Category Archives: Uncategorized

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

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A story filled with eccentric characters and small town southern charm, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is a funny and touching story. Miss Julia’s husband, pillar-of-the-community Wesley, has died and Miss Julia is conducting herself as befits a very proper southern widow. When a woman turns up at her door with Little Lloyd, a young boy that happens to be her late husband’s offspring, Miss Julia begins questioning all that she has accepted as being true about her life, her position in the town and church, and her friendships. She finds hypocrisy abounding around her but also realizes who her true friends are and that she can have a mind of her own. The book is filled with warmth and humor and I found it entertaining and enjoyable. Manhattan Public Library has several “Miss Julia” books in our collection and I look forward to reading them!!

Hey, Mister–Your Alligator’s Loose by Gary Clarke

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Hey Mister – Your Alligator’s Loose! is Gary’s collection of stories from his time in “zoobiz” – starting at the Kansas City Zoo at Swope Park, to Fort Worth, Texas, to the World Famous Topeka Zoo. Gary shares some unbelievable zoo moments – like a somersaulting giraffe, the “missed cue” at the opening of the Gorilla Encounter, a lion cub attack, a near-lethal snake bite, rolling out the red carpet for noted dignitaries, and the terrific support the zoo had from the Topeka community as it grew. Gary will share these memories as a thank-you to the citizens of Topeka, who were the real force behind the Topeka Zoo becoming the World Famous Topeka Zoo. Topeka Public Library

This is Where I Leave You

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Jonathan Tropper’s new novel, like his previous novel How to Talk to a Widower, is a wonderfully funny/sad story about family and relationships, with believably flawed and realistic characters. Judd Foxman’s marriage has just fallen apart when he receives news that his father has passed away. His father’s last request was that his family sit Shiva for him–a Jewish period of 7 days of mourning. Judd cannot fathom his dysfunctional family being forced to spend time together for 7 whole days. The family spends the week re-hashing old histories and resentments and forging new relationships and understandings of themselves and each other. This is Where I Leave You is both laugh-out-loud funny and bittersweet and I enjoyed all of the character interactions. Tropper writes with insight and emotion and illustrates the connections between family members that last a lifetime.

Personalized Reading Lists from the Manhattan Public Library

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> We’ve been thrilled by the enthusiastic response we’ve gotten to our Personalized Reading List service. For months now we’ve been helping patrons find their next favorite book. If you’re wondering what to read next, why not let us help by providing you with a list of fiction and/or non-fiction titles suited to your reading tastes and interests. Just pick up a reading survey at the library, or click here to print one you can mail or bring in at your convenience. Give us at least two weeks and we’ll give you a list of books we think you’ll enjoy.

Here are a few of the well-received titles we’ve recommended to Personalized Reading List users recently:

Vanished by Joseph Finder

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Nick Heller, ex-Special Forces member and current security expert and intelligence investigator, receives a call from his nephew Gabe that his brother Roger is missing and his sister-in-law is in a coma, the result of an attack on a Georgetown street. Vanished tells the story of Nick’s search to find his brother. Although not close to his brother since their wealthy financier father was arrested and convicted of fraud, Nick digs deep into Roger’s disappearance and uncovers corporate greed, money laundering, bribery and murder. The characters are believable and interesting and the plot twists and turns are too numerous to keep track of–lots of action and an unexpected ending. Vanished is an exciting suspense thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

Halfway to Heaven

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I love the mountains of Colorado, summer or winter, and our family camping trips there hold many wonderful memories. We’ve managed lots of hikes–long and short–but I have never attempted to summit a “Fourteener”–one of the 54 peaks in Colorado that are over 14,000 ft. in altitude. (My highest hike is 13,500 on a summit near Loveland Pass. I was very proud of making it that high, even as I watched my teenagers scramble ahead of me and sit and wait at the summit!) Mark Obmascik tells the story of his quest to climb the fourteeners in one summer in his book Halfway to Heaven: My White-Knuckled and Kunukle-headed Quest for the Rocky Mountain High. Self-described as middle-aged, balding and overweight, Obmascik challenges himself to complete his climbs of the 54 fourteeners, having summited 12 of the mountains when he was younger, fitter, thinner and unmarried. His memoir of his experiences are amusing and memorable. His wife insists he climb with a partner, resulting in the author’s searching online for “man-dates” to accompany him. His variety of climbing partners are wonderful characters and Obmascik conveys the enthusiasm and interest he has in learning about both the people he is with as well as the nature and history surrounding him. Not a technical book about climbing, this is instead a funny and sometimes touching tale of the people who love climbing and mountains. He illustrates the dangers of high-altitude climbing but intersperses these details with hilarious stories about hiking-pole chewing marmots, elk in heat, attacks by mountain goats and with many tidbits of Colorado history. He completes his quest with a hike up Pike’s Peak with his 12 year old son. I found this book thoroughly enjoyable–a great mix of adventure and humor that anyone–especially someone who has been the slowest one on the trail– can relate to!

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The Neighbor . It was a case to spark a media feeding frenzy. Sandra, a pretty young mother—disappears without a trace from her South Boston home, leaving her four-year-old daughter alone and perhaps the only possible witness; her handsome, secretive husband– a prime suspect. To Detective to Sergeant D.D. Warren, they appear a hardworking young couple, but under the surface–things get murky. Jason Jones seems more concerned with isolating his daughter and destroying evidence than in searching for his young wife. Will the only eyewitness be the killer’s next victim?

Addie of the Flint Hills by Adaline Sorace

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> Addie of the Flint Hills: “They say times are going to be tough. Well, I was born in 1915 and in the past 93 years, I have seen tough times. I’ve heard about even tougher—from my grandparents, who were early pioneers settling the Flint Hills of Kansas. I had hoped my grandchildren and their children would never have to face serious adversities, but if they are called to do so, I want them to know something about their forebearers …This account of my journey is for them.”

Addie, born in the Flint Hills of Kansas, begins her story in 1915 as wheat prices are booming. She shares the day-to-day unfolding of her life and the life of her family as they deal with the turbulent US economy of the 1920s and 1930s. During this period the price of wheat drops, followed by precipitous declines in stocks, minerals and farmland. The story ends in 1935 as the family grapples with the effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. In the process, Addie of the Flint Hills weaves a complex tale of ordinary folks struggling with familiar themes: a father s work takes him far from home, a highly- educated woman and mother is alone, and a young girl never learns that she is beautiful.

“Unique and universal, the remarkable life story of Adaline Rogler Sorace looks to the past with affection, honesty, and clarity of insight. In a voice distinguished by intelligence and refinement she recounts a story of the Flint Hills as strong and as deep as the prairie grass.” -Jim Hoy, author of Flint Hills Cowboys

Modoc: the True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived

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>Adventure, romance, and an animal story all rolled into one. Elephant trainer, Josef, was a proud father of an infant son, Bram, and a proud trainer of a baby elephant, Modoc, born the same day and hour. Bram and Modoc grew up together as playmates and were inseparable. When Josef died and the circus animals were sold, Bram had to go with Modoc to uphold his father’s last request that he take care of him. Bram and Modoc’s adventures at sea, in India and finally in America are astonishing to say the least. Both Bram and Modoc went through so many hardships, yet they survived the onslaught and were brought back together in an incredible manner. You may cry a bit, you will smile often as you journey through Ralph Helfer’s book about the life of Modoc: the true story of the greatest elephant that every lived.

The Hunger Games

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Panem, a city in the Rockies, and it’s twelve surrounding districts are what remains of the United States in this post-apocalyptic story. The twelve outlying districts suffer under harsh leadership because of their past rebellion. They are each required to send a teenage boy and girl to participate in the Hunger Games annually. This fight to the death competition is broadcast on live television and is required viewing by all.

Katniss takes the place of her younger sister who is chosen in the lottery. Katniss has developed hunting and tracking skills in order to help feed her family. Her partner in the games has few skills that will give him any advantages. Katniss is put through training with her partner and a relationship develops. Can she bear to kill him if the time comes? This page-turning sci-fi novel is gripping and violent, yet the relationships versus survival theme is unforgettable.

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton

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A fun and entertaining summer book, Mating Rituals of the North American WASP provides laughs and enjoyable characters. It tells the story of Peggy, who after a Las Vegas night on the town, finds herself married to a stranger named Luke, a true Connecticut blue-blooded WASP. Luke’s Aunt Abigail proposes that they stay married for a year, after which they both will inherit her huge old (and well-worn) house. Needing the money, both agree to her terms. Although predictable, this story is filled with likeable characters and amusing situations and is a light, fun summer read–pack it in your beach bag to read alongside the pool!

Night and Day by Robert B. Parker

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In bestseller Parker’s Night and Day, the “eighth Jesse Stone novel (after Stranger in Paradise), the Paradise, Mass., police chief almost effortlessly performs his laconic magic to restore order and right wrongs. When Betsy Ingersoll, the junior high school principal, decides to conduct a check of girls’ undies before an eighth-grade dance, it may or may not have been a crime, but it certainly provokes a firestorm of protests. Then there’s a Peeping Tom calling himself the Night Hawk, whose activities escalate from watching to home invasions. In addition, the legal activities of a group of adults calling themselves the Paradise Free Swingers are badly affecting two children.” Publisher’s Weekly

Charles Dickens–Films and Books

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Beginning on Feb. 15, Masterpeice Theater on PBS will be showing film adaptations of four of Charles Dickens’ novels– Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, and the Old Curiosity Shop. If you would like to compare books and films, Manhattan Public Library has copies of each of these novels available for checkout. Besides these classic Dickens stories, the library has many more books by Dickens, as well as film versions of several of his works. My favorite film adaptation is the 2001 version of Nicholas Nickleby, starring Charles Dance, Sophia Myles and James D’Arcy as Nicholas Nickleby. The story follows the life of Nicholas, his mother and sister after the death of his father, and, in true Dickens style, is complete with a villanous uncle, a cruel schoolmaster and harships endured by the family. The acting is excellent and the story is well-told. Pick up a copy of a Dickens novel and compare with one of the films being shown on PBS–see which you enjoy the most!

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by C.J. Box

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Jack and Melissa McGuane’s dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call from the adoption agency. Angelina’s teenage birth father never signed away his parental rights and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, will stop at nothing to return the baby to her 18 year old father. When Jack and Melissa meet face to face with the father and son, it is immediately apparent that there’s something sinister about both of them and that love for Angelina is not the motivation for their actions.

As Angelina’s safety hangs in the balance, a horrifying game of intimidation and double-cross begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where absolutely no one is safe…How far would you go to save someone you love? In a startling departure from seven previous novels featuring Joe Pickett, a modern forest ranger, Wyoming author, C. J. Box, will keep you breathless.

Saved by Karin Winegar

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If you have a special place in your heart for animals, grab a box of tissues and pick up a copy of Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives they Transform by Karin Winegar. Winegar tells the touching stories of various animals saved from shelters and cruelty and of the people who try to heal the damage done to them and revive their trust in human beings. She also tells us of how these rescued animals have helped to touch the lives of many people, from nursing home and hospice residents to a man whose rescued horse helped him to survive the death of his son. These heartfelt stories remind us of the power that the love of an animal can have in our lives.