Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

It's convenient to learn about upcoming events at home by visiting the Crawfordsville District Public Library website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us. Meeting rooms can be reserved at www.cdpl.lib.in.us/meetingrooms/rooms.html, and books can be renewed by emailing circ@cdpl.lib.in.us.

There are many library books that speak to ideas and theories. For instance, "The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry)" by Siva Vaidhyanathan explains how we have embraced "information" and exposes the dark side, raising red flags about issues of intellectual property; he proposes the construction of an Internet ecosystem designed to benefit the whole world and keep one company from falling into the "evil" it has pledged to avoid (its much-quoted motto, "Don't be evil"). "Turn & Jump" by Howard Mansfield refers to Thomas Edison before whom light and fire were thought to be one and the same. This book takes time and place, and shows how they, too, were once inseparable (before the railroads brought about the creation of time zones in 1883) and onward. Rob Bell's "Love Wins" is a book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived and the book's aim is to offer a richer, grander, and more spiritually satisfying way to understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. John Gray's "The Immortalization Commission" takes a look at humankind's dangerous striving toward a scientific version of immortality.

Here are new history books. Francis Fukuyama's "The Origins of Political Order" from pre-human times to the French Revolution brings fresh insights into the origins of democratic societies. "1861: The Civil War Awakening" by Adam Goodheart says inside the cover, "As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of our defining national drama, '1861' presents a gripping and original account of how the Civil War began". He sees how the period inspired a new generation to do the unthinkable in the name of an ideal. "Wait for Me!" is Deborah Mitford's memoir as the Duchess of Devonshire who had tea with Adolf Hitler, inherited vast estates, and brought a great house back to life in the 1960s' age of splendor.

Garrison Keillor's "Good Poems, American Places" is a new collection of poetry he's compiled about specific locations like Barbara Hamby's "Ode to Hardware Stores", W. S. Merwin's "227 Waverly Place", Howard Nemerov's "To His Piano." "She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey through Poems" is a group of selections chosen by and introduced by Caroline Kennedy. She commemorates her challenges and joys of being a woman in sections celebrating the important elements of life's journey.

Next: manuals. "100 Questions & Answers about Hip Replacement" from Stuart Fischer; "Long Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It" by J. L. Matthews; "The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide"; "The Guinness World Records 2011"; "Social Networking Spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything In Between" by Todd Kelsey; and "The Mayo Clinic Diet".

Wynonna Judd's first novel "Restless Heart" follows a girl seeking fame as a performing singer who has to pay the price but does reconnect with what matters most. "Room" by Emma Donoghue shows us the happy world of a child with make-believe roommates in his bedroom, as opposed to his mother's misery at being stuck there and knowing he can't be contained much longer. "Sing You Home" the story accompanied by a CD by Jodi Picoult has the theme "For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love."