A Unique Love Story

Christmas is around the corner and for some of our library patrons, this is the perfect time to settle in and catch up on some reading! I am not a big fan of "love stories," so I was amused at myself when I picked up Jacquelyn Mitchard's newest book, Second Nature. I enjoyed reading Mitchard's Deep End of the Ocean and I exprected to like this book as much as that one. I was not wrong! Second Nature is a very unique book. The heroine of the story is Sicily, a young woman who was badly burned in a fire when she was young, and was saved by her firefighter dad, who was killed in the fire, as were most of her classmates. Sicily lives her life disfigured, until a surgeon searches her out for a face transplant. The rest of the story details her life after the transplant and discusses how she experiences many things for the first time. The story is beautiful and the writing is exquisite. Sicily is a brave heroine who exemplifiies the meaning of grace under pressure and every character in this book is richly complicated. The book's action covers many seasons, and the description of the Christmas one is especially beautiful. If you love family and relationship drama, mixed in with the bittersweetness of love, you will enjoy every minute of this book.

Holiday Crafting and Baking--with Kids or Adults!

If you want to spend some quality holiday time with your kids, you should check out this new library book! Holiday Crafting and Baking with Kids: Gifts, Sweets and Treats for the Whole Family by Jessica Strand is a wonderful addition to our craft collection. The book contains recipes and craft ideas that are easy and fun and are varying degrees of complexity. The projects cover a spectrum of fall holidays, from Thanksgiving to Kwanzaa and can be enjoyed by families with members of all ages. I especially like the "Incredible Edible Ornaments" and the "Special Place for Kwanzaa Goodies" paper basket. With great pictures, easy-to-follow steps and a comprehensive list of materials needed, this is a must-read for crafty families!

The second craft book the library has received recently is Susan Waggoner's Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas: Crafts, Decorating Tips, and Recipes, 1920's-1960's. The book is full of crats, decorating ideas and recipes that date from the 1920's to the 1960's. You can pick a specific decade and use the chapter to create ornaments for your tree, wrapping paper for your presents, and recipes for your party. There is a great section at the end of each chapter that gives "quick crafts" for the time-challenged decorator! The recipes are contained in a separate chapter and each one is introduced with a history of the candy and/or a tip on how to make it. This book ends with an "art portfolio" chapter with reproductions of old postcards and other pictures as well as a section on online sources for crafting materials. This is a beautiful book and will help you plan a vintage Christmas of your own.

Double Dexter

If you have read any of these blog posts, I am sure you have discovered that I am a big fan of the Dexter novels written by Jeff Lindsay. This book series stars Dexter Morgan, a forensics blood spatter expert for the Miami-Dade Police Department who is also a serial killer. What??? No, really, he is a good guy because he only kills bad people (murderers, pedophiles, etc.) and mainly ones who have somehow escaped the "letter of the law." I have reccommended this series to many patrons and I have to admit, the responses I get from them are usually either: "I can't believe you like this book, because this guy is really sick," or "I have to read all of the books in this series because Dexter is one of those people you hate and love at the same time!" I absolutely adore Dexter because even though he is a brutal killer, he has a set of standards that he adheres to for his own "killings." The writing and tone of these books is masterful and think you'll enjoy every minute of them. The series is the inspiration for the Showtime television series, Dexter and even though the series followed the books pretty closely in season one, it has since diverged greatly from the books. The new series entry, Double Dexter, details a case that has not been covered in the television series. In this book, a brutal cop killer is targeting MDPD's police detectives, beating bodies so completely that they are completely bloodless and almost battered beyond recognition. This killer seems to be taunting Dexter, trying to drag him out and involve him in his own psychotic game. Has Dexter met his match this time? Jeff Lindsay lives in South Florida with his wife and three children and may be contacted on facebook.com/jefflindsayauthor, at http://www.doubleday.com/ or Dexter-Books.com.

Make the Best Burger in Town...

I am a big fan of hamburgers. To me, there is nothing more American than a big, juicy burger, crunchy french fries and a Coke. I know that burgers are not something you should eat every day, but the library has received a book that can enable you to eat burgers more often but in a healthy way. Joni Marie Newman's The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet contains 101 globally inspired vegan creations that showcase fresh flavors and exciting exotic tastes. The book contains twelve chapters of burger recipes, each from different regions of the world. The book also contains chapters on condiments and sauces, buns and breads, sides and salads and a few desserts. The burger substitutes include tofu, split peas, couscous, wheat gluten flour, and a variety of vegetables. This recipe book is a great inspiration for all cooks and the photographs make every recipe look tasty and may inspire you to invent a few culinary geniuses of your own!