The Heavens by Sandra Newman Reviewed by Elizabeth L., Public Services In the year 2000, life in Manhattan feels like a utopia: the UN is eradicating global poverty, carbon emissions are falling worldwide, and with President Chen in office, the United States is at peace. Sedate Ben is busy with his job and PhD studies, …
Review by Mark Santoro, Aspen Hill LibraryLeonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession is a gentle story about two thirty-something, single men who are somewhat lost and late in finding their way in the world. It’s a debut novel for Hession, a popular Irish musician. In an era of discord and increasing public bitterness, the story is a welcome dose of tenderness and hope as it studies the ordinary lives …
By Lisa Navidi, Davis Library Every year the Maryland Humanities Commission, through The One Maryland One Book program chooses a book that promotes discussion in the community and sponsors book discussions throughout Maryland. For 2020 they chose The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, one of the most memorable books I have read this …
Thanksgiving is the ultimate family holiday, and there’s no better time to share Thanksgiving books together with our closest people! This list of picture books and juvenile fiction titles with a family and fun theme are perfect for sharing with kids, siblings, caregivers–in person or over Zoom! And best of all, they’re all available at …
The galaxy depicted in The Last Human, by Zack Jordan, is huge, home to countless trillions of beings and connected by an unimaginably complex communications and transportation network. Sarya, who’s considered just barely legally sentient, couldn’t possibly begin to understand the vastness of the galaxy, nor the network that binds it together. But despite her …
By Lisa Navidi, Davis Library Small town fiction has always appealed to me, maybe because I grew up in several small towns. I especially enjoy the characters and the way they interact with each other…or not. They say all politics is local. And whoever has lived in a small town knows that for sure. Experience …
Review by Elizabeth Lang, Public Services I recently read the Wired.com article “Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost” by Michael Bond. I learned that when we get disoriented, we panic, often leaving the area where anyone might expect to find us, and that we tend to do this even when we know …
If a giant robot hand was found near your backyard, how would your national government react? Would it tell the world, seek other nations’ help to find the other parts, and use what they learned for the betterment of all? Nah, mine neither. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel begins when a girl falls into a …
There is something to the phrase “never judge a book by its cover.” When I first saw the original cover of A Curious Beginning, my curiosity was piqued. The cover, pink and gilded, showed a woman in Victorian-ish dress running from something with her back to the reader. I wanted to read it. It took …
A review of Cold Storage by David Koepp Review by Elizabeth Lang, Public Services Skylab crashes to earth in 1979, bringing with it a very aggressive hitchhiker- mutated Cordyceps Novus- which finds Earth to be a rich, nutritious planet, teeming with beings that support its explosive growth. Fortunately for humanity, it lands in a highly …