This book is great for all ages! If you are doing a report, it has statistics, important information, and great images. If you are going to Japan on aThis book is great for all ages! If you are doing a report, it has statistics, important information, and great images. If you are going to Japan on a trip, the maps and customs are a real help. I enjoyed reading this book to learn more about Japan before going on a trip there. My favorite part to learn about was the celebrations sections. I hope I can visit during the Lantern Festival one year.- Dana S....more
Having previously experienced a glimpse into the world of sled dog racing during a visit to a camp in Skagway, Alaska, I approached this title with a Having previously experienced a glimpse into the world of sled dog racing during a visit to a camp in Skagway, Alaska, I approached this title with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
The book provided a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the Iditarod from the viewpoint of one of the trail veterinarians. It highlighted the formidable length of the trail—an astonishing 1,049 miles, a nod to Alaska being the 49th state—and the extreme cold that racers endure. The narrative detailed the numerous checkpoints along the route, each varying in its setup and level of comfort, offering readers a vivid picture of the race's logistical and environmental challenges.
In terms of length and organization, the book struck the right balance. The stories, arranged by checkpoint and spanning multiple years, provided a well-rounded perspective on the race. Overall, this book is an enlightening read for anyone interested in the Iditarod, offering a thorough look at the race's challenges and the resilience of its participants- human and canine.
In “Good morning yoga” with bright illustrations by Sarah Jane Hinder and using rhymes, Mariam Gates takes us through twelve yoga poses set in variousIn “Good morning yoga” with bright illustrations by Sarah Jane Hinder and using rhymes, Mariam Gates takes us through twelve yoga poses set in various locations and different seasons followed by two pages of pictures showing these yoga postures in a flow, and by a short visualization of “How do I want to feel today”.
It is a beautiful book that can help parents and teachers alike in introducing yoga to young children. I personally liked it so much that I watched also the DVD “Good morning yoga” narrated by Elizabeth Cottle and animated by Andy T. Jones whose sound design makes this book come alive.
If you can get hold of a DVD copy, however, I strongly recommend it. The DVD has three tracks, the first goes through twelve yoga poses with a review of the set, the second has the same with a text to read along, and the third is a visualization, all animated, narrated, and accompanied by a wonderful music.
I liked both the book and the DVD so much, that I then read and watched a corresponding DVD of “Good night yoga” as well as “Breathe with me” by the same author. If my children were not already grown up, I would have likely reached for more titles by Mariam Gates owned by our library. A great resource for all adults with little ones at home or in class!
Wonderful illustrations show things changing with time, sometimes predictably and sometimes unexpectedly. No words, only pictures. This very engaging Wonderful illustrations show things changing with time, sometimes predictably and sometimes unexpectedly. No words, only pictures. This very engaging book made me want to make my own Before After pictures.
This cookbook had so many recipes I tried that were a hit with family. Definitely a winner if you want recipes that are tasty, healthy, and easy! -StaThis cookbook had so many recipes I tried that were a hit with family. Definitely a winner if you want recipes that are tasty, healthy, and easy! -Stacy M....more
If you would have told me I was going to like this book, I would say you were right!
John Stamos surprisingly has a lot to say and many life lessons tIf you would have told me I was going to like this book, I would say you were right!
John Stamos surprisingly has a lot to say and many life lessons to share. Everything from his days as Blackie Parrish to Marvyn Korn, Stamos gives you a backstage pass as his life as an actor and the emotional turmoil that goes with it. He opens up about his personal life too, including marriage, divorce, becoming a father, addiction, and the loss of those nearest and dearest to him.
I highly recommend the audiobook since he reads it himself and does amazing voices. Not only that, but during some of the deep emotional parts, you can hear the pain or joy in his voice. Uncle Jesse may have been the funny care-free guy we love from Full House, but John Stamos is the man we can all learn a lot from. – Alyssa C....more
For many, Elon Musk is a man people love to hate but love anyway despite his grating personality. Emerging from a very tough and unusual childhood in For many, Elon Musk is a man people love to hate but love anyway despite his grating personality. Emerging from a very tough and unusual childhood in South Africa, where he was routinely pummeled at the school his father sent him to get toughened up, he wound up first at university in Toronto, then at Penn in the United States.
But education was not to be his destination. Stanford accepted him for a Masters/PhD track, but he deferred enrollment, hoping to take advantage of the Internet wave breaking across the world. His entrepreneurial spirit won over the academic. He never returned for an advanced degree.
Though he never focused exclusively on money, early in his career he knew he would either be very rich or very poor. His talents and dogged persistence did make him rich. His mission was his enduring goal: to change the direction of humanity by building an electric car that would dramatically reduce emissions and manufacture rockets that would ultimately take humanity to Mars, making humanity a multi-planetary civilization. He thought if humanity remained earthbound, the logical end would be the end of humanity.
The trials and tribulations of his numerous ventures, especially Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter are so fantastic they seem unreal. If there is one billionaire who deserves every dollar he earns, then Musk is that person: sleeping in his factories, working with employees on the factory floor, operating on a schedule that started at sunrise and often ended in the middle of the night. Every task was important and no task, no costs, no part or process escaped his attention.
Driving down costs while improving quality was his indefatigable mission. The man was relentless as he was agitating. His Asperger’s diminished his ability to read people, a huge managerial problem. He tossed employees out of his companies routinely while attracting others who wanted to be a part of his amazing trek.
What may be the best advice for running any organization, derives from his dedication to simplicity. The author outlines Musk’s process for eliminating functionless rules, regulations, and requirements. Musk demands that when finding a requirement that doesn’t seem to fit, find the person that owns it – not a department, not a federal agency, the specific person and find out the reason for the requirement. His summary advice is to delete more requirements than you think is necessary and add any back that were cut but actually really were needed.
Whether you like this man or not, this is a book for all readers. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Musk’s story provides numerous examples of how to operate and how not to operate a startup.
Musk’s personality is much like Steve Jobs’s and Thomas Edison’s: grating and unnerving. Despite these shortcomings, and maybe because of them, they have changed the world, and it is wonderful to have these people on the American team and not our enemies. - Tom L....more
Nearly 50 years ago, Cass Elliot, Mama Cass from the folk-rock group, The Mamas and the Papas, died in London of a heart attack at age 32. She left beNearly 50 years ago, Cass Elliot, Mama Cass from the folk-rock group, The Mamas and the Papas, died in London of a heart attack at age 32. She left behind her 7-year-old daughter, Owen. Being so young, Owen only knew how much she and her Mama loved each other. She knew her mother was a performer, but did not know her whole history. Owen Elliot-Kugell tells her mom’s story and shares her own story of life with and mostly without her mom. Compiling information from family members, friends, musicians, and interviews and television appearances of her mom, Owen gives the reader the full in-depth story of Cass Elliot. She sets to rest the rumor of the ham sandwich story surrounding Elliot’s death and tells how she found out who her biological dad really was. I highly recommend this revealing, heartfelt memoir of Owen’s Mama Cass Elliot for music fans.
For those readers lamenting the continuing political bickering, Gehl and Porter provide unique insights to the problem and the resolution.
Their centraFor those readers lamenting the continuing political bickering, Gehl and Porter provide unique insights to the problem and the resolution.
Their central thesis expresses the viewpoint of big money dwarfing the meaning of individual votes. To assure their ideas are accurately portrayed, I quote them, “The Politics Industry has two currencies: some customers pay with votes; some pay with money.”
“The currency of votes has consistently less relative value than money. … Said another way, money in politics gets a great return on investment (ROI) – votes, not so much.”
Recent research supports their conclusions about customer power. For example, in 2014, researchers Martin Gilens at Princeton University and Benjamin Page at Northwestern University examined congressional action on 1779 policy issues. Their finding: “When the preferences are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule near-zero, statistically non-significant impact on public policy.”
Their perspective hits the target of much of the electorate’s discontent. Polling reveals we are not happy with the nation’s direction, in part because polling shows we have lost trust in our leaders.
We vote in the ballot box, but someone else gets the benefit.
The book doesn’t just identify the challenges, it provides numerous avenues to get a better selection of candidates. Non-partisan voting is a big idea, and it is one the founding fathers would love as their dislike for ‘factions,’ their word for political parties creating big problems during the early Republic.
The ballot box may not solve the voters’ candidate dilemma this fall, but it does provide a pathway from the anger pervasive in politics.
Check it out. You will be glad you did. -Tom L. ...more
I have long been an advocate of David McCullough’s biographies. His loss in 2022 left a huge hole in the reporting of American history. Gladly, a frieI have long been an advocate of David McCullough’s biographies. His loss in 2022 left a huge hole in the reporting of American history. Gladly, a friend gave me Meacham’s Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. Lincoln’s biography was simply fantastic; Thomas Jefferson’s eclipsed it.
I thought I had a good handle on Jefferson’s life with a couple of biographies under my belt and what could be gleaned from a few American history books.
It was amazing to ride along with Jefferson’s first term and view how his conduct changed the nature of the presidency while affirming Jefferson’s faith in our democratic republic and Constitution. Even more intriguing is Meacham’s reporting of the conflict between the Monocrats (monarchists coupled with autocrats) that aligned with John Adams and the democratic republicans aligning with Jefferson. The political incursion was more than political dialog and opinions voiced in the press. Plans had been made to circumvent the Constitution to place a Monocrat in office instead of Jefferson.
The conflicts between the factions continued through Jefferson’s eight-year tenure. As the election of James Madison approached, also a democratic republican and father of the Constitution, two different groups hoped to splinter America: a nest of insurgents in the Northeast who hoped to secede from the Union and a group led by Aaron Burr hoping to carve out territory in the West for a new nation headed by Burr. Both failed.
As amazing as these revelations were, the book was filled with tantalizing reporting about Jefferson that will make any lover of the early nation gawk and grin. The book also portrays a man great in stature, much taller than my light dusting of history painted him.
This is not just recommended. Thomas Jefferson is now my favorite biography.
Pick it up. You will be delightfully stunned. -Tom L....more
The luxury of working in a library is seeing what everyone else is reading. I am always looking for good recipes with great flavors and when I saw thrThe luxury of working in a library is seeing what everyone else is reading. I am always looking for good recipes with great flavors and when I saw three slow cooker books roll in, I checked them out immediately.
There is no shortage of cookbooks in the library, but finding flavorful recipes is hard. There are numerous easy to cook but not very tasty recipes. One of the three books was a goldmine for straightforward recipes and tantalized the tongue.
Martha Stewart’s Slow Cooker had a range of dishes with different meats and fish that hit the spot.
Porchetta, Duck with Sour Cherries, Carbonnade, and Ropa Vieja. Our most recent dish, Persian Lamb Stew with saffron, dried lime and thyme was fantastic.
If you want great slow cooking, Martha is your best resource.
The infamous Astor family, we have all heard of them in one way or another. Whether it be via their estates/historical sites on the east coast or throThe infamous Astor family, we have all heard of them in one way or another. Whether it be via their estates/historical sites on the east coast or through pop culture moments, like The Gilded Age or Titanic. But who really knows why the Astor name was so prominent through New York's social scene? Anderson Cooper (a descendant of the Vanderbilts) took a close look as to how the Astor family built their names, business, and lost it all. Cooper starts with the man who started it all: John Jacob Astor Sr. and his beginnings as a fur dealer. From there, we see the Astor name grow businesses, estates, and nonprofits. However, with great fortune comes terrible tragedies. The death of John Jacob Aster IV on the Titanic, family feuds over inheritance, and in most recent memory: The trial of Anthony Marshall. Anderson Cooper does an amazing job detailing the life of key family members and how their wealth impacted America. It is definitely one to read if you love family drama that is not your own. – Alyssa C....more
Most reference Quantum Physics books are written in a style and with content that is accessible to all, without much math, which is great. Everyone neMost reference Quantum Physics books are written in a style and with content that is accessible to all, without much math, which is great. Everyone needs a little more science in their lives and no one is left out of this audience.
Many times though, the general nature of these books lack the math that could give firmness to the textual vision of the science. Simply Quantum bridges the gap in the most unexpected and delightful ways
DK publishes illustrated books for children and adults and this approach is wonderful to help describe the weird world of quantum physics.
Like a board book for two-year-olds, the illustrations are terrific and help curious minds imagine what the quantum world looks like. The explanations of the illustrations are so good, it gave me another level of understanding not provided in the numerous other quantum physics books I have read.
For anyone in junior or high schools or ANY adult wanting to learn more about this ‘weird’ science during this highly quantum century, you will be delighted that you picked it up. -Tom L. ...more
Do you struggle with keeping up with household tasks while also working and/or taking care of kids? How to Keep House While Drowning is a small book wDo you struggle with keeping up with household tasks while also working and/or taking care of kids? How to Keep House While Drowning is a small book with a powerful message. The author, KC Davis, has a gentle way of reminding us, or telling us for the first time, that care tasks (like dishes, vacuuming, dusting, etc) are not moral judgments. You are not a “bad person” if you can’t keep up with your housework. Some other key points she emphasizes are that “good enough is perfection” and that you don’t have to earn rest. Davis does describe an easy, practical 5-step cleaning method, but beyond that, the book will help you release any guilt, blame, or shame you may be feeling if you are trying to keep house “while drowning.”
If you’ve seen the musical, Jagged Little Pill, or missed the musical when it was on tour and want to know more – Jagged Little Pill: you live, you leIf you’ve seen the musical, Jagged Little Pill, or missed the musical when it was on tour and want to know more – Jagged Little Pill: you live, you learn : the stories behind the iconic album and groundbreaking musical will shine the light on all you know and more. You’ll learn about how the show was created, from the album’s beginning to songs being chosen for the show, as well as how the plot evolved as the actors workshopped the show. Although she is still mum on who “You Oughta Know” was originally written about (my guess is still Dave Coulier), Alanis Morissette offers many behind-the-scenes details on her songs and plot points in the show. This book has interviews with the cast, amazing photography, and the full, annotated, libretto (amazing!).
I heard the album, I read the book version of the show (Jagged Little Pill by Glen Ballard), I saw the Broadway musical on tour, and now, after reading Jagged Little Pill: you live, you learn : the stories behind the iconic album and groundbreaking musical, I understand, appreciate, and love it all a little deeper.
To hear this story in Alan Cumming's own words, brings even more weight to what is being told.
The horrors he survived as a child, delivered by the haTo hear this story in Alan Cumming's own words, brings even more weight to what is being told.
The horrors he survived as a child, delivered by the hands of his own father, and the love from a wonderful mother and brother are what molded his life. You not only learn of his childhood, but also, the mysterious death of his maternal grandfather, a decorated military man, who his mother never really knew.
With wit, gravity, humor, and emotion, Alan takes you on a journey you won't easily forget, but will make you laugh, cry and keep you thinking for a long time. - Jen K. ...more
I was looking for a feel-good book featuring dogs, and when I saw the cover in the library catalog of It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump, I kI was looking for a feel-good book featuring dogs, and when I saw the cover in the library catalog of It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump, I knew I had found it!
If you know John O'Hurley from playing J. Peterman on Seinfeld or as one of the hosts of the National Dog Show, you'll hear his voice come through in his writing. Every short chapter brings a lesson O'Hurley learned from one of his dogs and how it relates to his life.
Reading these stories made me appreciate the dogs in my life a bit more and ponder what lessons they are teaching me. This book is especially recommended for "dog people." -Diana F....more
I have just started a degree in economics and picked this book up because I have read articles by Thomas Sowell, a renowned economist, for a couple ofI have just started a degree in economics and picked this book up because I have read articles by Thomas Sowell, a renowned economist, for a couple of decades but none of his books. Big mistake on my part. As this is my first Sowell book, I can guarantee I will be picking up a few more.
What is fascinating about SJF, is that Sowell, like any economist, is all about the numbers, even while tackling the most challenging cultural and economic issues. More important, he tackles issues over time to make trends visible. There aren’t many problems, if any, whose challenges aren’t understood by examining current information. His long view, historical view, is truly enlightening. His conclusions often fly in the face of today’s opinion factories on both sides of the aisle.
Another nicety, and my favorite prejudice, the book is short and to the point. What could have been a wordy tome by a more erudite economist, is easily understood and very accessible for anyone.
For those interested in public policy this is a must read. Actually, now that I think about it, this book is for anyone that reads the news and wonders whether the opinion offered is accurate. -Tom L. ...more
True Crime fans will enjoy this compilation of “murderabilia” (artifacts from a variety of crimes) accompanied by 1-3 pages about each criminal and thTrue Crime fans will enjoy this compilation of “murderabilia” (artifacts from a variety of crimes) accompanied by 1-3 pages about each criminal and their grisly crimes. The timeline of the murders ranges from 1808 (The Murder of “Omie Wise”) through 2014 (The Slenderman Stabbing) and include crimes in the United States and abroad, including Europe, Australia, and Japan. The author, Harold Schechter, a crime historian, features criminals you’ve likely heard of – John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Lizzie Borden – and many that you may be reading about for the first time.
This was a book I had to read in short bursts, sometimes skipping an entry or two if the details were too graphic or disturbing. As a history of crime, however, it was interesting to see the evolution of murders and the people who commit these heinous crimes.
If you only know actress Minka Kelly from the TV series, Friday Night Lights, or one of her other acting roles, you don’t know everything. In her honeIf you only know actress Minka Kelly from the TV series, Friday Night Lights, or one of her other acting roles, you don’t know everything. In her honest, raw memoir, Tell Me Everything, Kelly lays it all out, from her unstable childhood to growing up in Albuquerque, later breaking into modeling and acting, and eventually ketamine treatments to rewire her neural pathways and learn from her unhealthy life patterns. The audiobook read by the author is, in my opinion, the best way to experience this book. Just be prepared for Kelly to tell you everything. -Diana F.
I didn't have very high expectations for this one going in, because I usually read celeb bios just for giggles. However, this is one that you must absolutely read if you can (fair warning, she does discuss abuse and other unfortunate happenings; read with caution!). It made me cry and have newfound respect for Minka. We know her from shows like Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Titans, and Euphoria, but there is so much more to her than meets the eye. Her upbringing wasn't as glamorous as other celebs, and she doesn't hold back, telling us everything from going to her mom's work at a gentleman's club to being practically homeless and abandoned while trying to finish high school. Minka explores her childhood with brutal honesty while explaining how she made it to Hollywood on her own. While diving into her years as an adult, we see the struggles she has endured and how she has had to work on herself through therapy as well as other measures. She truly has a story that everyone can learn from, and this book lays everything out in the open. – Alyssa C....more
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