Nevermore: Naturalist, When the Stars Go Dark, Fields and Pastures New

 

 Reported by Rita

 

Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Jim Ottaviani (Adapter), Edward O. Wilson, C.M. Butzer (Illustrator)

A vibrant graphic adaptation of the classic science memoir. Regarded as one of the world’s preeminent biologists, Edward O. Wilson spent his boyhood exploring the forests and swamps of south Alabama and the Florida panhandle, collecting snakes, butterflies, and ants—the latter to become his lifelong specialty. His memoir Naturalist, called “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written” by the Los Angeles Times, is an inspiring account of Wilson’s growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define. This graphic edition, adapted by New York Times bestselling comics writer Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by C.M. Butzer, brings Wilson’s childhood and celebrated career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and Wilson’s own lyric writing.

I didn't like it. I thought it was too technical.      - CD       1 star

 

 

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San Francisco. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns a local teenage girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever.

I couldn't put it down. A great read!      - WJ      5 stars

 

 

Fields and Pastures New: My First Year as a Country Vet by John McCormack

In 1963, just three years out of veterinary school, Dr. John McCormack moved his wife and kids to Choctaw County, Alabama, to start his first practice. Choctaw folk never had a licensed vet before, and, with few exceptions, they welcomed the red-headed doctor and the tireless care he gave their animals.

The characters are really funny. I found it enjoyable and cute.     - NH    5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned:

 

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

The Caretaker by Ron Rash

Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger

More Letters From The Pit: Stories of a Physician’s Odyssey in Emergency Medicine by Patrick J. Crocker

The Company of Owls by Polly Atkin

Staff Picks for National Library Week: Rita and TJ S.

 

Rita

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - This book is a delightful blend of humor, warmth, and captivating facts about octopuses. Much of the narrative unfolds through the eyes of a clever and somewhat sarcastic giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. It's a most enjoyable read!

 

How Y'all Doing: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan - I truly enjoyed listening to the audiobook narrated by Leslie Jordan. He led an incredibly adventurous and entertaining life and hearing him share his stories felt like having a conversation with a friend.

 

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Disease by John Green - This book is full of information about tuberculosis and its significant impact on our world. It raises awareness of the healthcare disparities that enable TB to remain one of the deadliest diseases, despite being both preventable and treatable.

 

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy - A charming tale of discovering companionship in unexpected places. This is a quick read that is sure to warm your heart.

 

TJ S.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

 

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren is one of my favorite books of all time; her memoir has inspired me to continue learning about plants and the earth. 

 

Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Courage is a “Golden Girls” murder mystery and it’s hilarious!  The author did a wonderful job with Blanche’s accent. I can hear the voices of the characters when I read it.

Staff Picks for National Library Week: Madison & Keelan

 

Madison

Billy Summers by Stephen King - King does an excellent job at exploring inner conflicts, and the struggle between good and evil that we all face. This book is extremely introspective, centering around love, loss, grief, and of course, King’s signature mix of thriller and suspense. There is never a dull moment, and the more Summers’ past comes to light, the more attached you become to his character, making for an immersive experience throughout.

 

Fairy Tale by Stephen King - This book is not in King’s usual writing style, but it is by far one of the best! King takes on a fantasy style, delving into an underground world, once full of mystical creatures, but now plagued by a curse only a prince can break. Again, this novel explores love, loss, adventure, and coming-of-age, in the most encapsulating way possible.

 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - Rather than the usual “self-help” book, this work is a collection of Aurelius’ private notes, which he centered his entire existence around. Not only is this work a guide on how to live life to the fullest, while maintaining motivation and peace, but it still holds true nearly 2000 years later.

 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - There is not much else to say, other than Bradbury has done it again! This book follows a sci-fi layout, exploring the dangers technology may pose—specifically regarding books. Considering I love books (and work in a library!), I highly enjoyed Bradbury’s twist on firemen, and the altered reality in which they start fires, rather than extinguish them.

 

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - Kafka, in his usual fashion, writes a story about life’s tragedies and the devastations that occur. In this work, he explores co-dependency and the toll it takes on both parties, especially considering Gregor, the family’s provider, mysteriously wakes up as a human-sized bug and can no longer work. I absolutely love the way Kafka explores human emotions, including worry, grief, anger, and fear, and the way that love fades given dire situations.

 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - This book is a combination of romance, mystery, and thriller, which I greatly enjoyed, especially considering this book is the first of its kind from Owens. I loved the way that she expressed the ability of those to rise above hardship, even when all odd stand against them, just as with Kya Clark. Her father an abusive alcoholic, her mother and siblings runaways, and her classmates judgmental of it all, this novel is dark, messy, real, and raw, which is what made me love it most.

 

Keelan

The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino - The girl is the knight and the hero. The found family is so lovely and their journey is ever-evolving, making it feel like you're getting several books/stories in one big quest. 

 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas -  The journey Nesta goes on in this book is so raw and blows the rest of the series out of the water.

 

Funny Story by Emily Henry - Light-hearted and funny following the aftermath of a terrible breakup featuring a librarian for a lead character and gaggle of found family.

 

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune - Nostalgic, warm, summer second-chance romance coming to a head in the wake of a major loss.

 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - This is my all-time favorite book. You follow Francie and her family as she grows up in poverty in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. It is a brilliant coming-of-age story.

Staff Picks For National Library Week: Laura and Luke

It's almost time for National Library Week!  We always ask for staff picks of favorite books, so we will be posting some of those over the next week.  Here are the first choices:

Laura

Twice by Mitch Albom -Mitch is my all-time favorite author. I read and own every book he's ever written. This one is a little different; it's a romance with a magical twist. The protagonist has the ability to whisper TWICE and redo his last mistake. He can't revisit the same thing more than once and has no control over whether or when someone dies. The ending made me hold the book tight and cry—so heartwarming!

 

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden -I find Freida very hit or miss, but her books are always short, easy reads. This one knocked it out of the park. Debbie authors a column much like Dear Abby, but Debbie is far away from Abby! In real life, she is terrifying! Don't miss this one, it makes up for the blah ones.

 

Creep, Freak, and The Butcher -  All three by Jennifer Hillier in her Serial Killer Files. Each is a stand-alone book about a different serial killer and their effect on their families and everyone in their orbit. Each one is a page-turning thriller and I loved them all!

Luke

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler is a fantasy book that's a bit raunchy, filled with wise cracks and sarcasm.

Nevermore: Dopesick, Naturalist, Murder in Constantinople

 Reported by Rita

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of America's twenty-plus year struggle with opioid addiction. From distressed small communities in Central Appalachia to wealthy suburbs; from disparate cities to once-idyllic farm towns; it's a heartbreaking trajectory that illustrates how this national crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.

I found this book to be easy to read and well researched. It was very thorough and informative - well done.      - KM     5 stars 

 

Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Jim Ottaviani (Adapter), Edward O. Wilson, C.M. Butzer (Illustrator)

A vibrant graphic adaptation of the classic science memoir. Regarded as one of the world’s preeminent biologists, Edward O. Wilson spent his boyhood exploring the forests and swamps of south Alabama and the Florida panhandle, collecting snakes, butterflies, and ants—the latter to become his lifelong specialty. His memoir Naturalist, called “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written” by the Los Angeles Times, is an inspiring account of Wilson’s growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define. This graphic edition, adapted by New York Times bestselling comics writer Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by C.M. Butzer, brings Wilson’s childhood and celebrated career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and Wilson’s own lyric writing.

I thought this was a great expose of Wilson's life. Very fascinating.      - AH     5 stars

 

Murder in Constantinople by A.E. Goldin

A gripping, immersive historical murder mystery in which a wayward boy from London's East End is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer on the eve of the Crimean War. London, 1854- twenty-one-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure.

This was a good read - a really interesting story.      - GP       5 stars

  

Other Books Mentioned:

Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story: A Port William Novel by Wendell Berry

Jordan's Stormy Banks (Body Farm, #7.5) by Jefferson Bass

The Devil's Bones (Body Farm, #3) by Jefferson Bass

Trauma Room Two by Philip Allen Green

Skylark by Paula McLain

Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run by Paul McCartney, Ted Widmer (Editor)

 

New Books:

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson

The Company of Owls by Polly Atkin

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August

How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children’s Books by Joan Bodger

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Many, many years ago, a fellow librarian encouraged me to read How the Heather Looks if I had any interest in children’s literature.  The library had a copy, so I promptly checked it out.  In the late 1950s, author Bodger and her husband took their young son Ian and toddler daughter Lucy to England in search of the sites in the books they loved.  Remember, this is pre-internet; no googling places or making reservations online.  Instead, they rented a car and set out, poring over maps, and hoping to find places to stay as they go along. 

What they do have is a deep love and knowledge of books.  Winnie the Pooh and Wind in the Willows, of course, but also Puck of Pook’s Hill, Swallows and Amazons, and several others that I recognized but couldn’t quite remember, such as Johnny Crow’s Garden.  Of course, there are also references to British history, to King Arthur, Robin Hood, and a host of other familiar characters.

They prepared as best they could, by researching the areas they wanted to visit in part by finding where the authors lived on the premise that the artists and illustrators would have used the places that inspired the authors. The hope that the locals would be able to fill in the information proved wildly optimistic: in a town where he lived and worked, no one seems to know Randolph Caldecott.  That’s not to say the people they meet are inhospitable; most are quite kind, even if they think these Americans are quite daft.

While they may not find exactly what they are looking for and sometimes pass places they later discover would have been sites they loved, they go with such hopes, joy, and innocence that I was utterly charmed.  Most of all, these are people who love books. Their enthusiasm has made me want to go pick up books I hadn’t read in years and even to seek books I’ve never read.

Even with set-backs like rainy weather or missed turns, they never lose their enthusiasm. They even have some amazing instances of good luck as when they write to A.A. Milne’s widow and are invited for a visit.

For me, this is an absolute charmer of a book, a love letter to both literature and to England. I have to admit that when I read it long, long ago, I dimly remember being disappointed at all the things they set out to find and didn’t.  This time around, I was more attuned to the things they did find, especially some that they weren’t actually looking for.  Sometimes it IS more about the journey than the destination.

And now I have the urge to re-read Wind in the Willows.

The Body in the Kelp by Katherine Hall Page

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Faith Fairchild, her minister husband Tom, and toddler Ben are spending the summer on Sanpere, an island in Maine.  Faith finds herself enjoying her time at the beach, especially as there are two enthusiastic teenage babysitters who adore following Ben around.  Faith’s friend Pix, who encouraged the visit, has introduced her around so she’s gathered a circle of acquaintances.  There’s also very fresh seafood, including clams and lobster which caterer Faith finds most appealing.

Less appealing is finding a body on the beach, even more so when it turns out that it’s someone Faith knows.

This was my first Faith Fairchild mystery but it certainly won’t be my last!  Page writes with verve, going from marvelous descriptions of place to Faith’s somewhat cynical sense of humor.  She also keeps the action moving with disagreements about a surprising inheritance and the lure of hidden treasure, possible mythical but one can always dream. For me, the book is a delight; I enjoy the humor and the descriptions of Sanpere are so vivid that I can almost smell the sea. Looking at some of the title descriptions, this is one of the series that recognizes the passage of time: by The Body in the Web (2024) Ben is off to college.  (Body in the Kelp came out in 1991.)

Faith is neither foolhardy nor overly cautious.  She has an appealing no-nonsense attitude that bodes well for the long haul as a sleuth. The style reminds me of two of my favorite authors, Jill Churchill and Lea Wait, so I am thrilled to have a new author to add to my list. Since there are 26 books in the series, I will no doubt be entertained for quite some time!