Nonfiction Friday: Father's Day

Dads are so hard to buy things for, right? This year, Father's Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 16th. If you're still scrambling for a last-minute present, consider this: Knowledge is a gift, and books hold knowledge, so with any luck, dad might be happy with a considerate reading recommendation. We can help you out there!

Touching My Father's Soul: A Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest by Jamling Tenzing Norgay.
Call number: 796.522092 NORGAY J

The son of the first Sherpa to climb Mt. Everest recalls his father's amazing journey to the top of the world.

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan.
Call number: 817.6 GAFFIGAN

Comedian and hot-pocket hater Gaffigan hilariously describes the ups and downs of raising five kids.

After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey.
Call number: 921 HAINEY M

Years after his journalist father dies tragically on the streets of Chicago, Hainey seeks to uncover the truth surrounding the untimely, mysterious death.

My Father at 100 by Ron Reagan.
Call number: 921 REAGAN R

Nancy and Ronald's son recalls all the qualities that made his father not only a great leader, but a loving caregiver and family man.







And here are a couple bonus books for the kids (or dads who are young at heart) which remind us that comic books are often considered nonfiction graphic art—though at our library, we give them their own sections!

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown.
Call number: J GRAPHIC STAR WARS

In a galaxy far, far away, Darth Vader takes an active role in raising his son, Luke Skywalker.






Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown.
Call number: J GRAPHIC STAR WARS

Playfully re-imagined Vader can't help but spoil his sweet little Princess Leia.

Book Light ON "Shades of Grey"

Shades of Grey: the Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde

Of all the possible "Shades of Grey" novels in the world, Jasper Fforde's is arguably the most original. Fforde, the man behind two highly creative ongoing series, Thursday Next and Nursery Crime Division, is a prolific, inventive writer with a knack for enveloping his readers in strangely familiar worlds that are comfortable and recognizable, but juuuust eerie and off-putting enough that you know they're fated to fall apart.

Fforde's dystopian world of Chromatacia is divided by a hierarchy of hues (a Colortocracy), with those members of each group being able to see a disparagingly limited amount of natural colors. Our narrator, Eddie Russett, is a red and aside from synthetic colors generated to be seen by everyone, he can only see various shades of his house hue. The grass, the sky, a daffodil all appear black, gray, or white to him unless they are synthetically colorized to be seen by every person in the hierarchy except the achromatic greys. The motto of this color divided world? Apart we are together. It's clear that the residents of Chromatacia aren't exactly human — their pupils never dilate, so no one can see in the dark. The other weird thing is that viewing specific color swatches can heal sicknesses, while others can offer narcotic-like sensations, make one hear symphonic music, and even quicken or cause death.

In addition to the segregation of color perceptions, Eddie's world strictly adheres to rules, which from our viewpoint as readers are ridiculously arbitrary. For example, no new spoons can ever be manufactured, so like titles and estates, spoons are passed down when elderly family members die. No one can marry a complementary color, so Eddie knows better than to fall for a green girl. Greys, people with no natural color perception, are relegated to a life of menial labor and are undesirable marriage partners. Most disturbingly, the world has no facts — the rules are the only facts that society thinks are necessary for its citizens to know.

Eddie has lived his whole life observing the harmony of the Colortocracy's status quo, but when he's sent to the Outer Fringes of society, the delicate weave of the rules begins to fray and unravel. He meets a vicious, violent, lovely Grey girl named Jane, a man who by the rules can be seen by everyone but must be treated as if he doesn't exist, and enough rule benders to realize that the insignificant weight of a question is enough to make the entire system break.

This book marks the start of a new Fforde series (YESSS!), with the publication date of book 2, Shades of Grey: Painting by Numbers as yet unannounced.

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron is available throughout our system in hardcover, large-print hardcover, MP3 playaway, and audio book, as well as downloadable e-book and audiobook formats through the Wisconsin Digital Library.

-Abby, Reference Librarian

Nonfiction Friday: Dairy Month!

Mukwonago may be the place of the bear, but since the 1850s, Wisconsin has established itself as the place of the cow. For this week's Nonfiction Friday, we're focusing on the industry that has made us proud to be "The Dairy State."

Creating Dairyland: How Caring for Cows Saved Our Soil, Created Our Landscape, Brought Prosperity to our State, and Still Shapes Our Way of Life in Wisconsin by Edward Janus.
Call number: 636.2142 JANUS

A history of over a century and a half of dairy farming and cheese making, complemented by historical photographs. Written by former dairyman and journalist Ed Janus.

The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin by James Norton and Becca Dilley.
Call number: 637.309775 NORTON

Meet the master cheesemakers of Wisconsin who have a hand in crafting nearly 600 varieties of artisinal cheese. Beautiful photographs add insight to their work.

Wisconsin Cheese: A Cookbook and Guide to the Cheeses of Wisconsin by Martin Hintz and Pam Percy.
Call number: FOOD 641.3735 HINTZ

Learn the best ways to enjoy that real Wisconsin cheese.

And one for the kiddos in our community...
Clarabelle: Making Milk and So Much More by Cris Peterson.
Call number: JUV 636.2142 PET

Kids can learn what life is like for a Wisconsin dairy cow and her calf.

Nonfiction Friday: Memorial Day

The library will be closed on May 27 in observation of Memorial Day. While many look forward to the holiday for its pleasant weather and grill-fueled cookouts, it’s important to remember that Memorial Day represents significantly more than a free day off.

There are countless amazing books (fiction and nonfiction) about the hardships of war which honor the sacrifice of those who died in service to the United States. We've highlighted a few nonfiction titles from our collection that add impact to the conflicts that have changed the course of human history.

Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers.

Call number: 940.5426 BRA

Also available @your library in large print (LP 940.5426 BRA) and e-audio book on Wisconsin’s Digital Library. This classic title was adapted into a feature film (DVD FLAGS OF OUR), directed by Clint Eastwood.

The true story behind the famous WWII photograph of 6 Marines raising the American flag at Iwo Jima.

We Were Soldiers Once … And Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.

Call number: 959.704 MOORE

Also available @your library in large print (LP 959.704 MOO) and as a feature film (DVD WE WERE SOLDIERS) starring Mel Gibson. Holds can be placed on audio books from other CAFÉ libraries.

A gritty account of the first major ground battle in the Vietnam War.

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell with John Bruning.

Available as an e-book or e-audio book on Wisconsin’sDigital Library. Hard copies and audio books are available throughout the CAFÉ system.

A personal account of over a year of almost continuous fighting in the Hindu Kesh of Afghanistan.

And one for the kiddos in our community...
The Wall by Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Ronald Himmler.
Call number: E BUNTING E
Numerous copies are available throughout the CAFÉ system.

A father brings his son to the Vietnam Memorial to find the name of the boy's grandfather, who died in the conflict.

Book Light ON "Bring up the Bodies"

We’re starting a new feature on our blog that just might keep you up at night. Book Light will illuminate the reading materials that we just cannot put down, even if it means losing a little sleep. We apologize for any rough mornings our recommendations might cause!

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Let me start by saying, I am obsessed with the Tudors. But even if I wasn’t, I still would not be able to put down 2012 Man Booker Prize winner Bring up the Bodies. It seriously doesn’t even matter if you’ve read Mantel’s Wolf Hall, the stunning predecessor to Bring up the Bodies, which also won a Man Booker; jumping into this historical fiction account of the downfall of Anne Boleyn is enthralling, and the story is so well known that it hardly needs an introduction (but indulge me, because I’ll give you a little of it anyway).

In failing to give Henry VIII a male heir and having a notoriously high-and-mighty personality with a sharp tongue to boot, the doomed Queen Anne has quickly worn out her welcome. When the king takes a keen interest in the lady Jane Seymour, he quickly (and mercilessly) makes it Thomas Cromwell’s job to bring Anne down, and boy, does he know how to do it. Accused of countless acts of adultery, treason, and the unspeakable crime of incest, Anne finds herself fighting not just for the king’s favor, but for her life. We all know how this story ends (SPOILER ALERT: she crashes and burns on an epic level), but that doesn’t make the trip there any less suspenseful. Though the history is familiar, the eyes through which we see it are not. The awesome twist in both Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies is that they offer a fresh, fascinatingly foreign take on the timeless Tudor scandals. By retelling the story through Cromwell, an actual man who served as a powerful adviser to the king, Mantel makes a well-known tale as fresh and raw as it’s ever been. Even better, she recreates Cromwell in a more sympathetic light than historical sources have typically done, so we see how very much he has gained and understand how much he has to lose.

Bring up the Bodies is the second book of the planned Wolf Hall trilogy. Mantel is working on The Mirror & the Light, which will inevitably end the tale of Cromwell's rise to power with his bloody downfall. I know it's coming, but I've grown so fond of him over the first two books of the trilogy that I already dread the thought of his demise. 

Bring up the Bodies is available throughout our library system in hardcover, large-print hardcover, audio book, and MP3 playaway. And I know I said you don’t have to have read Wolf Hall to enjoy Bring up the Bodies, but both books are awesome, so don’t hesitate to pick up the pair. Wolf Hall is available throughout our system in hardcover, large-print hardcover, and audio book (both CD and eAudio formats).

-Abby, Reference Librarian

Pulitzer Prize Winners 2013

The Pulitzer Prize Board announced its annual list of winners on April 15th! We’re pleased to say we have many of the Letters winners living on our shelves, and of course nearly all of them are available throughout our county-wide system. How many of the winners and finalists have you read?

Fiction winner
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

Fiction nominees

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

History winner
Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and theMaking of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

History nominees

The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America:The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675 by Bernard Bailyn

Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History by John Fabian Witt

Biography/Autobiography winner
The Black Count: Glory,Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

Biography/Autobiography nominees

Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of anAmerican Masterpiece by Michael Gorra

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times ofJoseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw

Poetry winner
Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds

Poetry nominees

Collected Poems by the late Jack Gilbert

*The Abundance of Nothing by Bruce Weigl

Nonfiction winner
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall,the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

Nonfiction nominees

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in aMumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell

* The Abundance of Nothing is the only title to which we do not have direct access, but no worries — it’s still available through Interlibrary Loan!

Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge

Ring in the New Year with Goodreads and the 2013 Reading Challenge! 

If you haven’t heard of Goodreads.com, it is a website that allows you to rate the books you have read, keep track of the books you have read or wish to read, make lists of favorite authors and books, find trivia quizzes and quotes, and communicate with other book lovers and friends.  Using Goodreads.com is simple and membership is free.  Simply, go here to set up an account.

As for the 2013 Reading Challenge, simply set a goal, any goal, as low or high as you want, and Goodreads will track your progress.  Goodreads.com will let you know when you’re falling behind and when you’re ahead!  In 2012, 303,232 Goodreads' participants pledged to read 17.8 million books.  So challenge yourself this year with a reading goal!  To learn more about the reading challenge go here.

Recently Added Video Games!

December's Staff Picks

The Mukwonago Community Library features staff picks for each month of the year! December’s featured staff members are Tammy and Elaine. You can find their picks at the library by the windows behind the Reference desk or right here below:

Tammy’s Picks

NON FICTION
Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale by Gwen Cooper
No Angel by Jay Dobyns
Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer Holland
Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farms by Jon Katz
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Burke and John Rendall
Bad Dog by Richard Rosen
Taste of Home Budget Suppers
Fix-It and Forget-It; 5 Ingredient Favorites

FICTION
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel
Milwaukee Winters Can Be Murder by Kathleen Anne Barrett
Ricochet by Sandra Brown
Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
Lethal Seduction by Jackie Collins
Marker by Robin Cook
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
Sinner by Tess Gerritsen
Bad Love by Jonathan Kellerman
Cell by Stephen King
Natural Causes by Michael Palmer
Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

Elaine’s Picks
The Camel Club by David Baldacci
Death of a Chimney Sweep by M.C. Beaton
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
I’ll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark
Lights Out Tonight by Mary Higgins Clark
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Tail Spin by Catherine Coulter
The Spy by Clive Cussler
The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen
The Partner by John Grisham
Damage Control by Judith A Jance
Die in Plain Sight by Elizabeth Lowell
Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Now You See Her by James Patterson
Killer View by Ridley Pearson
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Sisters by Danielle Steel
The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer
Force of Nature by C.J. Box
Mortal Prey by John Sandford
Sidney Sheldon’s After the Darkness by Tilly Bagshawe

Green Bay Packers: Trials, Triumphs, and Tradition

If you like the Packers then come to the library Thursday, Nov. 29th at 7:00.  Award-winning author Bill Povletich drops by to discuss his newest book “Green Bay Packers: Trials, Triumphs, and Tradition.”  In it, he tells the improbable story of professional football’s most iconic team, and along the way gives a unique window into the rise of modern professional sports.

Parade of Bears Silent Auction

Stop in the library from now thru Saturday, Dec. 1st and take a look at the bears that various businesses and organizations in Mukwonago have made.  Vote for and bid on your favorite bear!  Bidding starts at $50.00.  Auction ends Saturday, Dec. 1st at 6:00pm.  Proceeds go to the Band Shell Fundraiser.

Midnight Magic

All Aboard For An Electric Christmas

December 1 2012, 10am to Midnight

Pictures with Santa

Proceeds to benefit Life’s Connection

10am-1pm & 5pm- 8pm

$10 per picture

Sponsored by and held at You-Nique Photography

The Enchanted Gingerbread Forest

At the Garden Mart

10am- 10pm

Sponsored by Jane Walters, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, & Wal-Mart

Alaskan Malamute Dog Sled Pull

At Greenridge Center (Bay View Rd & Greenwald Ct)

10am- 3pm

Sponsored by The Boneyard Pub & Grille, Bucky’s Fine Meats and Sausage, Mario’s Natural Roman Pizza, & Affordable Cuts

Marketplace/Craft Fair

At Parkview Middle School

10am- 8pm

$2 admission for adults 18 & older

Sponsored by Safeway Pest Management, Triple R Computer Solutions LLC & Fork in the Road

Vintage Baseball Game

To be played at Field Park

12pm- 1:30pm

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides

At Field Park

4pm- 10:45pm

$5 per person/ $15 per family

Sponsored by Citizens Bank of Mukwonago Community Library

Christmas Parade

Starts at 3pm

Sponsored by Johnson Bank

Tree lighting at the library immediately following the parade

Live Nativity Scene (Live actors and animals)

At St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

410 Hwy NM West

Presentations: 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm & 7:30pm

Children’s Activity Area, Live Music, Free Refreshments

Holiday Entertainment

At Mount Olive Church

5pm- 9pm

Fireworks

9pm

Sponsored by John’s Disposal & BK Home Inspection

East Troy Electric Railroad’s Santa Train

4pm- 8pm

Limited tickets now available at the Mukwonago and East Troy Chamber Offices

$10 per person/ 4 for $35

Sponsored by The East Troy Electric Railroad

Parade of the Bears Silent Auction

At Mukwonago Community Library

Nov.23- Dec. 1 (closing at 6pm)

Stop by to bid on your favorite bear

More info: 262-363-7758 or www.mukwonagochamber.org

Courtesy of Mukwonago Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Center and Mukwonago Publications

Calling All Bakers!

We need cookies and treats!  As part of the Midnight Magic Celebration on Saturday December 1^st, the Friends of the Mukwonago Community Library will be having a bake sale in the community room.  Volunteer to bake or help sell cookies.  Sign up at the circulation desk or call the library at 262-363-641.  Please bring your baked goods to the library by Friday, November 30.

November's Staff Picks

The Mukwonago Community Library features staff picks for each month of the year! November’s featured staff members are Ann and Amanda. You can find their picks at the library by the windows behind the Reference desk or right here below:

Amanda’s Picks
Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Future of Us by Jay Asher
Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco
Fat Cat by Robin Brande
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Matched by Ally Condie
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles
Looking For Alaska by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend by Cora Harrison
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Ripple by Mandy Hubbard
Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
XVI by Julia Karr
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt
Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
My Family For the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak



Ann’s Picks
The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Durable Goods, Joy School and True to Form by Elizabeth Berg
Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg
Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series* by Philip R. Craig
The Passage by Justin Cronin
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver
Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
The Nazi Officers Wife: how one Jewish woman survived the Holocaust
     by Edith Hahn-Beer
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Unbroken: a World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption
     by Laura Hillenbrand
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Patty Jane’s House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
In the Garden of Beasts: love, terror and an American family in
     Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Bite Me: a love story by Christopher Moore
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
You Suck: a love story by Christopher Moore

Creepers by David Morrell
What Remains: a novel of fate, friendship and love
     by Carole Radziwill
Contact by Carl Sagan
A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
Montana 1948: a novel by Larry Watson
Kill Me by Stephan White