Defending Jacob by William Landay MYS Lan

I had the day off today.  What did I accomplish?  Not much - except finish a great book that I started last night.  I could not stop reading it.  It reminded me of Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow.  That book was written decades ago and I still remember it because it was so good.  (You should read it and also the sequel Innocent!)  But back to this book!  Andy Barber has a good life. He is still madly in love with his wife Laurie, he has a good job as a D. A. and he is father to Jacob.  When a fourteen-year-old, Ben, is murdered Andy takes the reins since it will likely be a high-profile case.  Even when colleagues suggest that he should pass because Jacob and Ben attended the same school, Andy thinks he is the man for the job.  There are not many clues and the kids at school aren't saying much.  When Andy finds a knife in his son's room he begins to change his approach to the investigation.  After Jacob is arrested Andy finds out what it is like on the other side of the aisle in a trial.  He is introduced to the emotional and social pains of a defendant's family.  He realizes the high financial cost - even if his son is found innocent - which of course he will be.  It is a fantastic book!!!!!!

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker FIC Wal

This is a coming-of-age type novel with a twist.  Julia is going through the usual angst of becoming a teenager.  She has a crush on a boy, a best friend, a desire to have a bra and some issues with her mother.  Things were changing in the world although Julia hadn't really noticed yet.  The days were getting longer - and not because the season was changing.  The scientists finally gave it the name 'the slowing'.  Julia's mother begins to hoard food and supplies.  Her father, a doctor, seems confident that everything will be okay.  As 'the slowing' gets worse the government asks people to use clock time and to ignore nature's new idea of daytime.  Insomnia is rampant, people are stressed and new cracks begin to appear in humanity.  It was an interesting book but also unsettling.  I am still trying to decide if I feel better that it is cataloged as fiction instead of science fiction!  This is a debut novel and I look forward to more from this author. 

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon FIC Gid

Alice Buckle is middle-aged. She is approaching the age her mother was when she died.  She has been married for 20 years and has two children.  She worries about her kids and feels that her marriage is stagnant.  One day she sees an email about a research project studying Marriage in the 21st Century.  After checking to make sure that it has come from a reliable source she decides to reply and is accepted into the study.  It might be interesting and she will be paid $1000 at the end.  She is now officially known as Wife 22 and is assigned a caseworker known as Researcher 101.  As her life seems to be spiraling out of control (her husband is having job problems, her son may be gay and her daughter is acting very odd) she finds herself developing a dependency on her caseworker.  Researcher 101 seems to be so understanding and interested in her that she finds herself confessing things online that she never would to her husband.  They move beyond the questionnaires and set up a private Facebook account where they communicate.  Alice becomes a slave to her phone as she constantly is checking for messages.  It was a very readable book and an interesting story.  Is social media a friend or foe?  I enjoyed this book a lot. 

The First Patient by Michael Palmer FIC Pal

We own the book but I downloaded the audiobook from WILBOR.  This was part medical mystery and part political mystery.  Gabe and Andrew roomed together at the Naval Academy.  Today Gabe lives a quiet life in Wyoming as a small town doctor.  Andrew, on the other hand, lives in Washington D.C..  In a big white house.  On Pennsylvania Avenue.   They are reunited when the President shows up in Wyoming.  He is involved in a very tough re-election campaign.  As if that weren't stressful enough, his personal physician has disappeared.  He begs Gabe to come to the White House for the next few months until the election is over.  Soon after arriving in D.C., Gabe begins to suspect that the President may be going insane. (Yes, I know that isn't an unusual suspicion!).  Should he use his knowledge to transfer power to the V.P.????  Lots to consider here.  In all mysteries the main character asks that awful question - "Whom can I trust?".  But if you are the Prez the answer is easy - no one.

Making Piece: a memoir of love, loss and pie by Beth M. Howard 977.7 How

Beth Howard grew up in Ottumwa Iowa. After high school she left the state and had no reason to return after her parents moved to California.  Her life took several twists and turns.  Although she was a journalist she had worked in the .com industry where she made good money.....sitting in a cubicle......for many, many hours a day.  Money isn't everything, is it.  Shortly afterwards she meets Marcus, a German workaholic.  They fall in love and marry but it isn't an easy road.  They are apart and then together and then apart.....  Although they are still in love, Beth decides that divorce is the only logical thing to do.  Beth is in Texas and Marcus is in Washington State.  Seven hours before he is to sign the divorce papers he dies (natural causes) and Beth is swept into a frenzy of guilt and grief.  Making Piece is the story of how she dealt with that grief.  It involves a lot of pie (you will be craving pie throughout the book),  travel,  a trip to the Iowa State Fair, a journey back to Ottumwa and a pie stand in front of the house made famous in the painting American Gothic.  I enjoyed the book and plan on tasting her pie sometime soon!

Dream New Dreams:Reimagining My Life After Loss by Jai Pausch 616.994 PAU

This is written by the widow of Randy Pausch who wrote The Last Lecture (which you should read if you haven't!).  Typically a professor would give this talk at the end of his career. In Randy's case it was also at the end of his life.  He was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  With a wife and three young kids (the newest one was four months old) Randy was willing to fight with everything he had with the support of his wife Jai.  In this book Jai takes us along as she relives those years.  She was in such an impossible situation - being there for her husband and being there for her children.  Of course there are no winners in such a situation and she always felt that she was slighting someone.  And being the head cheerleader for everyone, that's exhausting.  I cannot imagine for one second being able to do what she did.  If you or someone you know is in a position as caretaker I think you will find this book enlightening.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn MYS Fly

I haven't been this excited about a book in a while.  It was a  mystery which relied on a great story and not a lot of violence.  It would have made a great Alfred Hitchcock movie - so those of you who are old enough to remember Hitchcock movies will have some idea about the type of book it is.  It begins on the fifth anniversary of Nick and Amy Dunne's marriage. The day might have started out normally but it changes to abnormal when he comes home and finds the house in disarray and no sign of her.    They are living in Nick's childhood home in Missouri.  They moved there after both of them lost jobs in N.Y. and Nick's mom was dying of cancer.   Nick calls the police who begin an investigation.  The story moves back and forth between what is happening on the investigation and excerpts from Amy's diary.  When no trace of Amy is found, Nick becomes the top suspect. There are many twists and turns along the way and lots of interesting characters.  I can't imagine you could be disappointed in this book!

Art Lab for Kids by Susan Schwake

Just a look at the cover of this book makes me think I could maybe make art. And the good news is, despite the title, the cover claims it is "For Budding Artists of All Ages." Hooray! I'm ready to hit the art store with my credit card in hand. After an introductory unit on using the book, preparing a space to make art, and assembling supplies, Schwake launches in to five more units that cover drawing, painting, printmaking, paper, and mixed media and include 52 "labs." Labs have fewer than 10 steps, are well-explained and illustrated with photographs, and also include an example of the technique done by a professional artist.

You'll find this book at J702.8 Sch, but don't let the J scare you off. In fact, you should probably try out a few of the art techniques included in this title before you decide if the youngsters in the family would enjoy it. I can see Art Lab for Kids acting as a focus for some great family togetherness times, or as a place to get ideas for those tween girl birthday parties. Create away!

The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow 306.874 Zas

This was a GREAT book!  Zaslow wrote The Girls from Ames and co-authored The Last Lecture.  Since I loved those two books I was pretty sure I would like this one even though I didn't think I could relate to anything in it.   The Magic Room refers to a room (formerly a bank vault!) where brides go to see themselves in the wedding dress that they think might be the one.  This is the story of Becker's Bridal, an amazing bridal store in a small town in Michigan.  The shop has been run by four generations of the Becker family.  Zaslow takes us on a journey where we meet those women as well as some of the recent brides who visited the shop.  Many brides come here because this is where their mothers or grandmothers bought their dresses.   Zaslow focused on eight brides (and their families).  You might think that since this is a bridal shop that all the stories must be happy.  As with most of us, there is always pain somewhere in our lives.  It is a beautifully written book and I would highly recommend it to all of you.  The subtitle of this book is "A Story About the Love We Wish For Our Daughters".  There are lessons to be learned from the book.  One of the lessons that I learned is that life is often too short and certainly not fair.  I want to quote part of the last paragraph in the Acknowledgments.  "Someday, perhaps, I'll have a chance to be a father of a bride............. My job as a father will be simple.  My job will be to tell my daughters I love them. Thanks to all of you for helping me understand this."  Zaslow and his wife had three daughters.  He won't get to be the father of the bride because he was killed in a car accident this past February while he was out promoting this book.  We lost a really great writer.  RIP Mr. Zaslow.

Too Many Murders by Colleen McCullough MYS Mcc

This book is set in 1967 - the year I graduated from high school.  It doesn't seem that long ago!  But in the world of forensics it is the dark ages.  In a small college town there are 12 murders that take place in a 24-hour period.  No, it wasn't a mass shooting, but instead it was 12 individual murders including that of a child, a prostitute, a college student and a successful business man.  I found it a little confusing to keep track of everyone since  I was listening to the audiobook and of course I was also multitasking!  Without the modern tools detectives used now it is a daunting job for Carmine Delmonico, our homicide cop hero.  Since this takes place back in the '60's it was not surprising that there was a possibility of a Russian spy in the mix - those Russian spies were everywhere.  I found it an interesting read but it certainly wasn't on the edge of your seat suspenseful.

Cinnamon Roll Murder by JoAnne Fluke MYS Flu

This series is certainly not the most exciting one in the library but I still have to check out the newest and find out what unfortunate soul gets murdered in the sleepy little town of Lake Eden.  This time at least it is a non-resident!  It is Buddy, a keyboard player for the Cinnamon Roll Six jazz band.  On their way to Lake Eden their bus crashes.  Buddy survives the crash but not the scissors that end up in his chest while he was a patient in the hospital.  Of course Hannah and family are quickly on the case with a little help from the local police.  I was hoping in this book that things would move forward for Hannah's love life since one of her boyfriends was engaged but that didn't happen.  I won't be able to tell you the plot of this book a week from now, but for me it was a nice easy listen and that is exactly what I need sometimes.

Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray FIC Ray

I don't know if I would have read this book just by reading the inside cover.  However, I remembered reading a previous book by Ray and loving it.  So I checked out the audiobook and had an enjoyable 5 1/2 hours.  I had assumed the invisibility would be theoretical - and part of it is.  People are often taken for granted by those closest to them.  But Clover, the main character, actually becomes invisible.  And her family?  They don't even notice!!!  The things that she wears are visible so they just assume she is under those clothes.  One day in the paper she notices an announcement for a support group for invisible women being held at the Sheraton Hotel.  She is supposed to carry a Kleenex.  When she arrives she doesn't know where to go.  Suddenly she notices a Kleenex and hears a voice welcoming her to the Sheraton.  Clover is directed to a room.  She sees nothing but Kleenexes. How did they do it?  Well, they had to take off their clothes!  When they have something to say they wave the Kleenex. It was a very entertaining scene!  Clover finds out that what all the women have in common is the same combination of drugs  - the usual for women 'of a certain age' which includes hormone replacement, an anti-anxiety drug and something to reduce bone-loss.  All of the drugs come from one drug company.  While they are trying to get the drug company to listen, they are also finding ways of being helpful.  For instance the former teacher (she was fired when she became invisible) roams the halls and helps protect kids that are being bullied.  This was a very enjoyable read!!!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (FIC Mor)

"The circus arrives without warning."

So begins (and ends) this book, ostensibly the story of Le Cirque des Reves, a truly magical circus.  It is also the story of an age-old battle between two men pitting their students against one another in a battle to the death.  And no story would be complete without a love story that threatens to destroy (or save?) everyone caught in the middle of the battle.

The author has written a truly magical book.  I couldn't wait to tell people about it - but find myself unsure of how to describe it.  Morgenstern uses magical terms and descriptions to bring events within and without the circus to life.  The story loops back and forth in time and finally brings all the elements of the story together.  A truly remarkable book.