The Savage

There is a savage in each of us. Innocent, pure, or not. We are capable of ________ (fill in the blank).
When one young boy, Blue Baker, is left confused and in pain, he taps into that very savage, creating an artistic reality where his savage alter ego is capable of the things this boy can only dream of. Blue, a gentle kid, is connected to the savage he's writing about and is able to face his bully and take out his anger through his writings. The Savage becomes so real to Blue, that he begins to question his existence.
Getting to the core of human emotion, David Almond isn't afraid to get a little dirty, "If anybody ever seen him he chased them and cort them and killed them and ate them and chucked their bones down an aynshent pit shaft. He was savage. He was truly wild." With wild tri-color illustrations of the savage with his empty eyes and animal movements, Dave Mckean makes Almond's story as real as Blue's Savage was to him.
Loved loved loved this quick read! Recommended! For Sure!

Reviewed by Erin Reifsnider
Young Adult Coordinator

An Immortal Life

I've always been curious about the cells that are referred to as HeLa. I had always wondered where and how they came to be. I am quite surprised that it has taken this long to finally write about the history of these amazing cells. The “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” explains all this.

Rebecca Skloot set out to write a book about the cells that Johns Hopkins researchers harvested from a tumor that killed a young African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks in the 1950s. Those cells, known as HeLa, had a life of their own. They were fruitful and multiplied, they traveled around the world, and they provided science with the source of scores of life-saving discoveries (Polio for one). During the course of investigating science's use of those cells, Skloot found a much better story, one that begins with the researchers' failure to inform Henrietta's family of what they were doing. As a result of this, the family did not discover the cells existed until decades later.

This story will incite, shock and awe you when you come to learn the story of the Lacks family and their victimization by socioeconomic conditions, racism and how these cells have made tons of money for the health establishment and yet most of the Lacks family are unable to afford health coverage.

The author has done an extensive research job in putting together this book. The afterword notes that it took 10 years to complete the book. The science is easily understood by the average reader, the family story is enhanced by the author's patient relationship with the family of Henrietta.

What impressed me most about this book was the way the author presented the story in a non judgmental way. Both the family and especially the medical establishment committed acts that did no one proud. Skloot is not condescending nor patronizing to the Lacks family nor does she condemn the medical establishment. It would have been easy to sensationalize this story but she didn't, she just calmly and in a very fair and straightforward way reported it.

The human race owes Henrietta Lacks a debt that it will never be able to repay. This is a book that should be required reading in all of our schools.

Jimmy Buffet-Encores

I love Jimmy Buffet, and I love how his music just makes me feel happy. When I listen to him, it takes my mind back to my Jamaica vacations....relaxing.
This being said, I wasn't overly impressed with this 2 cd set. It is just like the title suggests; it is all encore songs from various concerts from around the world. Not that that is bad, just not what I expected. I think in each song he is telling the audience that they are the best, and that locations is his favorite. That just got redundant to me.
All in all though, you can't go wrong with upbeat songs, and Jimmy Buffet is the king of upbeat!

50 Things To Do When You Turn 50

Ok, this is the big one...the big 5-0. So when this book came in, I thought, what better time to read it!
50 Things To Do When You Turn 50 is a compilation of 50 experts with short essays on the subject of turning 50. Some of the essays: Stop Complaining by Garrison Keillor; Stop Obsessing About Your Flaws by Bobbi Brown; Jump Off A Bridge by Mark Fenton; and Take Your Self Back, by Erica Jong.
The book is encouraging and enlightening, as well as being humorous. While I don't think I am ready to jump off a bridge, everyone nearing this age could glean some wisdom from it.
It's not too late to make my Bucket List yet though....hmmmm.

Nightmare by Robin Parrish

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in the supernatural? Whether you believe or not, reports of so-called happenings happen frequently. As one of the characters in this “ghost story” questions, “ You think there are pit stops along the way?”

I like books with mystery and sometimes an edge. In the past few years, a number of inspirational writers have risen who write in the style of authors like Stephen King, albeit with a Christian touch. This book definitely had an edge and almost knocked me over the precipice. Added to that, it was a dark and stormy night when I read it. So the stage was set, as they say.

The main character, Maia, is the child of a Christian and an agnostic who are paranormal investigators that experience “hours of tedium, punctuated with seconds of skin-peeling terror”. Looking to escape this way of life, she enters college preparing to go in a new direction. In her senior year, she is approached by a fellow student, Jordin, an heiress who has an unhealthy thirst for the supernatural who hires Maia to show her the supernatural world. The hunt takes a turn for the worst as they traipse through scores of famously “haunted” sites, stirring up the spirit realm. Jordin disappears and Maia, with the aid of Jordin’s fiancée and soon-to-be pastor, Derek, has to use her investigative skills to bring her back to the physical world. They soon are in a battle for not only Jordin’s but Maia’s soul.

Interestingly, my husband and I have actually visited several of the sites mentioned in the book, the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship and Gettysburg battleground. While we never experienced any of the events mentioned in the book, we did tour during the daytime and not at nighttime when most experiences seem to occur. At the conclusion of the book, the author shares that the kind of events depicted in the book actually have happened. He explains that each site has had countless reports of paranormal activity. In conclusion, he stresses that touching the paranormal is inherently dangerous and compares it to swimming with sharks or sword swallowing.

Sooooo…would I recommend reading this book? Hmmm…if you want a challenging read, this is definitely one that will test your nerves and your beliefs. If you’re prone to having nightmares or have to sleep with the lights on, maybe not.


Kathy Stutzman
Public Relations Manager

Elvis is in the building!

To mark what would have been the 75th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, Sony Legacy released this 4-disc career-spanning compilation. As a Elvis fanatic since I was about 10, I have to say that this is the GREATEST Elvis collection I have ever seen. (But then Elvis could have belted out the phone book and I'd have been there, standing and applauding all the way through)

While other artists reinvented themselves to fit the times, Elvis bent the times around himself staying true to his voice and himself as everything around him changed. His producers, songwriters, and musicians kept turning over, but in the center of it all Elvis sang a surprisingly straight line from 1953 to 1977. Even as his voice matured and the productions were influenced by his Vegas stage show, the fire in his delivery remained. Whether singing rock, blues, country, soul, pop or gospel, his performances found a true line stretched from the Sun sessions through RCA studios in Nashville, New York and Hollywood, a stint in the army, a catalog of often mediocre films, his 1968 resurrection, a triumphant return to Memphis, and country sessions that brought him back to his roots.

There's something for every Elvis fan here. Like music from his movies? No problem; there's a lot of that here. Whether it be his music from the movies he starred in "Jailhouse Rock" with Elvis really rocking to that a great beat and a musical interlude that couldn't be better; "King Creole" from the movie of the same name with that male backup that works perfectly as well as "Trouble" and "Viva Las Vegas" from the movie of the same name, Elvis never skips a beat! He never lets go of a single superfluous note. Elvis invariably sings with great passion and you can tell he's singing from the heart with just one listen!

Whether you believe Elvis Aaron Presley was the GREATEST entertainer/performer who has ever lived, you cannot deny that he had more impact on popular music than anybody who has ever lived. What is amazing about Elvis was that he could sing any type of music; country, R&B, pop, gospel, as well as rock and hearing him sing the listener would believe that that field of music was Elvis's forte.

After taking a listen to this compilation one cannot deny that Elvis was and still is the King of Rock n Roll.

Keep the Faith

Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom

This is a phenomenal true story of diversity, although not as captivating as "Tuesdays with Morrie", none the less it will engage your soul. It's a story of two men of God; one an aging rabbi, and the other, an African American pastor working in a ghetto. Two men---two different faiths; two entirely different backgrounds.

"Have a Little Faith" made me see that people can gain faith and develop a love of God from almost any place in life. What I really appreciated about this book is it does not preach nor does it favor either of the religions. Instead it suggests to look at yourself and perhaps refocus on the important things in life...family...friends...faith. In a time where the world seems to be in a frenzy of hate- peace, love and understanding doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Albom helped me to understand our tendencies as humans to focus on the messenger rather than the message; to focus on the appearance rather than the substance, not just in our own faith but of others' faiths as well. And everyone from time to time needs to focus on these things

Regardless of your faith, or lack there of, this book has a message to tell and the message is clear, even to those of us who aren't listening; Faith gives us Hope. Hope gives us Strength. Strength gives us the Courage to deal with whatever life sends our way.