Archive for August, 2008
Book Review – “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy’s sixth novel, All the Pretty Horses (1992), is the first in his Border Trilogy, including The Crossing (1994) and Cities of the Plain (1998). All the Pretty Horses is a bildungsroman, or coming of age story, of John Grady Cole, the sixteen year-old protagonist. After Cole’s stage actress mother decides to sell her father’s ranch in Texas (Cole’s known and beloved world), Cole, and his friend, Lacey Rawlins, leave on their horses for Mexico. The year is 1948, they are unsure of what lies south of the border, but they expect to find adventure, and perhaps a life similar to the one Cole knew on his grandfather’s ranch. The adventures experienced by Cole and Rawlins, rival those in Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, set roughly 100 years before.
As they cross the Rio Grande, Cole and Rawlins are joined by Jimmy Blevins, a younger teenager who rides a presumably stolen, yet beautiful, horse, is a dead-aim with a uniquely constructed pistol, and is constantly in trouble. Blevins’s horse is stolen from him after a frightening thunderstorm, Cole and Rawlins aid Blevins in retrieving it, with Blevins killing a man in the process.
Separating from Blevins along the way, Cole and Rawlins come upon the vast ranch of the wealthy Don Hector Rocha y Villareal. They are hired to herd and break wild horses. One of the most beautiful passages in the book, if not in much of contemporary American literature, are the scenes of the two boys breaking a group of wild horses, with several ranch hands looking on, earning their respect.
Cole predictably falls in love with Don Hector’s beautiful daughter, Alejandra, who divides her time between her father’s ranch and her mother’s home in Mexico City. Cole and Rawlins soon are arrested and banished from the ranch on grounds of aiding Blevins for stealing a horse, a severe crime. Cole and Rawlins are sent to a Mexican prison. Some of the novel’s most violent passages, a theme familiar to McCarthy readers, take place here. Miraculously, they survive and are released from prison. Rawlins returns to Texas, Cole goes back to the ranch to reclaim his love with Alejandra. Cole is, at best, coldly received at Don Hector’s ranch. He is verbally resisted by the Duena Alfonsa, Alejandra’s great-aunt, from reestablishing relations with Alejandra. The Duena Alfonsa lectures Cole on the historical impossibilities of why his relationship with Alejandra can never manifest. Her long and philosophical litany teaches Cole that one may not get what one desires, even if he is determined to attain it, and in spite of an honorable and virtuous life. Sometimes, one gets what he gets because Fate doles out what she does. With no choice in the matter, and no reasons to stay in Mexico, Cole begins his long journey back to Texas, beginning a life of introspection and ambiguity.
Cole’s life back in Texas partially sets the stage for the final novel in the Border Trilogy, Cities of the Plain. All the Pretty Horses won The National Book Award for Fiction, and in 2007, Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel, The Road.
Join the Modern Classics Book Club this month at the Denton Public Library-North Branch, Wednesday September 10 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m., to discuss All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
(Reviewed by Doug Campbell, North Branch Senior Librarian)
Add comment August 30, 2008
New DVDs you can put a hold on
1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2. Fred Claus
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4. Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
5. Iron Man
6. Wall-E
Add comment August 26, 2008
All the Pretty Horses
Don’t forget to read All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy for the first meeting of the Modern Classics Book Club!
Wednesday, September 10, 7pm @ the North Branch
Add comment August 26, 2008
Good Book Club Read
Looking for a good read for your book club?–I highly recommend Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. A fictional account of the true affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney, Loving Frank focuses on both the inner and public struggle of Mamah as she tries to live an honest, modern life after abandoning her husband and three children to be with Wright. Even though the protagonists’ egocentricism makes sympathizing with them nearly impossible, Horan’s masterful prose engages the reader in the characters’ emotional, intellectual, and ultimately tragic story.
-Dana Zakrzewski
Add comment August 26, 2008
Water Works Party
Our 2008 Summer Reading Club ended with a splash last Saturday at the city’s Water Works park. It was a chilly night (finally), but over 700 people attended! Summer reading club is over, but with over 4,000 participants this year, it was definitely a success. We could not have had such a great program without the sponsorship of the Friends of the Library, Northstar Bank and Denton Municipal Electric. We are looking forward to Summer Reading Club 2009!
Add comment August 21, 2008
Romance in the Stacks – August 2008
Looking for a fun place to discuss Romance Fiction?
Join “Romance in the Stacks” book discussion group at the South Branch Library as we talk about what you love about romance fiction.
Every 3rd Monday of the month at 7:00 pm we discuss a new romance author and what is new and exciting in romance fiction.
On August 18th we will discuss Barbara Michaels and Gothic Romance.
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09/15/08 Discuss Elizabeth Lowell and Adventure Romance |
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New and Upcoming Romance Titles to Put on Hold Today:
Dark Curse (The Carpathians Series) by Christine Feehan
The Edge of Desire by Stephanie Laurens
Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Chageling, Book 5) by Nalini Singh
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2) by Julia Quinn
Noah (Nightwalkers, Book 5) by Jacquelyn Frank
Seduce Me at Sunrise (The Hathaways, Book2) by Lisa Kleypas
For more information please contact Kimberly Wells at 940-349-8796 or kimberly.wells@cityofdenton.com
Add comment August 15, 2008
First Day Jitters
If you have ever had a child or been a child experiencing the first day of school, you know how exhilerating or traumatizing it can be. If your child is nervous about starting kindergarten or preschool, there are so many great books about the subject that you and your child can share. Many of these are also great for the kids who look forward to school, but change their minds once they get there:
Billy and the Big New School by Laurence Anholt
Look Out, Kindergarten, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson
I am too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Childs
Kindergarten Rocks! By Katie Davis
Chicken Chickens Go to School by Valeri Gorbachev
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Off to School, Baby Duck! By Amy Hest
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
Vera’s First Day of School by Vera Rosenberry
Jake Starts School by Michael Wright
Look at all of our first day of school books here.
2 comments August 15, 2008
What we are reading
Here’s what the DPL staff has been reading lately:
The Mind Map Book: How to use radiant thinking to maximize your brain’s potential by Tony Buzan. I’ve really enjoyed learning this method for mapping out my thoughts. You start out with a central image, and with a method similar to brainstorming, put down words you associate with the central image. You can use it to take notes, make decisions, write stories, and many other things. I highly recommend this book, and has helped me organize my thoughts in a fun way. –Kayci
Made in the USA by Billie Letts – Her first book “Where the Heart Is”, was made into a move with Natalie Portman. Her next book Honk and Holler Opening Soon followed by Shoot the Moon were great. This book is her latest and is so fun to read. It’s believable light humor and refreshing. –Jill
The Simple Truth by David Baldacci – fast paced thriller, keeps you turning the pages! -Jill
Airhead by Meg Cabot. Cabot does it again, teens and celebrity gossip loving adults will get great laughs from this chick lit novel incorporating an ordinary teen age girl, a super model’s body and the high price of fame. –Juli
Quiet, Please: Dispatches From a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas. While not all library experiences match Douglas’s, he makes it easy for a library insider to relate to his daily work life and gives outsiders some insight into our often overlooked profession. -Dana
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George. This is a continuation of Thomas Lynley’s story – his wife has been murdered and he works through his grief by walking around the English coastline, where (of course) he gets involved in another murder. American writer George eerily captures the English culture. -Terri
Robert Frost: A Life by Jay Parini. Parini’s well-researched and insightful biography of Frost (Parini also wrote biographies of William Faulkner and John Steinbeck) has enriched my reading experience with Frost’s collection of poems, some familiar and some new to me. This is a nice introduction to perhaps America’s best-known poet and his poetry. -Doug
Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb. Brooding, charismatic characters and complex unique plots are the signature of Hobb’s dark fantasy series, the final book in the Soldier Son trilogy does not disappoint. -Kimberly
The Dain Curse, The Glass Key, and Other Selected Stories by Dashiell Hammett. I love noir fiction and films, and Hammett’s work inspired one of my favorite movies, the Coen Brother’s Miller’s Crossing. -Stephanie
Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell. Another nail-biting Kay Scarpetta Murder Mystery! In this one, Dr. Scarpetta and her niece, Lucy, are being stalked by a poetry-writing psychopath!!!!! -Celina
Add comment August 11, 2008
Teen Book Reviews – By Teens 4 Everyone!
Hana-Kimi by: Hisaya Nakajo
This series is one of my favorites because it’s very romantic, has a lot of drama, school life and is very enjoyable. The main character is Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl who lives in the United States. The story is about her being attracted to one of the high jump competitors, Izumi Sano. She saw him in track and field competition on TV. She starts to like him because he’s a young athlete and decides to transfer to an all boys’ school in Japan, to meet this precious athlete, Sano. Even though her wanting Sano put her in the all boys’ school, the story has a lot of twists and turns. And although she wants Sano and is in love with him, she has to face a lot of things and troubles are always ahead of her. This has a lot of things that we go through in school like peer pressure, romance, and wanting to be someone that everyone likes in school. I loved this book because I can understand what the main character has to go through. And the author did a really good job making this book with words and pictures. Hope you enjoy this book.
Reviewed by: Cali
1 comment August 7, 2008
