Wednesday, August 22, 2007

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.


On Gold Mountain by Lisa See - recommended by Stephanie
If you enjoyed Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club, you will enjoy this story. Gold mountain is what the Chinese laborers called California during the building of the transcontinental railroad. This is a biography of three generations of Chinese and Americans by noted author Lisa See. It is a history of northern California during the 1860-1920s and Los Angeles in the 1920-1995. Lisa See will be at the Mission Viejo Library on Sept 25 at 7pm.

Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough - recommended by Mike
It is a very interesting book and shows how business and the environment can be beneficial to each other rather than always making compromises between the two. The author promotes "being good" and nourishing the environment through intelligent design and business rather than "being less bad" and attempting to minimize our damage to the environment which is not sustainable. The authors give many examples of design projects they have already completed for major companies. They also talk about the design of the actual book which is very interesting.

Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou - recommended by Megan
This is one of my all-time favorite books. Her writing style is beautiful. You will be amazed by her experiences and the awesome strength she shows as a mother, a writer, and a woman.

Real Style: Style Secrets for Real Women with Real Bodies by Sam Saboura - recommended by Valerie
A woman's best friend is her tailor! And Spanks:) Read this for more great style tips.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Call of the Wild

The short novel, The Call of the Wild, written by Jack London, is about a dog named Buck, who was brutally kidnapped from his carefree life in California to the savage lands of Yukon. Buck learns many lessons including what is worth fighting for and what is not. He learned that lesson in many ways.
For example, one day Buck’s food was stolen. Naturally, Buck fought the dog because he wanted his food back. What Buck did was right and what any animal would do. From this fight Buck learned that dogs that live in the Yukon are always hungry and that he should always protect what is his.
Buck was always a good-natured dog and would never want to harm another creature. One day, Buck and his team were kidnapped by a small group of prospectors. The humans were trying to get across a thin sheet of ice, but Buck was refusing to lead his team to the death. As Buck stood his ground he showed that he had learned times to fight physically, and times for passive resistance.
Buck learned many lessons from his working life. Most taught him what was worth fighting for and what was not worth fighting for. Buck fought for survival while others would fight for ridiculous reasons. These lessons made the life Buck lived an exciting, purposeful one, which would be continued to be known of years after his death.