Walk The Walk

Continuing his down-to-earth explanations and advice from a Buddhist perspective, columnist and teacher Lodro Rinzler picks up where his previous book left off in Walk Like A Buddha: Even If Your Boss Sucks, Your Ex Is Torturing You, and You're Hungover Again.  In the form of an advice column, complete with anonymous questions from readers, Rinzler tackles our modern-day issues and problems by laying down some millennia-old guidance, with a focus on the Shambhala tradition.  HM

Do You Feel Lucky?

My Wish List, a slim novel written by Gregoire Delacourt asks the question "What would you do if you won the lottery?"  The main character, Jocelyne, lives in a small town in southern France, running a fabric store.  She wonders what happened to her youthful dreams as her life progressed through marriage and the raising of two children.  Then she wins the lottery but doesn't tell anyone, not even her husband.  Instead she makes a wish list.  Read this well written international best seller to see how Jocelyne changes her life.  SG

Color, It's a beautiful thing!

House Beautiful Color: The Perfect Shade for Every Room, is a beautiful book! Illustrated with hundreds of photos, it's organized around color, with every chapter illustrating a color, including white! At the beginning of these chapters, there is a fun fact page, with tidbits like "The ancient Greeks believed wearing white to bed insured sweet dreams," or "green is the color used for night-vision goggles because the human eye can discern more shades of green than any other color." One nice feature is a list of different paint shades of each color with brand names. Another nice feature is that each chapter has a few comparison pages, say if the color is green, then they compare how that color goes with other colors using accessories and objects of those colors. Even if you aren't decorating your house this is a fun book to spend an evening with. Lovely! ML

Memory Lane

If you grew up near Detroit, you probably remember many buildings and landmarks that are no longer standing. Although some of these structures have been replaced it's always entertaining to look at old photographs and enjoy some old memories. Lost Detroit by Cheri Y. Gay will help you take a stroll down memory lane. This book is full of old pictures and historical notes about the "Motor City". Cheri has lived around Detroit for over forty years. She is a librarian and has worked as a photo archivist for the Detroit Public Library. DB

Catch Me If You Can

The Heist, an Evanovich book, this one co-authored with Lee Goldberg, is a Mission Impossible style story with a con man and an FBI agent paired up to recover half a billion dollars.  The twist in the story is that the FBI agent, Kate O'Hare, chased con man Nick Fox for five years and is the only person who has ever been able to catch him.  Add some side-kick grifters and of course a little romance and you have the usual Evanovich fun read.  I listened to this on audio and it was very well done.  Recommended for your upcoming road trip!  Also available in regular and large print.  SG

So Near, and Yet So Far

Have you ever considered the back up singer? The beautiful voice, put to service of the "star" of the ensemble. There were back up singers (usually women) in the fifties for artists like Perry Como.
With the rise of R&B, Soul and Rock, African American women were the go to back up singers. The new DVD in the library, 20 Feet From Stardom, explores the life of several back up singers. The music in this documentary is so wonderful, just the voices of these women is amazing! Also features stars like Sting, Mick Jagger, Sheryl Crow and Bruce Springsteen discussing the importance of these singers. Lots of clips of groups singing, everyone from Otis Redding to the Rolling Stones, to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Set back and enjoy! ML

Book Discussion

Join us for Book Discussion on Thursday, April 10th at 6:30pm.  We'll be discussing Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  After the death of her mother, Strayed finds herself falling deeper and deeper into a self-destructive, downward spiral.  Inspired by a book about the Pacific Crest Trail, she impulsively decides to hike from California to Washington in order to combat her demons.  HM

Can you DIG it?

Spring is around the corner and that means it’s time to think about gardening! If you’re a beginner, like me, Home sweet homegrown: how to grow, make and store food, now matter where you live by Robyn Jasko, will explain the basics. This tiny little guide talks about starting your plants from seed, planting various types of gardens, and harvesting and storing your food. There are tips about maintaining your garden and even a few recipes. It’s a sweet read! DB  

Life in the Future

Paulette Jiles' dystopian novel, Lighthouse Island, set in an overpopulated world ravaged by drought, follows a young woman on her quest to find her way to an island haven. Orphaned as a child, Nadia Stepan finds refuge in literature after her beloved guardian is arrested. As a young woman, Nadia has little aptitude for the government PR job she's assigned to, and an affair with an supervisor's husband costs her the position and nearly her freedom. Nadia decides to flee to Lighthouse Island, an island in the Pacific Northwest that is rumored to have water and wildlife in abundance. Nadia finds an unlikely ally in James Orotov, a demolitions expert who was crippled in a blast many years before. After a fateful rooftop meeting, James aids Nadia in her flight, using his access to the system to help her avoid detection and arrest until he, too, falls into disfavor and has to flee. Booklist

Death of a Psychic

Florida-based archaeologist Faye Longchamp, is called to Rosebower, New York to sift through the contents of an old museum. While she and her daughter Amande sort through the artifacts, she meets several old town-folk who are known for their “spiritualist” connections.  Tilda Armistead, a local psychic, asks them to take part in a séance. Faye doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but she accepts the invitation out of curiosity. Later that evening after Tilda passes on after a terrible house fire, Faye is thrown into the middle of murder. Who would want Tilda dead? Rosebower has some mysterious secrets that Faye feels she must uncover. Rituals: A Faye Longchamp Mystery by Mary Anna Evans is filled with interesting characters and twists. It gives the reader a good look into the magic behind the crystal ball! DB

The good life, with murder.

The story of Bruno, policeman in a small French town, is explored in the series by Martin Walker. Of course, the delight in these stories is not really the mystery, although they are satisfying enough, but what is written about the life of Bruno, living in a small town in a beautiful country, cooking from the garden and eating the fresh cheeses and wine of the region. Bruno has a cadre of good friends and a couple of women he is more than friends with although in the latest mystery, Resistance Man, we get inklings of Bruno wanting to settle down . Altogether a good addition to the six-novel series. ML