Monday, October 27, 2014

Cheesy Reads



Now that the season has turned to fall and colder weather is the norm, many people are thinking about comfort foods.  What is more comforting than cheese?  Whether you eat cheese right off the block, cook with it or make your own, cheese can delight in many ways.
            Alison Lewis has challenged cooks to look at the grilled cheese sandwich in a whole new light.  150
Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches captures the popularity and trendiness of grilled cheese.  The sandwiches in this book can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or dessert.  They feature a variety of ingredients including fruits, vegetables, beef, poultry, pork, fish and seafood.
            Hot and Cheesy by Clifford A. Wright features more than 250 recipes using cheese that have collected from around the world.  The easy to follow recipes include fritters, pastries, casseroles, pastas, sandwiches, pizzas, breads and almost anything else that can be topped with cheese.  Historical and cultural notes add to the interest of this handy cookbook.
            Maître Fromager Max McCalman is America’s first restaurant-based Maître Fromager and an advocate for artisanal cheese production around the world.  Mastering Cheese was written as a guide for cheese lovers who would like to elevate their knowledge of cheese to connoisseurship.  McCalman has developed a compelling set of classes for understanding and experiencing cheese.  Every nuance of cheese is covered in this comprehensive tutorial.
            McCalman and David Gibbons have also partnered to produce Cheese, a Connoisseur’s Guide
to the World’s Best.  This guidebook offers descriptions and background on the great cheeses of the world.  200 of the world’s best cheeses are profiled in this illustrated guide.  Some of the cheeses are well known, while others are unfamiliar outside of their region.  Nevertheless, this guide gives the reader an excellent starting place to develop a cheese bucket list.
            Eating local has become the goal of many amateur and professional cooks.  What is more “local” that creating your own dairy and cheese products.  The PWPL has a number of books to help the home cook create some tasty dairy products.
            The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley is an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide for making fresh dairy products including butter, yogurt, sour cream, crème fraiche, cream cheese, ricotta and more.    The author also includes a number of recipes for muffins, snacks, soup, pasta and desserts that can be made with the resulting dairy products.
            Ricki Carroll is the founder of the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company based in Massachusetts.  Her book Home Cheesemaking is considered the home cheesemaker’s bible.  The third edition of this book includes recipes for 75 homemade cheeses as well as a collection of recipes using a variety of cheese.
            Practical Cheesemaking by Kathy Bliss contains many photos and diagrams related to cheese production.  Those with a scientific bent would enjoy her technically sophisticated book.  Bliss and her husband have a small dairy in the West Highlands of Scotland where they manufacture a wide range of cheese, yoghurt and ice cream.  The book is directed toward those interested in commercial production rather than making cheese as a hobby.
            Home Dairy with Ashley English is a great starting point for anyone interested in making cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream and body care products from milk.  English shares the knowledge she has collected during her own dairy-making journey.   Over 40 kitchen- tested dairy recipes and plans for a homemade cheese press are included in this helpful book.
            Love, betrayal and revenge are not generally the first words most people would associate with The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti is a true tale of the world’s greatest piece of cheese and the horrible blood feud that it started.  Equal parts mystery and memoir, travelogue and history this book is a compelling work of literary non-fiction.
cheese, but
            Maggie Foard’s Goat Cheese combines the foods we all crave with the natural goodness of goat’s milk cheese.  Cheese made from goat’s milk is gaining in popularity because of their unique flavors and health benefits.  Beautiful photographs and over 60 farm-fresh recipes make this a wonderful primer on everything goat’s milk cheese has to offer.
            If you would like to explore the many facets of cheese this fall, the PWPL offers a variety of books that will help you learn all about cheese.

By Pam Christensen
Library Director

Monday, October 20, 2014

New Science Fiction



For all the Sci-Fi enthusiasts, here are a few new books to keep you enthralled for weeks to come. Cold weather and rainy days seems endless, so why not come on over to our library and grab a couple books to take your mind off the weather and the woes of the world. Heat up some hot chocolate, get your blanket and settle down to a day of fantasy galore.

Lock In, by John Scalzi is a novel of the near future, but with new viruses popping up very recently, I’m wondering if this book isn’t a novel about the present. A new highly contagious virus makes it way around the globe and this virus doesn’t care if you are old, rich, poor, black, white, Asian or green. Trim your fingernails before cuddling up with this book, otherwise you will chew them down to the bone.

Want to step into new worlds? Try The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.  These two great authors team up yet again to create an intriguing sci-fi novel that will keep you in your seat. What better place to be as you travel with these authors to worlds unknown in space.

Light and darkness, evil versus good, royalty, a queen uncertain, protected by her loyal servants, kingdoms
needing to be ruled and saved, battles and betrayals, what more could you ask for? The book, The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen, will grab your attention to the point that you will feel like you are in the middle of all that’s happening. You will want to grab your sword and jump in to save the queen.

Now this book will take you to times of muskets and magic, fantasies galore in a setting reminiscent of the early Victorian period, with bayonets, blood and secrets. It will keep you curled up next to the fire for several days. The Shadow Throne, Book Two of the Shadow Campaigns, by Django Wexler is a novel of an epic fantasy of military might and magical conflict.

Diabolical lobsters from outer space? Who will save us? Why Uncle Wonder of course! The Madonna and the Starship by James Morrow captivates your imagination in this hilarious novel. As you know, James Morrow is a brilliant author and has written many books and this one manages to juggle the absurd, which is far more entertaining than many other novels you may have been reading.

New York Times Bestselling author, Anne Bishop has created, Written in Red, a novel of the Others, will have you coming back for more. This is a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities, shape shifters and vampires to mention a few, who rule the earth and prey on humans. Fitting subject since Halloween is just around the corner. I’d keep the light on after reading this.

David Weber’s, Like a Might Army is full of battles.  A complex political and military tapestry, past and future technologies all come together in this magnificent saga. The characters come alive and focus on the people who embody the strengths and weaknesses of an imperfect but always hopeful humanity.

--N.M. Information Technology Department

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

3D Detective series: book, audio, video



Some of your favorite detective series are now three dimensional – books in print for reading, books on CD for listening, and DVD for a total storytelling experience, often featuring well-known movie stars.  They’re all available on the main floor of the library. Don’t miss a single one!

Inspector Lynley Mysteries by Elizabeth George are set in contemporary England - the New Scotland Yard.  Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, also the 8th Earl of Asherton, teams up with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers to form an unlikely, but effective partnership of detectives who solve some very complex crimes. Although the stories revolve around the crime-fighting duo of the aristocratic Lynley and working-class Havers, there’s a large cast of characters who are connected to each other in the most interesting ways.  Elizabeth George thoroughly explores their relationships and motivations in each book.  The newest in the series is titled, Just One Evil Act. The DVD series, originally part of Masterpiece Mysteries from PBS, narrows down the storyline to the two main characters and the crimes themselves in order to fit the story into a 90 minute time frame. PWPL has all six seasons.


Craig Johnson is the author of ten novels featuring Walt Longmire, a Wyoming sheriff who solves crime in a big way.  Johnson combines the mystery genre with the elements of a western and updates the stories to fit contemporary themes and current newspaper headlines.  Longmire leads a team of deputies with distinct personalities and, at the same time, explores his own relationship with his grown daughter, an attorney who asks a lot of questions and keeps him on his toes. The stories also include Longmire’s childhood friend and unofficial assistant, Henry Standing Bear, who is his link to the Cheyenne community and customs. The newest title, Any Other Name, was published in May 2014.  The TV series, available in the DVD section, features two full seasons of Robert Taylor as Walt Longmire and Lou Diamond Phillips as Henry Standing Bear.

Swedish crime writer, Henning Mankell, has written Kurt Wallander  mysteries for the past twenty years.   He often stumbles onto very ominous criminals such as those associated with government corruption and international organized crime, creating some seriously suspenseful story lines  The author guides readers through some of the best crime stories ever written, while portraying the main character as a troubled man with amazing detective skills.  In fact, book # 10 in the Wallander series was titled, A Troubled Man.  The newest title, An Event in Autumn, was just released last month. These novels were made into three seasons of British TV, starring Kenneth Branagh as Wallander; also available in the DVD section.
The novels are set in Sweden and northern Europe, following the life and career of Inspector Wallander who often has difficulties with family relationships and obedience to his superiors in the police force.


The Jesse Stone mystery series was created by Robert B. Parker who wrote nine books before his death in 2010.  Lucky for us, the series was continued by Michael Brandman under the new titles,  Killing the BluesFool Me Twice, and  Damned if You Do.  The latest in the series,  Blind Spot, once again features the Massachusetts police chief, Jesse Stone and is written by a third author, Reed Farrell Coleman.  The Jesse Stone character, a depressed alcoholic with authority issues and a bloodhound’s nose for solving crimes, has several supporting characters in his books that take on storylines of their own.  The original eight books have been adapted to film, featuring Tom Selleck in the lead role as Jesse Stone.

Lynette Suckow, Reference Desk

Sunday, October 5, 2014

New Non-fiction



The Peter White Public Library offers these new non-fiction titles.

Factory man : how one furniture maker battled offshoring, stayed local-- and helped save an American town.
By Beth Macy
Between 2001 and 2012 63,300 US factories closed, at a cost of 5 million jobs. The Bassett Furniture Company fell down the slippery slope of outsourcing production to China, until John Bassett III attempted to reel the production back in. Provides insights on international trade, the economy, the manufacturing business, and how Bassett was able to bring hundreds of jobs back home.
New adult nonfiction 338.755 MA
 

Johnny Cash : the life.
By Robert Hilburn
Acclaimed by Rolling Stone as “the ultimate Johnny Cash biography”. Author Robert Hilburn has spent decades as a music industry insider, and wrote with authorization from Cash’s children. Likely to become the definitive biography of Johnny Cash.
New adult nonfiction 921 Cash

The brothers : John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and their secret world war.
Joint biography of the Dulles brothers, whose policies during the first half of the cold war helped create the world we live in today. John was the US Secretary of State, and Allen director of the CIA. Early in the cold war, a “secret world war” was waged together by the brothers to influence the American psyche. They were also instrumental in numerous political coups abroad which shaped US foreign policy.
By Stephen Kinzer
New adult nonfiction 327.1273 KI

American gun : a history of the U.S. in ten firearms.
Kyle (author of American Sniper) examines ten guns that helped shape US history, from the Revolution to present day. Stories of militia, soldiers, cowboys, gangsters, and heroes.
By Chris Kyle
New adult nonfiction 344.73 KY

Unruly places : lost spaces, secret cities, and other inscrutable geographies.
A collection of stories about obscure places around the world. Some you may have heard of, like “Sealand”, the WWII anti-aircraft station off the coast of England run by eccentrics who have asserted the platform is an independent nation since the 1960s. Some you may not have heard of, like Agdam, Armenia. Following the collapse of the USSR, control of the town was disputed, and led to its abandonment. Deeper still, an examination of how people interact, creating the uniqueness of these places. 
By Alastair Bonnett
New adult nonfiction 910 BO

Android phones for dummies (2nd edition - 2014).
The Android operating system has become the most popular mobile platform for phones and other portable devices. This guide will show you how to get the most out of Android, in language you can understand.
By Dan Gookin
New adult nonfiction 004.167 GO

The gentle art of preserving .
A book to help you preserve the tastes of summer, and enjoy them when it’s 10 below zero. A modern look at preserving, but using time-tested techniques. Over 200 recipes and photographs.
By Katie Caldesi
New adult nonfiction 641.4 CA