eBranch Blog

November 29, 2004

20 Scariest Movies of All Time

Entertainment Weekly's picks for the 20 Scariest Movies of All Time, "with the most fright per frame."

The Shining
Unforgettable images of terror envelope a family isolated and snowbound in a huge resort hotel with a macabre history of violence. The caretaker's son's psychic ability (his " shining ") gives him visions of evil to come. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Jack Nicholson & Shelley Duvall. Based on the book The Shining by Stephen King. R

New Bestsellers 11/29

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Philippa Gregory. The Virgin's Lover
Blending historical fact with contemporary rumor, the bestselling author of "The Queen's Fool" creates a dark and tense novel of Tudor times, which casts Elizabeth I in a light no one has suggested before. Passionate, fearful, emotionally needy, this is a queen who rules over a feverishly plotting, pleasure-seeking court. (NYT #15, PW #14, WSJ #13)

FALLING AWAKE, by Jayne Ann Krentz. (Putnam, $24.95.) A dream analyst at a center for sleep research becomes involved with a government agent. (NYT #13)

Alice Munro. Runaway Stories
Alice Munro's superb new collection contains stories about women of all ages and circumstances, from a young woman who wants to leave her husband and a country girl who takes a job at a resort hotel to a woman who can foresee the future and its consequences. (NYT #11, PW #15, WSJ #15)

Mark Winegardner. The Godfather Returns
Winegardner--whose proposal for this novel was chosen in an international competition--brings new artistry and vision to Mario Puzo's mythic characters. (NYT #7, PW #5, WSJ #6)

Nonfiction

Matthew Kelly. Rhythm of Life
In this new and expanded edition, Kelly shows how one's true purpose in life is to become the best version of oneself, planting "seeds of greatness" by attending to legitimate needs--physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. (WSJ #10)

Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films List

The movies on the Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films list are an assortment of classic and contemporary, foreign and domestic, films with varying themeatic references. The Arts & Faith website developed this list in 2004. Titles were selected with a combination of anonymous voting, open debate, and expert jury selection. They plan to update it annually.

The Passion of The Christ
Concerns the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In the Garden of Gethsemane near the Mount of Olives, Jesus is betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy and brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, for sentencing. The roaring crowd demands his death, so Pilate orders his crucifixion. Jesus is severely beaten and made to carry his cross up to Golgotha, the hill outside Jerusalem, where he is nailed to the cross. With his mother looking on, he dies. Directed by Mel Gibson. Starring James Caviezel. R

Schindler's List
Oskar Schindler uses Jews to start a factory in Poland during the war. He witnesses the horrors endured by the Jews, and starts to save them. Directed by Stephen Spielberg. Starring Liam Neeson & Ben Kingsley. Based on the book Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally. R

November 22, 2004

New Bestsellers 11/22

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark. The Christmas Thief
The bestselling mother-and-daughter authors create an entertaining and suspenseful tale featuring two of Mary Higgins Clark's most beloved characters--Alvirah and Willy--who become embroiled in a Yuletide mystery in Manhattan when the Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Center disappears. (NYT #7, PW #9, WSJ #9)

James Patterson. London Bridges
Alex Cross joins forces with Scotland Yard and Interpol in pursuit of the Wolf and the Weasel. (NYT #1, PW #1, WSJ #1)

Nonfiction

Stephen R. Covey. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
The author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" urges readers to go beyond effectiveness into a whole other dimension of human experience--the potential for greatness. Included with the book is a DVD containing six short films, usually featured in Covey's seminars, that illustrate and amplify the major themes of the book. (PW #8, WSJ #5)

FAVRE, by Brett Favre and Bonita Favre with Chris Havel. (N.F.L Publishing/ RuggedLand, $29.95.) A profusely illustrated book about the quarterback. (NYT #16)

Business

Stephen R. Covey. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (WSJ #1)

Dave Ramsey. Financial Peace Revisited
With new chapters on marriage and money, kids and money, and singles and money, Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace Revisited" helps readers to understand the forces behind their financial distress and how to set things right--financially, emotionally, and spiritually. (WSJ #12)

Children's Author & Illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, 1939-2004

Trina Schart Hyman, the author and illustrator of more than 150 books, died on November 20 at the age of 65. She won the Caldecott medal in 1985 for Saint George and the Dragon, retold by Margaret Hodges; she received Caldecott honors in 2000 for A Child's Calendar, 1990 for Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, and 1984 for Little Red Riding Hood.

Trina Schart Hyman with text by Margaret Hodges. Saint George and the Dragon
Retells the segment from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which George, the Red Cross Knight, slays the dreadful dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside for years and brings peace and joy to the land.

2004 Notable Children's Books

Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books and recordings. There are selections for

Younger Readers...
Steve Jenkins & Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Explore the many amazing things that animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails.

Middle Readers...
Sharon Creech. Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door.

Older Readers...
Theresa Nelson. Ruby Electric
Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, movie buff and aspiring screen writer, tries to resolve the mysteries surrounding her little brother's stuffed woolly mammoth and their father's five year absence.

and Listeners.
Ann M. Martin. A Corner of the Universe
The summer that Hattie turns twelve, she meets the childlike uncle she never knew and becomes friends with a girl who works at the carnival that comes to Hattie's small town. Read by Judith Ivey.

November 18, 2004

New Bestsellers 11/15

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Janet Evanovich. Metro Girl
Evanovich's spectacular new novel about a woman in search of her missing brother comes complete with high stakes, hot nights, murder, and graft--not to mention car chases, car races, car explosions, and much more. (NYT #1, PW #2, WSJ #3)

Fannie Flagg. A Redbird Christmas
The beloved author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" and other bestsellers has penned a novel about a small remote town where something unusual happens on Christmas morning. (NYT #8, PW #13)

James Patterson. London Bridges
Alex Cross joins forces with Scotland Yard and Interpol in pursuit of the Wolf and the Weasel. (USA #2)

Jeff Shaara. To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War
Jeff Sharra opens the window onto the other worldly tableau of trench warfare through the eyes of a typical British soldier whose innocent youth is cast into the awful hell of a new and terrifying brand of war. In the air above, a new kind of hero emerges the flying ace. As the conflict enters its third year, a neutral America is goaded into battle, but is woefully unprepared. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John Blackjack Pershing, and by spring 1918, the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force joins the fight in Europe. With the renewed spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned. (PW #15, WSJ #15)

Tom Wolfe. I Am Charlotte Simmons
With his signature eye for detail, the "New York Times" bestselling atuhor draws on extensive observation of campuses across the country to immortalize college life in the '00s. (USA #7)

Nonfiction

BECAUSE HE COULD, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, $25.95.) The former White House adviser and his wife ??deconstruct?? Bill Clinton?s autobiography, ??My Life.?? (NYT #15)

Nicholas Perricone. The Perricone Promise
Through superfoods, nutritional supplements, and state-of-the-art topical applications, the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Wrinkle Cure" presents an astonishing program to reverse the aging process, inside and out. (USA #3)

THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, by T. R. Reid. (Penguin Press, $25.95.) A correspondent for The Washington Post traces the ??geopolitical revolution?? that is taking place across the Atlantic. (NYT #14)

PW Children's Fiction

Herbie Brennan. Faerie Wars
Troubled by family problems, Henry finds his life taking a whole new dimension when he and his friend, old Mr. Fogarty, become involved with Prince Pyrgus Malvae who has been sent from the faerie world in order to escape the treacherous Faeries of the Night. (#9)

Mary Pope Osborne. Winter of the Ice Wizard
Jack and Annie are joined by Teddy and Kathleen as they travel to the snowy Land-Behind-the-Clouds, where they search for the eye of the Ice Wizard and attempt to help Merlin and Morgan. (#2)

November 12, 2004

Houston Texans @ South Houston

Pictures from the Billy Miller's and Cheerleader Ginger's, of the Houston Texans, visit to the South Houston Branch are available on the Texans' website. The Texans will be visiting Parker Williams and Aldine in December.

November 10, 2004

Western Classics Book List

Readers of American Western Magazine selected their favorite Western Classics of the past 100 years in a poll in 2000.

Charles Portis. True Grit
The story of Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl from Arkansas, who sets out in the winter of 1870-something to avenge the murder of her father.

November 08, 2004

New Bestsellers 11/8

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

The Cr?ticas [Spanish language] Bestsellers were updated for October.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

David Baldacci. Hour Game
The unstoppable duo from the "New York Times" bestseller "Split Second" returns to track two diabolical killers, one of whom is copying the other--and stealing the "credit." (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #4, WSJ #1)

Jude Deveraux. Always
The "New York Times" bestselling author concludes her Forever series. When Darci Monroe is enlisted by the FBI to help locate the missing father of undercover agent Jack Rose, she doesn't realize that her attraction to Jack will lead her into an era long past. (USA #6)

Nora Roberts. Blue Dahlia
An all-new trilogy in which three women discover friendship, love, and a shocking secret right in their own backyard. (USA #1)

Danielle Steel. Echoes
Steel draws readers into a vanished world, weaving an intricate tapestry of a mother's love, a daughter's courage, and the unwavering faith that sustained them--even in the darkest hours of World War II. (NYT #2, PW #5, USA #13, WSJ #6)

David Weber. The Shadow of Saganami
The "New York Times" bestselling author returns to the universe of Honor Harrington in this exciting first novel of a new space adventure series featuring the brand-new graduates of Saganami Island, the Royal Manticoran Navy's academy, an elite group trained by Honor herself. (NYT #16, PW #15, WSJ #12)

Nonfiction

Maya Angelou. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipies
Maya Angelou remembers key moments in her life centering on the dinner table--and shares over 60 of her own recipes. Dishes include fried meat pies, biscuits, potato salad, smoked pork chops, Beef Wellington, chicken livers, Minnesota wild rice, pot roast, and wilted lettuce. Color photos throughout. (PW #11, WSJ #11)

Joseph J. Ellis. His Excellency: George Washington
Ellis has crafted a landmark biography that brings to life in all his complexity the most important and perhaps least understood figure in American history, George Washington. (NYT #6, PW #9, WSJ #9)

WILL IN THE WORLD, by Stephen Greenblatt. (Norton, $26.95.) A Harvard professor explains how Shakespeare became the greatest of all playwrights. (NYT #13)

PW Religion

Pope John Paul II. Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way
That invitation, 'Rise, let us be on our way', is addressed particularly to us bishops, His chosen friends. Even if these words indicate a time of trial, great effort, and a painful cross, we must not allow ourselves to give way to fear. They are also words of peace and joy, the fruit of faith. On another occasion, to the same three disciples, Jesus said: 'Rise, and do not be afraid!' (Matthew 17:7). God's love does not impose burdens upon us that we cannot carry, nor make demands of us that we cannot fulfill. For whatever He asks of us, He provides the help that is needed. (#4)

Max Lucado. Come Thirsty
In this renewing and life-giving book, Lucado leads readers to the four essential nutrients needed by every soul and invites them to come to the cross and know that sins are pardoned and death is defeated. (#5)

NYT Children's Chapter

T. A. Barron. The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy
the Dark Prophecy In accordance with prophecy, Avalon's existence is threatened in the year that stars stop shining and at the time when both the dark child and Merlin's heir are to be revealed. (#7)

November 05, 2004

Quiz: US Presidents in Fiction

Now that the election is over, try your hand at this quiz about US Presidents in Fiction from the Guardian newspaper in England.
Source

Audiobooks for Young Adults

Selected by the Audiobook and Media Exploration Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The titles on the 2004 Audiobooks for Young Adults list are selected for their appeal to a teen audience, the quality of their recording and because they enhance the audience's appreciation of any written work on which they may be based. Titles are selected from the past two years of releases.

M. T. Anderson. Feed
In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble. Read by David Aaron Baker.

November 02, 2004

Trees of Texas Named Outstanding Texas Reference Source

Trees of Texas by Carmine A. Stahl & Ria McElvaney was named Outstanding Texas Reference Source for 2005. The annual award is given by the Texas Library Association Reference Round Table.

Trees of Texas beat out nine other books including Valor Across the Lone Star: the Congressional Medal of Honor in Frontier Texas, Documents of Texas History, Handbook of Texas Music, Portable Handbook of Texas, Texas Indians, Handbook of Texas Birds, Rock Art of the Lower Pecos, and Insects of the Lost Pines. Three websites, including Texas Indians, were also nominated.

New Books/Movies/Audio Lists Updated

The New Books, Audios, and Movies lists have been updated with titles cataloged in October 2004.

Branch Book Clubs

Did you know that many of our branches have book clubs? Information on dates, times, and what they're reading is available on our Branch Book Clubs page.

November 01, 2004

New Bestsellers 11/1

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. This week, because of technical difficulties last week, we have included those books which were new last week as well. They are noted with "*New Last Week." For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

The Library Journal Lists of Most Borrowed Books in Public Libraries for Fiction and Nonfiction were updated for September 15.

We have added the New York Times Advice Bestseller list to our collection of best seller lists. This list is updated weekly.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Diane Mott Davidson. Double Shot
"Today's foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit" ("Entertainment Weekly") whips up a rich souffl of murder and mischief as her trusty heroine Goldy Schultz gets caught up in a web of secrets and lies that could tear her family apart. (NYT #12, PW #10, WSJ #10)

Stephen R. Donaldson. The Runes of the Earth
Donaldson makes a triumphant return to his "New York Times" bestselling and critically acclaimed Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series with a quartet of new novels that take place ten years after Covenant's ultimate sacrifice as savior of the Land. (PW #14)

Nora Roberts. Northern Lights *New Last Week
Lunacy was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street--and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as Chief of Police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town, where he unearths the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath Lunacy's placid surface. And his discovery will threaten the new life--and the new love--that he has finally found for himself. (NYT #1, PW #3, USA #15, WSJ #4)

RA Salvatore. The Two Swords
The third and final title in the latest "New York Times" bestselling trilogy from R.A. Salvatore, this book once again features his popular dark elf character Drizzt Do'Urden. (NYT #4, PW #2, USA #10, WSJ #1)

Anita Shreve. Light on Snow *New last week
When a father and his daughter find an abandoned infant in the snow , the event forever alters the 11-year-old's understanding of the world. (NYT #9, PW #7, WSJ #8)

Stuart Woods. The Prince of Beverly Hills
Woods introduces a demoted 1930's Hollywood detective who is reassigned to security detail for Centurion Pictures. His charm has columnists dubbing him "the Prince of Beverly Hills," until he uncovers a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that threatens the studio and may originate with the mob. (NYT #10, WSJ #11)

Nonfiction

George Carlin. When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops *New Last Week
On the heels of George Carlin's #1 "New York Times" bestseller "Napalm & Silly Putty" comes "When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?"--infused with Carlin's trademark irreverent humor and biting cultural observations. Carlin offers his opinion on everything from evasive euphemistic language to politicians to the media to dead people. Nothing and no one is safe. (NYT #2, PW #3, USA #7, WSJ #3)

Phil Jackson. The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul
One of the most successful coaches in the history of basketball offers his personal account of a season like no other--the extraordinary ride of the 2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers. (NYT #5, PW #11, WSJ #10)

Tatum O'Neal. A Paper Life *New Last Week
The sensational memoir by one of Hollywood's most talented and turbulent leading ladies--filled with stunning revelations--is an inspirational true tale of survival and triumph against all odds. (NYT #6, PW #10, WSJ #11)

Joel Osteen. Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential *New Last Week
In "Your Best Life Now," television outreach pastor Joel Osteen encourages people to discover their innate strengths and abilities on the road to success. (PW #8, WSJ #6)

Donald Trump. Trump: Think Like a Billionaire
Trump tackles building wealth from a number of different angles and includes his most extensive advice on real estate to-date. (PW #15)

Children's Chapter

G. P. Taylor. Wormwood
In 1756, as a deadly comet hurtles toward London, Dr. Sabian Blake and his fourteen-year-old housemaid, Agetta, struggle against dark forces that seek an ancient, powerful book in Blake's possession that would enable them to carry out an evil plan in which Agetta unknowingly plays a pivotal role. (NYT #10)

Children's Picture

Mo Willems. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! *New Last Week
A funny pigeon tries everything to get you to let him drive the bus while the bus driver is away. (NYT #7)

Business

Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, & Charles Burck. Confronting Reality
"Confronting Reality" shows everyone in every kind of business--from start-ups to the Fortune 500, from MBA students to CFOs--the basics of how their businesses can make money. Redefining management theory and practice, the authors provide tools and strategies that readers can use to meet the challenges of this new era and help their companies prosper. (WSJ #4)

Audio Fiction

David Baldacci. Hour Game
A series of brutal murders darkens the Wrightsburg, Virginia countryside. The killer, replicating notorious murders of the past, seeks to improve them, while taunting the police by leaving watches on the victims set to the hour corresponding with their position on his hit list. When Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called to join the case, they are already investigating a crime involving an aristocratic and dysfunctional Southern family. But, as they soon discover, the two cases may be connected. The tension is further increased by a second killer who is copying the crimes of the first. King and Maxwell must discover their identities before the body count increases even more. (Unabridged Cassette, Abridged CD) (PW #2)

Maeve Binchy. Nights of Rain and Stars
A story of sudden endings and new beginnings, of friendships forged in the face of tragedy, and of the nights of rain and stars that fall and shine over a beautiful island in a sparkling sea. In a small Greek island village, a group of travelers from around the world and the local residents they encounter are brought together in unexpected ways when sudden tragedy strikes. (Unabridged Cassette & CD) (PW #7)

Clive Cussler. Sacred Stone
Now for the first time in audiobook comes a new Oregon Files adventure from the #1 "New York Times" bestselling master of high seas action . (Unabridged Cassette) (PW #13)

Julie Garwood. Murder List
Chicago detective Alec Buchanan has been assigned to provide protection for hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison. Regan had once attended a self-help seminar where the presenter asked each attendee to make a "fantasy revenge" list of people who had hurt or deceived them in the past, people they would like to have eliminated. Regan had forgotten all about that list until the people on it began to die. Apparently, someone is determined to turn her fantasies into reality, and death stalks her every move. (Unabridged Cassette) (PW #11)

Jonathan Kellerman & Faye Kellerman. Double Homicide: Santa Fe
For the first time ever, bestselling novelists Jonathan and Faye Kellermen team up to deliver the launch book in a thrilling new series of short crime novels. This book--printed as a reversible volume with two different covers--contains two stories featuring different detectives solving crimes in different cities. (Unabridged CD) (PW #8)

Nora Roberts. Northern Lights
Lunacy was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street--and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as Chief of Police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town, where he unearths the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath Lunacy's placid surface. And his discovery will threaten the new life--and the new love--that he has finally found for himself. . (Unabridged CD) (PW #9)

Alexander McCall Smith. The Sunday Philosophy Club
Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher who also uses her training to solve unusual mysteries. Isabel is Editor of the "Review of Applied Ethics, which addresses such issues as "truth telling in sexual relationships," and she also hosts The Sunday Philosophy Club at her house in Edinburgh. In this first book in McCall Smith's new series Isbel investigates how a young man could have fallen to his death from the top balcony of the Usher Hall. She is aided by her beautiful niece Cat, Cat's ex boyfriend Hugo (whose own good looks Isabel is tantalised by), and her strict housekeeper Grace. Isabel is drawn into the heart of Edinburgh's well heeled, if somewhat shady, business community as she sets out to discover the truth . (Unabridged Cassette & CD) (PW #6)

Audio Nonfiction

Ann Coulter. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)
With titles like "Would Mohamed Atta Object to Armed Pilots?" and "Liberal Pimps for Clintonism," the pieces in this newest work by the controversial columnist explore such subjects as foreign policy, Hollywood celebrities, air travel, and even the inanities of the D.C. dating scene. (Unabridged CD) (PW #8)