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We have discussed classic literature and romance in previous blog posts, and while we have touched upon some of the male characters, this blog post will be a more comprehensive list of best male love interests.  Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montogomery’s Anne of Green Gables Okay now Gilbert is one of my absolute favorite fiction crushes. Gilbert and Anne start on the wrong foot and it takes them a while before Anne is able to forgive Gilbert for calling her “Carrots”. But all throughout that time Gilbert works really hard to help Anne achieve her goals. He saves her when she gets stuck under the bridge when Anne’s misadventures go awry. He gives up the Avonlea school so she could stay with Marilla and really just grows into being a loving and devoted husband and father.  Colonel Brandon from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen is pretty much the reigning queen of classic romance, and true to an Austen hero, Colonel Brandon is the picture of patience and decency. His is also a tragic backstory! Once upon a time the Colonel loved Eliza. She didn’t return his feelings *of course* and he eventually ended up taking care of Eliza’s child, and as a heroic figure attempts to defend her honor and that of Marianne. Marianne of course, thinks he is old and uninteresting and takes the entirety of the book to realize that Colonel Brandon is sweet and awesome and superdy-duper patient and pretty much the best.  Fitzwilliam Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Be still my beating heart! Fitzwilliam Darcy is arguably the best male love interest in Austen literature. He is also super relatable in a lot of ways: awkward, shy, resting angry face....And per usual it takes an entire novel for the heroine to recognize that he is the literal best. Admittedly, he is prideful at times throughout the novel and has some very rude family members (looking at you, Lady Catherine). This kind of makes him the perfect match for Elizabeth, though, because she is prideful and sassy and has some shockingly embarrassing family members. But back to Darcy! He tracks down her wayward sister, saves her family’s reputation, and doesn’t murder the dude who ran off with her little sister and had broken his little sister’s heart in the past. So….self- control. Also when asked how he ever fell in love with Elizabeth, he says, “I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It was too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  Theodore Laurence from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women Teddy is so interesting because of his growth as a character. He starts out as an inattentive student but tries to be better because he likes Jo and wants her to like him too. Then when she is like “Nope!” when he proposes; he jumps off the moral deep end and starts exploring this world of male privilege and starts drinking, gambling, traveling, and flirting with anything with two legs. Then he runs into Amy who in all the awesomeness of a childhood friend calls him on his crap and tells him to grow up and make something of himself and he does and becomes the man that Amy deserves.  Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen’s Persuasion I truly love Captain Wentworth. He is such a dependable personality because he works himself through the navy's ranks, makes his own fortune and makes a name for himself as opposed to all the spendy gambling dudes who just want to marry someone so they can spend and gamble some more. Backstory: He and Anne were on the verge of being engaged when they were both young before he worked through the ranks and became a captain, and the meddling neighbor next door ruined it. Then seven years later he comes back to visit his sister and her husband when they rent Anne’s father’s estate… series of events… blah blah blah, begins to realize Anne isn’t a prude and begins to get less mad that she rejected him. He overhears her telling his best friend why women tend to be more steadfast than men, joys of all the old rules of decorum.Then he madly starts writing her a letter basically says “ I have loved you for always, please look, nod… whatever you feel comfortable doing let me know how you feel, thumbs up lets be engaged, thumbs down I will never look at you or come around you again.”  Mr. Thornton from Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South At the start of the novel, John Thornton is the kind of guy your mother hopes you marry: Rich, hard working, owns his own company, honest and respectable. But all that hard work and self-made-ness hardens him to the point where he is the kind of guy you want to punch and hug at the same time: a pug if you will. Or a hunch? Either way, he is prideful and penny pinching and not all-together super nice to Margaret or his employees at the beginning of the novel. Can he justify being a little grumpy, though? Yes. Again, the relationship between Mr. Thornton and Margaret is full of misunderstandings and leaving and coming back and no small amount of work. They kind of fall in love without overtly stating “THEY ARE FALLING IN LOVE” which is pretty much how real life works, and I can appreciate this.  Faramir from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy Tolkien is the master of backstories, and there is a THICK backstory with Faramir. The quick version is that Faramir is the son of a power-hungry madman who doesn’t like that his son (Faramir) is nice and kind and doesn’t like killing people. Weird, right? Faramir proves himself to be the opposite of his dad and was injured during a battle. He is sweet and sensitive and does his best to fight for that which he believes is right. Then, he meets this strong, independent woman who is “no man”, and loves her and lets her be her best self! He doesn’t relegate her to the fringes of things or tell her that her place is in the house like every other stinking person did. He is not saving Eowyn like some damsel in distress, but is her equal. And to add a little bit of gooey, “And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.” CUTE!  Gabriel Oak from Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd Gabriel Oak is such a solid character, now initially he got off on the wrong foot with Bathsheba but over the course of the story he continues to love her and support her as she goes through the struggles in her life. Gabriel experiences his own struggles over the course of the story and while he is rejected by his love and becomes penniless when his sheepdog runs his sheep off the edge of a cliff he does not allow these hard times to make him bitter or cruel. When Bathsheba marries another he respectfully backs off but he is there when she needs him. These are our favorites. Feel free to comment below and tell us yours!
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I got the opportunity to get to know the different sections and genres of the Adult Section of the library. I couldn’t decide on just one genre so here are multiple genres that I really enjoyed.  Historical 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake by Larry E. Morris On the night of August 17, 1959 a Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake hit the Montana portion of Yellowstone causing the mountain to slide into the madison River Canyon and on top of unsuspecting campers who were camping below. The Slide brought hurricane force winds down the canyon with the debris of the mountain and water from the river with it. Morris tells the stories of the survivors and how they helped each other to survive a night that would forever change their lives and the landscape of the Madison River in Yellowstone. 28 people died that night with most of the victims bodies being unrecoverable. Morries tells the stories of each family that survived from their point of view of the rush of the moment of not really knowing what had happened. It was at first thought that the dam above the campsites had broken but with all the debris and getting up to higher ground everyone in the canyon had known that the mountain had slide. People outside of the canyon didn’t know what had happened and was preparing for the worst of the dam being breached not knowing of what was happening to those people that were staying at the campgrounds. There is some gruesomeness of some limbs being almost severed and talk about blood and other medical issues that came from the debris field. Overall it’s a great read with lots of pictures of the aftermath of the earthquake.  True Crime The Evil Within By Darren Galsworthy In 2015 Dareen Galswothy’s daughter Becky Watts was brutally murdered and she wasn’t murdered by just anyone, she was murdered by her step brother. Darren had raised his step son as his own and he tells as he discovered the wickedness that Becky was living with that was coming from her step brother. Galswothy also tells about the struggle of the legal battle that he went through to get his step son put behind bars for the rest of his life. Galswothy starts the book by telling the background that he came from growing up as a child and why he raised his kids the way that he did. He didn’t want them to have to struggle like he did and then it turns to the horror of watching the story unfold of him finding out his daughter had been murdered and that it was his stepson who did it and the battle that followed.  Western Legend of the Tumbleweed by Kirby Jonas Westerns is a fun genre to look at and even though it doesn’t seem like there are authors outside of Louis L'amour there are! Local author Kirby Jonas started Legend of the Tumbleweed when he was in middle school and was published in 2005. Thomas Jefferson McLean is wanting to retire from being unknown outlaw and become a rancher when he and his partner decide to rob a bank in Buffalo, Wyoming Territory. The two join a band of cattle thieves to help protect themselves while they make their way to Montana border. With a manhunt going for Tom and Tom falling in love and trying to make a decision as to whether or not to escape with her the sheriff of Buffalo, Wyoming vowed to never stop looking for Tom until he is captured dead or alive.  Fantasy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame Did you somewhat enjoy Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice but needed a little more action? Then look no more and check out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. You can’t go wrong with zombies right? A mysterious plague makes its presence known in the small English town of Meryton, the local residence that have passed on from this world are now coming back to life! Elizabeth Bennet is determined to get rid of this problem of the Zombies but she is quickly distracted by the handsome Mr. Darcy. Soon romance takes place on the living side of the battlefield and on the battlefield to defeat the Zombies. This comedic book with a twisted take on a classic book would make for a fun, yet gruesome, filled read that does deal with: comedy, romance, cannibalism, rotting corpses and I can’t leave out the sword fights.  The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Empire in which Rin lives in administered a test called the Keju. This test was administered to find the most academically inclined students in the empire. Everyone is surprised when Rin passed the test without cheating and more importantly she passed coming from the background of being a war orphan. Her guardians who are criminals were excited to be able to marry her off and so that they could continue their criminal activities. Rin however got into the most prestigious military school Sinegard. Things are not easy for Rin at Sinegard as she is targeted because of her skin color, gender and where she is from. She discovers that she has an unearthly power of shamanism. With the help of one of her teachers and psychoactive drugs she learns that the Gods that once were thought to be dead are very much alive and that gaining control of her powers is more important than her surviving school. Will Rin have to use her powers to save her people or will a third poppy war break out and risk all of their lives? You’ll have to read it to find out! -Missy  Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy (1877) This story follows the life of the Countess Anna Karenina after she has an affair with the Count Vronsky. This book was written in a Literary Realism style. Elenore and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012) This is the story of a girl named Elenore as she deals with the struggles of a hard family life at home, and the young man Park and the friendship which grows between them. This is a tragic retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and is told in the Literary Realism style. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott (2018) In this retelling of Romeo and Juliet there are two teen who are both diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which means they can never get closer than 5 feet. This book to movie story is sure to pull at your heartstrings. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (2008) Set in the 1930's Miss Pettigrew is a strict nanny who gets sent to the wrong house. As soon as she arrives she realizes something is wrong. This is a delightful comedy which made the transition from book to movie really well. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (1930) Miss Marple is sent on a case when Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the local vicarage. Set in the 1930's the investigation of this man's death will keep you on your toes Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (2008) This is a story following Anna and her new friend Charles who are werewolves sent on a mission by the head of the werewolves to investigate a man's death which was too out of control to be allowed to be continued. -MH  Karigan G'ladheon has been thinking about her future as she is traveling through the forest of Green Cloak. She is doing fine alone in the forest until she hears a horse approaching her at a fast pace. A man is slumped over on the horse as he approaches Karigan, he has two arrows in his back. Karigan finds out from the man before he dies that is the legendary Green Rider, one of the Kings messengers and he is carrying a message that must get to the king. Karigan accepts to take the message to the king after the rider begged her to take it and made her swear an oath on his sword to deliver the message for the sake of the country. He also gave her his gold winged horse brooch to show her new status as the Green Rider. On his dying breath he gives one more warning to her and it is to watch out for the shadow man. Karigan doesn’t realize how much her life will change until she is chased by assassins, deadly danger and magic, and is hounded by dark beings bent on not allowing her to deliver the message that she swore to deliver.  The 6th Extinction by James Rollins This is the 10th book in the Sigma series but trust me when I tell you that I have not read the other 9 books. What you need to know is that Commander Gray Peirce is part of the Sigma which is a covert part of the U.S. Government part of the special forces and trained in various fields of science. A distress call goes out from a remote military base in the Sierra Nevada Mountains stating that there had been a breach and that no matter what happens to kill them all. Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma arrive at the site they find out that every living thing humans, animals,plants, insects, the bacteria is dead within a fifty mile radius and the disease is spreading. Commander Gray and the Sigma are sent in to the lab and find out that the scientists were working on a deadly pathogen. The team then has to follow clues given through a book that includes the Nazis, ancient maps, alien life forms and deadly exoctic animals. It is discovered that a scientist named Cutter Elwes had built two living labs with this deadly bacteria one is a mountain in Brazil and another under Antarctica, Elwes’s plan is to cause the 6th extinction of the planet.  The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas Set in 1620s France that has a lot of different genres from espionage to vengeance. Dumas created characters that are iconic and strong in their own ways. d’Artagnan is young and just wants glory in his life but also finds himself in trouble when he leaves his home of Gascony and heads to Paris to become a musketeer. Along the way a man insults d’Artagnan’s horse, a fight ensues, and d, Artagnan meets the evil Comte De Rocherfort, Cardinal Richelieu’s agent. d’Artagnan continues on the Musketeer headquarters only to find out that they are not recruiting and he is told to go to a school for young men wanting to be a musketeer, but d’Artagnan sees De Rocherfort and runs to catch him but offends three musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis and has a duel scheduled with the three in the afternoon. Their duel is interrupted by De Rocherfort and he tries to arrest all four of the duelers but the three musketeers and d'Artagnan defeat De Rocherfort’s men, d’artagnan had wounded one of the best fighters. The King hears of the duel and how d’Artagnan wounded the dueler and appoints him to the King’s Guards. d’Artagnan becomes friends with the three musketeers and finds love but with it comes a lot of problems. He must save his love and the queen, and the queens love to prevent France from going to war and thwart the Cardinals plans. Long story with a few affairs going on but it’s packed full of adventure.  Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler Book #4 of the Dirk Pitt series. The President's secret task force led by Dr. Seagram created a weapon that runs off of a rare radioactive element called byzanium. Dirk rescues Sid Koplin from a soviet guard after he was looking for the byzanium and found that it had already been mined. Seagram follows clues left by Koplin and determined that the chunk of byzanium was worth a quarter of a billion dollars in 1912 ( over 3 billion today) was mined by a group of miners hired by the French government. The U.S. Government thought talked them into bringing the mineral back to the united states and the group was pursued by French assassins. One member of the mining group was able to make it to Southampton and boards the Titanic. Dr. Seagram approaches Dirk Pitt and the option that they have is to raise the Titanic to get the byzanium. There is trouble ahead though when the process is started, and the CIA leaks information to the Russians in the hopes to capture the best KGB agent. Find out how the book will end by checking the book out today!  Origin by Dan Brown
Book number five of the Robert Langdon series takes us to Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Edmond Kirsch, is a billionaire philanthropist and futurist who met with three members of the Parliament of the World's Religions. Kirsch informs the Roman Catholic Bishop, Antonio Valdespino, Jewish moragi Yehuda Köves, and Muslim Imam Syed al-Fadl that he has made a discovery that will change the world and he plans on making the discovery public in a month. Kirsch had lied to the three and instead was making the information public in three days. Valdespino leaves Kirsch a voicemail demanding that he stop or risk being discredited. The presentation takes place at the Guggenheim Museum, with some of the attendees being Kirsch’s former teacher Robert Langdon, the museum curator and his fiancee and future king of Spain. During the presentation to the world Kirsch reveals his plans to rid the world of religion and usher in the age of science. Kirsch is killed by an assassin that has tanked web of murders and assassinations. Langon meets Ambra and with her must find the password to the presentation by following clues on Krisch’s phone and a line from his favorite poem as his password. Robert and Ambra must race against time and the police to follow the clues before the presentation ends with an apocalyptic ending. Okay I don’t know about the rest of you. But there are movies that I have to watch every year or it quite simply does not feel like Christmas. I have fond memories of VHS tapes with various recordings on them. There are so many flashbacks to the commercials which ran at the time, and the memories of those old couches and entertainment centers. I love the memories and jokes made with my siblings, thinking of and making my favorite Christmas treats, and especially sharing these experiences with my kids. I thought I would share my top 5 Christmas movies and I would love to hear about your favorite movies and memories so please share in the comments.  Home Alone (1990) If you haven’t seen this yet I would request that you stop what you are doing and log on to your Disney+ or come to the library and put yourself on hold for this classic holiday comedy. Kevin McCallister has been left home alone while his family is off to Paris for Christmas. While his mother works so hard to get home Kevin has to work to defend his home from the Wet Bandits. This comedy will have you in stitches as the Wet Bandits try to burgle the McCallister’s home.  The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) There are so many versions of A Christmas Carol but I love this one. Michael Caine does such a beautiful job portraying the grumpy Mr Scrooge, and the other Muppets bring such a fun element as they portray the growth Scrooge goes through over the course of meeting with the various Spirits.  It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) After a really horrible Christmas George Bailey tries to kill himself but his guardian angel takes the time to help him see the difference he has made to the world around him and how many people love him in his life. This one is such a sweet reminder that it is all of our little acts in the lives of those around us that truly make a difference.  Dr Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) Alright I have to see the classic animated version because Christmas just isn’t the same without Boris Karloff telling the story of the Grinch and all of his angst as he faces another Christmas season with all the Whos holiday craziness down below. The other two versions with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jim Carry are wonderful for their own reasons but I will always have to go back to the original.  The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) Santa has a cold and feels underappreciated this year and he has decided to cancel Christmas. Two elves take it upon themselves to go and find children to change Santa’s mind but first they have to figure out what to do with the Miser Brothers. This movies holds such beautiful memories for me and I absolutely love the music that goes with this one. MH
I am so excited to be doing a blog post about the library’s kit collection! The Portneuf Library maintains a collection of kits for checkout. These kits include one or more books on a subject and the necessary equipment to learn about that subject or skill. Each adult card can checkout 1 kit at a time for up to 4 weeks! Our kit collection is currently made up of more than 50 kits with more kits being curated all the time. They are located in the alcove in the main part of the library against the south wall. Let me tell you about some of my favorites!  The Cake Decorating Kit. This kit is for the budding cake decorator! Included are
 The White Box Kit. Have you ever been playing a board game and had an idea? An awful idea? A wonderful, awful idea? Well, Mr. Grinch, tis the season to try out that board game idea with the White Box kit! Included in this kit are:
 The Astronomy Kit. Checkout this kit and the constellations! This kit may not tell you the secrets of the universe outright, but it can sure help you find them a little faster with:
 The Cookie Decorating Kit. Yes, I know we already talked about cake, but there is always room for cookies, especially with our cookie press! Whether you cut with the themed cookie cutters or prefer the fanciful swirls of the cookie press, it doesn’t matter as long as the dough gets in the oven. Well, most of the dough, anyway. This kit includes:
 The Sewing Machine Kit. Ah, sewing. You would be surprised how many people don’t know how to use a sewing machine these days, myself included. That’s why I have this kit on hold. It includes:
 Are you ready for another six degrees of reading from Maegan? These blog posts are not necessarily staff picks, but rather give you an idea of the basic plot of 6 different books while connecting them in fun and unexpected ways to each other. Think of it like a book puzzle!  KARAMO
By Karamo Brown Is an inspiring memoir, written by Karamo Brown who has a degree in Social Work as well as psychology. This book explores Karamo’s growth as he overcame his personal struggles and defined culture for the television show "Queer Eye." EDUCATED by Tara Westover This inspiring memoir is the story of Tara Westover who was born into a family of survivalists in Idaho and was abused by her older brothers. Tara was seventeen the first time she went to school. Eventually when she got the chance she traveled the world. MONSTER by Frank E Peretti Set in Idaho, Reed and Rebecca are on a camping trip in the beautiful Northwestern Mountains. Their first night a creature grabs Rebecca catapulting Reed on an adventure which leads him to find secrets involving genetically modified creatures. VIRALS by Kathy Reichs Tory Brennen and her friends love to explore the marshlands of Loggerhead Island. One day as they were exploring they rescued a stray wolfdog pup which exposed them to a rare strain of canine parvovirus turning them into genetically modified creatures. Will they be able to solve the mystery of the island? THE UNEXPECTED MRS. POLIFAX by Dorothy Gilman Mrs. Polifax is a widow who’s children are all grown. After an attempted suicide she regains her footing in the midst of struggle and becomes a CIA agent. She goes off to Mexico City to solve the mystery which starts pretty mild and is quite dangerous by the end. RISING STRONG by Brene’ Brown Brene’ Brown has a degree in Social work and has spent the last twenty years studying shame, vulnerability, and worthiness. She discovered that the key to people regaining their footing in the midst of struggle is their ability to lean into their emotions and lean in to that which makes them uncomfortable.  We are THRILLED to debut our newest blog addition! This fun new blog format is brought to us by our new (again) clerk Maegan. These blog posts are not necessarily staff picks, but rather give you an idea of the basic plot of 6 different books while connecting them in unexpected ways to each other. These posts will now be interspersed with our regular staff picks blogs! If you have any ideas for us, send them over!  THE BOOK THIEF
by Markus Zusak (2005) This story begins with Liesel’s brother dying on the train from Russia to Germany. Death is a character in this book and shows up periodically during the story. THE COLOR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett (1983) This is the first book in the Diskworld series. In this amazing adventure novel there is an inept wizard and Death is a character. HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS by J.K. Rowling (1998) Harry is an orphan boy in his second year of school at Hogwarts. This year the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is an inept wizard, Gilderoy Lockhart. OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens (1837) Oliver is an orphan boy, when he runs away from the workhouse he finds himself in a den of thieves. This classic by Charles Dickens was the first to discuss child labor laws and bring these issues to light. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES by Charles Darwin (1859) The Origin of Species was written by Charles Darwin. This book is considered controversial because it talks about how animals have evolved over time, which many thought threatened Christian Ideals. THE DAVINCI CODE by Dan Brown (2003) This story begins with the curator of the Louvre dying in a gruesome manner. The main character, Robert Langdon is then sent to discover what happened. This book was considered controversial by many Christian leaders due to its “blasphemous material”. James the computer guy will now take a shot at blog post… I seem to have an odd taste in reading, and don’t get very much reading done. I was told that perhaps my tastes could give some insight into some of our more eclectic readers. I'm only writing on books I have actually finished, because if it was good enough for me to spend my very limited time on, then it must have been good... maybe. The first I would like to tell about is one that I have finished a while ago, but haven’t found anything quite like in a long time.  Mogworld by Yhatzee Croshaw This is the book that got me back to reading. It is written by a comedy video game reviewer and I would say he has done quite well. A young mage named Jim is disappointed by his lack of progress in Mage School, but when his college is destroyed by its neighbor, Jim comes back with a new lease on life. Or so he thought now Jim and his zombie compatriots are complaining to their necromancer about pension plans and dental insurance. Morale for zombies is something that was never considered until a certain undead lord had considered they might be sentient. Follow Jim in his adventure to figure out what is wrong with this new world, and hopefully, he can die in peace. Content warning: some profanity, used with class (mostly). Mention of rotting corpses but no descriptions of viscera. No sexual content Having not read since Mogworld, I was beginning to give up hope until I found this little gem. It is independently published, so it has a few errors, but I thought it was worth the read still. A bit odd, and a foray into a new genre calling itself LITrpg (for literary role play game). These are books where leveling up as a person and fighting monsters to do so is very much a thing. This book is self-published by the author and it shows. I forgive it because it is so full of humor, I haven’t laughed this hard since reading fool (Christopher Moore).  Dungeon born by Dakota Krout Our protagonist is CAL, as in calcium. He is a crystal, but he is sentient and can manipulate the world around him. That makes him a dungeon core. When Cal almost dies, he decides to take matters into his own metaphorical hands and become the strongest dungeon there ever was. This means Cal kills adventurers for fun. Oh and he eats them, definitely eats them. Content warning: very little if any profanity, no sexual content, geek humor Exploring further into this newfound LITrpg genre, I found this neat little story about a goblin and revenge. If you like video games you may just like this next one. It is a trilogy but comes together really well in the end.  Life Reset (New Era Online Book 1) by Shemer Kuznits Our protagonist starts out like any other high level character in a video game, bored and apathetic. That is until his entire guild turns on him and transforms him into a level 1 goblin. This is a story of revenge and leveling up. May not be for everyone but I enjoyed it so much I read through all three of them before picking up anything else. Content Warning: low profanity throughout, anything sexual is ‘fade to black’, ritual sacrifice and dismemberment amongst various battles. This is not available at the library currently, but can be read on Kindle Unlimited. The next one started out very interesting with a d list super person that finally found a use for his dumb power, but then something happened. The same tale seemed to be told over and over through the trilogy. I would definitely suggest the first as just the premise alone is worth a look. However, the author seems to retell the rise of power and the sudden attack of Felix more times than there are books in this series. I felt compelled to finish after I had realized this in the second book. If you do make it to the end of the trilogy there is a bit of a lackluster conclusion. Perhaps I'll just suggest reading the first one then.  Super sales on super heroes by William D. Argand (The blurb does it best so I’ll just leave that here) In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a Super Villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state. Surprisingly, not a whole lot changed. Politicians were still corrupt. Banks still held onto your money. And criminals still committed crime. Though the black market has become more readily available. And in that not so black market, Felix discovers he has a way to make his power useful after all, and grasps a hold of his chance with both hands. Content warning: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/partial harem (fade to black), unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is as tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk. The last one for me is a book that I wasn’t sure of after seeing the movie. I was assured and was not disappointed the audiobook of ready player one. If you have seen the movie (or even if you haven't) this is quite a ride. Many artistic liberties were taken with the movie, but the real meat of the whole story seemed to be taken out. I highly suggest going back and listening or reading this book. Especially if you like dungeons and dragons, board games, video games, the 1980s or anything my parents aren’t particularly fond of.  Ready player one by Ernest Cline Living in a fractured home in a dystopian future isn’t that tough, especially if you have a super awesome virtual reality to lose yourself in every day. Wade was one of the last holdouts of Gunters, one of the Easter egg hunters. Many promises were made to the person that could find all the eggs upon the creator’s death, but it has been five years and no person has even had an idea of how to find any of the eggs. Follow wade as he uses useless 1980s trivia knowledge and l33t nerd skills to find the eggs and leave his sorry life behind. Love and conflict will both be found. By the way, way more licensed properties were used in the book than the movie, making it by far the better media for obscure references. Content warning: violence and language throughout. Twitterpated relationships only, nerd refrences for the most advanced geeks possible. Bonus points, if you want to see any of the games mentioned in ready player one, come ask me on game day, I can pull most of them up for you to play :D
-James I have been trying to learn more of the genres in the adult reading section of the library and something that I did not realize was how many movies actually came from books. I knew of quite a few books to movies that had existed but there are many more like the Circle by Dave Eggers and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell which I will discuss in this post. I always love to read the book because there are always parts of the books that cannot be added to the movie. The following are books that you may want to read, and then check out the movie!  The Circle By David Eggers David Eggers is very good at getting you hooked with a storyline which flows really well, considering that there are no chapters in this book. This book details a dystopian world where Mae Holland lands a job at the Circle, a major internet company. Mae thinks that she has landed her dream job but then quickly finds out that the Circle wants nothing to be secret and that everything about everyone should be known. With cameras virtually everywhere in the world and the Circle wanting to complete "the circle" Mae must decide whether or not she wants to be a part of their work. This book does have sexual content in it and swearing. The movie has none of the sexual content in it but it kept the swearing.  The Help By Kathryn Stockett This hilarious yet serious telling of what life was like as an African American Maid in the 1960s also discusses maid life before the 1960s. Skeeter has just graduated from college with the dream of becoming a writer. She embarks on this journey by enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who just lost her son and is upset at the world for letting it happen, and Minny who is the best cook in all of Mississippi but has a knack for getting herself in trouble by speaking when she shouldn’t. With Aibileen and Minny’s help Skeeter is able to start writing her book about the help in Mississippi while also enlisting the help of other maids to tell their stories even though it could mean risking their lives. It is pretty funny to read about what happens after the book is published and the town of Jackson, Mississippi starts to talk about who might be who in the stories. The movie moves right along with the storyline of the book. I saw the movie first and then read the book and they are pretty close to each other.  Ready Player One By Ernest Cline Set in the year 2045 Wade Watts finds refuge in the virtual game world of the OASIS. Wade studies all of the puzzles within the game to try and find the creators hidden easter eggs within the game. These hidden clues will lead the player to a prize that will change someone’s life. When Wade finds the first clue he also finds himself in trouble with other players who try to kill him in real life so that they can beat him to the next clues and win the prize for themselves. If he wins the prize his life will change forever and he will have control over the OASIS. This movie is just as action packed as the book as Wade and his friends try to beat the professionals to the keys of the OASIS.  World War Z: An Oral History By Max Brooks If you like Zombies you need to read this book! The book of World War Z is so different from the movie and I am so glad that I read the book first. The book is about agent Max Brooks, from what I gathered, traveling throughout the world gathering as many accounts as he could of how people survived and what they are doing now to survive the Zombie Apocalypse and report it to the postwar commission. People went to the coldest of regions and to the southern regions to escape the zombie war. This book is listed under scary and gives details as to how the events happened. The movie is completely different with a storyline being put into place that is easier to follow.  Cloud Atlas By David Mitchell This book can get a little confusing while reading so it’s difficult trying to explain it. It’s multiple stories, within one story, that are all interconnected in someway. This story starts out in 1850 with Adam Ewing traveling the world, he befriends a doctor who treats him for a rare brain parasite. The story then flashes forward to 1931 Belgium where Robert Frobisher is a disinherited bisexual composer who creates a plan to get into the home of a maestro with a beautiful and wife and daughter. It then jumps to the West Coast in the 1970s to Lewisa Rey as she finds a corporate web of greed and murder and gets herself into so much trouble that her life is on the line. We finally end up in the present day in England. Korea is the super power with neocapitalism creating a mess. Things then flash forward to the future with a post apocalyptic Iron Age in Hawaii where history will end. Things then start flowing backward through history to the beginning of the story with Adam Ewing. It’s during this return back through history that we find out how all these characters are connected. There is swearing and violence in this book as well as sexual content. The movie is Rated R for the same content as the book. Missy
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AuthorsLooking for some inspiration on what to read next? Who better to ask then the people who work around books for a living!? Each month we will post a "staff picks" blog post written by one of our staff members. These posts will vary in genre, theme, age appropriateness, etc. If you have any requests on a genre or age category you would like to see, submit a comment here and we will get it on the list! Archives
February 2020
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