Asleep:: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries by Molly Caldwell

This most recent book on disease by journalist Molly Caldwell Crosby
involves "Encephalitis Lethargica", the illness that plagues the patients brought to
life in the movie "Awakenings." Like the book by Oliver Sacks on which the movie
was based, this book includes several case studies of actual patients afflicted
with the disease, which the author rightly says is "one of medicine's greatest
mysteries." Unlike the book by neurologist Sacks, this book also dallies with the
history of public health in the modern world, and how doctors and scientists from
various countries dealt with this epidemic, which began a little before the end of
WWI.

Crosby also spends a good amount of time in her book discussing the
major figures in the field of neurology, including S.E. Jelliffe, Frederick Tilney,
and Josephine B. Neal. This is among the most interesting part of the book, as
she goes in depth into their lives, patterns, and what drove each of them to make
a name in this fledgling field of study, which at that time was little different than
psychology. She further discusses the benefactors to the cause of finding a cure
or vaccine for this "sleeping sickness," as it affects (and kills) the wife of
American industrialist J.P. Morgan and afflicts millionaire William Matheson.

While she does put forth several theories about what caused this disease
to sweep the planet and then all but disappear, by the end of the book, Crosby
seems to rush past her topic, as if in a hurry to be finished with it. She does not
spend enough time discussing the possible causal agents, and to my mind just
gives passing mention to the thought that this could have been caused by a
common germ that we all know, streptococcus, and little graphic evidence of
where in the world this disease had the firmest hold, from which a reader might
be able to draw their own conclusion, like that vaccination was at the heart of it
all. Yes, she touches on those theories, but unlike her exhaustive look at Tilney
and his career, Neal's lifestyle, etc., these ideas get a light touch and then the
author moves on to talk about what interested her in the topic initially.

While I understand the difficulties inherent in discussing a disease which
ravaged the globe almost a hundred year's ago, but has made few people sick
during our lifetimes. I know it is made even harder by the fact that no cure or
vaccine was ever uncovered to solve the problem. Still, my feeling on ending the
book was that I had been cheated, and that it was exhaustion and not exhaustion
of topic or resources that called a close to the book. I have read Sacks' book,
and feel that this is a good companion piece to it. I will still read the book Crosby.
has written on Yellow Fever, which some critics have said is better. But I was
always bemoan the fact that she couldn't have given this book another month of
her life to complete the story.

Submitted by Gerti

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a notoriously bad memory. My son's piano
teacher has taken to calling to remind me about his weekly lessons, just as I
have taken to writing "PIANO" on my hand in purple marker when I remember it's
Monday, the day of his piano lessons. Which is why a book that promised to
teach me how to to remember things caught my interest!

Let me start by saying that the book does deliver what it promises. Unlike several
of the other books I've recently picked up on polishing my memory skills, Joshua
Foer does so in a pleasant, narrative style, so I learned how to memorize without
actually getting that "back-to-school" classroom feeling. His book starts with the
story of Simonides, the Greek poet who came up with the concept of the memory
palace, which leads to the memory trick of placing things you need to remember
in the rooms of a place you know well, like your mom's home. Again, by telling a
story about the man and not just listing a name in textbook fashion, the story and
concept itself sticks in my mind. Good job, Foer! He goes on to detail methods
other people have developed over the ages to remember, some successfully,
others not.

While I like the other point of the book - that journalist Joshua can, with a few
simple tricks and a few hours of practice, go into the national memory
championships and do an award-winning job - my husband did not. He thought
that it ruined the effect of the book. But just as I liked Oliver Sacks' books on how
he discovered chemistry as a child and thus went into medicine, I like learning
how this author turned the tips he gets from a few drinking buddies (who happen
to be memory champions) and puts them to the test.

Is it the best book on memory every written? Probably not. But is it the most
entertaining? Undoubtedly. I would recommend this book to anyone with an
interest in improving their ability to remember "To Do" or grocery lists, or to
students who just want a better way to whip their minds into shape for academic
success. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's journey into the world of the memory
champions, as well as his discussion of the history and purpose of memory itself.
His glances into the lives of those who remember too much or not enough is also
fascinating. This book is so good I had to buy one for myself, and while I did not
memorize it, it is filled with dog-eared pages and yellow highlighting. And no, I
haven't missed a piano lesson since I bought it!

Submitted by Gertie

The Secret Life of Danny Kaye by Michael Freedland

This is the 1 st book I have ever read about Danny Kaye, the old-timey entertainer
who starred in such musical classics of my youth as "Hans Christian Andersen"
and "White Christmas," so I'm not sure how accurate are the facts presented in
this biography. However, I can tell you that the title is misleading and the writing
is often annoying.

With a title like "The Secret Life of Danny Kaye," I was expecting to find out
something scandalous about the now-deceased comic star of stage and screen.
But it wasn't until I had read almost % of the book that I realized the title made
reference to a television show Kaye was in. There is therefore no motive for the
title (Freedland could just as easily have called the work "Wonder Man" - a Kaye
movie - and been more accurate) besides the author wanting to sell more books
with a salacious-sounding title. I found that quite annoying, like buying a book
called "Strip Tease" and finding out it's about something innocuous like stripping
furniture!

Also annoying in this Michael Freedland biography was the writing style. The
author frequently traps the reader in labyrinthine sentences which end up
meaning the opposite of the point he intends to convey. As a result, reading the
book is more like reading the first draft essay of a college student who thinks he
needs to use multi-syllabic words in order to impress his professor without
knowing what those words mean. I'm surprised this author has other books under
his biographical belt, and am curious whether they also contain such convoluted
language. However, not curious enough to pick up another book he has written!

Ultimately, however, this book is a biography about Danny Kaye, and I did learn
things I didn't know about Kaye'slife, which means the book does accomplish its
purpose. However, like the mouse who is forced to endure a maze before
getting a piece a cheese, I wonder if the infonnation gleaned is worth the hassle
of the journey. I think I'd have been happier just to rent a few Danny Kaye movies
and draw my own conclusions about the man starring in them.

Submitted by Gerti

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

I anxiously awaited for this book to come in for me at the library. When I saw it at Walmart I wanted to just find a cozy spot to sit and read it but my husband didn't want to wait around for me and I didn't want to be abandoned at Walmart. If I bought every book I wanted to read I would be broke. Well more broke then I am now because after paying bills I'm pretty broke but I digress.

Anyhoo I really enjoyed this Nightshade trilogy. Ms. Cremer has a great voice. I love her characters, the story, and she writes some great action scenes. What I love about this series is the love triangle is believable. You almost wish Calla could be with both Shay and Ren. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes having to choose which one to be with. But I wouldn't mind having some fun with them before choosing :). You are only that age once.

Anyway Bloodrose sucks you in from page one and doesn't let go until the end. The ending was a total shocker. I didn't see it coming at all and since I read so much it's hard to shock me. For a minute I thought I was going to have to write some unhappy fan mail to Ms. Cremer but she gave me a happy ending. Not exactly an ending I loved but it was happy and everything was pretty much tied in bow. Which is how I like my series to end. If you are interested in reading about how this world got started the first chapter of the prequel Rift is available on Ms. Cremer's website www.Nightshadebook.com.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

If you aren't all vamped out then you should checkout this series. A patron recommended it to me and I'm glad she did.

Claire Danvers is a sixteen year old genius. She graduated from high school early and headed off to college. Because of her age her parents didn't want her going too far away so she ended up in Morganville. Morganville is a small college town filled with quirky characters. When Claire is harshly hazed by some upper class mean girls she heads off campus and finds solace in the big old house that is Gone With the Wind meets the Munsters with roommates Michael, Shane, and Eve. What Claire finds out is that Morganville is run by vampires. You are either protected by them or you are food. It doesn't take long for her to get on the vampires bad side.

I read through book one rather quickly and have started book two. I am excited that in all she will have 15 books maybe more. Hopefully I won't get bored half way through. Sometimes with long running series that happens to me but I have high hopes.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper is our book discussion book for February. I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I never know with the book discussion books. I try to pick books that sound interesting and that will hopefully appeal to the group. If anyone is interested in coming the meeting is February 21, 2012 at 10:30am. I will be making oatmeal cookies with coffee icing. The recipe is from the book and found on the authors website.

Walls of Water, North Caroline, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town's famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

Doesn't that just make you want to read more?

Willa Jackson is thirty years old and she hails from a fine old Southern family that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam-built by Willa's great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water's heyday, and once the town's grandest home-has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow, which is no easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well marked boundaries between the haves and the have-nots.

Recently Willa has learned that an old classmate, socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood, of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Willa hopes that the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from the ashes but what rises instead is a skeleton buried beneath the property's lone peach tree. Once it is unearthed it raises a lot of questions for the Jackson's and the Osgood's. Because once upon a time Willa's and Paxton's grandmothers were best friends and they may know something about the buried bones, those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms seventy five years ago.

This throws Willa and Paxton into an unlikely friendship. Willa has a chance at love with Paxton's brother Colin. While Paxton has her own relationship woes with Sebastian. My favorite books have romance so I'm glad there were two love stories going on along with a mystery and a bit of magic. I think I'm going to be checking out Ms. Allen's other books. I'm intrigued.

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Legend's Run is famous for werewolves but there just stories, or so Celeste Parker thought. Until she meets Brandon Maddox and her whole life changes. Even though she has Nash (boyfriend) she finds herself drawn to Brandon and soon she is pulling away from her friends and Nash to be with Brandon. Brandon is transforming into something that isn't human. I enjoyed this story even though I think Celeste cared about what her friends thought a little too much. But if your friends would stop talking to you because of your choice in boyfriend then they aren't your true friends. Hopefully there will be another book because the author left the ending open for one.