Check these out: October 22, 2015

For several hours a week, I work at the Huntley Library re-shelving items. During this process, opportunity presents itself for me to peruse materials I’d not see while looking on my own. Very often I say to myself, oh, that looks interesting…and then I keep it or jot down the info. I’ll share some with you that pique my interest.

On the Clock
Barry Wilner, Ken Rappoport

On the NEW shelves, non-fiction section, this title caught my eye because I thought it was about employment: “On the Clock”. However, the subtitle corrected that assumption: ”the story of the NFL draft”.

Now, I don’t particularly care for football, but my nephew is deep into it and September is not too early to think about Christmas gifts. With a 2015 publication date, the prologue reveals that the book chronicles “the history of the proceedings…from the first grab bag in 1936…to the 2014 draft” which they describe as the “most exciting draft ever” because of its depth (whatever that means). At just under 200 pages and a paperback cover, it’s an affordable gift if someone in your life loves this game…the real one or the fantasy version. 796.33 WIL

Miracle at Agusta
James Paterson

Golf is another game I don’t know about or appreciate except to watch the beautiful landscapes at tournaments. Nevertheless, I could not miss the title “Miracle at Augusta” as four copies blinked at me on the NEW fiction shelf. WOW! I had to look inside even though the author is the prolific, popular James Patterson and his “collaborator” Peter deJonge. The first page reveals a major character is from Winnetka, IL (a nice local connection) and winner of a recent “senior” tournament, another connection to us here in Sun City. Flipping through the book, I saw many shot descriptions and golf jargon, so I immediately put this book on my potential Christmas gift list…for an avid golfer and reader: FIC PAT.

Roses without Chemicals
Peter E. Kukielski

Did you know that the rose is the National Floral Emblem of the US? Yep, since 1986 thanks to President Reagan. “Roses without Chemicals” has exquisite pictures of both flowers and the bugs/pests that cause trouble. The cover of this book touts “150 disease-free varieties that will change the way you grow roses”. My idea of a flower garden is day lilies that take care of themselves, but both my brother (N.3) and my neighbor love roses in their gardens, so I must tell them about this book on the NEW shelves: 635.933 KUK.

A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home
Sue Halpern

I’m really a cat person, but the picture on the front of this book plus the title made me take a second look. Since this non-fiction book is about a Labradoodle, I hope it’s safe to assume the cover photo is that breed, perhaps the “main character”. The title, though it sounds like the start of a Johnny Carson joke, provides a huge hint to the book’s content: “A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home.” A quick skim/flip through the book makes me think I’d like reading it. “Funny, moving, and profound…” is what the book cover front flap says. We could all use some of those characteristics, eh?: 636.708 HAL.

The Wild Truth
Carine McCandless

While putting away a biography called “Into Thin Air,” I recalled I had read that book. It’s about an investigation by Jon Krakauer of Chris McCandless’ last few years, before the 20-something’s emaciated body and notebook were discovered in the wilds of Alaska. You may remember the Sean Penn movie. The book next to the one I was putting away also had the name McCandless on the spine and I wondered about that. “The Wild Truth” is a follow-up account, written by Chris’s sister, published in 2014, some 17 years after John Krakauer’s very popular book. The cover says she is trying to correct the misconceptions about her brother. Whoa! I have to read THAT because I was pretty disgusted with young Chris after I read about his unprepared venture into the Alaskan wilderness.

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