TitleTales

Zombies I Have Loved: by Heather Ji

Young Adult post—06/22/09
We are in the heyday of the paranormal romance, and you can’t swing a backpack in the teen section of your library without hitting a book about vampires or zombies. If you want to have a little fun with the phenomenon, try some of these young adult spoofs and irreverent takes on the stories of the undead. There are guides to dating, such as The Vampire’s Just Not That Into You, great reads like Suck It Up, or completely different books like Zombie Haiku. Or how about this—suggest a project comparing Jane Austen writing about zombies in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with Jane Austen as a zombie in Jane Bites Back! So many undead, so little time…

• Browse our Undead Humor for Teens list

Guides for Gamers: by Kathryn Lynip

Nonfiction post—06/22/09
My local library is joining many others in considering a Video Game collection. I am of the gaming generation but somehow never got into gaming, so now that I’m curious I find that strategy guides are the necessary first step for me to delve into games. For this blog I have included gaming guides for some of the most popular games and platforms. I hope that those of you who are collecting or considering collecting games will carry these guides as well for those of us who need a little extra help. Collected here you will find such gaming guides as Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, the many incarnations of Final Fantasy, and Madden NFL. The corresponding games have also been included. We do offer standing order plans for some of these guides such as Pokemon, Sims and Dungeons and Dragons, and there is a section of Adult What’s New every season that contains forthcoming gaming guides.

• Browse our Video Games and Gaming Guides list

Titles Ideal for Summer Listening: by Trisha Rigsby

Music post—06/05/09
Every summer I have plans that include music, and this year is no different. I will attend two outdoor Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances and one of Chicago’s many neighborhood festivals. I will catch up on my listening. Other than an unexpected fascination for a certain reality show, my progress is excellent, and I’ve made a list of some of the music I’m spending my summer with. I love “Restless Days” by The Carters for Steve Earle and Tom Petty fans. In Americana, Son Volt is back with “American Central Dust,” and it’s their best work since “Trace.” Debuts from indie rock bands Passion Pit and Cage the Elephant and “La Revolucion” by reggaeton duo Wisin y Yandel are upbeat and ideal for summer. The release of Mos Def’s “The Ecstatic” was delayed various times but is worth the wait. The self-titled record from hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot takes me back to the 80’s. The Tony-winning soundtrack “Next to Normal” is surprising and enjoyable. The Emerson String Quartet is one of my favorites, and “Intimate Letters” succeeds on every level. I’ll have more recommendations for you as the season advances.

• Browse our Music: Picks for Summer 2009 list

Interview: Stephan Talty

Stephan Talty is a widely published journalist who has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Men’s Journal, Time Out New York, Details, and many other publications. He is the New York Times best-selling author of Empire of Blue Water and Mulatto America: At the Crossroads of Black and White Culture. His latest release is The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon’s Greatest Army.

• Browse our list of featured titles by Stephan Talty

BWI: What is it about Napoleon that continues to draw interest? Is it his deeds, his character or the wonderment of what might have been if he had succeeded?

ST: It’s his audacity, first and foremost. He was relentless in how he dared himself to take on the next enemy and I think people respond to that refusal to turn away from challenges, even if he should have.

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