Customer Comments

With breathtaking illustrations and meticulous detail, Sophie Blackall shows all the work lighthouse keepers did to keep people and ships safe. The book follows one keeper as he goes about his work and makes a life in a lighthouse. The book also shows the history and how lighthouses operate now. I would give this to any child, there is so much to pore over!

Jose Antonio Vargas is well known for coming out as an undocumented citizen. In this book he explains why he’s undocumented and the difficulties and lack of opportunity millions face to become a documented citizen. Brought to America as a child, he’s spent his life here and is a Pulitzer winning journalist. The majority of Americans don’t understand why people are undocumented or think they should “get in line” or “earn” their place. That’s not an option for millions as documented by Vargas. This book should be required reading! I was fortunate to see Vargas speak at the American Library Association conference where I received an advanced reader copy of this book.

I was excited to hear that Andy Weir wrote a new book because I really enjoyed The Martian. Like his first book, Artemis takes place in space, but this time on the moon. Jazz is scraping by and trying to get a leg up in the small, tourist town that is Artemis. The book is funny, clever, interesting and a quick, fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it to everyone I know.

Mac and Jon deliver another fun book! I absolutely adore this story and know that children love it too. The humor is dry and the story leaves you debating. The authors’ sense of humor shine and I can’t wait to see what they do with Square and Circle. I think everyone should read this!

Man, I really enjoyed this book. Aziz Ansari worked with Eric Klinenberg to create an insightful and well researched look at dating in the modern world. The book looks at how dating and finding "the one" has changed over the last several decades and how quickly it has changed even further in the last 15 years or so. Online dating, smart phones and societal expectations play a big role in the stress and riggers of dating life today. Ansari and Klinenberg do a great job analyzing how these technological and cultural changes make a difference in how people approach dating. I personally find Ansari hilarious, so I especially liked reading this with his voice and inflections in my head. He brought a lot of humor to the subject! An interesting read even if you aren't dating anymore because we all know people that are going through this.

After reading "Bringing up Bebe" which was focused on the differences between French and American parenting techniques, I was interested to also learn the differences between Amish and "Englisch" (the Amish term for non-Amish Americans) parenting. Serena B Miller, along with Paul Stutzman present thoughtful and respectful examples of the many differences while also showing the similarities in what parents want for their children. Why are Amish children so well behaved? Why do teenagers, when given the opportunity to choose, often choose the Amish way of life? What do children and parents do without electricity? How do community, family and faith play a part of parenting? While Miller is a wife of a minister and Stutzman was raised Amish and converted to Mennonite, there is a fair amount of discussion about religion. But this makes sense since so much of the Amish way of life is based on religion. They are careful to point out ways to take Amish principles in parenting without the religion which is nice for those who choose to practice a different or no religion at all. They didn't come across as preachy in my opinion. I found the book very interesting and it has broaden my view of not only Amish people, but also the choices I could make in parenting without converting to Amish. Definitely made me think a lot.

I just love Oliver Jeffers' books! This one does not disappoint. While it may seem like a typical alphabet book, Jeffers' accompanies each letter with a delightful short story or poem. His illustrations are fantastic as always too. They made me giggle and I'm sure children and adults will enjoy this book too. Now we just need to convince Jeffers to write more books about the Owl and the Octopus solving problems!

A quick and interesting look at education and how students, parents, teachers and the education system all combine to teach children. Ripley focuses on three of the top scoring countries and examines how they work from the inside (following three American exchange students within the countries) out. Seeing the differences in teaching, learning and attitudes compared to America is something to think about. America definitely needs to rethink some things, but it turns out some of the simplest things to correct are parent driven, like reading to your child every night and asking them questions. She also gives a good "guide" to spotting a world-class school which will be helpful to any parent.

I love all of Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggy books! This one is about accepting someone for who they are and including them. These books are great easy readers with good lessons. I can't rave about them enough.

Another good installment on the twisted Governor character. This book explores how Woodbury came to be and how the Governor took it over. While The Walking Dead TV show may not portray the Governor as scary as the comics, these books bring you deeper into his dark psyche. I'm definitely looking forward to the final book of this series.

Heti has a unique voice and I had a hard time putting this book down. Her characters were interesting and raw. I enjoyed reading it.

I thought this book was hilarious. I love Bernadette's ranting on Seattle (even though my opinion of the city doesn't align with hers) and how unapologetic she is. I've always enjoyed epistolary novels with the different voices from all the characters. This is an extremely fun read.

This is quite the tome, but I can't imagine anything that should be removed. The topics that Solomon explores are completely fascinating and he does an excellent job portraying the differences, obstacles, delights and sorrow of parents and children with horizontal identities. His research is in depth and wide. Each chapter leads into the next building off each other which brings in the larger picture of parenting. While I'm not a parent or child with any of these identities, reading this has made me realize how varied relationships can be and how to be a better person towards people with horizontal identities.

I absolutely loved this book! The whimsy of Pearson caught me off guard in the best possible way. I love his artistic style too. The book makes you look around the world around you and take notice as Hilda has to do. So adorable. I want to buy it for everyone I know!

I really enjoyed this book. It's a collection of Native American tales presented in graphic novel form. The tales come from all over America but keep with the one theme of being trickster tales. Each tale is told and drawn by different people and the voices come out clearly in the storytelling. I often felt like I could hear the storyteller speaking the words as I read them. Being someone who could always use more exposure to Native American tales and folklore I found it really engaging.

This is an interesting book to say the least. Having a character that inhabits the body of a different person every day (who is the same age) is great twist in fiction. Levithan uses it well too by having the people inhabited differ in terms of ethnicity, social class, body type, gender and sexual orientation. Being a YA book, I think this is great because the reader is getting insight into many different types of life but still relating to one character. Seeing how the main character, A, handles the different situations is also interesting. I haven't read a book like this and would recommend it to anyone, it's a fun quick read.

I really enjoyed this book! I got it while I was at a library conference and had the pleasure of getting it signed by Winstead herself. After finally reading it I found that her essays range from hilarious to thoughtful to touching. I often found myself laughing out loud. Her outlook on life is unique and makes me look at the world differently. She is clearly a co-creator of The Daily Show and I'm so happy she wrote this book giving insight into her thinking.

A spin-off from Willingham's incredible Fables graphic novel series, this is Cinderella as you've never seen her. Rather than the typical downtrodden Cinderella, here she's Cindy, a secret agent flying all over the world and kicking butt. It's too much fun to read!

I beautiful little book. Otsuka has created a compelling look into the lives of Japanese picture brides and the struggles they went through in America. It is so touching and at times heartbreaking. I couldn't put it down.

A must read for anyone who is or interacts with someone who is introverted, which according to Cain is everyone. I'm so glad I read this when I did because I related to it so much. Having just finished grad school in the library science field, you can imagine I was surrounded by a lot of introverts. Reading her insights as to how to live and interact with introverts, myself included, I feel like I can handle people better. I also give myself the space I need from others without feeling guilty, it's great! She claims that being an introvert isn't a negative and I have to agree with her.

I first heard Birbiglia on The Moth radio show and found him hilarious. I was so happy when I heard he decided to write a book. The book is more of his humor which I love. It's full of stories he's experienced from childhood to adulthood, some of which are hard to believe. I was literally laughing out loud while reading it. For something light and funny, I would recommend this any day.

I love Sarah Vowell and was ecstatic when I heard she was writing a book focused on Hawaiian history. While it isn't the most in-depth book on the subject, she does a great job creating a primer for those unfamiliar with the island's history while adding her humor to it. I recommend it to anyone that is going to Hawai'i for vacation because they'll look at the islands and its people different. It's definitely an eye-opener for those that aren't aware of the 50th State's past. I'm glad she decided to tackle it as a subject.

An absolutely gorgeous tome of a graphic novel. This was the first graphic novel I ever read and I fell head over heels for it. It's a deeply personal autobiography that sucks you in. Thompson's illustrations are beautiful and the way he interprets the world opens your eyes. I point to this whenever people claim they "don't read comics/grapic novels" because it's the opposite of what people expect. I highly recommend it.

I can't believe this is the first book for Obreht, it's stunning. The way she weaves the present with family history and folklore is amazing. Maybe I'm just a sucker for that in a book, but she did it extremely well. The language is beautiful and the story haunts you in the best way possible. A great read!

This is a great quick read. I really enjoyed the characters that Hicks created and how she related them all. She did a great job conveying the complexities of starting high school and dealing with family. Plus her drawing style is great. I'd recommend this to anyone, it was a pleasant surprise. Now if only it was a series...

I loved these short stories. Usually I avoid short stories because they always leave me wishing there was more. Tower's stories never left me hanging while still feeling complete. I never felt like I was short-changed or duped. He has a fantastic way with words that left me ready for an all new story each and every time.

The back story of the Governor is something I wanted to know. He is such a twisted character in the comic books I was happy to hear that Kirkman was writing these novels about him to explain his history. I'm usually wary of comic book writers writing novels as I've had mixed feelings about books I've read in the past (a different author), but the combo of Kirkman and Bonansinga works really well. The book captures the dark times of the series and the events that change a person so drastically. There is some graphic material but fans of this series in any format shouldn't be surprised by that. The ending left me wondering and wanting more so I was pleased to learn there would be another book this year!

This book was my first step into the superhero comic book world. It was refreshing reading about totally new characters (as I'm familiar with most of the Marvel and DC superheroes from TV and movies) and Kirkman has created a bunch of fun new superheroes. Reading about how Mark/Invincible is dealing with his new super powers is really enjoyable and I love it when Allen the Alien pops up! I'm hooked.

This was an interesting book. It took me a while to get into it as I found it depressing for the first half, but it picked up during the Unlying section. Reading from the point-of-view of a child is a unique experience, I think Donoghue did a good job peeling back the layers and revealing things slowly. Once this started happening the book definitely held my attention.

I really enjoyed this book! Morgenstern has a beautiful way of weaving her story together and creating unique characters. The characters really come alive and her descriptions of the circus left me wanting to go and explore it for myself. Yes, it can be slightly complicated with the changes in time, but not in any way off-putting. In fact, as soon as I finished it I wanted to start it over again!

A great graphic novel/comic book series. The Walking Dead is clearly about zombies, but it deals more with characters and what drives people than the living dead. The way the end of the world affects people is what pulls you into the series and Kirkman has created some great characters. I recommend this to anyone that likes a good story, but especially to those that watch the TV series. The books deal with the characters differently and have some different twists. Some of my favorite characters were left out of the TV series which makes the print series all the more enjoyable.

A beautiful coming of age story following three close brothers running around and causing trouble. Torres weaves together a great little novel.

Another great Eugenides novel. I love how he weaves his stories together in intricate ways without losing the reader.

An instant favorite. Between the sparse dialog and the thoughts of Eli Sisters, deWitt has put together something so interesting. These brothers are some of the best characters I've read in a long time. I'd recommend this to anyone, especially those who think they don't like Westerns!

An interesting read. Shteyngart's take on the future seems almost too close to home.

A great concept for a story: A guy whose father created a character named after him struggles when he starts to realize he might actually be that character. I love how the literary world blurs into ours.

A gorgeous and touching book dealing with the important moments of a person's life. The "Wonder Twins" have created a thoughtful and moving graphic novel.

This book is completely great. If you like anything Tina Fey has ever done (Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls, Baby Mama, 30 Rock) there's a good chance you'll enjoy this. Fey writes about aspects of her life that let you understand where she's coming from which are often relatable as well. The writing is sharp and hilarious. I especially enjoyed the chapter about her father. This book had me awkwardly laughing out loud on the bus alone and smiling until the very end.

I really enjoy Bill Willingham's Fables graphic novels/comic books so I decided to give this book a whirl. It was pretty enjoyable, following characters that are not mentioned in the Fables series but are still familiar to most Americans. (This book stands on its own completely, you don't need to read the Fables series to understand anything, but it doesn't hurt.) The story of brothers Peter and Max Piper was really interesting. Following the two after they are separated while young, Willingham created a story of good and evil while weaving in well-known stories from most people's childhood (as is the case with the Fables series). Although I liked this well enough, I believe Willingham's talent lies in the graphic novel/comic book format. The story was good, but the writing was distracting at times, with room for improvement. I'd recommend it to Fables readers or anyone that likes twists on well-known stories. Now I'm curious if these characters will ever pop up in the regular series...

This book is great. If you love gig posters this clearly for you. It covers tons of artists, their art, their influences and their process. There's even local PDX artists! The colors are beautiful and you can even tear out posters to hang. Great for any music/art fan.

This is a fantastic series. The way Willingham has spun these well-known characters is always surprising. This particular volume isn't my favorite of the series as it was just getting its footing, but it evolves into an amazing story. Highly recommended!

Waldman has woven together an enthralling post 9/11 story. The way she portrays how people reacted and dealt with the events that took place is quite beautiful. It was a pleasant surprise while reading this book.

This is honestly one of my favorite books. When I read it for an undergrad class I couldn't put it down. These stories that were passed down are very inventive and compelling. People often look at me sideways when I say I love this book and explain that it's basically Icelandic folklore, but I honestly do.

I absolutely love the work of Thomas Allen. The way he takes pulp covers and transforms them is really interesting and impressive. This is a great collection, but I have to give it a lower score because of two things. One is that it is so brief. Two is I don't like the fact that it is a board book. The photographs by Allen are presented nicely in this collection, but I think they would be a lot better in a regular binding, not child-like board book. Other than those two things, I think this is a great collection of photographs by a very inventive man. Check out his work.