Patron Picks! Summer Reading 2016 - Week 6

Patron Picks! Summer Reading 2016 - Week 6

Posted by Anonymous

Wow! We have a bumper crop of new reviews for the last week of the 2016 Summer Reading Program! Thanks to everyone for sending in their reviews. We will contact the winner of the last $10 gift card later this week. 

Here are the last patron reviews of SRP 2016!

Reviewed By: Mary H.
What I Read: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Based in Seattle, about a mom dealing with a nervous breakdown. Very funny read.

Reviewed By: Jeanette W.
What I Read: The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: What a great book! Tell Sackett is heading west with his new bride when he is attacked, his wife murdered, and his outfit burned. He is a hunted man as he sets out to find the man who killed his wife. I love that this is a clean book with no foul language or sex. I for sure want to read more about the Sacketts.

Reviewed By: Linda P.
What I Read: Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I enjoyed this book. It was a good mystery. I can't imagine what I would do if my child could not be found in the chaos of a shooting.

Reviewed By: Linda P.
What I Read: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: At first you think Ove is just an old, cranky, man who complains about everything and everyone, but by the end of the book you will wish that you could be more like Ove.

Reviewed By: Linda P.
What I Read: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I enjoyed this book but when I was nearing the end I couldn't help feel a sense of relief to have finished the book.

Reviewed By: Tom B.
What I Read: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: This book was laugh out loud funny. By going on a journey through the main historical events of the 20th century, Allan Karlsson has certainly lived an eventful, out of the ordinary, crazy life.

Reviewed By: Tom B.
What I Read: The Smoke Is Rising by Mahesh Rao
What I Thought: I was disappointed with this. I didn't think this went together as a novel. The parts telling the story of a few main characters were fragmented, but well written. But the parts that were involved with the local 'politics' were tedious.

Reviewed By: Joann B.
What I Read: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I think it's interesting that the main character, Rachel, challenges us to think about how much we assume about--and pre-judge--other people based on our limited knowledge of them. To feel pity, disgust, frustration, compassion, and so much more for one character is a rare thing.

Reviewed By: Joann B.
What I Read: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought:  I found this book superficial and, at times, even boring.

Reviewed By: Joann B.
What I Read: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I found it to be jumpy and often disjointed. I am not a fan of the current trend of devoting one chapter to one character and the next to another and flipping back and forth.

Reviewed By: Joann B.
What I Read: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought:  It was a good book but, I found the orphan trains to be an interesting and horrifying time in our history.

Reviewed By: Sue H.
What I Read: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I loved this book! It gave me a lot of information that I did not know.

Reviewed By: Sue H.
What I Read: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: This is a great book. It is one of those that make a person ponder what they would do in such a situation.

Reviewed By: Deb D.
What I Read: Illegal: Life and Death in Arizona's Immigration War Zone by Terry Greene Stirling
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: This book was written in 2010. I found it interesting that the immigration debate is still going on now in Arizona. It clearly showed the struggles of the people on both sides of the story. It was a very personal book because the stories were about real people who were interviewed by the writer. It shared stories about the lives of people in Mexico, crossing the border, their stays in Phoenix and Arizona and the return home by some either by choice or deportation.

Reviewed By: Wendy P.
What I Read: Hidden Talent by Blanca D'Arc
What I Thought: In this Sci-fi romance life changes drastically for the main character when she is found hidden in a colony of alien horse trainers. Psychic abilities are unleashed and desires are unbelievable in this alien culture.

Reviewed By: Tammy T.
What I Read: 39 Clues: Nowhere to Run by Jude Watson
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Just when Dan and Amy thought their life would return to normal, a new enemy has discovered the serum. He's trying to become the President while eliminating the kids. This was a great way to extend the series. It was a page turner and I had a hard time putting it down.

Reviewed By: Jenice H.
What I Read: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: I was surprise how different it was from the movie. It did have some same parts but in different places. I liked it, it was like picturing another movie in my head.

Reviewed By: Jenice H.
What I Read: Under Their Sky by Margaret Peterson Haddix
What I Thought: I liked so much that I can't wait for the second book to come out. It was mysterious, adventurous, surprised me every time, wouldn't expect what would come out next.

Reviewed By: Charlotte M.
What I Read: The Martian by Andy Weir
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Very easy read. It was funny & kept me interested. There was a good amount of science to it, but it was written in a way that was easy to follow & understand.

Reviewed By: Sandra C.
What I Read: In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Find It @ YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Great literature! This book made me get my confidence back as a stay-at-home mom. Made me realize the importance of my presence for my family. My role as a stay-at-home mom is more valuable than any amount of money I can get at a job. I am my

Thanks again to everyone for sending in reviews this summer; having multiple perspectives on some of the same books this week was especially fun. Keep reading the Staff Picks blog all year round, and we'll open it up to patron submissions again next year!

Burning Down George Orwell's House by Andrew Ervin

Burning Down George Orwell's House by Andrew Ervin

Posted by Anonymous

Reviewed by: Laurie Boone

What I Read: Burning Down George Orwell's House by Andrew Ervin

Find It @YCLD: Here!

What It's About: A successful advertising executive, in an attempt to flee his inner demons by moving to remote Scotland, finds himself instead confronting demons of the ordinary human kind…and possibly a werewolf. Ray Welter made a fortune as an advertising executive whose ads promoted a toxic product. He got the idea from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, a work with which Ray is strangely obsessed. When his marriage and life fall apart in Chicago, he decides to move into the house where Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four; a house located on the remote Scottish island of Jura. What seemed like a good idea at the time ends up having rather twisted (and darkly funny) consequences.

What I Thought: I picked this up to read based solely on the great title, but after reading for about ten minutes I knew this was going to be good. Ray’s desire to escape the ‘Big Brother’ world of technology and “civilization” is something a lot of modern people can relate to. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Ray, depending on how you look at it, the island of Jura is populated by eccentrics and other malevolently amusing characters who really stick it to Ray and his dream of escape. Ray took inspiration for his manipulative ad campaign from Nineteen Eight-Four, and then Ray ends up being manipulated himself by everything dark and light, sinister and hilarious, human and maybe not so human in George Orwell’s house on the island of Jura.

Readalikes: 1984 by George Orwell. Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

Or look this book up on NoveList!

Patron Picks! Summer Reading 2015 - Week 2

Patron Picks! Summer Reading 2015 - Week 2

Posted by Anonymous

Are you having a "super" summer? Here's this week's installment of book reviews written by YCLD patrons. Thanks to everyone who turned in a review.

Reviewed by: Jennifer B.
What I Read: Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: This was a short read of 229 pages. I liked it; but; I think the book should have been longer. Louisa is physically attracted to her upstairs neighbor Pete Streeter. He is a screenwriter and he stole Louisa paper to check out a movie review. Louisa is a secretary to senator Alan Nolan Bishop and is thirty years old. She lost her job and now is trying to help Pete Streeter solve a missing pig mystery.

Reviewed by: Christine H.
What I Read: Night by Elie Wiesel
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Wiesel’s book Night is like a prose poem. Although a horrific poem it recounts his year in a concentration camp. Just fifteen at the time he and his family lived in Transylvania and it was near the end of the war the Jews of his little village were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Moved around in the very last days of the conflict he was moved to Buchenwald. Throughout their imprisonment he and his father had remained in contact now at the end his father died within hours of liberation.
He describes the hunger, the terror, the cruelty of guards and soldiers. But the greatest loss worse to him is the loss of man’s humanity to man. Even he at the end did not comfort his dying father.
He wrote the book so we will never forget. We should not.

Reviewed by: Christine H.
What I Read: A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olson
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: If you are a fan of the Scandinavian writers Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo you'll like Adler Olson.
This is the 3rd in the series and I have devoured them.
They are gritty crime dramas with serial killers, kidnappers and spree killers. Not for the faint of heart But the characters are well-rounded and make you want to know more about them.

Reviewed by: Norah C.
What I Read: Historias de Miedo by Carlos Trejo
What I Thought: This is a good book, it had me reading and very entertain this book is about scary stories based in real life is a book of stories of Paranormal activities, I would read it again, there's more books by this author that I'm going to read. I recomend this book to all people who is interested on paranormal activities.

Reviewed by: Diana A.
What I Read: The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell
What I Thought: Its was interesting. Had a lota of make believe fiction. I like it it was very interesting and kept me reading.
I like it also because it was a mystery & it was a fantastic book.

Reviewed by: Diana A.
What I Read: Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: Book was about children being sold into slavery to pay off parents debts which they are promise to return when debt is paid off but are not. They are treated bad espiacilly ones that are slow in carpeting work or other I thought this story is pretty sad. Children being treated bad and they never will be able to live lives as children should be. And the sad part is that this is happening still in foreign places and its call bonded salvery.

Reviewed by: Robin
What I Read: Farming by Gail Gibbons
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: There are different types of farming there are animal farming and crops farming. I like this book cause I have a cousin who does the same thing and does the planting with seeds. I'm lucky to have a cousin to work with seeds.

Reviewed by: Danielle O.
What I Read: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Find it at YCLD: Here!
What I Thought: This is the best non-Fiction book I've read (Scriptures aside) Atul is an intelegent & compassionate Dr. who guides readers through what it means to age and die, or die of disease. He tells of how to help the aging and dieing live their best life possible. I think everyone should read this book. Ive read it twice.

Reviewed by: Lance B.
What I Read: Longarm and the Night Raiders by Tabor Evans
What I Thought: Enjoyed the book. Author keeps you reading. Always a surprise how the character gets out of his predicaments. I highly recommend this series.

Reviewed by: Lance B.
What I Read: Longarm and the 400 Blows by Tabor Evans
What I Thought: I enjoyed this book. The author keeps you guessing. Can go from slow point to action packed in one sentence. Keeps you wanting to read more.

Keep the reviews coming! Anyone can "Escape the Ordinary" by reading a book.