MADreads

Surprising fun from Côte d’Ivoire
A review of Aya by Marguerite Abouet

 Have you read any books set in Côte d’Ivoire? I hadn't.  There seems to be little written in English about this beautiful and interesting country, other than bleak news accounts of ongoing strife, economic hardship, poverty, and public health woes.  However, two recently translated graphic novels show Ivorians in a ...read more

Reviewed by Barbara - Alicia Ashman on January 26, 2009 | 2 comments

Better than a monster mash
A review of: Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link

 I LOVE Kelly Link.  If I were stranded on a desert island and could bring just one book, her short story collections Stranger Things Happen and ...read more

Reviewed by Kylee on January 23, 2009 | 1 comment

It's the thing
A review of Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

 It really is.  I'm talking about LibraryThing.  Have you ever used LibraryThing recommendations?  Praise be.  I cannot even begin to describe the reading miracle that occurred last summer when I searched recommendations for The ...read more

Reviewed by Molly - Central on January 20, 2009 | 1 comment

The infamous Prep-- worth the hype?
A review of Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

 You know how there are books that 'everyone' has read except you?  That you've meant to read...probably when it came out...but never got around to? For some reason I read these types of books while on vacation.  A couple years back I read, finally, Crossing to Safety by ...read more

Reviewed by Liz - Central Library on January 16, 2009 | 0 comments

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
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