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| January 2003 |
Novels:
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Featured Author: David Baldacci
David Baldacci burst on the thriller scene with Absolute Power in 1995, which stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for more than four months. Total Control featured ruthless characters wielding the latest in action weaponry, laptops, and cell phones, and fighting over computer disks. More recently Baldacci has ventured beyond the thrillers that made his reputation, first in 2000 with the historical melodrama Wish You Well, then with the science fiction mystery novella The Mighty Johns, and most recently with The Christmas Train, a sweet holiday confection.
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Currently Baldacci is working with television producers on a television mystery series, polishing up “an
intense political thriller” scheduled to come out in 2003, and plotting out a sequel to Last Man Standing.
David Baldacci was born in Virginia (1960) where he still lives. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BA in political science and received a law degree from the University of Virginia. For nine years he practiced law in Washington, D.C. while writing from ten at night until three in the morning. He is married, has a family, and credits his success to the support and understanding of his wife Michelle. Did you enjoy Last Man Standing? Baldacci’s main source within the FBI, Christopher Whitcomb, has written a fascinating non-fiction book entitled- Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (363.232/WHI). If you like Baldacci's books, you might consider these authors: Stephen Cannell, James Grippando, Brad Meltzer, Kyle Mills, Greg Iles, John Grisham, or Stuart Woods. Check out his web site for more information http://www.david-baldacci.com |
 Resolve to Read in 2003
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Making the Most of the Online CatalogEach month this section of the newsletter will discuss a different resource for helping you find reading material. For our first effort, our own humble online catalog seemed the obvious choice.The online catalog gives you access to almost everything in our collection: books, books on tape, videos, music CDs, DVDs, and more. Terminals are located throughout the building. Quick Search allows you to search the catalog by keyword. You can search by author, title or subject using Quick Search, but subject searches are often the most successful. To search for a subject, select Quick Search from the Search Menu, and then type 2 or 3 keywords. This method can be used for fiction or nonfiction materials. To look for fiction about a subject, type in the keywords plus "fiction." For example, "Illinois fiction" yields almost 300 titles with those words somewhere in the record. To narrow the list, repeat the search adding another keyword. For example, adding "mystery" to "Illinois fiction" narrows the search to 162 titles. If you aren't sure which keywords to use, try looking at the full records of a few books that you like, especially the subject headings assigned to them. To limit your search by format, add the format type to your search. For example, to find books on tape, do a Quick Search with keywords from the title or subject headings and add "audiobooks." You can do the same with visual formats: Simply add “DVD” or “video”. Another useful searching tool is the F11 key, which allows you Scan Headings. To find books by author, simply choose Author from the Search Menu, type in the author's last name, choose F11 to Scan Headings, and then choose your author from the list. The same method works for a Title or Subject search. You don't even have to type in the complete title or heading -- just the first few words will do. The books will display in reverse chronological order, so you can easily see what's new. If you need help using catalogs, or any library resources, remember, the folks at the public service desks are always happy to help! |
On Display in the Library This MonthLook for these books on display in the library this month:
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Resolve To Read Books on weight loss, diet, fitness, exercise, etc.
Horse Operas
Double Trouble
A Tail of Two Kitties |
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Books Go to the MoviesIf some of the titles of films this past year sounded familiar, it’s not surprising. Since D.W. Griffith first adapted Thomas F. Dixon’s novel The Clansman into “Birth of a Nation,” filmmakers have found it profitable to adapt literature for the screen. In 2002 there were more than a dozen films based on novels, short stories and works of non-fiction, and there are several much anticipated adaptations due in 2003. If you’ve seen the movies and want to read the books (or vice versa), here are some titles to look for: |
"The Quiet American" based on the novel The Quiet American by Graham Greene "Rabbit Proof Fence" based on the memoir Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington "The Pianist" based on the memoir The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945 by Wladyslaw Szpilman "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" based on the memoir Confessions of a Dangerous Mind by Chuck Barris |
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“About a Boy” based on the novel About a Boy by Nick Hornby “About Schmidt” based on the novel About Schmidt by Louis Begley “Adaptation” based on The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean “Antwone Fisher” based on Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher “Catch Me If You Can” based on the memoir Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale “The Emperor's Club” based on the short story, “Palace Thief” by Ethan Canin “Gangs of New York” based on Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” based on the novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling “The Hours” based on the novel The Hours by Michael Cunningham “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” based on the second novel in the trilogy, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien “Nicholas Nickleby” based on the novel Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens “Personal Velocity” based on the novel Personal Velocity by Rebecca Miller “Solaris” based on the science fiction novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem |
