Usurper of the sun

Usurper of the sun / Housuke Nojiri ; translated by John Wunderley.-- San Francisco : Haikasoru/VIZ Media, 2009.
276 p. ; 21 cm.
"Originally published in Japan by Hayakawa Publishing, Inc., c2002"
ISBN: 9781421527710

1. Earth – Effect of solar activity on—Fiction. 2. Human-alien encounters—Fiction. 3. Science fiction. 4. Space flight to Mercury—Fiction. 5. Sun—Fiction.

895.636

Peering through the astronomy club’s telescope, a Japanese schoolgirl is the first to observe a giant tower on the planet Mercury. When other observatories confirm its existence Aki Shiraishi becomes the most interviewed person on Earth. It propels her into a career in astronomy. When the tower begins to construct a ring around Mercury that blocks sunlight from reaching earth, climactic disaster shakes the planet and civilization is in chaos. Eight years after her initial discovery and as the most prominent scientist in the new field of ringology, Aki arrives at Johnson Space Center in Houston to train for the Vulcan Mission, a mission to send a spacecraft to Mercury to destroy the ring.

Life sucks

Life sucks / Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, Warren Pleece ; coloring by Hilary Sycamore.-- New York : First Second, 2008.
186 p. : col. ill. ; 22 cm.
ISBN: 9781596431072

1. Clerks (Retail trade) – Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Graphic novels. 3. Vampires– Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

Dave’s life is boring and miserable. He’s the permanent night clerk at the Last Stop convenience store in a small strip mall in Los Angeles. All he does is work, sleep, and eat. The boss is on his case all the time. Most of the customers are obnoxious. The only thing that brightens up his life is when Rosa comes in with some of her Goth friends. She’s friendly, polite and she’s a vegetarian. Dave’s friends encourage him to ask her out. He may feel insecure and afraid, but after all, he is a vampire. It’s possible that she might find that appealing.

And here's another take on the book:
Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge: Life Sucks, by Jessica Abel

The guns of August

The guns of August / by Barbara W. Tuchman ; read by Nadia May.— Ashland : Blackstone Audiobooks, 2008.
1 WMA sound file (275541 KB) (19 hr., 10 min.)
ISBN: 9781433247439 (sound recording : OverDrive Audio Book)
Originally published: New York, Macmillan, 1962.
Unabridged
Downloadable audio file.
Requires OverDrive Media Console
Mode of access: World Wide Web

1. World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns 2. World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front.

940.4144

Germany came close to winning the First World War in the first month of fighting. German commanders confidently expected to march their exhausted troops into Paris in the first week of September. The French Government has already fled the capital. It was to be the crowning glory of a month of victories. Germany had a forty-day plan for winning the war and their armies were right on schedule. In four days they expected to be in Paris. What they did not expect was for the retreating French forces to turn and attack.

Tuchman’s Pulitzer Prize winning history stops on the eve of the first Battle of the Marne. It critiques the persistence of generals on both sides for their unwavering adherence to their war plan even in the face of contrary evidence that the enemy was not behaving as expected. Her portraits of officers and heads of state are vivid and witty, and her narrative style is superb. May skillfully reads the quotations in the narration in a subtly British, American, French, or German accented English.

Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute

Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute / Jarrett J. Krosoczka.-- New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
[96] p. : ill. ; 18 cm.
ISBN: 9780375846830 (trade)

1. Graphic novels. 2. Robots – Comic books, strips, etc. 3. School lunchrooms, cafeterias, etc. – Employees – Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Schools – Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

What does the lunch lady in the school cafeteria do when she’s not spooning out sloppy Joes or urging you to put gravy on everything? The Breakfast Lunch starts to speculate. Terrence thinks she has a family to care for. Dee thinks she lives with a hundred cats, Hector wonders, “Maybe she’s some sort of super secret-agent spy or something.” Hector is right. And when she discovers an evil plot by the mad science teacher, she whirls into action with her spatu-copter, chicken nugget bombs and fish-stick nunchucks. With the help of her faithful sidekick Betty and her lunch tray laptop, she serves justice and lunch.