I’m driving to Virginia this weekend and the forecast is for THE consummate day — brilliant blue skies and a light quilt of 70 plus degrees. Such perfection demands the freedom of open car windows and equally supreme music. With Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast, I think I’ve found the ideal CD.

I had flirted with Bird’s music for the last few years, but it took immersing myself in Noble Beast to become an appreciative fan. Bird defies comparison to other artists. His intriguing (sometimes disturbing) yet more often than not, nonsensical lyrics provide an unusual contrast to the accompanying ethereal music with its splashes of folk and latin rhythms. A unique harmony of sounds — not the least of which is whistling — blends together to create something both understated, yet simultaneously rich and powerful.

While "Oh No" and "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" receive airplay on alternative and public radio stations, "Not a Robot, But a Ghost" and "Anonanimal" emerged as two of my favorites. A bit more accessible in its meaning, "Not a Robot" examines a relationship plagued with discord, where at least one person wants to "end the war." To a subdued cacophony of percussion, Bird seems to create multiple songs within one. Although clueless to its meaning, "Anonanimal" swirled through my brain, overloading my senses and possessing me with its syncopation and beauty. But it’s tough to highlight the best cuts as they all shine — you’ll just have to check out the music for yourself.

I’m passing on the multiple steps to true happiness; find the perfect day, seek a novel destination, allow soothing summer breezes to disperse your worries, and, most importantly, cruise along to Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast!

Fritzi Newton – Miller Branch

Peter and the Starcatchers retells the story of Peter Pan, and is the first book written by the duo, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Peter, part of a group of orphan boys on the boat Never Land, is being sent to work for an evil king. The boat is also carrying a mysterious young girl named Molly whose father has a special treasure. Black Stache (the pirate to become Hook) and his crew try to steal the treasure. Only Peter, Molly and the other boys can stop him.

Dave Barry is normally known for his comedic reflections on life, while Ridley Pearson typically writes suspense novels.  But together they’ve created a children’s story that is both action-packed and funny. There are sword fights, flying, pirates, and Indians. Then there is the camaraderie between Molly and Peter — could there be romance in their future? No, but it is fun to read along anyway, even though we know what will eventually happen to Peter.

There are three books in this children’s series and the fourth is announced for the end of the year. The books include Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. The fourth scheduled for release October 13 is entitled Peter and the Sword of Mercy.

Robert Bates – Glenwood Branch

How To Buy the Best, an upcoming class, instructs you on ways to locate consumer product information from reputable online resources prior to making an important purchase.

Howard County Central Library
Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00 pm
Register online or by calling 410.313.7860
           
Elaine Johnson – Central Library

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen is heady young adult fiction that is not only intriguing and delectable, but sly.

Intriguing for the story itself: The world of late Victorian New York society at its most repressed and crustiest tier provides the setting in which the recently impoverished Holland sisters, Elizabeth and Diana, are both victims of their own superior status.

Delectable for the four star-crossed lovers: Godbersen has borrowed a bit from Austen and even Shakespeare, yet her characters breathe with teen angst, passion and surprising sex appeal.

Finally, The Luxe is a sly read. Female readers who may eschew historical fiction like the most tasteless low-fat snacks will be gobbling up the author’s fresh, modern narrative. They will quickly forget they have settled into an era of "rule followers and tea sippers" mainly because this addictive page-turner, set during a time of gas lamps, horse drawn carriages and Fifth Avenue mansions exploding with backstairs secrets, is not so different from today’s amoral obsession with wealth and beauty.

Think Gossip Girl meets The Age of Innocence, and you will have a fresh and sparkling twist on an often withered genre.

Aimee Zuccarini -  East Columbia Branch

With a title like this one, how could I resist picking up the book? I’m glad I did. In some ways, The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark reminded me of The Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four. However, I found Newmark’s book much more lighthearted and entertaining, although not quite as spine-tingling.

The book takes the reader on a romp through Renaissance Venice via the Doge’s kitchen. Luciano is a street kid, scrounging to make a living by rummaging through trash piles and stealing in the Rialto, Venice’s famed marketplace. One day as he’s lifting a pomegranate, he is caught by a chef. Instead of turning him over to the authorities, the chef makes Luciano his apprentice, and so the intrigue begins as Luciano’s master is more than he first appears.

Extremely practical Luciano tells the story, and the author maintains a fairly strict point of view. Fortunately, our young cook has an insatiable curiosity and loves to spy. The Doge (who is suffering from syphilis) is searching for a book that is supposed to contain the recipe for immortality — and he’s willing to kill for it. Many other influential people, including the Borgia Pope, also express an interest in the book for other reasons. As Luciano puzzles over what and where the book might be, we get a glimpse of political maneuvering that would put Machiavelli to shame.

Newmark does a credible job of building suspense and tying up her loose ends, but the true wonder of this first novel comes from the sensory overload of Venice’s docks. We can almost hear the polyglot of languages, smell the spices and fresh produce, and see the wonders of the world. Newmark makes Venice, at the height of its power as the world’s crossroads, a character in its own right. And in the end, I was reminded that while immortality may not be contained in a book, a certain kind of magic can happen in a kitchen.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

Someone once said that high school is such a pivotal time in our lives (and memories!) because it’s when we have the greatest amount of hormones and the least amount of common sense. John Hughes‘ films (i.e., one of THE best 80s movies ever, Pretty in Pink!) would have us believe high school is one long angst-ridden fairy tale. But the truth is (for some of us, at least) it’s more Freaks and Geeks or Heathers, the 1989 film centering on high school student Veronica Sawyer (played by Winona Ryder), a member of one of the most popular groups in Westerburg High School.

Heathers wasn’t released until I was long out of high school, but I think my younger self would have related to it. The scary, sad, darkly comic aspects come from the truths we don’t want to hear about our own and others’ lives. For better or worse, high school is its own society, full of cliques (some cruel, some kind) and unwritten rules that have far harsher penalties than legal ones if they are broken. I like the fact that Heathers is uncompromising in its take on high school life and its administration’s patronizing attitude toward a mysterious rash of apparent suicides.

Given our current culture I seriously doubt this movie would be made today. In a way that’s a shame because underneath all the violence and discontent, there is actually a positive message in Michael Lehmann’s film about how lightweight the self-important Heathers (the names of three of the girls who form a clique devoted to tormenting their fellow classmates) of this world actually are in the grand scheme of things. Instead of being swept up in the cycle of eternal loser, the Martha "Dumptruck" Dunnocks (Dunnock is one of the many kids picked on by the Heathers) of the world come out winners (of sorts) because they see the world as it really is and know what it means to be human and kind in an environment that usually isn’t.

Angie Engles – Central Library

I was shelving CDs a few weeks ago when I thought, "Hey, we’re getting a lot of new music. I should check some of these out." I really felt old when I realized at first glance that I had not heard of most of the titles, but I figured I’d just grab a couple CDs and check them out anyway. The first title I tried was A Hundred Million Suns by Snow Patrol.

When I popped it into my CD player at home, I was nicely surprised — I liked it! Not quite the same result I got when playing one or two of the others I had chosen, but that was good enough for me! The music was mellow, reminding me of U2 a little bit. Great vocals with guitars in the background, not too much to muddle the sound. Songs like "Crack the Shutters" and "Take Back the City" have taken hold of me and won’t let go.

I hope to try my experiment again sometime soon!

Michele Happel – Miller Branch

You don’t have to be overwhelmed with clutter to attend our Spring Clean-Up seminar.  Simplify your life and learn de-cluttering tips and techniques with Meryl Smith-Green.

Join us for Spring Clean-Up: Declutter and Organize at Central Library on Tuesday, May 26 at 7:00 pm. Register online or by calling 410.313.7819.

Eve Olsen – Central Library

Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad is Good For You is a provocative and engaging critique of modern popular culture. Using a concept called the Sleeper Curve, Johnson argues that far from “dumbing us down,” pop culture has in fact been consistently raising the bar and requiring consumers to be more active and thoughtful in their consumption over the last thirty years.

Discussing games, television, the internet and film, part one of Johnson’s book explores the landscape of pop culture. Johnson contrasts earlier forms of media with current forms, and catalogs some of the cognitive skills required to successfully interact with today’s pop culture outputs. Contrasting the tasks and consequences involved in playing the popular video games PacMan and Zelda, he presents evidence that the newer game requires the player to address and complete many more intermediate goals than the older, “telescoping” short-range tasks while keeping the long range goal in view. In the section dealing with television, graphics contrast the amount of time spent on various plot threads in Dragnet, Starsky & Hutch, Hill Street Blues, and The Sopranos and illustrate the increased demand on viewers to understand multiple dynamics and multiple relationships. In addition, a chart compares relationships between characters that the audience should know in order to comprehend Dallas with those required to understand 24. Johnson argues persuasively that the background knowledge required for even the most basic viewer participation has radically increased, and that passivity is not an option.

This is not just a survey of the media; part two of the book looks at evidence that we’re responding to this subtle increase in cognitive load by getting smarter. Observing that IQ scores are increasing from generation to generation, Johnson suggests that our “mental diet” is in part responsible, and that conditions in the marketplace are forcing media companies to “race to the top” in order to produce high-quality content that can stand repeat viewing and playing. In looking at form alongside content, Johnson provides us with a fascinating thesis about the relationship between media consumption and intellectual engagement. Take a look at Everything Bad is Good For You, and then add your thoughts to the comments section.

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant by Belle & Sebastian surprised me in many ways. First, I was taken off guard when I learned that they hail from Scotland. There aren’t many Scottish bands that I know by name. Second, the instrumentation and organic production quality reminded me of the music I grew up listening to…the Guess Who, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, the Doors, and especially, the Mamas & the Papas. When I learned Belle & Sebastian’s first album was released in 1996, and this one came out in 2000, I just about fell out of my seat in disbelief.

I made a conscious decision about a year ago to not to hit the "skip" button when I’m listening to a CD. I feel like albums are intended (or, at least, should be intended) to be appreciated as a whole, and I should honor them as such. It’s been very hard for me to find discs that I can listen to all the way through without feeling that irresistible urge to fast-forward. Fold Your Hands didn’t present such a problem. The more popular sounding, optimistic songs are balanced well with introspective, solemn tracks. The storytelling is fantastic, and each song depends on the human ability to fill in the blanks (i.e., the concept of "closure"). "The Chalet Lines," for example, is haunting in its simplicity, disturbing in its subject matter, and assumes that the listener will view it in the context of a world that is not what it ought to be.

The music, though, is just wonderful. It’s light and easy, and the songs are the right tempo to tap your foot without breaking a sweat. Harpsichord, trumpet, and a string section are used to give the songs the right tones at the right times. My favorite tracks include (1) "I Fought In a War," (5) "Don’t Leave the Light On Baby," (6) "The Wrong Girl," (7) "The Chalet Lines," and (8) "Nice Day for a Sulk."

I checked out a few more CDs by Belle & Sebastian, but was rather disappointed by how different they sounded from Fold Your Hands. Albums like The Life Pursuit and If You’re Feeling Sinister were a little too avant-garde for me at this point. They did have their moments, but I had to pass on them in the end. Start with this, their fourth full-length album, before listening to the others.

Dan Curry – Savage Branch