Fox Lake District Library: Hot Titles

Publishers Weekly : Bestseller Cornwell's solid 17th thriller to feature Dr. Kay Scarpetta (after Scarpetta) finds Scarpetta—who's the senior forensic analyst for CNN—probing the murder of a Central Park jogger as well as looking into the disappearance of Hannah Starr, a wealthy financial planner. Quizzed on-air about previously undisclosed details of the perplexing Starr case, Scarpetta realizes that the tentacles of the case reach further than she imagined. Her niece, forensic computer whiz Lucy Farinelli, has her own reasons for digging into Starr's disappearance, along with Lucy's girlfriend, New York County ADA Jaime Berger. NYPD Det. Pete Marino, another series staple, is also in the loop as a member of Berger's task force. But it's the dark past of Scarpetta's psychologist husband, Benton Wesley—particularly his presumed death in Point of Origin and shocking reappearance five years later in Blow Fly—that binds the disparate pieces together and make this one of Cornwell's stronger recent efforts. (Oct.)

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Oprah's Book Club

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy

Library Journal : In his 17th novel (after The Phony Marine), PBS anchorman Lehrer takes a fun-filled but serious look at the pre-retirement crisis. Approaching his 60th birthday, reliable Otis Holstead reflects on his past life as husband, father, and CEO of an insurance company headquartered in Eureka, KS—and mourns the teenager who sang like Johnny Mathis and lost his high school sweetheart to a senior jock with a Cushman scooter. Determined to make the most of his remaining years, Otis runs away from home on a 1952 Cushman, subliminally bought for that purpose. An accident two days into his journey sends Otis to the hospital, where he has plenty of time to tot up his lifetime of gains and losses and plan a more effective escape, as he listens to the idle talk about him and plays mind games with doctors, nurses, family members, and friends. Lehrer has effectively captured the essence of the pre-retirement months and created a wonderfully human character determined to live a life that makes a difference. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/07.]—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms

Library Journal : In his 17th novel (after The Phony Marine), PBS anchorman Lehrer takes a fun-filled but serious look at the pre-retirement crisis. Approaching his 60th birthday, reliable Otis Holstead reflects on his past life as husband, father, and CEO of an insurance company headquartered in Eureka, KS—and mourns the teenager who sang like Johnny Mathis and lost his high school sweetheart to a senior jock with a Cushman scooter. Determined to make the most of his remaining years, Otis runs away from home on a 1952 Cushman, subliminally bought for that purpose. An accident two days into his journey sends Otis to the hospital, where he has plenty of time to tot up his lifetime of gains and losses and plan a more effective escape, as he listens to the idle talk about him and plays mind games with doctors, nurses, family members, and friends. Lehrer has effectively captured the essence of the pre-retirement months and created a wonderfully human character determined to live a life that makes a difference. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/07.]—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Publishers Weekly

SuperFreakonomics

by Steben D. Levitt

Publishers Weekly : Economist Levitt and journalist Dubner capitalize on their megaselling Freakonomics with another effort to make the dismal science go gonzo. Freaky topics include the oldest profession (hookers charge less nowadays because the sexual revolution has produced so much free competition), money-hungry monkeys (yep, that involves prostitution, too) and the dunderheadedness of Al Gore. There&'s not much substance to the authors&' project of applying economics to all of life. Their method is to notice some contrarian statistic (adult seat belts are as effective as child-safety seats in preventing car-crash fatalities in children older than two), turn it into economics by tacking on a perfunctory cost-benefit analysis (seat belts are cheaper and more convenient) and append a libertarian sermonette (governments tend to prefer the costly-and-cumbersome route). The point of these lessons is to bolster the economist&'s view of people as rational actors, altruism as an illusion and government regulation as a folly of unintended consequences. The intellectual content is pretty thin, but it&'s spiked with the crowd-pleasing provocations—'A pimp&'s services are considerably more valuable than a realtor&'s&' —that spell bestseller. (Nov.)

Newbery Medal Winners

The Midwife's Apprentice

by Karen Cushman

Publisher's Weekly : In reviewing this 1996 Newbery winner, PW said that Cushman "has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent." Ages 8-12.

Caldecott Medal Winners

The House in the Night

by Susan Marie Swansonk

Publishers Weekly : Starred Review. Using only a few graceful words per page to illuminate the dark, this bedtime gem shines its light clearly on things that matter—a home filled with books, art, music and ever-present love. Krommes's (The Lamp, the Ice, and a Boat Called Fish) astonishing illustrations are so closely intertwined with the meticulous text that neither can be isolated without a loss of meaning. The book begins, intriguingly, Here is the key to the house./ In the house burns a light./ In that light rests a bed./ On that bed waits a book. That book takes the child reader up into the skies and back home again, to sleep (dark in the song, song in the bird, / bird in the book, book on the bed). Krommes's black-and-white scratchboard illustrations are as delicate and elegant as snowflakes, and she uses a single color, a marigold, to bring warmth to both home and stars. This volume's artful simplicity, homely wisdom and quiet tone demonstrate the interconnected beauty and order of the world in a way that both children and adults will treasure. Ages 3–6. (May)

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School Library Journal : Starred Review. PreS-Gr 1—Inspired by traditional cumulative poetry, Swanson weaves a soothing song that is as luminescent and soulful as the gorgeous illustrations that accompany her words. A journey both humble and epic begins with a key to a house. "Here is the key to the house./In the house burns a light./In that light rests a bed…." In the bedroom of the house, a girl reads a book in which a bird "breathes a song…all about the starry dark." Swanson's poem then takes readers on a flight across the night sky to the realm of the moon and sun, then back along the path to the key that marked the beginning of the journey. Krommes's folk-style black-and-white etchings with touches of yellow-orange make the world of the poem an enchanted place. Patches of light and shadow give shape to the darkness, while smiling celestial bodies populate the potentially lonely night with their friendly warmth. This picture book will make a strong impression on listeners making their first acquaintance with literature. It is a masterpiece that has all the hallmarks of a classic that will be loved for generations to come.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI