In July of 2007, Catherine Tidd lost her husband, Brad, in an accident and suddenly found herself a 31-year-old widow with three small children. In Confessions of a Mediocre Widow, Tidd chronicles her experience with sudden widowhood and the journey of self-discovery her husband's loss prompted.
4 Blood Types, 4 Diets, Eat Right 4 your Type offers individualized diet plans based on blood type. Dr. D’Adamo uses history and scientific research to explain how differences in blood type can affect how different people respond to food and exercise. Using meal and exercise plans you can achieve your best health.
The Roanoke Girls is a disturbing, compelling read. While the “big, dark secret” is revealed early on, the story still draws the reader in. I had to find out what happened to the Roanoke girls, the sisters, aunts, cousins. They seemed to be such studies in contrast: darkness and fire, guilt and defiance, innocence and desire.
Somewhere far away from earth, six crew members wake aboard a spaceship bound for a new colony. As clones, the crew members are accustomed to waking up in new bodies, usually with their memories intact. This time, though, decades of memories are missing. And worse, someone has murdered the old bodies of the crew members. Without any record of what happened and why, the crew must fight to solve a murder in which they are all prime suspects, even to themselves.
Here at Johnson County Library we're always on the lookout for insightful words about writing. Sarah Manguso's latest book, 300 Arguments, contains quite a few. At its most basic level, the book is a collection of aphorisms. And, since Manguso is a professional writer and writing teacher, some cover that topic. Here are a few to mull over:
Alaska. I imagine it’s the most remote you can get while remaining on American soil. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to pack your bags and move there, save yourself the trip and read Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs first.
This is a book of ideas. A slight character story overlaid on a world of big ideas. Amusingly sad; sadly amusing. Consider, for instance, its beginning:
Sexual Responsibility is boring.
It isn't Ms. Brody's fault. She's a good teacher. She switches channels at appropriate moments, tases students who need tasing--zizzz-ZAAPPP!--and she only once got stuck in the garbage can beside her teaching station. She was a teeny bit weepy that day, but no drunker than normal . . .
"There were little white boys with complete collections of football cards, and their only want was a popular girlfriend, and their only worry was poison oak." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, 'Between The World and Me'
If science fiction isn’t your favorite genre, but you’re willing to dip a toe in, All Our Wrong Todays is a highly entertaining read about self-discovery, family and love; with a time machine and alternate realities.
