The Dream Lover

The Dream Lover: A Novel of George Sand by Elizabeth Berg

To be published: March 31, 2015

 

George Sand was way ahead of her time. The book starts out on the day Aurore (Sand’s real name) decided to leave her home in the French Countryside and her husband Casimir and try her luck at becoming a real novelist in Paris. It is a trial separation from her husband, and the story goes on to explain how she came to this point by jumping back and forth between her birth and after her move to Paris. She starts writing for a journal magazine when she is publishing her first couple of books and relying on her husband for income, to becoming totally independent with her own money and a string of lovers, both male and female. She starts dressing and acting like a man and eventually takes the pen name, George Sand. George is friends with writer Victor Hugo, artist Eugene Delacroix and composer Franz Liszt. She most famously tries to court the famous French actress Marie Dorval, composer Frederic Chopin and writers Alfred de Musset and Gustave Flaubert. 3 stars.

 I have always been fascinated with George Sand, but never knew anything about her. So when I saw this historical fiction, I jumped at the chance to read about her. My biggest gripe about this book was the length. The book started off interesting, but then got really tedious. It was if the author was turning the book into an academic nonfiction instead of a historical fiction. It became another one of those Advanced Readers Copies that I was sloughing through, having to review because I promised to, instead of because I was enjoying it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and she was an intriguing character both in her personal and professional life, a woman who didn’t take no for an answer in an age when women always took the backseat and did whatever their husbands told them to do. I never knew that she had children and it was cool that her son got to apprentice with Eugene Delacroix, the Romantic French painter so famous for paintings like Liberty Leading the People (28th July 1830), and later became a writer in his own right. George was also very political, even starting her own political journal and supporting worker’s rights. She led a pretty sad life with her father and brother dying young, her mother abandoning her, her tempetuous relationship with her grandmother, and her horrible relationship with her husband. It seems like she never really found happiness in love, but only in the her books. I would like read some of her own writing and would pick either Lelia, Indiana, or Consuela.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author, in exchange for my honest review.

Jan 2015 Book Reviews

I feel like I’ve been kind of slow this month with reading. I haven’t gotten through as many as I would’ve wanted, especially in regards to adult level books. Ever since they moved the new nonfiction upstairs at my library, I don’t go through them as much. My current tally is 29 books read for the year. I’m getting better with my reviews this year, and have only not completed 5, mostly for picture books. I am almost finished listening to The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, which started slow but I am rather enjoying right now (again narrated by the wonderful Barbara Rosenblat). I will follow this for the audiobook of The Curse of the Pharaohs (Amelia Peabody #2) by Elizabeth Peters, which  I had started listening to before. I am also reading the badly titled but fascinting Did She Kill Him? A Victorial Tale of Deception, Adultery, and Arsenic by Kate Colquhoun.

As usual I rate books on a scale of 1 – 5 stars, with one being the lowest and five the highest. I will add illustrations from picture books that I particularly like (and this month there were a lot).

Children

Quiet! There’s a Canary in the Library written and illustrated by Don Freeman

Whenever I think of Don Freeman, I always think of Corduroy the Bear (which I’ve somehow never read), although I did enjoy his book “Fly High, Fly Low”. This book was adorable. Although a little long, I think it would be great for a toddler storytime on reading or the library. Cary is a young girl who loves going to the library and picking out books to read, recommended by Mrs. Curtis the librarian. One day, as she is reading a book about the zoo, she imagines that she is a librarian. The first thing she does is have a day that all the animals and birds can visit the zoo. My son loved naming all the different animals in this book and liked that they all liked to read too. Pandemonium almost breaks out when some mice come in the library, but the day is saved by a canary. After accidently shouting, Cary realizes that she is still in the library and picks out a book to read at home. Recommended for ages 2-6, 4 stars.

Dinosaur Zoom! written and illustrated by Penny Dale

I picked up this book after enjoying another of the author’s books, Dinosaur Dig. This one was actually cuter than that book. Dinosaurs come from all over, in all different kinds of vehicles, bringing party supplies and birthday presents. They assemble in the forest and get ready for little Dinosaur’s surprise birthday party. My son liked all the cars and of course, the dinosaurs. Would be a good book for storytime. Recommended for ages 2-6, 4 stars.

Doodleday written and illustrated by Ross Collins

My son loved this one! Harvey’s mom warns him not to draw on Doodleday, but the temptation is just too much. He draws a fat hairy fly and it comes to life! He needs to get rid of it, so he draws a huge spider, who quickly looses interest in the fly and instead tries to eat his dad. Then he draws a bird to get rid of the spider and a giant squid to get rid of the bird, which of course immediately starts destroying the neighborhood. So he calls for the one person who can save him, his mom. Can she save the day? To find out, read this adorable book. Recommended for ages 3-6, 5 stars.

Dog Loves Drawing written and illustrated Louise Yates

Dog loves reading and books, which is why he opened his own bookshop. One day his aunt sends him a blank book to draw in, so he starts creating a fantastical adventure with some new friends. This was a cute follow-up to “Dog Loves Books,” which I adored. Recommended for ages 3-6, 4 stars.

King Jack and the Dragon written by Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Three young boys play at being a King and his knights, building a mighty castle and fighting dragons and other beasties, before they are taken away by “giants” and brought home. King Jack lasts the longest before he is scared by “the Thing” and is later brought home. A cute book about imagination and play, would be a great book for a preschool storytime. Loved the illustrations. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

Otto: The Boy Who Loved Cars written by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Scott Magoon

I picked this up at the library because my son loves cars, almost as much as Otto does. Otto eats, sleeps, breathes and plays with cars. One day he becomes one and is frustrated that no one understands him and he can’t eat or play with his friends (who all have car names), and he is obviously upset. When he wakes up the next day (not as a car), he is relieved and vows to be more open to other things. It didn’t seem to penetrate my son, that he can like more than one thing, but then again he is only three, lol. Anyways, it was a cute story. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

Turtle Island written and illustrated by Kevin Sherry

I picked this up for my son because it featured turtles (which he loves), but I ended up liking it more than he did. The book was about a giant turtle who is very lonely until a group of animals shipwrecks and builds a house on top of him. They live together for awhile and become like a family, but eventually they build a ship and go back to their original home. The turtle is sad until they come back with more animals to live on the “turtle island”. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

Monster Needs His Sleep written by Paul Czajak, illustrated by Wendy Grieb

This was a cute bedtime book with a young boy and his friend Monster. The boy is trying his hardest to get Monster to bed but he keeps stalling. The boy eventually realizes that his friend is afraid of the dark and dutifully brings a night light to help him. Recommended for ages 3-6, 4 stars.

Hi, Koo!  written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth

Jon J. Muth always does awesome books, so I’m not surprised that this one is great too. This book is about seasonal haikus and is a great introduction for children. I love his watercolor and ink illustrations of Koo and the two children (based off the author/illustrator’s twins). Highly recommended for ages 3-7, 5 stars.

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Text from the book

I’d been hearing about this book for a couple of months, from librarians who loved it, before I was able to get a copy. It didn’t really capture my son’s attention, like I wanted it to, but I loved it. It is a great chance for parents to just be silly while reading a book to their kids because since the book has no pictures, you have to say everything (no matter how crazy) that is on the page. Highly recommended for ages 3-7, 5 stars.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend written and illustrated by Dan Santat

I adored this book, especially the imaginative illustrations, though I’m not sure how much my son really understood it. Beekle is an imaginary friend who lives on a magical island. He keeps waiting to be created by a real child, but is never picked. So he decides to take matters into his own hands and goes to find his creator, who finally names him. Recommended for ages 4-7, 4 stars.

The Muppets: Bunsen and Beaker Save the Show written and illustrated by Lucy Rosen

It definitely helps to have an appreciation of the Muppets before reading this book, but it can be read by those who have never heard of them. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker of Muppet Labs are always coming up with ways to improve life, and tonight they want to help the Muppet Show. First they invent a combination ticket/timer/inflatable pillow to replace the regular tickets, then they show Kermit the Curtain clapper (the curtain falls when it hears applause), and last but not least, the Burning Bulbs of Brilliance. Recommended for ages 5-8, 3 stars.

Autumnblings written and illustrated by Douglas Florian

I’ve had this forever, well since I did my Autumn Preschool storytime back in November, so I figured it was about time I stopped renewing it and started reading it. Since Autumn is my favorite season and I love poetry, this book seemed like a good fit. The book is a very creative group of short poetry about Autumn, and also has original painted illustrations by the author. I especially like the concrete poems. My favorites were “Apple Picking”, “Up and Down”, “Geese Piece”, and “The Colors of Autumn”. Recommended for ages 5-9, 5 stars.

Children and Young Adult

Smek for President! (Smek #2) written and illustrated by Adam Rex

Adult

A.D. 30: A Novel by Ted Dekker

Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1) by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

Amelia Peabody is an English independent woman of means. She inherited her father’s small fortune, plus his love of Egypt, and so travels with a companion to that country following his death. Unfortunately her companion gets sick and she is on the lookout for a new one. While in Rome, she discovers a beautiful young woman abandoned in the Forum. The woman, whose name is Evelyn, tells Amelia her sad story of ruin and despair and thinks she will be rejected by her as she has been by everyone else. Amelia is not that kind of person though and quickly adopts Evelyn and makes her a companion. While in Alexandria with Amelia, she falls in love (though she will of course not admit it) with a young handsome man named Walter Emerson. He and his brother Radcliffe (who goes by Emerson) are set to dig at Armana, at the court of the heretic king Akhenaten, which is where Amelia and Evelyn eventually follow. Amelia cures Emerson from a nasty infection and fever, and they stay on to help with the archaelogical dig. After staying for a few weeks, they are terrorized by a mummy. Who is the mummy and what does he want? Is he really a priest of Amon (the king of the gods and the wind) set on cursing all those who set foot in the heretic king’s realm or something else? To find out, read this amazing first book of the series.

Barbara Rosenblat was an excellent narrator as the haughty but incredibly perceptive Amelia Peabody and I loved her narration of the other characters as well. I understand that this book was written in 1975, and was set a century earlier, so that would technically excuse the racially insensitive attitudes of all the characters. I did find it a bit offensive at times though. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and was surprised how much the author could really get into the stiff-upper-lip Britishness of the book, as she was American. Amelia is definitely my favorite character as she is witty and hilarious, as Evelyn was a bit too sighing and girly for my taste. I loved the interactions between Amelia and Emerson, and was honestly surprised at the ending (though I had figured out parts of it earlier). I am looking forward to reading more books in the series. 4 stars.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Georgie McCool’s marriage is in trouble. She loves her husband Neal and he loves her but they’re not sure it is enough. Georgie is a TV writer in Los Angeles and two days before leaving for Christmas in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and two daughters, she finds out she has to stay. Relations have been very strained with Neal and this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He refused to speak to her once he’s arrived in Nebraska, and she goes to stay with her mother. After trying unsuccessfully to get in touch with Neal on her cell phone, she tries an ancient rotary phone in her mother’s house and somehow manages to contact Neal in the past before he proposed to her. Will she be able to work out things with Neal in the future by talking to him in the past? 5 stars.

After reading “Eleanor & Park” and enjoying it, I decided to give her adult book a chance after reading the synopsis. I can’t even express how much I loved this book. I finished it in 2 days. I could totally identify with Georgie. She is a woman whose career is of utmost importance in her life, and but who also feels like sometimes she is a bit lost. She loves her husband but sometimes wonders if she screwed up his life by insisting he move to LA permanently even though he hates it. I even agree with the way she thinks about love and marriage. On page 203, Georgie says this about love, “It’s more like you meet someone, you fall in love, and you “hope” that that person is the one–and then at some point, you have to put down your chips. You just have to make a commitment and hope you’re right.” There was also this great quote about kids and marriage on page 220. “Georgie was pretty sure that having kids was the worst thing you could do to a marriage. Sure you “survive” it. You could survive a giant boulder falling on your head–that didn’t mean it was good for you. Kids took a fathomless amount of time and energy…And they took it first. They had the right of first refusal on everything you had to offer.” And then there was that glorious moment at the end of the book on page 253 when Georgie is looking at pictures of Neal from her Save Box and thinking about when he proposed and he said “I think I can live without you, but it won’t be any kind of life.” Le sigh. Anyways, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it especially if you’re married with kids.

Men’s Pie Manual: The complete guide to making and baking the perfect pie by Andrew Webb

I love British pies! I know everyone likes to complain about British food, but one thing that they do really well is pies, especially cheese/onion/potato pasties and Melton Mawbry Pork Pies. So when I saw this book that was geared towards guys, but really is just a good beginner guide to creating all sorts of predominantly savory British pies. It breaks it down into the basics like equipment, good crusts, sauces and stocks, and then onto the fillings. It even goes into recipes for sausage rolls, Beef Wellington, and other almost pies. 4 stars.

A.D. 30

A.D. 30: A Novel by Ted Dekker

Published Oct 28, 2014

 

Maviah is the daughter of a Bedouin (or Bedu as they are called in the book) shiekh, Rami bin Malik. She was exiled to Egypt after being born illegitimate, and sold into slavery. She has reluctantly come back to live in her father’s household after becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Despite the fact that the Bedu are traditionally nomadic people, her father has settled down in the city of Dumah. Rami’s wife, the niece of the Nabataean (Southern Jordan and Syria) King Aretas, is dying and in revenge, a rival Bedu tribe (authorized by King Aretas) has come and devastated the city of Dumah. Maviah is tasked with seeing King Herod and getting the support of the occupying Romans to get rid of the rival tribe and King Aretas, after offering the Bedouin trade route through the desert as compensation. She is accompanied by Saba, a powerful but silent black warrior and Judah, a Jewish Bedu. They have to journey through the perilous Nafoud desert to get to Sepphoris in Judea and the palace of King Herod. It is on this mission that Maviah first meets Jesus (called Yeshua in the book) and discovers his teachings, which will forever alter her life and thinking. 3-1/2 stars.

I was contacted by the author’s marketing department to review this book after they saw my review for Tosca Lee’s fabulous book The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen. As I later discovered, Lee and Dekker had worked together on a book series.  I looked at the book blurb and it looked fairly intriguing, so I said yes. The author, Ted Dekker, is known for his “Christian” fiction thrillers. I put Christian in quotes because I read an interview on the author and he doesn’t seem to think of them as Christian per se, but that is what they are labeled. I’m not a huge fan of Biblical Fiction, although I have enjoyed a few of those kind of books in the past. First off, I would like to say how much I liked that the author did his homework in relation to the historical events of the book and overall I enjoyed the story. I really liked Maviah’s story and especially (surprisingly for me, as I’m not very religious) enjoyed the parts relating to her musings on faith and what it means to be faithful, and how that connected with her role as woman and mother. However, the book majorly dragged in the beginning and middle sections, so much so that I several times wanted to stop reading but had promised to write a review and so had to continue. The beginning of the book was rather violent and a bit off-putting to be honest, then the book severely dragged when they were in the desert, then got interesting again at King Herod’s palace and her first meeting with Yeshua, then dragged again when she met King Aretas, and so forth. And then when I was really getting into the story at the end of the book, he suddenly ended it and there will be a sequel (entitled A.D.33). This made me a little upset because the book was already long and it wouldn’t have taken much to finish it up, and therefore not that many more pages, instead of a whole separate book. That is why the book earned 3-1/2 stars instead of 4.

Disclaimer: I received this advanced reader’s copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Top Books of 2014

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year’s Eve last night. Ours was pretty quiet, in fact I’m a little surprised we managed to make to midnight as my hubby and I were both tired. Anyway, I figured since it was the first day of 2015 that I would start the year off right by posting about my favorite books that I read last year. These are not, for the most part, books published in 2014. Not surprisingly, a lot of the children and young adult books are award winners, and justifiably so. As you can probably tell, most of my reading are in these two categories. I did find it interesting that almost all of my favorite cookbooks this year were vegan or vegetarian. These books are in no particular order. If you like to know more about them, click on the link for my book reviews.

Younger Children

• Machines Go to Work in the City written and illustrated by William Low – my son Liam really liked this book and with all the fold out pages, it was a fun book to read to learn about all the different machines. I will say that I definitely know more names for construction/work vehicles because of books like this that I’ve read to him.
• Little Owl’s Orange Scarf written and illustrated by Tatyanna Feeney – owls + knitting = awesome
• Fortunately, the Milk written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Skottie Young – hilarious adventure story by Neil Gaiman with whimsical illustrations (really for older kids but was filed in picture books so it is in this section)
• The Tiny King written and illustrated by Taro Miura – graphically probably my favorite children’s book this year
• Locomotive written and illustrated by Brian Floca – great introduction to the early railroad in America, plus richly detailed illustrations
• Chu’s First Day of School (Chu #2) written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex – didn’t think it could get better after the first Chu book, but it was
• Thank You, Octopus written and illustrated by Darren Farrell – this book has been part of 2014 vocabulary for the entire family
• It’s an Orange Aardvark written and illustrated by Michael Hall – another graphically awesome book
• Julia’s House for Lost Creatures written and illustrated by Ben Hatke – a fun whimsical kind of book, perfect for sharing (although honestly I want this one for my personal collection of picture books)
• Quest written and illustrated by Aaron Becker – even better than Journey
• Hug Me written and illustrated by Simona Ciraolo – hugging and cute cactus named Felipe = win for me and my son
• Tea Rex and Flora and the Flamingo written and illustrated by Molly Idle – the first book got me into the author/illustrator and I’m very impressed by all her work so far
• The Adventures of Obadiah written and illustrated by Brinton Turkle – this little Quaker just stole my heart, I love this series of picture books!

Older Children/Young Adult

• The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman – I had not read any of his books before though he is pretty prolific, but I really enjoyed this nonfiction biography of a great singer and lady who stood up for what she believed in.
• I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino – a totally unknown book to me before I picked it up for my Newberry Challenge; I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to children or adults who want a good story
• Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti – a hard story to read but vital I think, makes me understand so much more about how regular Germans actually reacted to Hitler
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli – honestly never thought I would like this book until I gave it a try
• Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Philip M. Hoose – an in-depth look at the start of  Civil Rights movement in Alabama, which for someone who used to live there but didn’t know about, was eye-opening
• Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen – love the poetry and the illustrations, esp the description of an owl as the “dark emperor”
• The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan – end of the series, but what an end!
• The Sandman and the War of Dreams (The Guardians #4) by William Joyce – seriously, this man is a fantastic writer, I love all his stuff
• The Battle for Wondla (Wondla #3) written and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi – love all this man’s written and illustrated works, great book to end a series
• Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures written by Kate Di Camillo and illustrated by K.G. Campell – a funny story with even more hilarious illustrations

Young Adult

• Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity #1) by Elizabeth Wein – waited forever before I got a chance to read it but was worth the wait; hard to read in places but what a fantastic book!
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor – I love love loved this series, and this was a fitting end to a great series; can’t wait to read more of her stuff
• The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co. #2) by Jonathan Stroud – an ARC I was fortunate enough to be able to read, he is one of my favorite children/YA authors for a reason
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton – ***** favorite book I read this year!
• Waistcoats and Weaponry (Finishing School #3) by Gail Carriger – another ARC I loved, this series just keeps getting better
• Library Wars: Love and War, Vol 11 by Kiiro Yumi – my favorite manga series right now
• The Ring and the Crown (The Ring and the Crown #1) by Melissa de la Cruz – a confusing story but I really liked the alternative history in this book mixed with the Avalon myth

Adult

• A Storm of Swords (A Song of Fire and Ice #3) by George R.R. Martin – Wow this story just had everything: romance, sword-fighting, all kinds of surprises, political intrigue and plotting, dragons, and one hell of a wedding
• Throne of the Crescent Moon (The Crescent Moon Kingdoms #1) by Saladin Ahmed – definitely wins my vote for best author name and I’ve not actually written the review for this one yet, but I really enjoyed it
• Murder as a Fine Art (Thomas de Quincey #1) by David Morrell – recommended by one of my favorite YA authors and I really enjoyed it
• Legend of Sheba: The Rise of a Queen by Tosca Lee – a great ARC read about the little known Queen of Sheba
• City of Lies: Love, Sex, Death, and the Search for Truth in Tehran by Ramita Navai – an interesting look at a city few Americans really know anything about
• Bella: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrne – definitely one of the best nonfiction I’ve read this year
• I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb – a fantastic biography, it was a really well-done book of a incredible young woman who deserved to get the Nobel Peace Prize
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – 3rd Gaiman book to make the list, see a pattern here, lol (he’s one of my favorite writers for a reason)

Cookbooks

• How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman – he is a genius, great easy-to-understand recipes; this was the one cookbook I bought last year
• The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook – a former vegetarian (so has lots of those recipes), I liked her recipes b/c of the stories that went with them and they looked fantastic
• Roots: The Definitive Compendium – literally everything you could ever want to know about root vegetables, plus lots of tips on how to cook the lesser-known ones
• The VB6 Cookbook: More than 350 Recipes for Healthy Vegan Meals All Day and Delicious Flexitarian Meals at Night by Mark Bittman – an interesting expansion of recipes on his original diet concept (which the author himself uses)
• Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed by Bryant Terry – I love it that he takes very meat-centric food and makes delicious-sounding vegan food from it
• Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi – this man can make even the most boring vegetables look decadent

Book Reviews Dec 2014

I can’t believe this year is nearly at an end. It has definitely been an interesting one, especially in regards books and my professional life. I finally got a library job after 4 years of searching, and it’s in the area I want to be in, i.e. Youth Services. I get to do storytimes and help kids and parents find the books and other material that they need. I have beat my reading goal for the year with 345 out 321 books read. I have, unfortunately, gotten really far behind in writing reviews. But I am working to catch up on that for the new year and get back on a good schedule of writing and posting them. I am definitely going to try and write more blog posts in 2015. I already have a few ideas rolling around in my head. My son has been growing like a weed and though he is a handful, he is becoming more independent. He’s getting better with the alphabet, though we’re going to have to over the numbers again as he seems to have forgotten them in the meantime. I’m hoping he’ll be able to read soon and we can read more together.

As usual I rate books on a scale of 1 – 5 stars, with one being the lowest and five the highest. I will add pictures from books I like (and there was a lot this time around).

Children

Wow! Said the Owl written and illustrated by Tim Hopgood

This was a very cute story about a young owl discovering all the colors that occur during the day. Added bonus about this book is that I can use it for ToddlerTime on owls and a Discoverytime (Preschool storytime + science) on rainbows. I am very happy about the last part. Recommended for ages 2-6, 4 stars.

I Love to Dance written and illustrated by Anna Walker

I was looking for another book about dancing for my Toddler Storytime, when I found this book. I liked the soft but simple ink on watercolor illustrations about Ollie, who I think is some kind of dog sock monster or maybe stuffed animal, who loves to dance. I liked the descriptions of his dancing, especially “I love to dance like jelly and shake my wobbly belly.” Recommended for ages 2-6, 3 stars.

I’m Not Cute! written and illustrated by Jonathan Allen

This was another adorable owl book that I plan to use for a Toddler storytime on owls (not trying to be pun-y but it was). Baby Owl insists he’s not cute even though everyone he meets say he is. He insists that he is instead “a huge and scary hunting machine with great big soft and silent wings.” In actuality, both statements are true, as it is later confirmed by his mother. Recommended for ages 2-6, 3 stars.

except if written and illustrated by Jim Averbeck

I really enjoyed this book and the concept of it, and planned to use it at my Egg Preschool DiscoveryTime (though it would also be great for a Toddler storytime; didn’t arrive in time unfortunately). It’s all about an egg hatching and the possibilities about what could be hatching from it. For example, it could be a bird except if it is a baby snake, etc etc. My son loved this book. Recommended for ages 2-6, 4 stars.

Cats Night Out written by Caroline Stutson, illustrated by Jon Klassen

This was another book I chose for my dancing Toddler Storytime. The book featured dancing cats at night with all kinds of amusing costumes and dance styles/positions. Plus Jon Klassen’s illustrations are just so detailed but the cats all seem to remind me of the Jets and Sharks (ala West Side Story) as they just look so cool and relaxed dancing. Recommended for ages 2-7, 4 stars.

Rap a Tap Tap written and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

I was looking for a book for my Toddler Storytime on dance when I came across this gem from Leo & Diane Dillon. It’s a book about Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, one of the world’s most famous tap dancers and has a rhyming repeating text. I had heard of him before this book, but this was the first time I’d seen a children’s book based on the his life and dancing skills. Recommended for ages 2-7, 3 stars.

Waiting is Not Easy! written and illustrated by Mo Willems

I borrowed a copy of this book because A. I love Elephant and Piggie and this was one of the newest ones and B. I hoped it would explain patience better to my 3 yr old son who is quite possibly the most impatient person in the world. He does kind of get it now, though he’s still pretty impatient, but is a good book for explaining the concept. Gerald is having a hard time waiting for the surprise promised by Piggie. He waits all day and is getting really tired of it, when his surprise finally comes and he realizes it was worth waiting for. This book can definitely be appreciated by kids and parents alike. Recommended for ages 3+, 4 stars.

The Littlest Owl written by Caroline Pitcher, illustrations by Tina Macnaughton

I have been looking for books to use with my owl Toddler storytime and this book was a bit too much for them. But a cute book nonetheless. I just feel like quoting Despicable Me and say that that little baby “is so fluffy I’m gonna die!”. A mommy barn owl has laid four eggs and three have already hatched. The fourth takes a bit longer and is smaller than the rest. When a storm hits, the four babies and their mother must fly away from the willow tree that is their home. The first three go with no problem, but the fourth hasn’t flown before and is hesitant. Eventually he gathers up his courage and flies for the first time. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

I’m Going to Catch My Tail! written and illustrated by Jimbo Matison

 I saw this book while browsing for storytime books and just had to get it. The illustrations are so adorable and a bit cartoony. The book is about a silly cat who decides to catch his tail, who speaks with a separate voice, as he goes about his crazy everyday life, you know messing with the laundry, tearing up toilet paper and generally causing mischief. I was more enthused than my son was, but he still thought it was funny. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

Snippet the Early Riser written and illustrated by Bethanie Deeney Marguia

I picked this one up because I love books about snails. Honestly I liked the illustrations more than the story. Snippet is a very energetic snail, pretty much like a normal under 7 year old and likes to play soccer, draw, and get piggyback rides. Like small children, he wakes up way earlier than his parents and sister and does everything in his power to wake them up so they can all play together. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

Harold and the Purple Crayon: Race Car written by Liza Baker, illustrated by Kevin Murawski

My son loved this book, but he loves cars (especially racing ones), so I’m not surprised. Harold is playing with his toy car in his room when he decides to he wants to drive a real one. So he draws one with his magic purple crayon and a second car and has a car race, along with his dog Lilac. They face fog, snow, the desert, and still manage to save the second car and finish the race. Recommended for ages 3-6, 4 stars.

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures written and illustrated by Ben Hatke

I picked this up originally while I was looking up storytime books and thought the cover looked cool. When I found out First Second books was the publisher, I knew it was gonna be awesome (they just always seem to do cooler than normal books and graphic novels). The book starts off with Julia’s house being on a giant tortoise, which delighted my son to no end. She comes to a new area but is bored, so she puts a sign outside for welcoming in lost creatures. In no time at all, some start to show up, like a patchwork kitty, a bridge troll, and mermaids. The illustrations are super cute and really help to tell the story. Like Kirkus Reviews has mentioned in their review, the creatures do start up a bit of a Wild Rumpus, ala Where the Wild Things Are, and Julia quickly tires of it. She establishes some ground rules and things quickly settle down again and become more like a family. Recommended for ages 3-7, 5 stars.

By the Light of the Harvest Moon by Harriet Ziefert

Another book I picked up for Autumn Preschool Storytime, I liked this one for its great illustrations. It is a story about the Autumnal Equinox on Sept 22 or 23. A farmer and his crew have been busy harvesting and go to bed exhausted. After he goes home for the night, the leaf people come out to celebrate the Harvest Moon/the Autumnal Equinox with their families. They play games like bobbing for apples and making popcorn necklaces. The leaf kids try to see who can stack pumpkins the highest. The best part was the dessert party, where the kids proudly announce that they get to eat pie. The only thing that was off-putting about this book was the fact that the leaf people (whose heads were pumpkins) ate pumpkin pie and played with pumpkins, but I guess you have to extend your imagination to not look at their head and remember that they are made up of leaves. Recommended for ages 4-7, 3 stars.

When Blue Met Egg written and illustrated by Lindsay Ward

I thought I might use this book when I did a Preschool DiscoveryTime on eggs, but it didn’t quite work. But I thought it was cute and so brought it home to read with my son. He liked the story, though it was a bit long. Blue is a bird who lives in New York City and one day she meets the lonely Egg, who she sort of adopts as she takes him around the city trying to find his mom. They are together winter to spring when he hatches into something special. I had to explain the ending to my son as he didn’t pick up on it. Recommended for ages 4-7, 3 stars.

In November written by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Jill Kastner

I am doing a Preschool Storytime on Autumn and I found this book. I think it is a more winter book than autumn but I will probably use it as a backup book. It tells about all the different things that go on during November. There are no leaves on the trees, animals and insects are hibernating or getting ready to do so. Snow is coming down, people are baking and getting together for Thanksgiving. I loved this line from the text “In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning…” I loved the oil painted illustrations, which just made everything seem more homey and snuggly. Recommended for ages 4-7, 3 stars.

Max’s Castle written and illustrated by Kate Banks

I have not read the first two books in this series, but found this while browsing for storytime books and thought it looked fun. Max finds some forgotten wooden alphabet blocks in his room and he and his brothers uses their imagination to create a castle with the blocks forming words that make up the features of the castle. I loved the illustrations of this fun and creative book, though it was a bit too long for my son. Recommended for ages 4-8, 3 stars.

Pele and the Rivers of Fire adapted and illustrated by Michael Nordenstrom

I was looking for a book to do with Preschool DiscoveryTime storytime and found this book. Thankfully there is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book as some of the Hawaiian names are rather hard to pronounce. This book tells the story of the volcanic fire goddess Pele and how she came to the Hawaiian islands. I loved the beautiful acrylic/watercolor on paper collage illustrations. It’s really cool that this book was written by a librarian and you can definitely see his passion for the subject in the book. Recommended for ages 4-9, 4 stars.

Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

I love Virginia Lee Burton’s books, so I immediately picked this one up while looking for car books for my son. It is based off the true story of how the city of San Francisco banded together to save the cable cars, despite the city fathers wanting to get rid of them in the name of progress. Maybelle, as the title suggests, is one of the old cable cars that is thankfully spared the chopping block and her and her fellow cable cars are allowed to run up and down the hilly city. She eventually becomes friends with Big Bill, one of the new modern buses, who originally thought of her as old-fashioned and as competition. The book also tells in detail how the cable cars work, so I’m sure kids will be pretending to drive one of these while reading or listening to the story. Recommended for ages 5-9, 3 stars.

Young Adult

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare

This is the final showdown between the Shadowhunters and Sebastian (aka Jonathan Morgenstern). Sebastian is trying to turn as many Shadowhunters and Downworlders as possible into Endarkened (mindless zombies) by using the Infernal Cup and wants a final all-out battle to establish his dominance. Everyone must decide what side they will fight on. Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec travel to a demon world to find and defeat Sebastian on his own turf. Will they be able to in time? To find out, read the exciting conclusion to the Mortal Instrument series. Recommended for ages 15+, 4 stars.

Holy Moly! What a crazy book and an intriguing end to the series! I mean killing off characters in the prologue was pretty ballsy, but it definitely gets your attention. This book was long at 725 pages, but I managed to get through it in a week because it kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what insane thing the author was going to do next. And she has brilliantly set the stage for her next series, entitled “The Dark Artifices”, though I will admit I’m kinda like “Geez, what else can she talk about for an entire series” as I already think this series went on for a book or two too long. However, I will probably check out at least the first book to see what she’s done. I will admit that I couldn’t for the life of me, despite having read all of the “The Infernal Devices” books, remember who Brother Zechariah actually was before he became a silent brother. I was really happy with the way the romances in the series ended, though I am curious about more Magnus stories in her e-books that I’ve yet to read (that will have to be remedied).

I would like to give a shoutout to Thomas from the blog “the quiet voice” for his excellent review of the book.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Ok yes, I totally judged this book by its cover. The story sounded intriguing as well, so I figured I would give it a try. This ended up being one of my favorite books of the year and I was pretty bummed when it ended because it was so good. If you don’t like totally bizarre stories, you are not gonna like this book. That being said, I think the weirdness really works in this case. This is the author’s first book, which is kind of crazy because the language is so gorgeous and quotable and really makes her seem like she’s been doing this all her life. The story kind of reminded me of elements from the movie “Amelie” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. To check out a more thorough review, check out this one.

The book starts off with a letter from the main character and tells the reader that to understand her story, she has to go back to the beginning and tell her grandmother and mother’s stories first. They feature nearly unbelievable tales of love and loss, which once told, make it is easier to understand the winged Ava and her silent brother Henry and how the story unfolds the way that it does. I don’t want to tell too much and give the story away, but I highly recommend this book. Recommended for ages 14+, 5 stars.

Adult

Perdita by Hilary Scharper

Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey

Judy: A Dog in a Million by Damien Lewis

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, narrated by Juanita McMahon

Tipping the Velvet is about a young teenage oyster girl named Nancy Astley living in Whitstable, an English seaside town, in the 1890s. She falls in love with a male impersonator, at her local music hall, named Kitty Butler. She agrees to become her personal dresser and embarks on a totally different life than she ever had before. Eventually the two of them become lovers and have a male impersonator act together, before she is cruelly betrayed by Kitty and has her heart broken. The story that follows is Nancy’s journey in growing up and becoming her own person, separate from Kitty. 4 stars.

Wow this was a crazy book! I finally had a chance to listen to it after watching part of the BBC miniseries version years ago and enjoying it. Seventeen discs though, geez! I’m not sure what it is about almost all the books I’ve picked recently but they start off great, get really draggy in the middle and then pick up again at the end (including this one). Ms. McMahon was a great narrator though, and definitely made the book more enjoyable (even in the dragging parts). If you ever wanted to know about British slang for all things sexual, this is definitely the book for you. It’s a good thing I have an English hubby and have always been a bit of Anglophile or I would probably have gotten really lost while listening to this book. I did really enjoy the frank discussions of gender, sexuality, socialism and feminism in the book. I would be interested in reading more of Sarah Waters’ books in the future.

Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi

Another brilliant vegetarian cookbook from Yotam Ottolenghi, and this one is even better than “Ottolenghi”. I swear this man could make anything taste amazing. Plus there’s the gorgeous food photographs (nearly food porn lets be honest) that makes you just drool and make the recipes immediately, especially for the Taleggio and Spinach Roulade, Fig and Goat Cheese Tart and the Tomato and Pomegranate Salad. I’d like to try to make the Udon Noodles with with Fried Eggplants, Walnut and Miso (and I usually hate eggplants, but again he makes it sound amazing); Quinoa Porridge with Grilled Tomatoes and Garlic; Quinces Poached in Pomegranate Juice, and Walnut and Halvah Cake. 5 stars.

Persuasion by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson

Anne Elliot was betrothed to Captain Frederic Wentworth when she was 19 and was persuaded by friends and family to call it. So she did and has regretted her decision ever since. Anne’s father has managed to nearly bankrupt the family with his extravagant spending, so they have to rent out their manor house and move to Bath, England. Anne does not go immediately there, but instead goes to stay with her sister Mary in the country. She is intrigued and a little bit scared to meet up with Captain Wentworth again at Mary’s in-law’s house. It seems he is there courting Mary’s sister in laws, Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove, and Anne must sit there and watch and sort out how she feels about this. Eventually Louisa, Henrietta, Captain Wentworth, Mary and her husband Charles, and Anne decide to visit the seaside town of Lyme and Louisa has a crazy accident which incapacitates her for awhile. Anne leaves to go visit her friend Lady Russell and eventually move back in with her father. Captain Wentworth later comes to bath which really makes Anne wonder if he does still have feelings for her. 4 stars.

I have tried to read the actual book of Pride and Prejudice a couple times but the story was so slow, I could never get through very much. So I thought it would be better if I tried Jane Austen as an audiobook, but go for another of her books (whose movie version I also loved) and so picked this one. The narrator, Juliet Stevenson, was excellent. The audio version was also really slow in the beginning and I’ll be honest, didn’t pick up for me until about disc 5 of 7. But I kept listening and finally the story got more interesting and I dreaded having to leave the car and being unable to continue it until I got back in again. Anne Elliot is one of my favorite characters so level-headed, intelligent and soft-spoken. It sucks that she had such bad advice from her friend Lady Russell. The letter Frederic gives to Anne at the end of the book is one of the sweetest and most romantic I’ve ever heard, and almost tops Mr. Darcy’s declaration to Elizabeth Bennet.