If you could find out what the manner of your death will be, would you want to know? Keep in mind that it will be vaguely summarized in one or two words. You might be told your cause of death is “fishing” and then die of food poisoning from a tuna sandwich. Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die is a collection of short stories describing the variety of human experiences in the wake of this knowledge.

The machine of death is accessible to all cultures. After the majority of people use it, the force of the global reaction begins to alter societies. Social groups define themselves by death, and it affects industries and the job market. The results of the machine can give clues about the future. Even the population count is affected as people lose interest in planning lives they know will end. Those who refuse to know how they will die are outcasts from a world newly-obsessed with death.

Each story in the collection is full of twists and turns to keep the reader involved and on alert. Because even when you know how a story will end, what happens before that point can constantly surprise you. Edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bernardo, and David Malki, Machine of Death is a fast-moving, multi-faceted, fun exploration of how western society reacts to life and death.

Linda Sue Park's engaging story, A Long Walk to Water, is based on real-life experiences during two different decades in Southern Sudan. In 1985, young Salva is forced to flee from his village to escape civil war. He makes a dangerous trek to uncertain safety in Kenya, along the way facing hunger and violence from cruel soldiers. Other refugees have doubts that such a young boy is anything more than a burden. Salva’s perseverance over hardship and eventual travel to America as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan makes for inspirational reading.

The story of Nya, another Sudanese youngster, takes place in 2008 and is interwoven throughout Salva's story. Nya makes an eight-hour daily trip to and from a pond that is her family's only source of water. When the pond is found to be contaminated, the village begins the project of digging a well. Physical and financial obstacles, as well as the doubts of the villagers, must be overcome for the project to succeed.

Park's terse but beautiful prose and powerful socially-conscious message in A Long Walk to Water will resonate with both children and adults.

Seven years after their gold album, Pressure Chief, debuted, CAKE has released their long-awaited album, Showroom of Compassion. This album is the first release from their record label Upbeat Records and was recorded in a solar powered studio. CAKE has stayed consistent with their one-of-a-kind style featuring bass heavy tracks, poppy synths, a funky horn section, and plenty of sing-along worthy tracks. While the album has that definitive CAKE sound, Showroom of Compassion has a few standout tracks that ask us to question our preconceived notions of what CAKE is really all about.

"Sick of You" is the lead track and the first single off the album. It's guitar riffs and catchy hooks are sure to make it an instant classic. "The Winter" is a mournful song about how transitory life can be. But the star track of the record is "The Mustache Man," an upbeat, psychedelic, rock-inspired song, complete with horns, driving percussion, and hand claps.

Cake

Paolo Bacigalupi, an established Science Fiction writer, took the 2010 Printz Award and the National Book Award for Ship Breaker.

Given for excellence in young adult literature, the Printz is quite an honor for Bacigalupi’s debut novel for young adults. An adventure set in a future world, where fossil fuels are used up and coastal cities are under water, seventeen-year-old Nailer scavenges for scrap metals in abandoned tankers. Nailer and his crew live in a world of leftover resources, doing work that is dirty and dangerous. He and his friend, Pima, come upon the wreck of a luxurious clipper ship and find a girl clinging to life. To save her would jeopardize Nailer with his violent, strung-out Dad, because finding this ship and it’s bounty would have be to kept secret. Can they trust this girl and her story of wealth and privilege? Ship Breaker is a thoughtful read about sustainable issues, as well as a gripping, action-packed thriller.

The House of Paper is the story of a man crossing the line between bibliophilism and bibliomania. Author Carlos Maria Dominguez created a tale that is at once realistic and fantastic, charming and haunting, rich in imagery and plain in message. Complemented with the distinctive, whimsical illustrations of Peter Sis, “The House of Paper” is a beautiful little book that is easily read, but feels big and significant with its swirl of theme and elements.

The story, both mystery and social comedy, has a small cast of characters, book lovers who live at various points along the spectrum of that relationship. The narrator is one of them, and through introspection and interaction with the others, he asks big questions about books: What is their value to us, or their hold on us? Why do some of us collect them? Why do they affect us, and how? Although this is a 2004 title, the questions asked are relevant and timely. The questions lead him in his search for the bibliomaniac whose own search for sense in a life literally full of books gives the story its title.

Starcrossed is the second novel by historical fantasy author Elizabeth C. Bunce, and the first book in the "Thief Errant" series.

The story stars a learned and streetwise thief, Digger, who, in order to escape the wrath of the kingdom Inquisitor and his policing Greenmen, finds herself and her fate entwined with that of a party of drunken nobles. With the group is Lady Merista, a young girl whom Digger quite suddenly discovers is deeply into something punishable by torture and death -- magic. Digger becomes torn between her developing love for her young friend, the suspicious and dangerous activity of Merista's parents, the blackmailing and vengeful friend of her host, and her mantra: Stay Alive. Don't get caught. Don't get involved.

If you like intrigue, spies, magic, romance, and a sassy heroine, this is a must-read. Bunce not only presents a vivid and fast-paced tale, but also an addictive world, moving characters, and a great tension between people and their rulers. Historically, the story throws us into a sense of the Inquisition and the witch craze in Europe.

The film, Howl, starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, is centered on the obscenity trial that ensued from the publishing of Ginsberg's epic poem, Howl. Considered to be one of the most influential works to come out of the Beat Generation, the poem encapsulated the fears and issues facing a new generation coming of age in the middle of the 1950s.

The film, like the poem, is unstructured as it jumps from Ginsberg's early years to animated segments of the poem, which are threaded throughout the film. Howl is not a biopic of Allen Ginsberg, but an attempt to bring the poem to life by presenting the historical context in which the Beats emerged, and graphically representing the words of the poem by the use of brilliant cinematic techniques. The film is perfect for anyone who loves the Beats or visual storytelling.

To learn more about Allen Ginsberg or the Beats, check out Howl: A Graphic Novel, by Allen Ginsberg, animated by Eric Drooker; The Beats: A Graphic History, by Harvey Pikar and others; Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg: The Letters, edited by Bill Morgan and David Standord; and The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, by Bill Morgan.

Husband and wife authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen published their book, The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City, in 2007. They recently expanded and revised their book with all the DIY enthusiasm mustered in the first edition. "The New York Times" lauded it as the “…contemporary bible on the subject.” (NYT, April 23, 2010).

Projects for the novice to the expert urban homesteader are easy to follow, including ways to can, preserve, and pickle food; make potting soil; start a compost pile (with or without worms); make household cleaners; and harvest rainwater. Depending upon how self-sufficient you wish to be, the authors have included ideas on various subjects, such as collecting greywater (water that goes down the drain after its use), with varying levels of complexity. For example, you can cut into drain pipes, as Coyne and Knutzen describe, or you can do the simpler method of keeping a bucket next to the shower to collect the running water before the shower gets hot. This is one of the many ideas for reusing resources that this excellent book offers. My favorite project: the luggable loo composting toilet and the humanure revolution! The authors own a farm in Los Angeles and run the urban homestead blog homegrownevolution.org

Meet Pete, a lovable, lanky, blue cat with a brand new pair of sneakers in Eric Litwin's Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. Pete loves his new shoes and sings a song proclaiming this love. As Pete walks, he steps in a variety of colorful obstacles that change the color of his footwear. Pete is a mellow cat, unperturbed by his beloved sneakers changing colors. His song of love is repeated throughout the course of the book reflecting the current color of his shoes. The moral of Pete's story is to keep going no matter what the obstacle because as the cat says "it is all good."

"Pete the Cate" is a simple but fun color identification story. Toddlers will enjoy the recurring song and bright pictures while the pattern of the book allows older children to actively predict the future color of Pete's shoes. The book's colorful illustrations are humorous and lend to the mellow, hippie ideology of the story. If you enjoy the book and would like to see more of this mellow feline, Pete the Cat has been known to make appearances during Preschool Storytime at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Back in 2002, Carlos Eire won the National Book Award for Waiting for Snow in Havana, his memoir of boyhood in 1950s Cuba. The story ended with Eire on a plane to the United States; he was one of 14,000 unaccompanied refugee children in 1962’s Operation Pedro Pan. His latest book continues his story, beginning with his arrival in Florida.

“Having just died, I shouldn’t be starting my afterlife with a chicken sandwich, no matter what, especially one served up by nuns.” And so begins Eire's memoir, Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy. Eire recounts his journey through the American foster care system, an orphanage, and a belated reunion with his mother, with honesty -- both humorous and heart wrenching. The collision of his Cuban self with his new American identity is both a grim tale of death and a cautious account of rebirth. This fascinating story will make you laugh, weep, and wave your fist in anger. When you finish Eire’s story, don’t be surprised to find yourself poking around through Cuban history books as well, reading about Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro and the course of events that led a nation to send their children away.