What some of the new arrivals are about.

Aboutness is a term used in Library and Information science (LIS), Linguistics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. In LIS it is often considered synonymous with subject. It is what is said in a document, what it is about, its content, subject or topic. It is a term that is extremely important in information science.

Aboutness grasps more of what the book is about compared to the blurb which is commonly used to give an idea of what the book deals with. Because this is novels we are discussing, it is still okay to try and find out what the books are about through the blurb. The first book we will look at is John Grisham's  Sycamore Row,

1)In Sycamore Row, Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one, Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises many more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbart leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid?Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row.

 2) John Grisham's 'The Partner'

 Once he was a well liked, well paid young partner in a thriving Mississippi law firm. Then Patrick Lanigan stole ninety million dollars from his won law firm- and ran for his life. For four years, he evaded men who were rich, powerful, and would stop at nothing to find him, Then inevitably, on the edge of the Brazilian jungle, they finally tracked him down.

Now Patrick is coming home. And in Mississippi city where it all begun, an extraordinary trial is about to begin. As prosecutors circle like sharks, as Patrick's lawyer prepares his defense, as Patrick's lover prays for his deliverance and his former partners wait for their revenge, another story is about to emerge. Because Patrick  Lanigan, the most reviled white collar criminal of his time, knows something that no one else in the world knows.

He knows the truth........

3) Robert Ludlum's 'Bourne Legacy'

Jason Bourne returns from the shadows as the world's number one assassin... 

Once, Jason Bourne was notorious in the clandestine world of covert-ops as one of the CIA's most expert international killers for hire. Out of the ashes of his violent past he's emerged today as a Georgetown professor, living a quiet life, retired from danger-until he narrowly escapes the bullet of a faceless assassin. And when two of Bourne's closest associates are murdered, Bourne knows that his legacy has followed him- and set him up as the prime suspect for the brutal crimes.

And the world's number one target,  The quicksand of lies and betrayals is deeper than Bourne ever imagined. Hunted by the CIA as a dangerous rogue agent, he has only one option to stay alive- and one last chance to stay one step ahead of an unseen assailant whose vengeance is personal. Pursued across the globe, Bourne's on the run, and on the edge of discovering the truth-that he's become the expendable pawn in an international terrorist plot. One that's taking every living witness with it and plunging Bourne one step closer to the world shattering consequences of........The Bourne Legacy,

4) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of a committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering 'the cause of generation and life' and 'bestowing animation upon lifeless matter,' Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but, upon bringing it to life, recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein not only tells a horrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of human kind within cosmos; what does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go with tampering with nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation, genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

5)Ranger's Apprentice. Book One; The ruins of Gorlan

They have always scared him in the past - the Rangers with their dark  cloaks and mysterious ways. Folks in the village claim that Rangers have the power to become invisible at will. A skill Will would now dearly love to have.

Will's heart had been set on Battle-school, on becoming a hero to the kingdom. But Will is small for his fifteen years, too small to be a warrior, He possesses other skills, though- a Ranger's skills. He can move silent as a shadow. He can climb. And he is brave.

He will need all these skills and more, For Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces. A battle for the kingdom is destined to begin. A battle the likes of which Will cannot even imagine.

6) Ranger's Apprentice. Book two; The Burning Bridge

For years, the Kingdom of Araluen has prospered. with the evil Lord Morgarath safely behind the impassable mountains. For years,its people have felt secure, But the scheming hand of the dark lord has not been idle....On a special mission for the Rangers, Will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, travel to a neighboring village and discover the unsettling truth; All the villagers have been either slayed or captured. But why? Could it be that Margarath has finally devised  plan to bring his legions over the supposedly insurmountable pass?If so, the King's army is in imminent danger of being crushed in a fierce ambush. And Will and Horace are the only ones who can save them.

The Ranger's Apprentice, book three and book four will follow soon.

New Comers!

We thank Mr Goercke and the Friends of the Darien book aid plan for their efforts in donating books that have always been in our book wish list. Most of our readers have always shown that they are fanatics of authors like Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, R.L Stine, Jeff Kinney, and Danielle Steel amongst others.

The following are a list of the books that have just joined our collection.. 

Tittle                                                                      Author                             
Goosebumps;Ghost beach                                                                     R.L Stine                                           
Goosebumps;Night of the living dummy                                          R.L Stine                                          
Goosebumps; it came from beneath the sink                                  R.L Stine                                 
Goosebumps;Let’s get invisible!                                                          R.L Stine                                    
Goosebumps;welcome to camp nightmare                                     R.L Stine                                    
The official SAT study guide                                                                College Board  
                  
Diary of a wimpy kid; dog days                                                           Jeff Kinney 
                         
Diary of a wimpy kid; hard luck                                                          Jeff Kinney  
                        
Diary of a wimpy kid; Rodrick rules                                                  Jeff Kinney   
                      
The associate                                                                                             John Grisham   
                
The partner                                                                                                John Grisham
                 
Sycamore row                                                                                           John Grisham   
               
The Bourne legacy                                                                                    John Grisham
               
The King of Torts                                                                                       John Grisham
                  
The Alchemist                                                                                             Paulo  Coelho                              
 Season of Passion                                                                                     Danielle Steel                            
 The Bourne sanction                                                                               Robert Ludlum                      
 Kaleidoscope                                                                                              Danielle Steel                         
 Wings                                                                                                            Danielle Steel   
                      
 Holes                                                                                                              Louis Sachar                            
 Frankenstein                                                                                               Mary Shelley                            
 Ranger’s apprentice; Book one; the                                                      John Flanagan
    ruins of Gorlan
      
 Ranger’s apprentice; Book two;                                                              John Flanagan
  The burning bridge

 Ranger’s apprentice; Book four;                                                             John Flanagan                     The battle for Skandia
       

 Ranger’s apprentice; Book three ;  The                                                John Flanagan                      icebound land  

                                                                              

My List of Good Books To Read

1) Chris Freeman's Streetwise

Ex-cop Joseph Soyinka made many enemies fighting corruption but refused to be intimidated - until his wife was killed and his life destroyed. Now he lives with his young son in the anonymous safety of New York City. By day he drives a yellow cab. By night he tries to forget about the past. Joseph knows his friend Cyrus is not a murderer, but he is involved in something - and he's in way over his head. The only way to find the real killer is to take Cyrus's place in a deadly game.

2) David Baldacci's Last Man Standing

Web London was trained to penetrate hostile ground and come out alive. Then ten seconds in a dark alley cost him everything: his friends, his fellow agents, his reputation. Among his super-elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Web was the sole survivor of a high-tech, devastating ambush.

Now Web is trying to put his life back together and understand what really happened. To get answers, he’ll need the help of psychiatrist Claire Daniels and the one other human being who lived through the attack – a ten-year-old boy. But when his search leads him back to that bloodstained alley, Web suddenly realizes he is about to face his assassin again.  And this time, one of them will become the Last Man Standing.

3) James L. Rubart's Soul's Gate

What if you could travel inside another person's soul?

To battle for them. To be part of Jesus healing their deepest wounds. To help set them free to step boldly into their divinely designed  future.

Thirty years ago that's exactly what Reece Roth did. Until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his future. Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a prophecy spoken over him thee decades ago. A prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world....if Reese will face his deepest regret and teach them what he has learned. They gather at a secluded and mysterious ranch deep in the mountains of Colorado, where they will learn to see the spiritual world around them with stunning clarity- and how to step into the supernatural. Their training is only the beginning. The four have a destiny to pursue a freedom even Reece doesn't fully fathom. But they have an enemy hell- bent on destroying them and he'll stop at nothing to keep their quest for true freedom and the coming battle of souls.

4) Alan M. Dershowitz's Just Revenge

For fifty years, Max Menuchen has kept the secret of his past;the memories are too terrible to share. The sole survivor when his entire family was gunned down in the woods of Lithuania by the Nazi Marcelus Prandus, Max has made a new life in America.

When a chance encounter brings Max face to face with Prandus, the desire for revenge becomes an obsession. It is not enough to simply to kill the old man. For Marcelus to suffer as Mas has suffered, he must witness the deaths of all his loved ones. But can it ever be just to kill the innocent to avenge the guilty? Max' solution is both monstrous and inspired, and the trial that follows would captivate the world.

5)Because  Pula Means Rain

"I believe in ghosts" says Emmanuel, looking out across a landscape turned silver under the full Botswana Moon. Emmanuel's grandmother does not believe  in ghosts, but in such a wide and open land, spread out under such a wide and open sky, there is omm enough for many beliefs and many truths.

Because the ghosts believe in Emmanuel. Ghosts are the shadows of the past that still fall upon the present, and Emmanuel and his village have yet to face the terrible secret that lies buried in their history. For the curse to be lifted and for peace to return to the community, Emmanuel must take a dangerous journey back in time and memory,He must face down his own fears, and the buried fears of his people. He must right a terrible wrong that was committed many years ago, on a night in which there was no moon at all....

6) The River Between

From the Heinemann African writers series,The River between explores life on the Makuyu and Kamen ridges of Kenya in the early days of white settlement. Faced with an alluring, new religion and 'magical' customs, the Gikuyu people are torn between those who fear the unknown and those who see beyond it. Some follow Joshua and his fiery brand of Christianity. Others proudly pursue tribal independence. In the midst of this disunity stands Waiyaki, a dedicated visionary born to a line of prophets. He struggles to educate the tribe- a task he sees as the only unifying link between the two factions- but his plans for the future raise issues which determine both his own and the Gikuyu' survival.

7)The King of Torts

The Office of the Public Defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long, and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit D.C every week. As he digs into the background of his client, Clay stumbles on a conspiracy too terrible to believe. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of a complex case against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies  in the world and looking at the kind of enormous settlement that would totally change his life- that would make him, almost overnight, the legal profession's newest king of torts....

So many books.....so little time.....