Murder Unleashed

Murder Unleashed by Rita Mae Brown is the second book in her canine mystery series starring Magdelena "Jeep" Reed, Magdalena "Mags" Rogers and their dogs King and Baxter. The first book in the series is A Nose for Justice. This cozy mystery is set in Reno, Nevada, and furthers the story of Jeep, a seventy year old who is growing food on her ranch in the hopes of ending hunger in the area and Mags, a former Wall Street trader who was laid off from her job and is finding solace living with her great-aunt. I enjoyed the contemporary events discussed in this book, as the action of this story is centered around a bunch of squatters that are living in a group of vacant, foreclosed homes on one particular street in Reno, without food or electricity. The foreclosure crisis has taken a huge bite out of the real estate market in Reno and many banks and people are reeling from the hit. Big-hearted real estate agent, Babs Gallagher enlists Jeep and Mags to start a community research program to get the water and electricity turned back on in the houses and help the squatters find jobs. When one of their friends is attacked and a former banker is found brutally slain in one of the abandoned homes, Jeep and Mags set out to find the killer. Baxter, King and a host of other canine characters band together to protect their owners, help them find the killer and perhaps find a few clues as to where the missing silver from an old mine is. This is a great series for dog lovers and any other animal friendly mystery readers!

Heaven Is For Real

My pastor and several other friends recently read Todd Burpo's Heaven is for Real and suggested that I should read it. The book is a quiet, unassuming story that has lots of power. The book is "a little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back." Todd Burpo is a minister with a wife and three kids, in a small town in the mid-west. Burpo goes through several boughts of sickness himself and his life seems to be evening out when his four-year old son Colton has to have an emergency appendectormy. Colton spends a week in the hospital and no one is sure he will live, until a miracle occurs and he wakes up, alert and almost back to his old self. It is not until several weeks later, during a family road trip, that Todd Burpo and his wife realize that something unusual happened to Colton during his hospital stay. Colton mentions that while he was having his emergency surgery, he "saw his dad praying and his mom talking on the phone in another room." Slowly, Todd and his wife begin to question Coton and they realize that even though Colton did not die, he did visit heaven when he was hospitalized. The writing in this book is beautiful and the message is powerful. Whether you believe in heaven or not, this story will touch you. This story is as much about a family and their quest for healing as it is a story about the power of God. If you like this book, try also reading Don Piper's 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life.

Blood Wyne

I know you have heard me talk about this author before, but I have to tell you...every one of her books that I read just gets better and better! Yasmine Galenorn's newest book, Blood Wyne is the newest installment in the Otherworld series. Blood Wyne is told from the point of view of Menolly, one of the three D'Artigo sisters who ae half-Fae and half-human and are living Earthside instead of in the fairy realm. The three sisters are each a different type of supernatural beings--Camille is a witch, Delilah is a shapeshifter who turns into a cat and a panther and Menolly is a vampire. They live with Iris, a house sprite, are raising a baby gargoyle named Maggie and have a wide assortment of supernatural beings as friends and lovers. The basic premise of the series is that the three sisters are fighting against Shadow King, a very nasty demon, who is trying to find all of the spirit seals and open a permanent portal between Earthside and Otherworld. In this installment of the series, Menolly is helping to track down a vampire serial killer who is targeting young women and threatening to make Earth very intolerant of vampires! The stories are based in Seattle and it is refreshing to read descriptions of places I have visited and visualize where the stories' action is taking place. Galenorn's writing is magical--her characters are fascinating and the world she weaves is very believable. I look forward to reading the next installment in this wonderful series! If you'd like to "try" reading the Otherwold series, start with the first one, Witchling. The stories can be read alone, but since the characters lives build throughout each book, you will be less lost if you start with book one! Plus, the library has purchased these books in paperback so they are very handy and can be slipped into your purse for convenient "reading-on-the-go!" Yasmine Galenorn is the author of several other series, including the Indigo Court Series, several Berkley Prime Crime titles and casmetic-focused series she writes as India Ink. Check out her website at http://www.galenorn.com/ or follow her at www.twitter.com/yasminegalenorn.

Honey, Have You Seen My Other Sock?

I am sure you are like me and have TONS of "one sock wonders"...you know one sock of a pair that you swear you saw the match for about a week ago? What exactly do you do with a pair of socks that is missing one of them, that you can't bear to part with? Well, you make sock creatures, of course!!! Brenna Maloney's new book, Sockology: 16 New Sock Creatures, Cute & Cuddly...Weird & Wild is a wonderful, exciting, instruction book that teaches you how to creature cuddly creatures from your lonely socks. Benna Maloney gives great advice--she says that you should never throw away any of your socks with missing pairs, because you can use the material later to make fantastic creatures. Once you look at this book you will understand the great appeal of missing socks. Maloney teaches even the novice stitcher how to make sweet, cuddly animals from ordinary socks, using knee highs, crew, and any other types of socks you might have lying around the house. Maloney's writing is half the fun of this book--it's humorous and sarcastic and very entertaing---but she also includes a guide to the stiches she uses, patterns for each creature and suggestions on how to make each creature your own creation. This is a truly fun book for any person with a flair for sewing or crafts---and could be used with a class for a group project as each creature can be sewn by hand or machine. Sock exchange, anyone?

Have a Date with the Grim Reaper

Second Grave on the Left is the new installment in the Charley Davidson series, written by Darynda Jones. Charley is the grim reaper--even if she is beautiful, charming, likes to wear t-shirts and make-up and is a private investigator. This is the second book in the series and the writing in both is hilarious, sarcastic, action packed and sure to amuse any mystery fan. Charley comes from a "police officer" family as her dad and Uncle have been employed by the Arizona Polic Department. Her dad is retired and owns a bar and Charley's office is housed in a room behind the building. Charley can read the emotions of people as well as "see" departed ones. Dead folks are drawn to Charley because she is a brilliant light to them and she helps them cross over from this world into heaven. This creates some interesting challenges for Charley as she is always talking to people that only she sees and they often appear to her in rather inappropriate places (like the shower). Charley also has several admirers and one is a supernatural being that appears to her in spirit form and is her antithesis. Trying to deal with their major attraction to each other is very complicated and leaves Charley breathless most of the time. Charley is aided in her investigation by her office manager, Cookie and the mystery in this book involves one of Cookie's friends who suddenly disappears. Cookie enlists Charley's help in solving the mystery and in the process they uncover a scandal from high school that threatens to have them all killed. Charley is a strong and likable heroine and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes humorous mystery stories--if you are a fan of Janet Evanovich, you will love reading Darynda Jones!

Go for GAGA

Lady Gaga is a fascinating musical artist that has been in the news recently. Whether you know her for her outrageous clothing, euro-beat music or fascinating music videos, she is certainly an entertainer for today's age! If you are curious about getting the chance to know her better, try checking out her biograpy, GAGA by Johnny Morgan (B Lady Gaga). The book contains the story of her fascinating life, including many full-color, full-page photos from her recent tours and from other stages in her life. I especially enjoyed reading the vignettes about the people in her life who influenced her music and fashion sense (such as Andy Warhol, Freddie Mercury and Alexander McQeen). The book is well-written and leaves the reader with the sense that he/she has learned a lot more about the things that motivate Lady Gaga to continue to perform. I look forward to reading more about this rising star as her career continues to burn brightly. Johnny Morgan is the coauthor of The Art of the LP, consulting editor on the New York Times best-seller Hippie and has written popular music books for over twenty years. If you like reading this book, scan the library's Biography section for other gems---I bet you'll find a story about another "famous" person that you'll enjoy reading too.

Creative Cakes and Sandwiches

Our library purchases some of the most interesting non-fiction books and I enjoy discovering new topics! The first book I stumbled across yesterday is called The Birthday Cake Book: 75 Recipes for Candle-Worthy Creations by Dede Wilson (641.8 W747b). The cover itself shows a luscious chocolate and meringue swirled cake--and since it was right after my lunch break I just had to peek inside and see what this book was all about! The book opens with a section on making and baking the perfect cake, as well as a few ideas on how to create interesting candle holders and crystallize flowers. The next sections include instructions on how to make basic and speciality cakes and then classic frostings and icing. The next few sections include recipes for decadent cakes (such as a Butter Pecan Cake with Brown Sugar Fudge Frosting or the Hairy Caterpillar Cupcake Cake). The recipes are easy to follow and would be good for either the beginner or experienced cook.

The second book is title Insanewiches: 101 Ways to Think Outside the Lunchbox and it is written by Adrian Fiorino. This book shows you how to make outrageous sandwiches. While I think the idea is charming, and some of these creations are downright cute, I just cannot see anyone making these sandwiches and placing them in a lunchbox to be transported to school! Some of these crazy creations would make an interesting dish for a party, such as "The Banana Split Trickwich (pg. 122) . This would be a great April Fool's gag, because when you look at the picture, it looks like three scoops of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between a hoagie roll! On closer inspection, you see that it is made of mashed potato "ice cream," bacon and chive sprinkles, gravy masquerading as chocolate sauce and topped with cherry tomatoes. I think this would be an excellent choice for an adult dinner party or a child's birthday! Adrian Fiorino is the author of a popular blog, insanewiches.com that he began in June 2009. Adrian currently lives in Toronto and is always on the look out for new sandwich ideas!

Long Gone

I truly enjoy reading Alafair Burke's novels and her new one, Long Gone is another winner! True, she is the daughter of James Lee Burke, the author of the "Louisiana policeman turned private investigator" Dave Robichaux, one of my all-time favorite authors, but she has earned her place in the realm of great thriller writers with this novel. Alafair Burke writes a wonderful series about gutsy heroine Elie Haskell, but Long Gone is her first stand alone novel and it is a page-turner. The stories' basic premise is that struggling art major Alice Humphrey has been trying for months to get a job in New York City when she is suddenly offered her dream job of being a gallery owner in a new gallery in the Meatpacking District. Alice thinks the job is too good to be true and when she meets savvy gallery owner Drew Campbell and learns that the main gallery exhibitor will be a man with questionable artistic tastes, she hesitates about taking it. Although Drew tells Alice that the anonymous artists' work is a little edgy, Alice thinks that her dream of running her own gallery outweighs any objections she has to this anonymous artist's work. Alice is trying to balance her life being the daughter of a famous Academy-Award winning director and his leading lady, and her life seems just about perfect, until she walks into the gallery and finds the work gone, the owner dead on the floor and her dream job vanished. Alice is suspect number one until she teams up with an FBI agent and works to clear her name. There are at least three different stories tied together in this book and it makes the story an interesting read. I enjoy Alice Humphrey's character and admire her guts as she tries to discover the truth. The book has many twists and turns, especially at the end, and I think you'll find it very enjoyable!

Enter the World of Happy Chaos

Soleil Moon Frye, formerly known as the spunky main character on the 1980's hit television series Punky Brewster is currently a social media maven and "momtrepeneur" with two little girls. She often finds herself living in the chaotic world of rasing kids and trying to figure it all out. Soleil dishes out advice on motherhood in her latest book, Happy Chaos: From Punky to Parenting and My Perfectly Imperfect Adventures In Between. Soleil believes that chaos is not such a bad thing...in fact...she believes that chaos is the sign that a family is operating at its best. Soleil believes that when parents accept that there will be bumps and scrapes, misses and mishaps, then both parents and kids will be happy living their lives. Soleil herself was raised by a free-spirited mother and she tries to raise her kids in the same fashion. Soleil uses lessons she learns in her own upbringing to give the reader a unique view into her own conception of motherhood. This is partly a memoir and partly a how-to guide that is sure to appeal to every modern mom and dad. Follow Soleil Moon Frye on Twitter and Facebook and check out Moonfrye.com for more parenting information. In 2008 Soleil alaunched an eco-friendly clothing line for kids called "The Little Seed," and became an advocate for the Alzheimer's Association. In 2011 she also became Target's "Mommy Ambassador."

The Casserole Queens Cookbook

I think the subtitle of this book says it all..."Put some lovin' in your oven with 100 easy one-dish recipes"--after reading this book I couldn't agree more! Authors Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock have written The Casserole Queens Cookbook, one of the most entertaining cookbooks I have read in a while. The cover art is pure "vintage 1950's" with these two savvy women in pearls and dresses holding scrumptious casseroles. Once you open the cookbook, you realize that the book is so much more than 1950's cooking! The casseroles in this collection have a distinctly "contemporary" touch and are family-friendly fare that will appeal to adults and kids alike. I adore the recipe titles (i.e., Pimpin Paella and Frenchy Toast Casserole) and the personal stories that begin each recipe. The stories let the reader know that these recipes are 'tried and true" and mean something to each of the authors. Some of the casseroles are a little fancier than others but I think any home cook will find something to love in this collection. Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock (aka "The Casserole Queens") started their home delivery business in Austin, TX in 2006. They have been featured on Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Bobby Flay Radio on Sirius XM and on other television and radio shows. Check out their website at wwww.CasseroleQueens.com for other tasty meals that can be fixed on any night of the week!