Happy “Spring!”

Cherry Blossoms in the Snake River Canyon
(Photo 117; C.E. Bisbee; Twin Falls Public Library)

Today is the first day of what many of us look forward to after the the long winter – and, no, I’m not just talking about the NCAA Basketball tournament. It’s the first day of Spring, and while the Magic Valley didn’t have such a harsh winter, it’s always great to see the plants turning green. In honor of the equinox, the books listed below all have the word “spring” in the title. Pick one up and swing into the season.

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FICTION:

Another Spring – June Masters Bacher (Christian Romance)

Child of the Northern Spring – Persia Woolley (Historical Fantasy)

Come Spring – Tim F. LaHaye (Christian Historical Romance)

God of Spring – Arabella Edge (Historical Fiction)

Helliconia Spring – Brian Wilson Aldiss (Science Fiction)

Second Spring – Andrew M. Greeley (Historical Fiction)

Spring Cleaning Murders – Dorothy Cannell (Cozy Mystery)

Spring Flowers, Spring Frost – Ismail Kadare (Literary Fiction)

Spring of Souls – William Cobb (Contemporary Fiction)

Spring of the Ram – Dorothy Dunnett (Historical Fiction)

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NONFICTION:

Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World – Amy Seidl

If Only They Could Talk: The Miracles of Spring Farm – Bonnie Jones Reynolds

Into Cambodia: Spring Campaign, Summer Offensive – Keith W. Nolan

It Might as Well Be Spring: A Musical Autobiography – Margaret Whiting

The New Middle East: The World After the Arab Spring – Paul Danahar

Silent Spring – Rachel Carson

Spring Creeks – Mike Lawson

Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong – Ho Xuan Huong

Spring of Gladness: Reminiscences of Pioneer Life in the Wood River Valley – Mary Brown McGonigal

The Sultan of Spring: A Hunter’s Odyssey Through the World of the Wild Turkey – Bob Saile

Wear and Tear: Stop the Pain and Put the Spring Back in Your Step – Dr. Bob Arnot

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Take 10: Empowering Women

March is National Women’s History Month, which is a great time to consider not just the women who have made a difference in our lives, but how they did it and what we can learn from them. The list below is a small start toward understanding the ways in which women can empower themselves to improve their lot (as well as that of others). Though some of these are geared toward women in business or politics, there are lessons and ideas that can help anyone (and not just women!).

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The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future – John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio

• Explains how feminist values can meet the challenges of today’s problems in business and government, drawing on interviews with those who lead innovative organizations with the values most commonly associated with women.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

• Two Pulitzer Prize winners issue a call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women in the developing world. They show that a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad and that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential.

How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success – Margaret Heffernan

• Citing a rising number of successful women-owned businesses, a five-time CEO identifies the qualities of top-performing businesswomen to reveal how the demands of the new economy are compatible with the professional talents of women.

Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You’re Worth – Mika Brzezinski

• Interviews a number of prominent women–including comedian Susie Essman, writer and director Nora Ephron, and TV personality Joy Behar–to reveal how all women can achieve their deserved recognition and financial worth in the modern professional world.

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead – Sheryl Sandberg

• The Facebook chief operating officer and Fortune top-ranked businesswoman shares provocative, anecdotal advice for women that urges them to take risks and seek new challenges in order to find work that they can love and engage in passionately.

Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What It Will Take for a Woman to Win – Anne E. Kornblut

• Looks at the obstacles faced by women who aspire to run for president, looks at the mistakes made by women candidates in their quest for the presidency, and offers strategies to help them succeed.

See Jane Lead: 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work – Lois P. Frankel

• A groundbreaking work that shows women what makes them natural leaders for our time–and how they can capitalize on the leader within, at work and at home. (Annotation from the TFPL catalog.)

What Would You Do if You Ran the World? Everyday Ideas from Women Who Want to Make the World a Better Place – Shelly Rachanow

• From learning to listen to your own guiding voice to galvanizing the women in your life, from getting involved in your own community, to reaching clear across the world, Rachanow shows the way we can all live a satisfying life of “inspiration in action”. (Annotation from the TFPL catalog.)

Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World – Linda Tarr-Whelan

• To have the future we all want, women must play a more robust role in setting priorities and allocating resources. Women Lead the Way presents argument, research, and tactical guidance to help readers wedge the door open and bring more women through and up. (Annotation from the TFPL catalog.)

Women Who Don’t Wait in Line: Break the Mold, Lead the Way – Reshma Saujani

• Saujani advocates a new model of female leadership based on sponsorship–where women encourage each other to compete, take risks, embrace failure, and lift each other up personally and professionally.

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And two extra books about inspiring contemporary women:

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban – Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

• Describes the life of a young Pakistani student who advocated for women’s rights and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Valley who survived an assassination attempt and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Madame Secretary – Madeleine Albright

• Sure to be one of the signature books of the century, this is a tapestry both intimate and panoramic, personal and public, and a rich memoir of a powerful woman.

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Annotations are courtesy of NoveList Plus, unless noted. Log in to NoveList Plus for book reviews, author and series information, and more reading goodies with your TFPL card.

 

The Way Back Machine – Best Sellers 1967

If you remember 1967, you might remember it more for the political upheavals (Vietnam War protests) than for anything else. But, of course, other things were happening as well. In terms of music, it was an interesting year:

• In April, Aretha Franklin recorded what is now known as her signature song, Respect.
• In June, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the seminal works of rock music, was released by the Beatles.
• In September, Jim Morrison defied the censors of the Ed Sullivan Show and sang Light My Fire with its original lyrics.

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What was going on in literature? Check out the titles below, which comprised the New York Times Best Sellers for the week of March 5, 1967.

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FICTION

1. The Secret of Santa Vittoria by Robert Crichton

2. Capable of Honor by Allen Drury

3. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

4. The Captain by Jan de Hartog

5. The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West

6. The Arrangement by Elia Kazan

7. The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault

8. All in the Family by Edwin O’Connor

9. Tai-Pan by James Clavell

10. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud

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NONFICTION

1. Everything but Money by Sam Levenson

2. Madame Sarah by Cornelia Otis Skinner

3. Paper Lion by George Plimpton

4. Games People Play by Eric Berne

5. The Jury Returns by Louis Nizer

6. Rush to Judgment by Mark Lane

7. Inside South America by John Gunther

8. Division Street: America by Studs Terkel

9. The Boston Strangler by Gerald Frank

10. How to Avoid Probate by Norman F. Dacey

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