Online Reading Challenge – July Wrap-Up

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello Challengers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you enjoy reading a Jodi Picoult book, or maybe one of the read-alikes?

For this month’s challenge I read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It covers a difficult subject (which is typical of most of Picoult’s books) but it was also fascinating, engaging and thoughtful and it takes the time to look at the issues from both sides. I’m still thinking about this story days after finishing it.

Nineteen minutes is all it takes for Peter Houghton to walk into his small town high school, kill 10 students, wound many others and completely change the course of hundreds of lives. Why did Peter go on this rampage, what was the trigger that sent him to the school that day with loaded guns and how do those left behind move on?

Always sensitive and nerdy, Peter has been relentlessly bullied throughout school. At home he lives in his recently deceased brother’s shadow who was everything he is not – athletic and popular. His best friend abandons him to join the popular crowd, the cruelty of the bullying escalates and the school administration is unwilling/unable to help beyond platitudes. Humiliated in front of the entire school, Peter sees no way out.

So, who is at fault? Is Peter a monster or misunderstood? Are his parents at fault – did they give him too much attention or not enough? Was it the school that stated no tolerance for bullying, but tended to look the other way when it involved popular kids or jocks? Was it Peter’s fellow students who, even if they didn’t condone the bullying, did nothing to discourage it and even participated?

This book is often difficult to read. While descriptions of the actual shooting are not graphic and are scattered in small bits throughout the book, Picoult does not mince on the horror and fear. Peter is sometimes a sympathetic character – the constant bullying is very difficult to read – but he is also  sullen and withdrawn and unpleasant. Many people in the town blame Peter’s parents and yet, they’re as confused and grief stricken as everyone else, blaming themselves and yet not know what they could have done to prevent the shooting. The court trial is tense and dramatic as more and more evidence is presented and people are forced to confront the fact that their small, quiet town is far from perfect or safe.

Well written and with multiple point-of-views, Nineteen Minutes would make an ideal book club book with lots of discussion points. Because there has been so many of similar school shootings in the news over the past decade, I would recommend that you read this with caution. It is, however, well worth reading.

Now it’s your turn – what did you read this month?

 

PGA Tour 2K21 Video Game

- Ann Leave a comment

guest post by Anthony

When I was a kid I loved playing the Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf games but it has been quite a while since I last played one. I’ve been an avid golfer for most of my life though I’ve fallen off a little bit over the last couple of years. This summer I’ve been making an effort to get out on the course a lot more often and it’s been fun to get back into one of my favorite hobbies. It has been so much fun in fact than in addition to playing golf in real life I’ve also been eager to get back into playing virtual golf as well. PGA Tour 2K21 is the more recent golf simulation game that has come out and I’ve been really enjoying my time with it.

The game looks amazing with a multitude of real life PGA Tour courses on offer, including our local TPC Deere Run which hosts the John Deere Classic over in Silvis, Illinois.  The team behind the game scanned all 15 of the real courses from the game so all the bunkers, water hazards, and fairways match their real life counterparts. The visuals and sound effects do a lot to showcase the beautiful courses and the gameplay mechanics make it almost as much fun to play as real golf. Swinging a golf club in the game is intuitive and when you make mistakes it is easy to see what you did wrong, something that is not quite as easy to figure out in real life.

The game has a couple of main modes. The two biggest are the PGA Tour mode were you create a golfer than work your way up from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour, while unlocking new gear, clothes, and sponsors along the way. This is the main mode that I’ve been playing and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. The other main mode is multiplayer. I’ve played a couple of games online with friends and it plays just like single player does, just with other humans instead of the computer. It’s fun to be able to play on a bunch of tournament level courses that I will likely never have the opportunity to play on in real life. I can play them a lot better in PGA Tour 2K21 than I probably could in real life as well.

PGA Tour 2K21 is available on Nintendo Switch and XBox One.

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper

- Callen Leave a comment

The master of unconventional happily-ever-afters has struck again! Kris Ripper’s The Hate Project, follow-up to The Love Study, is another compassionate and honest look at love in the midst of anxiety, focusing on being honest with yourself about what you really want.

Oscar struggles with just about everything, weighed down by his almost-manageable mental illness. One way he copes is by being a grouch, avoiding people where possible and sniping at them when he can’t. Since Jack joined their friend group, he’s taken on most of Oscar’s sniping, and giving back as much snark as he gets. But all that changes after Oscar is laid off – again. In desperate need of a purpose and structure, he agrees to help Jack clean out his grandmother’s house so it can be sold, in return for financial payment and a no-strings sexual arrangement. But soon he’s seeing a new side of Jack, and of himself as he starts to actually enjoy being in someone’s company. Even stranger, Jack seems to enjoy HIS company. Oscar tries to run away, as usual, but he just can’t forget how good it was being with Jack (both in and out of the bedroom). Could it be possible to face his fears and ask for a second chance?

I read this book in a day, I was so charmed by how relatable, funny, and frustrating Oscar is as a narrator. Ripper doesn’t gloss over any of the realities of living with anxiety and depression, but while it’s hard to read Oscar’s depressive sections, it just makes it more gratifying to watch him grow, admit the truth to himself, and try something different. Moreover, the depiction of an unconditionally loving and supportive chosen family is very heartwarming, a good example of how to support loved ones with mental illness. AND, as is the case in The Love Study, Ripper does an excellent job showing alternative ways for people to be intimate and make a relationship that works for them.

If you’re looking for a compassionate romance with plus-size representation, good depictions of mental illness, sharp banter, and a couple you’ll root for, you might like The Hate Project.

New Pokemon Snap for Nintendo Switch

- Callen Leave a comment

If you’re an action / military / sports gamer, I’m very sorry, I still don’t have any recommendations for you. If you like gentle, low pressure games, though, I’ve got another highly-anticipated gem to recommend: New Pokemon Snap.

I’ve heard lots of hype surrounding this release and I believe it’s warranted: this game from the Pokemon universe lets you live out your wilderness photographer dreams seeking and documenting various Pokemon in their natural habitats. The game play is relaxing and easy to learn, and you get a thrill of exploration and discovery along with bonus points for capturing particularly good photos.

Here’s the basics: you’ve joined the research team of Professor Mirror, who’s studying Pokemon behavior with the help of his assistant Rita (and some others). He gives you a pod to travel in and a camera to take photos with, and he sends you to various nature preserves. Your pod travels slowly along a preprogrammed course, and it’s your job to keep your eyes peeled for Pokemon along the way. Your camera can scan your surroundings, identify Pokemon, and zoom in to take good photos, and you also have a supply of fruit to toss to attract hungry ones. You must go back to the same course a few times to level up and unlock a new area, but there’s always something new to discover. You can also go to the courses at night to see a whole new set of Pokemon and behavior, including the mystical Illumina effect.

With beautiful scenery, cute creatures, and a variety of courses to unlock, this is a great game to get lost in, and another good entry point into the Pokemon universe. I myself got quickly addicted and was very sad to have to turn the game back into the library. Don’t miss it!

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

- Anna Leave a comment

“Books and ideas are like blood; they need to circulate, and they keep us alive.”

One of my absolute favorite genres to read is historical fiction, but this particular book hits the jackpot because it is also about libraries and the amazing people who work in them! Just published in February, The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles, weaves together two primary narratives spanning across time and place to create a beautiful and haunting story about the strength of friendship, family, and libraries in the face of betrayal, loss, and war.

This story begins in 1939 France with the narrative of Odile Souchet, a fresh graduate of library school who interviews for a librarianship position at the American Library in Paris (ALP). She quickly finds herself at home in the stacks and among several new friends, including fellow librarians, devoted library subscribers, a volunteer who quickly becomes her best friend, and a police officer who becomes her beloved beau. Before long, however, Odile loses a part of herself as her twin brother, Remy, goes off to war and everything she loves, including the library, is endangered.

The second central narrative takes place in 1980s Montana through the eyes of a young teenager named Lily. After the death of her mother and her father’s eventual remarriage, Lily finds herself both lost and trapped in a small rural town she desperately wishes to escape. She eventually finds a sense of liberation in the friendship she develops with her elderly neighbor, who teaches her French, shares her love of literature and books, and essentially becomes a second mother during some of her darkest moments. Before long, Lily becomes curious about her neighbor’s past, as all she (and the rest of the town) knows is her status as a widowed war bride who left her entire life behind in Paris to come to Montana with her husband after the war. Despite the difference in age and background, these two characters have more in common than meets the eye and share a kinship of love and understanding that truly stands the test of time.

Overall, this novel is a heart-wrenching and tragic, albeit beautiful, story filled with memorable characters who are tested by unimaginable hardships. I reveled in the development of several characters, especially since I felt I was able to connect with their complex and flawed personas. While you learn the fate of many of these individuals, I definitely found myself wanting more information on others! I also really enjoyed Charles’s writing style – in addition to writing beautifully, it is obvious how much research she did in the creation of this book by the way she is able to truly whisk you away to another time and place as you read.

While I definitely loved the fictional aspects of this novel, I was delighted to learn that several librarians in the story, along with their remarkable and heroic actions, were based on real individuals. Despite the dangers and risks war posed to both the people and resources of the library, the ALP stayed open to subscribers, maintained a service in which they delivered around 100,000 books to soldiers fighting overseas, and risked their own lives to deliver books to Jewish subscribers who had been barred from entering the library. Charles first learned about this incredible history upon becoming the programs manager at the ALP and, feeling wholly inspired, decided to delve deeper into the history by writing this book. The result? An ode to the truly incredible and impactful roles libraries will always have in our society.

All in all, I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who loves libraries and books, remarkable character development, and experiencing the strength and resiliency of the human race, especially through relationships formed with others.

Farm to Trouble : A Farm to Table Mystery by Amanda Flower

- Michelle Leave a comment

Shiloh Bellamy has ditched bright and sunny Los Angeles and has made a road trip back to her childhood farm in Cherry Glen, Michigan, accompanied by her loyal pug, Huckleberry.  Farm to Trouble is the first book in a new cozy mystery series, Farm to Table Mysteries by Amanda Flower.  Shiloh’s mission is simple : to reignite her family homestead, Bellamy Farms, with financial help from an investor in order to make the farm profitable again as an organic and sustainable farm.  Bellamy Farms has fallen into despair and Shiloh’s father is in no condition to bring the farm back on his own and has enlisted her help.  Just days after her arrival into town her investor, Jefferson Crocker, is found dead by Shiloh at the farmer’s market and all eyes in town turn to the Bellamy family.

As the town focuses on Shiloh as a likely suspect, she begins to learn that her investor was not a very popular man in town with his big plans to install wind turbines across the serene pasture of the countryside.  Shiloh is now doing double duty – trying to find a new investor willing to take a chance on Bellamy Farms and attempting to catch the real killer.  She learns that numerous townspeople had reasons to hope for Crocker’s demise and as the police close in, Shiloh knows time is of the essence for her to try to find the real culprit.  The list of suspects grow and as Shiloh uncovers more about the master wind farm plan, numerous suspects rise to the top of the list, which includes many Cherry Glen residents that Shiloh has known her entire life!

Farm to Trouble kept me guessing the culprit until the very end and the novel does a good job of balancing a cozy mystery with creating a sustainable, organic farm narrative.  The second book in the series, Put Out to Pasture, is already scheduled to be published in early 2022.  I’m looking forward to the continued saga between Shiloh, the residents of Cherry Glen and Huckleberry and to see if Shiloh turns the family farm around!

 

Online Reading Challenge – July

- Ann Leave a comment

Greetings Challenge Readers!

It’s time for a new Author in our Challenge and this month it’s: Jodi Picoult!

A popular and prolific writer, Picoult will be on many favorite author lists. Picoult is a good storyteller, easily drawing the reader into her books which usually tackle difficult ethical dilemmas that throw ordinary families into extraordinary situations. A prolific author, some of her most popular titles include My Sister’s Keeper (organ donation), Nineteen Minutes (a school shooting), Small Great Things (racism), A Spark of Light (hostage situation) and Vanishing Acts (parental kidnapping). In each, Picoult is able to present a balanced view, trying to understand various points-of-view which lift them beyond good vs evil. They provide a great insight into some of the most troubling issues of our time.

There is no shortage of great books that tackle difficult topics. If you’ve already read everything by Picoult and/or would like to try a similar author, check out one of these titles. There will also be displays at all three buildings with these titles and more to consider.

This is How It Always Is by Frankel (transgender child)

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (aging parents)

Dear Edward by Ann Napoliano (lone plane crash survivor)

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen (domestic abuse)

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (widowhood)

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian (medical trial)

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (polygamy)

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner (addiction recovery)

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand (fatal car crash)

While these may seem to all be very depressing, in fact all of them offer hope and are a great way to understand a situation you may never encounter, but has affected others deeply.

I am planning on reading Nineteen Minutes about a school shooting, an event that has become far too common in the last few years. It was a hard decision though, as many of Picoult’s books are intriguing.

What about you, what will you be reading this month?

Online Reading Challenge – June Wrap-Up

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Readers!

We’re halfway through the year – how is your Challenge going? Did you find something good to read during this month of Alice Hoffman?

I chose to read The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. Although it was written after Practical Magic (one of Hoffman’s most popular books) this one actually takes place chronologically  before Practical Magic begins. In The Rules of Magic we learn a little more about the curse that haunts the Owens family, about the aunt that helped raise Jet and Franny (and their brother Vincent) who in turn one day will be tasked with raising Gillian and Sally whose story will unfold in Practical Magic.

Members of the Owens family possess magic and trying to deny it or hide from it will not save them from the family curse, that everything they love will leave them. Jet and Franny and Vincent’s parents work hard to make the siblings hide their magic, but it persists in each of them, just below the surface. One summer, when they’re young teens, their mother allows them to spend the summer with their Aunt Isabelle at the family home place in a rural town. At first they miss Manhattan, but they soon discover that their magic is growing stronger and that their aunt is happy to encourage them. It becomes a summer of rebellion and revelation as they each begin to find how to live with their legacy.

In time, despite their best efforts, each sibling falls in love and for each one, in one way or another, the family curse prevails. But isn’t that part of everyone’s life, that we seek out love, that we love recklessly and without regret and that someday, maybe today, maybe years from now, that love will no longer be with us.

It has been several years since I read Practical Magic and I wasn’t sure I would be able to make a connection, but I found this book can stand pretty much on it’s own. The writing is lyrical, which sounds kind of pretentious, but describes it best – Hoffman evokes the mysterious, tangled atmosphere of Isabelle’s house as well as the depth of emotions the characters feel with the same delicate touch, never maudlin but always real. In many ways, I found this book to be sad with so much heartbreak and sacrifice but also, ultimately, hopeful that the legacy of the past passes on to the next generation and the sacrifices made were worth the pain. As Hoffman concludes, “the only remedy for love is to love more”. A beautiful book.

Now it’s your turn – what did you read this month?

Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton

- Ann Leave a comment

Can love blossom even under the worst circumstances? Is it possible to fall in love with a voice and quiet conversations in the dead of night? Or does the bond from shared physical and emotional injuries fade when you recover? Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton tackles those questions by showing two people navigating seemingly unsurmountable problems.

Alice has been seriously burned in a fire at her office. As well as struggling to recover from serious injuries, she must face the fact that she is permanently disfigured. Deeply depressed, she retreats into silence, refusing to talk or to allow anyone to visit her.

When she has begun to recover from the worst of her burns, Alice is transferred to a rehabilitation ward where her bed, surrounded by curtains, is placed next to Alfie whose leg had to be amputated after a horrific car accident. Alfie is talkative, always bantering with the other patients and nurses, always optimistic. That he has been told to respect Alice’s wishes and not talk to her or engage her in his pranks is just about killing him. Slowly, the comradery of the ward begins to tug at Alice and one day she begins talking again, to Alfie. From behind the privacy of her curtain she makes a connection with Alfie and they become friends and maybe more.

The bubble of the rehab ward cannot last forever and first Alfie and then Alice must reenter the outside world, a world that has moved on while each of them has been changed drastically, physically and emotionally. Will they be able to begin again, and is there a possibility for the two of them to be together?

This was a very quick read and while overall it is mostly upbeat, it deals with some serious issues such as overcoming tragedy, rebuilding a life you hadn’t expected and trusting yourself. Ultimately, it is about hope and love and new beginnings.

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

- Michelle Leave a comment

Katrine Engberg’s debut mystery, The Tenant, is the first book in the exciting Korner and Werner series.  Another strong entry in the Scandinavian crime genre, Engberg’s debut focuses on  Danish detectives Jeppe Korner and his partner Anette Werner who reside in Copenhagen.  Their latest case involves a young woman, Julie, who has newly relocated to Copenhagen alongside her friend and roommate.  Julie is found murdered in her apartment after a night out with friends.  Julie’s murder has undertones of a ritualistic killing pointing to Danish history.  The detectives soon learn that the victim is a tenant in a building owned by a budding novelist, Esther de Laurenti, who just happens to be writing her first novel about a young women who is murdered.  Her main character bears more than a passing resemblance to Julie.  To complicate matters, Esther is a member of a writer’s group who share their writing with other members of the group and provide feedback to each other.  Did someone have access to one member’s computer and gain access to their writing or did Esther kill her tenant?

Since de Laurenti is still actively working on her novel when the murder occurs, suspicion again turns to her when a second murder occurs and the victim is another person close to her.  She quickly becomes the prime suspect but her motivation is unclear.  Esther de Laurenti’s life is extremely colorful, hosting lavish parties and events for a sampling of Copenhagen’s elite.  Could a fellow partygoer have a reason to frame Esther?  The detectives are convinced that the crimes will continue based on her newly finished prose and urge caution when Esther convinces them to let her write another chapter in order to entrap the killer.  Will the killer follow her storyline?

Looking into her past as well as Julie’s past reveals deep and dark family secrets that are decades old and have just come to light.  Old alliances and friendships are revealed and mistaken identities are divulged.  These revelations are coupled with detective Korner’s personal demons that run the risk of derailing the entire investigation when he becomes involved with someone close to the murders.

Filled with red herrings, mistaken identities and a possible killer that has a master plan for everyone involved, The Tenant is perfect for readers who are passionate about Scandinavian crime.  The second book in the series, The Butterfly House, was just translated into English and released earlier this year.  More books in the series are planned and I look forward to the complex and multilayered relationship between Detectives Korner and Werner.

 

 

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