Staff Picks: Summer Comics for Kids & Teens

Wed, 05/24/2023 - 12:40pm by nicole

Summer is finally here! Celebrate the sunniest season with these comics set in the summertime:

Teens:

This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki | Request Now

Staff Picks: Thrilling Fiction That's More Twisty Than a Pretzel

Thu, 05/18/2023 - 9:39am by denbyt

I love a well-written, substantial book as much as the next reader. Something I can really sink my teeth into. Something that I can mull over, for days or weeks.  But then, every once in a while, I find myself in the mood for a fast read that’ll do nothing more than keep me guessing, breathless and at the edge of my seat, until the very end. I’ve gathered a short list of the latter here, just in case you’re on the hunt for your next twisty-turny thriller to while away a few hours on a warm spring evening.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware | Request Now

Hannah and her husband have a great life. A happy marriage. A baby on the way. They’ve put the decade-ago death of their college friend April firmly in the past…until Hannah is told the man who had died in prison, after having been convicted of April’s murder, may have been innocent. Hannah sets out to find the truth. Written in alternating timelines, pre and post-murder, this thriller has every essential ingredient for a page-turner. A cast of potential suspects, a complex victim who is more than what she appears to be, a well-developed narrator, and a twisty-turny plot. The author’s most recent release, The It Girl is going to inspire you to go back and read her backlist–if you haven’t already.

Staff Picks: Fabulous Fiction by AAPI Authors

Sun, 05/14/2023 - 12:23pm by emjane

We’re highlighting books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors in honor of AAPI Heritage Month – however, don’t just limit your AAPI reading to May! AADL participates in the Unerased Book Club, which highlights amazing titles monthly. Here are four of my favorites read by the group in prior months, but keep checking AADL.TV for our future discussions!]

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa | Request a Copy |Watch the Book Club Discussion

This twisty thriller centers on Paloma, a woman in her early 30s living in California and having a crisis. Paloma tries to be patient and kind, but life is so much more challenging now that she’s cut off from her parents' riches– plus the people out in the world are so infuriating. Paloma’s story is told in alternating chapters between the present day and her time in an orphanage in Sri Lanka, where she was adopted as a pre-teen. 

Staff Picks: Books for Summers in Michigan

Tue, 05/09/2023 - 11:16am by eapearce

It may not feel this way when we’re weathering the fifth month of snow storms, but Michigan is a beautiful state! And there’s no better time to explore near and far than the spring, summer and early fall. With school letting out soon and the weather continuing to get warmer, lots of us are planning summer getaways, whether for a day or a week or longer. While of course it can be exciting to leave our beloved mitten-shaped home and see what’s beyond state lines, there’s so much to do and appreciate within the pleasant peninsulas, too. Need inspiration? Check out some of these cool local travel guides.

Michigan Day Trips by Theme, by Kathryn Houghton | Request Now

This book has been regularly updated since its first publication in 2013, most recently in 2021. Organized super conveniently based on what the reader might be interested in doing, this is great to flip through for ideas for destinations and stops all around the state. You can browse by region or by what you’re seeking out: Lighthouses, Science & Nature, Art, Festivals, Museums, and more. The range of activities in this book is particularly well-done: you won’t just find well-known tourist destinations here. Included are more rural nature centers, small museums and even just interesting historic buildings in lesser known towns that you might want to swing through. This is a book to keep in the car all summer long, to flip through and see what you might be able to add on to your journey!

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #824

Tue, 05/09/2023 - 8:27am by muffy

Named 2012 Sweden’s Book of the Year, and based on real events, (read The New York Times article)  Stolen * by Ann-Helen Laestadius (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), is part coming-of-age story, part love song to a disappearing natural world, and part spotlight on an indigenous culture under siege. 

On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, 9 year-old Elsa skies alone to visit her beloved reindeer calf at the family’s corral, only to find notorious local poacher Robert Isaksson, standing over her brutally savaged calf. Threatened to silence in order to protect her Sami herder family, the police has no choice but to declare it another case of “stolen” animals instead of a crime. 

Ten years on, Elsa is now working the family herd and teaching at the village school. In the intervening years, she has lost a beloved uncle to suicide, her brother becomes estranged from the family and yet,  the torture and slaughter of the reindeer continues with the apathetic police force. Finally, Elsa decides to push back, with the help of a young journalist. 

“The novel highlights the problems and issues the Sámi face - racism, loss of culture, alcoholism, suicide, governmental mistakes and neglect, and the devastating effects of climate change. “ (Library Journal)

“Of Sámi descent herself, award-winning journalist Laestadius offers a rare, multigenerational look at the diverse and deep-rooted cultural heritage of this traditional arctic community. Akin to gritty stories of Old West cattle rustlers evading the law and society, Laestadius' unvarnished saga demonstrates the universality of oppression and revenge and conflicts over land and race.” (Booklist) 

Stolen is Laestadius’ (English language) first adult novel and is being adapted into a film for Netflix.

* = Starred review

Staff Picks: Gardening 101

Mon, 05/08/2023 - 12:24pm by lucroe

Join us for the Gardening & DIY Fest on May 21 from 11am-5pm for hands-on activities, presentations, & artisan items for sale. Below you will discover some gardening books that are great for the beginner and anyone looking to help keep nature thriving!

Saving our Seeds : the Practice & Philosophy by Bevin Cohen | Request Now

Local writer, gardener, as well as a lecturer (he will be presenting a talk on seed saving at the Garden & DIY Fest) brings together his years of experience in this excellent guide to seed saving. He includes steps to save seeds from 43 different veggies and fruits as well as a history of seed saving and heartfelt stories from his own life as a seed activist. Great for the beginner or anyone just interested to know more about the importance of seeds and pollination. Interested in growing veggies? Check out his book, Grow Great Vegetables in Michigan

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #823 - The 1%

Wed, 05/03/2023 - 10:22am by muffy

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (also available as eBook and audiobook) is a deliciously funny, sharply observed “comedy of manners, charting the fates of the Stockton siblings and their spouses…A wealthier cousin of Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest. ” (Kirkus Reviews) 

The Stocktons, residents of Brooklyn Heights’ renowned fruit streets are the product of generational wealth and capitalist success. Cord, middle-child and the only son, had just moved into the family home recently vacated by his parents, downsizing to a nearby condo. His wife Sasha, a successful graphic designer from a middle class family, secretly referred to by his sisters as "the GD" (gold digger) because of her hesitation in signing a pre-nup, is struggling to fit in with this tight-knit family. 

Darley, the eldest daughter who gave up her banking career for motherhood, regrets renouncing her inheritance when she married Malcolm, a first generation Korean American, now that a scandal has derailed Malcolm's career. Party-girl Georgiana, the youngest, considers herself a “do-gooder”, works for a  non-profit and is secretly involved with a colleague while no one cares to tell her he is married.

“Jenny Jackson has written a lovely, absorbing, acutely observed novel about class, money and love. These are the themes of Henry James and Jane Austen, but they are observed with a fresh eye and a contemporary voice. Who wouldn’t want to read Pineapple Street?” ~ Nick Hornby

Staff Picks: Celebrating AAPI Comic Book Creators

Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:40pm by lucroe

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we present a series of graphic novels featuring stories by Asian American and Pacific Islander creators. These works, which range from auto biographical, to steampunk, to magical realism and good old-fashioned superheroes, explore not only challenges unique to Asian and Pacific Island Americans, but also issues of death, loss, power and responsibility common to everyone. 

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott & Harmony Becker | Request Now

The award-winning true story of actor and activist George Takei's early childhood experience in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The story sheds light on a dark chapter in American History as well as the early years of an Asian American icon.
 

Staff Picks: Great Reads Published by Fifth Avenue Press

Wed, 04/19/2023 - 7:07pm by emjane

Did you know the library has a publishing imprint? Since 2017, Fifth Avenue Press has worked to bring great books written by Washtenaw County residents into reality – and into the hands of readers and library users! 

One of the neatest things about this collection of books is that ALL of them are available for you to read digitally RIGHT NOW! You can read them directly in your browser from AADL’s catalog or download the PDFs to read from other devices. You can learn more about Fifth Avenue Press here.

Over in Motown by Debbie A. Taylor. Illustrated by Keisha Morris | Request Physical Copy Now | Access the Digital Copy Now

Staff Picks: Look to the Stars—Books on Astronomy

Wed, 04/12/2023 - 9:02pm by lucroe

Explore the cosmos with these fascinating reads from the scientists that study the stars to the amateur astronomers photographing it, there is a plethora of books for all levels of interest. Coming on May 11 to the library is Melissa Kaelin (see her book below) called Chasing the Aurora Below the 45th Parallel where she will give advice to those seeking the Northern Lights in Michigan.

Below the 45th Parallel : the Beginner's Guide to Chasing the Aurora in the Great Lakes Region by Melissa Kaelin| Request Now
It may not be as often seen in this part of Michigan, but if you want to know when and where your chances of seeing the Northern Lights in the Great Lakes region are check this book out. Author Kaelin is the founder of the Michigan Aurora Chasers that tracks the aurora borealis in real time. WDIV has a brief segment about her and the group here.