Staff Recommendations
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How To Cook Everything: The Basics: All You Need To Make Great Food
by Bittman, Mark
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionDecember 7, 2012
Call Number: 641.5 B624-1 2012
It is one of the worst comments made about someone who is a rotten cook: “They don’t even know how to boil water!” Well, if you have never done it, or if you have never seen what it looks like--boiling water--then one of the most basic techniques in food preparation can produce a bad, if not inedible, meal. And, if the inexperienced cook mistakes simmering water for boiling, and puts in pasta or rice, the end product will be a globby mess of starch.
For over twenty years Mark Bittman has been nudging, pushing and cajoling people to do their own cooking and has been... Read Full Review
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The man who changed the way we eat : Craig Claiborne and the American food renaissance
by McNamee, Thomas, 1947-
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionDecember 3, 2012
Call Number: 641.092 C585Mc
Craig Claiborne’s name is not readily, if at all, familiar to foodies or anyone else these days. But he is one of the great godparents of today’s food world. In the late 1950’s he changed and molded our modern ideas and attitudes about food, eating, entertaining and dining out. He found his passion in food and wrote about it, and broke major barriers to do so. Prior to Claiborne’s position as food editor at The New York Times, articles about food, homey little recipes, and maybe a nod or two to a well-known restaurant were part of the “women’s... Read Full Review
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Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center
Reviewed by: Vi Thục Hà, Senior Librarian, International Languages DepartmentNovember 30, 2012
Call Number: 709.794 C5825
During the past two years, Southern California cultural institutions joined together to celebrate the Los Angeles art scene from 1945-1980. Pacific Standard Time, the unprecedented undertaking funded by The Getty, celebrated the multiplicity of artists and works created during this fertile period; the exhibits covered by more than 60 cultural institutions included such topics as ceramics, racial identity, feminism, photography, local history, design and architecture.
The exhibitions are long gone now, but quite a study can be achieved through the museum catalogs that have come out of... Read Full Review
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The ghost brigades
by Scalzi, John
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 28, 2012
Call Number: SF
What if you knew, from almost the moment you were conscious, the exact and precise reason for your existence? Would it be helpful or would it be a limitation? And how would free will--the ability to choose--be manifested in this circumstance? These are some of the questions explored in The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi.
In Old Man's War, Scalzi created and explored the Colonial Union and the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF), which recruits aging humans from... Read Full Review
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Tell the wolves I'm home : a novel
by Brunt, Carol Rifka
Reviewed by: Mary McCoy, Senior Librarian, Art, Music, & Recreation DepartmentNovember 26, 2012
Call Number: F
June Elbus is fourteen the year her life changes forever. It’s the winter of 1987, and in just a few short weeks, the FDA will approve AZT for AIDS patients; however, it doesn’t come soon enough for her beloved uncle and godfather, Finn, a well-known but reclusive artist.
Finn means everything to June, and he's the only person in her family who seems to understand her. He takes her to Renaissance Faires and Merchant Ivory films, while her accountant parents leave dinner simmering in the crockpot, and June and her sister, Greta, become tax season orphans. Finn... Read Full Review
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Shadow and Bone
by Bardugo, Leigh
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryNovember 19, 2012
Call Number: YA
What if you believed yourself to be completely and utterly ordinary, and you were afraid that this lack of “specialness” was going to cost you your best friend, who is charismatic and talented? And then, in a single moment, you became someone unique, valued, and even perceived as a threat. In the process, you are sent to live in a palace and presented to the king, but you also have been separated from your friend and now may never see him again. Can this be real or is everyone mistaken? How can you possibly be the person who will save your kingdom? And is it worth it if you... Read Full Review
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Blue Sky Metropolis: The Aerospace Century in Southern California
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionNovember 5, 2012
Call Number: 338.4A17 B6585
The aerospace industry, more than the entertainment industry, created a monumental population growth within a short period of time and changed the Southern California region in unimagined and unthought of ways which still have repercussions today. This unique collection of essays examines various aspects of the growth of that industry. The contributors are from different disciplines and therefore provide a spirited discussion in several subject areas: the human element, the work, the culture, the communities and the geography. This is not intended to be a complete history of the aerospace... Read Full Review
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Cemetery John : the undiscovered mastermind of the Lindbergh kidnapping
by Zorn, Robert E.
Reviewed by: Robyn Myers, Management Analyst, Branch Library ServicesOctober 29, 2012
Call Number: 364.92 H374Zo
In 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh was arguably the most famous man in the world. His solo transatlantic flight in 1927 made him the subject of public fascination and adulation. But fame was not something that Lindbergh craved. He took his family to live on a rambling, isolated estate in Englewood, New Jersey, believing that living in such a remote location would keep them safe. He was wrong.
On the night of March 1, 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., called Charlie, was snatched from his crib in the upstairs nursery. Left behind were a ransom note and a handmade ladder. Contact with the... Read Full Review
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The map of the sky : a novel
by Palma, Felix J.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryOctober 8, 2012
Call Number: F
What if an author wrote and published a novel dealing with an extraordinary occurrence, and within a year the described event happened? Would the author have special insight into what had happened? Would the novel’s publication and the event be seen as coincidence? Or, would s/he be seen as being somehow complicit in bringing these circumstances to life? And what if the fate of Earth rested on the answers to these questions? These are just some of the intriguing ideas explored in Felix J. Palma’s The Map of the Sky.
On August 1, 1898, a large, strange metallic... Read Full Review
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Babylon : Mesopotamia and the birth of civilization
by Kriwaczek, Paul.
Reviewed by: Eileen Ybarra, Librarian III, Electronic ResourcesSeptember 24, 2012
Call Number: 935.8 K92 2012
For a sweeping, epic and vivid historical survey of ancient Mesopotamia, this book by Paul Kriwaczek is a great choice. Kriwaczek takes the reader through a deftly written overview of the various cultures, emperors and kings that swept through the Mesopotamian region over the course of centuries. Specifically, he covers the years 4000-700 BCE. This is not an academic or dry text, but rather a book that makes the daily lives of many people of that time come alive, not only in descriptions of the rulers and elite classes, but also in the descriptions of the average person. The author also... Read Full Review
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The keeper of lost causes
by Adler-Olsen, Jussi.
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionSeptember 17, 2012
Call Number: F
The thrills of the tightly wrought suspense/mystery novels from Scandinavia continue with the first English translation of The Keeper of Lost Causes by Denmark’s top crime writer, Jussi Adler-Olsen. This is the first book in the Department Q series whose main protagonist is Detective Carl Mørck, selected to run the new department which investigates and dogs down cold cases. It is an outstanding thriller, and more than a match for the works of Stieg Larsson.
These are some of the events and themes that are tightly woven into the plot of this captivating book that cannot... Read Full Review
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This dark endeavor : the apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
by Oppel, Kenneth
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibrarySeptember 10, 2012
Call Number: YA
If you found out that a close member of your immediate family was ill, and the doctors treating your family member seemed incapable of curing him, what would you do? Would you seek out other types of treatment--even illegal ones? Would you consult with a person convicted of practicing “dark arts,” or even attempt to practice them yourself? What would you choose to do to save a family member at risk of dying? These are some of the questions explored in Kenneth Oppel’s This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein.
Twins Konrad and Victor... Read Full Review