Kallas’ book is very popular at the library and all of our copies are checked out!  Definitely join the hold list, though, so you can see this gorgeous book yourself and learn how to make some tasty new meals with wild plants you can find right outside of your door.  Or, better yet, join us next Thursday and purchase your very own signed copy ($25 cash or check only) to use again and again for the years to come.  In the meantime, we do have a number of books to get you started on the subject, so you can go ahead and get reading and come armed with loads of questions for the expert.

Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes
A fun guide for kids and grown-ups to use together to learn how to cook with wild foods.

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts

Drink In the Wild: Teas, Cordials, Jams and More

Eating and Healing: Traditional Food as Medicine

Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide

Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest

The Wild Table  Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes

Posted by Bonnie, a Second Floor Librarian

One Sunday during the move, the Parade magazine caught my eye and I read Anna Quindlen’s  “Is Your Stuff Weighing You Down?”. This essay is adapted from her new book, Lot of Candles, Plenty of Cake.  Quindlen says “There is now so much stuff in my head. Memories and lessons learned have taken the place of possessions.” We still kept plenty of our stuff, but donated many boxes of unneeded items to local thrift shops.

To help you sort through your stuff and make a successful move, the Library has some resources:

	Moving 1-2-3: Expert Advice from the Home Depot
	Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to East Your Family’s Transition to a New Home by Lori Burgan
	Moving on : a practical guide to downsizing the family home by Linda Hetzer & Janet Hulstrand
	Moving in the Right Direction: The Senior’s Guide to Moving and Downsizing by Bruce Nemovitz

We still have a few boxes to  unpack and are still figuring out where everything goes.  Moving is a lot of work, yet a change such as this can be refreshing and invigorating.  If you have a move in your future, I wish you well.  And, remember, packing up takes twice as long as you would expect, so give yourself lots of time.

Posted by Mary, a Second Floor Librarian

Image credit:  “Movers” by mtsofan on Flickr

What I didn’t expect was how brilliantly the new edition of this classic helps readers navigate the choppy social waters of the modern physical and digital world. Written by Post’s descendants, the new book pays homage to those that came before, but is strengthened by the inclusion of modern social pitfalls such as unfriending someone in the social networking realm, and assisting teens with pressures of cyberbullying and sexting trends. Although I haven’t completed all 698 pages of the work, I put it down feeling I’d learned not only which fork I should pick up first, but also how to be a better young professional and woman.

Interested in learning more about the original Emily Post? The library owns an engrossing biography written by Laura Claridge that takes readers through Emily’s handling of her own scandals and rise to stardom as a manners expert.

If you’re interested in opening up a manners discussion with your kids, check out Jennifer LaRue Huget’s Thanks a LOT, Emily Post! This picture book takes a humorous look at Emily Post’s work but includes lots of  situations that will spark a conversation about proper behavior.

For many of us, scanning 698 pages for the right answer or needed inspiration doesn’t fit into the daily schedule. The Emily Post Institute maintains a fabulous and easy to navigate website that features categorized etiquette help and the easy to use Etipedia that allows browsing for the curious and keyword searching for the determined or desperate.

Finally, check out the blog Emily Post’s Etiquette Daily which is moderated by The Emily Post Institute and fields questions from everyday Americans hoping to handle uncomfortable situations with grace.

Posted by Ashley, Extensions Librarian

To celebrate this exciting, important event the library and other places around town have been hosting writing workshops and discussions of some of Oates’ work, but the finale discussion is coming up this Saturday, May 12th, 2:00 p.m. in the Main Meeting Room here at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. We’re calling it “Everybody Reads Joyce Carol Oates” and it’s just an open discussion of any and all of the author’s oeuvre that will be led by instructor Liz Delf from the OSU School of Writing, Literature, and Film.  Read anything by Oates or come ready to listen and learn about her books with fellow community members.  Some delicious pastries donated by New Morning Bakery will be served.

If you haven’t had a chance to pick anything up by Joyce Carol Oates, now is your chance.  She’s a highly prolific, distinctly American, immensely talented writer.  She’s written over 50 books including novels, short stories, poetry collections, even plays.  Many of her stories are haunting and will linger with you a long time as her characters often find themselves dealing with such things as violence, neglect, and abuse (though she doesn’t usually portray any of this graphically).   She’s excellent at suspense and her works are often gripping and sometimes terrifying.  She isn’t afraid to deal with social and psychological issues and her works are often profound reflections on American society and human nature.

Here are some recommended Oates titles and a few articles and interviews to get you pumped about Wednesday and Saturday   I really hope you’ll join us and come witness the power of folks getting together to talk about reading – there’s nothing like it!

BOOKS

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl
Oates has written a few novels for young adults including this very popular title about a high school boy that makes a joking threat that his school officials take very seriously. Only one girl, Ursula aka Ugly Girl, knows the truth and is willing to help him. A coming of age type of novel about surviving high school that we had an awesome teen discussion of last week!

Blonde
A fictional work of the personal life of Marilyn Monroe that is dramatic, engrossing, and true to the woman.

Mudwoman
Oates’ latest effort about a woman that fought hard to rise above her childhood into a successful academic career and what happens when the past and the present collide.

My Sister, My Love
A fictional tale based on the JonBenet Ramsey murder.

We Were the Mulvaneys
The Oprah book club pick and bestseller about a picture perfect family and its demise.

A Widow’s Story
A beautiful memoir about the grief Oates experiences after losing her husband of 48 years.

WEBSITES & ARTICLES

Charlie Rose: An Interview With Joyce Carol Oates
A 1996 interview

Joyce Carol Oates Interview in The Guardian
The author discusses her new book,Mudwoman.

A Woman’s Work: Questions for Joyce Carol Oates
A quick and witty interview with the New York Times Magazine

Posted by Bonnie, a Second Floor Librarian

I like to learn a new craft by jumping right in and trying to make something I like, then, when I make a bunch of mistakes, going back to the books to figure out how to do it better.  I’m not sure that’s the most efficient or smartest way to learn, but since it is my preferred style, the books I checked out were a mix of books I call inspirational, with lots of gorgeous color photographs of unique designs, as well as several nitty gritty how-to books with titles like Complete guide to embroidery stitches, and Embroidery basics: all you need to know to start stitching.

Here are a few of my favorites so far.

	Colorful stitchery : 65 hot embroidery projects to personalize your home / Kristin Nicholas.  This book has excellent instructions for the basic embroidery stitches.  The simple, bold, and colorful designs are good choices if you’re new to embroidery and want to make something unfussy that has impact.
	Doodle-Stitching: Fresh and Fun Embroidery for Beginners by Aimee Ray is a good book for beginners.  The designs are fresh and whimsical without being overly cutesy.  I’m looking forward to trying the project for embroidering Converse shoes.  Ask me later how it went!
	Stumpwork dragonflies / Jane Nicholas.  This is one of the books that inspired me to start stitching.  Stumpwork is a form of raised embroidery that originated in England in the second half of the seventeenth century.  You can use metallic thread and beads to really make the dragonflies shimmer.
	The new crewel : exquisite designs in contemporary embroidery / Katherine Shaughnessy.  Crewel is a type of embroidery that uses two-ply worsted wool threads on linen fabric.  I love the dimensional nature and luscious texture of crewel, and the contemporary designs in this book are gorgeous.
	Hoopla : the art of unexpected embroidery / Leanne Prain ; photography by Jeff Christenson.  For people who like to break the rules, this book will provide visual inspiration with great photography and profiles of artists.  This is a beautiful, fun book.

If you are interested in the history of embroidery as well as the larger discussion of women and art, you might like The subversive stitch : embroidery and the making of the feminine/ Rozsika Parker.  Want more ideas?  Broaden your definition of embroidery with  Creative recycling in embroidery;  Twisted stitches: 30 corrupt cross stitch and embroidery designs; or The Techniques of Japanese embroidery.  There are many classic embroidery books in the Library and new ones are on order right now.  Let us know if we can help you find them!

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

2011's most circulated book @CBCPL

Understandably, it’s a bit late to be doing a reflective post about 2011, but better late than never, I say!

What was popular at the CBCPL in 2011? Amongst the favorites: Stieg Larsson’s posthumously published trilogy of gritty crime novels; books related to food, be it a manual or a memoir;  historical fiction set in other countries; fast-paced and suspenseful legal thrillers; biographies about an Egyptian queen and an American football and war hero; Malcolm Gladwell’s compilation of essays and research into the common factors to success; a breakdown of events behind the recent financial crisis; and an annual favorite, detailing the hiking trails in Corvallis.

Based on circulation statistics, the following were the top ten, most circulated, books at the library.

Top Ten Fiction

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
• The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• The Lacuna: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Reversal by Michael Connelly
• The Confession by John Grisham
• Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer

Top Ten Nonfiction

• Corvallis Trails: Exploring the Heart of the Valley by Margie Powell
• What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
• Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
• Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan
• Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris
• Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
• Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia
• The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis

As we move forward with 2012,  we look forward to discovering new and exciting stories that will capture our attention.

Posted by Lindy, a second floor librarian

Zacharias, former crime and courts reporter at the East Oregonian, spent five years chronicling the circumstances of Karly’s murder.  A Silence of Mockingbirds: The memoir of a murder, published to coincide with National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, tells Karly’s story. On April 5th, at 7:00 PM,  Zacharias will be at the library to read from and discuss  her new book.  Karly’s Father and the Deputy District Attorney who prosecuted the case will be in the audience and available to answer questions.  Grass Roots Bookstore will be selling copies of the book.

Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, introduced legislation which led to the passing of Karly’s Law, a bill whose purpose was to tighten the requirements for investigating potential child-abuse victims.  While legislation is important, Zacharias also wants to increase community awareness of child abuse to prevent tragedies like Karly’s death.  We hope you will come on April 5th.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

Many of you out there probably already know all of this about the iconic star, but there’s a ton of stuff I bet you don’t know about her that only some of the best biographies cover.  Here’s a quick list of the top 3 bios the library has about the star, a few of her best movies, and some great websites to help you celebrate the memory of the violet-eyed lady:

BOOKS & DVDS

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (DVD)

Elizabeth

Father of the Bride (DVD)

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century

How To Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood

Little Women (DVD)

National Velvet (DVD)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (DVD)

WEBSITES

The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor
Features a few pieces of jewelry from the Christie’s auction. You can actually see every piece auctioned and what it sold for here, here, and here.

Elizabeth Taylor
Find out more about and see pictures of Taylor’s place of burial and read a bio of her life

Elizabeth Taylor: 1932-2011
A timeline of Taylor’s career complete with pictures and videos

Elizabeth Taylor Dies at 79
Taylor’s obituary

Elizabeth Taylor: FBI Files
“These files detail multiple extortion attempts against Taylor that the Bureau investigated over the years.”  Kind of strange, but I thought this might be of interest to Taylor fans; complete with scanned letters and memorabilia from seeming fans that usually either threatened or cruelly insulted her.

Elizabeth Taylor: Rare & Unpublished Photos of a Hollywood Legend
From Life magazine

Elizabeth Taylor’s Tempestuous Love Affair
Video of a 60 Minutes interview with Taylor and Richard Burton in 1970

Posted by Bonnie, a second floor librarian

Stan Sterns' famous photograph of JFK Jr.

Stan Sterns, the photographer that captured the image of JFK Jr. saluting his father’s casket on November 25, 1963, died last week. In an article about Sterns’ passing, the New York Times provided a short account behind the photograph.

There are many memorable photographs from the past. Can you think of some that stick in your memory, lasting forever? Did they evoke a mood within you, such as anger, grief, elation, or something else indescribable? Sterns’ photograph captured a moment in time that many people can still remember to this day, able to describe in indiscriminate detail where they were, what they were doing, and the sights and smells of the moment as the image ingrained in their mind.

As we’re able to go back and relive the moment through our own perception, what about the story behind the picture? What about the people that were living that moment, forever captured on film? What ever happened to them?

Here’s a short list of a few books and DVDs that describe the story behind an iconic image:

Elizabeth and Hazel: two women of Little Rock / David Margolick. “The names Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery may not be well known, but the image of them from September 1957 surely is: a black high school girl, dressed in white, walking stoically in front of Little Rock Central High School, and a white girl standing directly behind her, face twisted in hate, screaming racial epithets. This famous photograph captures the full anguish of desegregation — in Little Rock and throughout the South — and an epic moment in the civil rights movement. In this gripping book, David Margolick tells the remarkable story of two separate lives unexpectedly braided together. He explores how the haunting picture of Elizabeth and Hazel came to be taken, its significance in the wider world, and why, for the next half-century, neither woman has ever escaped from its long shadow.” (Yale University Press, 2011).

Flags of our fathers / James Bradley. “The picture of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima in 1945 may be the most famous photograph of the twentieth century. Its fame was immediate, and immediately hitched to the wagon of publicity. The president summoned home the soldiers pictured to promote the government’s final bond drive of World War II. After some confusion, the men were identified, but only three of the six flag-raisers survived the Battle of Iwo Jima. The survivors became celebrities. Bradley, the son of corpsman John Bradley, probes the nature of heroism–its appearance versus the reality. The reality was what happened on Iwo Jima: an 84 percent casualty rate inflicted on the flag-raisers’ unit, Company E of the Second Battalion of the Twenty-eighth Regiment of the Fifth Division of the U.S. Marine Corps. In the course of his narrative, Bradley reconstructs Easy Company’s war, starting with background material on the men, proceeding to their enlistment in the marines (the navy, in Bradley’s case), training, landing on Iwo Jima, and fighting for Mount Suribachi, capped by the fluke of the photograph.” (Booklist, 2010).

The girl in the picture: The story of Kim Phuc, the photograph, and the Vietnam War / Denise Chong. “The horrors suffered by villagers during the Vietnam War were encapsulated in the unforgettable, Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running naked and screaming in agony from a blast of napalm dropped by a South Vietnamese fighter plane. Chong (The Concubine’s Children) presents the story of Phuc’s miraculous recovery and the memorable life of the war victim always to be remembered as “the girl in the picture.” Phuc’s spent 13 months recovering from third-degree burns that covered 35 percent of her body. She later became a good student, but her dream of becoming a doctor was never realized because of the celebrity status given to her by the victorious Communists. Prime Minister Dong treated Phuc like a granddaughter, allowing her to attend the University of Havana in Cuba, far away from the demands of the Vietnamese government. Phuc realized that Cuba, which had fallen on economic hard times once its economic sponsor, the Soviet Union pulled out, offered no promise of a future. In 1992, she escaped to Canada. An important story vividly retold.” (Library Journal, 2010).

The tank man [dvd]. “On June 5, 1989, one day after Chinese troops expelled thousands of demonstrators from Tienanmen Square, a solitary, unarmed protester stood his ground before a column of tanks advancing down the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Captured by Western photographers, this extraordinary confrontation became an icon of the fight for freedom around the world. Filmmaker Antony Thomas investigates the identity, fate, and significance of the tank man.” (PBS Home Video, 2006). The full-length video is accessible online on the PBS website.

A great day in Harlem [dvd]. “A great day in Harlem tells the story of Art Kane’s famous 1958 group photograph of the jazz greats of the period. Includes home movie footage of that day of the musicians arriving and greeting each other the morning of the shoot. Also includes conversations with musicians and archival performance footage.” (MMV Image Entertainment, 2005).

Read More:

In our catalog, we have plenty of books about the photographers who have documented American life.

Many magazines and newspapers have wonderful photoblogs dedicated to showcasing their photographers capturing world events. My favorites:

• Boston Globe’s Big Picture
• Time Photos
• Time Lightbox
• The Guardian in Pictures
• New York Times Lens: Photography, Video and Visual Journalism
• The BBC: News in Pictures

Posted by Lindy, a second floor librarian.

	Take the cannoli : stories from the New World / Sarah Vowell.  Take the Cannoli is a moving and wickedly funny collection of personal stories stretching across the immense landscape of the American scene.  Vowell has an irresistible voice — caustic and sympathetic, insightful and double-edged — that has attracted a loyal following for her magazine writing and radio monologues on This American Life.
	The pursuit of Alice Thrift : a novel / Elinor Lipman.  This witty, fast paced, and unusual romance novel is the first Lipman book I read, and along with Inn at Lake Devine, remains one of my favorites.  The novel’s ridiculousness and quirky characters will lift your spirits.
	Beginner’s Greek : a novel / James Collins.  Part modern-day Jane Austen, part Tom Wolfe, Beginner’s Greek is a romantic comedy of the highest order, with characters who are perfectly, charmingly real as they swerve and stumble from fairy tale to social satire and back again.
	Some tame gazelle / by Barbara Pym.  “[T]urns a shrewd, mocking, but always affectionate eye on English country life 30 years ago. Pym’s fans will feel completely at home when they step into the Jane Austen-like lives of Harriet and Belinda Bede.”- Christian Science Monitor
	The Thurber carnival / written and illustrated by James Thurber.  James Thurber’s unique ability to convey the vagaries of life in a funny, witty, and often satirical way earned him accolades as one of the finest humorists of the twentieth century. A bestseller upon its initial publication in 1945. The Thurber Carnival captures the depth and breadth of his talent.
	Dog on it / Spencer Quinn.  In this irresistible new detective series featuring a canine narrator, Quinn speaks two languages–suspense and dog–fluently. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and in a few places terrifying . . . [a] one-of-a-kind novel (Stephen King).
	Bossypants / Tina Fey.  From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon, comedian Tina Fey reveals all, and proves that you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.
	Is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns) / Mindy Kaling.  Comedy writer and actress Mindy Kaling invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls.
	Garden spells / Sarah Addison Allen.This charming combination of chick lit, magical realism, and gardening will have you dreaming of spring.
	Me talk pretty one day / David Sedaris.  This collection of essays in which Sedaris spins embarassing moments in his life into sharp humor is laugh- out-loud funny.  His essay recounting his move to France and his humiliating struggles to learn French is one of my favorites.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

Image credit: Beach rules by iko on Flickr