Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

Do you have an iPod, iPad, or iPhone?  How about any of the many devices that are modeled after these products?  If so, you should thank Steve Jobs.  Karen Blumenthal's new biography follows the
Apple co-founder and CEO through a life filled with moments of brilliance and insight as well as defeat and frustration.

Steve Jobs's path in life was never easy.  He was adopted as an infant, struggled to make friends in school, and dropped out of college after just one semester.  He struggled to find his path.

But when he reconnected with Steve Wozniak who was trying to build a computer for an individual to use, Jobs quickly recognized the genius of this plan, and soon Apple Computers was born. 

Blumenthal's biography is highly readable and fascinating revealing the innovative thinker as well as the demanding control freak.  If you were ever curious about how your iPod came to be or about how computers evolved from massive behemoths largely confined to academia to the tools for business and life we use today, this is a must read!

Laugh with the Moon

Clare is still struggling with her mother's recent death when her father decides to take her to Malawi, Africa, where he will work as a doctor for nine weeks.  She can't believe he would do this to her!  The pain of her mother's death is bad enough, but now she will be separated from everyone and everything she knows.

It doesn't take long, however, for Clare to befriend a Malawi girl named Memory and her little brother Innocent.  Soon she starts to look beyond herself to see what like is like for her new friends.  In Malawi many people are too poor to send their children to school, buy clothes, or even enough food.  Even clear water and mosquito nets are beyond some people, and textbooks are precious!

Despite all of this, Clare's new friends are happy and loving, and Clare's heart begins to open again.  But when tragedy strikes once more, Clare and her friends will struggle to find meaning and happiness.

Read Shana Burg's new novel about friendship, loss, and strength.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano

It's 1969 in New York's El Barrio where the residents are mostly Puerto Rican, and Rosa Serrano has decided that if there's one more thing El Barrio doesn't need, it's one more Rosa.  That's why she decided to change her name to Evelyn on her fourteenth birthday.  That's not the only thing she wants to change.  She's always worked in the bodega with her mother and step father, but now she wants in a different store, one that is a little less Puerto Rican.

Evelyn hates the way her mother always uses a "beggy" tone and decorated the house with plastic roses and plastic slip covers on the furniture, as if a few plastic roses could make the apartment look better.

That summer of 1969 is also the summer Evelyn will meet her abuela for the first time.  Where Mami is all rounded shoulders and plain dresses, Abuela is died orange hair and crazy outfits.  Soon she takes over the whole apartment with clothes, shoes, makeup, and her loud presence.

As these three generations of women frustrate each other, there is also change coming to El Barrio.  Who are these college kids who show up and start cleaning the streets and asking for social programs?  Is Mami right; are these outsiders just stirring up trouble?  Or should Evelyn listen to Abuela and join the movement?

Sonia Manzano's new book is wonderful story about the conflicts between generations and learning to accept people for who they are, but it also the story of the poor immigrants of El Barrio and the beginnings of the civil rights movements for Latino communities.

On a side note, after finishing the book I read the author bio, and discovered that Sonia Manzano played Maria on Sesame Street!  What a wonderful surprise for me to find that someone who played a role in my childhood can now play a role in my professional career and in our library!

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Temple Grandin was different from the start.  She didn't act like other babies, and her father was convinced she should be institutionalized, but her mother believed in her daughter.  This is the story of Temple's life.  All through school and even her adult life people have discounted her because of her autism.

When Temple was in high school, she discovered cows, and these animals saved her life.  She has devoted her life to making living conditions better for the animals we use as food.  And she uses the gifts of her autism to do it.

This is a wonderful story about a woman who embraced the parts of her life that others saw as challenges and used them to her advantage.  Sy Montgomery's new book is a great read for anyone who has autism or anyone who knows someone with autism. 

Here is Temple Grandin's TED talk about autism:

Three Times Lucky

Mo's life has always been a bit of a mystery.  Ever since she and the Colonel washed up on the shore of the river in a hurricane, she's been trying to figure things out.  The Colonel was in an accident and has no memory of his former life.  The first thing he remembers is pulling Mo from the river. 

Now Mo lives with the Colonel and Miss Lana in the back of the Cafe they own and run in Tupelo Landing, Mississippi.  Life goes on as usual until the day Detective Joe Starr shows up investigating a murder.  Now there is a dangerous criminal on the loose, and people are disappearing. 

Mo and her best friend decide to investigate, but who can they trust in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone?  It will take all of Mo's wit and common sense, not to mention the help of friends and a few enemies, to figure this one out!

With a cast of zany characters and a truly twisted mystery, Sheila Turnage's new book is a great read!

One Came Home

Georgie Burkhart knows her sister Agatha can't be dead.  It doesn't matter that there is a body with auburn hair wearing Agatha's dress.  Georgie believes Agatha is alive.

No one wants to listen, so Georgie decides to conduct her own investigation into her sister's disappearance.  With little more than her savings and her beloved shotgun, Georgie makes a plan.  Of course, plans were made to be unraveled, and Georgie has to alter her plans along the way.

In the unsettled back country of 1871 Wisconsin will have to face criminals and deadly animals in her quest to find out the truth about Agatha and assuage her own conscience.  She's willing to do it because Georgie's keeping a secret of her own, and if Agatha really is dead, Georgie could be to blame.

Part mystery and part western, this is a great read and a thrilling adventure!  Read Amy Timberlake's newest book; you won't be sorry you did!

Who Could That Be at This Hour?

Fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events rejoice! Lemony Snicket is back with a new mystery series that is just as snarky and twisted as his first.

This series chronicles Snicket's beginnings as an investigator for a secret agency when he was only a child.  Snicket and his chaperone have been hired to find a priceless statue and return it to its rightful owner.  But is it really priceless?  And who is the rightful owner?  Who can Snicket trust in the mostly abandoned town of Stain'd by the Sea?

In this book you will meet imposters, villains, and even a helpful librarian.  But will you find the answer to the puzzle?  And is there more going on here than Snicket wants you to know?

Find the answers to these questions and more in Who Could That Be at This Hour?