New This Week
March 22, 2010
Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
Irene Nemirovsky’s THE DOGS AND WOLVES is a haunting love story between the social classes in the Ukrainian quarter of 1920s Paris. This is the last book Nemirovsky wrote before she was killed by the Final Solution.
Younger readers should enjoy Jules Feiffer’s I LOST MY BEAR. This is a brightly colored and humorous look at what children go through when they lose one of their treasured toys.
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 Firefighters!
Gigantic Garage Sale - Here is your chance to de-clutter your home and also help the Friends of the Library help the Library. The Friends are holding a garage sale in the Manual Training School (adjacent to the Library) on Saturday, April 10th, 9 AM to 2 PM. to raise funds for the acquisition of new books for the library. Household item donations to the sale would be gratefully accepted at the Manual Training School on Friday, April 9th, 10 am to 5 PM. Sadly, because of space issues we cannot accept clothing or large furniture. For further info call Marilyn at 250-489-6254. See you there!
Don’t forget to come and see amazing woodwork of Barry Holmberg, currently on display.
ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
Homesteading " Abigail R. Gehring (640)
Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24th Months " Robert W. Sears (649.122)
Western Horseman Backcountry Basics " Mike Kinsey (798.23)
Turkey Hunting " Bob Humphrey (799.24645)
WineFeast: Eat, Drink & Discover BC Wine " Troy Townsin (641.622)
Painting Home Accessories " Pat Osborne (745.723)
The Complete Book of Woodcarving " Everett Ellenwood (736.4)
Eight Days A Week: Inside the Beatles’ Final World Tour " Robert Whitaker (782.42166)
Native American Clothing " Theodore Brasser (391.0089)
1001 Escapes to Experience Before You Die (910.202
Egg On Mao " Dennis Chong (951.058092)
Girl on the Rocks " Katie Brown (796.5223)
The Intentional Spinner " Judith MacKenzie McCuin (746.12)
The Quadra Story " Jeanette Taylor (971.12)
Illegitimate " Brain Mackert (289.3092)
How We Decide " Johan Lehrer (153.83)
The Dogs and the Wolves " Irene Nemirovsky (fic)
The Other Family " Joanna Trollope (fic)
House Rules " Jodi Picoult (fic)
Black Hills " Dan Simmons (fic)
The Postmistress " Sarah Blake (fic)
Union Atlantic " Adam Haslett (fic)
The Silent Sea " Clive Cussler (fic)
The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady "Parnell Hall (mys)
Secrets of Eden " Chris Bohjalian (mys)
Hell Gate " Linda Fairstein (mys)
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag " Alan Bradley (mys)
Deep Shadow " Randy Wayne White (mys)
Never Look Away " Linwood Barclay (mys)
The Janus Stone " Elly Griffiths (mys)
The Teaberry Strangler " Laura Childs (mys)
Spellwright " Blake Charlton (sci fic)
Shadowwrise " Tad Williams (sci fic)
On Any Sunday (DVD)
Murder She Wrote: Complete 2nd & 3rd Seasons (DVD)
YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens " Gina M. Biegel (ya 155.518)
The Anger Workbook for Teens " Raychelle Cassada Lohmann (ya 155.5124)
Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Seeing is Believing (ya 031.02)
We Want You To Know: Kids Talk About Bullying (ya 302.34)
Stuck in Neutral " Terry Trueman (ya fic)
Germania " John Wilson (ya fic)
Liar " Justine Larbalestier (ya fic)
Shojo Beat: Complete 2008 / 2009 Series (ya fic)
Love and Peaches " Jodi Lynn Anderson (ya fic)
Charlie Fortune in the Shadow " Shane Berryhill (ya fic)
The Midnight Charter " David Whitley (ya fic)
Ice " Sarah Beth Durst (ya fic)
Coats of Arms (j 929.6)
Citizens and the Political Process (j 323.6)
Resolving Political Differences (j 323.042)
Protecting Rights in Canada (j 323.0971)
Citizen Rights and Responsibilities (j 323.6)
Cultures of Canada: Dance (j 792.80971)
Cultures of Canada: Arts & Crafts (j 745.50971)
National Aboriginal Day (j 394.263)
Dandelion Fire " N.D. Wilson (j fic)
Happenstance Found " P.W. Catanese (j fic)
Mackenzie Blue " Tina Wells (j fic)
Mama Says " Rob D. Walker (j pic)
Pancakes for Supper " Anne Isaacs (j pic)
Oh, Tucker " Steven Kroll (j pic)
Sleepy ABC " Margaret Wise Brown (j pic)
Chief Rhino to the Rescue " Sam Lloyd (j pic)
The Wrong Book " Nick Bland (j pic)
Too Purpley " Jean Reidy (j pic)
Give a Dog a Bone " Brian Wildsmith (j pic)
I Lost My Bear " Jules Feiffer (j pic)
MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:
Up until the year 2000, Guinness recorded Jacqueline Susann’s THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS as the best-selling novel of all time. This is surprising for a book that was regarded as “lurid trash,” and “devoid of any literary merit.” Gore Vidal wrote that Susann “doesn’t write, she types.” Critics were unanimous in their scathing reviews, feeling the book to be “stupid, empty, and...typed on a cash register.” Ronald Preston"Susann’s own publisher"stated she “is a painfully dull, inept, clumsy, undisciplined, and thoroughly amateurish writer.” One would think all of this negativity would deflated any ordinary writer. But Jacqueline Susann was no ordinary anything.
Born in 1918 in Philadelphia, Susann grew up desperate for fame. She tried all kinds of avenues to notoriety"model, actress, singer, dancer, playwright"finding little success with any of them. Most found her insatiable quest for stardom tactless and repulsive. Her failures brought about an obnoxious personality and a prescription drug addiction. Sexually ambivalent, her numerous extramarital affairs with both sexes did little to endear her to anyone.
However, in 1955, Susann seemed to hit her mark. She was hired by a fashion company to help write commercials for them. Unable to do anything small, Susann wrote, starred and produced in live television ads for them. Feeling she had a way with words, Susann wrote EVERY NIGHT, JOSEPHINE; a novelty-type book about her poodle dressed in different outfits. With respectable sales behind the book, Susann began to alert the media how her newfound writing career would win her the Nobel Prize for literature.
All her grandiose plans were sidelined in 1962, when she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She prayed for enough time to finish one more book; a frank look at the sleazy side of showbiz, something she knew all too well.
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was typed on pink paper, and turned into her less than enthusiastic publisher. The story of three women trying to make it in Hollywood, with their efforts continually thwarted by scumbags and drugs (the ‘dolls’ of the title refer to barbiturates). Published in 1966, Susann did everything she could to promote it. Besides an unheard of amount of interviews and book signings, she made pancakes for the publisher’s truck drivers, ensuring her books were the first to leave the warehouse. It is unknown if any of this was necessary, because VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was"despite the critics--an instant hit. Readers loved its scandalous tone, racy sex scenes, and irresistible dialogue. It sold and sold and sold, until it achieved its best-selling novel of all time status (until 2000, when it was displaced by a boy wizard).
Jacqueline Susann died in 1974, the cancer finally taking her life. While she never won the Nobel, her work continues to be enjoyed by millions, and (sadly) is currently more relevant to our times than the 1960s.
