"Devils in Exile" by Mary Beth

 

It's been said that no one understands the criminal underbelly of Boston like best selling author Chuck Hogan.  In his latest novel "Devils in Exile," Hogan takes the reader on a heart pounding odyssey into the city's volatile drug trade and proves it.

Former Iraqi War vet, Neal Maven finds a sense of purpose and the adrenaline high he's been missing when he meets former military man, Brad Royce.  Royce has money, charisma and confidence and he recruits Maven into a small team of former vets that intercepts drug deals.  They destroy the product while pocketing the money, a get-rich scheme with a moral imperative that appeals to Maven whose stepsister died from a drug overdose.

Royce also has a beautiful woman - someone Maven knew from high school.  And then, as now, she is his dream girl.  In a short time, Maven has more money than he's ever seen and the good life seems within reach.

But the success rate of their well-planned and executed missions suddenly begins to change.  Mistakes happen, the risks increase.  Boston's drug kingpins place a bounty on their heads and hire two Jamaican hit men with an affinity for eyeball souvenirs.  The multi-agency DEA-headed task force closes in on them.

Maven is as confused as ever.  Who is Royce?  How does he get his inside information?  Why are the ops going wrong?

Hogan, whose "Prince of Thieves" was recently released as the movie "The Town," delivers his most thrilling novel yet.

END

Find New Traditions @ Stillwater Public Library by Stacy

We’re on the cusp of a busy holiday season.  Many of us have lifelong holiday traditions for which to prepare, but for others of us, circumstances have made those traditions impractical or just plan impossible.  Maybe divorce has changed your family’s dynamics, or the economy has made your tradition too expensive, or perhaps all of the little ones have grown up and there are no longer children in your home. 

Giving up a treasured tradition can be heartbreaking, but it is also a great time to find new ways to make the holidays special.  The Stillwater Public Library can show you how to make new traditions with some of these insightful books:

·           “The Heart of a Family: searching America for new traditions that fulfill us” by Meg Cox—a nice book filled with examples from different families on how they celebrate special occassions and holidays.

·           “Creating Family Traditions: making memories in festive seasons” by Gloria Gaither & Shirley Dobson—religious oriented take on activities that will be especially meaningful for children.

·           “Giving Love a Memory: creating traditions your family will cherish” by Ruthann Winans & Linda Lee—a very short book with lots of small activities to commemorate the special days of the year and events in life.

·           “The Joy of Family Traditions” by Jennifer Trainer Thompson—gives an exhaustive list of different holidays and special occasions that call for a tradition.  Includes histories of special occasions and provides world-wide traditions.

·           “New Traditions: redefining celebrations for today’s family” by Susan Abel Lieberman—includes two great chapters on single-parent homes and traditions for “Daddies.”

·           “Family Traditions: celebrations for holidays and everyday” by Elizabeth Berg—a great book that explains how to make everyday traditions and “no-reason” traditions.  It covers many different holidays as well.

·           “Christmas at Our House: family holiday traditions” by Donna Green—this is not an idea book so much as a great listing of holiday activities to think about so that you can identify the activities your family does every year and decide whether they are traditions worth keeping.

There is still plenty of time to decide what to do to make this holiday memorable and special.  These books and more will be out on display, so stop by and check them out!

Soup's On! by Sue

Fall is here and it’s time to start making that cold-weather standby for mealtime: soup!  We have many books about soup in the children’s area.  Some of the fiction titles include a recipe you may wish to try.  Included in the Juvenile area are:

Family Fun @ National Gaming Day @ Stillwater Public Library by Stacy

On Saturday, Nov. 13 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) during National Gaming Day @ Your Library, I imagine that a lot of people will be excited about learning to play Mahjong (AND the special tea service I am planning, ladies!) or hanging out playing Texas Hold ‘em, and definitely taking part in the Minute to Win It challenges.  Personally, I am secretly going to be wishing that I could sneak over with the Stillwater Chess Club and learn how to play. 

Although we’ll have instructors available to teach you how to play the games, you may want to come in early to check out some of these easy to understand game books:

·           Learning chess in 30 minutes: chess for absolute beginners (DVD).

·           Chess for kids by Michael Basman.

·           Learn chess in a weekend by Ken Whyld.

·           Texas hold'em for dummies by Mark Harlan.

·           The New Complete Hoyle : the authoritative guide to the official rules of all popular games of skill and chance--includes instruction for card games, board, games, Mahjong, and much more).

·           Monopoly : the world's most famous game-- and how it got that way by Philip Orbanes.

·           The Games Treasury by Merilyn Simonds Mohr—a compilation of instructions for all manner of card and board games, including the very difficult to master Chutes and Ladders.

·           While fido won’t be able to come in on Saturday, be sure to look for this upcoming book so he can join in the fun at home: 50 games to play with your dog by Suellen Dainty (how dreamy is her name!).

Whatever game you choose to play at the library next Saturday, it will be all the more fun if you bring your friends and family.  So pull the kids away from the TV and tell hubby (or the wife) that he can just as easily watch the OSU-Texas game at the library as at home!

"Fallout" by Stacy

If your loved ones who own an Xbox 360 have not been out of the house, not bathing or brushing their teeth, or maybe are missing entirely, it may because they are obsessed with last week’s release of Fallout: New Vegas. 

After having been immersed in post-nuclear Vegas for 6 to 10 hours a day the last week, I’m thoroughly sickened with myself but still can’t resist the urge to play.  For those of you who are suffering the same ailment, I suggest a slow withdraw by using some good old-fashioned post-apocalyptic fiction to wean yourself off Fallout and back into real society. 

You are probably most familiar with the novels made into films like “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson, and “The Stand” by Stephen King, but post-apocalyptic fiction goes way back into the 1800s with novels like Mary Shelley’s "The Last Man" (1826) in which a lone survivor learns to live in a world where everyone else is dying from the plague; and “After London” by Richard Jefferies where England has reverted to a medieval existence after a sudden catastrophe.  Both novels are available as free ebooks at www.gutenberg.org and audio books at www.librivox.org.

The Cold War era brought classics like “A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter Miller which explores mankind six hundred years after a nuclear war, then revisits the same world as it flourishes in a new Renaissance, then once more when it reverts once again to another nuclear age.  The characters in Nevil Shute's “On the Beach” are living just days after World War III.  When they find signs of life, they must go into the post-apocalyptic world to find survivors.

More recent titles include “Warday,” a very interesting novel in which the authors are also the main characters.  The book follows Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka out into radiation and war filled America to explore how the rest of the country is coping five years after a nuclear attack.  The Book of Ember young adult series by Jeanne DuPrau follows two teens who have been living in an isolated and safe community.  The books follow them as they find their way into the post-apocalyptic world. 

Several of us at the library have “Fallout” poisoning (Fallout fever?).  Come see us—we may be able to help.