Modern Dante's Inferno, rediscovery and redemption tale among offerings

If you have been to an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library lately, you may have seen black, red and white signs and bookmarks everywhere asking "what do you geek?"

By asking this question, the library hopes to find out what its users are passionate, or geeked, about. Whether it is math and science or a laugh-out-loud book, the library is interested in hearing about what you love.

In "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk, the reader is thrown head first into a modern-day take on Dante's Inferno. Seen through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, Hell is much different from the classic interpretation of the domain of lost souls. From the early descriptions, it is clear Palahniuk sets the stage for a strangely dark and completely funny quest across the underworld. While different from other Palahniuk works such as "Fight Club" and "Choke," "Damned" still delivers the biting edge of the author's style and unique sense of humor. Couple this with the author's sense of questionable boundaries, and you have a mixture made in someplace other than heaven.

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A much scarier and all-too-plausible book, "America the Vulnerable: Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime and Warfare" by Joel Brenner, paints the picture of a world where the United States is being seriously threatened by its vulnerability to dependence on foreign countries such as China. Tempered with a career's worth of experience, the author's outlook for our future is bleak. A man well-connected with the United States intelligence community, Brenner creates fictitious scenarios based on modern-day cases to relay the importance of his message of caution.

The message is something that rests at the very heart of the rapper Common's existence. In "One Day It'll All Make Sense," Common recounts the ups and downs of becoming a famous entertainer and the tough decisions he had to make on the way. He recounts the obstacles faced dealing with abortion and addiction and gives insight into circles of society few ever dream to experience. From the Million Man March to Sarah Palin, Common has followed his dream of involvement and realized a life worthy of reading about.

Following a dream has led many people on the path to becoming great. However, one has to ask whether greatness is what makes many of us happy. "The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business That Works for You" gives the argument of two entrepreneurial experts' belief that each person differs as to what he needs to attain. Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams urge entrepreneurs to clarify what they want out of their businesses, know their strengths and use the greater business community when they need them. The authors argue it is more important that a company be healthy rather than worrying about being larger. Sometimes it takes more than metrics to determine the health of our professional selves.

To Paulo Coehlo, one's health relies upon much more than just a measurement system based upon empirical data. The author's newest novel, "Aleph," tells the story of rediscovery and redemption. The protagonist recounts his meeting with someone to whom he owes a debt from a lifetime 500 years in the past. This is a journey of meaning and the search for a particular answer many of us pursue: "Are we where we should be?"

The consideration of tone and narrative allow this novel to almost be real in its telling. As a result, it is easy to fall in love with the narrative of this modern-day magical tale.

Whether we love success or self-realization, hip-hop or a wicked tale, we are fortunate in all the many things we can find that fulfill our want for the things we geek. "What Do You Geek?"

Sean Davis is a Youth Services Assistant at McCollough Branch Library. Readers may contact him at seand@evpl.org. The opinions expressed in this column are personal and do not reflect policies or official recommendations of the library.

© 2011 Evansville Courier & Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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