Saturday, August 24, 2002

The Cabinet of Curiosities  (book review) by Douglas J. Preston, Lincoln Child This novel begins with the discovery of 130-year-old murders in New York City. The excavation for a new apartment building reveals the remains of 36 people. This site was once the home for a “Cabinet of Curiosities” - a collection of scientific artifacts - the precursor to today’s natural history museums. When similar murders start taking place, the community and police start to take the initial murders more seriously. Is a copycat killer at work? Or could the original murderer still be alive? Did the scientist who lived above the Cabinet of Curiosities discover the secret to immortality? Preston's and Child's characters Agent Pendergast, Dr. Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback, are brought back together from previous books to pursue the serial killer. With strong, interesting characters, the authors deliver a gripping story. Although it is considered a horror story by many, the storyline doesn't concentrate on grisly details. The story moves along with short, suspenseful chapters and unexpected plot twists. If you are squeamish, you should know there are a few passages that are very graphic. Yet you can skip over these gory details and still not lose the essence of the story. This combination of history and mystery produce an extraordinary scientific thriller. I usually don't like horror stories, but I've read all eight of the Preston and Child books and find them hard to put down. As a bonus, the authors' web site - www.prestonchild.com - contains an alternate epilogue to the story. (Kate Z) You can see if this book is available by checking the SWAN Library Catalog.   12:12:03 PM    comments? [] Watch Your Mailboxes The Fall edition of the Library newsletter should be in the mail this week.  In it you'll find a listing of all our upcoming programs. 10:55:04 AM    comments? [] This is an interesting idea: 1000 Journals. 1000 Journals http://www.1000journals.com/www.1000journals.com/"One thousand blank journals are traveling from hand to hand throughout the world. Those who find them will add stories and drawings and then pass them along." Already some intriguing results are posted here. [Marylaine Block's Neat New Sites] There is also a site like this for books - www.bookcrossing.com It's a global book club that crosses time and space. It's a reading group that knows no geographical boundaries. Do you like free books? How about free book clubs?. Well, the books our members leave in the wild are free... but it's the act of freeing books that points to the heart of BookCrossing. Book trading has never been more exciting, more serendipitous, than with BookCrossing. Our goal, simply, is to make the whole world a library. BookCrossing is a book exchange of infinite proportion, the first and only of its kind. [From Bookcrossing]   10:38:04 AM    comments? [] Since we have many residents who are Czech, I though you might find this article interesting Prague Floods Devastate City's Library and Archives [American Libraries Online - News of the Week] 10:16:55 AM    comments? [] Hi all - we're back from vacation 10:10:54 AM    comments? []

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