Ristar in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

Ristar in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
[Video Game Sonic’s] 

This is a bright colorful game featuring a little guy in the shape of a star, named Ristar. This was originally on the Sega Genesis in 1995; however you can still play it without a Genesis on Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection available on PS3 and Xbox, which comes with a multitude of other games. Ristar is a 2D platform style game set on other planets, whose leaders have been mind controlled by an evil space pirate. What I found a bit weird about it was that Ristar has a grab ability and his arms are sort of stretchy so you can grab onto things and propel yourself in multiple directions or maybe forced to grab on to object above you to avoid spikes and other hazards. This took me a little getting used to but there is something like that in every game. This is also how he attacks; grab an enemy, pull it toward you and pretty much head-butt it, which is amusing. I had played Sega Genesis back in the 1990’s but did not know about this one till fairly recently, and because of this it had a nice old and new feel to it. Overall it’s a really fun game and I would suggest it to other players who enjoy 2D platformers.

[ Ristar on Wikipedia ] | [ Ristar on Sega gaming Wiki ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be
by Rachel Hollis [248.843 Hol] 

I had a couple of friends recommend this, maybe because of the straightforward way Rachel Hollis speaks (she’s very no-nonsense, and I totally dig that), or maybe because she’s very in touch with her spiritual self, which I admire and respect. I also wonder if these friends recommended this book to me because they felt like I need to stop believing lies about who I am so I can become who I am meant to be. (Um, I have to admit, that title kind of confuses me…..)

I must admit, I’d never heard of Rachel Hollis before. As a practicing Catholic, I’m kind of in the dark when it comes to the female Christian speakers. I’m not big on self-help books, even the kind that are in-your-face like this one is.

That being said, it was kind of fun to listen to. Hollis can be self-deprecating without being awkward about it, yet she owns her accomplishments. One thing I really do appreciate about her style of writing here is that each chapter is broken down into something she’s learned–then she goes into story-mode, explaining what happened. She ends with what she’s learned, enumerating things she’s taken away from that experience and things that helped her. It’s a bit Type-A, but I like that about her.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life, by Jen Hatmaker]

[ official Girl, Wash Your Face web site ] | [ official The Chic Site by Rachel Hollis ]

Recommended by Tracy T.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Are You Scared, Darth Vader? by Adam Rex

Are You Scared, Darth Vader?
by Adam Rex [jP Rex] 

This is a charming and amusing juvenile picture book, with some gorgeous artwork. Star Wars’ ultimate villain, the armored and wheezing Darth Vader is roaming a dark, dank, swampy planet — think Yoda’s swamp world of Dagobah from The Empire Strikes Back — and a taunting child-like voice keeps pestering him about whether anything could “scare” him, to which Vader replies in typically Vader-like dark meaningful statements (that are easy to imagine James Earl Jones intoning).
For each example of something that could potentially “scare” Darth Vader, a small figure appears around him — such as a werewolf, a vampire, a witch, etc. — essentially children in Halloween costumes. Despite the obvious “children’s picture book” nature of this, there are moments of both poignancy and surprise, particularly with an unexpected ending.

I figured I would merely be slightly amused by this book. But, as it turns out, I really enjoyed the artwork and storytelling, and may even consider purchasing this one for my own Star Wars book collection!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Vader-related cartoon volumes by Jeffrey Brown, including Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess.]

[ publisher’s official Are You Scared, Darth Vader? web page ] | [ official Adam Rex web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver
by Naomi Novik

Fantasy author Naomi Novik has created another marvelous work of fiction with Spinning Silver, a folktale about a kingdom called Lithvas which is ruled by a demon-possessed Tsar. The kingdom is constantly raided by creatures (the Staryk) from another realm on the edge of this kingdom which can only survive in perpetual winter. The fairytale is a mix of the Rumplestiltskin fairytale and the well-known story of Beauty and the Beast with a Jewish heroine, Miryem, at the center of it all. I loved how the author used different characters from the story to tell what was happening from his or her point of view. I was drawn into the struggle between cultures and kingdoms from the very start and literally could not put the book down. Themes of family, loyalty, prejudice, and love are all explored in an entertaining yet creative way. I highly recommend this book.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Uprooted, by Naomi Novik, and The Temeraire series, also by Naomi Novik]

[ official Spinning Silver page on the official Naomi Novik web site ]

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Hank & Jim: The Fifty Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott Eyman

Hank & Jim: The Fifty Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart
by Scott Eyman [791.43 Eym] 

Two American movie icons — Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda — met as young men, were diametrically opposed in their political/religious philosophies and had very different styles of acting, but forged and kept a lifelong friendship in which sometimes being together without even speaking was proof of their bond. Nebraska’s own child, Fonda was urged by Dorothy “Doe” Brando, Marlon’s mother, to give acting a try. The 20-year-old had already attended college for a couple of years but dropped out and returned home. He had been helping out the Omaha Community Players with cleaning, set-dressing and other non-performing tasks when Mrs. Brando recognized his potential. At the same time, teen-aged James Stewart of Indiana, Pennyslvania helped in his father’s hardware store when he wasn’t in school or occupied with other projects or small-town work. His interest in acting began when he was in prep school and continued to develop while he attended Princeton. Hank and Jim’s paths would cross in New York City, via Joshua Logan and a crappy shared apartment. Each man was infatuated by the same woman, actress Margaret Sullavan, early on and Fonda was briefly married to her. Both men had many affairs and Henry went on to acquire 4 more wives but Jimmy eventually found his one and only, Gloria. Both men started as stage actors and became Academy-Award winning feature film stars. Jim and Hank shared a love of model airplanes, they both served on active duty in World War II, and both rarely agreed on the same version of mutual anecdotes. Fonda’s personal life was characterized by detachment and difficulty with communicating. Stewart was a loving father to his children and stepchildren. This is a fascinating look not only at these two famous men as persons but gives a lot of detail as to the workings of stage and screen productions and relationships. For both, their final years were not necessarily happy, but what an incredible gift of artistry they gave to the world.

[ publisher’s official Hank & Jim web page ] | [ official Scott Eyman web site ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

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Stripped Bare and Dark Signal by Shannon Baker

Stripped Bare
by Shannon Baker

When the libraries’ Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group read and discussed the second book in the Kate Fox series, Dark Signal, at our July meeting, I found that I had enjoyed that entry enough (one of my “Rated 10” books for 2018), that I wanted to go back and read the first book in the series, Stripped Bare.

Set in the Nebraska Sandhills, where author Shannon Baker had lived for a big chunk of her life, Stripped Bare‘s sleuth is Kate Fox, the ranching wife of the Grand County Sheriff, Ted Fox. When Ted is shot at the home of one of the county’s wealthiest residents, investigating the shooting death of that man, Kate finds herself drawn into the investigation, first to help prove her husband’s innocence in the killing, then to eliminating suspicion against her niece (who she’s been raising like a daughter). When her incapacitated husband is revealed to have been unfaithful, Kate’s investigation becomes even more personal.

This is a fast-paced read, with lots of terrific characters — Kate has a huge extended family, and they’re all meddling in her life. Kate is a very sympathetic narrator, and the author does a marvelous job of capturing the setting of the Sandhills very effectively. The wide open spaces becomes an important “character” in the novel. I absolutely loved Dark Signal, which was more of a rural police procedural, but felt like I was missing some of the details in Kate’s background. Reading Stripped Bare, which feels much more like an “amateur detective” story, definitely fills in those gaps. I highly recommend both volumes! I’d give Stripped Bare a “9” and Dark Signal a “10”. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Craig Johnson’s Longmire series of novels.
 

[ publisher’s official Stripped Bare web page ] | [ official Shannon Baker web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Reminder: Don't miss the August 2018 Just Desserts meeting, tomorrow, Thursday, August 30th, at the South Branch Library (27th & South St.), from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. We'll be discussing James Grippando's novel Most Dangerous Place.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Ripper Street: Season Three

Ripper Street: Season Three
[DVD Ripper] 

Season 3, picks up after last season, but at least several months if not a year or so later, and I recommend you watch the previous seasons before this one. The series is set in White Chapel London just after the Jack the Ripper killings; the police staff that are featured in the show are those who had worked on the cases, although they occurred before the series began. This season starts with a train wreck robbery and members of the police and their family and friends are reunited in the ruin after not seeing one another for a long time. As with previous seasons each episode is another case for the police yet there remains an overarching mystery over the season. This train wreck case is not fully solved till the last episode. Not wanting to reveal any spoilers, I won’t discuss the plots much. Many tid bits from the character’s past resurface in this season which was intriguing and enjoyable as some had been obscured for the whole show. Yet some parts of the cases and the character’s personal lives remain mysterious going into the next season. As with previous seasons, this is rated M for mature due to violence, language, adult themes and nudity, so it’s not a show for everyone. However if this is not bothersome and you enjoy historical mysteries and CSI type shows or books, I highly recommend it to you, as in addition to the crimes investigated there is ample character development and interpersonal relationships at play with mysteries of their own.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the first two seasons of Ripper Street.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ BBC’s official Ripper Street web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon

Lost in Yonkers
by Neil Simon [812 Sim] 

When auditions for an upcoming local production of Neil Simon’s show Lost in Yonkers were recently taking place, I was reminded that it’s been several years since I read it. So I decided to give it another read. I’m glad I did — this Pulitzer-prize-winning stage drama is a powerful character study. One of the most autobiographical of Simon’s many, many works — this is set in the years of WWII, starting in 1942. Following the death of their mother, a financially struggling father, Eddie, takes his two sons, Jay (15) and Arty (13) to live, temporarily, with their domineering German grandmother Kurnitz, in her flat about the family’s Yonkers candy store. Throw in Eddie’s brother, Louie, who may be “bent”, Aunt Bella — a well-meaning but challenged young woman who takes the two brothers into her confidence, and the other aunt, Gert, who has a breathing/speech problem, and you’ve got a heckuva mix of characters to play off of each other.

This is one of Neil Simon’s most emotional plays. Yes, there is humor, as would only be expected from the playwright of The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park, but mixed in with complicated relationships, there are a lot of funny bits. The relationship between Jay and Arty is particularly poignant, and their connection to their furtive uncle Louie (portrayed by Kevin Spacey in the original Broadway production) provides some interesting moments. But it is EVERYone’s relationship to the family matriarch, Grandma Kurnitz, that forms the core of this play. I can’t wait to see Lost in Yonkers performed locally! [Currently playing at the Haymarket Theatre through September 2nd!]

[ Lost in Yonkers entry on Wikipedia ] | [ Neil Simon entry on Wikipedia ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

The Immortalists
by Chloe Benjamin

 I picked this up because I saw it was one of the first few choices given as Jimmy Fallon’s original NBC Tonight Show Book Club. (He ended up choosing a different book for the first one, which I hope to read down the road… Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.)

It was a really interesting story about four siblings who go to see a fortune teller to find out when they will die. The story that follows is each sibling’s life, with regards to what the fortune teller told them. (She insisted on seeing them each separately.)

The story begins with them as small children in 1969 and ends up in present day, so it really held a great appeal for me, as that ran the span of my own current lifetime.

While I liked the way the story was written and I found each character interesting and captivating, something about this book put me off a bit. I had a hard time getting “caught up” in it. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to continue. I was always interested in it, I wanted to continue reading it… but I wasn’t DYING to know what happened next. I’d recommend to others, though–hopefully other readers will find it more captivating than I did.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Wild, by Cheryl Strayed, Escape, by Carolyn Jessop or Stolen Innocence, by Elissa Wall.] [ official The Immortalists page on the official Chloe Benjamin web site ]

Recommended by Tracy T.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Little Grey Cells: The Quotable Poirot

Little Grey Cells: The Quotable Poirot
by Agatha Christie [823 Chr]

This marvelous little hardback book is a pocket-sized collection of Hercule Poirot “quotations”, taken from the 33 novels and more than 50 short stories written by Agatha Christie that featured her famous Belgian detective. Throughout his career, Poirot was well known for solving his cases by exploring the human psychology of both the victims and perpetrators of crimes. Unlike, say, Sherlock Holmes, who was far more intrigued by the physical evidence that could lead to the solution of a crime, Poirot loved to explore the mental processes and motives that would lead to a criminal act. As he says in “The King of Clubs”, “In the little grey cells of the brain lies the solution of every mystery.”

This collection of quotes is broken up into thematic chapters, including “Human Nature”, “The English”, “Symmetry & Order” (so, so important to Poirot), “Detective Work”, “Truth & Lies”, “Food & Drink”, and “My Dear Hastings”, just to name a few. Within each chapter, each quote — some are very short and others are a paragraph or more in length — gets its own separate page, complete with reference to the novel or short story it original appeared in. At the end of the book are two “extras” — an afterword pulled from Christie’s papers, in which she explains the Love/Hate relationship she developed with Poirot over decades of writing his adventures, and an appendix identifying every Poirot novel and short story.

Special Event: Don’t miss “The Mystery of Agatha Christie”, a special 90-minute presentation at the Gere Branch Library on Sunday, September 30th, 2018, 2:00-3:30 p.m. — a celebration of all things “Christie”, covering the author and her life (including her mysterious 11-day disappearance), her entire body of written work, and the stage, screen and television adaptations of her stories. Then, join fellow theater-goers in attending the play Black Coffee, starring Hercule Poirot, at the Lincoln Community Playhouse in late October 2018.

“It is sometimes difficult for a dog to find a scent, but once he has fount it, nothing on earth will make him leave it! That is if he is a good dog! And I, Hercule Poirot, am a very good dog!” — from the short story, “The Chocolate Box” (it also appears in the play “Black Coffee”). [Note: I found it helpful to imagine David Suchet, TV’s most famous Poirot, reading all the quotes in this book!]

[ official Little Grey Cells web site ] | [ official Agatha Christie web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!