Communications Manager Kyla Merwin recommends The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Of the zillion books I’ve read – from Go Spot Go to my current obsession, The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus – I only closed the cover of two books with tears spilling down my cheeks. One of them was Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. (Spoiler alert: Inman dies at the end. I read this book twenty-five years ago, and I’m still upset about it.) The other was The Kite Runner—a book that refuses to let go … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Kite Runner
Library Blog
Book Review: The Compound
Haley Christianson, Children's Librarian and Programming Assistant, recommends The Compound by Aisling Rawle. Two things that I love include reading dystopian novels and watching reality TV shows. So, when I heard that The Compound by Aisling Rawle was being described as Love Island mixed with Lord of the Flies, I had to give it a try. The Compound follows 20-year-old Lily as she competes in a … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Compound
Review: Ghosts of Hiroshima
Finance Manager Tamara Mortenson recommends Ghosts of Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino. In Ghosts of Hiroshima, the author and his team cultivated vastly detailed accountings. While graphic and sort of cold – or maybe detached is a better word – in the recounting, it is still deeply moving. One central figure is Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a 29 year-old naval engineer who miraculously survived the blast at ground zero in Hiroshima. Horribly burned, he took a train returning home to his family in … [Read more...] about Review: Ghosts of Hiroshima
Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Information Systems Manager Will Duke recommends Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. I love absurdity, I’m not ashamed of a little whimsy. Song lyrics, poetry, short stories, TV shows, movies: give me something weird, and I’ll check it out. But I don't usually read books where the hero’s most meaningful relationship is with a talking cat. I didn’t choose this book; my wife made me read it. Thank you, baby. Now, I just finished book eight. Matt says the series will be nine books, but … [Read more...] about Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl
The Art of Correspondence
Handwritten letters have connected people for centuries. The letters in this exhibit are among many held in the archive of the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History at The Community Library. They show how personal correspondence can carry declarations of love, offerings of comfort, news of triumph and loss, as well as the ordinary details of daily events that compose our lives. In these letters, postcards, and notes, … [Read more...] about The Art of Correspondence
Film Review: The Breaking Point
I was just waking up on Sunday morning when I usually watch film noir movies on Turner Classic Movies (TMC). I caught The Breaking Point (1950) in the middle, so I wasn’t sure what I was watching. It had all the suspense and stern dialog that is common for noir films. Still I could not recognize it from hundreds of films I’ve seen. The lead actor, John Garfield, was very good but I haven’t seen him in many films with famous actors. Patricia Neal is in it and she is much younger than I have … [Read more...] about Film Review: The Breaking Point
