Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
Have we recovered from September yet? It seemed like last month had a very full slate of new offerings to check out, along with the announcements of a couple of notable award lists and Big Important Books.
Beethoven is everywhere. Cell phones trill ‘Fur Elise,’ parents dote as their offspring murder ‘Ode to Joy’ and the first four notes of the Fifth Symphony practically define classical music for many. For all his familiarity, though, Beethoven the man is frustratingly hard to pin down. Little written evidence survives of the composer’s formative years, and later documents have become burnished by fame over the years. Beethoven scholar and British radio host John Suchet tries to fill in some of the holes in a very user-friendly portrait in Beethoven: The Man Revealed.
I had no sooner finished reading Angelo's debut novel than I started to see people tweeting about an article about an Instagram "influencer" and the woman who was her friend and un-sung (according to her) ghostwriter for a number of years. I found the article and had to double-check the date it was written because the story told there of two young women who meet in New York and team up to take on social media. One has low self-confidence but the ability to work hard and write and the other is a super-confident, though somewhat feckless, woman who wants nothing more than to be famous.
It's been two steps forward, one step back for women in media organizations across the United States over the past four decades. Kristin Gilger and Julia Wallace have gathered stories from many of the most influential women of the newsrooms and dissect what it takes to succeed in male-dominated organizations when you are female. Some of the stories cemented my admiration for media superstars in perpetuity. International correspondent and legend Christiane Amanpour, that shout-out is for you.
This short and thought provoking comic will tug at your heartstrings. It's the first day of school and an introverted girl who wants to be left alone finds an empty seat on the bus. She settles in for a ride of quiet and solitude. This is interrupted by a curious and talkative little boy who keeps pestering her for school supplies. His constant requests and questions wear her down and she finally snaps at him.
My first Joe Abercrombie reads were his Shattered Sea trilogy, so A Little Hatred, introducing his Age of Madness series, is my introduction to the world of Angland (a world created with a cast of characters who are a generation earlier in his First Law series).
Adventure and new friends abound in Dog Loves Drawing by Louise Yates. Dog gets a brand new sketchbook from his dear Aunt Dora. “Dog knew exactly what to do. . .“ He begins his own story! With pencil in hand, he draws a door and steps through. He is joined by a stickman, duck, owl, and crab. Of course, they decide to ride a train and, then, set sail on a boat to a sandy island. The sketched illustrations fit well with the storyline. Soft colors and spare lines add to the gentle feel of the book.
It’s pretty clear early on in Norco ’80 that very few people are going to come out at the conclusion looking like heroes. In Peter Houlahan’s deeply researched, thrilling recreation of the 1980 robbery and the trial that followed it, there is always the overriding sense of, well, senselessness.
"A good bowl of ramen is a symphony of flavor and aroma, texture and temperature."
Do you enjoy ramen? This exceptional book provides everything you need to know about ramen, how to prepare ramen from scratch, and tips and tricks for making the most of your ramen time.
Enjoy Wisconsin Book Festival events all year round! Several incredible authors are headed your way in September, so make plans to join us.
Plus save the date for the 4-day festival October 17-20, 2019. The complete list of events can be found at wisconsinbookfestival.org.
All Wisconsin Book Festival events are free and open to the public, no tickets or registration required.
Fall is here, school is in full swing and harvest time is now. That means visits to apple orchards, corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks is the perfect book to read to celebrate the season.
As a kid I loved the Three Musketeers (book and movies) but as an adult when I revisited the story I found my interest had waned. I think that fading interest comes from the fact that the parts for women just aren't that enthralling and in fact if you think spend any time thinking about it, their treatment by the heroes is pretty bad. That said, there was one female character who always intrigued me. She is the Musketeer's frequent antagonist, Milady de Winter. In Ms. Sullivan's re-imagining we get to experience Milady's story from her point of view.
Every few months I write a book report on the books my mystery book group at Lakeview has discussed. But in thinking about it recently I realized I've neglected to mention (at least recently) all of the other book discussion happenings at the library. Every one of our locations has groups you can join to talk books if you'd like.
Of all the months on the publishing calendar, September might be the most pivotal of the year. Publishers are starting to put out their prestige titles, those works that editors and publicists feel have the best chance at the prizes that garner headlines and sales. On to the (many) highlights:
It's been a while since I've read such a delightful novel. And not only is this one great and good, I'm thrilled that there are several more books in this young adult series that I can read next. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger is set in the same world as her adult Parasol Protectorate series (a combination steam punk/romance/paranormal series that is also super-fun). This YA entry takes place a number of years earlier and introduces Sophronia Angelina Temminnick.
Exploring true crime seems to be all the rage nowadays, what with the explosion of podcasts, documentaries, and heck even an entire television network (ID) devoted to the topic. But truly, the interest in the worst things that people can do to one another is nothing new.
If you, like me, are feeling the end of summer doldrums a bit, then I've got the book for you. The Passengers by John Marrs takes you on a wild ride and sets you on a collision course with fun! Too much? One pun too many?
Ancient Rome could be a tough place for a woman, but it takes a lot to faze Flavia Albia, Rome’s only female private informer. But in The Ides of April, her first case might be her last. Hired by one of the neighborhood’s more detestable characters, Flavia is tasked with defending the woman from charges stemming from a fatal accident with a runaway cart that killed a toddler. Flavia doesn’t relish working for her client, but the daughter of famed informer Marcus Didius Falco doesn’t back away from a challenge—especially when the coffers are running low. But when Flavia’s awful clie
Sometimes a yard sale can mean discovering marvelous treasures, fun times with parents or loved ones, or simply a summer day activity. But for Callie, the young protagonist in Yard Sale by Eve Bunting, it means that she has to give away all of her beloved things and move to a small apartment. Callie watches as a lady buys her bed “with crayon marks on it” and sees a man loading up her favorite red bike onto his truck. In Callie, we see (and feel) the heartache of leaving behind the much-loved and the familiar.
