eBranch Blog

October 31, 2005

Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

Rosa Parks, whom the US Congress called "mother of the modern day civil rights movement," passed away on October 24, 2005. In 1955, she provoked the Montgomery (AL) bus boycott by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. This was one of the first major acts in the civil rights movement. She received numerous honors throughout her life, including the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1999, and in death she is the first woman to lie in repose in the rotunda of the US Capitol.

Rosa Parks. Quiet Strength
Quiet Strength celebrates the principles and convictions that have guided her through a remarkable life. It is a printed record of her legacy-her lasting message to a world still struggling to live in harmony.

Douglas Brinkley. Rosa Parks
Historian Douglas Brinkley, whose "vigorous language" and "marvelous portraits" (Stephen Ambrose) have made him an acclaimed author and a media favorite, brings midcentury America alive in this brilliant examination of a celebrated heroine in the context of her life and tumultuous times. Here in Rosa Parks are the quiet dignity, hope, courage, and humor that have made this twentieth-century everywoman a living legend--an eye-opener of a book for students of history, politics, the black experience, and human nature.

Rita Dove. On the Bus with Rosa Parks
In this dazzling new collection of poems, a much celebrated former Poet Laureate of the United States treats readers to a panoply of human endeavor, shot through with the electrifying jazz of her lyric elegance.

For Youth

Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins. I Am Rosa Parks
The black woman whose acts of civil disobedience led to the 1956 Supreme Court order to desegregate buses in Montgomery, Alabama, explains what she did and why.

Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed. Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today's Youth
Presents correspondence between Rosa Parks and various children in which the "Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement" answers questions and encourages young people to reach their highest potential.

Mary Hull. Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Leader
A biography of the black woman whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, led to a bus boycott that helped galvanize the civil rights movement.

Faith Ringgold. If a Bus Could Talk
A biography of the African American woman and civil rights worker whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus led to a boycott which lasted more than a year in Montgomery, Alabama.

Websites

- Biography in Wikipedia

- My Story: Rosa Parks - From Scholastic.com

- Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development - Using Park's philosophy of "Quiet Strength," the institute encourages youth to reach their highest potential.

- Rosa Parks Portal - Guide to numerous websites on Ms. Parks.

New Bestsellers 10/31/05

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.

The Library Journal Lists of Most Borrowed Books in Public Libraries for Fiction and Nonfiction were updated for November 1.

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

Fiction

Robert Ludlum. The Ambler Warning
Locked away in a secret government facility designed to hide former intelligence employees whose ramblings might endanger ongoing operations, Hal Ambler is kept heavily medicated and closely watched. With the help of a sympathetic nurse, Hal manages to clear his mind of its drug-induced haze and pull off a daring escape. Now he's out to discover who stashed him away and why. . . . (NYT #6, PW #8, WSJ #11)

Lemony Snicket. The Penultimate Peril
The Baudelaire orphans disguise themselves as employees of the Hotel Denoument and find themselves pursued by the evil Count Olaf and by others. (USA #1, WSJ #1)

Nicholas Sparks. At First Sight
Jeremy Marsh is now living in Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, and awaiting the birth of their daughter. But, just as when things a looking goods, an unsettling and mysterious message brings trouble from the past. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #3, WSJ #2)

Amy Tan. Saving Fish from Drowning
On an ill-fated art expedition into Burma, 11 Americans leave their Floating Island Resort for a Christmas-morning tour--and disappear. Through twists of fate, they encounter a tribe awaiting the return of a leader and the mythical book of wisdom that will protect them from the ravages of the Myanmar military regime. (NYT #9, PW #6, WSJ #7)

Nonfiction

Andrew Weil. Healthy Aging
Dr. Weil draws on the longest-running medical studies, as well as on the secrets of longevity that he has gathered firsthand from cultures around the world, to write a book about aging that is unlike any other in the breadth and depth of its information and understanding. (PW #2, USA #12, WSJ #3)

WSJ Business

Seth Godin. Big Moo
In 2003, Godin's "Purple Cow" challenged organizations to stand out in a world of brown cows--i.e. to create a "big moo." For this follow-up book, he worked with 32 of the world's smartest thinkers to gather insights for the concept. The result is a simple book that's fun to read and perfect for groups to share, discuss, and apply. (#8)

Now in the Catalog
The following items has been on the bestsellers lists, but was not available in the catalog, we now have it available.

PHENOMENON, by Sylvia Browne with Lindsay Harrison. (Dutton, $24.95.) A guide to the paranormal from a self-described psychic.

Joan Didion. The Year of Magical Thinking
Chronicles the year following the death of her husband, fellow writer John Gregory Dunne, while the couple's only daughter, Quintana, lay unconscious in a nearby hospital suffering from pneumonia and septic shock.

SYMPTOMS OF WITHDRAWAL, by Christopher Kennedy Lawford. (Morrow, $25.95.) The son of Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy, a Washington and Hollywood insider, recalls his substance abuse and recovery.

Carole Radziwill. What Remains
A glittery fairy tale stitched with unthinkable tragedy, this is the true American story about a girl from a small town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill, nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.

A CRACK IN THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, by Simon Winchester. (HarperCollins, $27.95.) A popular historian draws on his geological background to describe the Great California Earthquake of 1906.

October 28, 2005

Imagine - A Book List for Children's Book Week

Imagine a child who can speak the language of cats; imagine a world where dragons exist; imagine a librarian who introduces animals to the joys of reading; and imagine two children who find a magic treehouse that takes them back through time. These and other stories appear on the Imagine book list. Imagine is the theme of the 2005 Children's Book Week.

Judy Sierra. Wild About Books
A librarian named Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake.

Mary Pope Osbourne. Dinosaurs Before Dark
Eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie find a magic treehouse, which whisks them back to an ancient time zone where they see live dinosaurs.
Magic Tree House series

Zizou Corder. Lion Boy
In the near future, a boy with the ability to speak the language of cats sets out from London to seek his kidnapped parents and finds himself on a Paris-bound circus ship learning to train lions.
Lion Boy series

Christopher Paolini. Eragon
In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Inheritance series

October 27, 2005

Books & Movies That Go Bump in the Night

Want to get in the spirit for this weekend? We have a number of book and movie lists that offer suggestions for scary books and movies.

For your reading pleasure...

The Bram Stoker Awards

2004
Peter Straub. In the Night Room
A famous children's book author, in the wake of a grotesque accident, realizes that the most basic facts of her existence, including her existence itself, have come into question.

Horror Writer's Association Reading List

Ray Bradbury. Something Wicked This Way Comes
Three hours after midnight, one week before Halloween, Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show rolls into Green Town, Illinois. A carnival like no other, it feeds on the dreams and weaknesses of those drawn to its eerie attractions, destroying every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. Two boys--best friends Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade--are about to learn the secret of its smoke, mazes and mirrors as they confront a nightmarish evil that will change their lives forever.

International Horror Guild Awards

2003
Peter Straub. lost boy lost girl
A groundbreaking story of the persistence of evil, told with tantalizing ambiguity and structural audacity.

Supernatural Detectives

Laurell K. Hamilton. Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series)
Introducing Anita Blake, vampire hunter extraordinaire. Most people don't even bat an eye at vampires since they've been given equal rights by the Supreme Court. But Anita knows better--she's seen their victims. . . . A serial killer is murdering vampires, however, and now the most powerful vampire in town wants Anita to find the killer.

For your viewing pleasure...

Attack of the B Movies - These are all rated G, PG, PG-13, or are Unrated 1950s movies.

The Blob
Residents of a small Pennsylvania town combat a slimy space invader. Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth. Starring Steve McQueen. PG

AFI's 100 Thrills - The Most Heart Pouding American Movies of All Time

1.Psycho
When Marion Crane steals money from her employer and escapes out of town, her getaway takes her to the Bates Motel, run by a young man with his own terrible secrets. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Anthony Perkins & Janet Leigh. Based on the book Psycho by Robert Bloch. R

Top 10 Horror Films - From E! Online

1.The Exorcist
A young girl becomes possessed by the devil and causes several violent deaths before she can be cured. Directed by William Friedkin. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, & Linda Blair. Based on the book The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. R

It's Alive - Monster Movies

Beetlejuice
A couple of likable ghosts contact the afterlife's bio-exorcist to rid their home of a trendy New York family that moves in. Directed by Tim Burton. Starring Alec Baldwin & Geena Davis. PG

20 Scariest Movies of All Time - From Entertainment Weekly

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 10/24/05

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.

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

Publisher's Weekly Audio Fiction and Nonfiction lists were updated for October 24.

There were no Wall Street Journal lists last week.

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

Fiction

Tajuana Butler. Just My Luck
About to graduate college, Lanita Lightfoot recalls her remarkable rags-to-respect-to-near-ruin lifeQand tells the story of a woman's discovery of her own self-worth. (E #9)

Richard Paul Evans. The Sunflower
Just a week before their marriage, Christine's fiance calls off the wedding, leaving her heartbroken. With hopes of helping her through a difficult time, Christine's best friend Jessica enrolls them both on a humanitarian mission in Peru, to work at an orphanage called El Girasol -- The Sunflower. It is while working at the orphanage that Christine meets Paul Cook, a successful and charismatic American doctor who has fled the States after one fatal day took away his career, his faith, and the woman he loved. (PW #15)

Vince Flynn. Consent to Kill
For years, Mitch Rapp's bold actions have saved the lives of countless Americans. He has killed with impunity, tortured to avert disaster, and shown he will do whatever it takes to prevent terrorists from fulfilling their bloody wishes. His battles for peace and freedom have made him a hero to many, and an enemy to countless more. In the tangled, duplicitous world of espionage, there are those, even among America's allies, who want to see Mitch Rapp eliminated. They have decided the time has come. (NYT #4, PW #3, USA #6, WSJ #2)

Robert Jordan. Knife of Dreams
"The Wheel of Time" turns, and Robert Jordan delivers the 11th volume of his extraordinary masterwork of fantasy. The dead are walking, men die impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable. All are signs of the imminence of Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, when Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanity's only hope. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #2, WSJ #1)

Anita Shreve. A Wedding in December
The author of the "New York Times" bestseller "Light on Snow" returns with a powerful new novel about old friends, a wedding, and a gathering that will change their lives. (NYT #5, PW #7, WSJ #9)

Stuart Woods. Iron Orchid
Holly Barker, the small-town cop turned CIA agent, tracks a master of disguise--and a consummate killer--Teddy Fay, an ex-CIA tech wizard who kills political targets for sport. Authorities thought they'd seen the last of him when his plane exploded, but once again they underestimated Fay. (NYT #15, PW #13, WSJ #15)

Nonfiction

Louis Freeh. My FBI
This is Louis Freeh's entire story - from his Catholic upbringing in suburban New Jersey to law school, the FBI training academy, his career as an assistant U.S. attorney and as a federal judge, and finally his eight years as the nation's top cop. We see him at work as a field agent, using wiretaps and even going undercover to take down the corrupt leadership of the longshoremen's union. (NYT #3, PW #7, WSJ #6)

Martha Stewart. The Martha Rules
For the first time, Martha Stewart shares her business knowledge and advice in this handbook for success. Tapping into her years of experience in building a thriving business, Martha will help readers identify their own entrepreneurial voice and channel their skills and passions into a successful business venture. (PW #13, WSJ #13)

October 25, 2005

2005 Audiobooks for Young Adults Book List

The Audiobooks for Young Adults list is selected by the Audiobook and Media Exploration Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The titles 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.

Wendelin Van Draanen. Flipped
In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years. Narrated by Andy Paris and Carine Montertrand.

October 18, 2005

New Bestsellers 10/17/05

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.

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

Fiction

Michael Connelly. The Lincoln Lawyer
Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller signs on to defend young real estate agent Louis Roulet against charges of assault. Roulet's imperious mother will spend any amount to prove her son's innocence. But probing the details of the case, Mickey and private investigator Raul Levin dig up a far darker picture of Roulet's personality and his past. Levin's murder and a new connection to the Menendez case, which he mishandled, make Mickey wonder if he's in over his head, and his defense of Roulet becomes a question of morality as well as a test of his own survival. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #5)

THE SUNFLOWER, by Richard Paul Evans. (Simon & Schuster, $19.95.) A woman who was jilted by her fianc? volunteers at an orphanage in Peru and learns to love again. (NYT #15)

Nora Roberts. Blue Smoke
The blaze that night at her family's pizzeria changed young Reena Hale's life. Now as a fire investigator, she tries desperately to trace the origins of the taunting phone calls she's receiving, the fires, and the hatred aimed in her direction. In doing so, she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced. (NYT #2, PW #4, USA #4)

Lauren Weisberger. Everyone Worth Knowing
An irresistible tale about what happens when a girl on the fringe enters the realm of New York's chic, party-hopping elite. (NYT #10, PW #9)

Nonfiction

NO EXCUSES, by Kyle Maynard. (Regnery, $25.95.) The memoir of a young wrestling champion who was born without hands or feet. (NYT #12)

UNLIKELY ANGEL, by Ashley Smith with Stacy Mattingly. (Morrow/HarperCollins/Zondervan, $24.95.) The story of the woman held hostage by a fugitive who escaped from an Atlanta courthouse. (NYT #15)

PW Religion

Bruce Feiler. Where God Was Born
Combines the adventure of a wartime chronicle, the excitement of an archaeological detective story, and the insight of personal spiritual exploration. Taking readers to biblical sites not seen by Westerners for decades, Bruce Feiler's journey uncovers little-known details about the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and affirms the importance of the Bible in today's world.Where God Was Born is a daring quest that offers a rare, universal vision of God that can inspire different faiths to an allegiance of hope. (#4)

October 12, 2005

Get Real @ Your Library Book List

The Get Real @ Your Library book list of nonfiction and realistic fictiontitles was created to go along with Teen Read Week 2005. The theme of the 2005 Teen Read Week is Get Real @ Your Library!

Kevin Brooks. Lucas
On an isolated English island, fifteen-year-old Caitlin McCann makes the painful journey from adolescence to adulthood through her experiences with a mysterious boy, whose presence has an unsettling effect on the island's inhabitants.

Rebecca Carroll. Sugar in the Raw: Voices of Young Black Girls in America
With raw candor, elicited by Rebecca Carroll's perceptive questioning, 15 black women between the ages of 11 and 18, from places as diverse as Brooklyn and Seattle, Alabama and Vermont, speak out about their inner and outer lives. What they say about identity, self-esteem, the role of race in their perceptions and treatment, personal values, and their hopes for the future is both enlightening and moving.

October 10, 2005

New Bestsellers 10/10/05

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 October 1.

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

Fiction

Nicholas Evans. The Divide
Two backcountry skiers find the body of a young woman embedded in the ice of a remote mountain creek. All through the night, police work with arc lights and chain saws to dig her out. But identification doesn't take as long. Abbie Cooper is wanted for murder and acts of eco-terrorism, and her picture is on law-enforcement computers all across America. But just how did she die? And what was the trail of events that led this joyous, golden child of a loving family so tragically astray? (NYT #6, PW #13, WSJ #13)

Diana Gabaldon. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire. The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest. With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence -- with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from "The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie's death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #2, WSJ #1)

Gregory Maguire. Son of a Witch
Ten years after the publication of "Wicked," the author returns to the land of Oz to follow the story of Liir, the adolescent boy left hiding in the shadows of the castle when Dorothy killed the Witch. (NYT #2, PW #2, USA #8, WSJ #2)

Robert Parker. School Days
Lily Ellsworth the grand dame of Dowling, Massachusetts hires Spenser to investigate her grandson Jared Clark's alleged involvement in a school shooting. Though seven people were killed in cold blood, and despite Jared's being named as a co-conspirator by the other shooter, Mrs. Ellsworth is convinced of her grandson's innocence. (NYT #3, PW #5, WSJ #5)

Nonfiction

Greg Behrendt & Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt. It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken
This hilarious and helpful book covers everything from how to pull the plug on a relationship and make it stick, to proven remedies for uncontrollable crying, to how to act the first time you see him with another woman. (PW #13)

John Berendt. The City of Falling Angels
The author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" returns after a decade to offer, in his inimitable style, an intimate look at the "magic, mystery, and decadence" of the city of Venice and its inhabitants. (NYT #1, PW #2, USA #6, WSJ #1)

October 07, 2005

Teens' Top 10 for 2005 Book List

Teens can help create an exciting nationwide list of books chosen for teens by teens as the best reads of the year - Teens' Top Ten Books! The nominees were chosen by teen book groups from five states: Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, and Washington state.

Vote for your favorites during Teen Read Week, October 16-22, 2005.

Choose from 78 nominated titles including...

T. A. Barron. The Great Tree of Avalon Book 1: Child of 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.

S. E. Hinton. Hawkes Harbor
Taking to sea, Jamie sought out danger and adventure in exotic ports all over the world as a smuggler, gunrunner-and murderer. Tough enough to handle anything, he's survived foreign prisons, pirates, and a shark attack. But in a quiet seaside town in Delaware, Jamie discovered something that was enough to drive him insane-and change his life forever.

Allan Wolf. New Found Land: Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery
The letters and thoughts of Thomas Jefferson, members of the Corps of Discovery, their guide Sacagawea, and Captain Lewis's Newfoundland dog, all tell of the historic exploratory expedition to seek a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

New Books/Movies/Audio Lists Updated

The New Books, Audios, and Movies lists have been updated with titles cataloged in September 2005.

There were no lists for August 2005 due to catalog maintenance.

October 05, 2005

Edgar Award for Juvenile and Young Adult Mystery Book List

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the Edgars) are named after MWA's (Mystery Writers of America) patron saint, Edgar Allan Poe. They are awarded to authors of distinguished work in various categories of the genre including Young Adult and Juvenile mysteries.

2005 Best Young Adult
Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler. In Darkness, Death
In eighteenth-century Japan, young Seikei becomes involved with a ninja as he helps Judge Ooka, his foster father, investigate the murder of a samurai.

2005 Best Juvenile
Blue Balliett. Chasing Vermeer
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

We also have a book list for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (Adult).

October 04, 2005

Rita News, Images, Weather

- Houston Chronicle

- Texas Online

Local Coverage from Affected Areas
For New Orleans and other Louisiana News see the Katrina News page.

- KBTV 4 - Beaumont/Port Arthur

- KFDM TV6 - Beaumont

- KPLC TV7 - Lake Charles, LA

Rita Power Outage Information

- Entergy

- CenterPoint
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- Power Outages to Last Several More Weeks - News story from Channel 2

Weather

- Hurricane Rita PeakWind Estimates in Harris County

Images