New Bookshelf

Mary Kay Andrews' savory new novel Deep Dish introduces two chefs, Gina Foxton, star of Georgia's popular cooking show "Fresh Start" and Tate Moody- the rugged star of the Southern Outdoor Network show Vittles.   The two are both in the running for a chance to win a southern cooking show on The Cooking Channel.  The Cooking Channel cooks up the idea to have the two chefs compete in a new show called "Food Fight"- (think Iron Chef America meets Dinner: Impossible)  the winner of the competition receiving their own show on The Cooking Channel.  However once the cook off gets started these two chefs will find more than just dinner on the menu.  This enjoyable book is full of the Southern wit & sass that Mary Kay Andrews excels at plus delicious recipes that will make your mouth water.

In this farcical murder mystery, Caldwell takes us to the western shores of Ireland's County Kerry where we meet Aaron McCloud, who, as the story opens, is grieving over a non existant and very unrequited love back home in New York.

Our protagonist soon becomes the unwilling custodian of a very large pig who promptly digs up the skeletal remains of a missing villager. and this hilarious and entertaining story begins.

I found this book to be a pure delight in that it's a farce, a romance, and a literary satire all rolled into one package of amusement. I really enjoyed The Pig Did It and hope you will also.

I've been watching some great movies from our collection. I heartily recommend these titles:

The Waitress (New! 2007) - This film stars Kerri Russell, of Felicity fame. It tells the touching story of Jenna, waitress and pie-baker extraordninaire, who strives to escape the confines of her small-town life and disappointing marriage by relying on a few strong friendships and an unlikely romance with her obstetrician.

Arrested Development - The Complete Series - (New!) This wacky series ran on FOX from 2003 to 2006. Jason Bateman stars as Michael Bluth, the dutiful son, who tries to save his dysfunctional family from themselves while keeping the family business afloat.

The Family Stone (2005) - A great ensemble cast - including Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Luke Wilson, and Rachel McAdams - comes together in an original holiday film that is, at turns, hilarous and heartbreaking. Will uptight businesswoman Meredith ever fit in with the Sone family? And will she find love with her almost-fiance Everett Stone? Like another of my favorites, Love, Actually, this understated movie is more than the sum of its holiday parts.

Check out some of our new DVDs!

• Heroes - Season 1
  
• Arrested Development - Seasons 2 and 3
• Ken Burns' documentary, The War
•  Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko

Get on the list for these newly released and upcoming books:

• T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton  (12/07)
• The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry  (12/07)
• The Appeal by John Grisham  (1/08)
• Beverly Hills Dead by Stuart Woods  (1/08)
• Duma Key by Stephen King  (1/08)
• Light of the Moon by Luanne Rice (1/08)
• Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich (1/08)
• The Purrfect Murder: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown (1/08)
• Sizzle and Burn: An Arcane Society Novel by Jayne Ann Krentz (1/08)
• 7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (2/08)
• Death of a Gentle Lady: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M.C. Beaton (2/08)
• Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews (2/08)
• Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (2/08)
• Stranger in Paradise: A Jesse Stone Novel by Robert B. Parker (2/08)
• Strangers in Death by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb (2/08)

Allegra Goodman, author of Intuition and Paradise Park, explores the interrelated lives of three Orthodox Jewish families in her first novel, Kaaterskill Falls. I enjoyed the novel's depiction of Elizabeth Shulman, devoted wife and mother of six daughters, who chafes against the rules and norms of her community. The tension between brothers Isaiah and Jeremy Kirshner as they grapple over who will step into their father's shoes and lead the Rav's community is palpable. Goodman also paints convincing portraits of two teen girls who begin to develop their own ideas about how to live within their closed world: Rachel Melish befriends a sassy, feminist Arab girl and Chani Shulman dreams of visiting Israel. The novel is full of interesting characters, but the story moves slowly and ultimately, I read hoping that the characters would burst out of their shells and take more action. Nonetheless, the novel is subtle and convincing in its depiction of its world.

In 1989, Ken Follett thrilled readers with his best selling book of all time, Pillars of the Earth. It's been a long wait, but Follett has finally written the most anticipated sequel of the year, World Without End.

This epic, historical novel takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, 2 centuries after the building of its exquisite Gothic cathedral, told of so thrillingly in Pillars of the Earth. But this sequel is a fine example of historical fiction at its best. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas-about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In Follett's own inimitable way, intrigue and tension reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race- the Black Death.

Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End demonstrates that Ken Follett is still a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

Neuromancer - By William Gibson

Case was the hottest computer cowboy cruising the information superhighway -- jacking his consciousness into cyberspace, soaring through tactile lattices of data and logic, rustling encoded secrets for anyone with the money to buy his skills. Then he double-crossed the wrong people, who caught up with him in a big way -- burning the talent out of his brain, micron by micron. Banished from cyberspace and trapped in the meat of his physical body, Case courted death in the high-tech underworld until a shadowy conspiracy offered him a second chance -- and a cure -- for a price....

Iron HorseEngland is eagery anticipating the upcoming Derby Day at Epson Downs when a disembodied head is discovered in a hat box at the railway station in Crewe.  Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck (aka "The Railway Detective" and his assistant Sergeant Victor Leeming are assigned  to this gruesome case that soon expands to include murder, fraud, theft and race-fixing.  As the Derby approaches, Colbeck & Leeming must ask themselves just how much is someone prepared to hazard in order to win?