Book Review: Finding the Space to Lead

Finding the Space to Lead:

 A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership

One of the phrases in Janice Marturano’s book, Finding the Space to Lead, speaks to the epidemic of multi-tasking or continuous partial attention that takes place during an American’s day at work or home. She writes that this habit can be exhausting and inefficient because the mind’s ability is limited and argues that we can develop the brain’s capabilities through daily meditation and purposeful pauses, in turn creating better leaders and thinkers. Early on in the book, she describes a business situation, involving food contamination in a major product, where employees used mindfulness techniques to develop consensus and offer a decision that employees would not welcome.

Marturano believes the engineering slogan, reduce the noise and capture the signal, summarizes the concept of mindfulness expressed in these terms: clarity, focus, creativity and compassion.  Her book serves as a blueprint for those who want to minimize stress, lead with empathy and regulate their reaction to unexpected events. The author, a lawyer and former General Mills vice president, guided the merger between Pillsbury and General Mills, an 18 month process.  During a retreat, she learned mindful leadership and found it gave her mental and emotional space to deal with the nonstop demands of the workplace.

Marturano, Janice. Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014.

BF637 .L4 M287 2014

New DVDs

• 12 Years A Slave   DVD PN1997.2 .A12 2014
• Above Suspicion. Sets 1-3   DVD PN1992.77 .A36 2012 v.1-3
• Alphaville   DVD PN1997 .A564 A564 1991
• Amarcord   DVD PN1997 .A53 1974
• Black Moon   DVD PN1997 .B5365 2011
• The Bridge   DVD PN1992.77 .B75 2014
• A Brief History of Time   DVD QB 981 .H377 B75 1992
• Call The Midwife Season 3   DVD PN1992.77 .C35 2014 v. 3
• Chinatown   DVD PN1995.9 .F54 C4 2006
• Chloe in the Afternoon   DVD PN1997 .A568 A5 1987
• Come Back Little Sheba   DVD PN1997 .C654 C6 1991
• Cosmos   DVD QB44.2 .S235 2013
• Daffy Duck: The Nuttiness Continues   DVD PN1997.5 .D34 D34 1992
• Dawn of the Dead   DVD PN1997.2 .D396 D39 1978
• The Dead   DVD PN1997 .D434 D434 1988
• Dreamchild   DVD PR4611 .A72 D7 2010
• Elevator to the Gallows   DVD PN1997 .A83 A83 2006
• Enemy   DVD PN1997.2 .E5469 2014
• Forbidden Hollywood   DVD PN1997 .A1 F67353346
• Gaslight   DVD PN1997 .G375 G375 1985
• The Great Escape   DVD D743 .G7438 2013
• The Grey   DVD PN1997.2 .G74 2012
• A Hard Day’s Night   DVD ML421 .B4 H37 2014
• Heaven Can Wait   DVD PN1995.9 .C55 H4 1990
• Her (also in Blu-Ray)   DVD PN1997.2 .H47 H47 2013
• Islam   DVD BP50 .I82 2005
• Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus   DVD PQ2605 .015 J3266 1986
• Labor Day   DVD PN 1997.2 .L33 2014
• The Man Who Would Be King   DVD PN 1997 .M36 M36 1992
• Messiah of Evil   DVD PN1997.2 .M477 M47 2007
• The Monuments Men   DVD PN1997.2 .M66 2014
• Mr. Moto. volumes 1-2   DVD PN1997 .A1 M7 2006 v. 1-2
• Ninotchka   DVD PN1995.9 .C55 N56 1985
• One Two Three   DVD PN1995.9 .C55 054 1991
• Orange is the New Black. Season 1   DVD PN1992.77 .O73 2014
• Our Daily Bread   DVD PN1997 .097 097 1994
• Out of the Past   DVD PN1995.9 .D4 O98 2004
• Partie de Champagne   DVD PQ2349 .P273 2008
• The Pawn Broker   DVD PN1997 .P39 2014
• Pinky   DVD PN1997 .P56 1994
• The Princess Bride   DVD PN1997 .P746 2012
• Red Desert   DVD PN1997 .D45453 R44 1989
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty   DVD PN1995.9 .C55 S43 2013
• Shampoo   DVD PN1997 .S44 S44 1985
• The Shining   DVD PN1997 .S55 S55 1999
• South Pacific   DVD PN1997 .S698 S68 2013
• Stand By Me (Blu-ray)   DVD PN1997.2 .S73 2011
• Stand By Me   DVD PN1997 .S736 2000
• They Live By Night   DVD PN1995.9 .F54 T449 2007
• TinTin: Inside Herge’s Cartoon Archives   DVD PN6790 .B44 T56 2013
• Waking the Dead. Season 7   DVD PN1992.77 .W355 2006 v.7
• Waking the Dead. Season 9   DVD PN1992.77 .W355 2014 v. 9
• The Wages Of Fear   DVD PN1997 .W344 W344 1991
• Ugetsu   DVD PN1997 .U3713 U3713 1986

Book Review: A Dark and Twisted Tide

A Dark and Twisted Tide

PR6102 .O49 D37 2014

Sharon Bolton, a British mystery writer, has released the fourth book in her series featuring Lacey Flint, a London policewoman, who has just joined the Marine Policing Unit on the River Thames. Two months ago, Lacey bought an antique boat in the houseboat community moored in Deptford Creek, a Thames tributary. Forbidden by law, Lacey had taken up wild-swimming in the Thames at high tide, when conditions were right. Her swim this day located a body, wrapped in a linen shroud and tied to a wharf at the river’s edge.

The police find more bodies, youngish, light-skinned, dark haired, pale eyed Asian women wrapped in linen shrouds and left in the river. As the bodies are found, Lacey finds small plastic sailboats on her galley floor, tiny crabs and sees a swimmer around her boat. The plot unfolds to reveal illegal immigrants, a fertility clinic with surrogates and a female villain.

Critics consider Sharon Bolton to be a captivating author, who develops characters in depth and creates plots with many red herrings. A book review site, Goodreads has comments that talk about the authentic police procedurals in this work, her strong character Lacey Flint along with vivid descriptions of the River Thames.

The NHTI Library owns more titles by S.J.Bolton:

• Awakening  PR6102 .O49 A93 2009
• Dead Scared  PR6102 .O49 D43 2013
• Now You See Me  PR6102 .O49 N68 2012

The Priority List

His first symptom was a buzzing in his head.  When the buzzing became a body tremor, David Menache, a high school teacher, saw a doctor and learned his cancerous brain tumor was terminal. What a blow at the age of 34!

David decided to throw himself into his career, teaching English at Miami’s Coral Reef Senior High School, a highly-competitive magnet school that drew students from all parts of the country.  In his book, The Priority List, he tells the story of his teaching career and the progression of his cancer and treatments. Stopping medication, he visits former students after first posting on his Facebook page, “I’m taking to the road. I plan to hitch, take buses… to the Pacific Ocean. So let me know where you are and if you’ve got a couch for the night.” In two days, students in 50 cities offered him a place to stay.

In one of Menache’s assignments for his students, he gives them terms, also known as the Priority List, as a way to integrate literature and life’s lessons.  His students write essays about themselves and, as he visits these young men and women, they talk about the Priority List and how it directed them into adulthood. Students reflect through conversations, posts and letters, how his caring, questioning and teaching style influenced their lives. Menache includes their writings in his book so there is the dual story of his illness and his travels to visit former students on his way to the west coast.

LC1775 .M52 2014

Menasche, David.  The Priority List: A Teacher’s Final Quest to Discover Life’s Greatest Lessons. New York: Touchstone, 2013. Print    

New Picture Books

The NHTI Library owns a collection of children’s literature to support the Early Childhood Education curriculum. Because picture books appeal to pre-readers, the illustrations tell the story with colorful and artistic drawings, that allow a child to tell a story on their own.

Bear Has a Story to Tell by Phillip Stead, Erin Stead, illustrator. JUV PZ7 .S808566 B43 2012

Bear was getting sleepy because it was nearly winter and he wanted to tell a story to his friends but Duck was about to fly south, Mouse was gathering seeds and Toad needed a warm place to sleep.  See what happens after Bear wakes up in the spring.

Erin Stead’s pencil and water color illustrations tell the story of friendship and patience. This title is a Kirkus Review’s Best Children’s Book of the year and named Amazon Best Picture Book of 2012.

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold JUV PZ7 .P63245 B53 2012

On a cold day the Hope family finds a large black dog, as big as a tiger, outside their house. One by one, they see the dog and it grows bigger and bigger until it is the size of a dinosaur. Frightened, they close the curtains and turn off the lights but the huge dog is still there. Then Small, the youngest and bravest Hope, ventures outside in the wintery snow to face the hound.

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, David Small, illustrator JUV PZ7 .B9832 O64 2012

Here’s a funny book to enjoy, written by author/librarian Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist David Small.

Elliot, a very serious young boy, wears a suit every day and in a Saturday excursion with his dad to the aquarium, he sprints past the kids at the Amazing Jellies Display until he finds the penguins. Attracted to these birds, Elliot runs to his father, who hands him a twenty-dollar bill to buy a penguin. The boy picks up the smallest penguin and adds him to his backpack. Follow Elliot’s and the penguin’s adventures until the very last page.

This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers JUV PZ7 .J3643 T45 2012

A moose wandered into Wilfred’s yard and he knew it was time to teach the animal, that he named Marcel, how to be a good pet. At times, Marcel was a wonderful four-legged friend because he followed Rule 11, providing Wilfred shelter from the RAIN. Occasionally, the Moose ignored Rule 7, going whatever way Wilfred wants to go, and the animal did poorly on Rule 7 (subsection b), maintaining  a certain proximity to home. Wilfred learned to take a string with him during walks because, without the Moose, he lost his way.

Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

“If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”

Maya Angelou, writer, civil rights activist and academic, died Wednesday, May 28 at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. at the age of 86. A prolific writer, poet, dancer, director, Angelou’s first  book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” led to volumes of poetry, essays, picture books, 5 more autobiographies and one cookbook. Growing up in the South, Angelou writes of the differences between whites and blacks in the United States during her lifetime.

She holds the distinction of writing the first black woman’s memoir and opened the door for Toni Morrison and Alice Walker’s works. After time in Africa, Martin Luther King asked her to serve as northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She reached for the skies, writing the inaugural poem, “On the Pulse of Morning” for President Clinton’s 1993 Inaugural.

Maya had a child at 17 while in high school, keeping her pregnancy hidden for 8 months from her parents, who welcomed Little Clyde.  She graduated from an arts high school, took care of her child and held jobs ranging from cocktail waitress to short order cook to dancer.  She danced with Alvin Ailey and toured in “Porgy and Bess” moving to Broadway in 1973 to portray Mary Todd Lincoln in “Look Away”

In the NHTI Library’s book display, you will find many of her works.  Stop in to borrow one and savor her words.  

New DVDs

• The Amish: Shunned   DVD BX8129.A5 A45 2014
• Beat The Devil   DVD PN1995.9.D4 B42 2009
• The Beatles Hamburg & the Hamburg Sound   DVD M1741.18.B43 H36 2007
• The Beatles-Liverpool   DVD ML421.B4 B435 2006
• The Beatles-London  DVD ML421.B4 L664 2007
• The Beatles Merseyside   DVD ML421.B4 B435 2008
• Border Wars. Season 2   DVD JV6483.B67 2011
• Burke & Hare   DVD PN1997.77.B975  B975 2011
• City Lights   DVD PN1997 .A1 C75 2013
• A Class Divided   DVD LC212.523.R53 P481 1986
• The Conjuring   DVD PN1997.2.C66 2013
• Dexter Season 1  DVD PN1992.77 .D498 D498 2007
• Despicable Me 2  DVD PN1995.9 .C55 D47 2014
• Encounters at the End of the World   DVD G860.E53 2008
• Endeavour. Series 1   DVD PN1992.77.E53 2013
• Energy Crossroads: A Burning Need to Change Course   DVD HD9502.A2E54367 2007
• For Richer or Poorer   DVD PN1992.77.F67 2013
• Hearts of the West   DVD PN1992.77 .H43 2011
• Herzog/Kinski   DVD PN1997 A122 H465 2002
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy   DVD PN1995.9C55 H58 2005
•  The Hobbit-an Unexpected Journey   DVD PN1997.2 .H63 2013
• The Immigrant   DVD JV6456 .I56 2009
• Invention That Shook The World   DVD T20 .I584 2012
• John Lennon’s New York   ML 420.L38 J646 2007
• La Camioneta: the Journey of One American School Bus  DVD HD8039 .G948 C365 2012
• Latino Americans: The 500 Year Legacy that Shaped a Nation   DVD E184 .S75 L3856 2013
• Liquid Sky   DVD PN1997.S35 L569 1987
• Mama   DVD PN1997.2 .M36 2013
• Marianne Faithful Live in Montreal   DVD M1630.18 .F35 F35 2010
• Midsomer Murders. Set 22   DVD PN1992.77 .M53 2013 v. 22
• Norway Finland- Nordic Landscapes   DVD ML1200.N67 N67 2013
• The Poisoners Handbook   DVD HV6555 .U52 P657 2014
• The Red Violin   DVD PN1997.C2 R43 1998
• Secrets of Scotland Yard   DVD HV7730. L66 S43 2013
• Still Moving Pilobolus At Forty   DVD GV1786.P54 S85 2012
• A St Olaf Christmas in Norway   DVD M2065.S2 S2 2005
• Top of the Lake   DVD PN1992.77.T67 2013
• Two Lane Blacktop   DVD PN1995.9.D68 T862 2007
• Vikings  Season 1   DVD PN1992.77.V55 2013
• War On Whistleblowers  DVD JF1525 .W45 W37 2013
• Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman   DVD PN1992.77 .Z38 2008

Book Review- Ripper

Isabel Allende’s Newest Novel

South American writer, Isabel Allende presents her first mystery/suspense/ thriller, in her recently published novel, Ripper. Allende is best known for her novels that address coming of age, feminism and family relationships so this book represents an adventure into a new genre. She states that her fiction “just comes, arriving unbidden” and she is known for earlier novels in the style known as magical realism.

Meet Amanda Jackson, whose parents are divorced so she lives with her grandfather, Blake Jackson, and is about to graduate from high school with plans to enter MIT in the fall. Her strong interest in solving crimes with the 5 friends she’s connected to through playing Ripper, an online mystery game, plays a role in getting to the bottom of a series of bizarre San Francisco murders by a serial killer. 

Bob Martin, San Francisco’s deputy chief of homicide and Amanda’s father, leads the investigation into these five unrelated murders while she passes clues to the Ripper players. Blake Jackson reads autopsy reports and interviews witnesses to pick up details the serial murderer leaves behind, and then relays details to Amanda. Her deep interest in the dark side of crime prompts Amanda to share details with her online team in search of  crime theories and to find the thread between victims.  Each murder stands on its own because none are identical; the victim is sedated, killed and posed after death and the killer leaves a signature at the scene.

Amanda’s mother, Indiana, divorced from her husband and as independent as her daughter, practices holistic healing and aromatherapy and treats a Navy SEAL, Ryan Miller, a survivor of an Afghanistan land mine explosion. Her success and reputation for healing attract clients and she is romantically involved with two men, both clients, Allen Keller and Ryan Miller.

Amazon reviewers and critics share a range of praise and criticism for this title and it is a detailed novel with fascinating characters set in the San Francisco Bay area. Take it along on vacation because it’s a good read.

Ripper, PQ8098.1 .L54 D4713 2014

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
DVD PN1995.9.C55 L577 2006

Who doesn’t like a good story about a colorful dysfunctional family? Better yet, who doesn’t like a great story?

The film Little Miss Sunshine opens with us looking into the eyes of a young girl as she appears to be looking at us. But, the reflection on her glasses tells us that she’s watching something; and, that something turns out to be how pageant contestants respond to winning and losing. The young girl, Olive, is practicing the look of spontaneity of winning. Going in we know this film is about dreams, illusions, hopes, and fears.

Employing a classic structure of introducing each character in turn, we meet the Hoovers: Olive (Abigail Breslin), the young girl we’ve just seen who has competed in and dreams of pageants; Richard (Greg Kinnear), her father, who has a nine step program to becoming a winner – though he himself is not; Sheryl (Toni Collette), Olive’s mom who is frazzled but is all about family; Olive’s Grandpa (Alan Arkin) – who snorts heroin, sprinkles his conversations with profanity and was “asked” to leave a retirement home - has taught and works with Olive on her pageant dance routine; her teenage brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) who, after reading Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence even as he dreams of getting into flight school; and Olive’s uncle, Frank (Steve Carell), the number one Proust scholar in the world, who has tried to kill himself after a graduate student he fell in love with left him for the number two Proust scholar who - to add to Frank’s depression - has been awarded a MacArthur genius grant.

After each character is deftly sketched everyone is brought together for dinner. Not just a dinner but - once again - take-out fried chicken dinner! And, with dinner we get the dynamics of all of the family. Uncle Frank is our window into the family as his sister, Sheryl, has brought him home from the hospital because, she’s told, he shouldn’t be left alone. It’s a brilliant set piece masterfully performed and we see each character’s personality and learn that Dwayne hates everybody. But fate or luck has dictated that Olive will be able to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant – she only has to get to California by the weekend. Life conspires that everyone will have to pile into the family yellow and white VW Microbus: it’s the essence of America, the road trip!

The trip – in quest of the dream at the end of the highway - this time in California - is one of turns missed, roads not taken; of detours and roadblocks: the quintessential journey of discovery. Part of what makes the film work so well is the brilliance each actor brings to his or her role – everyone is spot-on including the character actors who populate the fringes of the film. And, each person begins to learn more about themselves and the family as they get closer and closer to the pageant. The perfect metaphor: after an eventful journey, while they can see the hotel where the pageant is being held, they can only get there with some creative driving! Which makes them – after everything the Hoovers have gone through – seconds past the competition sign-in deadline: after such an arduous trip will Olive be denied the opportunity to compete?

The Little Miss Sunshine pageant taps into and is part of the American dream. The pageant participants and their families are actual participants who perform their own competition routines. Priceless would be one way of describing how the pageant unfolds. How Olive performs - and how the Hoovers respond - shows how each family member has been transformed and reminds us that quite often it’s the trip and not the destination that is most important.

The award winning screenplay is from the literate and talented Michael Arndt who employs classical allusions in the structure of the story that resonate subconsciously throughout the film. The VW Microbus could well be a tiny vessel from Greek antiquity bobbing in the Aegean or a long boat on sandy shores being pushed into the sea by a running crew. But Arndt’s screenplay is generous not only to the actors with pitch perfect dialogue but allows the first time feature film directors to tell the story visually. What elevates Little Miss Sunshine to a great film is contained in the opening scene: by looking into Olive’s eyes we are really looking into ourselves.


Producers: Albert Berger, Michael Beugg, Jeb Brody, David Friendly, Bart Lipton, Peter Saraf,
                    Marc Turtletaub, Ron Yerxa
Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Screenplay: Michael Arndt
Cinematography: Tim Suhrstedt
Art Direction: Alan Muraoka
Music: Mychael Danna and DeVotchKa
Film Editing: Pamela Martin

Craving Spring

This cold, snowy weather, that makes driving miserable and landscapes beautiful, offers gardeners planning time for next spring. Maybe you want to learn new growing techniques for veggies, find a fast growing perennial or identify trees, shrubs and plants that attract birds and butterflies. The library adds new garden and landscape books year-round but winter is the time to read, plan and look forward to the next season. Stop in to scan the newest issue of Birds and Bloom and Horticulture in the magazine section or grab a new garden book.

Skim this list of recently acquired titles:
Backyard Winter Gardening by Warnock SB321.5 .G74 W37 2013 You can grow winter crops with electricity, heating or lighting and this volume provides gardening information that people in the 1700s and 1800s used to keep fresh vegetables on their winter tables. It’s possible to grow lettuce, carrots and strawberries following the author’s techniques. Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds QL676.5 .B257 2013 Avid birders build safe, attractive houses and nest boxes and this volume includes 15 plans/diagrams for bird and owl homes. From loons to sparrows, this source offers advice on construction techniques, cleaning tips and other pointers to help those who care and support songbirds and others. Wonderful photos throughout the text.

Daffodil SB413 .D12 K56 2013 The author outlines the history of the daffodil beginning with the Byzantines, who developed tulips and daffodil bulbs, leading to a big daffodil cut-flower industry worldwide today. Breeders have cultivated hybrids for their shape and color but also continued to propagate older varieties. Read this book to understand the cultural and artistic role of this bright yellow flower that heralds spring.

Grow More with Less: Sustainable Garden Methods SB319.95 .S56 2013 Vincent Simone presents detailed and practical chapters about sustainable gardening, from water collection and conservation to selecting the best plants for a site. Sustainable gardening includes integrated pest management (IPM) techniques along with lists of hardy and non-invasive cultivars that you may add to your garden. Manual of Seed Savings: Harvesting, Storing, and Sowing Techniques SB324.75 .H4513 2013 Andrea Heistinger presents a new edition of her respected source on saving garden seeds and crop diversity. Beginning with the Amaranth family, chapters identify plant categories, explain pollination, document seed growing techniques and discuss harvesting methods. If you want to grow heirloom varieties and save the seeds for next year, follow her methods.