Danbury Library Blog

...will deliver a spine-tingling thriller. Author Joe Hill's (aka Owen King, yes son of Stephen King) about to be released book "A Heart-Shaped Box" has a ghost with revenge on his mind, an aging rock star who collects the bizarre and a psychological battle between these two.

Authors use pen names to distance themselves from famous relatives as Owen King has. Sometimes pen names are used to distance authors from previously published works of their own. Award-winning author John Banville's newest book Christine Falls is written under the pen name Benjamin Black. It is the first of a planned mystery/thriller series set in Dublin.

Posted by Mary at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Norman Mailer has published his first novel in ten years, a fictionalization of the life of Adolf Hitler to age sixteen. The Castle in the Forest joins an already crowded field of Hitler biographies (including John Toland, Joachim Fest, Ian Kershaw, John Lukacs to name a few).

Mailer concentrates on the psyche of the young Hitler trying to explain his evil nature in terms of his possible fathering from an incestuous relationship and his reputedly having only one testicle. The narrator, Dieter, is an SS officer and a "higher devil" working for Satan himself. Try this book for a plausible explanation of why Hitler behaved as he did and if you have not already been exhausted by the voluminous Hitler trove.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Janet Evanovich just published Plum Lovin', the fourteenth, though "between the numbers," Stephanie Plum mystery. Our beloved bounty hunter is arm-twisted into helping the returning Diesel, mysterious blond guy and possible heart throb #3, match up people who need love. In return for the favor, Diesel will turn over to Stephanie, a big bail skip. Part adventure, part romance - a romp right up our heroine's alley, it's an enjoyable side trip for Stephanie fans.

Posted by Yan at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are books the last thing on your football-addled mind this playoff-packed Sunday? Wait a minute! How will you endure cuts to commercials for Coaches Challenges and the dreaded Half-Time Show? You'll need sustenance & suds.

Go Belichick! Go Pats!

Posted by Claudia at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diehard Rolling Stones fans will find Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones (which relives the summer of 1971 at Villa Nellcote in the south of France where the band recorded Exile on Main Street) "inspires a certain demented nostalgia" as one reviewer put it. The antics of Mick, Keith et al are often hilarious, amazing and sometimes frightening--the hold heroin had on the group and visitors is scary. Out of this mayhem came one of their best albums and a baby girl named Dandelion. You'll have to read the book to find out the significance of the baby's name.

The Stones may rent a villa. It takes a country's entire population to pay for the homes featured in Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most Colorful Despots. Saddam, Idi Amin and a host of other bad guys are represented here. The decorating styles can best be described as the gaudy, the bad and the ugly.

Posted by Mary at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't miss the new biography of Jane Goodall by Dale Peterson. This is the first official biography of this remarkable woman who has made significant advances in the field of primatology and in conservation. Her research on chimps in Tanzania revolutionized what we know about primate behavior.

She is the founder of the youth-driven Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute (don't miss the Gombe Chimpanzee Blog on this page.) A goal of the Jane Goodall Institute is to encourage and enable people to work on conservation efforts in a united way. Ms Goodall is also affiliated with Western Connecticut State University. She will give a lecture on April 27, 2007 in Danbury.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kim Edwards’ The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is the most borrowed fiction title in U.S. libraries for 2006. The book tells a stunning story about a father's decision to give up his Down’s syndrome child at birth. He charges the nurse, who assists in the birth, with the task of delivering the infant to an institution, while the mother is still anesthetized. Unable to carry out the deed, she disappears and secretly raises the baby girl as her own. Over time, the impact of the father's mistake tears the family apart. The story, full of twists and turns, is completely engrossing.

Posted by Yan at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Movies can lead to some fascinating, but little known novels. Several recent movie previews were so enticing that I searched the library shelves for the original novels even before seeing the movie.

The Painted Veil, written in 1925 by Somerset Maugham, is still a fresh story with atmosphere and melodrama about a doctor in a loveless marriage combating cholera in China.

Children of Men takes place in England in 2021 when infertility threatens the human race. An unusual theme for the popular mystery writer P.D. James.

Perfume, a murder mystery set in 18th century France, is based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Suskind.

When looking for novels made into movies, don’t forget Charlotte’s Web. It’s hard to imagine that the movie can do justice to E. B. White’s classic, but the movie may just lead kids and adults to read the book. You won’t be sorry.

Posted by dgreen at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Help is here for your New Year's resolutions. And many of these programs require only minutes of your time! Want to shape up, tone-up? Try Ten Minute Tone-Ups for Dummies or 8 Minutes in the Morning. Next, be sure to exercise your gray matter. Take a look at Brainfit: 10 Minutes a Day for a Sharper Mind and Memory.

To relax after all this exercising, try Five Good Minutes in the Evenings: 100 Mindful Practices to Help You Unwind from the Day and Make the Most of Your Night.

Posted by Mary at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)