Browsing Area Book of the Week, May 17, 2012.

The White Devil by Justin Evans. Library Call Number: PS3605.V366W47 2011.

     From Publisher’s Weekly:  Harrow, the elite English boys school, provides the setting for Evans’ gripping second novel (after A Good and Happy Child). Andrew Taylor, a 17-year-old American expelled from a Connecticut prep school for heroin use, gets into Harrow thanks to his father’s generous gift to the school, one of whose more illustrious alumni is Lord Byron. In a cemetery on nearby Harrow-on-the-Hill, Andrew is horrified to witness the murder of a fellow student and resident of the Lot, a dilapidated dormitory reputed to be haunted, at the hands of a pale skeletal figure in an old-fashioned frock coat. Soon plagued by nightmares, Andrew learns that someone resembling this gaunt figure appeared in a performance of John Webster’s Jacobean tragedy, The White Devil, at Harrow in 1803. Meanwhile, cast in the role of Lord Byron in a play written by drunken and bitter housemaster Piers Fawkes, Andrew finds himself adopting Byron’s exotic lifestyle amid a love affair, a TB epidemic, and various bizarre elements in this disturbing gothic thriller.

Library Video of the Week, May 17, 2012.

10 Things I Hate About You, starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Larisa Oleynik.  Library Call Number: PN1995.9.M28 T46 2010.

    From the container notes: In this loose, loose adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Cameron is the new kid in school who becomes smitten with the beautiful Bianca. But Bianca's overprotective and domineering father forbids Bianca to date unless her older sister Kat, a surly and hostile senior, does. In a bid to get Kat a boyfriend, Cameron sets up a plan to have the school stud, Joey Donnar, bribe Patrick Verona, an outcast senior with a rumor-filled past, to take Kat out on dates so he can go to the school's homecoming dance with Bianca. However, neither Patrick nor Kat expect their relationship to lead to something so much more. As Patrick Verons, this was Heath Ledger's American movie debut.  Julia Stiles, who played Kat, went on to co-star in the Bourne trilogy.

Browsing Area Book of the Week, May 7, 2012

Empress of Eternity by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Library Call Number: PS3563.O264 E47 2010.

     This challenging read begins with an enigma: from one end of the middle continent of Earth to the other, there is a canal that runs 2,000 miles, with a lighthouse or watchtower at its Western end.  Civilizations rise and fall, but the canal remains, indestructible and indecipherable.  Its creation apparently brought an end to one society—now three groups of scientists, separated by thousands of years, are studying it, all with their own planet-threatening situations.  Each group begins to make discoveries, even as the group farthest into the future faces a religious war and a weapon of such power it might unravel the Universe. The lives of all of them, and the people of their times, depend on unlocking the secret of the Canal and Tower.

Library Video of the Week, May 7, 2012.

Marwencol: when his world was stolen Mark Hogancamp made a world of his own. A documentary directed and produced by Jeff Malmberg. Library Call Number: RC387.5 .M37 2010.

            The story of a man who literally had to rebuild his mind, and did it on his own,, this film won best documentary from the Independent Spirit Awards, The Boston Film society and numerous other festivals.

From the caption: After being brutally attacked outside a bar and recovering from a coma and extensive physical injuries, Mark Hogancamp suffered brain damage and nearly total memory loss. Unable to afford therapy he spent the next few years building a scale model, World War II-era town, Marwencol, populated with dolls, where he lived out his fantasy life, and which he documented in photographs. When his photographs were discovered by an art magazine, a New York gallery invited him to show his work, forcing him to choose between his self-contained world and the larger world from which he had retreated.

Library Video of the Week, April 30, 2012.



If a Tree Falls: a story of the Earth Liberation Front, a documentary by Marshall Curry.  Library Call Number: GE197.I3 2011

          From the DVD cover: “On December 7th, 2005, federal agents conducted a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front - an organization the FBI has called America's number one domestic terrorism threat. If A Tree Falls: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front is the remarkable story of the group's rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, the film interweaves a chronicle of McGowan facing life in prison with a dramatic investigation of the events that led to his involvement with the ELF. Using never-before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews - with cell members and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them - If A Tree Falls asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.”

Browsing Area Books of the Week, April 30, 2012.

Women Lead the Way: your guide for stepping up to leadership and Changing the World by Linda Tarr-Whelan. Library Call Number: HD6054.3.T372009.
     From the Barnes & Noble website:   “Evidence from around the world validates the findings of the United Nations General Assembly in 1995, which set a baseline of at least 30% women at the table as a prerequisite for genuine partnership and lasting, positive change in the international arena.

We see the same phenomena in the business world. More women as corporate officers and members of boards of directors results in stronger financial performance. At 30% representation, we see concrete, positive outcomes for everyone – not just women -- including increased shareholder value, more flexible management approaches, a broader definition of success, and better bottom lines. More women at the table means more progress for all of us.”

The Next Generation of Women Leaders: what you need to lead but won’t learn in business school by Selena Rezvani. Library Call Number: HD6054.3.R49 2010.

          Over the course of a year and 30 interviews, Rezvani spoke to successful businesswomen, from the president of Saks to the owner of the LA Dodgers, collecting their experiential wisdom. Each interviewee provides tools and mentoring for the young woman eager to enter the world of leadership. The book “…encourages young women to be their own advocates when it comes to professional growth and advancement and provides tangible how-tos on negotiating the workplace as a woman.”