A good mystery, one with colorful characters and an author skillful enough at legerdemain to keep you guessing till the explicable but unlikely wrap-up, makes for a fine summer read. Like other works by the able author, this mystery will appeal to Anglophiles, history-buffs and any who like their facts unusual and baroque.

Named for a defeated enemy, Temujin the son of a Mongol chieftian, now Khan of a united nation of tribes extends his reach into Arab lands. Ride with the hord, feast and fight with the great generals and sons of the Kha-Khan. Who will stand against the Might Scourge of Heaven?

Wynn has carried the scrolls taken from the White Lady of the Frozen Tower back to her guild, but finding help with translation has landed her in very hot waters. Young Chane, vampire and former servant to Westiel, has found her again. And this time he's determined not to let her out of his sight. He isn't alone in that mission. A young female wolf - the daughter of her beloved friend Chapp has become a self appointed guardian -but to gaurd against what? Chane or someone more sinister who is also tracking the scrolls?

Opposites attract. But when one is an Angel and the other is a blood sucking vampire -complicated is just the beginning. Soft on the romance and not quite hard enough on the fiendish side of life, this story is good for a light bit of fun on the otherside of natural.

Not my ususal genre, nothing supernatural, but the atmosphere, the tention, all keep one turning the pages.

A small boy witnesses the rape-murders of his mother and sisters in a small Bosnian village. The killers are never caught. Where is justice? Where is God? He escapes, a tormented soul set adrift in a world where the meek have no protectors. America reminds him a lot of Bosnia with it's pimps and crooked politicians.

Now a grown man, a man with a mission, Danny has vowed to make his small corner of the world a safer place for women and children - one bloody crook at a time. Is he just another serial killer, or is he a twisted answer to a complicated question?

Renee wasn't always on the streets, not always strung out on drugs. When she is saved by Danny Lamont it seems all her prayers have been answered. Sure he's obsessive–compulsive, but she's lived with worse. She's safe until one evening he never makes it home. To make matter's worse two thugs invade the house looking to tie up any loose ends. Their name-dropping sets Renee on a collision course with Danny and the two find they have a lot more in common...

Has some interesting moments, and some interesting photos, but on the whole unremarkable. The large font makes it seem more like a children's book, and the content would be appropriate more for teens, not really adults.

There is nothing remarkable about this book, but it was a fairly good read, albeit with some creative licensing involved. Not bad compared to the rest in the recent wave of all the Tudor fiction novels... Told from the first person perspective of the fictional niece of Kate Ashley (Elizabeth I's long time governess)... Recommended for Tudor era fiction fans but don't expect that much, and try not to get too upset about the liberties it takes...

Promoting bilingualism and multiculturalism through world language storytime are the best foundation for family literacy. Bringing generations together to the library and outreaching to the multicultural community will reinforce the global mission of the library: integration across cultures. Programs that reflect the demographic changes of the neighborhoods will promote cultural competence and cross-cultural dynamics. El día de los niños/ El día de los libros:Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día by Jeanette Larson provides the resources needed to make El Día de los Niños a successful program. Larson’s main objective is to share languages, cultures and books that will provide a sense of belonging among children. This book presents to the librarians ideas, programs and a list of world-wide books that will make any children program very successful.

Perpetually sick and bookish Leander Mayfield travels to London to become the new Earl of Dearborne. London is a bit much for this poor American farmer who prefers to spend his time reading about King Arthur. Now meet Julien Sutcliffe, the Earl of Blackstone, whose reputation precedes him for liking "the company of men." Julien is immediately drawn to Leander and the romance begins... but wait! There is a plot afoot to steal the Earldom from Leander! 

Overall this was quite an enjoyable read. I have to admit I did get a little annoyed at how weak and innocent Leander is portrayed but the quick moving story made up for it. I'm looking forward to reading more stories from this author.

The main character, Sorcerer Marla Mason, is a tough person to like, hard exterior and ruthless, but as the story unfolds, she has substance, and her partner in crime, Rondeau, has an interesting back story. The visual writing is very good, the story build up not as good. The characters hold your attention and, yes, I will be reading the second book in the series, Poison Sleep.

Humor is a funny thing--what sends one person to their knees in hysterics may leave another wrinkling their brow and underwhelmed. This reviewer was underwhelmed. But then, this reviewer is old high female geek with little understanding of young low male geek, this book's proper audience. A few jokes did get through the cultural miasma though, especially some of the --men can do really silly things-- jokes. So-- worth reading.

This is a charming, funny lookback by a Mennonite-raised, academic sophisticate who moves back home after her long, dysfunctional marriage implodes. It skims the surface of her life like a good flat stone well thrown, and wherever the stone touches down there are splashes of deep. But like a metaphor that can only be stretched so far, in the end one feels a tad cheated. All the difficulties joked about present a chance for real depth and greater insight, which are somehow not delivered. Maybe by the next book.

The Latino population is the fastest growing minority group in the United States. Being aware of its cultural complex and heterogeneity is really a challenge. What libraries are doing to understand the demographic changes, cultural behaviors and communication cycles from the newest arrived immigrant to the most acculturated Latino customer? ¡Hola, amigos! A Plan for Latino Outreach presents to the leader librarian the tools and the strategies needed to interpret people’s communication behaviors in a cross-cultural environment. Learning to recognize the basic level of communication- verbal and non-verbal codes- of each Spanish-speaking culture as a group, it will provide to the librarian the key necessary to distinguish the levels of acculturation among Latinos. In addition, the leader librarian will gain cultural competence as an important point to understand and serve minorities communities. The main goal is to provide the right service to the right group of costumers. For outreach and marketing purposes, a well designed plan should be reinforce- as the first step- to interpret cultural values and behaviors in the Latino population. Narrowing and differentiate the various market segments in the Latino community, will allow the librarian to have a successful program or service. Susana G. Baumann, provides a comprehensive book that introduces to the librarians and upper-management leaders a step-by-step resource guide to bring monolingual, bilingual and multilingual Latino customers as an important driving force to the libraries in the United States.

This is a quick, fun read for any nonexpert who would like to know more about the various creatures that we share this planet with. Because the material is presented in dictionary fashion, it is a perfect pick-up, put-down book. Though warning, -- you may end up shouting from the bathroom to your partner in the hallway such immortal comments as, "Did you know that male giraffes neck wrestle?" If you are ready for this sort of fun factness, you will enjoy this book.

This is an interesting book about how emotions, and emotional intelligence, have come out of the work-closet, so to speak. The presence of women in the workforce, along with other social changes, have made us culturally aware that emotional repression and suppression are not always the best policy. This book outlines forms of emotional management that can increase personal and team efficiency.

This is an interesting travel guide in that it opens up what is usually presented as spiritual--including places such as parks, author homesteads, historical sites, hiking trails and other "peaceful places." This is a welcome change for those who vacation in order to refuel their inner being. This reviewer's only complaint is that it should be longer.

When was sensationalistic hedonism first seen as the ultimate good amongst the English avant garde? If you are new to the subject but are curious about how sexual mores changed in later 19th-century England, you may find this book of interest. It outlines bits and snatches from the lives of artists and poets who, according to the author, decided that sexual energy was everything (but did they really?) Here you will meet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, posing with his wombat but clutching only a few lines of poetry and several paintings, Algernon Swinburne, with a little more verse, but no real detailing of his lifestyle as he aged, Richard Burton who's background is never delved into, and more of the usual suspects with their usual motifs.

What you will not find much of is what the author claims in the introduction to provide--full, adequate context. But then, that would make for a much longer, more thoughtful book, which may not have been possible. The author does know her stuff, but uses a sort of cultural shorthand to communicate when a more nuanced view could have offered more insight into the subjects as real live individuals in a real live culture,-- not just cartoon, harmless libertines waltzing through a Victorian landscape of undifferentiated, unreasonable haters. By over-simplifying, Lutz can inadvertently distort. For one thing, she does not put into perspective that many of the subjects had mood disorders, and that there was no real remedy for this then, though there was always the self-awareness nullification of various addiction.

Perhaps Lutz is more interested into introducing new readers to cultural history and making it fun? At this she succeeds wonderfully. This book (which the author claims is made without a particular period point of view, which is pretty impossible,) strongly reminds this reviewer, of books on the same subject she had read in the 1970s. And these books led this reviewer on to read the letters, diaries and works of the subjects mentioned here, as well as much more about Victorian culture in general. In fact, led her to have read enough to be impatient with the caricatures presented here. Which does makes for an amusing irony.

I just finished this book, the first I have read by Patchett. I couldn't put it down. It was an interesting story with some minor twists, but I just was intrigued by the characters. I think anyone in pharma research will be extremely irritated by the portrayal of the industry and doctors, but I was able to ignore it and just enjoyed the book.

Here is an intelligent take on the last 30 years of America's(and the world's) financial history. It is intelligent because it does not look for easy heros or villains, it places every figure within the contexts that formed them, and it shows how good intentions, according to the subjects' value systems, underly most actions and points of view. This is smart financial, or any kind of, history.

It takes some courage these days for a writer who wants to be read to avoid caricture, invective and overly-simplified PowerPoint type reasoning. Therefore this reviewer highly recommends this written-for-laypeople guide to how our economy got to where it is now. The best lesson it teaches, which is well beyond any particular polictical opinion, is that when any pretty good idea(which may be the best falliable, limited human beings can come up with,) becomes an overarching ideology that keeps people from seeing reality, we can easily go off-track.

Almost as good as the pilot book, this installment sees Anita as the investigator and hunter we came to know and love. The Mother of All Darkness is trapped in an endless void without flesh. She's counting on Anita to shove over and let her take possession of her body. Anita would rather not. Enter the Harlequin, assassins of the undead kind and lethal by any measure. They are hunting weretigers and hoping to draw Anita into a battle royale that will result in the fulfillment of Mother's desires. This time it's not just about blood on fur...