Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
Francis the donkey is a shoemaker. He does what he loves and makes the other animals very happy with his beautiful shoes. He has great friends and a comfortable routine.
Odd, weird, and little says it all, when describing the new kid in Woodrow’s classroom. Toulouse is his name, he’s from Quebec, he wears a fancy suit and carries a briefcase, and he speaks French. Woodrow, the book’s narrator and the current odd-man-out at school, is immediately intrigued with Toulouse, but he wonders if it would be worth it befriending this unique and rather owlish new student. Woodrow defends Toulouse against the classroom bullies, and Toulouse helps Woodrow, while simultaneously showing off his exceptional talents, and the two become friends.
“You are an adventure I’ve always wanted to take—and I’m so glad I have. But adventures have consequences…. You know, I’m not sure they would be adventures if they didn’t.”
At the 2018 Cheryl Rosen Weston Memorial Lecture, Susan Orlean, hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post and the acclaimed bestselling author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution—our libraries.
Two girls, Lollipop and her sister Tasha are both dancing to their favorite tunes as their parents remind them it is time to slow down, settle and get ready for bed. The language of Montanari’s Hip-Hop lullaby dances across the page in perfect meter. Pinkney’s soft, fluid illustrations provide pitch perfect movement as he depicts this warm family moment as simultaneously universal (how to get energetic youngsters to bed) and unique (to hip-hop, techno and dance fans). This is a wonderful read-aloud for any time of day including tuck-in time.
Empire covers New Orleans history and culture from the 1880s to the 1930s and reading it while situated in a world that seems obsessed with the vice of others made for a nicely synergistic experience. Krist focuses on the New Orleans vice district, Storyville, and the far-reaching impact the it had on the city's politicians, power-brokers, mobsters and the black population who saw New Orleans fall under the worst of what the Jim Crow south had to offer.
Wisconsin Book Festival Event
Central Library - Madison Room
November 7th, 7 pm
“The baby is dead.”
That’s the first sentence.
Here’s a suspense thriller that puts it all out there from the get-go. Generally unconcerned with twists or secret motives, The Perfect Nanny really isn’t for you if you’re craving an old-fashioned who-done-it. But if you want a psychological horror show that is as literary as it is tawdry, Slimani serves it up on a platinum platter.
And we're allowed to sit back and enjoy the show. I'm talking about Hollywood's most charming couple, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. Their new book, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History shares the story of how they met and what their romance is all about. It's no surprise these two beautiful people met doing something actor-y while living in California. It's what they are all about that is the most fascinating.
Here are some highlights:
In book two of her series (after The Dark Lake), author Sarah Bailey transplants Detective Gemma Woodstock from a small rural Australian town, to Melbourne where she struggles to find her place, both in the large city and in her new job with the Melbourne police.
Charlotte Gorman and her twin Ginny could not be more different. Where Charlotte favors Harry Potter t-shirts and jeans, Ginny wouldn't be caught out in public (or on her Instagram feed) in anything less then full makeup and fashion-forward outfits. And where Charlotte is an elementary school librarian, Ginny is a beauty pageant professional. And it's at Ginny's latest pageant, Miss American Treasure, where their two disparate lives collide.
Sheets combines gently confused spookiness with Halloween past and present in an uplifting tale of friendship and acceptance.
This is another great romantic comedy from the writing duo Christina Lauren. Millie, a true crime professor, and her four male friends/colleagues decide to wade into the cesspit of online dating together, and when Millie accidentally matches with her friend Reid, chaos ensues. Anyone who has tried online dating will commiserate with Millie and her friends as they struggle to find love online. This book was laugh out loud funny, sweet, and I gobbled it up in one sitting. Recommended for fans of Helen Hoang, Sally Thorne, and Penny Reid.
Jabari Asim was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. For eleven years, he was an editor at The Washington Post, where he also wrote a syndicated column on politics, popular culture, and social issues, and he served for ten years as the editor in chief of The Crisis, the NAACP's flagship journal of politics, culture, and ideas.
This is a novel about the stories we tell about ourselves, about the people we love and how what we think we know may not match the actuality. Which leads to the ultimate question: would we even want to know?
Winter might be knocking on the door, but November is one of the hottest months for new releases. On to the highlights:
--One of the most anticipated memoirs of recent times finally hits shelves November 13. Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming, part of a reported $65 million dollar deal that also includes a memoir by the former President (no word yet on a release date for his book). Given the challenge of recouping such a huge advance, expect to see this hyped just about everywhere.
Colin Cotterill has been on and off my mystery radar over the years. I'd read his first book The Coroner's Lunch a while ago and came back to Cotterill every now and then. But much as I enjoy Laotian coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun, somehow Cotterill just never stuck as a must-read author for me. That may have changed with my discovery of another of his series featuring Thai journalist Jimm Juree.
In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis and the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available freshwater, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Dan Egan has written an urgent and powerful wake-up call.
Ellie Kemper is funny, upbeat, and the type of person who immediately replies to emails and types out HAHAHAs instead of using LOLs. She writes in all caps and generously uses exclamation points. She is not afraid of emotion. I appreciate this! I like to type out HAHAHAs, too! (See what I did there with the capitalization and exclamation points?!?!).
