New Customer Review - The Food of a Younger Land

The Food of a Younger Land
by Mark Kurlansky [394.12 Kur]

What a fascinating book and what a fine example of serendipity! Kurlansky was researching another topic when he found essays on regional food written by writers like Nelson Algren and Zora Neale Huston for FDR's Works Projects Administration (WPA). There are chapters based on foods all over America --foods that owe nothing to the microwave -- and the section on Nebraska includes a very readable story about cooking for the farm's threshers. You might not make all of the recipes, but it's good to peruse and think about where we USED to be as a country. -- review submitted by Barbara R. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

[This was the final review submitted (in December) to BookGuide by Barbara Rixstine, a long-time supporter of the Lincoln City Libraries, who also was a regular book reviewer for the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper. Barbara passed away here in Lincoln on February 20th. We at BookGuide offer our sympathies to Barbara's family and friends -- we will miss our interactions with her over good literature! -- Scott C. / BookGuide site manager]

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New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Review - Visiting Tom

Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway and the Road to Roughneck Grace
by Michael Perry [Biography Hartwig]

Perry is an excellent writer, whose books can appeal to both men and women. This look into his neighbor Tom's life is a delight. -- review submitted by Barbara R. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

[Read Barbara's longer review of this title in the 402(411) section of the Sunday, November 4, 2012 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper!]

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

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Review - The Death Instinct

The Death Instinct
by Jed Rubenfeld [Rubenfeld]

Did you know the first terrorist act on American soil was in 1920? It was then that a wagon filled with dynamite blew up on Wall Street injuring or killing close to 400 people. The perpetrators have never been named or punished, but Rubenfeld's novel, which involves psychoanalysis, Madame Curie and radiation, World War I and police work make an exciting what-if about the topic. Not a quick or easy read, but definitely enjoyable.

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

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Review - Jim the Boy

Jim the Boy
by Tony Earley [Earley]

A simple tale about a simpler time. this details the life of farm boy Jim Glass, age 10. Glass is a pretty typical young boy, growing up in North Carolina in the Depression years. For readers who long for a book that explains the subleties of morals and ethics, and stays away from sex, violence and cursing, this is it. The Chicago Tribune says it's a novel "that perfectly captures the innocence and confusion and wonder of childhood." I agree. -- review submitted by Barbara R. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Review - The Truth-Teller's Lie

The Truth-Teller's Lie
by Sophie Hannah

A dark and psychological police procedural detailing the search for one or two serial rapists, based on the testimony of a young woman who may or may not be telling the truth. The violence is told in detail, which may make it too dark and twisted for squeamish readers. (I admit, I lightly passed over it.) The tension and suspense are there in spades, however, and Hannah tells a passionate tale of love and sex gone terribly wrong. The London Times called it "A superbly creepy, twisty thriller about obsessive love, psychological torture and the darkest chambers of the human heart." -- review submitted by Barbara R. - a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

New Customer Review - The Distant Hours

The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton [Morton]

A wonderful Gothic novel, very much in the style of Lincoln's OBOL a few years ago, The Thirteenth Tale. This tells the story of three sisters in an English mansion and their story, told both in flashback and in present time. The present-time narrator is the daughter of a young woman who stayed at the mansion as an evacuee from London and so we have a variety of viewpoints. Make a pot of cocoa, put a log in the fire and enjoy The Distant Hours. -- review submitted by Barbara R. - a patron of the Gere Branch Library

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

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

Customer Review: Riding the Bus With My Sister

Riding the Bus With My Sister: A True-Life Journey
by Rachel Simon [362.3 Sim]

Best book I've read in a long time. Rachel's sister, Beth, is mildly developmentally disabled. Beth spends her days riding the buses in the Pennsylvania city where she lives. She asks Rachel to come ride with her for a year, as a way for them to better understand each other. In the process, Rachel learns a lot more about not only Beth's life -- and the choices she must make -- but her own. "The Philadelphia Inquirer" said it was "clever and unsentimental." I can agree with that. -- reviewed by Barbara R. - a regular customer at the Gere Branch Library

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 web site. 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.

New Customer Review - The Sugar House

Sugar House
by Laura Lippman

A young Jane Doe is killed, and then her killer is killed, while in prison. His sister suspects that if Jane Doe is identified, then she'll know why her brother was killed. Enter Tess Monaghan, detective. I thought you really needed a scorecard to keep track of who's who, doing what, to whom, but I found Sugar House both entertaining and suspenseful, with interesting characters. -- reviewed by Barbara R., a customer of the Gere Branch Library

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 web site. 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.

Customer Review - The Angel's Game

The Angel's Game
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In early 20th century Barcelona writer David Martin embarks on a series of writing assignments, one of which will bring him close to madness and suicide. Martin's chosen to live in a particular house, but he fears he's becoming the previous tenant, who killed himself. That, mixed with several storylines of writers and writing, books, friendship, unrequited love and the business of publishing kept me reading to the last page. Not an easy beach read, but well worth the effort. -- recommended by Barbara R. - patron of the Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you enjoy this review? Would you like to submit a recommendation of your own?

Library customers can submit reviews of Lincoln City Libraries materials two ways -- you can submit a review of an item directly in the libraries' online catalog, which can be seen by people searching for that particular item. Or you can submit a reading suggestion for general recommendation, to appear on BookGuide on our Customer Reviews page.

Customer Review: A Carrion Death

A Carrion Death
by Michael Stanley

First in the series with Detective Kubu, we search for both the identity and the killer of a body found bleaching near a Botswanian waterhole. Kubu follows a tangled -- there are more than 70 chapters -- plot to root out the mystery involving diamonds, sibling rivalry, business takeovers, shady characters, Botswanian politics and geology. Well-written, very interesting characters, good story. I expect as the writer continues the series, some small hiccups in plotting will fade away and I look forward to reading more in the series. -- reviewed by Barbara R. - patron of the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

Customer Review: The Spiritualist

The Spiritualist
by Megan Chance

A young woman in turn-of-the-century New York finds nothing but trouble three months after she "marries up" into society. As Fitzgerald says, "The rich are different than you and me." Her husband of three months is found floating in a river, she's been thrown out of his house by his relatives and, worse yet, she's under suspicion for his murder. The plot twists throughout this gothic novel -- although some of the twists you might see coming -- and our heroine comes out ahead in the end. But what must she do to get there? -- recommended by Barbara R. - patron of the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

This title is not currently owned by the Lincoln City Libraries. Please consider ordering it through our Interlibrary Loan service.

Customer Review - The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse

by P.D. James

Isolated cabin. Desolate scenery. Good people in hard situations. All this combines to make "The Lighthouse" by celebrated author PD James a mystery to pick up for those long cold nights in front of the fireplace. The story takes us to the isolated English island of Combe and a murder which Richard Jury -- poet and police commander -- must solve. Alas, the selection of possibile killers is interesting, but never really explored. What James is really good at is putting you in the scene and this book made me long to spend some time in Combe. It's a real page-turner if you don't examine the structure too closely. -- recommended by Barbara R. - customer of the Gere Branch Library

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Submit your own review of any material owned by the Lincoln City Libraries system at BookGuide's Customer Reviews page -- or browse the archive of past customer reviews.