MADreads

How much did that $6 t-shirt really cost?
A review of Confessions of an Eco-Sinner by Fred Pearce

 By now we all know about carbon footprints, global warming, buying and eating locally, and making green choices.  But what do we know about the things we use everyday, such as computers, clothing, and fuel?  British science writer ...read more

Reviewed by Mary K. - Central on January 15, 2009 | 0 comments

Grendel was my favorite character
A review of Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

 It's 1983 in Owl, North Dakota.  Julian has just moved from Madison, WI to take her first teaching job in this small town (pop. 850).  Eighteen-year-old Mitch plays quarterback and dreams of killing his coach.  Horace is a 73-year-old widower whose life revolves mainly around trips to the local cafe for coffee and town gossip.  With alternating chapters about these three residents, Chuck Klosterman's dips his toes into the fictional pond with ...read more

Reviewed by Katharine - Sequoya on January 14, 2009 | 2 comments

Mind over matter?
A review of Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain by Kirsten Menger-Anderson

 Sometimes I'm in the mood for one of those big, sprawling sagas that trace a family's heritage back as far as possible, but it's pretty rare.  Usually, I'd rather just read the good bits, and Kirsten Menger-Anderson has made that possible in the best way.  Her debut short story collection Doctor Olaf ...read more

Reviewed by Kylee on January 13, 2009 | 0 comments

Shocking goings on at the writer's retreat
A review of Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmons

 Posy Simmonds is a new discovery for me.  She is a British author of children's books and comic strips that wind up getting collected and published as graphic novels.  Her latest work, ...read more

Reviewed by Dennis - Central on January 12, 2009 | 0 comments

Road trip
A review of So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

 Leif Enger's second novel So Brave, Young and Handsome takes the reader back to Minnesota, the setting of ...read more

Reviewed by Lesley - Central on January 9, 2009 | 0 comments

Gobbled up
A review of Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin

 My mother peruses cookbooks and cooking magazines continuously: forever searching for the perfect stuffing for Cornish hens, a new twist on saucing ham steaks, something novel involving bread pudding, or perhaps anything interesting involving guavas or persimmons.  I must have inherited this glitch from her, because I love to browse through cookbooks too (even though I almost never actually cook anything, thanks to a gracious partner). But I don't think I have ever ...read more

Reviewed by Barbara - Alicia Ashman on January 8, 2009 | 0 comments

A historian to invite to dinner
A review of The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

 Sarah Vowell would be a perfect pick for a hypothetical celebrity dinner party guest list.  She’d regale you with quirky facts about presidents and revolutions in her trademark nasal voice, but would probably have a lot to say about Britney’s recent “comeback” too.  Vowell’s mix of history, pop ...read more

Reviewed by Rebecca - Monroe Street on January 7, 2009 | 0 comments

Survivor girl
A review of: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 How far away is our society from televising survival games that culminate in the last man standing?  Watch a little cable TV, and you'll quickly realize that depravity and debauchery abounds and that sanctioned killing (voluntary of course, just sign here on the dotted line) can't be far off.  Suzanne Collins' new ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on January 6, 2009 | 6 comments

Intricate and detailed
A review of A Game of Patience by Elisabeth Fairchild

 Susanne Alleyn has written two books so far in her series set in post-revolutionary France featuring police agent and investigator Aristide Ravel.  In a world turned upside down with "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" gone bad and with Madame Guillotine waiting around the corner, trust and confidence ...read more

Reviewed by Liz - Alicia Ashman on January 5, 2009 | 1 comment

Where the guys are
A review of Guyland by Michael S. Kimmel

 Every so often, newspapers and television reports will break stories revealing shocking hazing at college fraternities or reports of sexual assults on campus, prompting outrage, questions and calls for reform.  On a lesser level, parents worry about 'hookup' cultures among college-aged men, or shake their heads in disbelief when confronted with the amount of time their sons spend playing video games instead of attending classes.  The final straw comes as college educated men return to ...read more

Reviewed by Katie H. on January 2, 2009 | 0 comments
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