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 ~