WAR STORIES
PAUL BIRKHEAD – MARCH 6, 2011

“I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.”
~ Thomas Jefferson

There are a multitude of quotes about war and seldom will you find ones glamorizing it. Just like General Sherman famously said, “War is Hell.” If you haven’t actually been in combat, one way to get a feel for warfare is to read a memoir of someone who witnessed the horror first-hand. Rowan Public Library’s shelves are stocked with personal narratives from servicemen and women who have fought in all branches of America’s armed forces.

An Ace of the Eighth: an American Fighter Pilot’s Air War in Europe is a first-person account of World War II written by Norman “Bud” Fortier. Mr. Fortier was an aviator in the U.S. Army Air Corps who flew over one hundred combat missions in the skies above Europe. This narrative is full of interesting facts about the men and the aircraft that helped subdue Nazi Germany and is punctuated with photographs of Fortier, his comrades, and the aircraft that they piloted.

In No Bugles, No Drums, the setting is the Korean War. In this book, freelance journalist Rudy Tomedi gathered the reminiscences of dozens of Korean War veterans. Set roughly in chronological order, these narratives tell the story of the conflict in Korea from several points of view which makes for very interesting reading.

We Were Soldiers Once and Young by Harold Moore is the story of a small group of American soldiers in the 7th Cavalry who fought against all odds in the first significant engagement with Viet Cong regulars in Vietnam. In this battle, fought in the fall of 1965, the Lt. Col. who commanded the American forces was none other than the author himself. The book is sure to shock the reader with its descriptions of the bloody and gritty combat experiences of Moore and the men of his battalion. By the way, if the book’s title sounds familiar, it was made into a movie starring Mel Gibson back in 2002.

Speaking of personal narratives of war, and Vietnam in particular, Rowan Public Library is partnering with Waterworks Visual Arts Center to honor and illustrate the Vietnam experiences of Rowan County servicemen and women. Photos and oral histories are being collected at Rowan Public Library and will culminate in a photography exhibit at Waterworks in August 2011. Please call Paul Birkhead, at RPL’s East Branch (704-216-7841) if you would like more information.

Gretchen Beilfuss Witt
February 21, 2011


Going Green

Our culture is increasingly aware of the impact our choices make on our environment. Recycling is part of our everyday life, yet when it comes to larger concerns, what can we do? I have a house built in the 1920s which I love; it has character and a coziness which makes it home. Yet it is drafty, hard to heat and it's not getting any younger. As rooms are remodeled and appliances need to be replaced, how can I maintain my cozy cottage and have a healthier, more energy efficient home that is kinder to the environment?

Barry Katz's "Practical Green Remodeling" has some of the answers. This colourful and engaging work clearly explains what the advantages of a green home are from an economic as well as from a philosophical stand. Even small improvements can make a big difference; "If just one quarter of the single-family homes in the United States reduced their energy use by 20%, it would prevent 48 million tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere each year." Katz categorizes the fundamentals of green housing into three classifications – "energy efficiency, resource conservation and healthy living environments."

He offers practical advice on finding a green contractor and what questions to ask. Excellent examples and sidebars illustrate how to build or remodel with the least impact to the environment without sacrificing aesthetics or comfort. The book explains R-Values and what can be done to reduce a buildings demand for heat and cooling. Katz discusses the types of appliances, heating units, toilets, faucets and other items that use resources of all types. Energy Policy acts and EPA criteria are addressed as well as how to comply with new equipment requirements. He offers practical advice on how to save water without it costing you a cent. Did you know that by cutting one minute from a daily shower can save 1,000 gallons of water per year per person? Or putting a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank can help you determine if you have a leak.

Katz also discusses types of healthy, sustainable, non-toxic materials to use in construction, interior design and decorating. House plans, air flow illustrations and other helpful diagrams are plentiful and make this a very usable resource. "Toward a Zero Energy Home" by Johnston and Gibson, "A Healthy Home Handbook" by John Warde and "How to Plan, Contract and Build your own Home" by Scutella and Heberle are among the books related to green building, energy efficiency and healthy home environments waiting to be checked out.

Serendipity at the Library
by Betty Moore

What better place for serendipity could there be than a library? “Serendipity” is accidentally stumbling upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something completely unrelated.
Have you ever come to the library to get one particular item, then left with several others – after overhearing another reader tell how much he enjoyed what he just turned in, or passing by an interesting DVD on the “New DVD” rack by the door? Maybe you came in to get a tax form and discovered the ongoing Friends Book Sale.

Give yourself the time to discover things you didn’t even know you wanted to know – at the library! Recently, a gentleman asking a question at the reference desk told me, “Last year I made a resolution to spend at least an hour in the library each week.” He was pleased with what he’d learned over the year, just by setting aside a time for exploring the library.
It’s not too late to add this to your own New Year’s resolutions.

Maybe you’ve never been on the second floor or visited the children’s room. You may not have taken the time to look at the display cases, or decorative stained glass windows. You may not know there are murals and sculpture. You may not have seen the historic maps and prints.
Wander through the 149 magazines and 13 North Carolina and national newspapers at Headquarters. I recently passed through the magazine section at the Salisbury branch and a circus train on the cover of “Trains” magazine caught my eye. The fascinating photo-filled cover story on “what it takes to put Ringling on the rails” contains circus train history and culture as well as how older cars are adapted for circus train use.

Finally, treat yourself by visiting a library branch you’ve never been to before. Rowan Public Library’s Salisbury, China Grove, and Rockwell locations each have attractive, comfortable surroundings full of resources with unique activities and displays. You’ll be surprised and pleased to see both familiar and different things at each branch, plus you’ll get to meet other helpful, friendly staff members.
Be open to serendipity at the library!

Library Notes
Rebecca Hyde


The question could be “Can you tell me about yourself?” or “Why did you (or could you) do that?” or “What are my options?” Our answers may or may not come easily. Understanding why we think the way we do (our personal philosophy) is difficult for most of us. Why make the effort? Our philosophy can help or hinder us. As Lou Marinoff says, in “Plato not Prozac,” we need to “evaluate the ideas we hold to craft an outlook that works for us, not against us.”

A famous and engaging example of one who lived a “well-examined” life is Michel de Montaigne. He was as curious as a cat, absorbed in his task of learning “how to live well.” As Phillip Lopate says (“The Art of the Personal Essay”), “Montaigne’s circling, minute self-observations … remind one more of a cat examining its fur.” And what was life like for Montaigne?

Montaigne lived in a time of war and treachery (France, 1533-1592). He was a political advisor, officeholder, landowner, and head of household. He lived in dread of the “kidney stone,” a particularly painful disease from which his father had died. And he never ceased to mourn the death of a dear friend (Etienne de La Boetie, author of a moving treatise against tyranny). Montaigne’s affairs with women and his tedious duties in local government could not divert him from his need to come to terms with grief, pain, and fear of death. So he began a lifelong examination of the human condition and a struggle to accept it through self-study. This very personal endeavor produced the “Essais” (“attempts” or “trials” in French), and Montaigne is commonly referred to as “the first great essayist” or “greatest essayist.” In any case in the “Essays” are found the elements of the personal essay as a literary form: a reflexive conversation, an intimate and relaxed discussion of life/reality as experienced by the “I” author.

In “The Art of the Personal Essay,” Lopate chose to include three of the hundred or so “Essais.” In “Of Books,” Montaigne the critical reader speaks his mind freely because his opinion is the measure of his personal insight, not the measure of things. He reads for pleasure, or for knowledge that “instructs me in how to die well and live well.” The two other selections reveal an individual who is tolerant yet curious about the differences among human beings (“Of a Monstrous Child”) and rather egalitarian when examining the sexuality of men and women (“On Some Verses of Virgil”). Skeptical, undogmatic, with a generous dose of self-forgiveness, Montaigne insists that we look at our own personal experience and try to learn from it.

Sara Grajek
Rowan Public Library
Library Notes

Every year, I take a look back at the list of books I’ve read in the past 12 months. I also review my “to-be-read” list. It seems that list grows a little longer every year, yet the list of books I’ve read never grows quite as much. Recently I read Howard’s End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, where the author looks around her house one day and realizes how many books she has collected and hasn’t read. Although Hill has a different taste in reading materials than I do, she reads classics and literature while I choose young adult fiction, a wide-variety of non-fiction, and current fiction, I found it interesting to read about her year of “reading from home.” During that year, she chose to only read books that were already in the house, the exceptions to this rule being academic books from the library and books sent to her from publishers to review. While I have no intentions to stop checking out books from the library, I think this year may involve reading from my very long “to-be-read list.” What books are on your reading list this year? Chances are, Rowan Public Library has some of them. I know they have many of mine.

The London Eye Mystery by the late Siobhan Dowd has been on my reading list since it was first published in 2008. Dowd received much critical acclaim for the few young adult books written in her short career. A human rights activist, her books are poignant and leave you thinking about them long after you have finished them. In The London Eye Mystery, Ted and Kat take their cousin Salim to the London Eye and watch as he circles high into the sky and back down – and doesn’t emerge from the ride. Where could he have possibly gone when Kat and Ted were watching the exit the whole time? When the police and other adults can’t solve the mystery, Kat and Ted (who has Asperger’s) take on the challenge.

Explorers David Livingstone and Ernest Shackleton are well-known, but Colonel Percy Fawcett? David Graham tells us in the Lost City of Z, during his era, Fawcett was just as well known. After hearing Fawcett speak at the Royal Geographical Society, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used his experiences as inspiration for writing The Lost World. A few colleagues believed he was “immune to death.” His last adventure proved them wrong however when he departed for the Amazon with his 21 year old son, searching for El Dorado, or the City of Z, as Fawcett called it. The entire group vanished, leaving behind few clues and a group of adventurers determined to find him.

Oliver Sacks, the neurologist/author who is perhaps best known for his book Awakenings, writes about the complexities of the human brain. Musicophelia: Tales of Music and the Brain, examines the science of music. Readers will learn about the man who was struck by lightning, then experienced an overwhelming desire to listen and learn to play music. You’ll read how music can help senile patients regain lost memories and help bring movement to immobile patients. Sacks believes music can be beneficial to neurology because it works in many areas of the brain. Even if one area of the brain were to become damaged, another part may still recognize or remember music.

With these books, and the 116 others that are still on my list, I should be able to find something to read this year. Reading from home, as Susan Hill did, but mostly, reading from the library.

Library Notes
January 23, 2011
Dara L. Cain


2011 Newbery and Caldecott Winners

The Newbery Award is the first children's book award in the world established in 1922. It is named in honor of eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. The purpose of the award is "to encourage original creative work in the field of books for children.” This year’s Newbery winner is Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Set in 1936, 12-year-old Abilene Tucker feels deserted in Manifest, Kansas where she has been sent by her father to live for the summer with an old friend while he works a railroad job. Abilene is saddened to learn that her father’s hometown is desolate and boring until she discovers a box containing some old letters that refer to a spy known as the Rattler. These letters send Abilene and her new friends Lettie and Ruthanne on an exciting spy hunt to uncover Manifest’s long-held secrets. Also worthy of attention are this year’s honor books which are Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, and Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.

After the Newbery Award was created it became apparent to many people that the artists designing picture books for children were equally deserving of recognition and encouragement. As a result, a second annual medal known as the Caldecott Medal was established in 1938. “This medal is to be given to the artist who had created the most distinguished picture book of the year and named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott.” This year’s Caldecott winner is A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by her husband Philip C. Stead. In this kindhearted story zookeeper Amos McGee spends quality time each day with his animal friends at the zoo from playing chess with elephant to conducting races with tortoise. Everything is status quo until Amos gets sick with a cold and must stay home in bed. To Amos’s surprise his animal friends make a surprise visit to his home and reciprocate kindness by taking care of him. Penguin helps by keeping Amos’s feet warm and when Amos sneezes rhinoceros is there to provide a handkerchief. Erin Stead’s use of woodblock-printing techniques and soft flat colors portray a gentle story about friendship and love. This year’s honor books are Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein and Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Laban Carrick Hill.

Children’s Biographies have interesting Character
January 7, 2011
Erika Kosin

Children’s biographies are usually seen as a source of facts and dates on historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln for reports or informational tidbits on popular musicians and sports heroes that children are interested in. What sometimes gets overlooked are the biographies that tell interesting stories about people’s lives that took place throughout history. Many of these interesting stories about people can not only be found with biographies, but also with the picture books, especially if the story is simply told with many illustrations. Some of these books may not be about someone famous, but rather about a person who knew someone famous or just had an interesting life. While basic or in-depth, these stories may peak a child’s interest causing them to research a topic previously unknown to them. Some of the interesting stories about real people that can be found at the Rowan Public Library include:
Mary Smith by A. U’Ren – Ever wonder what people did before alarm clocks? How did they get to work or school on time? This story about Mary Smith tells of how the townspeople in one England village made sure they got up on time using a pea shooter.

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet, Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail, and Camille and the Sunflowers: A Story about Vincent Van Gogh by Laurence Anholt – This series of three books contain stories about young people and their encounters with famous artists. All inspired by real people, these are a great story books for a child’s first look at some famous artists.
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton – Have you ever seen a traffic cone with that bright orange color? This fun biography tells the story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s who invented fluorescent colors and how these colors changed the way we live today.

Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning by Laurence Anholt – Ever find a fossil hidden in the earth? Mary Anning discovered one of the most important fossils, the great ichthyosaur, when she was twelve years old in Lyme Regis in Dorset, England. Learn about her path to discovery starting with her surviving a lightning strike at fifteen months old.

Library Notes
Lynn Denison
December 17, 2010

Several events occurred recently that gave me the inspiration for today’s library column. First I read a quote from Groucho Marx which I thoroughly enjoyed, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”

Next I learned about the tragic accident involving a hero war-dog named Target. Target, who saved the lives of several US soldiers by fighting off a suicide bomber, was euthanized by mistake after being brought back from Afghanistan to the States by his handler. This event touched me deeply and brought to my attention the important part these animals and their handlers play in the service of our country. Often they are unsung heroes.
Shortly after that a patron called to ask for a new non-fiction book—The Scent of the Missing written by Susannah Charleston. When the book came across my desk the subtitle captured my attention: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog. The detailed descriptions of the life of a search and rescue team were fascinating. The entire book is a great read, even the sad parts, but happily the book doesn’t end sadly as so many other animal books do!

Checking to see what other books we might have on dog heroes, I came across the book titled Dog Heroes of September 11th: A Tribute to America’s Search and Rescue Dogs by Nona Kilgore Bauer. In this book dogs brought to work from all across the country are profiled, along with their handlers/trainers. These dogs worked at Ground Zero, Fresh Kills Landfill, and the Pentagon. The reader receives an in-depth look at the workers, both human and canine, who helped bring closure to so many families that would not have gotten it otherwise.

A friend in the children’s services division told me I must include the book Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Major Brian Dennis. Although this book is found in the children’s area it is a heartwarming book to be shared with the whole family. Of course, we have many, many more books, as well as DVD’s and CD’s, for animal lovers. Why not stop by today to take advantage of the wealth of materials we have available for you at Rowan Public Library?

New Nonfiction at Rowan Public Library

By Edward A. Hirst

Rowan Public Library

Browsing the new non-fiction shelves at the library is something I try to do on a weekly basis, and these are some titles that have caught my eye recently.

“Paint Your House with Powdered Milk” by Joey Green is full of hundreds of off-beat tips for using name brand products in creative and unusual ways.

Besides the useful tips, you can also read the history behind these products, how they got their names, and quirky facts that you probably never knew about them. You’ll never look at the items on your grocery store shelf the same way again after reading this book.

“The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival” by John Vaillant is a well researched account about a Siberian tiger that terrorizes a remote Russian village in the late ’90s. The book is about a tiger that viciously kills a poacher who wounded it and the men who are assigned to track it down.

The story reaches far beyond this, though, to include man’s relationship with tigers over the ages, issues surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union and how that has affected the people who live along the Russian-Chinese border.

In “The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future,” Laurence C. Smith writes that as our earth warms, it is likely to cause the land farthest from the equator to become more desirable. This will lead to a population and development explosion in the near-Arctic regions and turn the world’s attention north.

Those countries with land bordering the Arctic Rim will likely benefit from global warming. He writes that spring in North America is arriving one day earlier every two and half years, “Imagine your lawn crawling north, away from your house, at a speed of 5.5 feet per day.”

“On The Grid” by Scott Huler is a fascinating trip through the streets, cables, pipes and other infrastructure that keeps our cities operating and makes modern life possible. It is an entertaining journey, with each chapter focusing on one specific element such as electricity, water, transportation and even garbage. We also meet the people who plan the systems as well as the workers who keep everything running.

In “A Splendid Exchange,” William Bernstein tells the story of global trade from its origins in prehistory to the controversies of today. We travel with ancient sailing ships along the silk trade route from China to Rome, to the rise and fall of the Portuguese trade monopoly in spices in the 16th century.

Along the way he examines inventions such as steam, steel and refrigeration that enabled us to import televisions from Korea, lettuce from Mexico and T-shirts from Costa Rica.

“The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” by Wes Moore, is a story about two boys who grow up in the same city in similar environments and how one becomes a Rhodes Scholar and the other ends up in jail as a convicted murderer.

The book examines the forks in the road the boys encounter as they grow up and the external forces they encounter that lead them down their respective paths.

Be sure and visit Rowan Public Library for these books and more.

AUTO REPAIR
PAUL BIRKHEAD – DECEMBER 5, 2010

With the economy the way it is right now, more and more people are choosing to keep their vehicles longer. Unfortunately, that means those same people might have to deal with more car repairs than they’ve had to in the past. It is a common fact, as cars age, that certain parts get worn down or break altogether. However, the library has resources that can help those who are willing to tackle auto repairs on their own.

Perhaps the most recognized resource the library offers on car repair is our collection of Chilton service manuals. For over 100 years, the name Chilton has been the standard for auto repair and maintenance guides. These manuals are still found in most mechanic shops and their stained and tattered pages attest to their use. The library has a great number of Chilton manuals, and while some are kept in the reference section, there are several copies that can be checked out. Most years are covered and they are often broken down into volumes that cover either imported or domestic models.

Another resource that the library offers is 24/7 access to an online automotive repair database. This resource is called the Auto Repair Reference Center (ARRC) and comes courtesy of NC Live. To access ARRC from home, you’ll need a valid Rowan Public Library card number and PIN. If you don’t have a PIN or can’t remember what it is, stop by the library and ask for a new one. Make sure you bring your library card or an ID with you. You can get to the ARRC through a link on our website – www.rowanpubliclibrary.org. Once at our home page, click on the ‘Find It Online’ link. Then, click on the ‘NCLive – Access from Home’ link. At this point, put in your library card number and PIN, and then follow the instructions for obtaining the current password for NCLive. Once at the NCLive site, scroll down the page and click on ‘Hobbies & Interests’ and you’re almost there. The final step is to click on the Auto Repair Reference Center link and you’re in. I know it might seem like a lot of work to get there, but I’m confident you’ll find the ARRC worth it.

The ARRC has repair and maintenance information on over 35,000 vehicles from the 1940’s to the present. Everything you might need to service your car can be found inside: from factory drawings, technical service bulletins, wiring diagrams, maintenance schedules, and even information on recalls. What makes this online database so handy is that new repair procedures and updates are continually being added. There are also thousands of images in the database, and most have been configured to make it easier to view and print them. Not sure you can handle a repair yourself and are thinking of taking your vehicle to a mechanic? There is a labor time guide and repair cost estimator included in the database.

Whether it’s something routine like changing a car’s oil, or a major repair such as replacing a transmission, most auto repair projects can be intimidating for the common person. However, just knowing that the library has resources to help you might instill enough confidence to tackle a job. Stop by the Rowan Public Library and let us help you keep your car running.

Gretchen Beilfuss Witt
Library Notes
Christmas Expectations

In late October, the Rowan Public Library Foundation and their guests were charmed with a ‘literary feast’ which included a presentation from the very entertaining speaker Dr. Elliot Engel. At the end of the evening, Engel spoke on behalf of the charity he often represents, that of the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital founded by Charles Dickens in 1852 as the first of such hospitals. He introduced to us a delightful Christmas treasury which begins with a version of Dickens’ beloved classic “The Christmas Carol” designed to read aloud. “A Christmas Carol Keepsake” also contains recipes, games and crafts to create your very own Victorian Christmas celebration. The recipes include Dickens very own Christmas punch and sweets with such names as Curates and Maids of Honour. Directions for a kissing ball and how to play ‘Forfeits’, an early version of truth or dare in riddles, complete this amusing collection.

“Christmas Observed” represents another type of treasury; a collection of short stories, poems, diary entries and letters relating to the observance of the Christmas season. It includes a most amusing letter from Leacock refusing an invitation from a young lady to attend a party for the young in the year 1910. He concludes “I do not consider a five-cent pen-wiper from the top branch of a Xmas tree any adequate compensation for the evening you propose.” Many no doubt often feel the same when asked to attend some holiday gathering. In the short story “Vera’s First Christmas Adventure” the foibles of obtaining just the right gift are examined. The poignant verse of Anthony Ross in “Christ Ran Stumbling” reminds us all of not to forget the unfortunate in this season. The anthology also includes the marvelous story of the impromptu peace between British and German on Christmas Eve during the Great War.

The final book selection is Stephen Nissenbaum’s “The Battle for Christmas” a study of the social and cultural history of Christmas, particularly as it is transformed into the present day American holiday. He outlines some of the more outrageous misbehavior of the British which led to the early Puritan ban against the holiday in the American colonies. However, as the turn of the nineteenth century approached, other denominations began to reclaim Christmas, urging church services be held on December 25. To combat the general misrule that continued to be prevalent, Nissenbaum claims the appearance of St. Nicholas brought a little domestic peace to the season. The appearance of Santa Claus also began to shape the focus of Christmas merriment towards children and into the home. Nissenbaum shares the experiences of Clement Moore’s friend Pintard and Moore’s own creation of the poem “The Night before Christmas.” Other traditions - gift giving, Christmas trees and Christmas charity - are explained in succeeding chapters. An enthralling study of the formation of our most cherished holiday.

Whatever your forte – history, literature or entertainment – check out these Christmas treasuries.

Library Notes
Betty Moore
Novels from other countries

Kabul. Kathmandu. Dubai. Shanghai. We may envision these locales as exotic places and wonder what life is like there for ordinary people. Fiction can be a good way to climb into the skin of someone in another culture. The authors of each of the following novels portray their settings almost as another character.

“Years of Red Dust: Stories of Shanghai” is the latest book from Qiu Xiaolong. He offers 22 brief stories, set in Shanghai’s Red Dust Lane from 1949 to 2005. Like calligraphy, the author’s deft brushstrokes illuminate the effects that radical political and cultural changes have had on people in one small neighborhood in this historic city. Even the story titles – such as “Return of POW I,” “When Nixon First Visited China,” “Cricket Fighting,” and “A Confidence Cap” — evoke this unique place and time.

Qiu is also the author of four mysteries featuring Inspector Chen Cao, head of the Shanghai Police Bureau’s Special Case Squad. While his hero investigates murders, the author weaves in social commentary about the changes going on in modern China.

Dan Fesperman shows the clash of new and old in his portrait of boom town Dubai, a global city that is part of the United Arab Emirates. In his latest thriller, “Layover in Dubai,” American businessman Sam Keller extends his layover to keep an eye on, then search for a missing co-worker. The search leads him on a suspense-filled ride through Dubai’s glittering malls and foreign worker labor camps, and into conflicts between Western culture and local religious traditions. According to a “Booklist” review, “ ‘Layover in Dubai’ has plenty of action, but it's Fesperman's portrait of a truly bizarre place that will captivate readers.”

Photographer Maria and journalist Imo face vast differences of language, culture, and religion in Kabul, Afghanistan, as they research a story about Afghani girls who have attempted suicide rather than enter arranged marriages with older men. In her novel “The End of Manners,” author Francesca Marciano evokes the landscape and environment of the region in addition to showing the moral complexities confronting both the local people and their visitors.

“The Godfather of Kathmandu” is John Burdett’s fourth thriller to feature Buddhist Sonchi Jitpleecheep, a Royal Thai Police detective. Sonchai seeks personal solace from his guru, an exiled Tibetan lama, to deal with a personal tragedy, at the same time he investigates the most shocking crime scene of his career. Along the way, readers are treated to a vivid portrait of today’s Thailand.

We may never visit these places ourselves, but fiction can provide us glimpses into life in these fascinating faraway cultures.

Library Notes
Rebecca Hyde


If you’re interested in the craft of writing, as a writer or a reader, you may want to look at the new “Art of” series, in which the art of criticism is used to “illuminate” the art of writing. Each book in the series explores an aspect of creative writing (syntax, description, time, poetic line). The authors are “contemporary practitioners impassioned by a singular craft issue.”

Take, for instance, Mark Doty’s “The Art of Description: World into Word.” “It sounds like a simple thing, to say what you see,” he says, this poet who is known for his passionate search for the exact word and phrase, all the while recognizing that it is an exercise in naming the unsayable (“But try to find the words for the shades of a mottled sassafras leaf…). Why bother to try to turn perception into words? To refuse silence, so that experience will not go unspoken? To match words to the world to give those words to someone else or to savor them for ourselves? “The pleasure of recognizing a described world is no small thing,” he concludes. Doty examines the poetry of Blake, Whitman, Bishop, and others who capture sensory experiences that “leap toward transcendence,” like Bishop’s fish, caught, stared at, and released (“The Fish”).

In the last part of this engaging little book, Doty offers his lexicon “Description’s Alphabet.” He begins with “Art”: “Description is an ART to the degree that it gives us not just the world but the inner life of the witness.” He concludes with “A to Z”: I reach the end of my lexicon and feel that my effort to describe description is happily partial, partisan, a work of advocacy….I declare myself here on the side of the sensible, things as they are, the given, the incompletely knowable, never to get done or get it right or render it whole: ours to say and say.”

Other titles in the series include Sven Birkert’s “The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again,” where he examines the impulse to write about the self and the art of the memoirist in assembling patterns of meaning in experience. In “The Art of Time in Fiction: As Long as It Takes,” Joan Silber illustrates the ways in which time is used as a technique in writing fiction: “A story can arrange events in any order it finds useful, but it does have to move between then and now and later.” In “The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song,” poet Ellen Bryant Voigt turns to music, “a helpful analog in any consideration of artistic language use.”

Sara Grajek
Library Notes

The falling leaves and crisp air we’ve been experiencing in the evening makes me want to get out my largest soup pot and start throwing in ingredients until I have a steaming bowl of soup, fit for a meal all on its own. Add a crunchy slice of toasted bread with a dollop of butter or a fresh-tossed salad of leafy greens and you have a perfect fall meal. Rowan Public Library has a wonderful collection of cookbooks, and among them you’ll find several focused on soups, stews and one-pot meals.

Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special is brought to you by the famous vegetarian restaurant of the same name in Ithaca, NY. For twenty-five years, the Moosewood Collective has been serving an ever-changing menu of natural, whole food selections. In fact, the only thing on the menu that is constant is the daily selection of a cup or bowl of soup, a salad, and a thick slice of bread. Pulled together in this book you’ll find traditional soup recipes such as potato, tomato, and minestrone. You’ll also find Butternut Squash with Sizzled Sage Soup, Cauliflower, Cheese and Tomato Soup, and Tomato Flowers Salad.

For a heartier meal, turn to Real Stew by Clifford A. Wright. More about stews than soup, the recipes in this cookbook will stick to your ribs. They are divided into the type of meat they feature and include a wide variety and ethnicity in their selection. Fish and lobster dishes from New England, Hungarian Smoked Sausage, West African Beef and Peanut Stew, and good old fashioned Beef Stroganoff are represented along with hundreds more.

Love Soup, by Anna Thomas, is a collection of vegetarian soup recipes. Many of the soups are showcased in a menu, paired with complimentary recipes. For example, Great Pumpkin Soup is paired with Simple Chipotle Sauce, Fresh Corn and Cheddar Cheese Cornbread, and Baked Apples. You can find the recipes for all these within the pages of Thomas’ cookbook. Thomas didn’t start cooking until she was on her own and in college, but discovered that her friends liked what she made and that soon developed into a cookbook.

If you’d like to try your hand at bread baking (to go along with your soup), Peter Reinhart teaches at Johnson and Wales in Providence, RI, the largest culinary school in the world so he’s a good reference. His book, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, can seem intimidating at first, but that’s because Reinhart is the real thing. He walks you step-by-step through the bread making process, which he learned in France. He explains his theories about the best way to let the dough rise, how to get the most flavor, and a beautiful loaf of bread. His book contains recipes for classic white bread as well as cheesy bread, fruit breads, pizza and more.

For more inspiration try Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, The Wooden Spoon Book of Home-Style Soups, Stews, Chowders, Chilis & Gumbos by Marilyn M. Moore, or The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Stop by Rowan Public Library and browse 641.5 for many more cookbooks. There are simply too many for me to list them all here and chances are, you will find some new favorite recipes to keep you warm and toasty throughout fall and winter.

Library Notes
October 15, 2010
Dara L. Cain

Spook-tacular Halloween Books for Children

October 31st is just around the corner! Here are some entertaining Halloween books that are certain to get your children eager for a fun day of jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, and handfuls of holiday candy.
Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming: The simple rhyming text accompanied by eye-catching illustrations makes this a fun read a loud story time book for preschoolers. The simple couplets of "Trick or treat, pounding feet, jack-o'-lanterns line the street" set the mood while bright orange pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, tattered witches, and a full harvest moon sets the eerie atmosphere. The effective use of descriptive sound words will get your children excited for Halloween from the “hissing cats/swooping bats” to “clacking bones/muffled moans” without being too scary.

It’s Pumpkin Time! by author Zoe Hall: A brother and sister eagerly get ready for Halloween by planting their very own pumpkin patch. Watch as they plant the seeds, water, weed, and observe as the flowers bloom into bright orange pumpkins. This book gives not only a basic gardening lesson but provides Halloween entertainment as the children are finally able to carve their pumpkins and get ready for some nighttime trick-or-treating.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams: During a walk through the woods to collect herbs, spices, nuts, and seeds, a little old lady encounters spooky objects that begin to follow her. When she makes it back safely into her home she hears a KNOCK KNOCK at the door and the shoes, pants, gloves, hat, and pumpkin head try to scare her one last time. The little old lady is determined not to be afraid and comes up with a clever solution that is sure to have young readers laughing. This story is perfect to read for Halloween or during any other time of the year.

Froggy’s Halloween by Jonathan London: Froggy is so thrilled that Halloween is almost here but he is having a difficult time selecting a costume. First he imagines himself as Super Frog flying high, then Ghost Frog scaring everyone, and finally the very frightful Vampire Frog. After much thought Froggy finally decides to dress up as Frog Prince for an action packed night of trick-or-treating. Froggy is in for a Halloween surprise when Frogilina finds him irresistible in his dashing costume and tries giving him the biggest scare of the night.

Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo: Mrs. Watson wants to dress up her adorable pig Mercy for Halloween but what pig wants to wear a costume. Mr. and Mrs. Watson bribe Mercy into wearing a tiara and princess dress by informing her that the neighbors will give her treats. In this hilarious Halloween escapade Mercy’s search for her favorite treat, hot buttered toast lead her and the neighbors on a Halloween “parade” and a rescue mission to save General Washington, the neighbor’s cat.

Scared Silly (Bunnicula and Friends Series) by James Howe: Four friends, Harold the dog, Chester the cat, Howie the dachshund puppy and Bunnicular the vampire rabbit are left alone in the house on Halloween night. The animals experience the unexpected, beginning with a storm brewing outside and goblins wandering the street, to a witch boiling up a pot of trouble in their kitchen. Who is this unexpected visitor and why does she take Bunnicula? The animals are determined to rescue Bunnicular for fear he may be a main ingredient and try making an escape until they come face-to-face with aliens. Can the night get any stranger?

Library Notes
Erika Kosin

Fact Filled books that will enthrall children but make their parents cringe

When children are looking for fun books to read, it has been found that some children, especially boys, prefer books with real facts and the more obscure and gross the information the better. So what type of books can you find that give interesting facts and also explore everything gross? Any book that involves bodily functions such as spit and poop, the inner workings of garbage, or even about underwear may fit the bill. Luckily, the Rowan Public Library has a few books like this in their children’s room, but don’t be fooled, children will also learn a few things while reading about what makes most of us squirm and cringe.

Fact filled books that will peak a child’s interest:
Getting to Know Your Toilet: The Disgusting Story Behind Your Home’s Strangest Feature by Connie Colwell Miller and Sewers and the Rats that Love Them: The Disgusting Story Behind Where it All Goes by Kelly Barnhill. - What did people use before the invention of toilet paper? Where did people go to the bathroom before the toilet bowl? Where does all of the waste go? Are there really Alligators living in the New York City Sewers? How do Sewers work and if they smell so bad, why do we have them? While answering these questions, children will also learn how a toilet works, the history of how the toilet became a fixture in most households, why proper waste disposal is important, and why washing their hands after using the toilet will help stop the spread of germs.

Do You Know Where Your Water has Been?: The Disgusting Story Behind What You’re Drinking by Kelly Barnhill - Children discover the reason why treating drinking water is important and how it is unsafe to drink from a lake or other water source.

Garbage, Waste, Dumps and You: The Disgusting Story Behind What We Leave Behind by Connie Colwell Miller - Learn the history of Garbage collection and what happens to the garbage after it leaves your house.

Underwear: What We Wear Under There by Ruth Freeman Swain - From the loincloth to pantaloons and long johns, children can now learn what people wore under their clothing years ago.

It’s Spit-acular!: The Secrets of Saliva by Melissa Stewart - Ever wonder why you salivate when you smell food? Did you know that humans create enough saliva to fill 1-2 two liter bottles every day? This book explores the different uses of saliva, establishing how it is important to humans and other animals.

Library Notes
Lynn Denison
September 16, 2010

At Rowan Public Library many of our fiction books are labeled by genre in order to assist our patrons in their search for a certain type of book. For example, we have western, romance, thriller, fantasy, horror, mystery, and religious fiction labels. My tendency for the last several years has been to choose books in the thriller genre. A question I have often had is what classifies one book a thriller and another a mystery? In an online article on MysteryNet.com, Janet A. Smith writes, “The suspense thriller has been loosely defined as a story in which the audience is waiting for something significant to happen. The reader experiences a vicarious thrill by identifying with the hero and the danger he faces, becoming a participant in the chase. A mystery, on the other hand, is a novel of revelation, with action more mental than physical. A significant event, usually a murder, has just occurred, and the protagonist’s job is to discover who committed the crime, and why.” In a recent Newsweek article titled “Mysteries, Thriller, and the Verities of the Heart,” Jon Meacham states, “Mysteries and thrillers are not the same things, though they are literary siblings. Roughly put, I would say the distinction is that mysteries emphasize motive and psychology whereas thrillers rely more heavily on action and plot. Some mysteries are thrillers and some thrillers are mysteries, but not all mysteries are thrillers, nor are all thrillers mysteries.” Now that we are clear on that. . . .
Of course, in the thriller genre there are many popular categories. Some of the most well known, which are available at the library, are listed below.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre’ is the quintessential espionage thriller. Whiteout by Ken Follett is the classic thriller and tells the chilling story of what happens when biological weapons fall into the wrong hands. A top pick for a psychological suspense thriller is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, which will not only scare you silly but will fool you as well. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turrow with its fascinating plot and legal insight remains at the top of the definitive legal thriller. For contemporary military thrillers it would be difficult to beat the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. You may want to begin with the first Reacher novel, The Killing Floor.

Thrillers have long been one of the most popular reading genres with dozens of them dominating the best seller lists each year. Why not choose one or two at the library and see if you, too, don’t find your heart racing and your imagination running overtime as you turn page after page?

LIBRARY NOTES: THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION
PAUL BIRKHEAD – SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

I have always been fascinated by stories of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Perhaps it’s because I was born within walking distance of where their journey began in St. Charles, Missouri. A recent trip back to Missouri for me included a visit to nearby Hartford, Illinois where a monument to Lewis and Clark had just been dedicated. The Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower celebrates not only the two captains but also a view of the area where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet. When I returned to North Carolina, I still had Lewis and Clark on my mind, so I decided to see what information Rowan Public Library had on the expedition.

Undaunted Courage, a New York Times bestseller, is an excellent biography of Meriwether Lewis and a good introduction to the expedition that sought to map out the territory acquired by the U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase. The late historian, Stephen Ambrose, combined extensive research and his talent for writing to create a work that is very informative and so utterly fascinating that it’s hard to put down.

Rowan Public Library also has on DVD, the PBS series Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. The documentary, directed and produced by Ken Burns, originally aired in 1997 and is considered by many to be some of Burns’ best work. While not as lengthy as a typical Burns’ production (it clocks in at only four hours), it is full of fascinating facts, period illustrations, stunning video footage, and moving narratives read by a host of celebrities. The library has in its collection the book companion to the series which is also available for check-out.

Sacagawea of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, written by Ella Clark and Margot Edmonds, is a biography of the Shoshone Indian woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark out west. Most historians agree that the expedition might have been a complete failure were it not for the help of Sacagawea, the wife of a French trapper who was hired on as a guide. Sacagawea graciously served as an interpreter on several occasions, and she also proved invaluable in procuring horses and supplies from a tribe the group stumbled upon that just happened to include some of her own blood relatives.

On a lighter note, Westward Whoa: In the Wake of Lewis and Clark, is a story of two friends who head west in an inflatable raft and attempt to follow the same course as Lewis and Clark. Their tale of childish antics and misadventures will keep you laughing as you turn the pages, and you won’t believe what happens to them at the end of their quest.

Whether American history sparks your interest or you just like a good old-fashioned adventure story, anything having to do with the Lewis and Clark expedition will be sure to please. Stop by the Rowan Public Library and learn more about the journey that fostered the expansion of the American West.

Gretchen Beilfuss Witt

Mystery readers everywhere are drawn to the quintessential writer of the crime puzzle, Dame Agatha Christie. With two of the most beloved sleuths and a number of other characters, Christie examines the working of the human psyche in a manner that continues to enthrall readers. Beginning in 1920 and continuing nearly till her death in 1976, Christie regaled her fans not only with full length mystery novels but with romances, short stories and plays as well. In the thoroughly delightful book, “The Bedside, Bathside, & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie”, admirers of her work have provided a smorgasbord of commentary to enlighten and entertain.

The book introduces Christie’s first great detective who appears in more than half of her murder mysteries. Accepting a dare from her older sister Madge, Agatha wrote her first novel in 1915 although it was not published until 1920. Although devoted to Sherlock Holmes, she felt that she must create a new kind of detective. She often drew from her own experiences and this was no exception. Agatha knew of an enclave of Belgian refugees near her home in Devon. Christie imagined a retired Belgian policeman, neat and tidy, but a small man with a “flavor of absurdity.” Such a small man deserved a big name, perhaps the hero Hercules modified to flow with the surname, Hercule Poirot entered the literary lexicon.

Interspersed between summaries of her marvelous tales are amusing bits with titles like “A Nice Cuppa” explaining the origin of the English tea ritual and how it appears in various narratives. It gives details about how tea became a fashionable ladies beverage as early as 1662 in London with Twinning’s Tea house first making an appearance in London in 1717. Taking tea with a variety of hostesses to win confidences or acquire needed information became a fixture in both Poirot novels and those of Miss Marple. Charming vignettes like “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you/Rooms to avoid in an English County House” or “How to Trace your family mystery – if you dare” share space with essays discussing weapons like the pearl handled 22 or the oft found trophy from the war, the Mauser. Other articles discuss the presence of class distinctions and dress codes and the influence they had in Christie’s crime stories.

Adding recipes for the condemned, crosswords, word searches and acrostics make this a wonderful book with which to take a break of a few minutes or curl up with for hours. Enjoy immersing yourself in Agatha’s criminal world with “The Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion” and continue your reading pleasure by checking out her splendid books as well as the wonderful films adaptations and television series. Cozy up with the Queen of the Murder Mystery.

Library Notes
August 9, 2010 Betty Moore
“To Kill a Mockingbird”

How long has it been since you read “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee? Or perhaps you saw the movie but never read the book. Maybe you think of the book as something only for students to read. However, the book is definitely one that deserves to be read and reread and now is a good time for that.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which has sold more than 30 million copies and made a lasting impact on readers and writers. Many libraries, book groups, and individuals are taking part in a celebration of the book.

For my own personal celebration, I have just finished listening to the book on CD, wonderfully read by Sissy Spacek. I heard my favorite quotations, including, “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

As a student, a high school teacher, and a mom, I’ve read the book at least five times. Each time I read it I discover new things, as I am different places in my life. Returning now to the book makes me reflect on what has changed since that time and what has not.

The novel looks at events in a small Alabama town in the mid-1930s through the eyes of Scout, a young white girl. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer defending an innocent black man accused of rape. Through the perspective of this precocious young girl, who doesn’t always understand what is said or happening around her, the book explores layers of innocence and guilt, justice and injustice, society’s rigid codes, race relations, class, poverty, and compassion.

While the book concerns very serious themes, it also contains a lot of humor. Scout relates many humorous stories about her family and neighbors – made even funnier, or more ironic – by young Scout’s immaturity and innocence of adult matters. Sometimes Scout’s clear youthful perspective sees right through the pretensions and hypocrisy of the adults around her, as when the church mission society ladies discuss their help for natives in Africa but don’t see how their own neighbors of a different race or class need their help too.

This well-loved book is available at the library in many formats. The film is also available. Plan to revisit them soon and join with others to celebrate “Mockingbird” three Tuesdays in November. As you read, or reread, consider who is your favorite character. What lines stick in your memory? Has reading the book made a lasting impression on you or made a difference in your life?

On November 2, there will be a book discussion at RPL Headquarters for people who want to read or reread and discuss the book, as well as people who are curious but have never read it. On November 16 we’ll show the 1962 Oscar-winning film based on Lee’s book. Book Bites Book Club will discuss the book at their November 30 meeting at RPL’s South Branch in China Grove. More details about times and places will be available closer to those dates.