We are a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library located in Highland Park. Keep yourself updated on our doings here...
In the book American Savage noted sex advice columnist Dan Savage covers topics ranging from the death of a
parent to what’s wrong with even the good sex education programs in this
country to his dinner encounter with NOM president Brian Brown. The book is informative & opinionated
and will appeal to people who are culturally & politically more
liberal. I would recommend it to
everyone.
July’s book club book will be The Virginian by
Owen Wister. This book, first published
in 1902, is credited with creating the pattern for what came to be the
“western” novel. This particular story
is set in Wyoming and follows the adventures of “the Virginian” as he strives
to fight corruption & prove his love to the woman he desires. Stop by the library for a copy or, if you
prefer, download a copy from Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1298)
for your ebook.
What was one of the most severe recorded epidemics of bubonic plague?
The question for the week was who
is the Plotosaurus tuckeri named for?
The answer is Fresno State College geologist William Tucker.
Connie Willis is an author I keep an eye open
for. She has the most unusual (&
interesting) plots and a style of writing that is quite different from what you
normally run into. In Passage she tells a tale that combines psychological aspects of near-death experiences
with a scientist who loses perspective as she begins to participate in her own
experiments and the mysterious &/or terrifying results of those
experiments. I would recommend this
book to anyone who likes a good thriller or a thrilling science fiction novel.
The question was what
is the chemical formula of Nitratine?
The answer is NaNO3.
The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven is
a series of short stories. All the
stories are set in the same universe and are told by the same principal
character, so in the end it is a kind of loosely connected novel. The narrator is the owner of a tavern that
is a way station for aliens visiting Earth.
Each story focuses on a different aspect of this experience. The stories are quite entertaining and I
would recommend the book to any SF fan without reservation. If you’re not a SF fan but are willing to
give a book with aliens a try this would be a very good one to get started
with.
Good Omens
by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett has long been a favorite of mine. It is a book about the end of the
world. It has angels and demons &
the antichrist and it answers the question what would happen if the antichrist
slipped through the interfering fingers of both heaven & hell and was
raised as a normal human?
The question was
which two local spiders are considered to have a dangerous bite? The two local spiders considered to have a
dangerous bite are the black widow (Latrodectus Hesperus) and the violin spider
(Loxosceles species). Black widow’s
venom is a neurotoxin that may cause debilitating systemic disorders, sometimes
leading to death. Violin spider venom
is haemotoxic & while dangerous is rarely lethal.
Charlaine Harris just published Dead EverAfter. The book bears on its cover the
words “the final Sookie Stackhouse novel.”
I have been reading the Stackhouse series since Harris began writing it
a good 14 years ago and have always enjoyed it. It features an interesting main character and a plethora of
amusing eccentrics as supporting cast.
I know that the show True Blood is based on this series but must confess
that I’ve never seen that show so I can’t say how it compares to the
books. The books, though, are amusing
entertainment and I confidentially recommend them to anyone seeking a day’s diversion.
The book Insect Museum: describing 114 species of insects and other arthropods, including their natural history and environment by
Sonia Dourlot is a spectacular book. It
is filled with luscious illustrations … a word you wouldn’t think you could use
in reference to insects. It is also
filled with tons of interesting facts about the insects in question. This is a lovely book to browse through even
if you’re not an entomologist and it is accessible to readers of all ages. I liked it so much in fact that I gave my
niece a copy as a gift.
Which two local spiders are considered to have a dangerous bite?
The question was who
is Method Man? To answer: Method Man (b. Clifford
Smith) is one of the members of the hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. The question (& answer) were found on
p. 237 of The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock published by
Billboard Books in 2002.