Check out these reviews written by the staff of the Marathon County Public Library! (For reviews in all genres, visit our main Staff Reviews webpage.) Staff book reviews are also published at Goodreads.com; follow us for the latest updates.
What if? This book asks just this question about gravity and what would happen if there was none. Gain a glimpse of our universe as if gravity did not exist. Jason Chin does a wonderful job getting a young reader introduced to the sometimes complex understanding of gravity. The words are few and basic yet they help the youngest of minds to begin thinking...
Audience: children | Genre: nonfiction, outer space, science
Carry On, Warrior takes the reader on a journey of discovery, emotion, and healing, as she recounts pivotal life moments, thoughts, and feelings. While her novel tends to jump around, and I couldn't connect fully with some of the experiences I have not shared with her, I appreciated the journey all the same. Her writing is humble, humorous, and captivating...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Gladwell explores how and why major changes in culture happen, i.e. “the tipping point”, or to use an even more current term, “go viral”. He has researched why and how trends, social movements, pop culture phenomena and epidemics occur. Gladwell contends that social and cultural events don’t just “happen”, but rather require essential elements to occur. For...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
The "Oh She Glows Cookbook" is an amazing resource for anyone who is vegan or has other food intolerances, allergies, or clean-eating habits. Included are a plethora of fully illustrated, enticing recipes, as well as tips for healthy eating. Every recipe also notes whether it is gluten, nut, soy, sugar, and/or grain free in addition to vegan, so there is a...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Ten-year-old Leon Leyson’s idyllic days playing on the streets and streetcars of Krakow, Poland quickly changed to a life of fear, degradation, humiliation and a day-to-day struggle to stay alive. Why? He was Jewish. His detailed memoir recounts these horrific days when the Third Reich invaded their town and began their increasingly brutal effort to...
Audience: teens | Genre: nonfiction, history, holocaust
Joyous Health is chock full of recipes and tips for anyone wanting to eat healthy, because of dietary needs or a lifestyle change. Superfoods, detoxing, supplements, and healthy habits are all discussed in an easy to read and understand format. Recipes for each section are included, and all list if they are dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegetarian, etc. A...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This book is a must read for those interested in success or as a personal roadmap to “how to get ahead” in this world. Gladwell busts the popular conception that success is based upon luck. In fact, using countless examples of real success stories (i.e. the rich and famous), Gladwell demonstrates that success isn’t primarily due to luck, but rather, hard...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Oh, yes you can...cook, as the front cover says! This beginner's cookbook has a list of all the basic cooking gear needed to get started without fear. I love the "how-to" section for preparing many everyday items; it even tells you when to keep your fingers away from the knife. The cook book has recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, quickies, and my...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Are you looking for healthy recipes, with nutritional information included, that fit into your busy schedule? This new cookbook brought to us by Weightwatchers includes 250 recipes that take only 15, 20, or 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Most recipes are illustrated and have cook's notes and further tips to prepare the meal even faster. If you're looking...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This book is an excellent discussion of how we "think", i.e. what really goes on in our brains as we make decisions, evaluate and consider options. Gladwell arrives at the conclusion (with much evidence) that some of our most profound thinking goes on at a level he labels "behind the closed door". The reality appears that when, for example, we need to make...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
The Very Best Healing Foods is a fantastic resource for healthy eating. The first half of the book is dedicated to the health benefits, home remedies, cautions, culinary use, recipes, health and beauty hints, and more for every kind of fruit and vegetable. The second half features recipes to put to use all of the great information you just learned in the...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This cookbook is a great resource for anyone, like me, who loves to save time by using a slow cooker. Included are simple and sure to please recipes for lunch, dinner, and dessert, as well as tips from the author. I will be trying a few ideas out of this book; I only wish their were more recipes to try!
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Who doesn't love tacos? If you do, grab this fully illustrated collection of recipes for new ideas. With easy to follow recipes and ideas for burritos, quesadillas, tacos, drinks, sides, and even desserts, there is a multitude of tasty recipes for anyone to try. You will get hungry just looking through this book!
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Based on the blog of the same name, this memoir chronicles adventures, missteps, and lesson learned the occur as Eve, her husband, and her two young daughters attempt to live without sugar from January until December. The title is a little misleading because each family member is allowed to choose one item they can have as a "cheat" throughout the year (Eva...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Are you looking for simple and quick meals for your hectic weeknights? This collection of recipes is fully illustrated with recipes that are easy and with ingredient lists that are not a mile long. Included with many of the recipes are budget tips and meal ideas as well. A great resource for speedy meals that won't break your schedule or your budget!
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Any baker or person desiring desserts need look no further. This collection of unique and tasty treats contains great descriptions, illustrations, and instructions for anyone wanting to try out a new treat. Although as a dairy intolerant person I am unable to make Jeni's recipes, her book made me (as always) wishing that I could, and it's sure to be a great...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
A more accurate title is Year of Reduced Sugar! The author and her family still indulge in a sweet treat every month, and each family member is granted an exception item, which contains sugar. (The author chose red wine.) Sugar really is in almost everything we consume (even bacon and chicken broth!), and the family's quest to attend community events,...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
McCullough’s book came after a similarly themed graduation speech of 2012. His thoughts are well received and regarded because he speaks from the position of an educator of nearly 30 years (Interestingly he spent nearly a decade teaching in the Hawaii high school where President Obama admitted to spending his high school years mostly getting high and “by”...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
What a refreshing cookbook and way to think about healthy eating! This cookbook really makes you feel as though you can eat healthy and organic fairly easily. There are excellent ideas for meals and snacks that are easy and don't require strange sounding, organic ingredients that can sometimes break a budget. The pictures are great and the book also...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
What a delicious and perfectly timed cookbook for summer! Just when you thought homemade pizza couldn't get any better, now you can make it on the grill! Delicious recipes and step-by-step training for proper technique make this cookbook a must read for anyone who enjoys pizza or grilled food.
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This fascinating and thought provoking memoir takes us into the world of schoolchildren in the Swat Valley of Pakistan; a world not often experienced by outsiders since the takeover of the Taliban. Malala faces adversity, including the brutal attack in which she was shot in the face by the Taliban, with the courage that comes from being passionate about...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, memoir
Going to the farmer's market and need some ideas for what to make with your purchases? This book may be able to help. A variety of regionally grown produce is featured in this pretty cookbook. Each fruit or vegetable is featured individually and general facts are given on each one in addition to some recipes. I was hoping for more recipes than there were in...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This non-fiction collection is comprised of cases of serial killers beginning with the nineteenth century through modern times, with a special caveat; all were solved with the most cutting-edge forensics of the day, by detectives that were unrelenting and dogged in their pursuit of the perpetrators of unspeakable crimes. H.H. Holmes (portrayed in "Devil in...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, true crime
Are you a lover of travel and exploring food? Then this is the cookbook for you! Kim has been a world traveler all of her life and uses this cookbook to highlight delicious recipes from her adventures across the globe. The pictures of the food are beautiful and her anecdotes included in each chapter add to our wanderlust as a reader. This is definitely a...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This book contains refreshing ideas for recreating your space with re-purposed and recycled materials. What better way to make a truly one-of-a-kind and personalized space? I found some really beautiful ideas that I can't wait to incorporate into my home!
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
