Deep Storm by Lincoln Child

A former Naval doctor, Peter Crane, is brought aboard an oil platform in the north Atlantic to help diagnose a medical illness. When he gets there, he is sworn to secrecy and transported deep below the surface of the ocean to the ocean floor, to a facility called Deep Storm, where the real trouble lies.

Deep Storm is a science research station two miles beneath the surface with stunning technological advancements. He is at first told that they think they have discovered the remains of an ancient civilization there, perhaps the legendary Atlantis. But during excavation of the site, a series of illnesses has begun to affect the people involved in the excavation. As he begins to investigate these strange illnesses, he starts to suspect that the facility is concealing something completely different, perhaps something much more sinister. And then people start dying and it is up to Dr. Crane to unravel not only the mysterious nature of the illnesses, but the mysterious layer of lies and illusions that seem to surround him.

Lincoln Child is probably best known for being coauthor (along with Douglas Preston) of a series of bestselling thrillers. I found this book well crafted, imaginative, and just a lot of fun. It kept me wanting to turn the pages to see what happens next, and finish one more chapter, before putting the book down and turning my attention to other things for awhile. This book would appeal to science fiction fans, as well as fans of thrillers.

Things coming up in April

This exciting national campaign is an effort to get students out of the classroom and into the great outdoors to explore, learn about and enjoy the environment. Students love learning about their own world, but many do not have the opportunity to take part in well-planned, outdoor educational and exploration activities. Many teachers don’t realize the value of, or are not given time for, using the amazing real-world laboratory that exists just outside the school doors. This campaign will get teachers and kids outside to learn and will focus congressional attention on the value of environmental education.

Research has shown the value that environmental education brings to schools. Kids grow more engaged in their work and perform better on assessments in every subject.

We believe that all children should be given the chance to learn more about their world.
Let’s start making sure that happens. Please support and take part in “No Child Left Inside Days.”

Please click here for information on how you can help.

April is National Poetry month. As part of that month long celebration of poetry, there is Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30th. National Poetry Month brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. Please click here for more information.

We Shall Remain is a groundbreaking mini-series and provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history. Airing in April, five 90-minute documentaries spanning three hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective.

Produced by the award-winning PBS series American Experience, We Shall Remain is a five-part television series that shows how Native peoples adapted and fought back-- from the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s who used their alliance with the English to weaken rival tribes, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the civil rights movement to forge a pan-Indian identity.

An unprecedented collaboration with multiple media platforms - radio broadcast, Web and new media, a mentoring program, educational and community outreach campaigns, and media partnerships -- will give the series maximum impact. Peggy Berryhill, Director of Media Architecture and Services for Native Public Media, will produce a series of radio broadcasts for the project.

For more information click here and here.

Fool by Christopher Moore

"Hilariously raunchy and politically incorrect."
"Chris Moore is no fool."
"Great fun, don't have to know Shakespeare. "
" If only Shakespeare were this entertaining."
" Hilariously, insanely nuts. "
"A bawdy romp where the "fool" uses his brains to get what he lusts for."
"Astoundingly hilarious."
"You'd be a fool not to read it."

These are all titles of customer reviews taken from Amazon. To be honest, these were all written by die-hard Christopher Moore fans, so I guess you should expect all the accolades. I too am a big Christopher Moore fan. I love the quirky humor in his books. But I hasten to add he's probably not everybody's cup of tea. I do remember an older patron coming into the library and pointing out one of his books on the shelf and saying "this guy is one sick little puppy". But if you like caustic, wry, sarcastic humor, you will probably like Moore's books.

I liked this one overall, and thought the footnotes were some of the most hilarious parts. It was a little bawdy for my tastes, but then Moore doesn't do anything half way, so over the top on this aspect is probably what he was striving for.

It's 1288, and the king's fool, Pocket, and his dimwit apprentice, Drool, set out to clean up the mess Lear has made of his kingdom, his family and his fortune—only to discover the truth about their own heritage. This is Moore's retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's profane, vulgar and crude, with a Monty Python twist. But it is indeed laugh out loud funny.