MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

Adventure with a side of scary (or scary with a side of adventure)

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A review of Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christrian McKay Heidicker

It’s been a while since I’ve read really a good anthropomorphic novel (stories where animals take on human characteristics). When the ALA awards were announced and Scary Stories for Young Foxes was named a Newbery Honor, I figured it must be special. Special is only one of the many ways to describe this book. Harrowing, magical, sad, corrupt, and resilient are other words that come to mind but once you read it you’ll have your own words to describe it.  “All scary stories have two sides,” says the old storyteller to the seven fox pups eager to be frightened.

Posted by Jody M on Apr 17, 2020

MADmatches tonight

Mad matches logo
Your Next Reading Suggestions

Maybe you just haven't met the right one, yet? MADmatches pairs local readers with the books of their dreams! 

Post the last three books you read and enjoyed on our Facebook MADmatches event page from 5:30-7:30 pm tonight, and our librarians will respond with a few titles they think you’ll enjoy. Madison librarians will be on Facebook from 5:30-7:30 pm with custom book recommendations just for you.

A library card isn’t needed to take part in MADmatches.

Posted by Jane J on Apr 14, 2020

Everyone should have an EDC (Emergency Day Carry) Bag

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A review of Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi

How would you, a college freshman with little social skills, get the attention of the hot, tattooed baker/barista with an equally hot-but-manipulative ex-girlfriend with an enviable Insta feed named MsLOLAXO?Answer: Save his life with your EDC (Every Day Carry) bag of emergency items and become each other’s emergency contact (cause you know, the baker/barista is bare bones making it in life and can’t afford healthcare).

Posted by Jody M on Apr 10, 2020

Supernatural romance

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A review of The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons

The Regrets is a unique love story.

When the novel begins, we meet Thomas, a cool, young Brooklynite who is newly, but incompletely, dead. Due to an erring angel, Thomas is placed in limbo and instructed to await his final fate, albeit with the grave warning that he is not to incur regrets by engaging in intimate involvements with the living.

Posted by on Apr 9, 2020

Sherlock before Holmes

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A review of Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse

Has there ever been a character that has inspired other writers so much as Sherlock Holmes? The world of the quintessential English detective has expanded and reimagined to include Holmes-like detective on the western frontier, an unlikely apprentice to Holmes, Holmes as a consulting magician and the 

Posted by Katie H on Apr 8, 2020

Human Diversity

Cover of Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winners

Looking for something different to read, to challenge you, then check out the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winners, which honor books that address racism and diversity. The 2020 books have been announced "The new books explore human diversity in riveting style, putting the lie to racism and ableism even as reading them knits us closer together in times when we must be apart," said prize manager Karen Long. I have included the ebook link for those available in the Wisconsin Digital Library and at the end the library book.

Posted by Kathy K on Apr 2, 2020

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