T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

T is For Trespass by Sue Grafton is the newest book in the Kinsey Millhone series. Kinsey is investigating a suspicious car accident and delivering eviction notices when she's asked to look into the background of Solana Rojas who has applied to be a caregiver for Kinsey's elderly neighbor Gus. Kinsey doesn't notice anything unusual and gives Solana the A-OK, unknowingly committing Gus to a living hell, because Solana is not who she claims to be. Grafton tries a new trick from her authorial bag by switching narration between her usual 1st person Kinsey and 3rd person Solana. Kinsey doesn't investigate mysteries that are going to change the world, but she does help make the world around her a better place. I love Kinsey: her love of olive loaf lunchmeat, peanut butter & pickle sandwiches, her need for small spaces and solitude, her attachment to Henry, William and Rosie. Kinsey, now in her twentieth appearance has become an old friend, and Grafton continues to write thrilling, taut suspenseful stories filled with rich characters and moral dilemmas. Solana's systematic abuse of Gus is horrific to behold, and I couldn't put the book down as I waited for Kinsey to come to his rescue. Solana recognizes a kindred spirit in Kinsey, but where she is dark, Kinsey is light, and each are frighteningly good at what they do. Kinsey is so honest about her hang-ups and flaws that it's hard to believe that she isn't real. Another pitch perfect entry in this series guaranteed to satisfy mystery lovers everywhere.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

I love novels that spotlight women's friendships, and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik was definitely one of those type of books. The story begins when five women meet one snowy evening and decide to form a book club. What begins as a club, turns into a friendship that lasts for decades, with each chapter written from a different character's perspective. As an added bonus, the chapters begin with the book selected for their club that month, giving some great ideas for those who want to form a club of their own. The Lena library's book club meets the last Thursday of the month at 7pm. Stop by and meet the real life angry housewives of your city!

A History of Logging

I have to admit, I am not a local. I grew up in Milwaukee, and moved to progressively smaller cities as I got progressively older. So, having been here for nearly five years now I figure I should read up about the local history. And, I was really amazed at how much history there is to our little county! A History of Logging In Oconto County by Della Rucker was a standout in my mind as to one of the most intriguing books in our local history collection at the library. I learned why Oconto county has so many mills and how the village of Lena got it's name. I learned that the Great Peshtigo Fire was the biggest forest fire ever recorded in North American history. I learned that Peshtigo was once part of Oconto county AND most importantly I learned why most of the houses in Oconto have roofs made of tin. Are you intrigued? Do you want to know more? Stop by Lena's library, because we have a great collection of local history books. You might learn something new about the very place you live every day!

Neil Gaiman Audio Collection

I began to read Neil Gaiman when I collected his Sandman series. But since then, he has become an extremely prolific author for both children and adults. However, I had never read any of his children's stories. I had this in mind when I picked up a copy of The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection. The collection contained a few of his short stories for children, some poetry and even an interview that his daughter conducted as a bonus on the CD. The stories were dark and cute, much like Lemony Snicket or Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School. My favorite was the "The Wolves in the Walls", but the entire CD was really good and worth the hour investment of your time. You can order a copy of this at the library, and listen to it in the car on the way home!

It Looked Like Spilt Milk

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Green Shaw is not a new book. However, it is becoming a bit of a classic in the storytime world. It might be because it's easy for kids to participate by guessing what the "spilt milk" is in the shape of. It could also be because it lends itself to some interesting spilt milk/cloud crafts. Or it could be the adorable story of spilled milk that really is some interestingly shaped clouds. Come pick up this storytime book at your local library. Your audience will be captivated, I promise.

Louder than words

I have always enjoyed Jenny McCarthy's books, mostly because I'm a new mom and I can relate to many of her stories. Her fourth book, Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism, is about Jenny's son Evan, and chronicles his struggle from his initial diagnoses to his eventual recovery from Autism. Even though your heart breaks for her, it is hard not to admire her courage to write such a personal book, especially in the face of the tough criticism she received from those who believe that any degree of recovery from autism is impossible. I think she does a wonderful job in creating awareness of the autism epidemic, and what can be done to give these parents hope.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman is the story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who ran the Warsaw Zoo in Poland before the invasion by Nazi Germany. The couple, along with their son, Rysz, treated many of the animals as family members. When the Germans swept into Poland and bombed much of the zoo, the couple did what they could to rescue the rest, which meant allowing many of them to be sent to German zoos for safekeeping. Jan soon joined the resistance, and the compound quickly became a safehouse for fugitives and fighters, both animal and human. Antonina had a powerful bond with animals, an innate, almost preternatural way of communicating with them that she was able to use to keep her and her charges safe throughout the war. The book is filled with poignant, tragic scenes. Antonina tucks Rysz into bed while outside German officers go on "safari" killing all of the animals in their cages. When he asks her what the gunshots outside are, she freezes, unable to answer his impossible question. They take a pig into the home and Rysz makes a pet of it until German soldiers mistake it for one of the farm pigs and drag it away for slaughter. Jan and Antonina show amazing episodes of bravery and courage. Jan walks several Jews out of the Warsaw Ghetto right under the noses of guards and helps them on their way out of the country. He also deliberately infects several pigs with worms, then butchers them, and puts the meat into sandwiches for the soldiers. My breath caught in my throat several times at the risks they took because it was the right thing to do. Seeing the war through Antonina's eyes makes it very real, but sometimes Ackerman skims over things that are vital to the story. Jan is imprisoned and Antonina and Rysz flee Warsaw. When they finally return home, the reunion is completely skipped, leaving the reader frustrated. Much of the stories come from Antonina's memoirs, and I wonder if Ackerman would have been better off using more of them throughout the story and letting Antonina tell the story in her own words. A subplot about the Nazi desire to recreate several extinct species including the Auroch and Tapan starts out strong, drops out completely in the center of the book, and then unexpectedly ends the story. It felt a bit out of place without more support. I am inspired by the bravery and humanity of the Zabinski family, and other readers of this book will be too.

Power to the People by Laura Ingraham

Power to the People by Laura Ingraham is one of the more reasoned and insightful political books I've read this year. Ingraham, a talk radio host, is sick of the government seizing control of education and religion from the people, and she wants things to change. Rather than gripe about the situation, she gives anecdotal evidence and then solid suggestions that anyone can do to change the status quo. Although she does swerve into vitriol on occasion, she is thoughtful without attacking her opponents, unlike Ann Coulter and so many others. Conservatives need many more voices like Ingraham out there. She brings about healthy debate with good ideas for even a small town mom like myself to do. Too many books like these end up as vicious, personal attacks that undermine the very points they are trying to make. Ingraham is assertive without being aggressive, and she makes excellent points. I don't think she's going to change anyone's point of view, but she may help encourage others to make some actual changes. The last chapter on religion was a bit too much preaching to the choir, and I found myself skimming over it, but the rest was a good read.

Two Graphic Novel Reviews

The Salon by Nick Bertozzi has a fascinating pretext: The artists living in Paris in 1907: Picasso, Braque, Satie, plus Gertrude Stein, are being stalked and killed off by a strange vengeful being who has the ability to pass in and out of paintings. Stein's salon serves as homebase for these painters who come together to discuss art, their current works, and engage in hedonistic behavior. A strange blue absinthe gives them the ability to jump into paintings. The story is intriguing, and the artwork occasionally striking, but I was disappointed in this book. It got a lot of wonderful reviews leading me to believe it was transcendent and more than "just" a graphic novel. I loved the discussions between Braque and Picasso about how to paint all perspectives at once, giving birth to cubism. But so much of the book focused on the baser instincts of the artists. There were far too many panels of Picasso's penis for me. Bertozzi seemed to revel in his characters' hedonism, to the detriment of the story. I expected more from this book.

Levitation by Jim Ottaviani and Janine Johnston is an expose of how magicians perform their famous levitation tricks on stage. But the book is far more than that. This beautiful graphic novel is narrated by a stagehand who knows the history of the trick and how it traveled from Europe with the magician John Neville Maskelyne to the American Harry Kellar, who stole the trick. The slim volume has backstage drama along with technical detail all lovingly illustrated by Johnston. Each panel is fantastic, especially those where real posters have been included. There's not a lot to this book, but what is there is all pleasing. I even got my husband to read this, and he's not a fan of graphic novels. Very enjoyable read!