Announcement

Don't miss the BIG library announcement Wednesday March 2@10am! Be at the Library to be part of the excitement!

Perusing the 2011 Statistical Abstract

Perusing the 2011 Statistical Abstract: "
Can a blog about Government books not talk about Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract? I don’t think so. The 2011 edition is now available and, as usual, it’s filled with all kinds of data that tell us who and what we are as a nation and a people. Of course, many of its tables have appeared in edition after edition, but I like to focus on those that seem most in tune with current concerns and interests. After all, the Abstract’s ability to remain relevant accounts for its longevity (since 1878!)

Take, for example, Table 191, Insufficient Rest or Sleep by Number of Days and Selected Characteristics: 2008. I’m writing this on a Monday morning and feeling as if I haven’t had sufficient sleep since the late 1980s. You can’t get any more relevant than that! Data that seems ripped from the headlines is in Table 336, Financial Crimes: 2003 to 2009. Corporate fraud, securities and commodities fraud, mass marketing fraud…you get the picture.

There’s a lot of more upbeat information, too. Table 295 tells us that more and more Americans are receiving degrees every year, while Table 1237 indicates how many of us are turning out for the arts – something personally cheering for me is that 7.8 million people went to a jazz concert in 2008.

Family debt, manufacturing, national security, international statistics – there doesn’t seem to be anything that the Statistical Abstract doesn’t cover. At more than 1,000 pages, it’s an America watcher’s dream. You can lose yourself in its pages here, get a personal copy here, or peruse it in a library. Meanwhile, let me see if I can find anything on book blogs…

Check out HPL's copy!



Filed under: Census Bureau "

Library eBook Revolution, Begin

Last Friday Overdrive, the ebook provider we use, announced that one publisher was going to limit the number of checkouts of ebooks they publish to 26, after which libraries would have to buy another license. The following is a blog post from The Librarian in Black, Sarah Houghton-Jan, the Assistant Director for the San Rafael Public Library. She explains the issue very well, and includes email addresses for Overdrive and HarperCollins, the publisher in question. If you read library ebooks this change in policy would affect you. If Overdrive and HaperCollins hear from readers they might change their policy.

"Library eBook Revolution, Begin:

I care about digital content in libraries. And I am about to lose my cool in a big way. No more patience, no more waiting for advocacy groups to do their work, and certainly no more trusting vendors to negotiate good deals for us with the publishers. I am angry, I am informed, and I am ready to fight.

Overdrive CEO Steve Potash distributed a “State of Overdrive” letter that includes three highly controversial pieces of news, all highly unfavorable to libraries. This letter from Overdrive (after quite a bit of going on about how wonderful things are) then quietly drops the three bombs. Below are the excerpts, along with my commentary:

OverDrive is advocating on behalf of your readers to have access to the widest catalog of the best copyrighted, premium materials, and lending options. To provide you with the best options, we have been required to accept and accommodate new terms for eBook lending as established by certain publishers. Next week, OverDrive will communicate a licensing change from a publisher that, while still operating under the one-copy/one-user model, will include a checkout limit for each eBook licensed. Under this publisher’s requirement, for every new eBook licensed, the library (and the OverDrive platform) will make the eBook available to one customer at a time until the total number of permitted checkouts is reached. This eBook lending condition will be required of all eBook vendors or distributors offering this publisher’s titles for library lending (not just OverDrive).

Sarah’s comments: Josh Hadro at Library Journal got the scoop that the publisher is HarperCollins, and their demanded limit is 26 lifetime uses per copy. Just to be clear, this means that eBook ownership now expires after a set number of uses. Libraries no longer “own” the rights to the purchased titles for perpetuity. This is a radical change in library collection development and removes the thin veneer remaining of our ability to act as preservation entities for digital content. How could you even put this content in your catalog? You’d have to track circulation and then remove the title from your catalog once you hit your cap. Can you imagine the workload impact? This creates a dangerous precedent that other publishers are likely to want to follow. This change, yet again, creates another dividing line between how the same title is treated differently in print and in digital format. It also creates a dividing line between how libraries and consumers are treated radically differently for digital content, but not for print content. Remember though that libraries do not have the right of first sale with digital content — we never have. What we need is for digital copyright laws to change (libraries need an exemption for digital content, just as we have for physical content). We also need legislation introduced that specifies that that libraries, as public lending institutions, are not required to comply with consumer-intended terms of service.

More from Overdrive’s letter:

In addition, our publishing partners have expressed concerns regarding the card issuance policies and qualification of patrons who have access to OverDrive supplied digital content. Addressing these concerns will require OverDrive and our library partners to cooperate to honor geographic and territorial rights for digital book lending, as well as to review and audit policies regarding an eBook borrower’s relationship to the library (i.e. customer lives, works, attends school in service area, etc.).

Sarah’s comments: Requiring stringent jurisdictional borrower authentication is another huge change. Here’s an example from California. Any California resident can get a library card at just about any public library in the state. This doesn’t happen rampant, but of course many people live in one jurisdiction but use a library in another jurisdiction—perhaps closer to work or school. In our town (San Rafael), some library customers belong to the actual San Rafael Public Library jurisdiction while other customers fall under County Library jurisdiction…all based on who we pay our taxes to. But we’re all in one library consortium, so it doesn’t matter for lending. But if we are required to authenticate at the residence address level for Overdrive or other digital content vendors, it will only increase customer confusion and prevent people from even trying to use this content.

And finally from the letter:

Another area of publisher concern that OverDrive is responding to is the size and makeup of large consortia and shared collections. Publishers seek to ensure that sufficient copies of their content are being licensed to service demand of the library’s service area, while at the same time balance the interests of publisher’s retail partners who are focused on unit sales. Publishers are reviewing benchmarks figures from library sales of print books and CDs for audiobooks and do not want these unit sales and revenue to be dramatically reduced by the license of digital books to libraries.

Sarah’s comments: I don’t even know where to start with this one. Consortium collections are the only thing making digital collections feasible for those of us in public libraries with consortium lending agreements. From discussions with Overdrive about our consortium’s contract, it looks (unconfirmed) as though they are going to flat out refuse any cooperative buying and lending models–or charge an arm and a leg for them. Let me also point out that the last sentence (bolded) seems to indicate that the publishers want to make sure that libraries choosing to buy digital copies aren’t doing so as a replacement for physical copies. And if so, apparently we’re being bad and the publishers will come punish us with more restrictions and fees. What’s so bad about putting more money each year into your digital purchases in order to meet growing demand and user preferences? It would seem we’re being discouraged from digital format purchases, outright. And that, friends, is pure bullshit. That doesn’t benefit libraries, library users, or Overdrive. The publishers seem to think it benefits them, but they’re wrong. Add restrictions and lose customers. It would almost seem as if they’re trying to force us back to print only. Oh what a sad day for publishers. You are killing your own businesses.

I responded to this story when it quietly broke late yesterday, and am quoted in Hadro’s article. I reproduce my statement here because the summary of my anger and riotous outrage is more toned down that I can manage at present:

Consumer market eBook vendors like Barnes & Noble and Amazon don’t let publishers get away with the amount of nonsense that we get stuck with through library eBook vendors. I fault the publishers for not realizing what a huge mistake they are making by not realizing that new formats are opportunities–not threats to be quashed. I fault the library eBook vendors for not standing firm and saying “no” to asinine demands. And I fault the library profession for, to date, not standing up for the rights of our users. Our job is to fight for the user, and we have done a poor job of doing that during the digital content surge.

I cannot over-emphasize that we are in trouble my friends. The lack of legislative leadership and advocacy in the last decade has created a situation where libraries have lost the rights to lending and preserving content that we have had for centuries. We have lost the right to buy a piece of content, lend it to as many people as we want consecutively, and then donate or sell that item when it has outlived its usefulness (if, indeed, that ever happens at all).

I call on as many libraries as possible to contact Overdrive (email the CEO at spotash@overdrive.com) about the information contained in its letter. Ask questions, express discontent, and suggest alternatives.

I call on as many libraries as possible to contact HarperCollins (email them at library.ebook@harpercollins.com) and express dissatisfaction. Beyond that, if have decision-making power at your library I suggest you boycott their content completely–or at least boycott it in digital format.

I call on as many libraries as possible to seriously consider dropping digital content vendors with restrictions and move toward only providing open access titles and formats. Yes, that means forgoing most popular titles. But you know what? Unless we take a firm stand we will not be heard.

Many voices have come out at once recently about libraries and digital content. If you want your voice heard, check out the following groups, get involved, and scream out loudly:

• American Library Association’s Presidential Task Force on Equitable Access to Electronic Content


• Library Renewal (non-profit organized by Michael Porter)


• American Library Association’s Office of Information Technology and Policy’s eBooks Taskforce (membership list)


• Digital Public Library of America (Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society)

"

Library Journal's Reader's Shelf

Road Trip! A Literary Journey across America

Books recommended by editors at Library Journal

On the Road By Kerouac, Jack Introduction by Charters, Ann 2002-12 - Penguin Books 9780142437254 Check Our Catalog Jack Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "Beat" and has inspired every generation since its initial publication more than 40 years ago. …More

Driving Sideways By Riley, Jess 2008-05 - Ballantine Books 9780345501103 Check Our Catalog A charming new voice in fiction, much like a twenty-something Fannie Flagg, Riley tells the funny yet touching story of one woman's road trip to self-discovery after getting a new chance at life. …More

American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads By Le Draoulec, Pascale 2003-04 - Harper Perennial 9780060957322 Check Our Catalog Crossing class and color lines, and spanning the nation (Montana has its huckleberry, Pennsylvania its shoofly, and Mississippi its sweet potato), pie -- real, homemade pie -- has meaning for all of us. But in today's treadmill, take-out world -- our fast-food nation -- does pie still have a place? As she traveled across the United States in an old Volvo named Betty, Pascale Le Draoulec discovered how merely mentioning homemade pie to strangers made faces soften, shoulders relax, and memories come wafting back. Rambling from town to town with Le Draoulec, you'll meet the famous, and sometimes infamous, pie makers who share their stories and recipes, and find out how a quest for pie can lead to something else entirely. …More

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values By Pirsig, Robert M. 2005-08 - Harper Perennial 9780060839871 Check Our Catalog One of the most influential and provocative books of its generation, "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" continues to attract and inspire readers of all ages with its intriguing blend of ancient and Eastern philosophy, cultural criticism, and scientific inquiry. …More

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip...with Recipes! By Fieri, Guy With Volkwein, Ann 2008-11 - William Morrow Cookbooks 9780061724886 Check Our Catalog The Food Network star takes readers on a tour of America's most colorful diners, drive-ins, and dives, in this tie-in to his enormously popular television show. B&w photos throughout. …More

The Ride of Our Lives By Leonard, Mike 2007-05 - Ballantine Books 9780345481498 Check Our Catalog Leonard has captivated millions of television viewers with his wry and witty feature stories for NBCUs "Today." Now he brings that same engaging charm and keen insight to the foibles and passions of his own blessedly unique family. …More

Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways By Jensen, Jamie 2009-04 - Avalon Travel Publishing 9781598801019 Check Our Catalog Now in its expanded fifth edition, the bestselling "Road Trip USA" features cross-country routes and road-tested advice for adventurers who want to see the parts of America that the interstates have left behind. 140 maps. …More

Upcoming Events at Hackley Public Library

We have lots of interesting and fun events planned for December-February!

	Black History Month Calendar Contest Awards Program Saturday, February 26 2:00 pm Honoring contest winners and their families. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230.

	Evening Storytime Monday, February 28 6:45 pm Storytelling, picturebooks, fingerplays, holiday tales, and special fun.  Each session ends with a craft project.  Signup required.  Call 231-722-7276 x 230 to register.

	Friends of the Library Board Meeting Monday, February 28 4:00 - 5:00 pm. Meets at the Torrent House

	Morning Toddler Storytime Monday, February 28 11:00 am Toddlers and care givers attend Toddler Time together.  The simple books and activities are just right for kids under 3.  Signup is required.  Call 231-722-7276 x 230 to register.

	Flower Garden Planning Tuesday, March 1 6:00 pm Join Advanced Master Gardener Joe Hill to learn how to plan your flower garden.  Free and open to the public. For more information call HPL at 231-722-7276.

	Morning Storytime Tuesday, March 1 11:00 am Storytelling, picturebooks, fingerplays, holiday tales, and special fun.  Each session ends with a craft project.  Signup required.  Call 231-722-7276 x 230 to register.

	Muskegon County Genealogical Society Tuesday, March 1 6:30 - 9:30 pm.  Meets at the Torrent House

Tech Wednesday Wednesday, March 2 Tech Wednesdays   2:30 pm Each class will cover a specific topic and run from 30 – 60 minutes. No registration is required, just show up! All classes will start at 2:30 pm in the Julia Hackley Room. If you have your own laptop feel free to bring it along, otherwise these are watch and learn classes.     Dec 8:  Blogging user Blogger Dec 15:  Email Basics Jan 12:  Windows Media Player Jan 26:  Publisher Feb 9:  Powerpoint Mar 2:  Chilton online

	Intro to Zumba Tuesday, March 8 6:00 pm Zumba is a fun way to exercise.  Learn more with Lois Morris as she leads an introductory class.  Free and open to the public. For more information call HPL at 231-722-7276.

	Ulysses Group Tuesday, March 8 10:00 am Led by Fran Fisher, this book discussion group meets in the Julia Hackley Room of the Library on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00-11:30 am. For more information call 231-722-7276 x 222.

	MS Support Group Wednesday, March 9 5:30 - 6:30 pm Torrent House

	Paper Pieced Quilt Block Wednesday, March 9 6:00 pm Nancy Hartman returns with this class on pieced quilts.  Seating is limited to 15.  Registration opens Feb 23.   Nancy will be doing a repeat of this class on March 30. For more information call HPL at 231-722-7276.

Tech Wednesday-Overdrive Wednesday, March 9 Tech Wednesdays   2:30 pm Each class will cover a specific topic and run from 30 – 60 minutes. No registration is required, just show up! All classes will start at 2:30 pm in the Julia Hackley Room. If you have your own laptop feel free to bring it along, otherwise these are watch and learn classes.   March 9:  Overdrive eBooks March 23:  Ebay April 6:  Storing Pictures online (Flickr, Picasa) April 20:  Learning Express Library (MeL practice tests) May 11:  Chat Rooms May 25:  Surfing the Internet

Yarnspinners Wednesday, March 9 7:00 - 9:00 pm Torrent House

Coffee Hour with Marcia Hovey-Wright

Join Ms. Hovey-Wright for an informal conversation about improving state government, at 3:30 pm today in the Julia Hackley Room at HPL.

Drive America's Byways

Drive America's Byways: From Gov Gab:
"The cardinal's spring song this morning told me that winter is finally losing its grip on my area. My thoughts begin turning toward fun driving trips.

The America's Byways program is a good place to start. The 151 routes across the U.S. offer something for everyone: local drives, as well as touring routes that take several days to experience.

America’s Byways are designated by the Federal Highway Administration for their archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic qualities. The routes represent natural and built panoramas, ancient and modern history, native arts and culture, and even neon landscapes.

Routes on the list include Historic Route 66, California's Big Sur Coast Highway, Colorado's Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway, Alabama's Coastal Connection, Minnesota's Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway, and the Las Vegas Strip.

Find an America's Byway near you, across the country, or somewhere in between. Or explore Byways by type of activity, including bird watching, cultural experience, shopping, and even college visits. Read other travelers' reviews and experiences of a route.

Which America's Byway interests you? Have you traveled on an America's Byway?"

Library Journal's Reader's Shelf

Like a Rolling Stone: Music on the Page

Books recommended by editors at Library Journal

Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time By Sheffield, Rob 2007-12 - Three Rivers Press (CA) 9781400083039 Check Our Catalog Sheffield relates the two important love affairs of his life, the first with music and the fine art of the perfect mix tape, and the second with a woman who changes him forever. …More

Cassette from My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves By Bitner, Jason 2009-10 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312565527 Check Our Catalog …More

A Visit from the Goon Squad By Egan, Jennifer 2010-06 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307592835 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title From one of today's boldest writers comes a sly, surprising, and exhilarating novel about time, survival, and the electrifying sparks ignited at the seams of our lives by colliding destinies. …More

High Fidelity By Hornby, Nick 1996-08 - Riverhead Books 9781573225519 Check Our Catalog In "as funny, compulsive and contemporary a first novel as you could wish for" (GQ), a young pop music junkie finds that his myriad diversions after the breakup with his longtime girlfriend are not as entertaining as he thought they would be. "A total howl".--Mirabella. …More

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist By Cohn, Rachel Author Levithan, David 2008-08 - Alfred A. Knopf 9780375846144 Check Our Catalog Told in alternating chapters, this he said/she said romance is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night with two teenagers who are just trying to figure out who they want to be. …More

Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture By Oakes, Kaya 2009-06 - Henry Holt & Company 9780805088526 Check Our Catalog As the signature style bleeds into mainstream fashion, the individuality of the indie movement seems to be losing ground. Oakes demonstrates how this phase is part of the natural cycle of a culture that reinvents itself continuously to preserve its core ideals. …More

Video Book Review of Tick Tock

HPL's New Books

Below is a partial list of our new books. To see the full list, download the Excel file for:  2011 .  To see new books from other years try:  2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, or 2006.

Using What You Got By Miller, Karen E. Quinones 2004-06 - Simon & Schuster 9780743246156 Check Our Catalog After being spoiled by a father who recklessly spares no expense when it comes to his girls' material desires, 18-year-old Tiara's life decisions threaten to destroy not only her, but her entire family. …More

Desperate Hoodwives: An Urban Tale By Mink, Meesha Author Diamond, De'nesha 2008-01 - Touchstone Books 9781416537526 Check Our Catalog The first in a drama-drenched new series of street lit novels set in the Atlanta housing projects chronicles four young women desperately trying to get out of the hood. …More

Real Wifeys: On the Grind By Mink, Meesha 2011-01 - Touchstone Books 9781439173114 Check Our Catalog The first of a new series featuring the scandalous life of a hood-fabulous wifey who uses her sex appeal and street smarts to make it big. …More

The Sherlockian By Moore, Graham 2010-12 - Twelve 9780446572590 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for Arthur Conan Doyle's missing diary. But after a Doylean scholar is murdered, it is Harold who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer. …More

The Border Lords By Parker, T. Jefferson 2011-01 - Dutton Books 9780525952008 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title A three-time Edgar Award-winner delivers his dark masterpiece. A crime novel of unprecedented scope, "The Border Lords" brings back Charlie Hood and revisits the fevered landscape of America's southern border--and confronts the unexplored depths of humanity's dark soul. …More

Cross Fire By Patterson, James 2010-11 - Little Brown and Company 9780316036177 Check Our Catalog Detective Alex Cross's wedding plans are put on hold when he is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington, D.C.'s, most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked politicians. …More

Winter Break By Perrin, Kayla 2011-01 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312644581 Check Our Catalog In this chilling thriller, the "Essence"-bestselling author of "Spring Break" and "We'll Never Tell" explores a cruise vacation gone horribly wrong. …More

Too Much Drama By Phillips, Debra 2005-04 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312305260 Check Our Catalog Praise for The High Price of a Good Man: "Debra Phillips does an excellent job in telling a delightful story. And off-the-wall humor makes for a fast-paced read." --Romantic Times "A joy to read." --Rendezvous Review …More

Call Me Irresistible By Phillips, Susan Elizabeth 2011-01 - William Morrow & Company 9780061351525 Check Our Catalog The funniest love story of the year, the new novel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips that fans have been waiting for is filled with friends, family, and charm. "Call Me Irresistible" features characters from three previous books. …More

Reapers: A Botswana Mystery By Ramsay, Frederick 2010-12 - Poisoned Pen Press 9781590588062 Check Our Catalog In June, the World Cup means the arrival of soccer fans, team owners, sponsors, and world dignitaries in southern Africa, particularly Botswana. Meanwhile, fanatics are pushing forward a plan, based on faulty science, to "Orgonise Africa," which they believe will purify the continent. To the north, "Patriarche," a silverback mountain gorilla, must share his habitat with coltan miners led by one of the Congo's bloody war lords. And Sanderson, Game Ranger in the Chobe National Park, finds a body. Tracking down the murderer leads to evidence of local bribery, smuggling, and finally to what could provoke an international incident. …More

Money Maker By Ridley, Tonya 2010-10 - Life Changing Books 9781934230695 Check Our Catalog Mena Austin is a certified paper chaser who knows no boundaries when it comes to money, especially the counterfeit kind. However, Mena s empire is threatened when her ex-boyfriend, Trick wants his operation back and will stop at nothing until he gets the ultimate revenge. When old friends turn into enemies and greed comes calling, Mena won t know who to trust. Money Maker will give an eye-opening glimpse into the world of counterfeiting and into a battle where winner-takes-all. …More

Citadel: Troy Rising II By Ringo, John 2011-01 - Baen Books 9781439134009 Check Our Catalog The second novel in the new military science fiction series by a "New York Times"-bestselling author. Once the Earth has been freed, how can the former conquerors be kept from returning to reclaim the planet--or even destroy it? …More

Survivor in Death By Robb, J. D. Author Roberts, Nora 2005-08 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425204184 Check Our Catalog In her newest novel in the #1 "New York Times" bestselling series, Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb returns to the New York city of 2059, where Lieutenant Eve Dallas will struggle to solve murder of a seemingly ordinary family, and protect one small, terrified survivor. …More

Northern Lights By Roberts, Nora 2005-09 - Jove Books 9780515139747 Check Our Catalog Roberts's latest #1 "New York Times" bestseller--a colorful, compelling novel about two lonely souls who find love and redemption in Lunacy, Alaska--is available in Jove's new Premium Format, with a trim size of 4 1/4 x 7 1/2 for more comfortable reading. …More

Love, Honor, and Betray By Roby, Kimberla Lawson 2011-01 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446572453 Check Our Catalog The infamous Reverend Curtis Black's sordid past is no secret, as his wife, Charlotte, is well aware. But when Curtis' longtime mistress and mother of his illegitimate two-year-old dies, he and Charlotte have no choice but to raise Curtina together. Soon, Charlotte's resentment of the child affects her marriage. …More

The Twelfth Imam By Rosenberg, Joel C. 2010-10 - Tyndale House Publishers 9781414311630 Check Our Catalog As the apocalyptic leaders of Iran call for the annihilation of Israel and the U.S., CIA operative David Shirazi is sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons program just as an obscure religious cleric known as the Twelfth Imam rises to power. …More

Sarah's Key By De Rosnay, Tatiana 2008-09 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312370848 Check Our Catalog An Indie Next Selection Haunting and suspenseful, life-affirming and beautiful, "Sarah's Key" offers a compelling portrait of occupied Paris and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this little-known episode in French history. …More

The Death Instinct By Rubenfeld, Jed 2011-01 - Riverhead Hardcover 9781594487828 Check Our Catalog A spellbinding literary thriller about terror, war, greed, and the darkest secrets of the human soul, "The Death Instinct," by the author of "The Interpretation of Murder," takes readers back to 1920 to the first terrorist attack on Wall Street. …More

Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery By Sansom, C. J. 2011-01 - Viking Books 9780670022397 Check Our Catalog During the summer of 1545, England is at war, and Matthew Shardlake is about to encounter the most politically dangerous case of his career. …More

Return of the Cartier Cartel By Santiago, Nisa 2010-10 - Melodrama Publishing 9781934157305 Check Our Catalog Brooklyn empress Cartier knows the streets of Brooklyn like nobody's business. In fact, she successfully built her Cartier Cartel drug ring on the code of the streets, hustling and stacking paper. However, the life of crime is wearing her down, and she's ready to quit the game when two of her Cartel soldiers are gunned down in the same streets that fattened her bankroll. Now she's hell bent on seeking revenge for her friends, and she and her most loyal set out to solve the hood's whodunit. Along the way, tempers flare and love is tested as her prince steps out of line and sleeps with the enemy. Devastation reigns supreme in the streets of Brooklyn, while Cartier is constantly looking over her shoulder, wondering who will be the next to stab her in the back. …More

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand By Simonson, Helen 2010-11 - Random House Trade 9780812981223 Check Our Catalog Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside, is filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and contains a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of readers' own families. Their interactions are both hilarious and heartbreaking. …More

My One and Only Bomb Shelter By Smolens, John 2000-01 - Carnegie-Mellon University Press 9780887483295 Check Our Catalog There's danger -- sometimes palpable, sometimes faint or comic, but nonetheless real -- behind each of these beautifully crafted stories in John Smolens' collection. The sense of danger is what helps make these stories beautiful and compelling. Danger becomes a context for these stories and raises their stakes so that it seems that if no life is safe then no life is ordinary. Read the story "Cold", and you'll see the method at work; read "Cold", and you won't close this book again until you've read them all. …More

Guardian of the Veil: A Three-Dimensional Tale By Spencer, Gregory 2007-08 - Howard Books 9781416543411 Check Our Catalog The mysterious veil between the mythical realm of Welken is thinning--even as the danger for four teens swept up in its adventures is rapidly building. Morphed from misfits into heroes, can they rescue their trapped friends, repel the onslaught of a merciless army marching on a peaceful land--and face their own weaknesses? …More

Blackstone and the Wolf of Wall Street By Spencer, Sally 2010-10 - Severn House Publishers 9780727869166 Check Our Catalog The new Inspector Sam Blackstone mystery . . . - "August, 1900." William Holt, a reclusive millionaire businessman, has been kidnapped from his grand Coney Island home after the brutal murder of his two bodyguards. Soon, a huge ransom is demanded, and the victim's two sons are given just days to find the money. Inspector Sam Blackstone, now seconded to the New York Police Department, and his partner, Alex Meade, are charged with solving the case, but they'll need to keep their wits about them if they are to solve it in time . . . …More

Cold Shot to the Heart By Stroby, Wallace 2011-01 - Minotaur Books 9780312560256 Check Our Catalog Crissa Stones mentor and lover is up for parole and needs some money. There's an illegal card game set. Desperate, Crissa slaps a plan together. It's robbery, not murder. Then one of her crew shoots a player, a man with connections to hitman Eddie the Saint. …More