Here’s our latest dispatch from the basement of the library. We have heard rumors that snow has recently fallen. This can’t be true can it? Obviously at this time of year the calendar says it’s Spring, so temperatures must be balmy and the spring flowers are in full bloom. We would love to smell the flowers with you, but as you know our contract prevents us from venturing upstairs to the outside world. We can only rely on our childhood memories of the outdoors.

We write today of a series of picture books from one of our favorite publishers, DK, short for Dorling Kindersley. They do publish a good number of picture books for children, as well as richly illustrated travel guides, but here we focus on their picture books series aimed at adults. DK in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution publishes a number of single volume works focusing on history, nature, science, travel and more. They tell us that in the days before Wikipedia and the Google, that there used to be printed books called encyclopedias that would tell you a little bit of facts and figures about a lot of things. That’s what these DK books are, an encyclopedic view of a topic. They don’t pretend to give you all the answers, but they do help you to broaden your knowledge of the world we live in and its history.

One of our most recent arrivals in the series is Natural Wonders of the World. In this book you can read about everything from Niagara Falls and the Everglades to the Kalahari Desert and the Siberian taiga. The total book is 438 pages long and each individual entry is a page or two long with a capsule description of the wonder in question with many National Geographic quality photographs and high quality drawings to accompany the text. This book emphasizes what a diverse natural world we reside in and illustrates not only wondrous places, but also the natural processes and phenomena that help shape the world we live in.

Another recent acquisition is Journey: An Illustrated History of Travel. We find this book to be right up our alley. Over 5,000 years of the recorded history of travel can be found in this volume. Here you can read all about the planes, trains, automobiles, boats, bicycles, balloons, stagecoaches, rocket ships and more that people have used to get from point A to point B. The earliest travelers with written records of their journeys were the Mesopotamians and the Minoans, but  the Persians, Phoenicians and Polynesians were not far behind. Today, people are planning trips to asteroids and to Mars. In Journey you can also read about famous travel paths from the Northwest Passage to Route 66. Our favorite entry is the one for the “Hippie Trail.” Apparently in the 1960s lots of hippies hitchhiked their way from Europe to India to seek enlightenment. We remember that the Beatles did this to meet with the Maharishi. We think that the Beatles probably had a better travel agent than your everyday hippie.

Now a cynic or a smartypants would ask, can you cover the natural world in 438 pages, the history of travel in 440 pages, or even remarkable books in 256? Probably not, but we think having a wide knowledge of the world, natural or otherwise, is a good thing to have. That is probably what we like best about the DK/Smithsonian books. We enjoy them because to us they present reading as armchair travel. We try to travel and see and experience as much of the world as is possible, but know that we have neither the time or money to go everywhere we want. Like the National Geographic magazines of old, the DK encyclopedias can help us see the whole world from our small corner of it. They offer a nice perspective on life.

Some of the DK/Smithsonian books we have in the library are:

• Natural Wonders of the World
• Wildlife of the World
• Car: the definitive visual history of the automobile
• Civil war: a visual history
• Design: the definitive visual history
• Fashion: the definitive history of costume and style
• Journey: an illustrated history of travel
• Aircraft: the definitive visual history
• Music: the definitive visual history
• Remarkable Books

You can find others by doing a word search in our online catalog of dorling kindersley.

We have heard that the weather will be especially nice for the last week of August 2017, with pleasant temperatures, sunshine, and low humidity. Alas, fresh air and sunlight is not in the cards for your humble correspondent down in the depths of the library, but he has discovered for you a number of clever titles that have arrived in the latest shipment of books. These five books are kind of a hodge-podge as they don’t really have much in common other than the titles struck me as fairly amusing, but they seem like they might make good reads for the closing days of summer.

First up is Can It & Ferment It: more than 75 satisfying small-batch canning and fermentation recipes for the whole year. Both experienced canners and rank beginners will find good advice in this book, with over 75 all-season recipes for among other things, chutneys, kimchi, and even pickles. From reading the description of this book, I have learned that canners and fermenters are sometimes at  odds with each other. Author Stephanie Thurow attempts to bring them together with advice and recipes that will work for both parties. I must confess that the only canner I really know is Chef Boyardee, but he doesn’t seem to make an appearance in this book.

What would you do if you were a former British Royal Marine who found himself adrift in life feeling bored and disillusioned? If that were me I would probably just try to watch a funny movie on TV or get an ice cream cone. However, if you were Mick Dawson you might try to get together with one of your best mates and attempt to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. Lest you think that this was a spur of the moment decision, you should know that Dawson had already twice(!) rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and had also twice made gallant, but unsuccessful, efforts to row solo across the Pacific. Dawson’s new memoir Battling the Oceans in a Rowboat tells the dramatic story of the effort Mick Dawson and his friend Chris Martin made. Did they make it? We’ll let you read the book in order to find out, but suffice to say it’s one exciting story.

I’ll have to admit that I am a fan of cats. So, when I spot a book cover that has a picture with no less than three cats on the cover, I know that I am in the presence of some great literature. Thus I bring to your attention Cat Shining Bright by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. This is the 20th book in the Joe Grey mystery series. Joe Grey, if you have not met him before, is a cat living in the small California coastal town of Molena Point. While Joe may seem like an average, everyday cat, he does have a special talent. He’s great at helping to solve mysteries. Many times he’s better at it than the local Molena Point police. Since Joe does not speak English, he has to make his sleuthing skills visible in other clever ways. In this book, Joe has just become a father to three rambunctious kittens. When Joe stumbles upon a murder in a local hair salon he doesn’t realize his kids are following him inside, and this puts them in great danger. Can Joe, along with his lady cat friend, Dulcie, solve the mystery while protecting his kittens from grave danger? The book will tell you! I’ll add that I generally believe that all cats shine bright. The only exception would have to be the cat my best friend in elementary school had. The only person that cat liked was my friend’s mother. Everyone else, he would hiss at and try to scratch. What he was angry at all the time I’ll never know. He would always hang out in my friend’s basement where we would all want to go to play and he made playtime miserable for everyone. I’ll have to admit that cat was one nasty critter.

I also noticed All Signs Point to Murder by Connie di Marco. This book only has one cat on the cover, but it still seems like  a fun read. The second title in the Zodiac Mystery series,  the first being The Madness of Mercury. San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti sees ominous signs in the stars for her friend Geneva Leary’s upcoming wedding day. But Julia is a bridesmaid and she doesn’t want to ruin her friend’s special day. Julia never expected murder though. Can Julia’s astrological skills help her uncover some dark Leary family secrets and perhaps catch a killer?

To end my report I do want to say that I hope that the last title on my recommendations list does not portend the future. It’s an event that would really ruin Labor Day weekend. But I must mention the Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter. This is an officially authorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The action in Baxter’s book takes place 14 years after the events in Wells’ book. Everyone thinks that the Martians have been beaten and the world has moved on. But what if the first Martian invasion was only a practice run? What if the Martians have learned from their mistakes and this time they are coming back to get the job done right? People who recognize the true Martian danger are few and far between, and mostly ignored or laughed at. But, Walter Jenkins, the original narrator of Well’s book, is one of those few. He knows how much trouble Earth and mankind is in, and he is racing to make sure everyone else learns the truth fast.

I’ve explained in a previous post that I really enjoy reading as a hobby. I do read a lot of books, many of which I enjoy and many of which I believe often do not get the notice they deserve. So, in these posts I plan to tell you about a book I have read that I think some of you might also like. I read mostly fiction, but I do read a wide variety of books that strike my fancy. And also, if we’re being honest, I should admit that I think highly of my own opinion and always want to share it far and wide.

For my first post in this series, I want to report on a very timely book that I just finished reading called American Eclipse : a Nation’s Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World by David Baron. Baron’s book is the story of the great 1878 total solar eclipse that was visible across a great swath of the United States, and the quest to show that America was worthy of a place among the great nations of the world for its growing scientific and industrial prowess.

As you may have heard there will be another total solar eclipse that will take place this year on Monday, August 21. Unfortunately, just like in 1878, Long Island is not in the path of totality, which means that we will only see a partial eclipse of the sun. Still it should be a fun show. And of course the Patchogue-Medford Library is planning an Eclipse Extravaganza to celebrate. Our own Martha and Jessica are throwing a big party with arts and crafts, refreshments, and a live video feed from NASA of the total eclipse. It will be held at the Carnegie Library from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on August 21. Trust me when I say that I have been to library parties that Martha and Jessica have thrown in the past and believe it when I tell you that they know how to throw a party.

David Baron’s book is popular history at its best. I always used to be a person who thought that when it came to American history, that lots of important events happened from colonial days to the Civil War and then again from World War I to the present. In between from say 1865 to 1914, I once believed that not much of historical importance really happened and that the United States was run by a string of forgettable presidents, albeit presidents with great facial hair.

A president with great facial hair.

Over the years I have learned just how false that opinion was, and David Baron’s book is just the latest work to put the nail into that coffin for me. Baron uses the example of the Great Eclipse of 1878 to show just how active the intellectual ferment was in the country at that time. Many European scientist and engineers in their various royal societies looked down on American technological prowess of that era. The Eclipse of 1878 was the chance for America to prove that it could pull its own scientific weight in the world and should belong with the big boys.

Along the way Baron tells stories and anecdotes that illustrate the industrial, scientific, and technical ferment that was consuming the United States and its effort to be taken seriously in the front ranks of the nations of the world. Among other stories, this book tells of the true origin of the gypsy moth plague in the United States, the development of the telegraph and telephone, and of course the cutting edge scientific theory of the time regarding the deleterious effects of railroad travel on women’s reproductive parts. Watch out next time you are on the Long Island Rail Road ladies, because I don’t know if that theory has been officially disproved!

One story I particularly enjoyed was the fight over the telephone greeting. The story is that when Alexander Graham Bell first invented the telephone, he wanted everyone to use “ahoy” as the greeting whenever you picked up the phone. It was Thomas Edison who championed the now familiar “hello.” I think that’s too bad, as it seems like it would be great fun to shout, “ahoy” every time we answer the phone. Therefore, I propose that the library Board of Trustees take up a motion at their next meeting to adopt “Ahoy! Patchogue-Medford Library here mateys,” as our official phone greeting.

Many colorful characters fill the pages of the book, but Baron focuses on three major ones. The first was James Watson, a somewhat pompous University of Michigan professor and the man considered the leading American astronomer of the time. His quest was to prove that there was an undiscovered planet orbiting between the Sun and Mercury. The elusive planet Vulcan. Then there was Maria Mitchell, a professor of astronomy at Vassar College, which was then a women’s only school. Even though her scientific training and research was first rate, Mitchell and her female students had to struggle to get the respect and recognition their work deserved. They viewed the eclipse of 1878 as their big chance to attain equality, at least for their science. And finally, there is Thomas Edison, the great American inventor. His part in studying the 1878 eclipse was a trip out west to work on the tasimeter, a device used to measure small changes in temperature. Like a good thriller writer, Baron builds his oftentimes suspensful and exciting story by bringing all these major, and quite a few minor characters, together for the big 1878 eclipse viewing in Wyoming, where it could best be viewed.

I guarantee that you don’t have to be an umbraphile to enjoy this book. Anyone who enjoys popular history, the history of science, or wants to learn more about a lesser known period of American history would find American Eclipse well worth reading.

I was able to escape the depths of the library last week to attend BookExpo in New York City. Now however, I am back in the basement, so I thought it time for another installment of Reading Recommendations from the Depths. If you missed the first post and the rationale behind these postings you can read about it here.

This week another tasty cart of books wound up in front of my desk. I mean that literally, because one of the books is new from the Food52 recipe exchange. They have published Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner. I have been thinking that I should eat more salad, and my doctor told me a few weeks ago, “Bruce, you should eat more salad [and vegetables].” So, it looks like the stars are aligned for me and this book. And lest you think that these salads are all for vegetarians and rabbit food eaters, rest assured that many of the recipes involve creative uses of various meats, seafood, beans, grains, pasta, and even bread to add some oomph to your salad creation. Try the Grilled Bread, Broccoli Rabe & Summer Squash Salad or the Grilled Steak and Tossed Salsa Verde Salad. Looking through the book, it looks like almost all the ingredients should be pretty easy to find at the neighborhood supermarket or local farmer’s market. And if you like to grow your own veggies, don’t forget that you can now even borrow seeds right from the Patchogue-Medford Library.

If you do wind up puttering around your own backyard garden, the only wildlife you are likely to see on Long Island is the occasional squirrel, bunny rabbit, or stray kitty. However, if one day you do happen to see a very large Godzilla-like creature shambling across your backyard or perhaps want to identify the one destroying Tokyo, then the library has the book for you. The second edition of The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs has arrived. This is an exhaustive guidebook for all you dino-hunters out there, whether armchair or in the field, that has extensive drawings and diagrams, facts and figures on over 750 dinosaur species. For example, on page 224 you can read about Euhelopus zdanskyi, who was over 35 feet tall and weighed more than 3 1/2 tons. He would definitely not be helpful in the tomato patch. I am amazed at just how many dinosaur species there are. The book lists over 100 species discovered in just the past few years since the first edition was published. When I was young I was a dinosaur fan, but back then we only seemed to have brontosaurus, tyranosaurus, stegosaurus, triceratops, and the coolest one for me, the pterodactyl. I don’t know where all the new ones came from!

If your tastes run more toward fun and games why not read It’s All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan. This is a worldwide history of tabletop gaming, and includes everything from checkers, chess, and go to Monopoly, Life, Twister, and Clue. It was always better when Colonel Mustard was the guilty party. The book tells you the behind the scenes stories of the development of your favorite games, some of which were came about in really surprising ways. I’m always up for a good game of Monopoly, and board games seem to be growing in popularity every day. We do have board game nights here at the library and did you also know that we have a growing collection of outdoor games that Patchogue-Medford residents can borrow to use during the summer.

We’re not sure where the trend of books with the word “girl” in the title got started, but it doesn’t seem like it’s ending anytime soon. Vulture.com has a list of 91 titles from the just past few years, while Goodreads came up with a list with a whopping 563 books.

Perhaps the latest trend got started with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or others may say it began with Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first volume in Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy .

For Lisbeth fans , the good news is that a new book in the series will shortly be available, but this time David Lagercrantz has been asked by Stieg Larsson’s estate to continue the story line. Here as the publisher states, “In this adrenaline-charged thriller, genius-hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist face a dangerous new threat and must again join forces.” Reserve your copy of the The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Find some background on the new book here.

The hottest “girl” book of the moment that everyone wants to read is The Girl on the Train. But make sure you get the right one. The book that everyone is talking about is the one by Paula Hawkins,  about a girl who witnesses a shocking crime while passing by on a train, and gets entangled in the lives of strangers. But there’s also the Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines. In this one, our heroine, journalist Anna Rothman, still not recovered from the suicide of her husband, witnesses the death of an agitated passenger she had just been speaking to on her commute. Anna is not convinced by the local police force and their conclusion of suicide, and she starts to doggedly investigate what she suspects was murder.

Then of course you might try the forthcoming The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert, a sweeping love story set against the background of the Holocaust, but finishing a world away many years later.

Perhaps by now though our girl is tiring of all those long, crowded train rides and she just wants a shorter commute. Maybe she bought an apartment in the city in hopes of being able to walk to work. See her in the psychological thriller, The Girl in 6E by Alessandra Torre. And then it could be possible that she gets completely fed up with the rat race and just goes off to become The Girl in the Woods. You might even have passed her by one day, The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes and the Girl in the Moonlight. Whatever the case, we know that she is still the Luckiest Girl Alive, also one of the hot books of the summer

We still like assertive women though, so instead of giving up, we prefer the Girl Waits with Gun. Based on a true story, this is the tale of Constance Kopp, an independent woman who refuses to conform to behaviors expected of a proper lady back in those times. One day in 1914 while out for a buggy ride with her two sisters, the ladies are nearly run off the road by one of those newfangled motor cars. When the car driver, clearly at fault for the accident, turns out to be a local industrialist who refuses to apologize or pay for the damage, Constance refuses to take matters sitting down. The industrialist unleashes his gang of ne’er-do-wells on Constance and her sisters, but Constance with the help of a sympathetic sheriff is determined to fight back and stand up for what is right.