Discworld – The City Watch Novels

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

  

  

Discworld: The City Watch novels by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels may seem entirely overwhelming at first, after all there are over 35 of them and they seem to just keep coming.  However, when you know how they work then the whole idea gets much easier to swallow.  Sure, there are a bunch of them BUT they are actually conveniently grouped into a series of books each pertaining to a different character set in Discworld, for example the City Watch novels I’ll be talking about today.  Clear as mud?  Well, stick with me cause there’s a big payoff at the end.

The City Watch novels consist of 6 books: Guards, Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch and Thud!.  They all follow the exploits of the much-put-upon City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, Discworld’s largest city, led by Sam Vimes, Sgt. Fred Colon, “Nobby” Nobbs and Carrot Ironfoundersson (who might just be the rightful heir to the whole darn city).  As the story goes, the cast of characters grows but it mostly stays centered around this group.  The stories are basic police procedural mysteries (albeit with a quirky set of procedures) set in a town where technology meets fantasy meets cornball humor meets highbrow pathos.  The characters are fantastic, some of the best written in fantasy literature and they form the main hook for the stories.  It’s not that the writing isn’t good, it’s wonderful, it’s just that the characters are that much better.

There are other discworld series that focus on different character sets such as The Witch novels, Rincewind, Death, Moist Von Lipwig and even a series for the teens about a young witch named Tiffany Aching.  They range from about 3-6 books in length and most are still growing.  There is some overlapping of characters (Death makes and appearance in every book) but there is nothing that takes away from the characters primary arc.  The Watch novels are my personal favorites but all of them are absolutely wonderful and you will develop your favorites over time as you get attached to certain characters. 

My advice, read the first book or two in each series, you can literally track them down anywhere, and see what you like.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll like them all and you’ll find that you can’t wait for the next one no matter who Terry Pratchett decides it’s about.  And I will try over the course of the next several weeks to cover some of the other character sets, just to whet your appetite.  Look at it this way, at 37+ novels and growing, these may be able to keep you busy reading for quite a while!

The Crack in the Lens

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

The Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith

I’ve mentioned before that I love Sherlock Holmes stories and Jack the Ripper stories.  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned I love westerns as well but I do.  This one has all of that…sort of.  The Holmes on the Range mysteries of which The Crack in the Lens is the fourth, follow the adventures of Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his brother Gustav, aka “Old Red.”  We learn, just prior to the first book’s action,  that while spending time out on the dusty trail, the ever-affable Big Red has introduced his older, laconic brother to the real-life adventures of Sherlock Holmes; and in so doing, opened Old Red’s eyes to his true calling, namely solving crimes using the “deducifyin’ ways” of the Great Detective.  This sets the stage for what have been, up to now, four extremely enjoyable mysteries.

The fourth book sees our heroes with their arrow finally pointed upward.  They have some cash, some success and for Big Red, even a fancy new outfit; so what better time to go back to San Marcos, Texas and solve the crime that may have started it all in the mind of Old Red, the murder of his “soiled dove” fiance, Gertie.  How do Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper fit into all this…well, you just need to read and find out.

This series has lots of things to enjoy; the plots are fast-paced and the characters and characterization are great.  One convention that I really enjoy is that Holmes, though only referred to in the context of his books to this point, actually does exist in this world, with one of the characters in the fourth book having met him, much to the chagrin of Old Red.  The stories themselves do follow an order beginning with Holmes on the Range; however, The Crack in the Lens can be read as is since the action in this one is relatively self-contained.  But where is the fun in that, go get the first one and enjoy the story from the beginning.  You’ll be happy you did.

Blue Heaven

Today’s post is by Sandy at Davis Library:

Blue Heaven  by C. J. Box

Browsing the CD books at Davis Library, I stumbled on  this author.  Blue Heaven was my first book by him and I was hooked.  The story is about two children in Northern Idaho that see a murder committed at a camp ground as they pass by on their way to an afternoon of fishing.  They are spotted by the men involved and recognized.   To add zest to the plot, these men are retired police officers from Los Angeles that have settled in the area.  The children’s ability to stay alive is helped by an aging rancher.  The retired officers offer their service to the newly elected sheriff to assist in finding the missing children.  I am now on my second C.J. Box novel Three Weeks To Say Goodbye.   These are actually two of his latest books, I will have fun reading or listening to many past titles by him.

In Defense of Food

Today’s post is from Lynn at Parr Library:

In Defense of Food:  An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

This book is better listened to than it would be to read.  It is narrated by Scott Brick who does an excellent job of imparting the enthusiasm with which the book is written.  The audio book is just over six hours long.  We all know that the Western diet has turned many of us into a populaton who lives with obesity and diabetes to name just a couple of the diseases associated with our way of eating.  But how did this way of eating come about?

That’s what Pollan explains very clearly step-by-step.  Decisions made at the governmental level have turned us from people who ate healthy, whole foods, into a population who eats too many “food products” our great grandparents would not even recognize as food.

Pollan is convincing in his advice that we should go back to the whole foods our ancestors ate.  He says, too, that we should eat mostly plants and little meat.  The problem is breaking our addictions to these “food products” which seemingly have taken over our way of eating.  But people with Western diet diseases who have gone back to old ways of eating have reversed their health problems by doing so.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway read by Campbell Scott

Hemingway’s spare tale of courage and loyalty during the Spanish Civil War receives a superb interpretation by Campbell Scott in this audio version. Scott does not try to embellish with verbal flourishes or distracting Spanish accents. Scott increases the impact of the narrative with his subtle reading that matches the power of the prose. The reader is allowed to appreciate the intensity of the story and feel the emotion and danger. Take the time to revisit Robert Jordan, Pilar, and Maria, and experience the tragedy of love and ideals lost.

One for the Money

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Need an escape? How about a fast, funny, bit of fluff that will brighten your mood and offer an escape from the summer heat? One for the Money introduces Stephanie Plum, sexy, junk food addicted, Jersey girl, and a bounty hunter with more luck than skill. She also destroys vehicles with style. Stephanie’s sidekick Lula is a plus size former ho who likes to wear spandex. The antics of the characters and the sometimes bawdy dialogue will make you laugh out loud. The Stephanie Plum series is the perfect summertime guilty pleasure. Read and enjoy!

Hit Parade

Today’s post is from Brent at Schimelpfenig Library:

Hit Parade by Lawrence Block

John Keller is a hit man for hire.  Yes, he’s back and full of self doubt.  But business is business and he is in the business of killing people.  To him the victims are just a business proposition; like selling a car might be to a car salesman, except he deals in death.  It is easy to identify and even feel sympathy for Keller as he moves from kill to kill.  Hit Parade is a thought provoking book where the bad guy sort of wins…or does he?

The Composer is Dead

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelfenig Library:

The Composer is Dead  by Lemony Snicket

Whenever a writer creates an alternate persona to write his books it’s hard to tell where, or even if, they differentiate themselves.  I guess it would be doubly hard for that writer when his alter-ego is more succesful than he is; however,  it worked just dandy for Sam Clemens.  I don’t think I’m destroying anyone’s childhood idealism by saying that Lemony Snicket is not a real person but just in case I’ll leave the discovery of the real writer to your various Wikipedia skills and stick with what I thought of his most recent book.

I liked The Series of Unfortunate Events although the series bogged down in the middle and tended to repeat itself; and I liked The Composer is Dead even though it suffered from the same characteristics.  The Composer is Dead  introduces the various elements and sounds that make up an orchestra while making them all suspects in a death of the composer.  It’s a good tool to expose kids to the idea of orchestral music and some historic composers but it does, at times, seem to flitter off-course into language that may be incomprehensible to it’s target audience.  It is probably a book better read by a parent to a child so they are able to ferry the children across some of the murkier waters.

There is also an accompanying CD with the author reading the text and the instruments being played.  This would have been  an excellent companion piece if it hadn’t go on way too long.   The material as a whole is extremely passable but passable isn’t what I’ve come to expect from Lemony Snicket who may have, in this instance, fallen victim to his own creation.

American Lion

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

John Meacham gives us a fascinating biography of Andrew Jackson, one of our least understood and most contradictory presidents. Meacham’s primary focus is on Jackson and his inner circle during the White House years. Jackson was denied the Presidency in the House of Representatives, despite winning the popular vote in 1824. He finally gained the Presidency in 1828 after a brutal campaign where the murky origins of his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards became an issue. Jackson felt that Rachel’s death was the result of this smear campaign. In Washington he fought to keep the republic safe and whole and in doing so expanded the power of the Presidency. Meacham sees the political battles during the Nullification crisis exemplifying Jackson as a canny politician and statesman. To keep South Carolina in the Union he used a combination of bravado and careful consideration of options to defuse the situation. Jackson’s populist sentiments were deeply offended by the arrogance of Nicholas Biddle and the men who ran the Bank of the United States. Jackson was determined to break the bank, which functioned as the central bank of our young republic. Jackson prevailed, effectively outmaneuvering Biddle and Congress, but here Meacham does not question whether Jackson’s stance on the bank was good policy. Reforming the bank might have been a better option. Shortly after Jackson’s tenure ended, with the central bank gone, the harsh economic cycles of boom and bust began. Meacham does skillfully bring Jackson the man and his tempestuous times to life in an informative and entertaining narrative.

 American Lion won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.

Essential Pleasures

Today’s post is from Cathe at Davis Library:

 

 Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud, edited by Robert Pinsky

I’ve always liked poetry anthologies, and this is a super new one, edited by Robert Pinsky, a former poet laureate of the United States. 

The CD which accompanies the book is a plus–Pinsky himself reads about twenty of the poems and adds an occasional dry comment of his own. I’m such a visual learner that I loved reading and listening at the same time; that added greatly to my understanding of some of the more complex poems.

Pinsky has compiled a rich and fascinating mix of poets and poems, all the works chosen because they are perfect for reading aloud.

Here is how he puts it: “I have worked to make a collection of poems attractive for the reader to say aloud, or to imagine saying aloud…My one strict rule is that everything here…conveys the vocal feeling of poetry: an art as urgent and various as the human voice itself, encompassing all that a voice can express.”