Plymouth Librarians' Choice

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy.
Teen Zone Non-Fiction - Main Level - 614.541 M

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live during the birth of America? Well An American Plague by Jim Murphy provides a window into that time and specifically explores the yellow fever sickness that ripped through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the hot summer and fall months of 1793. At the time, Philadelphia was our nation’s capitol and important national affairs were conducted within the city. However, once yellow fever hit, our nation’s capitol ground to a halt. Many inhabitants left the city, including our first president George Washington. In fact, the fear, pain, and death caused by yellow fever created a mass exodus of flight among Philadelphia's citizens.

Jim Murphy has written a gripping and true tale that is educational and interesting. Explored within its contents are: the yellow fever illness, how doctors treated it, theories of its causes, and how the city of Philadelphia dealt with this crippling tragedy. The account ends with a hopeful yet cautious tone of warning that such a tragedy could occur again if people do not remain vigilant in prevention of this disease. If you are looking for a fiction companion to this book you may want to try Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
Cd Book Shelves – Main Level – BINCHY

Talking to a spiritual well? That is not the half of it in this delightful Irish tale!

Whitethorn Woods is a fascinating story of ordinary people who all have a connection to a small town in Ireland—Rossmore. Rossmore is home to the Whitethorn Woods and nestled within these woods is the famous St. Ann's Well. St. Ann’s Well brings peace to many who visit over the years as they pray for everything from healing an illness to finding a special someone. Now there are talks of a new highway to be built right though the woods which will destroy the famous St. Ann’s Well.

Young Father Flynn is a mentor for the townspeople of Rossmore, and he does not know which side of the issue to fall upon, progress or hope. As Father Flynn listens to his brethren, the story of Whitethorn Woods truly unfolds because the voices of all those who have had a connection to this Well are explored. Some are simple tales of friends and lovers; others are tales of deceit, shock, and even murder. What will happen to these people and their famous St. Ann’s Well? Maeve Binchy has created a marvelously unique and fascinating tale that will be hard to stop once it is started!

The audio book version of Whitethorn Woods is delightful. Read by Sile Bermingham and Paul Michael in true Irish style, the listener will be entranced by the personal stories of the inhabitants and relations of Rossmore, Ireland. Binchy’s characters are very well developed and deliciously human. Any listener that takes the time to travel to this small Irish town is surely in for a special treat!

Celebrate Earth Day, Spring, and our new Gardening Collection all at the same time.

Ann Lovejoy's Organic Garden Design School by Ann Lovejoy
Adult Gardening Collection – Upper Level – 635.0484 L

Organic gardening may be good for the planet, but Lovejoy gets into that only briefly in this comprehensive look at organic garden design. For her, the primary benefits of an organic garden are minimal care, plants that thrive without taking over, and gardens that tie into the surrounding landscapes. The pictures are beautiful, and the descriptions inspiring. The hitch, of course, is the amount of planning and research that goes into making these extremely site-specific gardens - since she's from the West, you'll want to pair this with one of our books on Michigan gardening. The book leads you through it all, though, concluding with a 30-pages workbook to help figure out what you want and how to get there. If you follow the steps, you’ll be rewarded with a garden that needs little more than annual compost to keep it beautiful.

Carnivale by Daniel Knauf
DVD Collection - Main Level - TV CAR

Set in the 1930’s dustbowl, Carnivale tells the tale of Ben Hawkins an escaped convict who is coming to terms with the mysterious powers he has had all his life. After his mother passes away and he loses his home, he is swept up by fate in the form of a traveling carnival. The ensemble is led by the carnival manager Samson (who many might recognize dancing in the red room in Twin Peaks), as well as a cast full of distinct characters like Ruthie the snake charmer, Sophie who reads fortunes by communicating with her comatose mother, and Lodz the blind mentalist who might have more sinister plans for Ben.

While all the various character interactions are part of the charm, the plot is as epic and sweeping as they come, foretelling the last great age of magic that will end an age-old battle between a being of light and darkness. However be warned, Carnivale resembles the structure and pacing of a book with a slow progression revealing a much bigger picture. So don’t expect a fast pace or all your questions to be answered right away. However, the show rewards those who wait, culminating in a spectacular second season finale. Unfortunately the finale would be the last episode of the series which is quite disappointing considering series creator Daniel Knauf had a six season plan in mind. Nevertheless, Carnivale is a unique and worthwhile series that has garnered five Emmy’s and a legion of disgruntled fans who want a conclusive ending.

Slings & Arrows
DVD Collection - Main Level - TV SLI

What’s not to love about a show whose opening song is titled “Cheer up, Hamlet!”? This a darkly comedic Canadian TV miniseries is about the New Burbage Theatre, smaller but very similar to Stratford, Ontario. At the heart of the show are three characters: Oliver (Stephen Ouimette), the jaded artistic director; Ellen (Martha Burns), the company’s lead actress, currently maintaining her youth with a string of much younger lovers; and Geoffrey Tenant (Paul Gross), director of a tiny and failing theater in Toronto. Seven years previously, these three were in an acclaimed production of Hamlet, Oliver directing and Ellen and Geoffrey playing the leads. In the middle of the third performance, Geoffrey went mad, jumping into Ophelia’s grave and then running away. At the end of the first episode, a very drunk Oliver calls Geoffrey to talk about the past. When Geoffrey refuses to talk to him, he falls down in the street and is run over by a truck labeled “Canada’s Best Hams.” Now, Geoffrey has been asked to be the interim artistic director and Oliver is haunting him. The current lead production is again Hamlet, and a young American action star has been asked to play the lead. We also follow a young apprentice actor, Kate, as perfectly winning an ingénue as you could ask for. Meanwhile, American executive Holly Day is convincing the already business-oriented financial director, Richard, that New Burbage would make a lot more money if it were transformed into a peppy and commercialized Shakespeareville. I was flabbergasted by it all: the dark humor and snappy dialogue, the depth of the musings on theater and humanity, the sheer number of pots kept merrily bubbling at the same time. For those with theater backgrounds, this is absolute perfection. It’s also excellent TV.

Nacho and Lolita by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
Youth Nonfiction– Lower Level – j398.20972R

Despite their differences, Nacho, a beautiful, rare bird settles at a Mission in California, and befriends Lolita, a migratory sparrow. As time passes, Nacho realizes that he must part with Lolita, as he is unable to migrate. With high hopes of seeing Lolita again, Nacho forfeits his own beauty by releasing his magical, colorful feathers throughout the bland countryside to create a vibrant landscape so that the sparrows might return next year. A story of love and friendship, separation and longing, this story shows that having people (or birds) in one’s life far outweighs having everything, yet no-one.

Hungry Planet: what the world eats photographed by Peter Menzel; written by Faith D’Aluisio
Adult Non-Fiction - Upper Level - 641.3 M

Everybody eats. This book is an intimate look at one of the most universal activities—eating. Photographer Peter Menzel and journalist Faith D’Aluisio chronicled 30 families in 24 countries. These profiles vividly depict family life and offer a close-up of food gathering and eating around the globe. Each family purchased a week’s worth of groceries and arranged a family portrait with their food; whether it was sacks of grain and plantains or pizzas and packaged cereals. The stories give an inside look at their shopping and eating habits, and recipes for special dishes are included. Sidebars provide enough information to fill an atlas. The cost of Big Macs, cigarette use, and alcohol consumption are some of the data featured for each nation.

We meet families including the Baintons of Great Britain, whose charming portrait includes Polo the terrier and his box of kibble. Meanwhile, the Natomos of Mali struggle to feed a family of nine children on $26.39 a week. Another picture shows a TV satellite dish in Bhutan used as a container to dehydrate chili peppers. While the photography is gorgeous, it’s the issues that these images bring to light that make this book so fascinating.

Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures by George Sullivan.
New Book Shelves – Lower Level – JBIO KELLER

There have been many biographies written about the humanitarian Hellen Keller. She is a woman of great inspiration given the fact that she was blind and deaf by the age of two years and yet was still able to lead an amazingly productive and accomplished life.

Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures by George Sullivan is a simple and beautiful biography about this amazing woman who went to college, wrote books, and helped countless millions with disabilities. The book opens with a foreword written by Helen’s great-grandniece, Keller Johnson Thompson, and braille is used to show letters and numbers throughout the text. The story tells about Helen’s early years, her bond with Annie Sullivan, and all of her accomplishments until death. Sprinkled throughout the simple paragraphs are lovely black and white photographs of Helen, her family and friends, and their adventures together. Helen Keller is a true American hero, and a person that all people, especially the young, should learn about in life.

>The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
New Book Shelves – Upper Level – 330.122 K

Journalist Klein gives us a superbly researched look at the intersection of modern economics, politics and poverty that ranks among the most disturbing things I have ever read, on par with the literature I read for the Theology of the Holocaust class I took in college.

The current popular theory of economics started in parallel with two seemingly unrelated people. One was a psychologist named Ewan Cameron, who researched how to break down personalities. At the same time, a man named Milton Friedman was developed a new theory of economics. Instead of controlling businesses and taxing businesses and people to level society, Friedman claimed that capitalism could regulate itself, and become a thing of abstract beauty. The way to get there was to shock a people or a nation into acceptance, either by the sheer economic shock of making massive changes all at once or using whatever means were necessary.

Continue reading "The Shock Doctrine" »

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Adult Graphic Novels-Main Level SAN

To anyone who might be remotely familiar with comics, the world of Sandman is probably not new to you. To those who aren’t and are looking for a place to start, this is it. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, eighteen Eisner Awards, two Bram Stoker Illustrated Narrative Awards, and one of the first comic books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list, The Sandman is one of the most highly regarded and influential graphic novels ever made.

The plot revolves around a group of beings known as the Endless that are anthropomorphic manifestations of human existence. While the focus of the story is on Dream, the other siblings Death, Destiny, Despair, Destruction, Delirium (who used to be Delight), and Desire all weave their way into the narrative forming a very unique dysfunctional family.

What makes the Sandman so interesting is Neil Gaiman's ability to take various mythological, theological, literary, and philosophical threads and weave them together to create a rich satisfying story. Where else can William Shakespeare perform “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” to the very Faerie folk that inhabit his story, or Thor, Odin and Loki from Norse mythology, Anubis and Bast from Egyptian mythology, Susanoo-no-mikoto from Japanese mythology, and a pair of angels from Christianity all vie for the key to hell? Besides all these grand themes intertwining, The Sandman also has the ability to examine the small emotional moments that make us human. Not merely a comic book, The Sandman is an important literary work that has helped break the barriers much like Maus did in the past and Persepolis does now.