Staff Pick: Half Bad

Sally Green's Half Bad is the thrilling start to a trilogy about a young witch with an indomitable will to survive. Nathan Bryn looks forward to his seventeenth birthday when he'll receive three gifts and become a full witch. But he's a Half Code. Born the illegitimate son of a white witch and the infamous, hated black witch named Marcus, he's put under strict surveillance and house arrest by the council of white witches that views him as a threat.

Nathan is eventually imprisoned in a cage, beaten and handcuffed by a merciless trainer because of the council. Through all this, he struggles to determine if he's inherently good like his mother or evil like his father. As his seventeenth birthday approaches, Nathan fights to escape and find his father while remaining undetected by the council and the witch hunters after him. He must receive his three gifts before it's too late.

Half Bad is a thought provoking and engaging read that I couldn't put down. Green's character is honest, and the story makes you want to fight on his side. I look forward to reading the next book, Half Wild, which is due out March of 2015.

If you'd like to check out our copy of Half Bad, you can find it in our catalog by clicking here.

-William

Staff Pick: What If...

I saw Shirley MacLaine's book on the NEW SHELF and picked it up. What If...A Lifetime of Questions, Speculations, Reasonable Guesses, and A Few Things I Know for Sure. It is full of questions from a lifetime of speculations from a very interesting woman who has been in show business for many years.

It is a pretty quick read as each question is presented and followed by responses from Shirley MacLaine's very unique perspective. It was quite interesting as she has been learning about the world and religion as well as history and the future in unusual ways.

I have read a couple of her other books, so I kind of knew what to expect. Shirley has an interesting voice and I really enjoyed it. If you'd like to c heck it out, you can find it in our online catalog by clicking here.

-Cindy

Orange is the New Black Book Club

Orange is the New Black is the popular comedy/drama about a woman's experience in a women's federal prison. The series was originally aired only on Netflix, and all episodes of season two recently became available. We came up with some reading recommendations for a few of our favorite characters - books you should check out too! See the infographics below:

Shakespeare Saved My Life by Dr. Laura Bates

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Party Monster by James St. James

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

Beyond Fundamentalism by Reza Aslan

Carrie by Stephen King

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

Staff Pick: Kids Are Weird

From the author that brought us Darth Vader and Son comes a new book that is full of hilarity. Brown illustrates the daily life of his five-year-old son Oscar. Whether it's the deeper musings of his mind or the first thing that comes to his head when he's angry, Oscar is truly a child to be reckoned with.

Everything in this book is funny. I laughed with almost every turn of the page. Kids really do say the funniest things and what makes it even better is how serious they are about it sometimes. Oscar can say things that make no sense at all like, "It's like I have a secret weapon inside me that makes me control my body." He also says things that are actually pretty deep like, "Instead of getting closer to my destiny, I keep getting farther away."

Even if you don't have children, I highly recommend that you pick this book up. It's a super quick read and full of great humor. And if you like it, I suggest you try out his other books, *Darth Vader and Son and *Vader's Little Princess.

If you'd like to check out Kids Are Weird, you can find it in our online catalog by clicking here.

-Kilie

*These titles aren't currently available in our catalog.

Blue Zones Power 9: Plant Slant

This is the fifth post in a nine-part series in which we are sharing resources available at the library to help you get on track with the Blue Zones Project.

Hamburgers, steak, pork chops - for some of us, meat is hard to resist. When it comes to living a longer, healthier life, though, increasing our veggie intake and decreasing meat consumption may be in our favor. According to the Blue Zones website, "beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets." Here are a few titles available in our catalog that may help you get on track with a plant slant:

A Canon of Vegetables: 101 Classic Recipes

by Raymon Sokolov

A Canon of Vegetables provides more than one hundred recipes for cooking vegetables or vegetable-based entrees, with each recipe including a history of the dish and what culture it comes from.

Forks Over Knives
by Gene Stone, et. al.

What if one simple change could save you from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer? Examine a whole-foods, plant-based diet - it could save your life. This accessible guide provides the information you need to adopt and maintain a plant-based diet.

Vegetables Every Day
by Jack Bishop

Offers readers a comprehensive guide to vegetables that incorporates tips on selecting vegetables, preparation instructions, and recipes for sixty-six commonly available vegetables.

Vegetable Dinners
by Better Homes and Gardens

If you're one of the growing number of Americans who are turning to vegetables for your main meals, this is the cookbook for you! 64 full-flavored, naturally healthful recipes. Chapters include pasta, beans and grains, eggs, soups, salads and sandwiches (Amazon.com).

Super Natural Every Day
by Heidi Swanson

In Super Natural Every Day, Heidi helps us make nutritionally packed meals part of our daily repertoire by sharing a sumptuous collection of nearly 100 of her go-to recipes. The seductively flavorful vegetarian recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, treats, and drinks are quick to the table but tasty enough to linger over (Amazon.com).




If you'd like to check out any of these books, click on the title to be taken to our online catalog. You can place a hold on the item using your library card number and your PIN.

All book descriptions taken from the back covers or Amazon.com.