Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier

When I was six or seven years old – too young to work in my dad's grocery store, but old enough to sit on the lower rim of the magazine rack, annoying customers reaching for copies of Newsweek or Sports Illustrated – I discovered Jack Kirby.

I didn't know who Kirby was, but I loved looking at the artwork in Fantastic Four, Captain America and other Kirby-drawn Marvel Comics titles. In those days (at least where I grew up), DC titles like Batman, Superman and Justice League of America were downright wimpy. Everyone knew that Marvel had the best comics and nobody drew them like Kirby, with cosmic characters leaping off the pages, explosive battle scenes, dazzling energy bolts and a whole showcase of seemingly unbeatable villains born of pure evil. But when you're a kid, you don't think about the men and women behind the comics.

Mark Evanier's new biography/art book Kirby: King of Comics gives Kirby his due, not in a comprehensive biography (only about 50,000 words), but rather a condensed tribute filled with some of Kirby's best work, published and unpublished. Longtime Kirby fans already know most of the story – Jack's Lower East Side upbringing, his slavish devotion to his craft, his awful contracts, his endless battles with editors and publishers would couldn't understand his work and the legions of adoring fans who did.

Perhaps Kirby's major battle was with longtime partner Stan Lee, the creative genius behind Marvel Comics. Just how much of that genius was usurped from Kirby? And what was the real story behind Kirby's leaving Marvel and signing on with competitor DC Comics in the early 70s? It's all here.

The only problem with the Kirby comics was in finishing them: you always wanted more. That's really the only weakness I found with Kirby: King of Comics. I would have liked a more comprehensive Kirby biography along with more of his artwork, especially from his amazingly productive Marvel years in the mid-60s. But with many of Kirby's works seeing reprints in new, affordable editions, Evanier's book doesn't leave much room for complaint.

Oversized art book, 219 pages

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris

In Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, Mark Harris examines a tumultuous yet pivotal moment in American film: the 1967 Best Picture nominees and how they changed the motion picture landscape.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night (both starring Sidney Poitier) dealt with race relations, a very hot topic in 1967, yet still stood protected inside the relatively safe walls of the Hollywood studio system. The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde pushed the envelope, challenging the existing views on morality, authority, sexuality and violence. But how in the world did a big-budget musical flop like Dr. Doolittle get nominated? (It's an interesting story!)

Pictures is more than a page-turning battle of old-school vs. New Wave filmmaking, it's a look at how our world was changing, the filmmakers who recognized it, those who didn't, and those who tried to ignore it.

It's also a great book for anyone interested in film history or simply how a film is put together. Ever wonder exactly what a film editor does? Speaking of Dede Allen, the editor for Bonnie and Clyde, Harris states,

Allen knew just how long she could hold a shot of Beatty to reveal the insecurity beneath Clyde's preening; she seemed to grasp instinctively that sudden cuts to Dunaway in motion would underscore the jagged, jumpy spirit of Bonnie Parker and that slow shots of Michael J. Pollard's C.W. Moss would mimic his two-steps-behind mental processes. And Allen cut Bonnie and Clyde with an eye and ear for the accelerating pace of the story, making the building of its panicky momentum her priority.

Harris covers every aspect of the five films from pre-production all the way to Oscar night, but the actors' stories are the most telling. We follow Sidney Poitier's struggles to become the most important African-American actor of his time, only to find that he was caught in a different struggle which offered no easy answers. We also follow the unknown Dustin Hoffman and his self-doubt all the way through the filming of The Graduate until a woman comes up to him after the film's premiere to tell him "Your life from now on will never be the same."

Unfortunately, this book is not currently in the AACPL collection, but if Amazon sales are any indication (The book has been in or near Amazon's Top 500 for well over a month), this looks like a safe bet.

High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed by Michael Kodas

I hate rollercoasters. I can't imagine skydiving, bungee jumping, or riding a motorcycle. I not a big fan of flying, or even driving fast. In short, I am NOT a thrill-seeker. So maybe that's why I LOVE books about high-altitude climbing. It's an activity so far removed from what I'd ever consider doing that I find it absolutely fascinating. The idea that people purposely spend weeks in a location where their bodies slowly die while forcing themselves up a mountain, in mortal danger the entire time, for a 30-minute visit to the summit, is just unfathomable to me. And that is why the stories of those who do it interest me so much.

Ever since I read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air on the recommendation of a friend, I've read many books on this subject. I've seen all the documentaries on PBS and various cable outlets, and even watched the cheesy movie adaptation of Krakauer's most famous book (my recommendation: use those 2 hours of your life to read the book instead).

Therefore, it was a no-brainer to pick up Michael Kodas's High Crimes. Kodas, a Connecticut journalist and amateur climber, was part of an expedition to Mount Everest in 2004. During his time on the mountain, he found danger well beyond the type inherent in climbing at extreme high altitude. Kodas documents rampant theft, violence, death threats, crass commercialism, indifference to suffering, prostitution, fraud, suspicious deaths, and on and on. He interweaves the story of his own failed attempt at the summit with tales of other expeditions that turned dark and/or deadly, and in doing so reveals a side to the Everest phenomenon that is not widely known outside the climbing world (or, at least, to me). It is a sobering book, and not a little depressing.

Prominently featured is the suspicious death of a Maryland doctor, Nils Antezana, a native of Bolivia who learned to fly planes at the Lee Airport off Rt. 50 and who came to climbing late in life. He was 69 years old when he died on Everest, allegedly left to die by the man he had hired to safely get him to the summit and back. His family's search for the truth of what happened to Antezana is a major part of the story here, and is a heartbreaking and mystifying tale.

Because Kodas is writing about so many expeditions and happenings on Everest, he jumps around in time a lot and there are a ton of names to remember. It gets a bit confusing at times, but not enough to detract from the reading experience. Those who prefer a more straight-line narrative style might not enjoy this writing style, but I didn't mind it. I recommend this for other "armchair mountaineers" and for those interested in the sordid side of what is generally viewed as a fairly noble sport. It's not a happy tale , but one worth reading, if only in order to have a more complete view of the mountaineering industry on Everest and other high peaks.

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

This is a perfect example of how a book's packaging and a terrific first paragraph can really draw a reader in. I was attracted to the all-black, yet decorative cover (and the black-edged pages are nice as well). Once I read the first paragraph, I was hooked:

When I opened my eyes I knew that nothing in my miserable life prior to that moment could possibly be as bad as what was about to happen. I was lying on the cold earthen floor of a basement room lit by a single candle, no more than an hour's burning left. Instruments of a medical nature hung from hooks in the beams. Dark stains on the floor suggested blood. But it was the chair against the opposite wall that fully confirmed my suspicions. Thick leather straps attached to the arms and the legs were there for one purpose only: to hold down an unwilling patient. Ma and Pa were standing over me.

How awesome is that? I mean, if you like that kind of thing, that kind of gothic-y, mysterious, cobwebs-in-the-corner thing. Ludlow Fitch, abused by his thieving parents, runs away to a neighboring village, where he meets an enigmatic gentleman named Joe Zabbidou. Joe is a "Secret Pawnbroker." Joe pays people to tell him their deepest, darkest secrets, which he has Ludlow record in a (go figure) black book. How does this profit Joe? How does it profit the people of the village? How does the town's tyrannical rich guy feel about the whole thing? You'll have to read it to find out!

The author (in her first novel) says in the prologue that she found parts of Ludlow's diary and parts of the Black Book of Secrets hidden in a wooden leg. The text of the book alternates between excerpts from Ludlow's diary, and stories from the Black Book. This technique works quite well and I think the book would appeal to lovers of mystery and fantasy alike. This book is shelved in Young Adult fiction, but I think it could be appropriate for older J readers as well. Some of the stories are violent, and the abuse suffered by Ludlow at his parents hands could be frightening for kids below 5th or 6th grade. This would appeal to boys and girls alike.

The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's The Shadow Speaker is one of those YA novels that could easily slip through the cracks into obscurity, which would be a real shame. Although Locus Magazine included the novel in its Recommended Reading List for 2007, few people in the genre community seem to know about it. Fewer still have read it, but they should.

Ejii is a 14-year-old girl in 2070 Niger, several years after a catastrophic event called The Great Change, which both brought magic back into existence and destroyed the barriers separating the five worlds. Ejii is just learning how to use her abilities as a shadow speaker, which include reading minds, seeing long distances, and hearing the voices of shadows. That in itself would be difficult, but she also has to live with half-brothers and half-sisters who despise Ejii and her abilities. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Ejii has been chosen to be groomed as the possible successor to the village leader Jaa ("The Red Queen of Niger"), who brutally executed Ejii's dictatorial father, who ruled in Jaa's absence.

Jaa has the ability to develop Ejii into a young woman who can develop her gifts for the good of her people, to avoid the emergence of future dictators like her father. Yes, Ejii hated him, but she can't avoid the mental images of her father beheaded at the hands of Jaa, the woman she both loathes and admires.

The first half of the book is largely an introspective look at Ejii, her culture and her conflicting emotions. Okorafor-Mbachu does a great job of getting inside the head of a 14-year-old with complex thoughts and emotions, never stooping to the levels of simplicity that fill too many YA novels. Yet it is the second half of the book where the author's imagination really takes off as Ejii meets and rescues a boy named Dikeogu from a sort of demonic sandstorm. It soon becomes clear that Dikeogu is withholding important information about himself, but that's the least of Ejii's worries as her journey to find Jaa becomes filled with strangeness and danger.

At some point, imagination becomes slightly more important than plot, but rest assured, the level of imagination found in The Shadow Speaker is far beyond that of most YA (or for that matter, adult) novels. Large concepts of ecology, family, trust, authority, justice, life and death are dealt with, mostly in subtle ways. This would be the perfect book for teens looking for a challenging read that goes past the boundaries of typical YA fantasy while still telling a great story.

Baseball Fever

For reasons I can’t explain, I was never interested in baseball until the 2001 World Series, and even after the Diamondbacks won, I soon slipped back into indifference. But the 2004 post-season changed all that. (C’mon, how could you not be interested in baseball after that season?)

Since then, I’ve enjoyed many games on TV and in person, but the more I watched, the more I realized I knew next to nothing about the game. I believe the best way to learn baseball is by watching it played, preferably with someone who knows it well. Without such a person available, I recommend two valuable baseball resources: George Vecsey’s Baseball: The History of America’s Favorite Game (2006) and Zach Hample’s Watching Baseball Smarter (2007). (I had to get this one through Marina. Wish we had it in our collection.)

Vecsey provides a basic history of the game, starting with the game’s origins, founder(s) and early days, leading right up to the present. The book makes no claims to be comprehensive, yet the historical highlights and key players are all there: the first teams, the icons (Cobb, Ruth, Young, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Robinson, Mays, Rose, etc.) how war affected the game, the Negro Leagues, minor leagues, broadcasting, ballparks, traditions, the World Series, commissioners, owners, rivalries, scandals and controversies including, yes, steroids. Longtime baseball fans will find little they don’t already know, but for those new to the game, Vecsey provides a good crash course.

Watching Baseball Smarter is a fun, irreverent breakdown of the mechanics of the game including chapters titled The Basics, Pitchers and Catchers, Hitting, Baserunning, Fielding, Stadiums, Umpires, Statistics, Random Stuff to Know, Random Stuff to Notice. Hample explains the hows and whys of just about every conceivable play in baseball, often using baseball slang. But don’t worry: there’s a glossary included so you can look up what it means when a batter hits one up the elevator shaft. A fun, informative read for both newbies and veterans.

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb

Renegade's Magic, the third book of The Soldier's Son trilogy, is the conclusion of the tortured tale of Nevare Burvelle. Nevare is a man torn between the life he was born to, that of a solider's son, and the life he was forced into by a woman of powerful magic, that of a forest mage. In this volume, Nevare in fact lives as a split person: his original self, or consciousness is held prisoner inside his body, while control of the body and his actions is held by his forest mage self. Much of the novel sees Nevare helpless, able to mentally interact with his controlling self, but unable to physically influence anything in the outside world.



The novel is set in the land of Gernia, an frontier-like world with a strong military tradition and a king who favors expanding his realm by building a road out beyond a mountain range. Unfortunately, this road-building involves tearing down an ancient forest. The trees here are sacred to the Speck people (analagous to Native Americans, but with 100% more magic!) because they house the souls of their mages; when a tree is cut down, the soul of the ancient mage is lost forever. The Gernians are suspicious/fearful of the Specks because of their magical abilities, and the Specks are furious at the Gernians for their destruction of their elder trees. This conflict is embodied in Nevare--his Gernian self and his Speck self are completely at odds, yet they are both him. How he deals with that duality and what it means for both the Gernains and the Specks form the meat of this trilogy.

One of the more unique aspects of this trilogy is that Nevare, when he becomes his forest mage Speck self, is enormously fat! The Speck mages' obesity is a physical manifestation of how full of magic they are; they all have dedicated "feeders," whose sole job is to feed the mages constantly and take care of their physical needs. I have never seen the like of it before in fantasy, and found it an interesting choice since morbid obesity is viewed as a rather repellent condition by many (including Nevare's Gernian family and friends, who cannot understand why their strapping soldier son has let himself go to such a degree; of course, they have no idea that he has been "claimed" by the magic). There are clear environmental themes here (cutting down the forest=bad, though not for the normal conservationist reasons), and a resounding call for trying to understand fully the ramifications of one's actions before blindly doing what one wants to do.

Unlike many sprawling fantasy works, Hobb does not overwhelm the reader with a huge cast of characters. Instead she focuses on world-building and character development. Hobb is masterful at both of these tasks, and I truly feel like I'm there with her characters as they go through their lives.

I first read Hobb's prior trilogies: Farseer, Liveship Traders, and Tawny Man, and absolutely adored them. These books are more in the traditional epic fantasy mold, with dragons and magic and medieval-esque setting. All three trilogies are set in the same world (The Soldier's Son trilogy is unrelated to the first three), and the 1st and 3rd feature the same main character. Upon finishing the last book of the 3rd trilogy, I was in tears, partly because of events in the book, but mostly because I knew I had come to the end of my time with this world and these characters, and I would truly miss spending time with them. So naturally, I was excited to see that Hobb had released a new series of books! I must say I didn't enjoy this trilogy as much as the first three, but she is such a good writer that I still was invested and wanted to read each book as it came out. If I were to recommend Hobb to a new reader, I definitely suggest starting with Assassin's Apprentice, the 1st book of the Farseer trilogy.

Catherine :-)

Free for All: Odballs, Geeks and Ganstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert

A collection of vignettes of library life by California public librarian Don Borchert, this memoir made me, in turns, nod my head in recognition and thank my lucky stars our library isn't that bad. His writing style is engaging and makes the book a fast read (the just over 200 page count helps there as well.) All of the stories you'd expect are included--the woman who runs up all of her cards until they're blocked and applies for more under a slightly different name, eyes wide in affronted disbelief when questioned whether she's had previous cards, the surly teens testing the limits, the crazy old man who curses and yells. There are also some very sad tales the likes of which I've been lucky enough to avoid so far in my career, and which make you ponder our relationships to our patrons and the extent of our influence in their lives.

For sensitive readers, be aware that Borchert does not shy away from profane language, so if you are turned off by that you might not enjoy the book. Being more of a sailor when it comes to such things, I didn't mind and found myself laughing out loud several times at his bold opinions and the unapologetic way in which he expresses them.

Recommended for all library staff who aren't put off by some profanity.

Catherine :-)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: a novel in cartoons by Jeff Kinney

So lots and lots of kids have been requesting this book recently and the sequel just came out. I flipped through this book briefly before it became popular, but since the holds list is humongous, my curiousity really got the best of me.

Let me tell you, the kids are right on the mark with this one. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is told in journal from the voice of a 6th grader and is about the most important parts of his school year- interactions with friends, family and teachers, thoughts about girls and grades and other crazy 12 year old musings. Most importantly this book is HILARIOUS! Seriously this book made me laugh out loud dozens of times. I even got to the point where I was reading parts of it aloud to the boyfriend. That's how good it is.

So anyway, now that I'm done raving for a minute, just let me say that I bought the book because of the holds list, so anyone can borrow it at their leisure. It was a quick read- somewhere between an hour and 1.5 hours.

It's worth it! :)