Best Easy Day Hikes: Milwaukee describes 20 walking trails within an hour’s drive from Milwaukee.  The hikes are divided into sections, including trails “near rivers” and “near Lake Michigan”, and those best for children, dogs, great views, nature lovers, and history buffs.  Each short chapter includes a description, map, distance, difficulty, and contact information.  It conveniently fits in a pocket or a glove compartment, and is fun to use. Sarah

Lark Rise to Candleford.  The Complete Season One. DVD. This BBC TV series is a delightful introduction to Laura Timmons and the Oxfordshire hamlet she grows up in, called Lark Rise.  It is also the story of the nearby, bustling town of Candleford and the contrasts between the two communities. When Laura leaves home to take a job in the Candleford post office, her adventures begin.  Every episode contains colorful characters who find themselves in complex situations, yet to be resolved.  I watched the DVD series before reading the book, and highly recommend it. Nancy

Lark Rise to Candleford:  a trilogy, by Flora Thompson. Flora Thompson's original story was published in three separate books between the years of 1939 and 1943.  Now compiled into one volume, it paints a detailed picture of life during the 1880-1890's in Oxfordshire, England.  The author captures a way of life that was fading away, preserving it in print.  Her detailed descriptions remind me of the way Laura Ingalls Wilder depicted the lives of American homesteaders of the 1800's.  Flora Thompson takes the reader into another time, another place, definitely worth visiting. Nancy

Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation by Ellen Fitzpatrick.

Within seven weeks of President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy received more than 800,000 condolence letters.  Two years later, the volume had exceeded 1.5 million letters.  Of the letters that still remain at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, historian Ellen Fitzpatrick has selected approximately 250 for inclusion in this book.  The letters give the reader a real sense of the heartfelt feelings of people toward President Kennedy, and a snapshot of the mood of the country.  They are from people of all ages, areas of the country, and races. At the end of the book, there are brief biographies of the letter writers. If you remember November 22, 1963, it will take you back in time.  If you don’t remember, it will make that day more than something in the history books. Susan

Stuff Hipsters Hate: A Field Guide to the Passionate Opinions of the Indifferent, by Brenna Ehrlich and Andrea Bartz. Do you know a twentysomething who is overeducated and underachieving? Then this is the book for you. Andrea is a graduate of Brookfield Central high school and her insights into the lives of the hipsters are dead on and dead funny. Like the Onion newspaper, her humor is so funny because it is so true. From clothes, to dating, to grooming, to work life, it’s all in here as the authors lay bare the hipster ethos of ironic detachment and countercultural disdain. Complete with photo’s, charts, graphs, and sketches, this field guide will aid you in identifying and skewering the hipsters all around us. Robert