging process and find happiness? Or will One find his little brother before it’s too late? Your answers await in The City of Lost Children directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

The Chemistry of Mystery

Take an eleven-year-old aspiring chemist, a bird with a stamp impaled on its beak, and a red-haired stranger gasping his last words in the family cucumber patch, and what do you have?  You have Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, a sparkling debut mystery by C. Alan Bradley.  Flavia de Luce loves nothing more than experimenting in her home laboratory, but one early morning she stumbles over a body in the garden.  Her reaction?   “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”  Her father’s arrest for murder is the catalyst for her own investigation, one that is adventurous, unpredictable, and wickedly clever.

Are You Hep to the Jive?

Django Reinhardt played the jazz guitar like the devil burned coal. Hot and fast. Back when folks thought that guitars weren’t worth a solo spotlight, Django Reinhardt showed them what for. Even virtuosos have troubles and Django had his share. ‘Round 1928 Django was in a caravan full of celluloid flowers, a candle drops, flames ensue. The man is permanently scarred knee to waist on his right side and his left hand is in shambles. Reinhardt created a whole new fingering system to accommodate two less fingers on his mangled hand. Django Reinhardt had one hand in the old world and one wrapped around the neck of a guitar. He continually proved that, “It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.”

Up with Down

The world’s richest prize for a work of fiction, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, has been awarded to American author Michael Thomas for Man Gone Down.  This extraordinary debut novel is the story of a young black father of three in a biracial marriage who has four days to make enough money to reunite his family.  Alternating between the narrator’s past and present, readers are confronted with the best and worst intentions of a supposedly integrated culture.  The judging panel praised Man Gone Down as “brilliant in its scope and energy, and deeply moving in its human warmth.”  Previous winners of the prize, nominated from public libraries around the world, include Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson and The Master by Colm Tóibín.

In Like Flynn

Hedonist? Brawler? Popular with the ladies? Absolutely! Errol Flynn was expelled from high school for boxing with the boys and allegedly wrestling with the school laundress. From there he bought a copper mine…failed. He bought a New Guinea tobacco plantation…failed. What next then, could be more outrageous? Errol Flynn went to Hollywood. Films such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk made him a sword-fighting, seafaring sensation. When he wasn’t helping to define the male adventure archetype in cinema, Errol Flynn’s romantic exploits caused tabloid and tell-all scandal. If you can’t make it to Glendale, CA where Flynn shares the grave with six bottles of whiskey, celebrate what would have been the scoundrel’s 100th birthday through his movies or biographies.

Audio Spectacular!

Love to listen to a great story?  Celebrate June as Audiobook Month by checking out the newly crowned winners of the 2009 Audies.  The utterly fantastic The Graveyard Book, written and read by Neil Gaiman, won top honors as Audiobook of the Year.  In a rare tie, the award for Fiction was given to both The Duma Key and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Curse of the Blue Tattoo was the first winner of Distinguished Achievement in Production as well as the Female Solo Narration and Teen categories.  Other recipients include The Last Lecture (Biography/Memoir), When You are Engulfed in Flames (Author Narration), Child 44 (Thriller/Suspense), The Dark Highlander (Romance), and Hot, Flat, and Crowded (both Non-Fiction and the Judges’ Award).

Printers Row Lit Fest

When Dearborn Station opened in 1885, Chicago officially had the wherewithal, strategic location and the transportation necessary to become the Midwest’s main printing center. A booming publishing industry sprang up in the South Loop and the neighborhood, dominated by the railroad’s twelve-story clock tower, became known as Printer’s Row. To honor the Chicago book trade, the Printer’s Row Lit Fest came to life. Every year Dearborn Street, between Congress and Polk, becomes a bustling mix of booksellers, author events, children's activities, poetry readings and folks paying giveaway prices on great books. Printers Row Lit Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 6th and 7th.

For information on everything from author appearances to directions, click here.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Julie of Reference Services recommends Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg:

Whether you’re an experienced bread baker or have never worked with yeast, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is inspiring for the possibilities it presents for easy home-baked bread.  The bread recipes in the book are based on a master recipe, which is presented in a very clear and detailed manner.  In a nutshell, a very wet dough of flour, water, yeast and sugar is mixed together—no kneading involved.  The book has many variations, but the essential procedure is the same.  Plus there are instructions on making pizza, rolls and even sweet treats.  So if you’d like to try this novel approach to baking delicious bread without kneading, check out this book and you might even save money by baking at home.