Tulsa Book Review - March 2013 by City Book Review - Publishers of San Francisco & Kids' Book Reviews

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INSIDE!

Book Review 2 9 12

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

F R E E

NEW AND OF INTEREST

C H E C K

One Planet

A stunning look at our beautiful world Page 2

I T

The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters)

O U T

The Bird Saviors: A Novel

Hunting the past Page 5

Ruby gets her wings. Page 7

Kind of Kin

By Rilla Askew HarperCollins, $25.99, 417 pages Meet Rilla Askew on March 26 at Martin Regional Library!

March 2013

“A little more than kin and less than kind.” Hamlet—Act 1, Scene II It is wholly fitting that the epigraph to Rilla Askew’s latest novel is from Shakespeare. Indeed, Kind of Kin is nothing if not Shakespearean in nature — a poignant family drama that explores the very best and the very worst of humanity. Although played out across a distinctly Oklahoman setting, this is a quintessential American novel in which we hear the chaotic and contradictory cacophony of voices that are both one and millions. Among these voices are the

ones that spring to life in Askew’s novel: an ambitious state politician, an overly zealous sheriff, a “felon and a Christian,” and Aunt Sweet among a host of other compassionately drawn characters. Askew’s ear is deftly tuned to hear these voices, as the novel’s genesis was the result of her hearing its opening sentence: “Your grandpa is a felon … A felon and a Christian.” The felon and Christian in question is Robert Brown, a farmer in Cedar, Okla., who is in the Latimer County jail for harborSee Kind of Kin, cont’d on page 8

A Soldier’s Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero Secrets and lies Page 10

Holy Spokes!: A Biking Bible for Everyone

A bible for the two-wheeled Page 14

48 Reviews INSIDE!

Book Reviews

Category

Nature & Science

Armchair Travel

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2013 By LonelyPlanet Lonely Planet, $14.99, 208 pages Websites can destroy travel planning by their very excess. Hunts for the best deals are so profuse and numerous that making a decision becomes frustrating. Sample Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2013 and return to the joy of searching calmly and finding a selection of new exotic spots to consider. A compact treasure, cleverly organized, it blends the familiar with the unexpected, offering countries, regions, and cities already known or never considered. In some instances the suggestions relate to places

known through the media primarily as war zones, like Ethiopia and Israel’s Negev, a disservice to their cultures. And once destinations are decided, it’s time to move on to quirky interests that beat lying on the beach or adding to one’s museum life list. How about best places to get tattoos or one of ten great wall walks (ten, who knew?), to see elephants up close? Check out back-in-time entertainment like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London or, ambiguously, the best place to try something new. The well-chosen photographs are colorful but not overwhelming. In other words, no wasted space, lots to hold your attention. Reviewed by Jane Manaster

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

One Planet By Lonely Planet Lonely Planet, $15.99, 285 pages Check this out! Let the photographers of Lonely Planet take you on a beautiful journey of the world. From crowded urban spaces to serene natural landscapes, penguin huddles in Antarctica to festivals in India, young children frolicking in the streets to elderly gentlemen relaxing in hot springs, this collection of stunning images spans both the globe and the human experience. The images are paired to create a sense of connectedness. A picture of children playing on a mud slide in Laos is presented next to a photo of adults basking in the sun

after a mud bath in Texas. Young girls applying makeup in Thailand are opposite a Carnevale attendee checking her elaborate mask in Venice. By displaying these images with limited narration (only a very basic description of what is occurring), the editors create a vivid sense of relatedness. The idea that everything on Earth is connected to everything else is pervasive, simple, and lovely. The stated aim of this volume is inspiration. The creators want you to go out and explore our exciting planet. With succinct quotes about travel, brilliant photographs, and a deep respect for all of the captured moments, they are indescribably successful. Buy this book, and you will not be disappointed, though you might be inspired to pack your bags. Reviewed by Audrey Curtis

Visit TulsaLibrary.org/music and use your Tulsa City-County Library card to download up to three free songs a week into your iTunes account or to your smartphone, PC, Mac or any other MP3 music player.

from 3 million songs and more than 10,000 music labels, including Sony Music. đ Choose Download selections in a high-quality, DRM-free MP3 format. đ Find new songs and music labels added weekly. đ Keep songs forever! đ

This free service is funded by the Tulsa Library Trust. After an initial six-month trial period, Tulsa City-County Library will assess offering this free service long-term based on popularity.

SO, IF YOU LIKE THIS SERVICE, TELL ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 2

Tulsa

Book Review

IN THIS ISSUE Armchair Travel ............................................2

Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com

Nature & Science............................................2 Cookbooks .....................................................4 Romance ........................................................5

GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Grayson Hjaltalin grayson.hjaltalin@1776productions.com COPY EDITORS Lori Freeze Robyn Oxborrow Holly Scudero Kim Winterheimer Cathy Lim Karen Stevens Audrey Curtis Annie Peters Amy Simko Jamais Jochim

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Adrian Girth Alaa Shabouni Audrey Curtis Christopher Hayden James Rasmussen Jonathon Howard Marie Clementi Megan Rynott Samantha Herman Toni B. Willis WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com DISTRIBUTED BY Urban Tulsa Weekly

The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by 1776 Productions, LLC. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or 1776 Productions advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2012, LLC.

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Fiction ..............................................6, 7 and 8 Picture Books ................................................9 Tween Reads ................................................10 Teen Scene ...................................................11 Biography & Memoir ...................................12 History & Current Events ............................12

FROM THE PUBLISHER Spring is almost upon us and it’s a great time to get outside with a great book or eBook. Speaking of eBooks, the Tulsa City-County Library is currently piloting an additional eBook service, called Always Available eBooks, powered by library eBook vendor Freading. Library cardholders can choose from over 22,000 titles, which they can access immediately and renew as many times as they like until they finish the book. The Freading-powered eBooks can be read on eReaders and tablets like the iPad, Nook, Kindle Fire, Kobo or Sony Reader. They can even be read on a PC or Mac. A Freading App also is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play for downloading on the go to your iPhone or smartphone. For library cardholders who already use the library’s Overdrive-powered eBook system, Freadingprovided books also can be read on the Overdrive App. The library will offer the Always Available eBooks service through summer of 2013. If this service proves popular with library customers, the library will continue offering it. So give it a try; download one of this month’s featured books, The Longest Race by Ed Ayres. If you like the experience, tell all your family and friends and remember libraries change lives, sometimes one eBook at a time. Enjoy this month’s Tulsa Book Review. Best regards,

Mystery .......................................................13 Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO

Mind & Body Fitness .................................... 14 Fantasy ........................................................15 Popular Culture ...........................................15 What “Kind of Kin”? ....................................16

Coming Up! Celebrate National Library Week April 14-20 by visiting your neighborhood Tulsa City-County Library or visiting us online at TulsaLibrary.org. This year’s theme is “Communities Matter @ Your Library.” Today’s libraries can help you and your family discover a new and exciting world through collections, digital resources and more. Whether you come for homework or job searches, help with citizenship issues or finances, adult education classes or to find the best books for young readers, libraries are a great place to spend quality time and connect with loved ones and friends.

Book Reviews Category

Cookbooks SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Maya’s Secrets By Maya Leon-Meis American Cancer Society, $19.95, 172 pages Check this out! As it is co-authored by three writers with complementary fields of expertise and published by the American Cancer Society, I expected Maya’s Secrets to be great. And I was not disappointed. León-Meis (Maya) is a television personality and cancer survivor, Perdomo a dietitian, and Limas-Villers a chef. Among them, they created a cookbook with the seal of approval by the Cancer Society. The twist and emphasis in this cookbook is Latin flavor from Central and South America. The recipes are very good. Many are unusual, but all have one thing in common: they are very light and healthy. Since chilies are central in Latin kitchens, the book starts with a five-page guide to the most-used chilies, including great photos. Basic Latin salsas and sauces follow. Even though written by three different writers, the recipes are edited for uniformity. Each recipe gives prep and total time and standard nutritional information. The lists of ingredients are clearly set on the margin and instructions are excellent. So is recipe layout—you never need to page back and forth while following instructions. The recipes also state who the author is, and head notes give further information. Proteins are fish and poultry with only four beef recipes. Reviewed by George Erdosh Paleo Desserts: 125 Delicious Everyday Favorites, Gluten- and Grain-Free By Jane Barthelemy Da Capo Lifelong Books, $18.99, 246 pages Check this out! One phrase that readers will grow accustomed to in Paleo Desserts: 125 Delicious Everyday Favorites, Gluten- and Grain-Free by Jane Barthelemy is to “follow recipe

exactly.” To ensure that those trying these recipes know what Barthelemy is requiring, she writes a lengthy introduction to describe the variety of ingredients required in one’s kitchen for these Paleo desserts. Barthelemy had been avoiding refined food and sugars when she chose to write this cookbook. (Portland-based Barthelemy follows Dr. Loren Courdain’s Paleolithic diet.) If you are doing the same, this is a great cookbook for you. Coconut flakes, Just Like Sugar Table Top sweetener (not Baking), coconut milk, coconut oil, arrowroot powder, cacao powder, and agar flakes are Barthelemy’s major components. The recipes include cakes and cupcakes, muffins and breads, cookies and bars, 5-minute shakes, and sauces and fi llings. It becomes obvious that Barthelemy served as a dessert chef and head chef of restaurants around the country. Each recipe includes a prologue and then the recipe; color photos of several of the recipes are featured in the center of the book. Barthelemy has a dessert for everyone, and if you are gluten-free or grain-free you will appreciate this collection of luscious desserts. Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey

Each of the twenty-six chapters has a different theme (Vegetable Mains; Two Ways with Fish; Breakfast Standbys), detailing a few recipes. Needless to say, these welltested recipes are excellent. In addition, the cookbook is fi lled with great sidebars (Notes from the Test Kitchen; Science Desk), great photo illustrations, both black-and-white and color, and the many, many ratings, both food ingredients (mozzarella, hot sauces, molasses) and kitchen equipment (sauté pans, cleavers, pressure cookers). The value on equipment rating is questionable for the dedicated cooks; they are already fully equipped and unlikely to rush out to buy a high-rated springform pan when they are pleased to whatever they own. Nicely crossreferenced index is great. Reviewed by George Erdosh The Science of Good Cooking (Cook’s Illustrated Cookbooks) By The Editors of America’s Test Kitchen and Guy Crosby Cook’s Illustrated, $40.00, 486 pages Check this out! To some, cooking is more than putting together ingredients. There are those who look at cooking as a science. Cook’s Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking is a fantastic cookbook that bridges many gaps in someone’s cooking knowledge. Taking fifty different concepts, The Science of Good Cooking

The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013 By America’s Test Kitchen, editor; Carl Tremblay, Keller + Keller, Daniel J. Van Ackere, photographers Cook’s Illustrated, $34.95, 312 pages Check this out! As all of America’s Test Kitchen publications, The TV Companion Cookbook 2013 is superb. Yet it is not written for all cooks. Those who take cookbooks to a serious read in bed, the earnest foodies and dedicated home cooks will enjoy this volume a lot. It’s wasted on casual cooks who simply want to follow a recipe to serve a good meal. Every recipe is loaded with information—cooking and scientific—and detailed description of how the test kitchen staff arrived to the final version of the recipe. Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 4

provides readers with four hundred recipes. The contents first detail the concepts—A Covered Pot Doesn’t Need Liquid, for example—then provides the recipes by category, such as poultry or vegetables. The cookbook also informs readers of the sciences of measuring, time and temperature, heat and cold, senses, and ingredients. The back of the book includes the all-important Emergency Ingredient Substitutions, as well as lots of information about what kind of equipment you might need. The Science of Good Cooking is well-illustrated with photographs, charts, diagrams, and illustrations. Each concept has an explanatory section: Why This Recipe Works. This is a fascinating look at the practical science that is involved in some of our everyday meals. The Salt 101 and other 101 sections are super at breaking down individual ingredients. This cookbook is a thorough cooking guide. Mastering even a handful of the simple techniques will make you more confident in the kitchen. Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey

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Book Reviews

Category

Romance SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters) By Heather Graham Harlequin MIRA, $7.99, 344 pages Check this out! Revolutionary War scholar Allison Leigh is drawn into the past confl icts of the historic mansion where she is a summer docent when a colleague is found stabbed by his own costume bayonet. “Ghost hunter” agent Tyler Montague and team are brought in to investigate. But were paranormal elements of the house, namely its ill-fated owner and heroine of the Revolution Lucy Tarleton or British Lord “Butcher” Bedford, really at fault? Or was the murder related to more worldly confl icts at the house, perhaps among its board of directors? And why does Allison Leigh look so much like pictures of Lucy Tarleton? Both the main characters, such as Allison and her love interest Agent Montague, as well as the ghost of the charming murdered docent, Julian Mitchell, were well drawn. The paranormal material also was logical within the universe set up by the author. Most of all, I enjoyed learning more about the Revolutionary War, such as the amount of discord among leadership of the time on if and how to break from England and that the signing of the Declaration of Independence was a treasonous act, punishable by execution. Numerous subplots are potentially difficult to follow, but overall this is a smooth and enjoyable read. Reviewed by Stacia Levy Maverick By Lora Leigh St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99, 354 pages Check this out! Like all members of the Elite Ops unit, Micah Sloane is a dead man. That means he has no hopes, no dreams, and no future beyond the next mission. He pledged his life for the chance to exact vengeance against the man who killed his entire family, including him. Risa Clay knew her father despised her, but she never would have thought he hated her until she suffered the ultimate betrayal at his urging. The Elite Ops has the chance to take out Orion, an international assassin, but they need Risa’s cooperation to get to him. Micah demands the assignment to pose as Risa’s lover for the op against Orion. It will give

him the chance to spend time with Risa and deliver the death blow to the man responsible for the deaths of his parents. The time Micah spent watching over Risa prior to the op did not prepare him for the depth of feelings and desires Risa awakened within him. While they were definitely unexpected, they were not wholly unwanted. The problem is that dead men can’t give forever to the woman they love, or can they? Lora Leigh’s second installment in the “Elite Ops” series brings us a story of hope that things will get better in spite of how bad they may seem. Reviewed by Jennifer Moss After Moonrise: Possessed/Haunted By P.C. Cast and Gena Showalter Harlequin, $14.95, 368 pages Check this out! After Moonrise is actually a book with two stories in it. The first one, “Possessed,” is about a little boy who discovered at the very tender age of nine that he has some special gifts. At the time and even later in life, this boy decides he’s not very fond of his gift. Raef, at the young age of nine, discovered that he could see things. One day while walking home from school, a little girl was being picked on, so Raef stepped in and wondered why this one boy had to be so mean all the time. That was the first time his “gift” showed up. Raef was able to catch a glimpse into the boy’s life and what his family life was like, which is why the boy treated others this way. Later in life, he used this physic gift in numerous ways. He was in the military at one point, and then upon leaving that he joined a group of other physics – each with their very own unique gift. Raef could feel negative emotions, like anger, hatred, and those types of things, so he was used to discover murders by the police. But one day, a mother and daughter came into his office and his world changed. He was asked to find the murderer of a twin sister and as only P.C. Cast can do – it was made into a hot, steamy, suspenseful turn of events in every way. The second story in the book, “Haunted” by Gena Showalter, also will keep you glued to discover what will happen, as it’s about a detective, Levi Reid, and he’s like no detective we’ve ever met. Again, another hot, steamy story with turns and spins along the way to keep you glued to the pages. Reviewed by Penny Via

Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 5

MYSTERIES/THRILLERS

COMING SOON

TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

Dancer in the Flames

by Stephen Solomita The murder of a police officer reveals a world of corruption in this contemporary noir thriller set in New York. When Detective Boots Littlewood’s regular bookie, Drago, reveals that the shooting of police officer Captain Christopher Palmer was no random killing but an organized hit in exchange for a lighter sentence, Boots is assigned to a task force to investigate with a new partner, Jill Kelly, and soon uncovers a trail of corruption that someone will do anything to protect.

Unbreakable by Nancy Mehl

As her Mennonite town of Kingdom, Kan., is shaken by strange incidents and outright attacks on its residents, the gentle and unassuming Hope Kaufmann is forced to question all she knows and believes.

The Rage

by Gene Kerrigan

Vincent Naylor, just released from jail, resumes doing what he does best, planning for an armored car robbery. Bob Tidey, an honest policeman, discouraged by his colleagues making deals with criminals and about to commit perjury, is investigating the murder of a crooked banker. A call from an old acquaintance will change his course of investigation. Maura Coady, a retired nun living on regrets and bad memories, sees something that she can’t ignore and decides to tell someone. She makes a phone call that sets in motion a violent fate.

A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway investigates her most heartstopping case to date after an old university friend and fellow archaeologist is murdered in an arson attack.

The Devil in Her Way by Bill Loehfelm

Maureen Coughlin starts out her career with the New Orleans police force by being punched in the face by a man rushing out of an apartment building in this follow-up to The Devil She Knows.

The Romanov Cross by Robert Masello

Dishonorably discharged for countermanding orders to save the life of an Afghani, Dr. Frank Slater attempts to redeem his government status by heading a science team in Alaska, where permafrost melting is exposing the graves of Spanish flu victims and triggering the virus’ reintroduction to the world.

Retribution: A Harry Tate Thriller by Adrian Magson

Former MI5 officer Harry Tate is charged with finding the truth about a war atrocity that allegedly took place under his watch in Kosovo in 1999, but a skillful assassin is taking out potential witnesses before Harry can discover the facts.

Book Reviews Category

Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Paris Wife: A Novel By Paula McLain Ballantine Books, $15.00, 352 pages Check this out! Paris in the 1920s must have been unlike almost any other place that ever existed, with the possible exception of the gathering in Geneva in 1816 of Lord Byron, the Shelleys and Byron’s doctor, John Polidori. Both were creative paradises for writers and their aficionados. This beautifully written work of fiction examines the first marriage of Ernest Hemingway, to Hadley Richardson. They were both Americans, but of different social standing and ambitions. She was several years older than the vigorous Hemingway, who had been wounded in World War I, while still in his teens. A whirlwind courtship and marriage saw them heading soon after for Paris, where his writing career was bolstered by the many American and English writers then living there. Some of these writers took him under their wings and encouraged him; some did not. Still, he persevered and began to make a name for himself. Perhaps the event that provided the biggest boost for him was when Hadley lost a case carrying every laboriously typed page he’d ever written. It proved to be the nudge he needed, as losing all the “old stuff ” pushed him ever more vigorously toward his new and dashing style. The author’s research is awesome, and it shows on every page. You’ll swear you’re right there with them. Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz Dead Aim By Joe R. Lansdale Subterranean, $25.00, 104 pages Check this out! Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are friends, but close as brothers. White and black, straight and gay, rich and poor, they’re the ultimate odd couple, fiercely loyal to each other and their other friends. When Hap and Leonard are hired to protect a woman from her abusive husband, they quickly

find themselves suspects in the husband’s murder. Ready to clear their names and settle the score, the duo discover there’s much more to the story when more bodies show up. What trouble have they stumbled into? As an introductory book to the pair, Dead Aim is a little thin, but to fans of Hap and Leonard’s previous exploits, it’s just like welcoming back old friends. Lansdale is in the groove, providing dynamite banter and enough plot to service a book twice as long. Leonard continues to be short-changed by Lansdale plot-wise—hopefully he rectifies that soon—but Hap shines as a man questioning his place in the world, both happy and somewhat resigned to his fate. It definitely feels like Dead Aim might be the start of a bigger story arc for Hap and Leonard; here’s hoping it means more novellength adventures to come. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Lost Memory of Skin By Russell Banks Ecco, $14.99, 434 pages Check this out! Just barely out of adolescence himself, the Kid finds himself lured into a, finally unconsummated, liaison with an underage girl. As a result, he has to wear an electronic anklet for ten years and not be found within 2,500 feet of any place where children might gather. In practice, this means that he is banned from living near the centre of any city. The novel opens with a gripping account of the Kid entering a library, at great risk, to check his status as a registered sex offender. The reader’s attention is maintained steadily throughout the first third of the novel, in part, thanks to his sidekick companion, an iguana who goes by the name of Iggy. Always a consummate finder of objective correlatives, Banks vividly describes a scene in which the iguana bites his loving

owner’s hand and fails to let go, calling for surgical intervention. It stays with the reader as a suggestive multi-tasking image. On one level, it stands for the reptilian brain we all still have under the folds of our cortexes. It also doubles for the electronic device that the Kid is forced to wear: despite its discreet position on the ankle, it’s finally as obtrusive and socially demeaning as a ball and chain or an iguana latched onto your hand for ten years. Harper Collins’s Ecco press imprint has made a beautiful designer job with the texture and layout of the cover, which features a grainy iguana tail and claw that gives you the feeling you are holding not a book but a reptile. It’s also a perfect way of keeping the paper book industry alive and clawing back the rise of the robot book. Banks makes us feel close to his character, despite the fact that the Kid doesn’t even feel close to himself. He trusts no one, not even his mother, until he meets the Professor, a kindly sociologist who takes him under his wing and gives him back a sense of dignity and a desire to communicate verbally. The novel closes with a powerfully described hurricane. Although this is a bit of a time-tired image for the spectacularly emotional crisis the Professor is heading for,

recent climactic events in America make the trope seem relatively unobtrusive: more realistic than symbolic in the end. What seems a little more contrived is the fact that the Professor is also involved in a forthcoming sex scandal, albeit in another manner related to his years of service for a secret agency. The novelistic nail is hammered home a little too firmly when his wife turns out to be the librarian the Kid encounters at the very start of the novel. Such symmetrical roundedness seems unnecessary and a little too pat, even if it ultimately militates for a view of the world as fatefully connected. All in all, it’s a fine novel that displays Banks’s lyrical gift, as well as his capacity to imaginatively enter the mind of an immature young adult. It will should remain in the history of literature as a stirring indictment of an unsubtle judicial system based on rigid Puritanical excess. Reviewed by Erik Martiny Mrs. Queen Takes the Train: A Novel By William Kuhn Harper, $25.99, 384 pages Check this out! This book is an absolutely charming fantasy, perfect for any adult reader who is an Anglophile. Of course, one doesn’t really need to be

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Book Reviews either an adult or an Anglophile to appreciate it, but I rather think that group will be happier with it. If one is old enough to recall “Lillibet” than this is a fine choice, as that young girl has grown into a delightful, clever woman who just happens to be The Queen. We don’t even need to include her name, because she is, after all, the preeminent example of that title in the world today. One day, the lady sovereign has had quite enough of all this history, thank you very much, and just wanders off. She doesn’t really mean any harm, but everything became a bit much, and so in the company of a young store clerk, and a girl from the stables, she sets off for Scotland on a train. Soon, frantic emissaries of her secret service realize she’s missing, and along with her dresser and a lady-in-waiting, they stumble over a hint in the lady’s computer. Presently, everyone of importance is heading for Scotland, as well. If you don’t laugh out loud when one of the diners on the train who has been studying her says, “I know who you are! You’re Helen Mirren!”, you have no soul. Highly recommended! Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz Silent House By Orhan Pamuk, Robert Finn (translator) Knopf, $26.95, 334 pages Check this out! This early novel by the Nobel Laureate novelist Orhan Pamuk is prescient in its portrait of a Turkish family torn by conflicting loyalties to nationalism, Islam, and modernism. The silent house of the title stands on a hillside in Cennethisan, a tiny fishing village near Istanbul, sometime after the mid 20th century. It is the dilapidated house of the deceased physician-scholar Selahattin, the house where he spent his life working on the encyclopedia of “all human knowledge” that would bring Turkey out of the dark ages of superstitious belief into the modern, scientific world. In this house, too, Selahattin begat his children by his conventionally religious wife Farmah, now embittered and half-demented, who has long since burned her dead husband’s famous encyclopedia to keep herself warm and who now employs her husband’s illegitimate son, the dwarf Recep, as her servant. Each character speaks in turn in successive chapters during a visit Farmah’s grandchildren make to the house. Recep’s troubled young nephew Hasan is the catalyst in this multigenerational tale of destinies caught up in the inexorable processes by which ethnic cultures will become part of an interconnected globe. Pamuk’s storytelling rivets, and his characters come to vivid life through detail and dialogue. Highly recommended. Reviewed by Zara Raab

The Bird Saviors: A Novel By William J. Cobb Unbridled Books, $25.95, 320 pages Check this out! The Bird Saviors is a novel of great achievement. Not often enough does a book come out that carries with it the magnitude of talented story crafting, pristine language, and unforgettable characters. This holds a light to that candelabra. We follow the trail of Ruby in Pueblo, Colorado, a teenage mother who lives with her father, a fundamentalist preacher. Her mother has bailed out, leaving her with a father that controls her and marries her off to a substantially older man. The backdrop of the story is as important as the goings on, a climate of desperation and danger. As we follow Ruby and the many other characters, we become part of the landscape too, a part of the story that unfolds and keeps us glued to its lines. It is a story of loss, desperation, and, yes, love. Cobb is a master storyteller, and it is apparent that he nurtures each sentence as much as he does the characters and their development. Out of the murk, there is a clarity that is as relevant today as it was in the days of old, lacing Old Testament themes rather craftily and making for a superb read. Reviewed by Sky Sanchez-Fischer Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising: Blood of War By Larry Bond, Jim DeFelice Tor Forge, $25.99, 320 pages Check this out! This book is another very professional package continuing the future military history of the escalating regional threat from the Chinese. Because of difficulties in maintaining adequate food supplies for its vast population, the Red Dragon has begun what it hopes will be a short and decisive campaign to annex Vietnam and its rich farmlands. However, the Vietnamese army is more effective than Chinese generals expect and, with the advice and covert support of the Americans, the advance has slowed. U.S. Army Major Zeus Murphy persuades the Vietnamese to make an attack behind enemy lines. By taking a strategic airstrip, it will also allow a CIA team to strike at the main Chinese headquarters coordinating the attack. The expectation is that the combined assault will force the Chinese to rethink their strategy. The more materiel and senior officers they lose, the more politically expensive the campaign. Meanwhile, off the coast, Chinese and U.S. naval forces play a game of chicken with an outbreak of war between the superpowers the prize. Blood of War is

both an exciting military thriller and the sometimes moving human story of those caught up in the conflict. Reviewed by David Marshall The Family Corleone By Ed Falco Grand Central Publishing, $29.99, 436 pages Check this out! This “prequel to The Godfather” follows the mythical Mafia family headed by Vito Corleone as well as rival families from 1933 to 1935. The dates place the novel indeed before the original series, which began after World War II. The viewpoints in the novel switch from family to family, portraying both home life and “business,” but the book increasingly focuses on the life of young Salvatore “Sonny” Corleone and his evolution from seventeen-year-old mechanic whom his father wants desperately to keep out of the family “business” to married man and heir apparent to his father’s criminal empire. I never saw the first two “Godfather” movies. However, this novel makes a statement on its own while at the same time remaining within the tradition, as I understand it, of the films: the crime boss leaders are fiercely

loyal to both their biological and crime families, for example, shown in touching family scenes that alternate with violent ones like beheading a rival with a machete (no, I’m not kidding). The violence slips up on you. The story is not for the weak-stomached, but then again, its violence is not as senseless or as unremitting as is so often the case in contemporary novels. The Godfather doesn’t strike often or without warning, but strike he does. Reviewed by Stacia Levy Threat Vector By Tom Clancy Putnam Adult, $28.95, 848 pages Check this out! The campus is still hopping. And so are the Chinese. Faced with an economy somewhat like a giant Ponzi scheme, Wei Shan Lin, both president of the PRC, and much more importantly, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, allies with Su Ke Quiang, Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China. Lin’s intents: extending China’s control over the entire South China Sea, then fully absorbing Hong Kong, and ultimately taking over Taiwan. All of this intended to mask years of mismanagement with vast new revenues. Quiang’s intent is to do all of those things, not in Lin’s timeline of years, but in

Read or listen to eight books and receive a prize. Also, earn a chance to win a Kindle Fire e-reader. Sign up at any library or online at TulsaLibrary.org. A variety of complementary events are planned. Check the monthly event guide for details. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Book Reviews months. The result is the beginning of undeclared war with the United States. First action is in the cyber world, and if I had not just taken some courses, I could not have understood some of that. Jack Ryan Jr. and his father, the POTUS, are on the same side, but not according to F.B.I. Senior Special Agent Darren Lipton, who is running Melanie Kraft, who is simultaneously young Ryan’s main squeeze and on loan to the NSA. She is caught between duty and love . . . in agonizing ways. If you have been following the Clancy/ Greaney collaboration, this will be a satisfying read. There is aerial and cyber and clandestine combat, as is usual in a Clancy acronyms sprinkle the pages, and some confl ict has been preserved for the next installment. I have to report that the multiple plot lines smack of careful outlining and writing to fi ll. The quality of the action scenes varies from very good to less good. I will, however, read the next book!! Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton Two Graves By Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Grand Central Publishing, $26.99, 480 pages Check this out! Two Graves by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a roller coaster ride of a novel. They use some of the same characters from their other novels such as Relic and Reliquary, but it is still a stand-alone novel. Agent Pendergast thought that his wife, Helen, had been dead for twelve years, but he discovers she is alive, only to lose her again to a vicious killer. Pendergast loses himself in grief and is about to give up on life, but a chilling murder case is brought to his attention, and the murders seem familiar to him. Pendergast embarks on a new mission to discover the killer, and in the process discovers Helen’s secrets. Preston and Child have a knack for writing nail-biting suspense novels. They do an incredible job making the plot complex. It seems as though ten different things happen at once, and then they masterfully tie everything together in a stunning finish. They invite a little of the supernatural into their novels, as well as some graphic violence which may not suit everyone, but overall, they have done another fantastic job on their co-authored work. Reviewed by Lindy Gervin A History of the Present Illness By Louise Aronson Bloomsbury, $24.00, 272 pages Check this out! Physicians are trained to examine the human condition, and many doctors have

translated their observations into classic books. Louise Aronson, who serves as an associate professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco, is a recent addition to this crop of specialists who capture the often sad reality of illness and its radiating effects on family and caregivers. Not only are the hospitalized patients and their traumas described, she delves into the internal problems that confront the practitioners. Filled with empathy for the human condition, these stories take the reader into the veterans’ hospital to experience the distress of the war-maimed and makes one wonder about the future for the youths so marked. Inside nursing homes, she views the patients and how they are regarded by staff and beginning physicians. Doctors themselves are troubled, and with great apprehension she follows an older colleague who succumbs to depression. One story satirizing the ambiguity of the DSM stands out, as do other whimsically painful tales of the tortuous routines endured in the efforts to become a doctor. These empathic renditions, beautifully written, about the medical arena and the people involved introduce another talented physician-author into the literary world. Reviewed by Aron Row Unusual Uses for Olive Oil By Alexander McCall Smith Anchor Books, $13.95, 203 pages Check this out! Professor Dr. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, author of the obscure but exhaustive Portuguese Irregular Verbs, leads an insular and dry-as-dust existence in the Institute for Philology, but he still manages to find himself in the midst of drama. In this book, the fourth about the professor, von Igelfeld begins to pursue a romance, but his ignorance of non-academic culture leaves his intended cold. On a trip to the Alps, he miraculously survives a fall and suddenly becomes a celebrity. Through all his adventures he remains bemused and somewhat oblivious to how and why things are happening the way they are, or why people are responding as they do. Although very intelligent, he has little understanding of people, and while he mentally constantly criticizes and judges those around him, he refuses to consider the possibility of his own flaws. This would be insufferable (and sometimes is), except that he pays dearly for his ineptitude and we see him skirting the issue of the loneliness of his existence. It is sad, even poignant, and endearing. He is not a bad man, and when he steps outside his own mental world he can even be gracious and kind. So we watch his follies with toler-

ance and wish him well, although unfortunately that seems unlikely to be. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner Kind of Kin, cont’d from page 1 ing immigrants in his barn. A recent law, sponsored by state representative Monica Moorehouse, has recently made it a felony to transport or shelter individuals who have illegally entered the United States. House Bill 1906 (1906 — coincidentally being the year before Oklahoma’s statehood when it was Indian Territory) will, according to Moorehouse, preserve Oklahoma’s heritage and save taxpayers money: “We simply want to eliminate the burden of bilingual services and translator costs” (125). The law has significant fallout that impacts a rural Oklahoma community in unforeseeable ways. While Bob Brown is in jail, his 10-yearold grandson Dustin runs away with Luis, a Mexican immigrant who has managed to avoid the raid on the barn and subsequent arrest. Luis is trying to make it to Guymon where he believes he will find his sons. Meanwhile Dustin’s older sister Misty is trying to raise her daughter alone after the deportation of her husband, Juanito. In the center of this chaos is Georgia Ann, “Sweet,” who is trying to hold her family together while adapting to some weighty revelations and conclusions of her own. While it may seem like a lot to follow, Askew seamlessly

blends these narratives, alternating points of view. The novel’s structure lends itself to universal themes: What is family? What difference does one’s faith make in the world? What is the balance between justice and mercy? Who is our neighbor? In a voice that is both critical and compassionate, Askew explores all of these questions, avoiding pat answers and challenging us to be better. Kind of Kin shows people of faith struggling to live in ways that reflect those beliefs and examines what can happen when we see others as our kin. One of the most powerful moments in the novel occurs when Sweet understands that she has a responsibility to Misty, Juanito and their daughter: The child looked like her mommy and daddy, yes, but she also, Sweet had realized in that moment, watching her in the smoking lamplight, looked very much like her grandmother, Gaylene. She is ours, Sweet thought. Concepcion Maria de la Luz Brown-Perez. My sister’s granddaughter. One of our own. (233). This scene is one of many such instances of characters claiming others into their family, faith community or town. Despite the exploration of weighty matters, Kind of Kin is equally full of grace, humor and much love for Oklahoma and its people. A contemporary classic, this novel is an ideal choice for book clubs and anyone with a love of character-driven, lyrically written and issues-oriented fiction. Reviewed by Rebecca Howard

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918.549.READ

A FREE MonTHLY GuIDE To YouR CoMMunITY LIbRARY, ITS pRoGRAMS AnD SERVICES

Events are marked with this symbol.

adult/teen events

Teen Tech Month events are marked with this symbol.

be available and encouraged (i.e. dictionaries and looking at your neighbors' tiles). For ages 13-18.

Read "Look Again: A novel" by Lisa Scottolline and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.

beehives in YouR backyard? Join Alan Larson, president of the oklahoma State beekeepers Association, as he shares his words of wisdom with those interested in "sweetening" up their backyard. For all ages.

For ages 12-18.

Join us for a lively discussion on "nATo" on March 13 and "Myanmar and Southeast Asia" on March 27. For adults.

Meet zombie hunter Will Thomas and learn how to survive storms, emergencies, economic downturns and those pesky zombie attacks. For adults.

play old-school words with friends on a Scrabble board, but bring your mobile devices so you can still cheat online. oldschool cheating methods also will

Enter the Search Engine battle, try your skills in the SciFi Movie and TV Trivia Contest, and much more. For ages 12-14. Registration is required. Call 918-5497662 to register.

broken Arrow Sidewalk Astronomers invite you to discover the Shakespearian moons. After an informative presentation, we'll go outside for star gazing(weather permitting). For all ages.

All Tulsa City-County Library locations that are normally open on Sundays will be closed on Sunday, March 31 for Easter.

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Share the history and traditions of north America's native people. This free festival celebrates American Indian heritage, culture, arts and achievements. The festival kicks off with the presentation of the American Indian Festival of Words Writers Award to oklahoma screenwriter, producer and director Sterlin Harjo. After the presentation, enjoy ongoing cultural demonstrations and children's crafts, as well as traditional dance demonstrations, storytelling and other entertaining programs. Visit TulsaLibrary.org/airc or call 918-549-7323 for a complete schedule of presentations. For all ages. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, American Indian Resource Center, the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, Cherokee builders Inc., Seminole nation, Dr. Frank and Mary Shaw, Tulsa World, Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association, the university of Tulsa, and Visions and Voices Digital Content Creations. Books Sandwiched In Susan Swatek, retiring attorney, will review "Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child" by bob Spitz. For adults and teens. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.

Karen York, curator, Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, will review "The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance" by Edmund de Waal. For adults and teens. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. Books Sandwiched In Wayne Hardy, Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries board member, will review "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker. For adults and teens. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.

Tulsa CityCounty Library's Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service needs volunteer tutors to help adults improve their reading and writing skills. Tutors must be 18 years of age or older and have graduated from high school. Each trained volunteer is matched with an adult student to provide one-on-one tutoring once or twice a week. Volunteers are asked to make a one-year commitment to tutor. Tutors must complete both sessions of this workshop. Registration is required. The registration deadline is Friday, March 15. To register for the workshop, call 918-549-7400 or visit www.tulsalibrary.org/literacy. Hearing loop available. Switch hearing aid to T-coil.

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own cardboard box or other object to transform. For ages 12-18. Registration is required. Sign up via https://www. surveymonkey.com/s/CollageAp.

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Books Sandwiched In Eldon Eisenach, retired chairman, political science department, university of Tulsa, will review "prairie Fever: british Aristocrats in the American West 1830-1890" by peter pagnamenta. For adults and teens. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.

update your rĂŠsumĂŠ, search for jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft office software and the Internet. uSb flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults. Class size is limited.

Join us for a fun and instructional afternoon. All levels of knitting expertise are welcome. For adults.

Join this fun group of readers for a lively discussion. participants should read the featured book prior to the program. Call 918-549-7528 for book title. For adults. Sponsored by the Friends of of the Collinsville Library.

If you want to learn to quilt or are an experienced quilter, join us for an informative and fun evening. For adults.

bring your laptop, tablet, smartphone, e-reader, etc, and we will bring ours to show you how the library can make them all more useful and fun. For teens. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Collinsville Library.

Amost 46,000 people applied to be included for compensation on the Guion Miller Roll. Learn why this roll based compensation on family connections and genealogical information. For adults.

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What if you lived in a world where love was considered a terrifying disease? What if you got infected? Would you resist or give in? Celebrate the highly anticipated release of "Requiem," the final book in the "Delirium" trilogy with award-winning author Lauren oliver. oliver will answer questions and sign books. books will be available for purchase. For all ages. Seating is limited. Sponsored by HarperCollins publishers and the Tulsa Library Trust.

Join Dr. Daniel Littlefield, director of the Sequoyah national Research Center at the university of Arkansas at Little Rock, as he gives an overview of the center's collection and discusses its resources documenting the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes. He also will focus on records relating to researching Freedmen members of the Five Civilized Tribes. For adults. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Will your family be one of those casualties? Join Karen L. Carmichael, estate-planning attorney, and discover how you can avoid mistakes in these key areas: probate costs and delays, nursing-home costs, divorce, remarriage, creditor protection for children, incapacity and loss of tax benefits. For adults. Seating is limited. For more information or to reserve a seat at the seminar, call 918-549-7363. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Join us for an introduction to composting and other earth-friendly gardening techniques. bring your extra seed packets to swap, plus get a chance to win a compost bin donated by the M.E.T. For all ages. Seating is limited. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Learn decoupage and image transfer techniques while decorating a notebook cover for a fun personal journal. or bring your

Learn about what you need to have in place before you seek a grant, the world of grant makers, the research process, and available tools and resources. basic computer and Internet search skills are required. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Register at http://www. surveymonkey.com/s/gsb. For adults.

bring your e-reader, tablet or smartphone, and get assistance checking out and downloading ebooks and audiobooks from the library's collection. Registration is required. Class size is limited to 20 attendees. Call 918-549-7631 to register. For adults and teens.

Celebrate Teen Tech Month with the peggy Helmerich Advisory Teens by creating 8-bit art using meltable perler beads. We'll recreate our favorite characters from movies, books and old-school video games. Supplies will be provided. For ages 12-18.

Share your favorite viral video. The person who shares the most popular video (voted on by you!) will win a special prize. For ages 12-18.

Celebrate Women's History Month by discussing "Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel, plus biographies of Marie Curie and Coco Chanel. For adults. Refreshments will be provided.

If you or someone you love is living with a chronic condition such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic pain or anxiety, you are invited to attend this free six-part workshop series. At this workshop, you'll get the support you need, find practical ways to deal with pain and fatigue, discover better nutrition and exercise choices, understand new treatment options, and learn better ways to talk with your doctor and family about your health. Refreshments are provided. For adults. preregistration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7400 to register. Sponsored by the oklahoma Department of Libraries, in partnership with the oklahoma State Department of Health. Funded by a federal Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

participants should read the selected book prior to the program. Call 918549-7570 for book title. For adults.

Select your favorite book. pose. Take pic. upload. Design. print. Tada! For ages 10-18.

Make a homemade journal, a unique wallet, a lovely rose and more with duct tape. For ages 10-18.

Show off your mad gaming skills. Join us for Wii and Xbox games. Refreshments are provided. For ages 10-18.

Join attorney Rita Foster as she discusses wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney and other estate-planning documents. plus, learn how to avoid probate. For adults. Seating is limited. For more information or to reserve a seat at the seminar, call 918-549-7363. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

practice your Spanish in a low-stress setting! For ages 16 and older. Sponsored by the Hispanic Resource Center.

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update your résumé, search for jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft office software and the Internet. uSb flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults.

Join us for Wii and board games, work on your homework or enjoy other fun activities with your friends. For tweens and teens.

Learn secret codes and try on different disguises while discovering the secret world of spies! bring your field guide. For ages 10-14.

Discover techniques to help improve your powerpoint presentations for any school project! For ages 12-18.

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invited to share their immigration stories, struggles and hope to bring the fictional stories portrayed by Askew to life. After the presentation, copies of "Kind of Kin" will be available for purchasing and signing. Refreshments will be provided. For all ages. Sponsored by the Hispanic Resource Center, Tulsa Library Trust, Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, pancho Anaya bakery, and Hispanic Young professionals and Entrepreneurs of Tulsa.

The Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa will present one of its most exciting machines: The Replicator 3-D printer by Makerbot. participants will learn how digital designs are transformed into real objects, literally turning ideas into reality. For ages 10 and older. Seating is limited. Sponsored by the Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa and Tulsa Library Trust.

Can you catch a penny off your elbow? Do you have the skills to complete unusual challenges? Test your abilities and try to complete challenges in under a minute. For tweens and teens.

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From smartphones to tablets, more and more teens are using wireless devices in their daily lives. This free class will give parents and teens implementable tips and tools to stay safe when using these devices. Whether it's usage controls so parents can help manage when their teens make calls or send texts, or tools to prevent their teens from texting and driving, this class will cover all the basics. For adults and teens. Seating is limited. Sponsored by Verizon Wireless.

For ages 10-18.

Let's face it, we all struggle with weight at some point in our lives. If you're living with diabetes, it is vitally important that you keep your weight down and stay fit. In this highly anticipated class, we'll discover how to lose weight the Sweet Spot way! For adults.

This class will introduce you to the scripted art of calligraphy. Instructor Leslie Wade has used "beauty writing" for 25 years and is a member of the Calligraphy Guild of oklahoma. Supplies will be provided for a nominal fee. For adults and teens. Class size is limited. Sponsored by the Friends of the Rudisill Regional Library.

Munch on pocky and meet up with other manga fans to discuss your favorite books and movies, characters and plot twists from this popular Japanese publishing trend. For sixth-graders and up.

Help provide a teen perspective on the services and materials that the Martin Regional Library offers. For ages 12-18.

7 p.m. Congregation B’nai Emunah, 17th Street and Peoria Avenue

FEATURING: Kurt and Margaret Goldberger, children survivors of the Kindertransports

Write invisible messages and receive your super spy ID. bring your field guide. For ages 10-14.

Tulsa City-County Library will have a mobile library at the commemoration. Please bring your library card to check out books and other library resources.

FILM SHOWING “Into the Arms of Strangers” The human consequences of harsh legislation is at the center of Rilla Askew's new novel "Kind of Kin" – especially as it pertains to the Mexican immigrant community in oklahoma. Join Rilla Askew, united Farm Workers of America veteran Vicente Ruiz, musicians, poets and others from the Hispanic community to honor and celebrate César Chávez's legacy and birthday. Latinos are

(Rated PG)

An Academy-Award winning documentary featuring stories of the Kindertransports

The Holocaust Commemoration is sponsored by the Council for Holocaust Education, a committee of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, in cooperation with the Tulsa City-County Library and Circle Cinema. For more information, call the Jewish Federation of Tulsa at 918-495-1100. © 2001 Warner Bros.

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Skilled facilitators, including Anita Washington, a consultant with the Centers for Disease Control, will lead candid discussions with an emphasis on self-esteem, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS prevention. Free HIV/AIDS screening will be available. breakfast and lunch are included. parental permission slips are required for minors. Seating is limited. Email alatime@tulsalibrary. org or call 918-549-7645 to register. Sponsored by the African-American Resource Center, Tulsa Library Trust, oSu Tulsa, Tulsa Health Department, planned parenthood, Soaring Eagles, Hope Testing and YMCA Tulsa.

Celebrate Teen Tech Month and bring your Wi-Fi devices to the Teen Lounge. For ages 10-18.

Make a duct-tape ipod and phone holder, plus enjoy Wii and board games. For ages 10-18.

pay homage to women that you admire by sharing stories about the impact they have had on your life. For all ages. Seating is limited.

Green pigs beware! Join us as we build working catapults and make angry birds to launch. For ages 10-18.

put your imagination to the test by building your own world in the popular computer game Minecraft. For ages 10-18.

computer classes

Join us for Wii gaming. For ages 8-18.

Come for coffee and share what you've been reading. For adults.

Try your hand at watercolors with this fun art project. You'll learn a handy trick to trace images onto your page – perfect for beginners! For adults.

bring your e-reader, tablet or smartphone, and get assistance checking out and downloading ebooks and audiobooks from the library's collection. If you don't have one of these devices yet but are curious about the process, we will have several kinds on hand for you to try. For adults and teens.

Join us as we discuss the novel "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. pearson. For tweens and teens. participants should read the book prior to the program. Seating is limited.

We will have open gaming. You must have a current library card in good standing to participate. For tweens and teens only. Class size is limited.

Learn to search our website for books and other media. Explore the library's free premium content - not available on the open Web!

Explore mail merge, use tables to perform calculations and create onscreen forms.

MS Word 1 Learn how to create various kinds of documents; use the toolbar; set margins; apply spell check; and preview, save and print documents.

Learn how to create formulas, use automatic fill and change basic formatting. This class will explain what Craigslist is, plus how to search for items, post items to sell, purchase items and communicate with sellers. participants should have a familiarity with the basic functions of navigating the Internet prior to taking this class. MS Word 1 Learn how to create various kinds of documents; use the toolbar; set margins; apply spell check; and preview, save and print documents.

This class is designed for new pC users who have little or no previous experience using Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms.

Internet Basics

Learn how to create and format tables, use bulleted and numbered lists, and apply and format columns in a document.

Learn to navigate the World Wide Web, plus preview, print and save documents. prerequisite: some experience using a computer keyboard and mouse.

Learn how to create and use borders and shading, headers and footers, page numbering and drawing tools.

This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms.

Learn how to create and edit formulas, and apply functions and advanced formatting to your spreadsheets and workbooks.

Has it been more than six months since you updated your résumé? Maybe you've never written one but know you need to? Come to this informative class to learn the current best practices. For adults.

Learn how to create visual representations of spreadsheet and workbook data. Learn how to create charts, apply conditional formatting and control the appearance of printed spreadsheets.

Do you need an email account but have no idea where to start? Join us and we'll help you set up an account.

Learn how to create group presentations and slide shows.

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For ages 2-5. An adult must accompany 2-year-olds. Weather Rainbow of Colors At the Zoo Ducks This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms.

Learn how to navigate the World Wide Web and use the library’s online catalog and resources.

Learn how to set up a free account and how to use it to send and receive email.

This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms.

Learn how to navigate the World Wide Web and use the library’s online catalog and resources.

children’s events For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

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Share a story. Sing a song. We hope you'll come along! For ages 1-3 and their caregivers.

Join us for stories in English and Spanish, songs and crafts. For ages 5 and younger.

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Drop by anytime to make and wear a Dr. Seuss craft. For ages 4-8.

For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

Math Matters For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

Learn how to create various kinds of documents; use the toolbar; set margins; apply spell check; and preview, save and print documents.

Enjoy games and group activities while sharpening your math skills. Registration is required. Call 918-5497662 to register. For fourth through eighth grade.

For ages 3-5.

After our regularly scheduled storytime, join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 3-5.

play Wii and board games while making new friends. For ages 5-12.

Tweens and teens who may struggle with social skills are invited to play Wii and board games with a high-school peer mentor. This event provides a relaxed environment for tweens and teens to have fun while developing social skills. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7500 to reserve a spot. For ages 8 and older.

For newborns to 18-month-olds and their caregivers.

Enjoy stories, action rhymes, fun flannel, music and bubbles. For ages 3-5.

Wear your favorite color shoes and enjoy "pete the Cat" songs, stories and activities. For ages 3-5.

Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 7-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. preregistration is required. Call 918-549-7662 to register.

using radial weaving, we'll recycle plastic grocery sacks and unusable CDs into small works of art that you can hang on the wall, attach to your backpack or use as a coaster. Supplies are provided. For ages 10-13.

Join Miss Dana for a fun craft and nice read. For ages 5-12.

For ages 2-5. An adult must accompany 2-year-olds.

For newborns to 24-month-olds and their caregivers. For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger. Sponsored by Cox Connects Foundation.

For ages 3-5.

Does your child have difficulty sitting through storytime? If so, this inclusive, interactive program of stories, songs and activities may be just what you are looking for! Sensory Storytime focuses on learning with all five senses and is especially designed for children with a variety of learning styles or sensory integration challenges. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Register online at http://kids. tulsalibrary.org/sensorystorytime or by calling 918-549-7438. For ages 1-7.

Learn the basics of decorative handwriting and make a simple project. For ages 9 and older. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7438 to register.

Are you smarter than a poodle? Find out when you compete with a dog in "The Dog Is Right" game show. Meet Sassy and Gracie, two standard poodles that are anything but standard, and join in the canine capers as the dogs show off their tricks. For ages 5-12. Childcare groups, please call 918-549-7439 if you plan to bring a group of 12 or more.

See three short puppet skits and then make your own dog marionette. For ages 5-12. Childcare groups, please call 918-549-7438 for a group of 10 or more.

To SEARCH FoR EVEnTS, SCAn THIS CoDE uSInG YouR MobILE DEVICE AnD QR SCAnnER App.

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Let's have fun while we discuss and debate the Sequoyah book Awardnominated "The Fantastic Secret of owen Jester" by barbara o'Connor. Refreshments will be provided. For thirdthrough fifth-graders. participants should read the book prior to the program.

Join us for stories, songs, crafts and more. For newborns to 4-year-olds and their caregivers.

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Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.

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For ages 3-5. Enjoy stories, songs and rhymes. For newborns to 5-yearolds and their caregivers.

Join Michael patton from the Metropolitan Environmental Trust and learn about recycling. For ages 5-12.

Learn paper airplane designs and make your own. We'll have contests for distance and accuracy. For ages 5-12.

For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

Join Ms. Josie for stories, songs and finger plays. For ages 2-3 and their caregivers.

tulsa city-county library locations 1

M, 10-8; T-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 10-5 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5

10150 n. Cincinnati Ave. E., Sperry M-T, 12-7; W, 10-5; Th, 12-7; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

and

M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5

M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 and

M-F, 10-6; Sat., 10-5 18

M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5, 551 E. Fourth St., Sand Springs, 74063

M, 10-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 19

M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5

3219 S. 113th W. Ave., Sand Springs,

M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

M-W, 10-5; Th, 1-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

and

M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5

and

M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5

M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5

M, 12-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5

5202 S. Hudson Ave., Suite b, 74135

M-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5

M-T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5

2224 W. 51st St., 74107 918-549-7683 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5

Join Ms. Karen for stories and other fun activities. For all ages.

Join us for stories, music and activities. For ages 3-5.

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Watch the original Willy Wonka movie. Rated G. For all ages.

Hardesty Regional Library will be transformed into a life-size version of the classic children's game Candy Land, and we need you to be the players! Stop by anytime between 1 and 4 p.m. to make your way to the Candy Castle. Crafts, games and snacks will be provided. For all ages.

What can you build using only spaghetti, tape and string? Can it support one tiny marshmallow? If you think you are up for it, come and conquer the marshmallow challenge! For ages 9-12.

Enjoy new books and old favorites, music, flannel board and fun! For all ages.

Join us for this percy Jackson event featuring Sea of Monsters Costume Contest, Medusa Toss, Cyclops Art, Greek Myth Challenge and more! For ages 10-13. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7631 to register. Sponsored by the Library Staff Association.

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For ages 3-5. Come and discover Russian language and culture through stories, rhymes, music and more! For all ages.

buckle your seat belts and fly with us in search of unicorns with stories and fun activities. For ages 4-10.

For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

For ages 3-5. Healthy Kids Happy Kids Lucky Little Leprechauns Springtime Stories bunnies Galore

younger.

For ages 5 and

For ages 3-5.

Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-10 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Class size is limited.

live board game. This come-and-go event is for the whole family!

It's a pajama jammy jam with Ms. Kristen and Mr. David! Wear your pajamas and join us for bedtime songs, stories and rhymes. For ages 3-8.

Join us for a range of topics and activities such as science experiments, cooking lessons, arts and crafts, or book talks. For ages 5-12.

For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

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How well do you know your Dr. Seuss? Test your skills by playing our

en español clases de informática

En esta clase te familiarizarás con los usos "gratis" del internet para encontrar recursos para hacer tareas, buscar trabajo, aprender inglés y mucho más. para todas las edades.

patrocinado por el Centro Hispano y el Fideicomiso de las bibliotecas de Tulsa. Informes al 918-549-7597.

Les enseñaremos cómo usar el correo electrónico más eficientemente, creando carpetas, abriendo archivos, guardando fotos. para todas las edades.

Comunícate con tu familia y amigos desde tu propia computadora, GRATIS. para todas las edades.

Esta clase es para las personas con poca o ninguna experiencia usando computadoras y el Internet. Los familiarizará con el uso y la terminología de la computación. para todas las edades.

programas infantiles

utilizaremos las herramientas que tanto el internet como la biblioteca, el programa MS Word, y otros recursos ofrecen para mejorar tu búsqueda de trabajo en la era digital. para todas las edades.

Fidelia los invita a escuchar cuentos en inglés y español. para niños de 0 a 5 años.

Enjoy stories and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 3-5.

Les enseñaremos cómo crear una cuenta de correo electrónico y como usarla para enviar y recibir correo. para todas las edades.

Enjoy stories and activities in English and Spanish. For all ages.

Les enseñaremos cómo crear una cuenta de correo electrónico, cómo usarla para enviar y recibir correo. Además conozca cómo usar el internet para aprender y/o mejorar su inglés. para todas las edades.

Make a kite and then take it outside and fly it! For ages 5-16.

For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! After our regularly scheduled storytime, join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 1-5 and their caregivers.

Disfruta cuentos, canciones, y actividades en inglés y español. para niños de 0 a 5 años.

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(Martin Regional Library continued)

Enjoy stories, songs, and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 5 and younger.

Read books, play games and make crafts with Miss Heather. For first- through thirdgraders. Class size is limited.

Learn secret codes and try on different disguises while discovering the secret world of spies! bring your field guide. For ages 10-14.

Go to TulsaLibrary.org/downloads and use your Tulsa City-County Library card to select from more than 22,000 eBooks that are always available. No waiTiNG! For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.

For ages 3-5.

Enjoy stories, songs, and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 5 and younger.

play fun games to polish up on good table manners and thank-you letter etiquette. For ages 8-12. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918549-7590 to register. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Homeschooled children are invited to join us for stories and a craft. For ages 5-12.

Wear your fairy wings and get ready to sparkle! Join us for face painting, fairy-size snacks, music and more! For ages 5-10. Registration is required. Seating is limited. Call 918-549-7590 to register. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Come dressed in comfy clothes as we move and dance. We'll learn how to quiet the mind and relax the body through yoga. Yoga will help you feel great inside and out! For ages 6-10. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7590 to register. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Does your child have difficulty sitting through storytime? If so, this inclusive, interactive program of stories, songs and activities may be just what you are looking for! Sensory Storytime focuses on learning with all five senses and is especially designed for children with a variety of learning styles or sensory integration challenges. Registration is required. Register online at http://kids. tulsalibrary.org/sensorystorytime or by calling 918-549-7624. For ages 2-7.

Read this month's featured book together and then join us for this fun discussion! For girls ages 9-12 and their moms. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7624 to register and for book title.

Join us as we explore an incredible book through reading, discussion and a fun activity. For first- through fifth-graders. For ages 2-5. An adult must accompany 2-year-olds.

For ages 5-12. Enjoy fun and imaginative stories and then stay after for games and activities that foster important early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger. For ages 3-5. Join us for fun and sometimes educational activities! Refreshments will be provided. For ages 8-13. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Monday, March 11 This fun high-energy program features instruments, scarves, movement and more. For newborns to 5-year-olds and their caregivers.

Join us for stories, finger plays, music and dancing. For ages 5 and younger.

Read wonderful stories that celebrate spring and then stay to make colorful springtime caterpillars and butterflies. For ages 10 and younger with an adult.

Have fun with books, ideas and activities. For ages 5-12.

Write invisible messages and receive your super spy ID. bring your field guide. For ages 10-14. For ages 5 and younger with an adult. The Food We Eat Happy St. patrick's Day (wear green) Spring Has Sprung! Easter party Day (bring goodies to share)

Join us for Lego building fun! Legos will be provided, but you may bring your own. For ages 5-12.

Join us for stories, songs, rhymes and a craft. For ages 6 and younger. I Like Mud! Author Eric Carle Spring Has Sprung! baby Chicks Day

Free and open to the public If you are hearing-impaired and please call the library 48 hours in advance of the program. The Tulsa book Review and Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide are printed on partially recycled paper.

The Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide is produced by the public Relations office of the Tulsa City-County Library.

Book Reviews Category

Picture Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Cheer Up, Mouse! By Jed Henry Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, $12.99, 32 pages Check this out! A mopey little mouse is surrounded by a bouncy bevvy of beasts, all eager to cheer Mouse up. Using informal slang expressions as a tropological device, the dual-meaning of the tongue-in-cheek storytelling may slip over little reader’s heads but will bring a chuckle to the adults reading aloud. Rabbit wants to make Mouse “jump for joy,” but Mole wants to put Mouse “back on solid ground.” Blackbird wants to “pick him up” but long-legged Frog thinks that method is “for the birds - I can wash those tears away.” Author Henry’s gentle and realistic illustrations, reminiscent of Beatrix Potter’s timeless, anthropomorphized characters, bring colorful animation to the actors in this sweet story. Is Mouse really seeking new adventure to cheer up, or is something else needed? Little animal lovers will enjoy seeing a badger, hedgehog, cheeky and fat Eastern bluebirds, and other North American animals all brought to life in Henry’s merry, inimitable style. Mouse does find joy in the end, but it wasn’t from diving in the frog pond or tumbling with a hedgehog. Chipmunk knows just what Mouse needs and brings a rewarding conclusion to this cheerful little book about fellow feeling, friendship, and frolicking fun in the forest. Reviewed by Andrea Huehnerhoff I Haiku You By Betsy Snyder Random House Children’s, $9.99, 32 pages Check this out! There are few books that will absolutely delight every reader – no matter how young or how old – no matter if male or female – no matter whether one

loves poetry or not. This tiny book is simply so charming that one could not help but like it. The art of writing haiku, a Japanese poem that contains only seventeen syllables, is a difficult one. Haiku seem so simple, but the form demands absolute perfection. To write haiku that will appeal to such a broad audience is really quite an accomplishment. Betsy Snyder both writes and illustrates this little gem of a book. Many of the poems can be perceived in more than one way. Is she talking of romantic love? Is she talking of the love of a parent for a child? Could it be that she speaks of a love for a pet or a favorite toy? Maybe the love of true friendship is the subject of the poem. One can read whatever one needs from each poem. The illustrations are irresistibly winsome and, again, appeal to a very broad audience. This book will be a perfect valentine for anyone on your list. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Peace By Wendy Anderson Halperin Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 40 pages Check this out! Many people around the world and through time have had ideas about how peace might be achieved. Some were incredibly famous people, some were powerful, some were ordinary, some were poor, some had great wealth, some were unknown. Whatever their stations in life, these people’s words have the ability to inspire people to work toward a common goal – to bring people together in peaceful coexistence. The real heart of the message is that everyone, young and old alike, can have a positive effect in the peace process, and that peace is not just between nations, but has its seeds in smaller entities – cities, neighborhoods, schools, homes, and families. Those who learn peace have the ability to pass it along and affect those around them until peace grows everywhere. Wendy Anderson Halperin has gathered quite a wonderful collection of these inspir-

ing quotes and partnered them with gentle, pastel drawings created by her and by school children from schools in Michigan, Ohio, and New York – drawings that support the quotations and inspire peace on their own. Children and adults will find the beautiful message of this book heartening. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Pigs in Pajamas By Maggie Smith Knopf BYR, $15.99, 32 pages Check this out! Penelope Pig is planning a party – a party of plentiful proportions. She has put pen to paper to pull pigs from the town with perfect party invitations. Pigs from all around the hamlet are putting on pajamas – plaid ones and print ones and pretty ones and even pinstripes – preparing for the party to top all parties. There will be prancing and dancing polkas to piano music. Pigs will be posing and playing games, like pass the potato, pin tails on a pony, and there is even a piñata to pound. Pigs pack up and bring pillows and presents and puzzles and peppermints. Pe-

nelope has foods of all kinds and plenty of them – sweet pies and puddings, pancakes, peas, pineapple, pasta, punch, and pungent, puckery pickle pizza. Maggie Smith might well be named the princess of pigly alliteration, all put together in perfect rhyme. Little ones will love all the fun to be found in this story, but it is a treat for their eyes as well. Smith’s illustrations are perfectly enchanting, following the alliterative theme with all the objects beginning with p that one can imagine. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

, CHILDREN S NONFICTION

COMING SOON

Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

My Cookbook of Baking

The Greatest Liar on Earth

Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More! Poems for Two Voices

You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

by Laura Tilli This children’s cookbook of recipes includes sausage and apple pastry puffs, the best baked potatoes and lumpybumpy shortbread.

by Carole Gerber This treasury of two-voice poems, starring seeds, bees and other small friendly creatures, features unusual animal conversations in rhyming verse and is complemented by sumptuous illustrations of the natural world that convey engaging facts about plant and insect life.

Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 9

by Mark Greenwood Come and hear the intriguing real-life tale of a man whose amazing adventure stories sounded too good to be true … or were they?

by Jonah Winter He hit 660 homeruns, had a lifetime batting average of .302 and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.” Many believe him to be the best baseball player who ever lived. In this fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays’ unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Ala., to playing aweinspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors.

Book Reviews Category

Tween Reads SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

A Soldier’s Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero By Marissa Moss Amulet Books, $16.95, 385 pages Check this out! Frank Thompson has a secret. Army nurse, postmaster, spy, orderly, known for his valor on the battlefield, Frank is a woman. Fleeing an abusive father who wanted to marry her off to a neighbor in Canada, Sarah Emma Edmonds cuts her hair, puts on her brother’s clothes, and heads for America. In her new identity, she finds employment as a traveling salesman for a bookseller in Connecticut. When war breaks out, Sarah, aka “Frank,” feels the call of Union patriotism and enlists as a nurse. Imitating men, forcing herself to be brave, she is able to pass. In the Army she finds respect and friendship for the first time in her life. Then she falls in love with Jerome, a fellow nurse who has a sweetheart back home and considers “Frank” his best Army buddy. Basing this novel on a true story, Moss charts Sarah’s development from a young, frightened runaway to a symbol of courage among Army peers. The author brings alive the hellish aspects of war while showing the bravery of soldiers on either side. A back section, “The Story Behind the Story,” provides short biographies of officers and a Civil War timeline. A gripping read throughout. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book I By Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis, illustrator Balzer + Bray, $8.99, 541 pages Check this out! When Mac, Prue Mkeel’s brother, is swept up by a flock of crows, Prue is forced to trail them into a forest aptly named the “Impossible Wilderness.” Rescuing one baby brother isn’t so easy. Entanglements with evil tyrants and talking coyotes delay

things. Against such odds, even with the help from bandits and mystics, the question is, will she make it before her brother is sacrificed to a plant by a power-hungry governess? I thought this book had a perfect mix of comedy and adventure action. The characters were both likeable and realistic, making the story believable. I thought the bandits in the story were an interesting twist on the typical, all-good protagonist model. The bandits fulfi ll the expectation of good/bad protagonists as they steal from good South Woods citizens while they bring down a tyrant. There is a twist in the ending that seems to sum up the story perfectly. Also, many people will enjoy the avid description in the story and realistic characters. Parents should be cautioned there is some swearing in the story, but I would definitely recommend this to other tweens. Reviewed by Alexander, age 12 After Eli By Rebecca Rupp Candlewick Press, $15.99, 256 pages Check this out! Everybody loved Eli, and Danny grew up in the vast shadow Eli cast, but he didn’t mind. He loved Eli too. And Danny remembered Eli’s promise to come back. But he didn’t. Instead, he died, blown up in a stupid war halfway around the world. Danny is angry: their father disappears; their mother stops participating in life. So Danny studies deaths through history while trying to deal with Eli’s, but it isn’t death that informs him. It’s love. Danny’s fourteenth summer is fi lled with Isabelle, a beautiful, smart girl who opens his heart and mind to new things and to a new friend, Walter, a true friend and someone Danny shunned in the past. Danny also gets a summer job working for

Jim, Eli’s best friend, who helps to fi ll in the huge empty place Eli left. It’s a transformative summer, one that truly carries Danny from childhood and rage to adulthood and acceptance. Rebecca Rupp has created a story that will pull readers in and hold on to them through this deep, thoughtful, important coming-ofage novel. It targets middle-graders, but the audience is sure to be much broader. Adults will be glad to discover this gem as well. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Super By Matthew Cody Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 298 pages Check this out! Around his friends in Noble’s Green, Daniel feels less than spectacular. Eric and Molly can fly. Rohan hears and sees things far away. Louisa reaches through solid objects and makes herself untouchable. Rose can turn invisible. Daniel is . . . smart. He has leadership skills. Kinda normal. People with powers in Noble’s Green keep a low profi le: For years, Herman Plunkett, the Shroud, made it his mission to capture super powers with the meteorite pendant around his neck. In a prequel to Super, Daniel and his friends thought Plunkett was

killed beneath rubble when the the quarry fell in. But odd things are happening: Powers shift when Daniel is around: When he can fly, Eric can’t. When Daniel can reach through things, Louisa can’t. When he makes himself invisible, Rose can’t. Is Daniel a power thief or a late bloomer? When Theo Plunkett, Herman’s grandnephew, arrives, he wants to hang out with Daniel’s group. Can he be trusted? Shades start menacing Daniel and his friends. Is the Shroud back? And what about the ring made of meteorite Plunkett once gave Daniel, hoping to make Daniel his protege? As mysteries unfold, Daniel learns what it really means to be a superhero. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan

YOUTH FICTION COMING SOON Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

Mr. Big a Tale of Pond Life by Carol and Matt Dembicki In a watery world where only the strong survive, the reptiles and fish living in a small pond launch a plan to eradicate Mr. Big, a snapping turtle that is terrorizing them. Despite a few protests from some pond dwellers, who warn of the potential consequences this could have, the animals solicit the support of a murder of crows to carry out their plot. But the scheming crows have their own motives to kill the large reptile and decide to use this opportunity to do so.

Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 10

Hokey Pokey

by Jerry Spinelli Welcome to Hokey Pokey, a place and time when childhood is at its best: games to play,

bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen — and by a girl, no less — his entire world and the world of Hokey Pokey turns to chaos.

Daisy’s Defining Day by

Sandra V. Feder Daisy loves words, so she is delighted when Miss Goldner teaches the class about alliteration. When her neighbor Grant starts calling her Lazy Daisy, she decides to come up with an alliterative nickname so dazzling it sticks. As Daisy collects D words that describe her, her determination to find the perfect name might lead her friends and family to call her Crazy Daisy!

Book Reviews Category

Teen Scene SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Asunder By Jodi Meadows Katherine Tegen Books, $17.99, 416 pages Check this out! I loved Incarnate something fierce and I didn’t know how Jodi was going to keep up the momentum in Asunder! But she did! Asunder was another amazing journey into this beautifully written fantasy world where reincarnation exists and dragons, sylph, and other beasts are dangerous and deadly but, not as much as some of the people that surround Ana every day! Ana still struggles being a newsoul and what that means during this book and, she has the ever loyal and very handsome Sam by her side the whole time. Ana also has a set of loyal friends that we meet in book one who support her completely, and we meet a new person, Cris, in this book, who was an amazing addition! And to answer some of the burning questions you may have… Will we see inside the Tower again? Yes. Will I tell you what happens? No. Is there romance between Sam and Ana? Yes and you will swoon. I do have to admit though nothing beats that scene from the Masquerade Ball in book one but, yes, there are swoony scenes. Asunder is another amazing story by Jodi Meadows and I highly suggest you buy this book! Reviewed by Jaime Arnold Meant to Be By Lauren Morrill Delacorte Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 304 pages Check this out! Julia is a star student, certainly thanks to her good habits and orderly life. Julia even has specific expectations for love; though she hasn’t dated much, she knows who her Meant To Be (MTB) is: Mark, a perfect guy with a nearly perfect smile. He doesn’t seem to have noticed her yet, but she keeps his smile in mind as a calming influence as

she takes a class trip to London. There, her teacher pairs her with the most annoying guy on the trip, Jason, who calls her Book Licker. Since she follows the rules, however, and buddies must stick together, Julia’s stuck with Jason’s immaturity and partying ways. As is expected in this kind of chick book, Julia learns some surprising things about Jason, and he seems at times to even like her. But Jason surely can’t be MTB. Could he? Jason says at one point to Julia, “You could get whiplash following your love life,” which nicely describes how I felt during much of the book. One expects some twists and turns (even unlikely ones) in romantic fiction, but this book did give me so much whiplash that I didn’t quite get on board with enjoying the inevitable outcome as much as I would have hoped. Even so, the story is mostly entertaining. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Madman’s Daughter By Megan Shepherd Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 432 pages Check this out! I never read H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, but I have seen many of the movie adaptations and I loved them all! The idea of a man playing God and creating these animal/human hybrids was creepy and very intriguing. So I was really excited when I got this book. I couldn’t wait to see what the daughter of this evil monster could be like, and I was not disappointed. The writing was beautiful and the love story heartrending. I loved Juliet’s character; she was brave and almost fearless in times when women often had to be subservient. She has to deal with the truth of what her father has done

and that of her very own nature. She has help along the way, her childhood friend and crush Montgomery and also a dashing stranger named Edward who survived a shipwreck. I absolutely loved both of the guys, but in the end Edward did steal my heart. He was a tortured soul and I just wanted to heal his heart and wounds. If you love a historical tale with a supernatural twist and a mystery that keeps you reading until all hours of the night, you will love this. Oh, and the ending killed me! I can’t wait for book two in the series. Reviewed by Jaime Arnold Through to You By Emily Hainsworth Harper Teen, $17.99, 272 pages Check this out! A twist of science fiction and romance, Through To You kept me thoroughly invested and interested from the first page until the last. Camden’s girlfriend died in an accident not long ago, and he often visits the place where it happened. At the accident site, he sees a girl, Nina, who is from another world and who climbed through a window located at the site from her world to Camden’s. When Camden goes with her to the other world, he finds his girlfriend Viv living a parallel

life even though she’s gone in his. Viv and Cam have gone different ways in the parallel world, so when Cam finds Viv he is surprised to see changes already in effect. His relationship with Nina, the girl who first brought him over, starts getting more complicated as we realize the secrets she is keeping. The deepening of the plot as Cam starts to choose between his world and the parallel one as the window keeps shrinking will keep readers quite invested. An excellent mix of genres, Through To You will keep readers interested and looking for future Hainsworth books. Reviewed by Shanyn Day

EXPLORE, LEARN, CONNECT - READ! Celebrate Teen Tech Month in March with a variety of free events and activities. Check the event guide in this publication for programs or go to http://teens.tulsalibrary.org for more information.

TulsaLibrary.org

Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 11

Category

Biography & Memoir SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Luck or Something Like It By Kenny Rogers William Morrow, $27.99, 294 pages Check this out! What Kenny Rogers can’t squeeze into a melodious ballad, he shares with us in his gutsy autobiography. Now in his midseventies, the singer/ songwriter has plenty of colorful memories to share about life, his career in music, and lessons learned from five marriages. Beginning with his ever-so-humble childhood in the projects of Houston, Texas, we follow Kenny’s musical musings through the relative successes of the First Edition, where songs like “Ruby, Don’t Take Your love To Town” and “Ruben James” still recall the turbulent sixties and early seventies. Kenny takes us behind the scenes to the initial fears of his solo career before “Lucille” propelled him to international fame that rose ever higher with “The Gambler”. During the Reagan era of the eighties, it seemed Lady Luck followed him everywhere but home. He took a fl ier at acting with the television movie, “The Gambler,” and enjoyed one of the highest ratings of all time. Songs that other popular artists failed to score with, Kenny made into hits. But, at home, his marriage failed. His failures with his wife found voice in the duet he sang with Dottie West, “…How can love survive if we keep choosing sides, and who picks up the pieces every time two fools collide…” Single in relationships after a nasty divorce, Kenny found harmony in a series of duets. After recording the super hit “Islands In The Stream” with Dolly Parton, the two went on two world tours together and ended up recording hit after hit. Meanwhile, another duet Kenny recorded with Sheena Easton, “We’ve Got Tonight,” made the title track of an album by the same name. Kenny writes of the Grammy winning producer, David Foster, who cut the record on a Wednesday. “By the following Monday, it was playing on the radio all over the country. Before you could blink, the single was on top at number one and the album made it to number three. No story captures the frantic pace of recording duet hits than the anecdote Kenny

shares about the creation of the love song “Lady” with Lionel Richie. In the middle of the recording session, Kenny realizes there must be more to the song than he sees on the page, but Lionel is nowhere to be seen. “So I asked James Carmichael, Lionel’s coproducer, and he said, ‘here’s how it goes… when you go in to sing, you get what is written so far.’ I said, ‘Well, what do we do now?’ James said, ‘Lionel is actually in the toilet writing the second verse.’” Kenny describes the whirlwind success like this: “Between 1977 and 1985, we managed to turn out fifteen Number One hits, each of them a story of its own.” At the climax of his popularity, even the Christmas songs he recorded with Dolly Parton sold more than seven million albums. And then it was over. The last Number One song was a Grammy Award winner duet with Ronnie Milsap in 1987. Kenny tells us, “After that, I couldn’t buy a hit.” Kenny slipped back into the acting business and tangled himself in scandal that splattered his picture in the tabloids. The gilded luster of all his awards was tainted with the ever present shutter snap of the paparazzi. Then he met Wanda. His wedding song to her sums up the outpouring of his heart. Lady Luck returns once more when Kenny plays “The Greatest” during a live radio interview in New York. This success is sweeter still with a television special celebrating the first fifty years of Kenny’s touring. Ultimately through the chances taken, the Gambler did better than break even. He won our hearts. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn The Longest Race By Ed Ayres The Experiment, $27.95, 232 pages Check this out! Ed Ayres has been a runner for fiftyfive years; he is considered a legend in ultramarathon running. He was also, for thirteen years, editorial director of the Worldwatch Institute, where he read “reports from environmental scientists documenting what appeared to be the

declining stability and sustainability of our civilization.” He has used this unique combination of experiences to create a thought-provoking book that explores the parallels between the ways in which an ultrarunner handles the physical and mental stresses of his sport and how we as inhabitants of this planet can manage our resources in such a way that our civilization can endure. For example, rest and recovery, so important to an ultrarunner, are also vital to sustainable agriculture, as soils need to regenerate so that crop yields will not diminish. With a very lucid, almost conversational, writing style, he shows how

lessons learned in efficient management of the body’s resources while on the long run can be applied by all of us to the care of the planet. Even if you are not an ultrarunner, or any kind of runner at all, you will find valuable observations that can be applied to your own life. Reviewed by Paul Mullinger

Category

History & Current Events SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars By Kurt Eichenwald Touchstone, $30.00, 611 pages Check this out! This is a stunningly good, and often sad and depressing, account of the first five hundred days of the Bush administration’s response to 9/11. As detailed here, a number of innocent people were labeled as dangerous terrorists and were either tortured or lost their lives. Yet, author Eichenwald appears to be both sympathetic to, and critical of, the people who worked in the White House and in the U.S. intelligence system. The Bush White House was guided during these five hundred days by a Berkeley law professor who incredibly advised that, “...we do have the right to violate international law.” John Woo, a Republican lawyer, asserted that the executive’s power was virtually unbounded; a latter-day acceptance of Nixon’s version of an imperial presidency beyond the review of the courts and Congress. Fortunately for this country, a number of other government lawyers were fully prepared to take on Woo. One noted of Woo’s postion: “Adopting these standards would invite enemies to torture American soldiers.” These were days when fear and hatred led to a trampling of individual human rights; a national tragedy was exploited by extremists. Let’s hope that this account prevents us from repeating such a misguided, unfortunate chapter in our national history. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano

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On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks By Simon Garfield Gotham, $27.50, 464 pages Check this out! With careful detail, this fascinating history takes the reader from the earliest recorded maps to the electronic and satellite-generated maps of today. Starting with the first world maps from the Great Library at Alexandria through maps for the casual leisure tourist, and even epidemiological maps, social media maps, maps of the head and maps of the brain, we are taken on a journey of discovery ... about maps. We take a peek at details of medieval maps, showing fabulous creatures like dragons and the Bonacon, who may ambush you on the way to heaven, or Jerusalem. We find the drama of stolen maps, and the competition among mapmakers to produce the best maps in the world. Maps are so important they influence history; for example, the Mountains of Kong, shown on many eighteenth-century maps, looked so forbidding they discouraged exploration of the African interior for decades, although they don’t actually exist. Here are stories of maps that have influenced politics, supported bigotry, spurred conquest and euphemized atrocity; but also there are redeeming accounts of individuals’ quests for knowledge—of the world or of the mind. Well-written and always engaging, this book will bring out your own inner map enthusiast. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner

Book Reviews hundred miles away when the poison was administered. Ah ha! It’s an impossible crime which means the call goes out to Detective Galileo. How can someone put poison into a cup of coffee when she’s on the other side of Japan? The answer is one of the most original I can recall encountering. I’ve been reading mysteries and watching movies and television shows for more than fifty years, and I’ve never seen this before. It’s a wonderful answer! So read this or miss out! You may be interested to know this is also available as an audiobook from Macmillan Audio. Reviewed by David Marshall

Category

Mystery SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Live by Night By Dennis Lehane William Morrow, $27.99, 403 pages Check this out! Live by Night by Dennis Lehane is a fast-paced crime novel that is set in Boston and West Florida in the 1920s, during the days of Prohibition and the endless crime associated with it. Joe Coughlin’s father is a well-known Boston police officer, but that hasn’t stopped Joe from entering a life of crime and trying to get lots of dollars of his own. As a member of one of the major crime rings, the last thing Joe expected was to fall for the mistress of one of the bosses of a major criminal gang. On top of that, Joe finds himself caught up in the death of some police officers and on the wrong side of everybody, landing him in jail. Joe gets a break in the penitentiary, which leads to him heading up operations for Maso, another big boss with operations in Florida. Lehane writes with a skilled hand. He brings to each scene a believable amount of detail and successfully develops his characters so that, even though they are criminals, readers will feel some empathy for the situations in which they find themselves. Lehane is the author of nine other novels, a collection of short stories, and a play. Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey Salvation of a Saint By Keigo Higashino Minotaur, $24.99, 330 pages Check this out! I begin this review with a warning, but not an apology. When we get a chance, we fans deserve the chance to shout praise from the rooftops, hoping others will hear and join us in our slavish devotion. In this case, I’m completely nuts about “Detective Galileo.” I pause for a moment because I’m forced to acknowledge I’m in a tiny minority here in America. Sadly, the cult of Galileo has yet to reach our shores. So think of

me as an advance scout for an invading detective. It’s my job to infi ltrate and prepare the ground for my hero to arrive to a massive welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, without more ado, I introduce to you, Keigo Higashino, probably Japan’s best mystery writer. It all began back in 1998 with the publication in Japan of Tantei Galileo. This was our first chance to meet Dr. Manabu Yukawa. He’s one of Japan’s leading physicists and an all-round genius. As a student, he made friends with Shumpei Kusanagi — they shared a love of badminton — who has now become a senior detective with the Tokyo police. When he gets an “impossible” case, he asks his old friend for help. As a result, the physicist has become an informal consultant, earning the nickname “Detective Galileo.” The view of our solitary genius is enhanced by the arrival of Kaoru Utsumi. She’s a newly appointed detective and blessed with top-class instincts. Not unnaturally, this puts her on a collision course with the strictly rational professor, but the success of the investigations is often due to the tension between these two characters. In 2005, we get the first novel, translated and published as The Devotion of Suspect X (Minotaur Books, 2011). In 2007, there was a ten-episode run of Galileo stories on Japanese television. Followed by a movie based on the first novel. It’s called The Sacrifice of Suspect X and is one of the best movies of 2008. No matter what your prejudices about subtitles, this is worth watching. The first novel (and the movie version) is a remarkable inverted crime story. We now come to Salvation of a Saint (translated by Alexander O Smith). This is a classic police procedural in which Shumpei Kusanagi and Kaoru Utsumi are allocated what first appears a suicide, but quickly becomes a murder inquiry. Kaoru Utsumi’s instincts tell her the victim’s wife did it, except there’s incontrovertible evidence, she was several

The Bookseller: The First Hugo Marston Novel By Mark Pryor Seventh Street Books, $15.95, 309 pages Check this out! The Bookseller by Mark Pryor is a real pageturner. This is what thriller writers always aim to produce and so often fail to get right. It gives us a great sense of Paris as a location. Here we are on the banks of the Seine with the bouquinistes, those hardy folk who stand out in all weathers selling secondhand books and memorabilia. Our hero, Hugo Marston, is something of a collector, and he’s made friends with Max. One day,

he sees Max kidnapped. If this had been in America, he would have drawn his gun and rescued his friend, but, as a member of the US Embassy staff, he can’t act as a French police officer. He has to call for help. You would think this would be straightforward. After all, the boat carrying his friend away is not moving very quickly. Unfortunately, the detective assigned to the case is not impressed by the story. Angry, our hero sets out to find his friend. What then happens is a very pleasing blend of mystery and thriller. Our hero is a good analyst. He likes to solve puzzles. If necessary, he can shoot and fight. You can’t ask for better than this. Reviewed by David Marshall

Traveling the Mother Road this Spring?

Download the Guide to Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for diners on this route and many others.

Tulsa Book Review • March 2013 • 13

Book Reviews Category

Mind & Body Fitness SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Holy Spokes!: A Biking Bible for Everyone By Rob Coppolillo Zest Books, $12.99, 186 pages Check this out! Biking folks seem to be entirely different people sometimes. Holy Spokes looks at bikes, including the advantages and problems with the basic types. It also contains advice on racing, from BMX to marathon, as well as discussing basic repair. A wide variety of tips and tricks, as well as small pieces from some of biking’s pantheon, make this a very condensed bible for bikers. This is a very cool book. It gets in, says what it has to, and gets out and expands on some of the points, allowing it to say a lot while wasting very little verbiage. Coppolillo covers a lot of territory, and he does so as fast as he can while making sure that he covers the material thoroughly. This is a bachelor-level read on how to take care of your bike, how to be part of the biking community, and why you absolutely must get a bike. For those who want to get a pretty good book for beginning bikers that, at the same time, will not bore a more experienced one, this little volume is a great choice. Reviewed by Jamais Jochim

SEAL Survival Guide: A Navy SEAL’s Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster By Cade Courtley Gallery Books, $19.99, 344 pages Check this out! Cade Courtley spent years as a Navy SEAL, using his intensive training to do various important covert activities. Now he’s putting his knowledge and experience to work for everyone; his new book literally gives anybody the basics needed to survive any bad situation imaginable. He starts out with tips about becoming mentally and physically fit and then moves on to disaster scenarios. Learn how to respond to animal attacks, a bridge collapsing, a tsunami, or an “active shooter” incident. What do you do when you or someone else is struck by lightning? Gets lost in the mountains? Falls victim to a nuclear attack? Find these answers and more in this clear, concisely-written book. Courtley’s anecdotes help add a sense of reality, that this information is there to be used, not just to be read through and never thought of again. Make sure to study the chapters on improvised weapons and basic medical care; these could potentially be lifesaving someday! There’s a lot to take in here, but this book is a worthy addition to your bookshelf, or perhaps a great gift for any self-reliant sort of person. Reviewed by Holly Scudero

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BESTSELLERS COMING SOON Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.

Bombshell by Catherine Coulter

FBI Special Agent Griffin Hammersmith, last seen in Backfire, has been recruited by Dillon Savich to join his unit in Washington, D.C. Savich sees something special in Hammersmith, an almost preternatural instinct for tracking criminals. While on his way to D.C., Hammersmith plans to visit his sister, Delsey, a student at Stanislaus School of Music in Virginia. Before he arrives, he gets a phone call that Delsey was found naked, unconscious and covered with blood after a wild party. The blood isn’t hers – so who does it belong to? Meanwhile, back in D.C., Savich and Sherlock have their hands full when the grandson of former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank is found murdered, every bone in his body broken, and frozen at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. Was Savich right – is Griffin gifted with a unique ability to “see” how criminals think? And will he figure out who was behind the attempt on Delsey’s life before it’s too late?

True Love by Jude Deveraux

The New York Times bestselling author of unforgettable romance returns with the sexy first book in a brand-new series: the Nantucket Brides trilogy. Set on the magical island of Nantucket, True Love introduces characters from the new generation of Montgomerys and Taggerts, the beloved families from Deveraux’s classic novels.

Tell Me by Lisa Jackson

The most hated woman in Savannah, Ga., is about to be set free. Twenty years ago, Blondell O’Henry was convicted of murdering her eldest daughter and wounding her two other children. The prosecution said that beautiful, selfish Blondell wanted to be rid of them to be with her lover. Now Blondell’s son, Niall, has recanted his testimony and demolished the case. Reporter Nikki Gillette is determined to get the true story, and not just for professional reasons. Blondell’s murdered daughter, Amity, was Nikki’s childhood friend. The night

she died, Amity begged Nikki to meet with her, insisting she had a secret to tell, but Nikki didn’t go. Her guilt is compounded by other complications – Nikki’s favorite uncle, Alexander, was the attorney who helped save Blondell from execution, and rumors swirl that he was one of her many lovers. Nikki’s fiancé, Detective Pierce Reed, is concerned she may be compromising the case. As she digs for answers during one of the most sweltering summers in Savannah’s history, he also worries for her safety. Everyone involved seems to have secrets!

Second Honeymoon by James

Patterson and Howard Roughan A walk down the aisle, a resort hotel, a drink on the beach ... for these unlucky couples, the honeymoon’s over. A newlywed couple steps into the sauna in their deluxe honeymoon suite – and never steps out again. When another couple is killed while boarding their honeymoon flight to Rome, it becomes clear that someone is targeting honeymooners, and it’s anyone’s guess which happy couple is next on the list. FBI Agent John O’Hara is deep into solving the case, while Special Agent Sarah Brubaker is hunting another ingenious serial killer, whose victims all have one chilling thing in common. As wedding hysteria rises to a frightening new level, John and Sarah work ever more closely together in a frantic attempt to decipher the logic behind two rampages.

Beautiful Day by Elin

Hilderbrand The Carmichaels and the Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride’s late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter’s future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event – but in reality, things are far from perfect. While the couple-to-be are quite happy, their loved ones find their own lives crumbling. In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken and healed.

Book Reviews

Category

Fantasy

Popular Culture

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Magic for a Price: An Allie Beckstrom Novel By Devon Monk Roc, $7.99, 352 pages Check this out! The last time readers met up with Allison Beckstrom, a dying man warned her that two of the most corrupt magic users were headed in her direction, intent on destroying Portland and taking control of all magic. Author Devon Monk is back with Magic for a Price, the outstanding ninth book in the Allie Beckstrom urban fantasy series. This excellent collection is fi lled with fascinating characters, magic, mystery, intrigue, fast-paced adventure, and cliff hanger endings. With each new book, more of the fate of each character is revealed, and the complex plot grows. Magic is still tainted and Allie is in charge of finding a way to purify the wells that store the city’s supply of magic. Allie is growing used to her dead father possessing half her mind, although she still doesn’t fully trust him. He has a plan to get magic into the right hands, but following it might cost Allie everything. Stone the gargoyle is back with a more important role than ever. Shamus and Terric must figure out if they are true Soul Complements. Start with the first book for an enjoyable magical journey. Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin Redoubt: Book Four of the Collegium Chronicles (A Valdemar Novel) By Mercedes Lackey DAW, $25.95, 330 pages Check this out! It seems as if life is great for Herald Trainee Mags. He has his Companion, Dallen, and his classes, and kirball training is about to start again. His best friends, Bear and Lena, are in love, his special training with Nikolas is going well, and he thinks he just might be in love with Amily. And then everything goes horribly wrong, and Mags finds himself in the custody of kidnappers. By the time he works his way out of his drug-induced fever, he’s pretty sure he’s somewhere in Karse. Can he escape and somehow make his way back home?

The fourth book in Mercedes Lackey’s Collegium Chronicles, Redoubt brings eager readers back to the beloved world of Valdemar. Readers who have read the first three books featuring Mags will be elated at this new volume and the ways in which his saga unfolds, and either frustrated or overjoyed at the fact that his story isn’t over yet; as with past volumes, Redoubt provides closure for the immediate story but makes it clear more books are to come. An exciting read and a must for Valdemar fans! Reviewed by Holly Scudero The Rise of Ransom City By Felix Gilman Tor Books, $25.99, 368 pages Check this out! The Rise of Ransom City completes the best fantasy duology of the last five years. Starting with The Half-Made World, Felix Gilman has created a wonderful allegory allowing us a different way of understanding how a nation grows. There’s always a core of infrastructure and cultural norms to anchor the emergence of a new state, but everything else is in a state of flux as the people build new social structures and develop new principles to guide their lives. In the thrust to push into the American West, two inventions came to be the dominant drivers of growth: the railroad and the gun. In this pair of books, the technology has become animate and “enslaves” those who worship the power they deliver for transport and defense. In the midst of this half-made world comes an invention: the Ransom Process. It’s a source of free energy and, as a side effect, it can also kill the spirits of the Rail and Gun. The question, of course, is whether growth stalls if people no longer worship railways and guns. The answer supplied is that no change ever comes without a price tag but, in most cases, the people move on. Reviewed by David Marshall

Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation By Loren Collins Prometheus Books, $19.00, 267 pages Check this out! People can easily be fooled, and common sense is not always the best indicator of truth. Subject to all sorts of biases and prejudices, even the most rational among us can be convinced, by faulty arguments, to believe the unbelievable. Bullspotting was originally conceived to dispel the rumors that Barak Obama is ineligible to be the President of United States – the argument of the ‘Birthers’ – but ultimately expanded to include many other types of misinformation such as hoaxes, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience/law/history, and even misattributed quotations. Specific instances, such as those who believe in a Yeti or in Young Earth Creationism, JFK conspiracists, Holocaust and Moon Landing Deniers, alien abduction and reflexology believers, as well as many others, are used to illustrate faulty logic used by those expounding the false information. For example, a critical reader may notice that the proponents of a certain theory have no training in that field, or that a conspiracist only points out anomalies in the prevailing or accepted explanation, but cannot offer any credible alternatives. Bullspotting is an entertaining and intelligent invitation to brush up on our analytical and critical thinking skills and approach wild theories with a heavy dose of skepticism. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner

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The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era By Jessica Fellowes, Matthew Sturgis St. Martin’s Press, $29.99, 320 pages Check this out! Just like the third season of Downton Abbey, the indispensable companion book has arrived. If you haven’t caught the Downton Abbey bug, then The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis is probably not the book for you. But if you are one of the millions who have tuned into PBS to learn the fate of the Crawleys, then you will certainly appreciate the lush photographs, the explanations of the era, and the complex character sketches. The photographs of the props, such as household lists or letters from John to Anna, create a sense of depth and intimacy to the fictional family. The text, interspersed with outtakes from the script, gives the reader a rich overview of the action that has already passed. In January, the third season of the series started and is a focus of the book (which includes some characters who are not introduced until this season and ignores some who have come before). Julian Fellowes, the series creator, wrote the foreword. Jessica Fellowes, his wife and author of The World of Downton Abbey, and Matthew Sturgis, a writer and critic, share the book’s byline. Downton Abbey fans won’t be disappointed.

Honoring CĂŠsar ChĂĄvez With Our Stories and Featuring Author Rilla Askew Tuesday, March 26 7 p.m. 918.549.7590

The human consequences of harsh