Is it snake oil or bona fide advice? This is a question that runs through my mind every time I pick up a self-help book. I don’t want to waste time reading a book that, in the end, will have little or no impact on my life.

I found The Key by Joe Vitale both interesting and helpful. Its utility for you depends on whether you find books about the law of attraction useful, or even believable. If you are at all familiar with The Secret and found it relevant, you will probably like the message of The Key: The Missing Secret for Attracting Anything You Want. The author, Joe Vitale - also one of the contributors to The Secret - details ways to attract the things you really want from life. Better still, the book provides indispensable techniques for making "attraction" work in your life.

The Key is unlike The Secret in that it adds or fleshes out important details for making this technique, termed "clearing", work. Your reading of The Key will lead you to at least fifteen exercises that illuminate the "clearing" technique. Demonstrated examples make it real and credible.

I am back to my initial question about such books. I have to say I learned a lot more about the law of attraction and now have a better idea about what the "Secret" really is. Was it worthwhile for me? Yes, as I at least gained a greater understanding. For you? Read it and let me know what you think.

Herb Malveaux - East Columbia Branch

Mark R. Millikin, author of The Glory of the 1966 Orioles and Baltimore, recreates the excitement and drama of Baltimore’s first World Series championship. He recounts fan memories, Frank Robinson’s signing, and news from local sports commentators of the era. Reading this engaging account brought back memories of attending ball games with my family at the “old” Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Elaine Johnson - Central Library

I became aware of author Jasper Fforde through a friend who had been reading The Eyre Affair. I picked it up when I had nothing on my reading list, and have adored Jasper Fforde ever since. The Eyre Affair introduces us to Thursday Next and an alternative world set in England in 1985. The Goliath Corporation rules most things and books are as big and entertaining as sports. Thursday is a book detective, protecting original manuscripts from those who would change them. I enjoyed this book because of the way in which it stresses the importance of  books and their entertainment value. It was also an exciting read, with lots of little inside jokes about classic books.

Lost In a Good Book, number two in the series, features more of Thursday’s time-jumping father, and her brilliant but eccentric inventor uncle, Mycroft. Thursday must save her husband from being erased from time and memory lest she lose him forever. She learns how to travel into the books themselves, which made my heart just ache with the desire for that to occur in real life. Thursday encounters all sorts of fictional characters who may or may not behave as they do in the books from which they come.

In the third installment, The Well of Lost Plots, Thursday temporarily lives as a character in a never-published book inside this selfsame "well" in order to escape the Goliath corporation. She must stop a fictional character who has entered her reality from releasing UltraWord, a sort of "upgraded" book. The sly humor continues as Fforde elbow-nudges us with crafty book references. Something Rotten and First Among Sequels comprise books four and five in the series.

Jasper Fforde is a great author for bookworms and for those who love good humor in their books. I do recommend that you read his books in the order they were published, because Fforde references previous books and even uses characters from the Thursday Next series in his spin-off series, Nursery Crime. These books are for anyone who has ever wanted to walk around inside their favorite book.

Jennifer Johnson - Glenwood Branch 

The semi-autobiographical work of the peerless Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous, is the story of William Miller, high-schooler and rock journalist. Miller’s local articles for Creem magazine, written under the tutelage of Rock n’ Roll journalist Lester Bangs, bring him to the attention of Ben Fong-torres of Rolling Stone magazine.

Assigned to review a Black Sabbath concert for Bangs, the childlike Miller (whose well-intentioned but clueless mother screams “Don’t take drugs” as he walks across the crowded parking lot to the venue) can’t even get into the gig until he earnestly confronts support band Stillwater and provides a comprehensive and passionate critique of their latest album. Convinced by his enthusiasm, Stillwater lets Miller cross the threshold backstage and allows him into their rock n’ roll universe. Fifteen-year-old Miller is down the rabbit hole before he knows it, and when Ben Fong-Torres calls to commission an article for Rolling Stone, the transition from writing concert reviews to total-immersion journalism is complete: Miller sets out on the 1973 Stillwater tour.

Almost Famous boasts a great cast. Jason Lee, pre-Earl, is Stillwater’s charismatic frontman, Jeff Beebe. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is outstanding as Miller’s rock n’ roll loving journalistic mentor, Lester Bangs. Frances McDormand is Miller’s psychology professor mother, and Billy Crudup is Stillwater’s lead guitarist, Russell Hammond. The dynamic between these two characters is central to the movie, as William’s mother is the only person for whom Hammond’s rock star status is not an issue, and who can challenge Hammond to behave responsibly.

Kate Hudson gives an unforgettable and career-making performance as Penny Lane, a “band aid” who tours with the group. Miller is understandably smitten with Lane, and the developing relationship between them is one of the central threads of the movie, as events force both characters to confront the reality of their circumstances.

There’s music, too. This is, after all, a movie about Rock n’ Roll. Almost Famous has a spectacular soundtrack of both contemporary and original songs. The movie also contains one of the greatest musical scenes ever captured on film, as the characters wordlessly reconnect with one another on their tour bus through the shared experience of music, in this case Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer."

This is a total-immersion movie that you’ll enjoy watching again and again. Check out Almost Famous today!

John Jewitt - Savage Branch

If you like Jodi Picoult, then you’ll like The Rest of Her Life, by Laura Moriarty. Kara Churchill, a popular high school senior, makes a mistake that ends in tragedy and instantly transforms her life. Her relationship with her family members becomes clear as the story unfolds. Kara’s mother, Leigh, tries almost too hard to get along with her, but never seems to do or say the right thing. Her father, Gary, seems to know instinctively how to comfort Kara, which makes Leigh feel inadequate as a mother. The family’s ordinary life gets turned upside down by just one moment of carelessness.

The small town in which the Churchills once felt comfortable is now a place that contributes to the fear and worry in their hearts. How will the community react to them? Should Kara be held resposible for her actions, or should her parents be included in the blame? The family of the teenage girl who was devastatingly affected by Kara’s actions wants her put in jail. Can forgiveness be found in any of their hearts? The relationships between friends and family members become entwined in ways they never knew could exist.

Laura Moriarty creates an eye-opening picture of how mothers and daughters with even the best intentions can do harm to one another. What would you do in the same situation? How would you feel? You won’t want to put this book down.

Michele Happel - Miller Branch

While America Aged details the collision between pensions and moral hazard. Sounds as dull as dishwater, doesn’t it? Think again.

In case you don’t know, moral hazard is what you get when two parties can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement that has to be paid for by a third party - who is often ignorant of the arrangement. In While America Aged, Roger Lowenstein examines three examples of this phenomenon. The first is the story of General Motors and it’s relationship with the UAW. The second outlines New York City’s relationship with it’s unions - the Transit Workers, in particular. In both cases, irresponsible pension commitments made by management resulted in financial catastrophe.

The third example is a bit different. It’s about the games played by tax-averse politicians in the city of San Diego with their employees’ pension funds. The result has been referred to as "Enron-by-the-sea."

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. For decades unions negotiated the pensions - and also health care - to make up for the shortcomings of a not very substantial social safety net. The original idea was that pensions were supposed to be a ticket to a secure future, not a ticket to insolvency.

However, granting a pay raise is an immediate expense. A pension commitment, by contrast, costs an employer nothing in the short run. So, when negotiating a contract, offering a higher pension to a union might induce workers to accept lower pay in exchange.

In the long run, though, promises must be kept and this is where moral hazard kicks in. Executives and officials who promised higher future benefits usually knew that they would be gone long before the bills for their promises came due. As for the recipients, they had been given a promise. How it would be paid was not really their problem. In all three cases examined in While America Aged, the result has been financial disaster.

"So what?" you may ask. Well, the subtitle of this book is, "How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis." That phrase, "next financial crisis" is why Mr. Lowenstein’s book is worth a read. If you like the subprime mortgage mess you’ll just love it when the Baby Boomers start lining up to collect their pensions.

Joe McHugh - Administration Office

Nancy Pearl, the librarian’s librarian (hey, she has her own action figure; this is library geekdom at its geekiest; check out her web site at www.nancypearl.com) writes a series of books called Book Lust to discuss some of her faves over her long and notable career in the library biz. I think any reader has experienced book lust on some level, but I’d like to bring up what I feel is a rarer bird altogether: book love. Love is ephemeral and elusive; and my dealings with book love have been few and far between. But quite recently I had it, that divine experience of a profound enjoyment and affection for a book: one that I’d add to that annoyingly banal "desert island" list everyone always seems to want me, and probably you, to have on the ready. My most recent love affair is with Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book. Oh, I know it has gotten rave reviews and it is always easier to root for a winning team, but this book is worth the hype.

The general story is about an Australian book restorer, Hanna Heath, who is called to work on the famous Sarajevo Haggadah, a rare illuminated Jewish text that was missing for several years. Hanna herself is an interesting character, and her investigation into the text provides mystery. There is a romantic storyline through her relationship with a librarian she meets while she is working with the Haggadah, and there is plenty of family drama in Hanna’s strained relationship with her mother. With all these story elements common to a "fun" read, the real surprises come in how beautifully and intelligently the book is written, and that Brooks takes the novel to yet another level through its structure.  Hanna’s story is interspersed with flashbacks telling the stories of all the other people who previously possessed the Haggadah.

Yes, I know this last bit is a pretty familiar device, but I have and will always have a soft spot in my heart since reading A.S. Byatt’s Possession (a "lovable" book in its own right, and Byatt only bounced between two story/time lines). Again, the magic of People of the Book comes from the beautiful writing. The flashback stories only work so well because they are clearly and compellingly written. Hanna’s story continues to be interesting because she is beautifully realized, more human than human in some ways.

The long and the short of it is I fell head over heels in love with this book. And like all true love, it is completely unselfish; I want to share this book with everyone. Just, please, please, remember to return my copy; I’ll need it for that blasted desert island.

Joanne Sobieck-Lingg - Central Library

The British TV show Hustle features con men who abide by a simple code - "You can’t con an honest man." There are two types of cons, the long-term con perfected by Mickey, the group’s defacto leader, and the short-term con, best pulled off by Danny, the newest member. As Danny learns from Mickey, we get to sit back and enjoy the fast-paced scenes. Every episode is full of plot twists that keep us rooting for the bad guys to fool the even worse guys. Howard County Library owns three seasons of the series.

If you like Hustle, you may also like the movie, Matchstick Men, rated PG-13. Nicholas Cage is a con man who has "issues." His partner is trying to get him to pull off the great con. His psychiatrist is reluctant to medicate him. And then he discovers that he may have a daughter. The audience never really knows who is the real target of the con. For those who prefer to read, check out the book, Matchstick Men by Eric Garcia.

Robert Bates- Glenwood Library

Of all the CDs in the Howard County Library, the Grey’s Anatomy albums are the ones I check out the most.  The original soundtrack from the first season, in particular,  is not just a great stress-buster, but also a montage of some truly great sounds.

The opening track, "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service, will have you levitating with tranquility off your living room couch but won’t keep you from enjoying the overwhelming energetic rush that follows with "Ruby Blue" by Roisin Murphy. If you don’t feel rhythm coursing through your entire body, then you might consider getting a doctor to look at you.

"Song Beneath the Song" picks up on the very mellow sounds of "Such Great Heights."  Don’t be scared by the word "mellow." This is the kind of peace that any busy person needs to unwind with at the end of the day. I promise you your mind won’t turn to mush.

Though the overall tone of the album is set by a fairly languid pace, no two numbers are exactly the same. "Where Does the Good Go?" is quirky and ironic while the live version of Ben Lee’s  "Catch my Disease" is light-hearted happiness.

I won’t take up too much of your time raving like a lovestruck lunatic. All I want to emphasize is how wonderful the original Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack is (as are the second and third ones!) How can you do justice to an album that features Rilo Kiley, Inara George ("Fools in Love" is heartbreaking!), The Ditty Bops and Get Set Go all on the same project??

Even as I write this, I’m listening to it…I’ve played the album so many times I’ve lost count. Beauty, sorrow, joy, peace, wacky instability…everything that makes the show so lovable is here on the soundtrack.

Check this out tonight and be kind to it in the morning! Be careful, though, that you don’t lose your heart to it too soon…

Angie Engles - Savage Branch

If you like military science fiction, then you’ll love R.M. Meluch’s novels of the U.S.S. Merrimack. They feature an unquestionably good guy, an intrinsically evil nemesis, and all the shades of gray in between. Many of Meluch’s characters are simply larger than life. Captain John Farragut is the charismatic leader who commands respect because he cares deeply about everyone on his ship. Marine Kerry Blue is the ship’s self-appointed morale officer, much to the dismay of her hard-headed superior. Jose Maria Cordillera, a Nobel prize-winning scientist and aristocrat, provides a sophisticated civilian influence. The Roman Augustus, a cyborg-like patterner, can sift and collate information at an inhuman rate with amazing results. These characters and many others lead you through adventures, and you root for them to succeed against the odds all the way.

The Tour of the Merrimack series contains three novels to date, including The Myriad, Wolf Star, and The Sagittarius Command. When the series begins, Earth has long established itself in space, complete with faster than light (FTL) travel. In an interesting twist, once Earth reached the stars, Rome re-created itself as an empire by claiming the planet Palatine and calling all true Romans home. Earth and Rome immediately declare war, each trying to bring its erring children back into the fold.

Against this background comes the Hive, a monstrous entity that exists only to devour all organic material in its path. The Hive learns from its fights, which reduces the Merrimack’s Marines to wielding swords. Necessity makes for strange bed partners, and the Hive forces Earth and Rome to unite uneasily against a common enemy. The fun has only begun.

Meluch gives her readers not just a good story, but interesting science, too. The first book, The Myriad, plays with time, paradoxes, and parallel universes. The ending is so wonderfully startling that I couldn’t wait to immediately begin the next. The series also offers ideas about intra-galactic travel, FTL, colonization, pacifism, and alien life forms. Meluch provides some fun aliens, including plant lizards as pets, and squid geneticists.

Read the three available books now, because a fourth Merrimack adventure is coming out this November.

Kristen Blount - Administration