Another well-written review from the folks at the Friends of the Library.

“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell (New book available at Ocean Shores Library).

By Andy Gruse

Outliers in statistics are so far out of the norm they are usually thrown away as data point mistakes. Outliers in this book are great successes or great failures. There are reasons and situations that enable people and events to be so phenomenally successful or unsuccessful compared to other outcomes.

An outlier is outside of normal experience. Pick a quality like being very, very rich or being very, very skillful. How did the Beatles become so proficient that they became one of the greatest rock bands?

Spencer Christian. “Spencer Christian’s Weather Book.” Prentice Hall, New York, 1993. (Available through inter-library loan from our Library.)  Website: http://www.osgov.com/library.html

By John R. Clark

For anyone curious about weather happenings, Spencer Christian’s compact text is top of the line. It is as relevant today as when it was written sixteen years ago. In 216 pages the author covers major factors including air, water, clouds, thunder, tornadoes and hurricanes, and then explains how weather is recorded and predicted. He does this in a style that is friendly but not at all condescending, explaining that he is “…trying to put a human face on weather.”

“Children of Jihad A Young American’s Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East,” by Jared Cohen 

(New book available at our Library, Website: http://www.osgov.com/library.html)

By Marlene Penry 

A young American graduate student is sitting in McDonald’s, in Beirut, Lebanon.  He is waiting to interview several young members of the Hezbollah terrorist group. They arrive wearing designer clothes.  They don’t mind that he is American, or that he is Jewish.

That is a typical scene from this book that will make you question your perceptions of the Middle East.  

“Wild Trees: a Story of Passion and Daring” (Random House, 2007) by Richard Preston

Reviewed by Betty Smith

Those of us who have had the honor of walking through old growth forest know the feel of the place—the spongy duff beneath our feet, the heady odor of the foliage, the flitting movement of birds and insects in the undergrowth–all are part of our experience as we move along the forest floor.  

And if we tip our head way back and look up as high as we can, what can we tell of the world at the top of the forest?  

Getting caught up, don’t think I’ve posted this excellent John Clark review that was in last week’s paper.

Jim Webb. “A Time to Fight. Reclaiming a Fair and Just America.” Broadway Books/Doubleday, New York, 2008. 

By John Clark

If you would like to understand the complex economic, political, and military cross currents of our Nation as the new millennium begins, this book is for you. The author examines our national dilemma, including economic troubles, widening gaps among classes of citizens, our confused foreign policy, and other aspects of national life. All this in concise prose in a comfortably paced book of a modest 255 pages.  

this just in:Bring your sweetie – it’s Library Lovers Month.  The Friends of the Library 2^nd Saturday Used Book Sale will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 14, at 710 Point Brown Ave. NE.  FREE childrens’ books!  10 CENT SALE on all other books (except hardbacks published since yr 2000). Time to build up your winter reading stock.  Proceeds help support Ocean Shores Library special programs, unfunded needs, and future Library Expansion.

The second review from members of the Friends of the Library. While the Friends are tackling these book reviews with their usual gusto, you don’t have to be a member to submit a book review to the North Coast News. Those interested in submitting a review, but not quite sure how to write one, can use the following as a guideline. She gives a summary of the plot (without giving away too much), uses a well-chosen excerpt to give readers the flavor of the writing, neatly captures the author’s body of work, has some sharply crafted phrases of her own (“seems to be on the other side pressing against the back of the book”) . . . bravo!:

By C. Dingler

In the claustrophobic world of P.D. James’ latest Dalgliesh book, “A Private Patient,” doors are often double-locked. Yet there is no security at the elegant private clinic at Cleverell Manor. 

Murder intrudes, changing everything. Memories of long ago murders cannot be locked out either. The reader follows Police Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his assistants from one door to the next. Within sight of the Manor, a ring of stones stands, closed and secretive. Legend says that a woman was burned there as a witch. Now another woman, an investigative reporter, who has flung open doors to reveal the secrets of others, is herself murdered. 

Members of the Friends are helping us through the cold, dark, stormy winter (well, not today . . .) with reviews of books perfect for cozying up to the fireplace. Here’s the first, published in last week’s paper, written by Andrew Gruse:

 ”The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell

How a does a little effort bring about big changes? What caused the Ocean Shores city government to get radically changed? How did the entire Weatherwax get saved? This book is almost a textbook on how things like this happen.