PlanoReads

Today’s post is from Peter at Parr Library:

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Don Jaime is an aging and renown fencing master who abides by his own code of honor amid the political instability of 19th century Madrid.  After accepting a beautiful and beguiling woman as a new pupil, the teacher unwillingly finds himself in a maelstrom of murder and intrigue.  The master slowly unravels a series of dark secrets that culminate into a sinister and mesmerizing duel.  For readers who enjoy swordplay, mystery, seduction, and fast action, this book is an excellent choice.

The Who Picked This Book? Club meets every first Monday of the month except September. These are the books discussed at our May 5th meeting:

Jennifer C. recommended:

Setting the Desert on Fire : T.E. Lawrence and Britain’s Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918 by James Barr

Arlene recommended:

What Are You Like? by Anne Enright

England, England by Julian Barnes

Fanon, A Novel by John Edgar Wideman

A Charmed Life: Growing Up in MacBeth’s Castle by Liza Campbell

Rich recommended:

Echo Park by Michael Connelly

The Overlook by Michael Connelly

Mary recommended:

 The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Sally recommended:

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun : a Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin

Annie recommended: 

Human Smoke :The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization by Nicholas Baker

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Who Picked This Book? Club

Haggard Library

1st Monday of the month (no meeting in September)

1-2:30pm

Join our Who Picked This Book? Club and share information about the best books you’ve read lately. Discover new titles to read, hear about the forthcoming books that publishers predict will be big hits, and see what other book clubs are reading.

No fuss-and you get to read the books you want! 

Today’s post is from Brent at Parr Library:

Juggling Elephants by Jones Loflin

You life is like a circus, with three rings of life: self, family, and work.  This is the basis for this fable on how to gain control of your life, so that time is available to accomplish your goals in each area.  Many of the ideas presented in the book are tried and true ways to organize your life and work, and keep your priorities in line with your goals.  The author cleverly employs images from the circus to separate the focus areas of your life.  The images created provide the visual message to add impact to the story.  If you are “juggling elephants” in your life, this book would be a good one to begin with to prevent you from being crushed by one drop.

Today’s post is from Douglas at Davis Library:

 A Night to Remember  by Walter Lord

I picked this book up to read at jury duty and was pleasantly amazed at this find.  Walter Lord has written another masterpiece in A Night To Remember.  This is the story of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  He wrote the book from his numerous interviews with survivors and families of the victims.  It is very easy to read and literally pulled me through the story.  I read the entire book in less than 36 hours (which is VERY fast for me).  I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in boats, thrillers, adventure or history.

Today’s post is from Rich, a community member of Who Picked This Book? Club:

 Photo Credit: Robert Azmitia

Michael Connelly’s mystery novels began in 1992. The protagonist, Harry Bosch, is a Los Angeles detective. Some of Connelly’s novels are entirely separate from the Bosch series (See list) and some are linked to Bosch as in Blood Work. A retired FBI agent, Terry McCaleb, is the protagonist (played by Clint Eastwood in a 2002 movie), but in A Darkness More than Light, McCaleb works with Bosch.

 
Echo Park is the latest full-length Bosch novel. Bosch had worked the case of a murdered girl in Echo Park for years without success. Unexpectedly a man implicated in another murder is ready to confess to the girl’s murder. Other odd news is that a note in the case archives shows that Bosch and his partner missed a clue pointing to the same man. Bosch can’t shake the feeling that this is the wrong person to be the killer. While leading Bosch and others to the girl’s body, the suspect escapes and Bosch has to find him.

 
The Overlook opens with a murdered doctor on the Mulholland Dam overlook. The wife is found tied up in her house by the two murderers. The apparent motive involves radioactive sources that the doctor has access to and at least one has been stolen. Bosch senses there is more to the case than meets the eye.

 
Connelly’s stories often depend on detailed analysis to solve a murder. Bosch, McCaleb, or other characters are often examining the evidence, typically involving careful review of a “murder book,” the collection of all the documentation for a particular case. Connelly took the name of his detective from a Dutch painter named Hieronymous Bosch, circa 1450-1516. The painter’s most famous work, The Garden of Earthly Delights, is in one of the stories. Connelly’s next book, The Brass Verdict, is due October 2008.

Today’s post is from Jennifer at Haggard Library:

Rabbit-Proof:  The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time   directed by Phillip Noyce  (2002)

This is the moving tale of 3 girls who are ripped from their mothers’ arms and sent to a camp for half-caste aboriginals to assimilate them into the Caucasian world.  The girls escape the camp and elude a tracker as they walk 900 miles back to their parents.  It is based on a true story.

Today’s post is from Brent at Parr Library:

Taken by Edward Bloor

Set in the year 2036, Charity Meyer is the privileged child of rich parents living life behind security fences, with armed guards, until the day she is kidnapped.  She becomes the pawn in a game being played out by the adults around her.  While she is kidnapped, she flashes back to various parts of her life as counterparts to conversations with her kidnappers.  She reflects on a comment by her maid Victoria, “You need to live life.  You need to have adventures.”  The story bogs down in places, but there are some good unexpected twists and turns in the plot that keep you wanting more.

Today’s post is from Cathe at Davis Library:

Not Yet Drown’d by Peg Kingman

A package is delivered to the Edinburgh home of Catherine MacDonald on a chilly afternoon in 1822.  It contains a kashimiri shawl, a box of tea, sheets of bagpipe music, and a letter from Catherine’s twin brother, Alexander, who drowned the year before in a monsoon flood in India’s remote Assam valley.  Catherine’s determination to solve the mystery of her brother’s disappearance sets in motion this unusual story.  It’s an amazingly assured first book by Ms. Kingman, who is herself a tea-grower and bagpipe player.  If you have enjoyed fiction by Andrea Barrett, try this fascinating blend of adventure, history and romance.

Today’s post is from Dawn at Parr Library:

High Crimes:  The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed  by Michael Kodas

I have never had any desire to climb mountains, but I have continued to be fascinated by those who do after reading an article in Vanity Fair several years ago, folllowed by Jon Krakauer’s book, Into Thin Air about the 1996 tragedy on Mt. Everest.  Now 10 years later, journalist Michael Kodas exposes what the desire to conquer this mountain has done during his own attempt to summit in a year full of tragedy, second only to that of 1996.  Theft, greed, oversized egos, violence, betrayal, fame, lawlessness, overcrowding, madness - you name it and Everest has it.  Commercialism and fame fueled by guides, clients, filmmakers and writers, along with an exposed underworld that both supports and preys on the economy of Everest, make this a fascinating book.  The highly reported incident of teams failing to render aid to a dying climber on their way to and from the summit in this 2006 season, is far more complicated than it appears on the surface - but you will have to read the book to see why. 

Today’s post is from Pam at Parr Library:

The Sweet Potato Queens’ Guide to Raising Children for Fun & Profit by Jill Conner Browne

This is another laugh-out-loud book in the Sweet Potato Queens series. Be careful reading it in public because you will laugh out loud and maybe even get teary at certain parts. She takes us on the journey from discovering how babies are made all the way to being parents ourselves. She has some good advice for new mothers, such as nap whenever the baby naps, and some good advice for parents who need all the help they can get in outsmarting their kids. And no Sweet Potato Queens’ book would be complete without recipes!