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.
I loved this book! Reading it is like sitting down with a good friend over a cup of cocoa and listening to their stories. Drew writes with such emotion and honesty that you feel like she is in the room with you. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me realize what a beautiful soul she is. This book is written as a collection of stories from...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, memoir, celebrities
As a twenty-three-year-old Harvard law student, Stevenson had his first encounter with an inmate on death row. That meaningful encounter led him to commit his law career to representing the legally underrepresented: death row inmates, children sentenced to life without parole, and others marginalized by the system. He founded and currently serves as the...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Timothy Snyder's book "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning" attempts to place Hitler and Nazi Germany within a political and cultural context. Starting with Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and tracing how Hitler's opinions expressed there found fruition in the Nazi state, Snyder explains how Hitler's negative views of Jews became one of the main thrusts...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, history
This book was amazing! It brought the issue of oppression to the forefront and made doing something to combat it attainable. Women make up half of the global population and yet they still face daily oppression and adversity. While many across the globe are standing up, there is still much work to be done. From big activism like fighting for education...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, gender issues
Who doesn't love a Christmas cookbook? This particular Christmas cookbook comes with recipes from participants of a British reality TV cooking program. The food is somewhat different that what we are used to seeing here in the United States, however it is not too different that you would not enjoy all of the recipes. The Shepherd's Pie looks great, as well...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook, holiday
Straight from the America's Test Kitchen comes their newest collection of recipes from the last year. They are known for their precise recipes, having tested each recipe a variety of ways in order to get the best possible outcome for each dish. This book does a superb job explaining why you make each dish a certain way and includes illustrations for more...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This is a must read for anyone with a sweet tooth! Plus, the author of the popular blog, "chocolatecoveredkatie.com," created these recipes with a healthy goal in mind. As a woman who wanted treats that satisfied her sweet tooth without using artificial sweeteners and unhealthy ingredients, the recipes in this cookbook use natural sweeteners and real...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This is my favorite cookbook so far from chef Giada De Laurentiis! There's something here for everyone, even a few vegan recipes, which made me super happy to see! Giada included vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes for all of us allergy sufferers, as well as recipes to be enjoyed by those without allergy concerns. Included in this cookbook are main...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Aziz Ansari, he is an actor (perhaps best known from Parks & Recreation) and a stand-up comedian, but this isn’t a typical book by a comic. The book was inspired in part by a segment of his stand-up routine and is filled with humor throughout, but it’s actually a carefully researched book that examines the state...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
As a proud Italian with a strong love of all Italian food, this was a must read. Inside, you'll find recipes galore (many fully illustrated) of every kind of pasta and truly Italian meals you can think of, along with delicious desserts. This is a true celebration of Italian food, family, and the meals that bring us together.
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Have you been thinking of going vegan? Or, are you already vegan (or mostly vegan) and would like more information on the reasons why this lifestyle is helpful to you and the environment? I found this book to be packed full of helpful information! As someone who eats vegan at least 90% of the time, I enjoyed gaining more specific information than what I...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, health, cookbook
Americans like to believe that anyone, regardless of background, has the opportunity for a fair start in life through education and hard work. This book explores the “opportunity gap” that exists between children of “working- class” parents (defined as those with whose education did not go beyond high school) and children of “upper-middle-class” parents (...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
For the record, I do not like spiders. However, I am trying to pass on a better view of them to my daughter. This book is very helpful for any young reader who would like to unmask the mystery of these sometimes creepy insects. The writing is simple so that anyone can learn about spiders in a fun way. Not only that, but the illustrations do a great job to...
Audience: children | Genre: nonfiction
Meet Antonia and Peter, a couple who move from America to New Zealand and end up becoming farmers of a sort. This is the story of how this couple traveled to New Zealand in a sail boat, how they started a family and then became hobby farmers. The hobby farm grew one animal at a time as their family constantly fell in love with the idea of a new animal to...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Anyone familiar with Nick Offerman or his on-screen alter ego, Ron Swanson, will not be surprised to learn that he values gumption and those who embody it. In this book, Offerman provides profiles twenty-one Americans who inspire him with their gumption-fueled actions across a wide range of professions. For example, he includes founding fathers, writers (...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Washington Post columnist and twenty-something Alexandra Petri has never been afraid to embrace the awkward and to march to beat of her own eccentric drummer. This humorous memoir is composed of essays on a number of experiences that explore varying types and degrees of awkwardness. Experiences include participation in an international pun championship,...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, memoir
For those of you out there who are wondering who Felicia Day is, once you see her picture you will wonder where you know her from. Many are familiar with her online presence from various geek-doms and others will know her from television and commercials. She reveals a lot about why she became a gamer and how she grew to love that culture. Let's get real...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, memoir
This new cookbook is packed full of homemade mixes, meals, doughs, snacks, and jams utilizing pantry items. I appreciated that each recipe is fully illustrated and is marked if nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and gluten-free for all of us allergy sufferers. I was surprised that even though I can't have soy, dairy, or egg, I was still able to find a few...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
This new children's biography of perhaps Wisconsin’s most well known and loved author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, is a great addition for all her fans. Written in a plain, simple style it includes most of the facts we know about her and her family. The illustrations by Yona Zeldis McDonough are simple, warm and homey, reminiscent of the illustrations by Garth...
Audience: children, tweens | Genre: nonfiction, biography
Has social media, particularly Twitter, become the modern day equivalent of the stocks or pillory as public shamings become commonplace on the web? That question leads Jon Ronson to explore the history of public shaming and its current manifestations on social media, where an admittedly ill-advised or inappropriate comment or photo can turn into a wave of...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
Moses is a woman intimately familiar with museums and the world of art. In this book she explores the rather shadowy world of art, ownership by individuals and museums, and acquisitions of spectacularly famous and valuable items under sometimes questionable methods. The book is divided into eight separate chapters covering the discovery, ownership,...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, printz award winner, award-winning
Jon Ronson is an English journalist who gets called to help decipher a homemade book delivered to scientists around the world. But beyond that, he is asked to determine if there is some “secret message” being relayed to the recipients or is this some elaborate hoax. In his quest he is led to a larger pursuit, i.e. who is or isn’t crazy, who decides who is...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction
In this book Joseph tells us the story of his life in communist-ruled North Korea. In North Korea he starved for 10 years due to inflated prices of food and his country's inability to grow their own food. He tempts fate when he crosses the Tumen River during the day and is "free" in China. Once in China, where he could be exported at any time, he finds life...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, memoir
Don't let the title of this book fool you; yes, it is a cookbook but it is also a book about food trucks in major cities across the country and where to find them. All the food looks and sounds delicious! Good thing I live close to two of the cities highlighted here in the Midwest; Minneapolis and Madison. Not only does this book give you an inside look and...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
I enjoyed this cookbook and its approach to eating well on a tight budget. Most of us can relate to the author needing to prepare meals on a budget. This cookbook does a good job of giving you new ideas of what to cook that you can add to your repertoire at home. The layout of the book is easy to follow and pictures help give you an idea of what a dish...
Audience: adults | Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
