New This Week
December 14, 2009
Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
Although Michael Crichton died suddenly last year, his assistant found a completed novel on his computer. PIRATE LATITUDES is a slight departure for Crichton. Instead of his usual scientific thrillers, this book is a straight-up adventure tale, with 17th century Caribbean pirates competing over a massive amount of treasure. Retaining all of the suspense Crichton is famous for; Steven Spielberg has already started filming.
Younger readers should enjoy reading about Harry"a troubled young man who is sent to live with his uncle after he burns down his parent’s kitchen"in Anne Fine’s EATING THINGS ON STICKS.
Preschool Story Time this Wednesday at 11:00 am, 1:15 pm, & 6:30 pm, and Toddler Story this Friday at 10:30 am will be all about Christmas!
Come and check out our new Christmas display, courtesy of Gordon Jackson.
Please note our holiday hours:
December 24th 9 am to 3 pm.
December 25th, 26th, 27th, & 28th closed.
December 29th 9 am to 9 pm.
December 31st 9 am to 3 pm.
January 1st closed.
January 2nd 10 am to 6 pm.
January 3rd closed.
The Library will be open during our regular hours for any dates not mentioned above.
ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
The Renaissance Complete " Margaret Aston (940.21)
Goat Song " Brad Kessler (636.39)
Runaway Devil " Robert Remington (364.1523)
Arguing With Idiots " Glen Beck (973.932)
Rachel Ray’s Book of Ten (641.555)
Managing Pain Before It Manages You " Margaret A. Caudill (616.0472)
Making It In Hockey " Mark Moore (796.96264)
Itsy Bitsy Yoga " Helen Garabedian (649.122)
Creative Paper Art " Nancy Welch (745.54)
War Brides " Melynda Jarratt (940.5371)
What to Eat During Cancer Treatment " Jeanne Besser (641.56)
Creating Change " Keri K. Wehlander (704.9482)
Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul (158.12)
50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food " Susan Albers (616.8526)
Consolidated British Columbia Business Corporations Act 2009 (346.711)
Local Government in British Columbia " Robert L. Bish (351.711)
Life Application Study Bible (220.5208)
Paint Effects Master Class " Sacha Cohen (747.94)
Baseball : An Illustrated History " Geoffrey C. Ward (796.3)
Canada’s Olympic Hockey History 1920-2010 " Andrew Podnieks (796.962)
Babycakes "Erin McKenna (641.563)
Not Yet " Wayson Choy (bio)
Grace Will Lead Me Home " Robin Givens (bio)
My Hope Butch : The Furry Medical Wonder " Dave Cassidy (bio)
What Do You Do If You Don’t Die " Linda McIntosh (bio)
Pirate Latitudes " Michael Crichton (fic)
Wolf Hall " Hilary Mantel (fic)
The Bishop’s Man " Linden Macintyre (fic)
Mama Dearest " E. Lynn Harris (fic)
Breaking the Rules " Barbara Taylor Bradford (fic)
The Saffron Gate " Linda Holeman (fic)
Julie & Julia " Julie Powell (fic)
The Secrets of a Fire King " Kim Edwards (fic)
Wishin’ and Hopin’ " Wally Lamb (fic)
Adrian Mole : The Prostrate Years " Sue Townsend (fic)
South of Broad " Pat Conroy (fic)
U is for Undertow " Sue Grafton (mys)
Black Friday " Alex Kava (mys)
A Magpie’s Smile " Eugene Meese (mys)
The Price of Malice " Archer Mayor (mys)
The Burying Place " Brian Freeman (mys)
First Lord’s Fury " Jim Butcher (sci fic)
Stone of Destiny (DVD)
The Namesake (DVD)
Open Season (DVD)
YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn " Sarah Milller (ya fic)
Sacred Scars " Kathleen Duey (ya fic)
Divine Madness " Robert Muchamore (ya fic)
Maximum Security " Robert Muchamore (ya fic)
I’m Getting a Checkup "Marilyn Singer (j 616)
Why Pi: How Math Applies to Everyday Life (j 516.22)
Saving the Ghost of the Mountain " Sy Montgomery (j 599.7)
The Rocket " Mike Leonetti (j pic)
The Alphabet Goes to Ski and Snowboard School " Tracy Higgs (j pic)
Miss Little’s Gift " Douglas Wood (j pic)
I is for Inuksuk " Mary Wallace (j pic)
Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas " Jane O’Connor (j pic)
The Fairy’s Return " Gail Carson Levine (j fic)
Dragon Horse " Peter Ward (j fic)
The Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson " Karleen Bradford (j fic)
Eating Things on Sticks " Anne Fine (j fic)
MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:
Daniel Defoe has been called many things: political dissident, royalist, enemy of the church, maverick newsman, satirist, puritan pamphleteer, cross-dressing homosexual, soldier, spy, novelist, hero. Once thing Defoe has never been called though, is a slouch. The 1790 edition of ROBINSON CRUSOE lists 128 other titles written by Defoe. When Walter Wilson’s biography of Defoe appeared in 1830, it listed 210 separate works. William Lee’s 1869 biography listed 254. The 1916 edition of THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE ‘conservatively’ lists 382 works, while the 1971 CHECKLIST OF THE WRITING OF DANIEL DEFOE credits him with 570. It was either common sense or frustration which caused Donald Wing to suggest the timesaving idea of simply crediting Defoe with “everything” written in the 18th century.
What is known for certain is that Defoe did write ROBINSON CRUSOE, one of the most recognizable and culturally entrenched novels of all time. Praying for rescue yet half-paralyzed with fear a boat will spot him, the shipwrecked Crusoe lives through a highly compelling tale.
It was also a true one. In 1704 Captain Woodes Rogers"one of Defoe’s best friends"rescued Alexander Selkirk from an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. Although stranded for just over 4 years, Selkirk"wild looking and covered in goat skins"was remarkably in good health and spirits. In 2008 Scottish archeologists discovered Selkirk’s campsite on the island, including Selkirk’s own navigational instruments. The island has been renamed Robinson Crusoe.
