Reviews

Staff Review

If You Left

By Ashley Prentice Norton
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by Megan C.
Jul 27, 2016

I picked up this book because I had liked The Chocolate Money by the same author. Norton has a talent for brutal honesty, holding back nothing about her protagonists’ motives and thoughts. In The Chocolate Money we witness the fraught relationship a privileged young woman has with her eccentric heiress mother.

Staff Review

Not Dead Enough: a Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery

By Warren C. Easley

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 26, 2016

Back in the 50’s many of the rivers that salmon swam up were dammed to create cheap energy for the surrounding communities. The Indian villages were against changing the countryside and they also used salmon fishing as a way of making a living. The Dalles Dam is now 50 years old with a commemoration during the month that Cal Claxton moves to Oregon.

Staff Review

Eight Hundred Grapes

By Laura Dave
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Rachel N.
Jul 22, 2016

Georgia Ford runs away from problems in her own life and goes straight to her place of comfort: home. Unfortunately for Georgia, with her parents heading in different directions, her brothers not on speaking terms, and the uncertain future of the family vineyard, life at home is not what she was expecting. Georgia finds that among all her family's issues, she is still unable to escape her own.

Staff Review

The Book of Speculation

By Erika Swyler

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 20, 2016

What would you do if your house was falling into the ocean, you had just lost your job, and your long-lost sister appeared out of thin air from the circus? Well, if you are Simon, you would become entranced with an old, worn-out book that was mysteriously left on your doorstep. Convinced that his sister is doomed to die in a couple of weeks and that there is something off about his dead mother's relationship with his neighbor, he tries his hardest to follow the clues laid out in this book in order to save his family (past and present).

Staff Review

Sum It Up

By Pat Head Summitt
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Cassandra G
Jul 18, 2016

For those who closely follow basketball, the loss of Pat Head Summitt last month hit hard. Summitt's nearly 30-year coaching career for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols--starting when she was just out of college herself--revolutionized NCAA basketball play. By the end of her career, Summitt had led an undefeated season, taken 10 NCAA titles, and racked up more wins than any other coach in NCAA basketball history.

Staff Review

The Bread Bible

By Beth Hensperger
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Sam S.
Jul 17, 2016

Titling anything the "bible" of its subject is long overdone--in fact, we have several "bread bibles" in our collection--but I'm in the market for what this book claims to be: a reliable, go-to recipe book for all things bread. The introduction has several overarching tips on bread making, including instructions on the basics of bread, different methods of mixing a variety of doughs, an analysis of each basic ingredient and what role it plays in the process, and some in-depth explanations behind the science of bread. I found this section very useful, and read it in its entirety.

Staff Review

New Releases - Summer 2016

By Blake Crouch
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Gregg W.
Jul 16, 2016

It’s the middle of July and we’re getting right into the heart of summer. It’s hot. It’s sticky. We know you’re looking for good books to take to the pool, the beach, or just to read while sitting on your porch. Johnson County Library has you covered – not only can you visit and get suggestions from your friendly neighborhood librarian, we also can give you sneak peeks into books that aren’t quite out yet, so you can get on the hold list and fill up that beach bag with stuff we know you’ll love.

Staff Review

Live At Leeds (Music CD)

By The Who
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Scott S.
Jul 14, 2016

Five stars? Excellent? Necessary? This album is far beyond all those things and more:

It is the frenetic yawp of youth. It is unfettered joy, it is class rage, it is delinquent delicacy.

It is misspent summer nights, windows rolled down, distant threat of responsibility kept in check.

It is broken bottles and stolen cigarettes.

It is sweat-soaked sacrosanct abandon, the saliva-drenched howling of the disavowed.

It is the disjunct, shattering simultaneity of high-art mind and low-brow boogie woogie.