Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District BookBlog

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Reviewer: Juli

Review: I loved this book from the first page to the last. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a wonderful novel narrated by Enzo an old soul in a dog's body. On the eve of his death, Enzo, who has been studying what it means to be human, shares his thoughts about life and his family. A gem.

Sitting Practice

Reviewer: Juli

Review: Sitting Practice is a book that takes a few twists as it explores marriage and intimacy. Ross and Iliana are the perfect newlyweds until a tragic accident destroys their idyllic life and leaves Iliana paralyzed from the waist down. How each responds to this tragedy and the resulting complications combine to form a stellar book club selection. There is a reading group guide to assist with the hard questions this novel evokes.

Beginner's Greek

Reviewer: Juli

Review: Beginner's Greek is a sophisticated comedy of manners that places characters in the kinds of situations Jane Austen would cheer. This is a novel about chance meetings, missed opportunities and true love gone awry. You won't be able to set it down.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Sixteen year old Adam is withdrawn and unresponsive and his best friend has committed suicide.. His grades are dropping and he has quit the hockey team. His parents, in desperation, install spy ware on his computer and cell phone. In tracking his movements they get drawn into a nightmare of conspiracy. At the same time, two women are brutally murdered. What is the connection? Page turning suspense makes this novel a quick read. It is at terrific thriller!

Olive Kitteridge : A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout.

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Olive Kitteridge is a retired school teacher and therefore knows just about everything and everybody in Crosby, Maine. In spare, unflinching prose, the lives of her characters are exposed. You may not always like Olive but she is a commanding figure. This book is highly recommended. Strout�s previous novel was Abide with Me.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Picoult�s latest is a mixed bag of religion and death penalty politics. Shay Bourne is on death row facing the death penalty by lethal injection. He wants to die by other means so that he can donate his heart to the stepsister of one of his victims. The plot moves along briskly except when it bogs down in religious exposition.

More than a Step From Death

Reviewer: Ray

Review: The latest book from noted author (and poet laureate of North Dakota) is a memoir told not so much in a chronological fashion but in a way similar to the weave of a tapestry. He frames it as an account of relationships between fathers and son--he with his son, Joseph (not Joe), and his father, Everett, with him. It it is obvious that Woiwode (y-wood-ee) has a love of language and literature, and stories revolve around near-death experiences...due to road accidents, fires, and dangerous farm implements. His life weaves its way through the Illinois, North Dakota and New York as we encounter farmers, book editors and, in one passing party, Tom Wolfe.

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Reviewer: Jane

Review: In a paean to small town life Russo follows the lives of �Lucy� (Louis Charles) and Sarah who are planning a trip to Italy to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Their childhood years are recalled and the love triangle between them and their friend Noonan, now a successful painter in Italy. Highly recommended.

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Maisie Dobbs is back. The year is 1931 and Maisie is asked to investigate a potential land purchase in rural Kent. The town is beset by petty crime and arson and is harboring a haunting memory of a Zeppelin attack during the war that killed three members of one family. This series just keeps getting better.

Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Paretsky in a major departure from her V.I. Warshawski mysteries has written a compelling novel set in a small town in Kansas. Feuding families, fundamentalist religious views, the war in Iraq, and tolerance of gays are all entwined. Highly recommended.

Ranger's Apprentice #1: The Ruins of Gorlan

Reviewer: librariann

Review: As one of five orphaned wards of the castle, fifteen-year-old Will anxiously awaits his appointment to an apprenticeship. Although he longs to join the Battleschool and become a knight's apprentice like his friend Horace, he is told he is too small. Instead, he is invited to become an apprentice to a Ranger. Little is known about the Rangers, but much is rumored. Can they really become invisible? Will discovers that the Rangers are not magical after all - just well trained. As an apprentice to the Ranger Halt, Will learns archery, horsemanship, and stealth skills. Then, when a pair of evil beasts at the bidding of the kingdom's enemy come to the land, he becomes involved in an attempt to stop them. The book is well-paced alt-historical adventure. The land of the story closely resembles medieval Europe, but has subtle differences, including some fantastical beasts, and isn't clearly affiliated with any known history. An Australian import, two more books in the Ranger's Apprentice series have been released in the U.S., with a fourth to come this spring and more to follow after that. Readers should also try "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi for similar era adventures and "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card for a futuristic Battleschool. (A Rebecca Caudill 2008 nominee)

Schulz and Peanuts : A Biography by David Michaelis

Reviewer: Ray

Review: The fact that this book has 672 pages is daunting although actually the biography section begins on page 566. However, I did make it through with several weeks of reading and the book did not LAG in interest the entire time. This is definitely the definitive biography of PEANUTS creator and cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. Michaelis had complete access to Schulz's papers and the family and innumerable folks helped to contribute information. The work is also heavily illustrated with Peanuts cartoons. Mr. Schulz was never happy and had a great deal of emotional problems but nonetheless became one of the most loved and celebrated cartoonists of all time (as well as the richest). This book is highly recommended

Comfortable Rumpole

Reviewer: Ray

Review: John Mortimer's latest entry in his Rumpole series is a small, short book with large type. It's 196 or so pages sail along quickly. It is more aptly a novella or an extended short story. While there aren't too many surprises, the story is told by Rumpole himself (with extracts from his wife Hilda's diary)and holds one's interest and if one knows and loves the character, entertaining. Like a comfortable old chair, it sits well and is a very pleasant diversion...recommanded for airport reading or a quite night at home.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

Reviewer: Jane

Review: Kinsey Milhone returns again in Grafton's latest entry in the series. This book is a little bit different from the others. We know from the outset who the villain is, the question is whether Kinsey will figure it out in time to save her elderly neighbor from harm. Solana Rojas has stolen the identity of a legitimate nurse and is hired as a caretaker for Kinsey�s neighbor and plans murder and extortion. The book is a sensitive examination of elder abuse and care and is recommended for series fans as well as newcomers.

See the U.S.A.

Reviewer: Ray

Review: There a number of books out on the first US transcontinental highway--The Lincoln Highway (At times, Route 30) but this is one of the best. Each chapter covers a state through which the highway runs, starting in New York and head west to California. There are wonderful color pictures (and some "before" in black and white) of places along the way. Wallis & Williamson recount wonderful historical snippets and visit innumerable diners and restaurants across the country. It gives a great feel for America as it was and as it is. Great coffee table book/leisurely read.