Ray Manzarek, keyboard genius and co-founder (with the late Jim Morrison) of The Doors died yesterday in Rosenheim, Germany.

A chance meeting on a California beach in 1985 between Morrison and Manzarek sparked one of the most successful rock bands in U.S. music history. After Morrison's death in 1971, Manzarek stayed busy in the music world, working with the punk band X and collaborating with Michael McClure on the documentary Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rossett and Grove Press (2008).

Manzarek loved to tell the story about how The Doors seriously aggravated Ed Sullivan on September 17, 1967 for their first and only appearance on his variety show. Sullivan made the band swear they would NOT sing the word 'higher' when performing Light My Fire ("You know that it would be untrue, You know that I would be a liar, If I was to say to you, Girl, we couldn't get much higher"). The group promised -- "Yeah, yeah, sure, sure." -- and then performed it as written. Sullivan cancelled all their future performances.

Mr. Manzarek, who was 74, had been battling bile duct cancer.

Bernard Waber, who turned his commercial graphic arts training into a successful career as a children's book author and illustrator, died May 16th.

Waber, a World War II veteran and devoted movie buff, first introduced Lyle the lovable crocodile in his 1962 book, The House on East 88th Street. In this fanciful, gentle, funny story, the Primm family discovers Lyle hanging out in the bathtub of their Upper East Side brownstone. Lyle made several more appearances, including in Lyle Finds His Mother (1974) and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (1965). His final Lyle book, Lyle Walks the Dog: A Counting Book (2010), was a collaboration with his daughter Paulis Waber.

While most of Waber's books involved whimsical illustrations of animals -- The Mouse that Snored and the delightful A Lion Named Shirley Williamson (1996) -- Waber also had a gift for using human subjects to zero in on and allay common childhood anxieties. In Ira Sleeps Over (1972), little Ira frets about whether or not he can bring his teddy bear to a sleepover. In 2002, Waber published Courage in response to September 11th. He had started it before the attacks, but added firemen and police officers to his examples of people, both ordinary and extraordinary, who exhibit courage every day.

Waber forever endeared himself to book and movie lovers when he said that the way he endured frequent relocations as a child was to seek reassurance from his parents that wherever they moved, a library and movie theater would be close by. "...The Library and cinema were life-giving urgencies, a survival kit for any new neighborhood."

Waber, who was 91, died at his home in Long Island.

Last week, Dan Brown's new novel, Inferno was released and is in hot demand. In this 476 page blockbuster, Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor whose specialty in symbology takes him to Italy to unravel the secrets of Dante's Inferno, races against time to save the world.

Dan Brown came to the public's attention in 2003 when his intriguing, provocative, controversial The Da Vinci Code broke all sorts of publishing records and is, to this day, one of the bestselling novels of all time. Ever since, he has had one #1 bestseller after another. Just two years after The Da Vinci Code was released, Brown was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most influential People in the World.

Are you on the wait list for Inferno? Never fear, we have a list of great titles that share Brown's powerful formula of mixing history, religion, and/or literature and cryptography to tell a compelling story. Try some of these to tide you over until your number comes up.

Umberto Eco's very first novel, published in English 30 years ago, is considered a classic. In The Name of the Rose, Brother William of Baskerville, a 14th century monk, is sent to Italy to investigate seven deeply disturbing murders. Three years later, Sean Connery starred in the award-winning film version.

In The Eight (1988), Katherine Neville, tells the story of Catherine Velis, a computer pro for one of the Big Eight accounting firms. Velis is fascinated by the relationship between chess and mathematics and sets out on a dangerous quest to gather the pieces of an antique chess set, scattered across the globe. If found, the complete set will reveal a world-changing secret, which began in 1790.

Jonathan Rabb, in his popular 2001 The Book of Q, moves back and forth between sixth century Asia Minor and 20th century Croatia. Father Ian Pearse is a researcher at the Vatican Library who cannot forget his passionate affair eight years earlier with Petra. When he comes across the translation of an ancient scroll that reveals a shocking code, he returns to Bosnia (and, oh yes, Petra) to save the world from the secrets buried in the scroll.

Scrolls and diaries that beg to be decoded to reveal earth-shattering religious secrets, are at the center of The 13th Apostle (2007), by Richard and Rachael Heller. This time, the sleuths are Sabbie Karaim, a biblical scholar and ex-Israeli commando and Gil Pearson, an American cybersleuth who discover there are those who are willing to kill for this possible link to one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

If you are too impatient for your hold for the print version of Inferno, why not try Paul Michael's dramatic narrative performance in the audiobook version?

Award-winning YA author and a National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti brings us her first adult novel with He's Gone *, an intensely gripping story about love, loss, marriage, and secrets that would appeal to readers of Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, and Anna Quindlen.

Sunday morning, Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat with a headache and a hangover to find her husband, Ian is not home. As the hours pass, irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic, as she realizes : He's gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations, Dani plumbs the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth - about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

"Readers will find themselves swept up by the crisis, made palpable by Caletti's believable characters and their raw emotions. As much a gripping emotional thriller as it is a book about love and relationships, Caletti's newest work will please old fans and garner new ones."

* = starred review

No doubt some of you read the NPR review of debut novelist Brian Kimberling's Snapper * - hilarious, poignant, all-too-human recollections of an affable bird researcher in the Indiana backwater as he goes through a disastrous yet heartening love affair with the place and its people.

New grad Nathan Lochmueller (IU, Philosophy) stumbles onto an unlikely job tracking songbirds within one square mile of south central Indiana near Bloomington. "Told with precise and memorable prose in beautifully rendered, time-shifted vignettes, Snapper richly evokes the emotions of coming to adulthood". The poor pay is compensated by the woods that provide solace and the colorful, if occasionally scarifying, array of characters: He meets diner patrons who reply to kids' letters to Santa Claus, would-be mushroom-hunters, ersatz Klansmen and dimwitted bureaucrats who legislate on the environment without knowing the first thing about it".

Southern Indiana native, "Kimberling (a former birdwatcher himself) writes gracefully about absurdity, showing a rich feeling for the whole range of human tragicomedy. A delightful debut."

Will appeal to fans who enjoyed the quirky characters and colorful setting in Karen Russell's Swamplandia!.

* = starred review

Iron Man 3 (PG-13) is a Walt Disney Studio adaptation of Marvel's Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. It pits brash but brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

For limited release is What Maisie Knew (R). With newcomer Onata Aprile in the title role, Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård star this family drama, a contemporary re-imagining of the novel by Henry James. It's the story of a captivating little girl's struggle for grace in the midst of her parents' bitter custody battle, navigating the turmoil with a six-year-old's innocence, charm and generosity of spirit.

Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (PG-13), would-be writer Nick Carraway leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922. In this era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby; across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan; and is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich.

Released just in time for summer vacation is the animated Epic (PG), based on The Leaf Man by William Joyce. It tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world…and ours.

Today is Endangered Species Day, so let's raise some awareness about the plight of Earth's endangered animals! We only have one earth and we all have to share it, humans and non-humans alike. Check out these books to learn more about how we can all help out.

Hope for Animals and Their World and Wildlife Heroes are two books about people around the globe who have worked hard (and are still working hard!) to bring back many different species from the brink of extinction. The Atlas of Endangered Species gives good information about all the endangered species from diverse ecosystems like forests, mangroves, and coral reefs. While many people know the plight of the polar bear, the panda, and the elephant, there are species of animals fighting for survival in our very own backyard. Can We Save Them? is a look at the endangered species of North America.

With the recent recovery of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, the topic of missing children is just as important as ever. On May 25th, 1979 six year old Etan Patz disappeared in New York while walking to school. Though he still has not been found, his disappearance sparked a larger awareness of growing instances of missing children. In 1983 President Ronald Regan designated May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day in commemoration of Etan and other missing children. Every administration since has used May 25th “to renew efforts to reunite missing children with their families, remember those who are still missing, and make child safety a national priority.”

One of the challenges posed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is their Take 25 program. This program encourages parents to take 25 minutes to talk to their children and promote child safety. Wonder how to address such a topic with your child? The NCMEC has a page with some ideas for how to start the conversation.

Another way to promote child safety is to host an event or find and event near you. A Take 25 event is “any opportunity to begin a conversation around the issue of child safety.” If you register your event Take 25 will send you free materials to distribute. Ready to host an event? Click here.

First Position is a documentary about determination and drive. This film follows six young competitors in the very prestigious Youth America Grand Prix. You will sit on the edge of your seat as you watch these dancers pour their heart and soul into ballet. Their passion for the art is evident in their diligence as well as their final dances. For some the competition is about being able to make a career out of dancing and for others it is a way to ensure a good future, but for all of them the competitions represents a chance to have their passion for ballet affirmed and prove that their hard work was worth it.

Even though the young dancers come from very different backgrounds and their ages vary, all of them have families that support their desire to dance. Almost always this means making financial sacrifices and dedicating large amounts of time to driving the dancers to practice. In a few instances the families relocate in order to be closer to a prestigious trainer. One thing that becomes evident is that ballet is not just a hobby for these young people and their families, it is a lifestyle.

This documentary is beautiful and uplifting. I was amazed at the intensity the dancers had and at times cringed at the things they would put their bodies through in order to preform better. One of the nice aspects of the film was that none of the parents seemed too crazy. They did not push their kids to do something they did not want to do but rather worked to support the dreams that their kids already had. The one family that I thought might head in the crazy direction, in the end proved me wrong, allowing their child to quit ballet while his sibling continued on. His mother did cry, but she did not (at least on camera) beg him to continue dancing.

If you like watching ballet you should click here to see what other videos and other materials we have on this beautiful dance. Or perhaps you just like documentaries about people putting their heart and soul into something. If that is you, you’ll want to check out Kings of Pastry.