MADreads

Ms. Hempel learns a lesson
A review of Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

 Twenty-something Beatrice Hempel is just beginning to feel like "Ms. Hempel", but that isn't who she is all the time - it's who she is to her seventh-grade English class.  Throughout the eight connected stories in Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum's ...read more

Reviewed by Kylee on October 27, 2008 | 0 comments

Lazarus lives
A review of The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon

 I was happy to see that Aleksandar Hemon’s The Lazarus Project was nominated for the ...read more

Reviewed by Jon - Central Library on October 24, 2008 | 1 comment

Great books for adults to read out loud to kids or read for fun for themselves because they are just so good
A review of A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

 It is also not too early to start thinking about the holidays and these books make great gifts: Happy Fiftieth Anniversary, Paddington! I first read A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond when I was in third grade based on a friend’s recommendation. I remember enjoying it, but ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on October 23, 2008 | 0 comments

This one, truly stranger than fiction
A review of Cris, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe by Mike O'Connor

 Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run is quite the title. And, coincidentally, it is quite the book. The author, Mike O'Connor, is a journalist who has worked for NPR, CBS and ...read more

Reviewed by Lisa - Central on October 22, 2008 | 1 comment

Friends (and enemies) of the court
A review of Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

 I always look forward to new books by Christopher Buckley. He's such a gifted wordsmith and his sense of humor never fails to amuse, no matter the subject. He's become something of an adept at taking national and international crises-du-jour such as American-Islamic relations, ...read more

Reviewed by Dennis - Central on October 21, 2008 | 0 comments

Take me out to the ball game
A review of The Code by Ross Bernstein

 Well it's World Series time, so that means time for some baseball books. While I don't watch a lot of baseball, I really enjoy the incredible amount of strategy that goes into each pitch: where to place your fielders, where to place your pitch, and how all that changes when you have runners on base, etc., etc. Add to that all of the unwritten rules of baseball – like when do you bean a guy, and conversely, when does one charge the mound? Then add to that all of the different ways you can cheat ...read more

Reviewed by Gregg - Sequoya on October 20, 2008 | 1 comment

Wisconsin Book Festival: Sunday, October 18
A review of Facing Fear by Judith Strasser

 Join us for this Wisconsin Book Festival event held at your Madison Public Library! Carol Chase Bjerke, Judith Strasser, & Richard Quinney: Writing Between Illness and Wellness 4:00 p.m. at the Central Branch  With dark humor, irony, compassion, and keen sense of self, Carol Chase Bjerke navigates through the different personas of a rectal cancer survivor, medical patient, healer, and most importantly, artist, to ...read more

Reviewed by Library Staff on October 19, 2008 | 0 comments

Wisconsin Book Festival: Friday, October 17


Join us for this Wisconsin Book Festival event held at your Madison Public Library! Porter Shreve & Casey Nagy: Fiction Stranger Than Politics 5:00 p.m. at the Central Branch Sometimes, people trying to change the world say by any means necessary. But how much is too much? What if the wrong people get hurt?  ...read more

Reviewed by Library Staff on October 17, 2008 | 0 comments

Wisconsin Book Festival: Thursday, October 16


Join us for these Wisconsin Book Festival events held at your Madison Public Library! Henry Drewal and Baba Wague Diakite: Meet Mami Wata 5:00 p.m. at the Central Branch Commonly known as a water spirit, Mami Wata is a west African mythical figure steeped in much mystery and charm. For centuries, traditional and now contemporary art has been created to celebrate Mami Wata, thus demonstrating the pervasiveness of the water ...read more

Reviewed by Library Staff on October 16, 2008 | 0 comments

Wisconsin Book Festival: Wednesday, October 15


Join us for these Wisconsin Book Festival events held at your Madison Public Library! Kashmira Sheth: Monsoon Afternoon 6:30 p.m. at the Alicia Ashman Branch Author Kashmira Sheth presents an affectionate, sensitive story which provides a look into Indian ...read more

Reviewed by Library Staff on October 15, 2008 | 0 comments
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