Quote of the Week

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading."

- Logan Pearsall Smith

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and watching and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books and movies. What is your favorite book or movie? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Rabbit, Run by John Updike - recommended By Cheryl
Harry Angstrom was a star basketball player in high school and that was the best time of his life. Now in his mid-20s, his work is unfulfilling, his marriage is moribund, and he tries to find happiness with another woman. But happiness is more elusive than a medal, and Harry must continue to run--from his wife, his life, and from himself, until he reaches the end of the road and has to turn back.... Library Catalog.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole- recommended by Stephanie
This anniversary edition of the classic novel that won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for fiction features a Foreword by Walker Percy that looks back on the history of this humorous story set in New Orleans about a slob named Ignatius Reilly and his relationship with his mother. - Library Catalog. The weirdest character but very well written- you will feel very normal after reading this book. - Stephanie.

The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva - recommended by Diane
Catherine Blake is the beautiful widow of a war hero. She is also a London hospital volunteer and a Nazi spy. Her mission, under direct orders from Hitler, are to uncover the Allied plans for D-Day and seal the German victory. Fumbling history professor Alfred Vicary is Churchill's confidante and leader of Britain's counterintelligence operations. His mission is to stop the unknown traitor at any cost, including his life. - Library Catalog.

MOVIE WATCH: Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni
In 1930s Italy, a carefree Jewish book keeper named Guido starts a fairy tale life by courting and marrying a lovely woman from a nearby city. Guido and his wife have a son and live happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces. In an attempt to hold his family together and help his son survive the horrors of a Jewish Concentration Camp, Guido imagines that the Holocaust is a game and that the grand prize for winning is a tank. - Anthony Hughes.

Quote of the Week

No two persons ever read the same book
- Edmund Wilson

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and watching and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books and movies. What is your favorite book or movie? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Holes by Louis Sachar - recommended by Cheryl
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. -library catalog.

The Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman - recommended by Thea
Shield of Three Lions unfurls amidst the plagues, poxes, sackings, banquets, leeches, jousts, and processions of Medieval England–and tells the fresh, at times hilarious tale of an unflappable heroine caught in a web of politics, sex, and psychology. - Random House Book Guide.

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo - recommended by Stephanie
A story of three families in a small upstate New York town who's lives are interwoven to create a beautiful narrative of the joys and tragedies of life. It captures the unanticipated events in childhood that forever define one's adulthood. You will feel a strong bond with these families and their town.

MOVIE WATCH: The Waitress written and directed by Adrienne Shelly - recommended by Megan

Jenna is unhappily married. She squirrels away money and is hoping to win a pie-baking contest so, with the prize money, she'll have enough cash to leave her husband Earl. She finds herself pregnant and her plans are thrown awry. She bakes phenomenal pies at Joe's diner, listens to old Joe's wisdom, tolerates her sour boss Cal, is friends with her fellow waitresses, Dawn and Becky. She, also, finds a mutual attraction with the new doctor in town. Life with Earl becomes less tolerable as her pregnancy advances. Her way out of the marriage is less clear and her affair with the doctor is complicated by his marriage. - library catalog.

Quote of the Week

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

-Groucho Marx

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard - recommended by Stephanie
In this provocative, witty book, literature professor and psychoanalyst Bayard argues that non-reading can be just as useful an act as reading. He states that the truly cultivated person is not the one who has read a book, but the one who understands the books place in culture. - Library Catalog

Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt - recommended by Cheryl
Now that the four abandoned Tillerman children are settled in with their grandmother, Dicey finds that their new beginnings required love, trust, humor, and courage. - Library Catalog

Dies the Fire by S.M Sterling- recommended by Thea

In an instant marked by a blinding flash of light, the world changes forever as modern technology ceases to function. Those who survive the initial Change include pilot Michael Havel, who leads his stranded passengers out of the wilderness in search of civilization's remnants. Wiccan folksinger Juniper Mackenzie, her daughter, and a few friends flee to the Mackenzie's cabin, where they hope to relearn old skills and grow food to feed themselves and others. The author of The Peshawar Lancers once again starts with a global catastrophe, this time building a stunning speculative vision of a near-future bereft of modern conveniences but filled with human hope and determination. Highly recommended. - Library Journal

Quote of the Week

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
- Dr. Seuss

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

The Moon and Sixpence by William Summerset Maugham - recommended by Megan

This book is based on the life of painter Paul Gauguin. The lead character Charles Strickland leaves his former life which includes a wife a kids and a job as stockbroker to persue his true passion - painting.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman - recommended by Thea

One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, "American Gods" is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.

Maniac Magee By Jerry Spinelli - recommended by Cheryl
He wasn't born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. And Maniac Magee became a legend. Even today kids talk about how fast he could run;about how he hit an inside-the-park homer; how no knot, no matter how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. But the thing Maniac Magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the East Side and those from the West Side.

Quote of the Week

"Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae."
-Kurt Vonnegut

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - recommended by Megan
A remarkable story about mothers and daughters and the women in our lives who become our true mothers, this is a stunning debut whose rich, assured, irresistible voice gathers us up and doesn't let go, not for a moment. - Library Catalog


The Virginian by Owen Wister - recommended by Lindy
This classic tells the story of the Wyoming ranch foreman known only as the Virginian, his courtship of school teacher Molly Starkwood, and his encounters with the murdering cattle rustler, Trampas. -Library Catalog


Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - recommended by Thea
This laugh-out-loud chronicle charts a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a single girl on a permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement--in which she resolves to: visit the gym three times a week not merely to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and not fall for any of the following: misogynists, megalomaniacs, adulterers, workaholics, chauvinists or perverts. And learn to program the VCR. Caught between her Singleton friends, who are all convinced they will end up dying alone and found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian, and the Smug Marrieds, whose dinner parties offer ever-new opportunities for humiliation, Bridget struggles to keep her life on an even keel (or at least afloat). - Library Catalog

The Giver by Lois Lowry - recommended by Cheryl
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Now, Jonas is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. "The Giver" received the Newbery Medal in 1994. - Library Catalog

The Winners of the 2007 National Book Awards

Take a look at the National Book Foundation website to find out which authors are this year's National Book Award winners.

Quote of the Week

"Peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread."
-Pablo Neruda

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Griffin and Sabine: an Extraordinary Correspondence By Nick Bantock - Recommended by Megan

It all started with a mysterious and seemingly innocent postcard, but from that point nothing was to remain the same in the life of Griffin Moss, a quiet, solitary artist living in London. His logical, methodical world was suddenly turned upside down by a strangely exotic woman living on a tropical island thousands of miles away. Who is Sabine? How can she "see" what Griffin is painting when they have never met? Book Jacket.

The Drifters by James A. Michener - Recommended By Barbara "A novel abut the 60's. A favorite of mine."
In his triumphant best seller, James Michener unfolds a powerful and poignant drama of six young runaways adrift in a world they have created out of dreams, drugs, and dedication to pleasure. With the sure touch of a master, Michener pulls us into the dark center of their private world, whether it's in Spain, Marrakech, or Mozambique, and exposes the naked nerve ends with shocking candor and infinite compassion. Book Jacket.

A bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks - recommended by Mary Anne
Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. As deputy sheriff of New Bern, North Carolina, he not only grieves for her and worries about their young son Jonah but longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews, Jonah's second-grade teacher. A young woman recovering from a difficult divorce, Sarah moved to New Bern hoping to start over. Tentatively, Miles and Sarah reach out to each other . . . soon they are falling in love. But what neither realizes is that they are also bound together by a shocking secret, one that will force them to reexamine everything they believe in--including their love. Book Jacket.

Memoirs of a Geisha

by Arthur Golden - Recommended by Cheryl

This literary tour de force follows the life of Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess. The story
begins when Sayuri is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. - Book Jacket.

THE LIBRARY WILL HAVE TAX FORMS

Some Federal and California State Income Tax forms will be available in the library after January 2nd, 2008. We will have a supply of the most commonly used forms for your convenience. For less frequently requested tax forms, you can ask about the Reproducible forms at the Reference Desk.

You may also request any of the forms or publications by telephone:
Federal Tax forms - 1-800-829-3676
California State Tax forms - 1-800-338-0505

If you would prefer to download your forms, go to the Franchise Tax Board website at www.ftb.ca.gov and from the IRS at www.irs.gov

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Kinflicks by Lisa Alther - recommended by Barbara
A very funny very smart novel. One of my favorites!
In Kinflicks, Lisa Alther reels through the ups and downs of Ginny Babcock's coming of age in Hullsport, Tennessee, during the '50s and '60s. Ginny bounces from one identity to another, adopting the values, politics, lifestyle, even the sexual orientation of each new partner. In her wise, funny, and ultimately heartbreaking story, Alther explores the limited roles offered to women in the '60s - from cheerleader to motorcycle moll, bulldyke to madonna - each embodying important truths about the aspirations of the culture that created them. -Book Jacket.

West with the Night by Beryl Markham - recommended by Christine

A wonderful bio of a girl growing up in Africa and how she became the first pilot to fly across the Atlantic from Europe. You'll Enjoy.

How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill - recommended by Lulu
In his fifties, Michael Gates Gill had it all: a big house, a loving family, and a six-figure salary. By sixty, he had lost everything: downsized at work, divorced at home, and diagnosed with a slow-growing brain tumor, Gill had no money, no insurance, and no prospects. He took a job at Starbucks, and for the first time in his life, he was a minority--the only older white guy working with a team of young African-Americans. He was forced to acknowledge his prejudices and admit that his new job was hard. And his younger coworkers, despite half the education and twice the personal difficulties, were running circles around him. Crossing over the Starbucks bar was the beginning of a transformation that cracked his world wide open. When all of his defenses and the armor of entitlement had been stripped away, a humbler, happier and gentler man remained. - Book Jacket.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - recommended by Cheryl

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. - Book Jacket.

Quote of the Week

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
~ Anonymous Teacher ~

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe -recommended by Thea
The men of the drkon tribe try to hide their dangerous secret: they can change from human to dragon and back again. When the tribe's leader hears about a jewel thief in London, he knows the culprit is a rogue drkon--and astonishingly, a woman. - Book Jacket.


The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith - recommended by Christine
A very enjoyable series of books by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the first of four so far. I'm hooked! You'll learn lots about philosophy and Scotland.



The Third Secret by Steve Berry - recommended by Gayle
"Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its puzzling tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words - or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows." - Book Jacket.

Quote of the Week

"The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty."
-- Pablo Neruda

Mission Viejo Library to Cancel Tenth Anniversary Event On Saturday, October 27, 2007

The Mission Viejo Library will be cancelling its Tenth Anniversary event on Saturday, October 27, 2007, due to the weather and climate issues relating to the recent wildfires. The Tenth Anniversary event will be re-scheduled to another date, yet to be determined.

The “Thomas the Tank Engine” train ride program for children has been re-scheduled to Saturday, December 1, 2007, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in the courtyard parking lot.

For more information please call the Mission Viejo Library at (949) 830-7100, 4002.

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini - recommended by Thea
Peter Blood, an Irish physician and soldier in England in the 1680's, is wrongly convicted of treason and sentenced to indentured slavery in the Caribbean. He escapes and becomes the most feared pirate captain on the Spanish Main, but all the glory of his adventures cannot help him, for the woman he loves cannot love a "thief and pirate. - book jacket.


Glass Houses by Jane Haddam - recommended by Gayle
Although Tyder has apparently confessed to the crime, his attorney believes him to be too disordered to be capable of actually committing the crimes and asks Gregor Demarkian, retired head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, to look into the case. What would have driven Tyder to confess to crimes he was seemingly incapable of committing, and more important, if Tyder isn't the killer, then who really is behind the murders of the Plate Glass Killer? - book jacket.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson - recommended by Stephanie
A phenomenal West Coast bestseller, winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and an Abby Award nominee, this enthralling novel is at once a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, the story of a doomed love affair, and a stirring meditation on place, prejudice, and justice. - book review.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Suess - recommended by Megan

Advice in rhyme for proceeding in life; weathering fear, loneliness, and confusion; and being in charge of your actions. - from catalog summary.

Quote of the Week

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Staff Picks

Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

New England White by Stephen Carter - recommended by Stephanie

Stephen L. Carter returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the town's past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence. - book jacket.

Paula by Isabel Allende - recommended by Christine

A mothers biography about taking care of her terminally ill daughter. Very insightful for all moms.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov - recommended by Megan
A well written book that has been described as the most controversial classic novel of the 20th century.

Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliot - recommended by Thea

Prince of Dogs returns readers to the war-torn kingdoms of Wendar and Varre, and to the intertwined destinies of: Alain, raised in humble surroundings but now the Court's heir; Laith, who struggles to unravel the secrets of her past while evading the traps set for her by those seeking the treasure she hides; Sanglat, believed dead by those who could save him, but actually a prisoner in the city of Gent; and Fifth Brother, who now builds an army to do his father's - or his own - bidding in a world at war! - book jacket.

Quote of the Week

"Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there."

— Clare Booth Luce

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - recommended by Thea
First published in 1813, "Pride and Prejudice" has consistently been Jane Austen's most popular novel and contains some of her most astringent comments on manners and morals. It is the tale of how three of the five daughters of the bookish and indolent Mr. Bennett find themselves husbands, in a timeless pattern of courtship, property, marriage, and love. - book jacket.


Hunting and Gathering by Ana Gavalda - recommended by Stephanie
Written by a bestselling Parisian author, this is the story of three misfits who find a strong bond together. Well written.



The News from Paraguay by lily Tuck - recommended by Christine
This national book award winner is wonderful historical fiction. You'll learn a lot about the country of Paraguay.



The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - recommended by Thea
In 1939 New York City, Joe Kavalier, a refugee from Hitler's Prague, joins forces with his Brooklyn-born cousin, Sammy Clay, to create comic-book superheroes inspired by their own fantasies, fears, and dreams. - Novelist.

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra - recommended by Stephanie
This heart stopping novel brings to life the unending struggle between the Palestinians and the Israelis. A haunting story.




So Big by Edna Ferber - recommended by Christine
A Pulitzer Prize winning novel that is beautifully written. A quaint story of a nineteenth century life in Illinois. You'll enjoy.


Through the Children's Gate by Adam Gopnik - recommended by Valerie
How do you learn to connect with your neighborhood- especially if it is Manhattan- in the heart of New York city?


A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge - recommended by Thea
Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence. Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization. - From the book jacket.

Quote of the Week

"Poet Han Yun wrote, 'All things not at peace will cry out'"

- Quoted by Lisa See, at her recent author talk at the Library, in reference to the self expression of the Chinese women she wrote about in her new book Peony in Love.

Staff Picks

Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - recommended by Christine
A moving story about a birthday party in South America that is taken hostage. You'll enjoy.

The Ride of Our Lives by mike Leonard - recommended by Valerie
Family comes first - especially in this warm and personal account of a grown son taking his folks on a cross-country trip by RV.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - recommended by Megan
In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother. Owen Meany believes he didn't hit the ball by accident. He believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after 1953 is extraordinary and terrifying. He is Irving's most heartbreaking hero. - from the book Jacket. I challenge you not to fall in love with this character!

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad - recommended by Christine
If you enjoyed "A Thousand splendid suns." You'll like this account of a journalists stay with a family in Kabul.

Quote of the Week

"The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams"

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Staff Picks
Check the blog every Wednesday for updates on what our staff is reading and recommendations for our new and all-time favorite books. What is your favorite book? Post your answer in the comments section below. To see all previous Staff Picks posts, simply type "Staff Picks" in the search box at the top left of this blog and click the "search blog" button.

The Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - recommended by Jeff
Not to be confused with the current Robert Crais novel, The Watchman, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel The Watchmen was originally released in the mid 1980s. Set in an alternative time line where Richard Nixon didn't resign, and super heroes exist and have been outlawed by the government, the story follows a group of retired heroes as they examine the murder of one of their comrades. With multiple stories intertwining and twists and turns to keep you guessing, The Watchmen has been hailed by Time Magazine as one of the best novels written in English since 1923. I highly recommend it for people looking for a different kind of read.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Talk about ambitious! If you've ever thought about trekking, read this hilarious true story.

The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran - recommended by Valerie

Mama Mia! We all have an inner Italian. Read this for "Scoppio de risa" (Gales of Laughter).