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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
What was the last book you read that just made you happy? If one doesn't immediately pop into your head, I suggest checking out In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. Though it started a little slow for me, pretty soon I was so in love with the characters and so invested in them that I didn't want it to end.
The world had been pretty dark and depressing lately (especially if you're a woman) which has made me look for truly heroic characters in the books I'm reading. Happily for me K. B. Wagers' third in the Indranan War trilogy came out recently and I could once again dive into the adventures of Hail Bristol and her loyal band of supporters who are trying to save the empire.
Brunonia Barry is back with another novel set in Salem with some crossover characters from The Lace Reader and The Map of True Places.
This is the time of year for top 10 lists. Booklist puts out various top 10 lists throughout the year, including Top 10 Sci-Tech: 2017. Are you looking for a good science or technology book to read? Then check ou the below titles. They cover a wide range of topics including space, animals, microbes, techology, and the universe.
Compared to the bustling streets of 1920s Bombay, the secluded zenana of an observant Muslim household would seem the least likely site for a murder. Yet for the three newly widowed wives of a wealthy factory owner, simply keeping men out does nothing to keep motives and means of killing from lurking among them.
Though the big weekend of Wisconsin Book Festival events is past, the Book Fest goes on year round. Next up is a visit from the incredible Alexander McCall Smith. He's here to talk about the latest in the Precious Ramotswe series, The House of Unexpected Sisters:
Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai, audio edition Harper Collins Audio, 2015 read by Lulu Lam
Lady Arianna Hadley has led a colorful, and hard, life because of the choices her father made. After his murder Arianna takes on a disguise and the role of French chef in an aristocratic household, so she can support herself. Her specialty is making incredible creations from the newest food fad in Regency England, chocolate. Her precarious existence is threatened when the Prince Regent takes ill after consuming one of her desserts.
Written by Iranian-American author and filmmaker Laleh Khadivi, A Good Country is an unnerving, yet somehow beautiful, slow burn of a novel. Khadivi’s prose has a loose and languid long-windedness -- where description and dialog bleed together -- that mimics with stunning naturalism the druggy bleariness of its main character’s day-to-day existence.
Nicole Georges had a messed up childhood with a mom who didn’t parent very well and a drunk step-dad who was cruel to her gerbil. Nicole loved animals and had a whole menagerie, but like her mom, she didn’t give her charges what they needed most, and they suffered. As a teenager she adopted Beija, a sharpei/corgi mix, to give to her boyfriend in an attempt to heal his unhappy past. Unsurprisingly his parents didn’t go along with the plan. So Nicole was stuck with Beija, who was prickly, growly, and disliked men and children.
