Wowbrary Wednesday

I'm starting a new feature on my blog: on Wednesdays, I'll discuss the books that I've discovered through Wowbrary. Don't know what Wowbrary is? Look here. It is fabulous. Click "sign up" if you're a Fauquier County library patron so that you can be among the first to know what new books, CDs, and DVDs have been added to the collection. This probably won't be every Wednesday; I'll post when I have a few titles to discuss. These will typically not be children's/YA books, since I post about them in my new books posts.




Pearl Jam Twenty

Ohwowohwowohwow. This is a companion to the upcoming Pearl Jam documentary. Had no clue that a Pearl Jam documentary was in the works, but I am so there. This is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most popular and influential alternative/grunge/Seattle sound groups ever. So excited. I cannot even tell you.







Tension City


Jim Lehrer has moderated 11 presidential and vice-presidential debates over the past 40 years. In Tension City (which is how President George W. Bush described the debates to Lehrer), Lehrer looks back at the triumphs, failures, mishaps, and surprises of these debates. Starting with the Kennedy-Nixon debate and concluding with the Obama-McCain debate, features his insights on the "Major Moments" and "Killer Questions" that framed each debate. Really looking forward to his insights.




The Puppy Diaries

Squeee! Oh, is there anything cuter (and more exasperating!) than a Labrador Retriever puppy? Look at that little baby. Friends, that's a cover that's gonna sell books. This is New York Times managing editor Jill Abramson's account of her puppy Scout's first year, which she chronicled in her online column. Readers from across the nation sent in tips, encouragement, and pictures of their own dogs. Abramson delves deeper into Scout's first year and addresses controversies and debates within the canine community, such as adoption vs. buying from a breeder, theories of puppy training, and diet.





I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

Google is not just a search engine anymore. It's way, way, beyond that. People don't say that we searched for information on the Internet. People say they "Googled" it. Unless you work for Yahoo, I guess. Or Microsoft. Or Facebook. Amazon, too, probably.


I remember watching a video of Conan O'Brien talking to an audience of Google employees (shortly after the Tonight Show debacle). It's a great video if you have the chance to watch it (you can find it on Youtube). I can't remember exactly what he was talking about, but he was goofing around (of course) and talking about something that would constitute a really big moment of opportunity. Well, Conan decided to equate this to "writing code for Bill Gates." Ooooooh, the audience murmured. I laughed, because moments before, he had talked about his visit to Twitter headquarters, and he asked if Google "hates" Twitter (well,not at the moment). I don't think Conan could have picked an unlikelier example, unless he did the interview right now and said Facebook. Google has ambition beyond being just a widely popular search engine, and in I'm Feeling Lucky, we'll read about the creation of Google, its unique workplace, and its plans for world domination. Not so much the last part, perhaps, but you get the idea.






Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias

I never heard of Babe Didrikson Zaharias until I moved to Texas. When I took I-10 past Beaumont on my way to visit family in Louisiana, I would always pass the sign for the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum. Unfortunately, I never stopped, which is why I'm looking forward to reading this upcoming biography on one of the greatest athletes of our time. Zaharias conquered golf, track and field, tennis, and for a time, cancer. She also battled the stereotypes of female athletes during the early years of the 20th century. I'm pleased that there are a number of holds on this already; Zaharias's story is one of a kind.




The Emperor of Lies

This is the tale of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, appointed by the Nazis to lead the Jewish ghetto of Lodz (Poland). Rumkowski sought to make the ghetto indispensable to the Nazis, using methods that irrevocably changed his life and the lives of the people living in the ghetto. This won the highest literary award in Sweden and is set to be published in over 25 languages. Sounds like a challenging yet worthwhile novel.






The Girl in the Blue Beret

When World War II pilot Marshall Stone returns to France decades after the war's end, he searches for the members of the French Resistance who saved his life, especially the teenage girl who guided him through Paris. This sounds promising.

I'm telling you, Wowbrary does some serious damage to your holds list. You may never recover if you sign up. The bad thing is that you may get a batch of requests that come in at the same time (I just received four books at once-uh oh!).