St Louis County Library

"I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith is as delightful a book as I have ever read, and I'm not a person who often calls things delightful. Published in 1948, the book is filled with oddballs. If you liked "Little Miss Sunshine" or "The Royal Tenenbaums" then you might like this book.

Kent Haruf's new book "Benediction" is his third novel set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. It is the poignant story of a dying man looking back on his life. Dad Lewis faces his last days at home with his wife and adult daughter. He considers his good fortune as well as some unresolved regrets. His family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors offer what help they can as they struggle with their own sorrows.

Haruf uses beautiful language and a simple style to depict the understated drama of everyday life. The pace of this book is slow, but the minimal action is heavy with consequence.

Checkout the newest and coming romance releases from St. Louis County Library. Reserve your copy today!

"One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels" by Sarah MacLean--I love snuggling up with one of Sarah MacLean's books on a cold day, with a cup of hot chocolate. In her latest book, the owner of Fallen Angel gaming club finds himself propositioned by scientist Lady Phillipa Mabury.

"Highlander Most Wanted" by Maya Banks--Steamy romance, muscled Highlanders and Scottish accents...somebody get a hose.

"The Rime of the Modern Mariner" by Nick Hayes uses Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem about the ancient mariner to describe our environmental folly. Hayes' graphic novel is a worthy update and adequately infuses the tale with modern horrors like oil spills, sludge, floating garbage fields and rotting whales.

As a graphic novel, the art is very important. In this regard, Nick Hayes excels. The black ink on cream paper evokes wood cuts, connecting this new version to older arts. A judicious use of blue adds variety and depth which is needed because this is a long graphic novel. It is not too long, however.

Hayes also should be credited with clever word play. As an environmental cautionary tale, he has quite a challenge since the muck is made of polystyrene, neoprene, Tupperware, polymers and such. His rhyming, though not perfect, is clever. He rhymes "St. Elmo's eerie fire" with "North Atlantic gyre," for example. He's not Coleridge, but he's good.

The documentary "The Other F Word" takes an inside look at parenting by punk and hardcore musicians. Bands known for their raucous, anti-establishment stance find themselves family men with play dates and school outings alongside world tours and endless partying.

The DVD focuses on Jim Lindberg from Pennywise, a father of three daughters, but there are plenty of other musicians with cameos. Lindberg gets a tattoo for his youngest during the filming, because he already has a tattoo for the older daughters. Lindberg is definitely feeling torn by the responsibilities to band and family. A few minutes on skype while on tour can't replace the moments he's missing of their childhood.

I just finished Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," which was one of the library's most checked-out book of 2012. I read it because my book group chose it. It's not something I would pick, but the point of being in a book group is to try new things.

There are no heroes in this novel. There are plenty of formulaic characters, but the plot takes so many twists that their flimsiness is almost always secondary to the plot. The action slows down considerably toward the end, when psychological maneuvers take center stage.

One thing that makes this book so readable is that most of the action takes place in Missouri; folks pop in and out of St. Louis. The muggy summer is aptly described, but at least one of the main characters cannot abide our fellow citizens.

Out of the Napoleonic era, LA Meyer brings us a swashbuckling young woman who conquers the high seas and all other formidable obstacles, whether natural or of human design. The series of novels features Mary "Jacky" Faber, a waif orphaned in London who must live by her wits, of which she has considerable in supply.

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith is a classic worth exploring or re-exploring if it's been a while. I picked up the spoken version read by Kate Burton.

If you are not familiar with this book, I suggest that you skip the introduction written and read by Jacquelyn Mitchard. There's nothing wrong with the intro, it just ruins the dramatic impact of the book's greatest line. You're not going to miss much if you skip the intro, but if you insist, save it for last.