Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

The Crawfordsville Library continues to receive much appreciated literary donations for its collection. Isobel Arvin, President of the Library Board has donated "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt". This large book presents the local culture and design concepts including photographs of work from the African American community in Alabama that was exhibited at 12 major museums in 2002, sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In memory of JoAnn Zach, the Antique Study Club has contributed Monica and Patricia Clements' catalog "Cobalt Blue Glass" a Schiffer Book for Collectors explaining its historic background, and picturing the wide variety of objects made from this favorite ore.

Denis Dutton's "The Art Instinct" unites two disciplines, art and evolutionary science (or instinct), extending the arts to music to literature to pottery, saying our love of beauty is inborn and individual, defying cultural limits. "Portraits of the Mind" by Carl Schoonover shows pictures of the brain, and he says the "fleshy brain is more than enough, that it contains the multitudes and machinery necessary to explain the wonder of our existence." "The Human Brain Book" is more of a textbook by Rita Carter, to show its structure, function, and disorders.

"One Hundred Portraits" engraved by Barry Moser makes us study carefully the faces he chooses to present. His 1999 edition of the King James Bible and his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are other examples of his heralded work. Mariam Rosser-Owen has issued "Islamic Arts from Spain" full of intricate photographs from the Victoria and Albert Museum, proving the long-lasting influence of Islamic Spain on world-wide decorative arts in buildings and objects. Another kind of delight is "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece" by Gail Callahan in chapters "Fibers to Dye For", "No-Fear Dyeing", "Your Dye Studio", and "Show-Off Patterns".

Next, come patrons' requests, Susan Phillips' novel "Call Me Irresistible" uses her characters from former books in a romantic, funny, poignant new plot. James Patterson's "Tick Tock" lures us with "NYC's #1 detective…has a huge problem - the Son of Sam, the Werewolf of Wisteria, and the Mad Bomber are all back. The city has never been more terrified!" Tami Hoag's "Secrets to the Grave" says of a murder victim, "…had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her." "Fatal Error" by Judith Jance shows an overburdened young woman with an early shift at her family's restaurant, days studying at the Arizona Police Academy, and an old friend's sudden presence asking for help.

Piers Anthony's (differently-spelled) "Knot Gneiss" must also be introduced with the quote, "Wenda Woodwife expected to live Happily Ever After once a magical spell turned her carved wooden body into lovely human form and won her the heart of the dashing Prince Charming." "Love, Honor, and Betray" by Kimberla Roby lures us with "The Reverend Curtis Black's wife Charlotte, is angry. Her life has been turned upside down and someone has to pay." "How to Bake a Perfect Life" by Barbara O'Neal explores the complex relationships between mothers and daughters.