« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »
January 31, 2007
We Need Your Help. . .
If you are a reader of this blog, please reply to this entry. All replies will be screened. We are looking for a basic readership count and will not be keeping track of individual names.
Posted by jnardine at 10:50 AM | Comments (2)
January 30, 2007
"The Sign of the Book" by John Dunning
The Sign of the Book (2005) is the fourth book in a series of mysteries that started with Booked to Die (1992). Written by former rare book dealer John Dunning, the series follows former Denver cop turned book dealer Cliff Janeway. In this episode, Cliff is asked by his lover/bookstore silent partner, Erin D’Angelo (who is an attorney) to investigate the murder of her college boyfriend. The accused, who has asked Erin to defend her, is the victim’s wife and Erin’s childhood friend, Laura. The two have been estranged for years – ever since Laura stole Erin’s boyfriend, the now dead victim – so Erin is reluctant to take the case. As in all of the Janeway stories, there is some important element about rare books. In this case, the victim had a large collection of signed books, many of which may have forged signatures. In addition to a good mystery story, Dunning always throws in interesting information about the book trade: auctions, book fairs, prices of rare books, etc.
ISBN: 0-7434-8247-6
Pam, reserves
Posted by jnardine at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2007
The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Since in earlier entries on the UGLi book blog I had seen positive reviews of Nora Robert’s novels, I decided to try one of her trilogies. I enjoyed “The Circle Trilogy” which consists of “Morrigan’s Cross,” “Dance of the Gods,” and “Valley of Silence.” The story starts in Ireland, nearly 1000 years ago, when the goddess Morrigan tells sorcerer Hoyt to bring together a circle of six – a sorcerer, a witch, a warrior, a scholar, a shape shifter, and a lost soul – to prepare for an epic battle of good against evil to save humankind. Thanks to time portals, magic, and the help of the gods, the story moves to modern day New York and Ireland to pick up the rest of the “circle.” The story finishes up in the ancient Celtic world of Geall where the six and an army of Geallians fight Lilith and her army of vampires, demons, and a sorcerer who specializes in black magic. The plot is pretty much as expected: the members derive strength and power from the friendship and love that develops as they train and bond, the six divide into three couples (so each volume has a love story), and there are smaller battles and setbacks along the way to the big battle in the end. This trilogy is good, escapist fare.
Morrigan’s Cross: ISBN: 0-515-14165-8
Dance of the Gods: ISBN: 0-515-14166-6
Valley of Silence: ISBN: 0-515-14167-4
Pam, reserves
Posted by jnardine at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2007
"The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals" by Michael Pollan
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is famous for saying "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are". Pollan has called Americans "walking corn flakes" because of the astonishing amount of corn in many, many forms in the 21st century diet, which is driven by technology. He examines a meal from start (planting the crops, raising the animals) to finish (fast food drive-thru or microwaved box), then does the same for an organically grown meal and a hunter/gather meal. Chicken McNuggets will never seem the same ever again.
ISBN: 1594200823
Barb, reference
Posted by jnardine at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)