Books are the blessed chloroform of the mind.
--James Payn, 1864

I’ve Heard the Vultures Singing by Lucia Perillo. Before she was diagnosed with MS, park ranger Perillo loved hiking and skiing in the Cascades.

The Last Polar Bear by Steven Kazlowski. An intimate photographic investigation of the fragile existence of a creature impacted by climate change.

The Open Road by Pico Iyer. The global journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan, One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. If you missed the authors’ appearance in Moscow on April 3, be sure to read the book (also on audio).

The Three Trillion Dollar War by Joseph E. Stiglitz. A winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics examines the true cost of the Iraq conflict.

Uncertain Peril by Claire Hope Cummings. Genetic engineering and the future of seeds.

Food:
Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Suneeta Vaswani. 350 recipes from the regions of India.

Dim Sum Made Easy by Lucille Liang. Make a fabulous array of delicious nibbles for entertaining.

Farm Sanctuary by Gene Baur. Changing hearts and minds about animals and food: what’s the real cost of the meat on our plates?

The Geography of Wine by Brian J. Sommers. How landscapes, cultures, terroir, and the weather make a good drop.

Moveable Feasts by Sarah Murray. From ancient Rome to the 21st century, the incredible journeys of the food we eat.

The South American Table by Maria Baez Kijac. The flavor and soul of authentic home cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with over 450 recipes.

Spain and the World Table by the Culinary Institute of America. A celebration of Spanish gastronomy and its influence on world cuisine.

The Trailside Cookbook by Don and Pam Philpott. A handbook for hungry campers and hikers.

Home and Gardening:
The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin. Save time and money while producing the most flavorful, nutritious crops ever.

The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander G. Weygers. Teach yourself the lost arts of blacksmithing and tool design and repair.

Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell. A how-to for herbs, fruits, and vegetables in easy-care containers.

Garden Mosaics by Becky Paton. 25 step-by-step projects for your outdoor room.

Green Remodeling by John D. Wagner. Your start toward an eco-friendly home.

Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business by Paul Gipe. The definitive book on wind energy, now revised.

Pregnancy and Parenthood:
The Complete Organic Pregnancy by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu. What you need to know, from the bed you sleep in to the water you drink.

Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Up-to-date information along with firsthand experiences.

Raising Baby Green by Alan Greene. The earth-friendly guide to pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care.

Regional Interest:
Jackalope Dreams by Mary Clearman Blew. Local author Blew tells a story of Montana in which the old West meets the new.

Palouse Paradise (DVD) A program from Idaho Public TV’s Outdoor Idaho.

State Legislature (DVD) Lobbyists, lawmakers and their constituents debate and discuss during one entire session of the Idaho Legislature. The New York Times called this film “absolutely mesmerizing.”

Things to Do Outside On the Palouse by Mathew Hall. The Palouse outdoors offers both adrenaline and solitude, if you know where to look.

DVD:
Blue Vinyl (U.S., 2002) Skeptical about her parents’ re-do of their home with PVC siding, filmmaker Judith Helfand searches for the truth about vinyl, balancing horror with humor.

The Darjeeling Limited (U.S., 2007) Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year take a train voyage across India together, but their "spiritual quest" veers rapidly off-course.

For the Bible Tells Me So (U.S., 2007) Through the experiences of five very normal Christian American families, we discover how people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child or family member.

Moolaadé (Senegal, 2004) The final film by African cinema’s founding father, Ousmane Sembene, is directed against the still-common practice of female genital mutilation.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John (U.S., 2005) An outcast in his Midwestern community, Farmer John transforms his farm, creating a bastion of free expression and a revolutionary form of agriculture.

Songs From the Second Floor (Sweden, 2000). The Globe and Mail said this is “like an Ingmar Bergman movie as realized by Monty Python.”

Chris Sokol is the Adult Services Librarian for the Latah County Library District. Check out more new stuff at www.latahlibrary.org