Parents will get a kick out of this book as much as the kids. A clever dad explains to his daughter that it wasn't a meteor or ice age that wiped out the Dinosaurs. Instead it was some unsafe activity children's parents are always telling them not to do like running with scissors, or swimming right after eating. By the end the girl proclaims she's never doing any of those things again. Parents FTW
Ashley Farmer's essays are deeply personal, and sometimes hard to read. But she doesn't hold back herself and their truth makes you feel like you owe it to her to get through them. You come out OK on the other end, much like Ashley. I think because Ashley grew up partially around Louisville and talks about it in many of the essays it made me feel even more connected to her words.
Spoiler alert. No one is very "good" in The Good Ones, but who is bad? Lauren Ballard has been missing and presumed dead for 16 years, but there's no body. Nicola, her best friend from childhood moves back to their small Virginia town where questions and secrets about what happened the night Lauren went missing will begin to bubble back up. A twisty-turny Summer thriller about women's friendships and women's burdens.
As a teenager, it was a formative decade for me and the world. The last years before the internet became completely woven into our lives. I was delightfully captivated being taken back to a time of Zima, baseball juicing, Napster, and The Sopranos. I would send Chuck a “143” on my pager.
Jenny is back with more stories of her mental and physical challenges, told with her signature humor and candor. She's relatable and hilarious because you can see the honesty in her work. Thanks for letting us in Jenny.
Klassen is back with five darkly humorous stories featuring aliens and meteors. Something isn't quite right but they can't put their finger on it. There is a rock heading towards them, where will it land.
Liz Climo is one of my favorite's because her cartoons are always so funny without being crude or cruel. Kindness rules the day and this little book is a perfect pick me up for yourself or a friend who's feeling down.
Another winner in Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown's Creepy series. This time a purple crayon goes rogue and takes over Jasper Rabbit's life. Locking it in a box? Melting it in the microwave? How will Jasper get rid of the Creepy Crayon?
Sloane Crosley does not suffer from the Sophomore slump with her second novel. A somewhat darker and weirder Christmas Carolesque storyline mixed with an eerie love story. Throw in a cult and it's just enough Sci-Fi for me.
Doggo's life is nice and boring until his humans decide to bring in Pupper to liven up the house. While Pupper may drive Doggo a bit crazy he also reminds him to find excitement in every day life. A great read aloud or beginner chapter book.
Jackson has a knack for storytelling, and flawed, mysterious characters. You may think you can outrun your past, but it usually catches up with you. In this case on a quiet cul-de-sac on book club night.
Some of these authors I had read before and some were new to me. Most of them blew me away. These young writers of color giving their perspective on the South in contemporary context were not only poignant and sometimes hard to read but often times very funny. This is an important book and features and essay by Minda Honey from Louisville!
A great ABC book for the little ones. On each page one letter is hidden within a picture that explains or is relevant to that letter. T is a table set for tea for two.
These stories will stay with you long after you've finished reading. A bit like a car crash you can't look away from they force you to be uncomfortable, but are an important reflection of life for young black men in America today.
In 1917, in that sliver of border land between Georgia and Alabama, Pearl Jewett ekes out an existence as a dispossessed farmer along with his three criminally-minded sons Cane, Cob, and Chimney.
With the perfect blend of wit, eloquence, and honesty, Taylor Mali's poems delight, haunt, and illuminate with equal measure every subject they celebrate. Bouquet of Red Flags is laced with more than the typical LSD (love, sex, divorce) of modern poetry.
Pitbulls get a bad rap. Any dog can bite and any dog can be made into a dangerous dog when humans intervene. Ken Foster dispells myths about these dogs with real life stories of "good" pitbulls. Beautiful color photography with charming stories of my favorite kind of dog.
All of Robert Greene's books are part how-to, part philosophy. A modern day Sun-tzu mixed with a bit of Jay-z or L'il Wayne. Greene lays out 48 laws to help you manipulate, deceive and ultimately destroy your enemy. Drawing from real historical figures from King Henry VIII to Thucydides to Kissenger he shows who failed, who won and why. My favorite law is #21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker--seem dumber than your mark.
Well written and uproarious. Prepare to be on the floor laughing. Perfect for the gen x or gen y'er. I am convinced Sloane Crosley is my soul mate!