Check out these reviews written by the staff of the Marathon County Public Library, featuring books DVDs for adults! (For reviews of books for all ages, visit our main Staff Reviews webpage.) Staff book reviews are also published at Goodreads.com; follow us for the latest updates. The book reviews on this website represent the personal opinions of the individuals who created them and do not represent any official views of the Marathon County Public Library.
If you're a child of the 80's and 90's like I am, you might enjoy catching up with Jerry Seinfeld by reading Is This Anything? The first chapter begins with him explaining his passion for comedy and how even though he had other hobbies and interests growing up, they meant nothing to him after his first stand-up experience. Lots of "bits" for which...
Audience: adults | Genre: biography, celebrity, comedy, nonfiction
In this timely picture book, two young children face the initial challenges and loneliness of quarantine that people all over the world have experienced this past year. Once the children realize they can still communicate, just in a fun new way, they don't feel so alone. I found this heartwarming and hopeful picture book to be a great resource and...
Audience: adults, children | Genre: picture book
They call her Sankofa, but that is not her name. Whispers travel ahead of her calling her the adopted daughter of Death, fearful cries that she will kill you with one touch, destroy a town with one glance. A fox follows at her heels, her only companion. Sankofa walks from city to city, searching all of Ghana for the object that was stolen from her....
Audience: adults | Genre: science fiction, fiction
Readers find out early on in this book (about 20 pages in) that the plane that 12 year-old Eddie Adler is riding on will crash. He is the only survivor. The crash receives a huge amount of publicity and thousands of people respond through social media. Edward (as Eddie is known after the crash) goes to live with his aunt and uncle, who try to shield him...
Anna Kate has come to Wicklow, Alabama to bury her Grandma Zee and to settle the estate. Her grandma Zee’s last wish was for Anna Kate to run her beloved Blackbird Café for 60 days before selling it. Anna Kate is hoping for a quick return to her normal life, but will the quirky town keep her from leaving? Will Anna Kate finally know why her mother refused...
When Leena has a panic attack during a pivotal work presentation, she's given a mandatory two-month sabbatical by her boss. Panicking at the thought of her career in shambles and at the thought of two months without the distraction of work, Leena calls her grandmother to arrange a visit in the Yorkshire countryside. Her grandmother, Eileen, has a different...
Audience: adults | Genre: classic fiction
Only 14 years old, Beth is dumped on the doorstep of a large mansion by her aunt, to be taken in by a family with a young daughter the same age. Beth is amazed at the kind family and grand estate she's welcomed to, but when they ask her to play a game before a visitor arrives, her world spins out of control. Years later, Sadie is an actress...
In Abeth there were once four tribes, each with different traits and abilities. Gerant are large, and strong; Hunska are dark-haired, dark-eyed, and fast; Marjal are known for their ability to perform lesser magics; and Quantal are able to work great magics and walk "The Path," a line of energy connected to The Ancestor and the heart of power itself. Over...
When Holly White’s fiancé cancels their wedding, she heads home to Mistletoe, Maine. Holly is looking to heal her broken heart at her parent’s Christmas tree farm at Christmastime. Her plan for healing gets sidetracked when a local resident, Margaret Fenwick, is found murdered on the tree farm. When the murder weapon is identified as a wooden stake used to...
If you looking for comforting, absolutely delicious vegan food, then this is definitely the cookbook for you! Packed full of what the author deems "carnivore-approved vegan recipes", I found so many recipes I can't wait to try! From bacon to biscuits and gravy to General Tso's chicken to creme brulee, I can't wait to start cooking!
Are you looking for a cookbook packed with beautifully photographed and healthy recipes? If so, this is a must-read. This new cookbook is packed not only with fully-photographed healthy recipes, but it also delves into the author's journey to a plant-based lifestyle as well as general information on a plant-based lifestyle and the benefits of it. Included...
When Eileen goes missing from a hiking trip, her family is thrown into turmoil. When her camera washes downriver and is turned into the police, something disturbing and unexplainable is captured on film. When her brother and his best friends see copies of the film and police stop the search for Eileen, the group of friends are spurred into action to try and...
In this fully illustrated new cookbook, the author combined over 100 recipes that work with the ever growing (and delicious!) meat alternatives that are available today for consumers. Including soups, baked dished, pastas, sandwiches, and breakfast recipes, this cookbook is packed full of tantalizing recipes that work with not only meat alternatives, but...
Audience: adults | Genre: cookbook, nonfiction
This is a story about two women who want something different of their lives, something more. They break the rules and expectations others have of them to find their true self. Years of lies and secrets have formed the women’s beliefs of their families and of themselves. They discover that those secrets have kept them from learning who they truly are and...
What would you do if you had no other living option besides sharing a one bedroom flat with a complete stranger? A stranger though, that you won't actually see despite living together? Tiffy jumps (albeit hesitantly) at the chance of an affordable flat, especially since her flatmate is not supposed to be there at the same time, per their agreement...
Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer, co-hosts of the podcast "By the Book," decided to live by self-help books for two weeks each, to determine what personally worked for them and what didn't. This book is the result of that experiment, and as the authors say, readers can try some of the tips along with the authors, or just read along for pure...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
I loved this new dessert cookbook by Ally Lazare, packed full of tantalizing vegan recipes for cookies, cakes, no bake desserts, and more. All of the recipes have food pantry staples instead of hard-to-find ingredients, and none of the recipes look too difficult or labor intensive. Recipes are marked if they fit certain dietary requirements, which I...
So much has changed for forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway in the twelfth book in this fantastic series. When convicted murderer Ivor March makes a deal with police, he swears he'll tell them where two bodies are from prior cold cases, but only if Ruth is the one to dig them up. Lured back into helping the police, Ruth ends up tangled in a web of secrets...
Adrienne, desperate and desolate with few possessions and very little money left, thankfully accepts an inherited house from a relative she's never known. As she slowly wanders around the house she can now call home, Adrienne starts to notice a few things that give her a sense of unease. Why are there no mirrors in the house and strange messages scratched...
I was drawn to this book by the very title, the promise that it would give the readers ways in which we can care for our wellbeing when life is truly difficult, and how to build ourselves back up. Is there really a more fitting book to read after 2020? This book takes readers through the author's own personal journey with difficult times, where she...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
This is book one in a new series called Deep Lake Cozy Mystery. The story is placed in south-central Wisconsin in a town called Deep Lakes. The main character is Francine “Frankie” Champagne. Frankie is a 40-something entrepreneur. She is the owner of Bubble and Bake, a bakery by day and wine lounge by night. She is also a pastry maker, vintner and...
This book is for anyone suffering from a chronic and/or mysterious illness. It's for anyone whose life was suddenly derailed by an onset of symptoms that seemed to appear out of nowhere (but typically follows a trauma of some sort). It's for anyone who, as Ramey puts it "...looks normal, but...feels like the walking dead.". At times frustrating,...
This is the second audiobook that I have listened to by Katherine Center. This book has it all! I found some parts to be very funny and others to be sad, but the book takes overcoming tragedy and turns something negative into a positive. Margaret Jacobsen is so excited for Valentine's Day, as she is so sure that this will be the...
17 years have passed since Hannah has stepped foot in her family's estate, which is actually her family's castle. Ever since her sister disappeared during a summer spent with her aunt and uncle, Hannah hasn't looked back. Her fiancé doesn't even know she has a family estate steeped in ghosts and tragedy, until she's called to return after her aunt dies...
Looking for healthy recipes that will support your immune system as well as taste delicious? This is a wonderful new cookbook from Angela Liddon, full of plant based meals that will support your health while also satisfying your taste buds! Her sneaky protein-packed mashed potatoes and creamy mushroom, green bean, and wild rice casserole were...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
