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Apr 28, 2008

Book Discussion: Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult, May 5, 2008

The next meeting of the Adult Book Discussion Group will be Monday, May 5th at 6:00pm. The group will be discussing Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult.

The book group meets the first Monday of each month, right here in the library. We always have multiple copies of selection to check out.

Click here to view some discussion-starting questions >

Apr 25, 2008

Seabrook Old Time Radio, April 30th at the library

Seabrook Old Time Radio Players present:

Fibber McGee and Molly
& The Life of Riley

Live!

April 30th, 2008
Matinee at 3:30pm, Evening at 7pm
Free Admission!



Seabrook Library
25 Liberty Lane
Seabrook NH
474-2044
ocean@sealib.org

directions:

View Larger Map

Apr 24, 2008

new fiction, 4.24.08

Change of Heart, Jodi Picoult
One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen.For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child. Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?

for more information about these and other new books, search the library's catalog >

Lady Killer, Lisa Scottoline
Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline heroine — she's strong, she's smart, and she's got plenty of attitude. In recent years, she's become a big-time business-getter at Rosato & Associates, but the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning — in mile-high stilettos — is super sexy Trish Gambone, her high school rival. Back then, while Mary was becoming the straight-A president of the Latin Club and Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood, Trish was the head Mean Girl, who flunked religion and excelled at smoking in the bathroom. As it turns out, however, Trish's life has taken a horrifying turn. She's terrified of her live-in boyfriend, who's an abusive, gun-toting drug dealer for the South Philly mob. There's only one problem — Mary remembers the guy from high school too. Unbeknownst to Trish, Mary had a major crush on him. Then Trish vanishes, a dead body turns up in an alley, and Mary is plunged into a nightmare, one that threatens her job, her family, and even her life. She goes on a one-woman crusade to unmask the killer, and on the way, finds new love in a very unexpected place.

In Search of Eden, Linda Nichols
A girl who has never been able to settle down, Miranda begins various adventures, but whenever reality begins to tarnish her dreams, she gives up. As she approaches her thirtieth birthday, she determines to reinvent her life. But there's one loose end to tie down first.... Joseph North, the chief of police in Abingdon, Virginia, always tries to do what is right, to perform his duty and protect those he loves. He becomes suspicious of the new woman in town, and after checking further, he discovers she has no history. Then he finds a baby picture of his niece in her possession.... In Search of Eden is a story about law and grace, about forgiveness and redemption, about finding joy and rest in a broken world.

Tom Clancy's Endwar, David Michaels
Based on the bestselling video game, this new series will take readers onto the battlefields of World War III with the technical savvy and explosive action that Clancy fans have come to expect.


for more information about these and other new books, search the library's catalog >




A Good Yarn, Debbie Macomber
From America's favorite storyteller comes the highly anticipated sequel to her "New York Times" bestseller, "The Shop on Blossom Street." Once again, a disparate group of women find friendship and comfort as they learn the age-old craft of knitting.

for more information about these and other new books, search the library's catalog >




Firefly Lane, Kristen Hannah
In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all — beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable. So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

The Machiavelli Covenant, Allan Folsom
In Washington, D.C., Former LAPD rogue detective Nicholas Marten has come out of hiding to hunt down the killers of his childhood sweetheart. The wife of a controversial United States congressman, she and her husband and son were mysteriously murdered soon after the congressman discovered a massive clandestine bioweapons program. In Europe to meet with distinguished heads of state prior to a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris may well face the same deadly fate. A secret cabal within his own administration orders Harris to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death...


Deep Dish, Mary Kay Andrews
Chef extraordinaire Gina Foxton doesn't expect anything to be handed to her on a platter. After years of hard work, the former runner-up Miss Teen Vidalia Onion is now the host of her own local Georgia public television show called Fresh Start, and she's dating the show's producer.

But when her show gets canceled—and she catches her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the boss's wife—Gina realizes that she's meant for bigger and better things. Namely, a gig on national television.

Apr 23, 2008

new diy, how-to, and crafty nonfiction, 4.23.08

Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute, Elisabeth Doherty
rochet is not just about ponchos and scarves anymore: it’s about amigurumi, a hip new craft trend! These Japanese-inspired dolls have motivated crocheters everywhere to grab their hooks and create collections of irresistibly funky-cute creatures. Elisabeth Doherty, one of today’s hottest amigurumi designers, is here to show readers how they, too, can get in on the fun. She explains basic and advanced stitches; shows how to make the critters’ forms by crocheting in the round; gives advice on yarns and stuffing; and offers tips on embroidering facial features and embellishments. Start with an easy cupcake, move on to a palm-sized mouse, and work up to the more challenging and spectacular projects, like a punk rock bunny or a beatnik kitty—complete with black turtleneck, beret, and goatee.

Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs, Lynne Barr
Scarves are often the first garments beginning knitters try. Then, when they feel ready for a greater creative thrill, they move on to other types of garments. In Knitting New Scarves, Lynne Barr beckons all levels of knitters back to their humble beginnings and then wows them with 27 spectacularly modern designs, each created using an innovative new technique or a unique take on a traditional one.

for more information about these and other crafty books, search the library's catalog >

Japanese Temari: A Simple Spin on an Ancient Craft, Barbara Seuss
For centuries, temari balls have been decorative additions to the Japanese household, and this introduction for the beginning temari-stitcher features straightforward directions and detailed sketches for recreating their bright colors and intricate designs. Each section introduces a new stitching technique, guiding the reader through the temari repertoire, until he/she has become a temari master by the book's conclusion. These crafts are inexpensive and fast to make—half of the 26 designs can be completed in less than two hours each. Sidebars throughout the book are loaded with beautiful watercolors and notes on Japanese culture and poetry, and colorful pictures and rich text make this unique craft book appealing to buyers both as a how-to guide and as a beautiful gift book.

Bag Style, Pam Allen
Featuring 22 innovative patterns for all skill levels, this book includes projects from 20 top knitwear designers, including Veronik Avery, Norah Gaughan, Mags Kandis, and Kristin Nicholas. From a zenith carpet bag to a felted messenger bag to a delicate purse with handles made of bracelets, each project features gorgeous photographs and step-by-step instructions, and all techniques are explained in easy-to-understand detail. Whether an avid bag knitter or creating one for the first time, this book has all the inspiration, technique, and details crafters need.

Hardwear: Jewelry From a Toolbox
24 striking, easy-to-make pieces of jewelry fashioned from nuts and metal washers, S hooks and O rings, rubber sheeting and rubber tubing, and other inexpensive, readily available hardware. Most of the projects for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings featured in this unique and unexpected book can be completed in just a few hours, and all of them can be made on a minimal budget.

Apr 22, 2008

new comics + graphic novels, 4.22.08

American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
All Jin Wang wants is to fit in... When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese-American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl... Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god... Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a basketball player, a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, James Sturm & Rich Tommaso
Baseball Hall of Famer Leroy Satchel Paige (1905–1982) changed the face of the game in a career that spanned five decades. Much has been written about this larger-than-life pitcher, but when it comes to Paige, fact does not easily separate from fiction. He made a point of writing his own history — and then re-writing it. A tall, lanky fireballer, he was arguably the Negro League's hardest thrower, most entertaining storyteller and greatest gate attraction. Now the Center for Cartoon Studies turns a graphic novelist's eye to Paige's story. Told from the point of view of a sharecropper, this compelling narrative follows Paige from game to game as he travels throughout the segregated South. In stark prose and powerful graphics, author and artist share the story of a sports hero, role model, consummate showman, and era-defining American.

Bone Reissue #07: Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith
The valley is ravaged by war while the Bone cousins, Granma Ben, and a baby rat creature are on a dangerous trek to Atheia, the old city of the royal family, to bring Princess Thorn to safety. Meanwhile, Lucius Downs lies severely wounded and trapped with the villagers in the camp at Old Mans Cave.

for more information about these and other graphic novels, search the library's catalog >




Amulet #01: The Stonekeeper, Kazu Kibuishi
After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.


Wonder Woman: love and murder, Jodi Picoult
Best-selling author Jodi Picoult (Nineteen Minutes, The Tenth Circle, My Sister's Keeper), takes Wonder Woman on a collision course with the Amazons in this hardcover volume collecting Wonder Woman #6-10! The action begins when Wonder Woman, in her disguise as Special Agent Diana Prince of the Department of Metahuman affairs, is assigned to capture Wonder Woman. How can she accomplish this impossible job without revealing her secret identity? This is just the start of the Amazon Warrior's problems as Diana must relearn how to exist as a human being while a deadly foe begins to close a net on her, leading to a catastrophic outcome!

Apr 21, 2008

new downloadable audiobooks from Overdrive, 4.21.08

We have a whole new batch of audiobooks available through Overdrive. With Overdrive, you download the audiobook directly to your computer, then listen to it either on your computer, on an mp3 player, or you can burn some titles to cd. Visit the Overdrive website to learn more - you will need your library card number to download audiobooks and place holds.

Title Author
The Amateur Spy Fesperman, Dan
Dead Heat Rosenberg, Joel C.
Eleven: A Mystery Giff, Patricia Reilly
Enchantment Card, Orson Scott
Honor Thyself Steel, Danielle
Killer Heat Fairstein, Linda
The Outlaw Demon Wails Harrison, Kim
Seduction of the Crimson Rose Willig, Lauren
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Volume I Black, Holly
Beautiful Boy Sheff, David
Blue-Eyed Devil Kleypas, Lisa
Children of Dune Herbert, Frank
Christine Falls Black, Benjamin
The Dark Tide Gross, Andrew
The Journey Lasky, Kathryn
Losing You French, Nicci
Monsters of Templeton Groff, Lauren
Physics of the Impossible Kaku, Michio
Retribution Hastings, Max
Searching for Dragons Wrede, Patricia C.
Tell Me Where It Hurts Trout, Nick
The Voice of the Night Koontz, Dean
Buckingham Palace Gardens Perry, Anne
Calling on Dragons Wrede, Patricia
Common Wealth Sachs, Jeffrey D.
Compulsion Kellerman, Jonathan
The Opposite of Love Buxbaum, Julie
Phantoms Koontz, Dean
The Rescue Lasky, Kathryn

Apr 18, 2008

new teen books, 4.18.08

Absolute Brightness, James Lecesne
Darkness: Where light is not.

Light: Brightness or illumination from a particular source.

Absolute brightness: The mystery of Leonard Pelkey.

This is the story of a luminous force of nature: a boy who encounters evil and whose magic isn't truly felt until he disappears.


The Game of My Life: A True Story of Challenge, Triumph, and Growing Up Autistic, Jason McElwain
The incredible true story of one high school student's determination to triumph against the challenges of autism-and his opponents on the basketball court... On February 15, 2006, the Greece Athena Trojans high school basketball team took the court for the final game of the regular season. With four minutes and nineteen seconds left on the clock, and the Trojans nursing a comfortable lead, the coach sent Jason McElwain-an autistic student and the team manager-to the scorer's table. He scored twenty points, including a school record six three- pointers. J-Mac, as McElwain became known, was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders, and a videotape of the game quickly found its way onto national television, making J-Mac a household name. An inspiration to people everywhere, Jason McElwain's amazing accomplishment was broadcast on CN, ESPN, and local newscasts across the country, moving President Bush to tears with his courage and determination. The Game of My Life is one of the few books written by an autistic author-a riveting chronicle of how J-Mac overcame a lifetime of adversity.

Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter
"Sunshine, you're my baby and I'm your only mother. You must mind the one taking care of you, but she's not your mama." Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes, living by those words. As her mother spirals out of control, Ashley is left clinging to an unpredictable, dissolving relationship, all the while getting pulled deeper and deeper into the foster care system. Painful memories of being taken away from her home quickly become consumed by real-life horrors, where Ashley is juggled between caseworkers, shuffled from school to school, and forced to endure manipulative,humiliating treatment from a very abusive foster family. In this inspiring, unforgettable memoir, Ashley finds the courage to succeed - and in doing so, discovers the power of her own voice.

Boot Camp, Todd Strasser
In the middle of the night Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens. Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's no way to fake it. Beaten, humiliated, and stripped of his pride, Garrett's spirit is slowly ebbing away. Then he hears whispers of an escape plot. It's incredibly risky — if he's caught, the consequences will be unthinkable — but it may be his only way out.

The Final Warning, Maximum Ride 4, James Patterson
In this breathtaking new story, Maximum Ride is on the run from an army that's been assembled for the sole purpose of capturing her. While she's trying to save herself, she may as well save the entire planet.


for more information about this and other new books, search the library's catalog>




Airman, Eoin Colfer
The bestselling creator of the Artemis Fowl series returns with a new adventure set in the 1890s. Thrown into prison for a murder he didn't commit, Conor Broekhart passes the time scratching designs for a flying machine onto the walls of his cell. After two years, Conor is finally able to build a glider and executes a daring escape to the mainland.

for more information about this and other new books, search the library's catalog>


Evil Star, book 2 of the Gatekeepers, Anthony Horowitz
Matt thought his troubles were over when he closed Raven's Gate . . . but in fact they were just beginning. His fate — and the fate of the world — is tied to four other kids across the globe. The second is a street kid in Peru. He and Matt have never met; they don't even speak the same language. But destiny is going to throw them together as the evil threat of the Old Ones grows . . . and another Gate suddenly comes into play.




Big Papi: My story of big dreams and big hits, David Ortiz
Boston Red Sox and All-Star David Ortiz, a.k.a. Big Papi, opens up on life and the Big Leagues in this dramatic and compelling rags-to-riches story of a baseball dream coming true.



for more information about this and other new books, search the library's catalog>


The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father's "bunny rabbit." A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston. Frankie Landau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer. Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society. Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew's lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.

Apr 17, 2008

new biographies, 4.17.08

Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles by Kathleen Turner
From her film debut as the sultry schemer in Body Heat to her award-winning role as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, actress Kathleen Turner's unique blend of beauty, intelligence, and raw sexuality has driven her personal and professional life. Now, in this gutsy memoir, the screen icon tells us of the risks she's taken and the lessons she's learned — sometimes the hard way. For the first time, Turner shares her childhood challenges — a life lived in countries around the world until her father, a State Department official whom she so admired, died suddenly when she was a teenager. She talks about her twenty year marriage, and why she and her husband recently separated, her close relationship with her daughter, her commitment to service, and how activism in controversial causes has bolstered her beliefs. And Turner reveals the pain and heartbreak of her struggle with rheumatoid arthritis, and how, in spite of it, she made a daring decision: to take a break from the movies and relaunch her stage career.

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Julie Phillips
Tiptree burst onto the science fiction scene in the 1970s with a series of hard-edged, provocative short stories. Then the cover was blown: the author was actually a 61-year-old woman named Alice Sheldon — world traveler, debutante, chicken farmer, CIA agent, and experimental psychologist. This fascinating biography is based on full access to her papers.

for more information about these and other new biographies, search the library's catalog >


Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph, C. Vivian Stringer
Work hard, and don't look for excuses, Stringer's parents told her, and you can achieve anything. But her faith and perseverance would be tested many times. A gifted athlete, she had to fight for a place on an all-white cheerleading squad in the sixties. In 1981, just as her coaching career was taking off, her fourteen-month-old daughter, Nina, was stricken with spinal meningitis. Nina would never walk or talk again. Still grieving, Stringer brought a small, poor, historically black college to the national championships — a triumph hailed as Hoosiers with an all-female cast. In 1991, her husband, Bill — her staunchest supporter, the father of her children, and the love of her life — fell dead of a sudden heart attack, but that same year, she led yet another young team to the Final Four. Through these dark times and others — including her bout with cancer, shared here for the first time — Stringer has carried her burdens with grace.

The Game of My Life: A True Story of Challenge, Triumph, and Growing Up Autistic, Jason McElwain
The incredible true story of one high school student's determination to triumph against the challenges of autism-and his opponents on the basketball court... On February 15, 2006, the Greece Athena Trojans high school basketball team took the court for the final game of the regular season. With four minutes and nineteen seconds left on the clock, and the Trojans nursing a comfortable lead, the coach sent Jason McElwain-an autistic student and the team manager-to the scorer's table. He scored twenty points, including a school record six three- pointers. J-Mac, as McElwain became known, was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders, and a videotape of the game quickly found its way onto national television, making J-Mac a household name. An inspiration to people everywhere, Jason McElwain's amazing accomplishment was broadcast on CN, ESPN, and local newscasts across the country, moving President Bush to tears with his courage and determination. The Game of My Life is one of the few books written by an autistic author-a riveting chronicle of how J-Mac overcame a lifetime of adversity.

Bill Mauldin: a life up front,Todd Depastino
During World War II, the truest glimpse most Americans got of the "real war" came through the flashing black lines of twenty-two-year-old infantry sergeant Bill Mauldin. Week after week, Mauldin defied army censors, German artillery, and Patton's pledge to "throw his ass in jail" to deliver his wildly popular cartoon, "Up Front," to the pages of Stars and Stripes. "Up Front" featured the wise-cracking Willie and Joe, whose stooped shoulders, mud-soaked uniforms, and pidgin of army slang and slum dialect bore eloquent witness to the world of combat and the men who lived—and died—in it. This taut, lushly illustrated biography—the first of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Mauldin—is illustrated with more than ninety classic Mauldin cartoons and rare photographs. It traces the improbable career and tumultuous private life of a charismatic genius who rose to fame on his motto: "If it's big, hit it." 92 illustrations.

for more information about these and other new biographies, search the library's catalog >

Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer, John Leake
Serial killers rarely travel internationally. So in the early 1990s, when detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department began to find bodies of women strangled with their own bras, it didn’t occur to them at first to make a connection with the bodies being uncovered in the woods outside of Vienna, Austria. The LAPD waited for the killer to strike again. Meanwhile, in Austria, the police followed what few clues they had. The case intrigued many reporters, but few as keenly as Jack Unterweger, a local celebrity. He cut a striking figure, this little man in expensive white suits. His expertise on Vienna’s criminal underworld was hard-earned. He had been sentenced to life in jail as a young man. But while incarcerated, he began to write—and his work earned him the glowing attention of the literary elite. The intelligentsia lobbied for his release and by 1990, Jack was free again. He continued writing, nurturing his career as a journalist. But though he now traveled in the highest circles, he had a secret life. He was killing again, and in the greatest of ironies, reporting on the very crimes he had committed.

Hats & Eyeglasses: A Family Love Affair with Gambling, Martha Frankel
A gloriously written memoir of growing up in a family of hard- core gamblers-Martha Frankel thought the gambling gene had passed her by, until she found herself addicted to online poker and knee-deep in debt. Most weekends when Martha Frankel was a kid, her mother had a mah-jongg game going in the kitchen with her girlfriends while their husbands were in the living room playing poker. Once Frankel reached adulthood, however, while her cousins were making their way in the world as bookies and drug dealers, gambling didn't much factor into her life. In the tradition of Five-Finger Discount by Helene Stapinski and Dry by Augusten Burroughs, Hats & Eyeglasses traces Frankel's love affair with poker. It was a passion that bit her in her mid-forties and remained harmless enough when she stuck to real cards. But everything changed one evening in 1998 in Atlantic City, when Frankel overheard one dealer bemoan the fact that his tips that evening were going to be small what with the meager crowd assembled. Another dealer mentioned that everyone must be playing online-Why leave the house when you can play in your pajamas? the dealer said. Why indeed? thought Frankel, who couldn't wait to get back to her computer. The next morning she took a deep breath, typed in her credit card number, and entered the world of online gambling. It was the beginning of what one of her uncles called hats and eyeglasses, a term used to describe those times when you're losing so bad you're drowning (so all one can see is the poker player's hat and eyeglasses floating on the surface of the water). By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Hats & Eyeglasses is a tale of passion, addiction-and those times in lifewhen we almost lose our shirt.

Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam, Pope Brock
In 1917, after years of selling worthless patent remedies throughout the Southeast, John R. Brinkley — America's most brazen young con man — arrived in the tiny town of Milford, Kansas. He set up a medical practice and introduced an outlandish surgical method using goat glands to restore the fading virility of local farmers. It was all nonsense, of course, but thousands of paying customers quickly turned "Dr." Brinkley into America's richest and most famous surgeon. His notoriety captured the attention of the great quackbuster Morris Fishbein, who vowed to put the country's "most daring and dangerous" charlatan out of business. Their cat-and-mouse game lasted throughout the 1920s and '30s, but despite Fishbein's efforts Brinkley prospered wildly. When he ran for governor of Kansas, he invented campaigning techniques still used in modern politics. Thumbing his nose at American regulators, he built the world's most powerful radio transmitter just across the Rio Grande to offer sundry cures, and killed or maimed patients by the score, yet his warped genius produced innovations in broadcasting that endure to this day. By introducing country music and blues to the nation, Brinkley also became a seminal force in rock 'n' roll. In short, he is the most creative criminal this country has ever produced.
Listen to the author talk about this book on the Diane Rehm Show, 2.7.08 (scroll down)

Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time, Valerie Bertinelli
Losing It is Bertinelli's frank motivational story — from her complicated family life to her struggles to maintain a healthy self-image while coping with celebrity, her tumultuous 20-year marriage to rock star Eddie Van Halen, and her difficulties with depression. She takes us behind the scenes in her acting career and marriage, recalling the stress and concerns of being a rock star's wife, the joys of motherhood, her lifelong battle with weight, and her determination to let herself feel loved again.



Escape from Saddam: The incredible true story of one man's journey to freedom, Lewis Alsamari
At the age of seventeen, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into Saddam Hussein’s army. The training was brutal, with discipline enforced by regular beatings, and desertion punishable by mutilation or imprisonment. Somehow Lewis made it through and, thanks in part to his fluent English, was soon offered a post in Iraqi military intelligence. The job would have made him powerful, comfortably wealthy . . . and a cog in Saddam Hussein’s massive machine of terror. Unable to accept becoming a member of Saddam’s secret police, yet knowing that turning down this “honor” would be considered treasonous, Lewis made plans to flee Iraq. His escape was fraught with peril–he was shot, detained at borders, even pursued by hungry wolves across the desert–but the teenager made his way to Jordan, then Malaysia, and finally to England, where he was granted political asylum.

Apr 16, 2008

DVD Repair


Scratched dvd’s, cd’s, or video games got you down? The Seabrook Library now offers disc repair! $1.00 per disc!
Our disc repair machine will clean discs and repair many scratches*. You can drop off up to 5 discs at a time and we will call you when they are ready to pick up, in most cases less than 3 days.

* we can’t guarantee that all scratches will come out or that the disc will be perfectly playable. No refunds.

Apr 10, 2008

New Large Print Fiction, 4.10.08

Every Last Cuckoo, Kate Maloy
At age seventy-five, Sarah thought that her life was settled and assured: she and Charles would live out their days in the quiet comfort of their rural Vermont home. But now, with Charles gone, Sarah is unable to find peace. That is, until her home unforeseeably becomes an unruly refuge for wayward souls. First comes her teenage granddaughter Lottie, who can't abide living with her mother. She's soon joined by two similarly displaced young friends; an Israeli soldier who needs a retreat; a young mother and son who've lost their home to a fire; and a woman and her infant fleeing a violent partner.


for more information about these and other large print books, search the library's catalog >

Marshal of Medicine Lodge, Stan Lynde
Montana Territory, 1886 The last thing this territory needs is Indian trouble, or a bunch of nervous settlers demanding protection by the Army. As United States Marshal for the territory, I figure to send Jeff a little help...I figure to send him you, he said. U.S. Deputy Marshal Merlin Fanshaw arrives at the Crow Indian Reservation with orders to restore law and order. But a powerful rancher and his son block the deputy's efforts in order to retain their rigid control over the nearby settlement of Medicine Lodge. When a shocking murder rocks the town, tension and violence escalates between the Crow Indians and the settlers. Fanshaw must bring in the killer before an innocent man loses his life-or he forfeits his own.

Invasion of the Widow's Club, Joyce Livingston
Valentine Denay, still feeling an allegiance to her deceased husband, is hesitant to move forward in life and love. Robert Chase is ready to make a lifelong commitment, but Valentine's heart seems rooted to the past. Will Robert have the patience to wait, or will Valentine miss this second chance at happiness? When Jade Jansen moves into the neighborhood, she's readily accepted into the Widows' Club. But soon strange events prompt Valentine to suspect all is not what it seems. Will the mystery be solved before there's one less member of the club?

Innocent Traitor, Alison Weir
Historical expertise marries page-turning fiction in Alison Weir' s enthralling debut novel, breathing new life into one of the most significant and tumultuous periods of the English monarchy. It is the story of Lady Jane Grey- the Nine Days' Queen - a fifteen-year-old girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of the religious and civil unrest that nearly toppled the fabled House of Tudor during the sixteenth century. The child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she is merely a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, Jane Grey was born during the harrowingly turbulent period between Anne Boleyn' s beheading and the demise of Jane' s infamous great-uncle, King Henry VIII. With the premature passing of Jane' s adolescent cousin, and Henry' s successor, King Edward VI, comes a struggle for supremacy fueled by political machinations and lethal religious fervor.

What Are You Wearing to Die?, Patricia Sprinkle
Georgia magistrate MacLaren Yarbrough has never believed her husband's threat to shackle her to her desk to keep her from meddling in murder. But when Starr Knight, the taxidermist's daughter, is found dead, that's just what Joe Riddley does, despite Mac's protest that she has no intention of getting involved. She just has one question: why did the flamboyant young mother dress so sedately on the day she died? Then a second young woman is murdered, also dressed characteristically. Now Mac's got to ask-whose closet will be raided next?

Creation in Death, J.D. Robb
NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save — and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged The Groom — because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

Carry the Light, Delia Parr
Ellie Waters usually juggled career, family and church commitments with ease. But when her mother fell ill, coping suddenly seemed overwhelmingly difficult. For help she looked to the past—and within her deepest self. Charlene Butler, wife, grandmother and businesswoman, was enjoying a bright, new chapter of her life. But her aunt Dorothy's medical crisis suddenly made Charlene wonder how solid the foundation of her world really was. On their journeys of discovery, these two very different women met, shared the burden of being caretakers, and in doing so they became best friends. Together they laughed, prayed and found new strength and new depths to their faith.

The Briton, Catherine Palmer
In medieval England, a young woman finds strength she didnt know she had after shes thrown into dangerous and cruel circumstances, and discovers the true meaning of life, love, and faith while fighting for the family legacy she believes in.

for more information about these and other large print books, search the library's catalog >

Apr 8, 2008

Movie this Friday: Alvin & the Chipmunks


This week's Friday Flix is Alvin & the Chipmunks!

Friday, April 11, 2008
3:15pm (92 minutes)
rated pg - all ages welcome

Seabrook Library's Friday Flix show every other Friday in our meeting room - we'll pop popcorn and have some juice, you are welcome to bring your own snacks as well!

Apr 4, 2008

new fiction, 4.4.08

7th Heaven, James Patterson
A terrible fire in a wealthy suburban home leaves a married couple dead and Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin searching for clues. And after California's golden boy, Michael Campion has been missing for a month, there finally seems to be a lead in his case--a very devastating lead. As fire after fire consume couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsay and the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and get to the bottom of Michael Campion's disappearance. But suddenly the fires are raging too close to home. Frightened for her life and torn between two men, Lindsay must find a way to solve the most daunting dilemmas she's ever faced--at work and at home.

Stranger in Paradise, Robert Parker
The last time Jesse Stone, chief of police of Paradise, Massachusetts, saw Wilson Crow Cromartie, the Apache Indian hit man was racing away in a speedboat after executing one of the most lucrative and deadly heists in the town's history. Crow was part of a team of ex-cons who plotted to capture Stiles Island, the wealthy enclave off the Paradise coast, by blowing up the connecting bridge. Residents were kidnapped, some were killed, and Crow managed to escape with a boatload of cash, never to be seen again. Until now. So when Crow shows up in Jesse's office some ten years after the crime, it's not to turn himself in. Crow is on another job, and this time he's asking for Jesse's help — by asking him to stay out of his way. Crow's mission is simple: find young Amber Francisco and bring her back to her father, Louis, in Florida. It should be an easy payday for a pro like Crow, but there are complications.

Debatable Space, Philip Palmer
Flanagan (who is, for want of a better word, a pirate) has a plan. It seems relatively simple: kidnap Lena, the Cheo's daughter, demand a vast ransom for her safe return, sit back and wait. Only the Cheo, despotic ruler of the known universe, isn't playing ball. Flanagan and his crew have seen this before, of course, but since they've learned a few tricks from the bad old days and since they know something about Lena that should make the plan foolproof, the Cheo's defiance is a major setback. It is a situation that calls for extreme measures. Luckily, Flanagan has considerable experience in this area . . .

The First Patient, Michael Palmer
Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States. One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe's Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard delivers a disturbing revelation and a startling request. His personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, and he desperately needs Gabe to take the man's place. Despite serious misgivings, Gabe agrees to come to Washington. It is not until he is ensconced in the White House medical office that Gabe realizes there is strong evidence that the President is going insane. Facing a crisis of conscience — as President Stoddard's physician, he has the power to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment to transfer presidential power to the Vice President — Gabe uncovers increasing evidence that his friend's condition may not be due to natural causes.

The Briton, Catherine Palmer
Lady Bronwen, proud inheritor of the ancient ways of the Britons, had lost all she held dear. She had been widowed in war, then robbed of the ancestral home that was her birthright. And now her last hope was a strangerone with whom she'd shared a single tender kiss.The foreign knight Jacques le Brun begged her to let him defend her honornay, her very life. But he owed fealty to the hated French who had conquered her country, England, and to the new faith they brought with them. Could Bronwen place her trust in the pure, untainted love she saw shining in this man's eyesand follow him to a new world?


Every Last Cuckoo, Kate Maloy
At age seventy-five, Sarah thought that her life was settled and assured: she and Charles would live out their days in the quiet comfort of their rural Vermont home. But now, with Charles gone, Sarah is unable to find peace. That is, until her home unforeseeably becomes an unruly refuge for wayward souls. First comes her teenage granddaughter Lottie, who can't abide living with her mother. She's soon joined by two similarly displaced young friends; an Israeli soldier who needs a retreat; a young mother and son who've lost their home to a fire; and a woman and her infant fleeing a violent partner. In the tradition of Jane Smiley and Sue Miller, author Kate Maloy has crafted a wise and gratifying novel about a woman who finds the most rewarding role of her life just when she thought the best years were over.

Hand of Evil, J.A. Jance
With his hand trapped in the door of a speeding car, a man struggles to remain upright as he's dragged along a deserted stretch of San Juan Road in Phoenix's South Mountain Preserve. It's the perfect place to drive a man to his grave — literally. Starting with a crime so gruesome even prowling coyotes keep their distance from the remains, a killer begins crisscrossing the Southwest on a spree of grisly murders.

for more information about these and other new books, search the catalog >


Gone to Ground, John Harvey
When police detective Will Grayson and his partner, Helen Walker, investigate the violent death of Stephen Bryan, a gay academic, their first thoughts are of an ill-judged sexual encounter or a fatal lovers’ quarrel: The man’s face was like a glove that had been pulled inside out. But they soon shift focus to the book Bryan was writing about the life and mysterious death of fifties film star Stella Leonard. While Bryan’s sister puts herself in danger by conducting her own investigation, Grayson and Walker peel away the secrets of a family blighted by a lust for wealth and power and by its perverted sexuality. On the heels of his critically acclaimed Frank Elder series, John Harvey delivers a page-turner both subtle and devastating.

The Appeal, John Grisham
In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided? The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice. The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.