Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks

Submitted by Abbie, teen reviewer:

Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks, is a fantastic book about a girl who finds out secrets of her past and about who she is. With unexpected twists and turns in the story, you can either love a character, or hate them profusely. It isn't a book one would expect to be so addicting, but once started, it is hard to put down. Anna Banks leaves things that you would want to know until the end, which keeps you on edge and makes you want to keep reading. The plot is thick and the storyline addicting. I would recommend this to any who want a story that is full of mystery and romance. It really is a fantastic book!

Of Poseidon is in stores on May 22, 2012.

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

In The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America, Timothy Egan reports on the fires that destroyed the forests of the American west in 1910 and on Theodore Roosevelt's determination to set aside the great national forests as a public trust. Egan also introduces us to Gifford Pinchot, the chief forester, and Ed Pulaski, another important name in the history of American forests and fires. He gives us background on the first forest rangers and describes how overmatched they were against a forest fire unlike any that had been seen before.

The Big Burn contains enough detail to tell the story but not so much as to become tedious. I generally prefer fiction over nonfiction since I find it more diverting, but The Big Burn kept me interested. The descriptions of the people caught in the fires are particularly well written. The book was thoroughly researched and contains not only big facts but also the little personal notes about the people involved that bring history alive.

Many of the forest rangers were recent immigrants, and Egan touches on the prejudice and challenges that they faced. He notes that the Italians had a saying: "I came to America beause I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things. First, the streets weren't paved with gold. Second, they weren't paved at all. And third, I was expected to pave them."

If you enjoy historical nonfiction or are a fan of Theodore Roosevelt, I recommend The Big Burn.

Brotherband Chronicles: The Outcasts by John Flanagan

The Outcasts is the first book in the Brotherband Chronicles, a new series by John Flanagan. I really enjoyed his Ranger's Apprentice series and was interested to try his new series.

Boys of a certain age in the land of Skandia go through Brotherband training. They split into teams and compete against each other in many different skill areas. The team we are most interested in is made of up of the outcasts - the boys who were not picked by the other teams. Each has one or more quirks or unusual life circumstances. They are not perfect, but they make mistakes and learn from them as they compete against the other teams. A nice camaraderie is built between the boys as they develop their teamwork skills.

So far, the new series is not quite as good as Ranger's Apprentice in my opinion. The character of Halt was an anchor for that series, and there is no character who plays the same role here. There is a lot of introductory narrative in this book, so it's possible I will enjoy future books more.

The villains in this book are a group of pirates. The good guys, on the other hand, are raiders. I don't see a lot of distinction between those two professions, which caused me a little trouble while reading this book.

Like the Ranger's Apprentice series, this is a good book for reluctant male readers and for anyone who feels like the kid who always gets picked last. I will give at least the next book in the series a chance to hook me more thoroughly than this one did.

Making Piece by Beth M. Howard

Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie was written by Beth M. Howard. She is a well known baker who is the author of the blog The World Needs More Pie. She lives in the house in Iowa featured in Grant Wood's painting American Gothic and sells pie there, which has also brought her a bit of fame.

In the summer of 2009, the husband she still loved but was divorcing died suddenly at the age of 43. Making Piece is the grief-filled memoir Howard wrote as she struggled to deal with guilt and grief after his death.

Howard used pie as a way out of her grief. She made pie, she gave away pie, she judged pie contests, she sold pie. She's a good writer. She made me laugh out loud and she made my eyes well up with tears. The book is funny, thoughtful, and poignant.

I did get a bit tired of the pie analogies, and the many scenes of uncontrollable grief did not resonate with me. I'm not criticizing the author for being so honest, I just could not relate. I enjoyed the book, but I cannot rave about it. For those who are also dealing with grief, the book may be more compelling.

Making Piece reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (although I liked Making Piece a lot more). If you enjoyed that book, this may be a title you will enjoy. The book is scheduled to be released on March 20.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I first read the classic science fiction work The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams years ago. We just started a science fiction/fantasy book club at the library, and our first discussion will be about Hitchhiker’s.

It’s hard to put into words why this is a classic. It’s got a certain something I can’t capture in words when I try to describe to someone who has not read it why it’s a great book. It has a ridiculous plot, so it’s not that. It has some ridiculous characters too, although exasperated Arthur Dent, reeling from the fact that his home planet of Earth has just been destroyed, is someone just about every person can relate to in some way.

The many absurd aspects of the book are part of the appeal. The suggestion that a towel is “about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.” The idea of a spaceship powered by an Infinite Improbability Drive, which causes any number of highly improbable things to happen. The intelligent, contemptuous, depressed robot Marvin. The fact that mice are the most intelligent species on Earth. A race of beings who write poetry so bad it’s torture to listen to it.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a very funny book. But it is also a book that makes you think about things. Things like Life, the Universe, and Everything. Conceived as a radio comedy in the late 1970s, it foresaw technology in use today. If you are not a fan of science fiction and fantasy, or if you like your fiction tidy and sensical, you may just not get it. But if you are a sci fi fan and you’ve not yet read it, get it on your “to read” list. (And if you have read it but not lately, maybe it’s time to revisit it!)

If you'd like to discuss the book but can't attend discussion tonight at 6 pm at Alternate Realities, please comment here!

Libraries cannot buy ebooks from many publishers

Did you know that libraries cannot buy ebooks from many publishers? Check out this excellent blog post from the San Rafael Public Library to learn more. It includes information on how to contact the publishers. If you have any questions for Galesburg Public Library staff, email us at reference@galesburglibrary.org.

http://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/did-you-know-your-library-cant-buy-ebooks-from-many-publishe.html

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

From library staff member Mary S.:

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott is great historical fiction involving the sinking of the Titanic and the development of the survivors' relationships. Potential is likely for a second and/or third book to further the main characters' life stories.