Empire State: A Love Story (Or Not)

Empire State: A Love Story (Or Not) by Jason Shiga
Adult Graphic Novels - Main Level - EMP

Jimmy and Sara are best friends. When she decides to move to New York to take an internship in the publishing industry, Jimmy is distraught. He has a crush on her, and can't imagine life in California without her. He is very sheltered and naive, and doesn't understand why she needs to spread her wings and move on.

He finally decides to visit her in New York to proclaim his love for her. The book is funny - Jimmy mails Sara a letter telling her to meet him on the observation deck of the Empire State building (ala Sleepless in Seattle). She never gets the letter, so she doesn't expect him when he finally gives up and shows up on her doorstep. Jimmy meets Sara's new boyfriend, Mark. He's sophisticated and worldly, and knows much more about technology than Jimmy does. Jimmy is embarrassed because he thought he could get a job in the dot-com industry in New York, making web sites. It is clear that he barely knows what he's doing once Mark steps in.

So, readers have to get all the way to the end before they find out if Sara and Jimmy can ever be together as more than friends. Maybe they are becoming just too different, growing apart. Or maybe their reunion makes them realize how much they mean to each other. This is a cute, fast read with quirky, funny characters and comedic timing.

Put 'Em Up!

Put 'Em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling by Sherri Brooks Vinton
New Book Shelves Upper Level - Cook 641.4 V

I've never canned anything, but my garden is looking pretty good and I want to give it a try. I've been looking through lots of books on the subject, but so far this is my favorite. It's organized nicely by ingredient (want bean recipes? Look under beans!), and has an excellent chapter on technique where there are step-by-step procedures on things like cold-pack canning and hot-pack canning. It also has color pictures throughout. The author goes through equipment needs, and is very practical about what pieces are absolutely necessary vs. what is "nice to have." I'll be making pickles, pickled peppers, salsa, and tomato sauce. I think, with the help of this book, that I can do this!

The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War

The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War
by Andrew Roberts Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level 940.54 R

Single-volume histories of major events often get bogged down in the "what" "when" and "who" without devoting much attention to the "why". Andrew Roberts in "Storm of War" devotes much of his attention to the "why" in his history and analysis of World War II. He relates events clearly and concisely, but the most interesting parts of the book are his explanations of the reasons behind the decisions made. (Hint: Nazi ideology was a double-edged sword.)

One Caveat: Pacific theater buffs may prefer to pass on this book. Roberts is an Englishman who pays only cursory attention to the fight against Japan. He tells readers what happened but does not interpret it, to the extent that Japan is mentioned only twice in his conclusive analysis.

Leviathan

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Teen Zone Fiction – Main Level - Westerfeld

Australian YA author Westerfeld of Uglies fame takes a turn toward a steampunk alternate history with this first in a trilogy. The year is 1914. Prince Alek, son of the Archduke Ferdinand, is woken in the middle of the night by his tutor, who takes him for what he thinks is a midnight training ride in one of the two-legged walkers that Austria-Hungary is becoming famous for. Except that it turns out not to be training. His parents have just been assassinated, his people have turned against him, and Alek must run for his life. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp is posing as a boy so that she can join the British Air Service, where genetically engineered ecosystems of animals create large dirigible-like ships that float through the air. Unlike Jacky Faber, Deryn finds the constant jockeying for position among the midshipmen wearing, but she is already experienced in the air, brilliant and courageous. She ends up serving on the Leviathan, a very large airship that is carrying Dr. Nora Darwin Barlow and some precious cargo on an urgent diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Empire. The world is on the brink of war between the Darwinists and the Clankers – can two young people from opposite sides prevent it? The action is non-stop, the characters a delight, and the technology intriguing. We have it in teen, but so far I haven’t seen anything in to make it inappropriate for middle graders (no sexual situations and minimal, considered violence), while it’s deep enough to work for adults as well. I’ve already devoured the second book, Behemoth, as well, and am now waiting for book three to come out in September.

The Plymouth Library owns Leviathan in print, audio cd, e-audio and ebook.

Exclusive

Exclusive by Sandra Brown
Adult Fiction- Main Level– BROWN

Barrie Travis is a TV journalist with a shaky tract record of news stories. Barrie was surprised when she received a phone call from the First Lady of the United States Vanessa Merritt inviting her to lunch. Barrie is perplexed by this; the lunch is awkward especially when the death of Mrs. Merritt’s baby is brought up. Robert Rushton Merritt was only 3 months old when he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Vanessa was very distraught during the lunch and Barrie was unsure what made Vanessa reach out to her. After the lunch Barrie had the idea to do a news series on SIDS and Vanessa agreed to be interviewed. During the interview Vanessa seemed very controlled, not at all the like distraught upset mother she was a few weeks ago during the initial lunch. Barrie took Vanessa’s change in demeanor to mean that Vanessa did not believe that her son died of SIDS but was actually murdered. Barrie decided to look further in baby Merritt’s death. She called her source at the local hospital and discovered that there was never an autopsy done on little Robert. What was even more concerning, her source seemed to disappear: she left her job and her apartment with no forwarding address. Barrie immediately realized she was on a hot story. She tried to set up another interview with the First Lady but Vanessa went into seclusion and Barrie was denied access. Barrie decided to follow another course of action; she tracked down Gray Bondurant in Wyoming. It was rumored that Gray and Vanessa has a secret affair and he was really the father of her child. Gray follows Barrie back to Washington DC only to discover that the story is bigger than they thought. Barrie’s townhouse is fire-bombed and they are being followed. Barrie and Gray are taking on the White House. Will they ever prove the baby Robert was murdered and by whom? They are in a race against time to get the truth out and save Vanessa and themselves from the same fate that poor Robert experienced.

Alice Bliss

Alice Bliss By Laura Harrington

Adult New Fiction Harrington


In this beautiful coming-of-age novel, we learn that Matt Bliss is “somebody who knows how to be happy.” He has a loving wife and two young daughters, left his engineering career to become a carpenter, and grows the best vegetables in town. He is worshiped by his eldest, Alice, who accompanies him on roofing jobs and working in the garden.

Matt is also in the National Guard and his unit has been called up for deployment to Iraq. Angie, his wife, has a desperately hard time without him there and her already-uncomfortable relationship with Alice just grows more distant. Angie pretty much abdicates care of the family to Alice. Alice is having a hard time focusing on anything besides her father’s absence. She wears an unwashed shirt of his for weeks.

This family does not exist in a vacuum, though. They have the loving support of just about everyone around them. Angie’s brother Eddie takes over Matt’s role in the family as best he can, teaching Alice to drive and taking Angie out for dinner and dancing. Henry, Alice’s best friend since birth, tries to be there in any way he can for Alice. Ellie, Alice’s precocious young sister, offers Alice the opportunity to be needed and focus on something outside herself and her misery. And Gram holds the whole clan together.

The best of small-town America is reflected in this novel. In uncertain times, these people struggle and support one another. Hearts break and everything changes, but ultimately life does go on.

This is a magnificent debut novel. I can’t wait to see more from Laura Harrington.