eBranch Blog

January 31, 2005

New Bestsellers 1/31/05

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

Ron McLarty. The Memory of Running
McLarty tells the story of Smithson Ide, a 43-year-old, 279-pound supervisor at a GI Joe factory who begins a cross-country journey on his old Raleigh bicycle to retrieve the body of his beautiful, mentally disturbed sister. (PW #14)

GILEAD , by Marilynne Robinson. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $23.) A story of fathers and sons that reaches back to the abolitionist movement and into the 1950's, narrated by a 76-year-old Iowa pastor who is dying. (NYT #13)

Zane. Afterburn
When Washington, D.C., chiropractor Yardley Brown goes to his local bank, it isn't only to make deposits into his account. He has long since accrued some interest in Rayne Waters, a bank employee who's too beautiful to be true -- and too beautiful to be single. At least that's what Yardley believes, which is why he has never approached her. Little does he know that Rayne is anything but taken. Not for want of trying, of course. But after barely surviving a dating disaster with her hairdresser's brother and then falling for a member of her church band who, it turns out, is celibate, she's on the verge of giving up. That is, until Yardley -- discouraged by his own slew of dead-end romances -- finally works up the courage to give her a try. (WSJ #14)

NYT Children's Chapter

Gennifer Choldenko. Al Capone Does My Shirts
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. (#10)

Cynthia Kadohata. Kira-Kira
Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill. (#2)

NYT Children's Picture

George O'Connor. Kapow
Truth, justice, and the American Eagleway! A young boy realizes what it really means to be a superhero. (#10)

2005/2006 Texas Bluebonnet Award List

The Bluebonnet Award is a project of the Texas Library Association and is co-sponsored by the Children's Roundtable and the Texas Association of School Librarians, both of the Texas Library Association from suggestions from librarians, teachers, parents, students, and others. Students in grades 3-6 vote in January for the winner.

Janet S. Anderson. The Last Treasure
Thirteen-year-old Ellsworth leaves his father to visit the relatives he has never met and eventually joins forces with Jess, his distant cousin, to uncover family secrets and search for their ancestor's hidden treasure.

2005/2006 Lone Star Reading List

The Texas Lone Star Reading List is a reading incentive program designed for young adults of Texas, (grades 6-8), who are encouraged to read books from a selected reading list. This list is prepared by the Texas Lone Star Reading List Committee, a part of the Texas Library Association Executive Board and the Young Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association.

Helen Fox. Eager
Unlike Grumps, their old-fashioned robot, the Bell family's new robot, Eager, is programmed to not merely obey but to question, reason, and exercise free will.

January 25, 2005

Academy Award Nominations Announced

The Academy Award nominations were announced today. The awards will be presented on Sunday, February 27 beginning at 7 PM CST on ABC. Check out previous winners for Motion Picture, Documentary Feature, Foreign Language Film, and Animated Feature.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda (In Theaters)
Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland (In Theaters)
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator (In Theaters)
Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby (In Theaters)
Jamie Foxx in Ray (In Theaters)

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:
Annette Bening in Being Julia (In Theaters)
Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake (In Theaters)
Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (In Theaters)
Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:
Alan Alda in The Aviator (In Theaters)
Thomas Haden Church in Sideways (In Theaters)
Jamie Foxx in Collateral
Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby (In Theaters)
Clive Owen in Closer (In Theaters)

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:
Cate Blanchett in The Aviator (In Theaters)
Laura Linney in Kinsey (In Theaters)
Virginia Madsen in Sideways (In Theaters)
Sophie Okonedo in Hotel Rwanda (In Theaters)
Natalie Portman in Closer (In Theaters)

Achievement in Directing Nominees:
The Aviator - Martin Scorsese (In Theaters)
Million Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood (In Theaters)
Ray - Taylor Hackford (In Theaters)
Sideways - Alexander Payne (In Theaters)
Vera Drake - Mike Leigh (In Theaters)

Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees:
The Aviator (In Theaters)
Finding Neverland (In Theaters)
Million Dollar Baby (In Theaters)
Ray (In Theaters)
Sideways (In Theaters)

Best Animated Feature of the Year Nominees:
The Incredibles
Shark Tale
Shrek 2

Best Documentary Feature Nominees:
Born into Brothels
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Super Size Me
Tupac: Resurrection
Twist of Faith

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Nominees:
As It Is in Heaven (Sweden)
The Chorus (Les Choristes) (France)
Downfall (Germany)
The Sea Inside (Spain)
Yesterday (South Africa)

New Bestsellers 1/24/05

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

ALONE, by Lisa Gardner. (Bantam, $24.) A sniper with the Massachusetts State Police faces a wrongful-death lawsuit ? and a killer who's on the loose. (NYT #9)

John Grisham. The Broker
In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #1, WSJ #1)

Nonfiction

Jack Canfield. The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
Get ready to transform yourself for success. Jack Canfield, cocreator of the phenomenal bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, turns to the principles he's studied, taught, and lived for more than 30 years in this practical and inspiring guide that will help any aspiring person get from where they are to where they want to be. (PW #11, WSJ #11)

102 MINUTES , by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. (Times Books/Holt, $26.) Two journalists at The New York Times describe people's struggle to survive inside the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. (NYT #12)

Newt Gingrich. Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America
A grass root call to action and will set the debate for the new administration and Congress. (NYT #6, PW #12, WSJ #13)

Malcolm Gladwell. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
How do we make decisions--good and bad--and why are some people so much better at it than others? Thats the question Malcolm Gladwell asks and answers in the follow-up to his huge bestseller, The Tipping Point. (NYT #2, PW #4, USA #9, WSJ #4)

ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION , by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. (Scribner, $25.) How autism can help lead to an understanding of the brains, emotions and talents of animals. (NYT #10)

January 19, 2005

New Bestsellers 1/17/2005

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

Barbara Taylor Bradford. Unexpected Blessings
The continuing saga of the descendents of Emma Hart, first begun in A Woman of Substance, more than 20 years ago. (NYT #6, PW #12)

Lillian Jackson Braun. The Cat Who Went Bananas
The good people of Pickax are agog with anticipation: Not only is the new bookstore, The Pirate's Chest, about to open, but the Theatre Club is set to perform Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. The play does not continue past opening night, however, for a member of the cast is killed in a car accident . . . or was it an accident? Koko seems to suspect otherwise, and Qwill and his clever cats have their work cut out for them. (PW #14, WSJ #11)

Linda Fairstein. Entombed
Alexandra Cooper is back facing two crimes that may be related. (NYT #9, PW #11, WSJ #13)

Terry Goodkind. Chainfire
With Wizard's First Rule and seven subsequent masterpieces, Terry Goodkind has thrilled readers worldwide with the unique sweep of his storytelling. Now Goodkind returns with a new novel of Richard and Kahlan, the beginning of a sequence of three novels that will bring their epic story to its culmination. (NYT #3, PW #3, USA #8, WSJ #2)

AFTERBURN, by Zane. (Atria, $24.95.) A chiropractor becomes enamored of a beautiful woman who works at a bank in Washington. (NYT #11)

Nonfiction

David Bach. Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age
In Start Late, Finish Rich, David Bach takes the ?Finish Rich? wisdom that has already helped millions of people and tailors it specifically to all of us who forgot to save, procrastinated, or got sidetracked by life?s unexpected challenges. (PW #7, WSJ #4)

DO-GOODERS, by Mona Charen. (Sentinel, $25.95.) The syndicated columnist indicts liberals for failing "to help those they set out to help."

Chris Crowley. Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond
Draws on the very latest science of aging to show how men 50 or older can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, and continue to live like fifty-year-olds until well into their eighties. (PW #15, WSJ #15)

Mireille. Guiliano. French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure
Stylish, convincing, wise, funny?and just in time: the ultimate non -diet book, which could radically change the way you think and live. (PW #11, WSJ #10)

A BROTHER'S JOURNEY, by Richard B. Pelzer. (Warner, $21.95.) The brother of Dave Pelzer, author of "A Child Called 'It,' " details the abuse he himself suffered at the hands of their alcoholic mother. (NYT #12)

PW Religion

David Aikman. A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush
David Aikman, skilled journalist and former senior correspondent for TIME magazine, pens this dramatic and gripping account of Bush?s journey to faith. Based on interviews and behind-the-scenes stories. (#6)

Chuck Norris. Against All Odds: My Story
Against All Odds is an inspirational story of how Norris overcame abject poverty from childhood, the effects of his father?s alcoholism and desertion of the family, and his own shyness and lack of strength and ability early in his life. Norris writes candidly about how he was able to overcome such obstacles in his life?giving full credit to God. (#9)

January 14, 2005

Reading Is America's Favorite Pastime

According to the HarrisPoll, America still loves to read. In an annual poll (since 1995), Harris has asked America what they like to do and Reading (35%), watching TV (21%), and spending time with their families and children (20%) have topped the list each year.

Source

January 13, 2005

New Books/Movies/Audio Lists Updated

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

January 11, 2005

New Bestsellers 1/10/05

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

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

Fiction

Suzanne Brockmann. Hot Target
A continuation of Brockmann's Troubleshooters Inc romantic series. (PW #9, WSJ #8)

WEB Griffin. By Order of the President
Over the years, W.E.B. Griffin's stories of the military and police, told with crackling realism and rich characters, have won him millions of fans and acclaim as "the dean of the American war adventure" ( Publishers Weekly ). Now he vaults into the present day with a series as exciting as anything he has ever written. (PW #11, WSJ #10)

Nonfiction

Sylvia Browne. Sylvia Browne's Lessons for Life
Sharing her personal experiences, the renowned psychic leads readers on the path to perfection of the soul in this eight-week study course. (WSJ #15)

Jared Diamond. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid committing ecological suicide? (PW #10, WSJ #11)

January 06, 2005

Press Release: Tomball College & Community Library Grand Opening

Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Celebration of the New Tomball College and Community Library

Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole and the Board of Trustees of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD) invite the community to join them and the Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce in celebrating the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new Tomball College and Community Library Thursday, January 20, 2005 at 10 a.m. Ceremonies will be held at the library on the campus of Tomball College at 30555 Tomball Parkway.

This 72,000 square foot state-of-the-art library is the second joint library project between Harris County and NHMCCD. The building was constructed with $6,831,210 from NHMCCD and $5,132,000 from Harris County. Harris County allocated an additional $1,500,000 for the opening day materials collection.

The joint-use library became a reality in 2002 when Harris County discovered a perched water table on the property that was to house a new 15,000 square foot branch library. At that time, Commissioner Jerry Eversole and Dr. Raymond M. Hawkins, president of Tomball College, met to discuss the possibility of a joint library on the campus of Tomball College. After a joint committee conducted a very favorable feasibility study in 2002, and following discussions with residents of the Tomball community, Commissioner Eversole and Dr. Hawkins made the decision to proceed with the design of a 72,000 square foot library.

?It is important to me to meet the growing needs of Harris County residents. And the partnership between Harris County and Tomball College is the only way a facility of this magnitude could be made available to the Tomball community,? offered Commissioner Eversole. ?This new facility is a positive benefit that will serve area residents for years to come.?
This joint-use library combines the resources of Harris County Public Library (HCPL) and the Tomball College Library into a true ?community learning center? for the residents of the Tomball area. Students will have the advantage of the extensive collection of materials offered by the public library, while residents have an advantage of the research collections of the college. The library?s first floor features include popular materials and media area, an adult fiction area, a community meeting room, a children?s room with a separate room for storytelling and an Internet caf?. The second floor consists of the college collection, the adult non-fiction collection of the public library, a separate teen room, two computer training rooms, a conference room, eight study rooms and the extended learning center for the college. The entire library offers seating for more than 300, over 100 computers for public access, and a materials capacity of close to 170,000 items.

This unique joint-use library also features a drive-through book drop and a drive-through service window. The drive-through window will allow customers to pick up books they request in advance by phone or the Internet.
The library will be jointly managed by Tomball College and the Harris County Public Library. A staff of approximately 78 employees will serve library users 71 hours per week, Monday through Saturday.

?The partnership established between Harris County Public Library and Tomball College is an outstanding example of what can happen when different entities work collaboratively toward a common goal that will benefit so many people in the community we serve,? said Dr. Hawkins. ?I am proud of the effort that has occurred to make it happen.?

Grand Opening Events Schedule

January 05, 2005

Bestsellers 1/3/05

The bestseller lists have been updated; there are no new books this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.