Book Review: Ponyella by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger

Ponyella
by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger (jP Numeroff)

 This is a terrific re-telling of Cinderella using ponies as the characters.

 

We meet Ponyella who is a beautiful pony who is happy on her small farm with the pastures and the barn and she loves jumping. Then the farm is sold and as the new owners move in they bring along two ponies as well. And as we know the Cinderella story these ponies pick on Ponyella who ends up being moved out of her clean stall and into a small, dirty stall. Ponyella does all the work pulling the coal carts and her coat becomes dirty. She is so unhappy.

 

Then, we see the Princess driven by who will be selecting the winner of the Annual Grand Royal Pony Championship! Everyone wants to attend but Ponyella is forced to remain at home. Until…her Fairy Godmare arrives.

 

The drawings by Lynn Munsinger are excellent, you feel so sorry for Ponyella. I love the fabulous trailer she rides in to the championship (as opposed to a coach). And her horseshoes are embedded with diamonds. Sadly, the clock struck Noon and Ponyella had to dash for home, leaving behind a horseshoe.

 

The story was so creative at inserting horse-themed items yet remaining close to the original story. Adults will get a kick out of this story as much as the kids. The illustrations pull you into the emotions of Ponyella – but she gets her Happy Ending.

 

I highly recommend this clever remix of Cinderella.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez, or It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood (It’s Not a Fairy Tale) by Josh Funk.)

 

( official Nate Evans author web site ) | ( official Laura Numeroff author web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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

DVD Review: The Madame Blanc Mysteries (Series One)

The Madame Blanc Mysteries (Series One)
(DVD Madame)

British antiques dealer Jean White learns her now-late husband — killed in a suspicious auto accident — had pulled all their money out of the business leaving her penniless, and he possibly had an affair. Also, a valuable ruby ring is missing from the vehicle. She has one asset left and that’s a cottage in fictional Sainte-Victoire, a village in the south of France. She leaves Cheshire, England to get the cottage ready and sell it.

 

Still reeling from his lies and his death, she meets several members of the community and is pulled into their lives and community activities. She befriends the local police officer when her antiques expertise helps resolve the first case, and he asks her to be his assistant in the future when necessary. Which turns out to be often.

Originally aired by Acorn TV, this is a character-drive, contemporary, cozy murder mystery series with also a romance between Jean and another character that advances slowly. Each episode is approximately 45 minutes in length. Be sure to turn on closed-captioning unless you understand both English and French. The English translation is provided on-screen when French is spoken.

 

The library owns Series One (six episodes) and Series Two (seven episodes).

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Ponyella by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger

Ponyella
by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans, with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger (jP Numeroff)

This is a terrific re-telling of Cinderella using ponies as the characters.

 

We meet Ponyella who is a beautiful pony who is happy on her small farm with the pastures and the barn and she loves jumping. Then the farm is sold and as the new owners move in they bring along two ponies as well. And as we know the Cinderella story these ponies pick on Ponyella who ends up being moved out of her clean stall and into a small, dirty stall. Ponyella does all the work pulling the coal carts and her coat becomes dirty. She is so unhappy.

 

Then, we see the Princess driven by who will be selecting the winner of the Annual Grand Royal Pony Championship! Everyone wants to attend but Ponyella is forced to remain at home. Until…her Fairy Godmare arrives.

 

The drawings by Lynn Munsinger are excellent, you feel so sorry for Ponyella. I love the fabulous trailer she rides in to the championship (as opposed to a coach). And her horseshoes are embedded with diamonds. Sadly, the clock struck Noon and Ponyella had to dash for home, leaving behind a horseshoe.

 

The story was so creative at inserting horse-themed items yet remaining close to the original story. Adults will get a kick out of this story as much as the kids. The illustrations pull you into the emotions of Ponyella – but she gets her Happy Ending.

 

I highly recommend this clever remix of Cinderella.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez, or It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood (It’s Not a Fairy Tale) by Josh Funk.)

 

( official Nate Evans author web site ) | ( official Laura Numeroff author web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Delish Insane Sweets by Joanna Saltz

Delish Insane Sweets
by Joanna Saltz (641.865 Sal)

By now everyone is sick to death of their healthy diets and it’s time to splurge on desserts!

 

Delish Insane Sweets is a collection of dessert recipes on the smaller size. Some recipes will make 13 cookies (Ultimate Snickerdoodles), some 18 (Earth Day Cookies), and some 24 (Owl Cupcakes — which are adorable looking, too).

 

The categories include Cookie Monsters, Cupcakes, Brownies, Bar Cookies, and Holiday Cookies.

 

Pick and choose a treat, and if you don’t like that recipe, the batch was small enough that you can give them all away to neighbors or coworkers and try something else without feeling like you wasted a ton of ingredients.

 

Use your own chocolate chip cookie recipe and use “31 Amazing Mix-Ins for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” to create a few new cookies using a few soft caramels for some, chopped cooked bacon for another, mini Oreos for others, along with 28 other suggestions.

 

This was a fun book to browse through and bake (Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies! Cheesecake-Stuffed Cupcakes!) and I have it on my To Buy List for my personal collection.

 

Best of all, there are photos of every single recipe.

 

( official Joanna Saltz page on the Delish web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Books Review: The Vampire Knitting Club series by Nancy Warren

The Vampire Knitting Club series
by Nancy Warren (Hoopla Audiobooks only)

Lucy Swift has inherited her beloved grandmother’s knitting shop in Oxford, England. As a child she would travel from the US to spend her summers there as her parents are world-famous archaeologists and spent their time at various digs around the world. Now trying to get the shop in order, she learns that Grandma is now a vampire! And she lives in the basement with a group of vampires who come out at night to knit in her shop.

This is a fun, cozy mystery series set in contemporary England. You meet the other town folk as well who move in and out of the stories. The library offers all 14 books in this series (the latest came out in 2022), as well as the prequel short story and one short story written for a holiday anthology. In the first three books you are mostly introduced to the vamps who are from various time periods in England and there is a mystery in every book. The vampires range from a snarky teen who only wears black to a 500-year-old landed, educated gentleman to a former silent screen star. I thought the series especially picked up at book four. A member of the library’s Just Desserts mystery book group had suggested this series to the group so I gave this a try and thoroughly enjoy the characters and stories. Sarah Zimmerman is the narrator and does an excellent job of voicing each character.

The library offers this series only on Hoopla audio. I recommend you search for “vampire knitting club boxed set.” You’ll get three books per set and will be able to listen to the first nine books in the series while using only three of your four monthly Hoopla downloads. After that, search by title. There is also an off-shoot series, Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the Aunt Dimity by Nancy Atherton.)

 

( official Nancy Warren web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries + Just Desserts meeting later this week

Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
(DVD Miss)

Last month I reviewed “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” on DVD, that take place in the late 1920’s Melbourne, Australia. That series is based on the Phryne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood.

 

Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries is an offshoot and revolves around Miss Fisher’s niece, Peregrine Fisher, in 1960’s Melbourne. Peregrine inherits Phryne’s fortune when she goes missing after crashing in the jungle over New Guinea. Peregrine had never met her aunt and decides to follow in her footsteps to become a private-detective. She makes her way to Phryne’s club, The Adventuresses’ Club, where she is befriended by the other members who thought highly of Phryne.

 

I wasn’t sure I’d take to this series because I’m not that fond of the 1960’s – the color schemes, the furniture, the blatant sexism. But I ended up enjoying the characters, the mysteries, and watching Peregrine take on the challenges of meeting, learning from, and befriending the exceptional women of the Adventuresses’ Club.

Of course our thoroughly modern heroine meets a straitlaced guy, James, who is a police detective (just as her aunt did). He tries to dissuade her from investigating the various murders she encounters but they end up teaming together – against the wishes of his captain.

 

Produced by Acorn, the library owns all of this series on DVD.

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this series )

 

See Charlotte M.’s review of The Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries in the January 2024 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

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If you're a mystery fan, you're invited to join us for this month's Just Desserts meeting this coming Thursday, February 29th, at 6:30 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. -- this mystery-themed discussion group meets on the last Thursday of each month, January through October. Tonight, we'll be discussing the recent thriller The Only One Left by American thriller/suspense author Riley Sager.

 

Even if you haven't read The Only One Left for this specific discussion, you can still participate, and learn about great new mysteries to try! For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Review: The 12 Kittens of Christmas by Amy Lane

The 12 Kittens of Christmas
by Amy Lane (Hoopla eBook only)

Meet Killian Thornton. Works as a bartender at night and enjoys his job, his friends, and his downtown community. Then a friend’s younger brother, Lewis Bernard, is in from out of town and needs a couch to sleep on as he gets back on his feet and considerate Killian offers his.

 

But everywhere Lewis goes, he stumbles across abandoned kittens who need homes. And all the shelters are full (the why of this is explained later in the book). Killian can’t refuse the ever-growing population of sweet kitten faces since the only other option is euthanasia. Soon his apartment looks like a pet shop.

 

Along the way he and Lewis are building a relationship.

 

We also have a short crossover with characters from Lane’s “Fish” series. You will be able to follow the crossover, but it will mean so much more if you are familiar with that series (if not, then begin with book 1, “Fish Out of Water,” Hoopla ebook).

 

Likeable characters with good friends, adorable pets needing homes before Christmas, and an HEA (Happily Ever After). Oh, yes – all the kittens find homes. A fun afternoon’s read.

 

( the official Amy Lane web site – https://greenhills.com – is blocked by the libraries’ security software )

 

See Charlotte M.’s review of Shortbread and Shadows by Amy Lane in the October 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Charlotte M.’s review of An Amy Lane Christmas Bundle in the December 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Charlotte M.’s review of The Mastermind by Amy Lane in the September 2023 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

DVD Review: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries + reminder of the return of the Just Desserts book group

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
(DVD Miss)

This character-driven mystery series takes place in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in the late 1920’s. Produced by Acorn so you know this series is going to be well done between the acting, the sense of place, and the interesting mysteries.

 

The world is still recovering from WWI and Phryne Fisher is new to the wealthy, titled life as her family grew up in poverty. However, due to all the family men dying in the war, the title and wealth passed to her father.

Phryne Fisher surrounds herself with interesting characters as her household help and friends as she gets involved with solving murders everywhere she goes. She believes she’s as capable as any man and should have the same rights and privileges. So you can imagine how she buts heads with the local authorities — who never appreciate a private individual involved in crime-solving anyway.

 

Based on the Phryne Fisher novels by Kerry Greenwood, Lincoln City Libraries owns all of the books, including the most recent one released this year (2023). LCL has all three of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series, and the standalone movie, “Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears.”

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Heat of the Sun, from Masterpiece Theatre’s Mystery series, vol 1-3.)

 

(Books in this series are also available in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this series ) | ( official Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries web site )

See Scott C.’s review of the first season of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries in the June 2014 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

---

If you're a mystery fan, you're invited to join us for this month's Just Desserts meeting this coming Thursday, January 25th, at 6:30 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. -- this mystery-themed discussion group meets on the last Thursday of each month, January through October. Tonight, in our 2024 season premiere, we'll be discussing the body of works of contemporary American thriller/suspense author Allison Brennan.

 

Even if you haven't read anything by Brennan for this specific discussion, you can still participate, and learn about great new mysteries to try! For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Review: Ten Word Tiny Tales to Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho

Ten Word Tiny Tales to Inspire and Unsettle
by Joseph Coelho (jP Coelho)

The 2022-2024 United Kingdom Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, wrote twenty 10-word mini-stories in this picture book and had illustrator friends come up with their artistic idea of what he was writing. Some came up with scary or weird drawings, but many of the stories could also have been the beginning of cool adventures. Either way, a story in 10-words is a fascinating idea.

 

He encourages you to think of your own 10-word stories and offers creative suggestions to get yourself there. His sample story was “He’s in every photo of me, in the shadows smiling” a 10-word story that definitely has Twilight Zone shadings. I also liked “The Venus Flytrap keeps edging closer to Grandma’s favorite chair” (maybe Grandma had recently died and the flytrap wanted a close connection to something of hers). Definitely eerie – “We buried her on Wednesday, again on Thursday, and Friday.”

 

At the end of the book, he offers suggestions on how to lengthen your 10-word story if you wish.

 

This was an interesting collection of 10-word tales. Even though this is a picture book, I would aim this toward the 1st-5th grade age group.

 

Following the author’s suggestion, I wrote my own 10-word story – “Alone in the dark house, I heard a muffled sneeze.”

 

( publisher’s official Ten Word Tiny Tales web site ) | ( official www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com web site )

Read Scott C’s review of It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs From Authors Famous and Obscure in the July 2010 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Jules

Jules
(DVD Jules)

One night Milton (Ben Kingsley) hears loud splintering sounds in his backyard. He goes out to check and finds a space alien has crash landed in his flower beds.

 

Milton (Ben Kingsley) is a retired widower living alone in the family home. He’s having memory issues that are probably developing into some kind of dementia and potentially a loss of his independence. His daughter wants him to move out of the house as she recognizes he needs assistance, but he is refusing to do so, and their relationship is shaky at best. He also doesn’t get along all that well with his senior neighbors.

 

Jules is a sweet, quiet, personal film about three lonely senior citizens who end up banding together to aid a space alien — who is now named Jules. All three seniors are struggling in some way as they become friends while they realize The Government is searching for Jules. They work together to assist the alien in trying to escape from the Men in Black. Low-key yet also poignant and humorous.

 

Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley stars as Milton, with Jane Curtin as Joyce, and Tony Award winner Harriet Harris as Sandy. At only 87 min, this is still a film that will stay with you. An alien film that doesn’t require battles and explosions – more “E.T.” than “Alien.”

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Making It So by Patrick Stewart

Making It So
by Patrick Stewart (Biography Stewart)

This autobiography is not simply for Trekkies or fans of the X-Men franchises. This well-written autobiography covers Stewart’s life from a young boy living in astonishing poverty with a violent father, to his interest in stage plays, to getting some semi-regular work in plays and working his way up to more prestigious playhouses, to eventually the pinnacle of Shakespeare playhouses — Royal Shakespeare Company.

 

At RSC he finally had regular work at a decent income, and was able to play many characters in Shakespeare’s plays for over 15 years. He mentions veteran and current actors and actresses that fans of British TV, American TV, and movies will recognize. With RSC he was able to travel the world and work with his idols and I enjoyed those stories.

 

Then came along Star Trek: The Next Generation and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. ‘Everyone’ said it would last only a year. They offered an astonishing amount of money so he decided he could give them a year of his life. Well, we know how that went. His insider stories of fellow actors, several of whom became dear friends, were humorous and interesting as the stage actor had to learn to navigate the television world.

 

When he finished “The Next Generation” he was eager to jump into Shakespeare again but was offered the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies. His thoughts at the time? “No more fantasy. No more sci-fi. I’m done with that.” But, his involvement in the movies is when he and Ian McKellen became best of friends. And a movie franchise allowed him to continue his beloved work in his Shakespeare plays whereas a weekly television contract did not.

 

His writing is eloquent as he pulls you into of his stories and experiences. As any good biography has there are photos in the middle of the book. And I admit to re-listening to my copy of his A Christmas Carol audio performance while washing up Thanksgiving dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

 

( publisher’s official Making It So web site ) | ( Wikipedia page for Patrick Stewart — Sir Patrick Stewart has official accounts on Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram and more… )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

The Road to Roswell
by Connie Willis (Willis)

Francie travels to Roswell, New Mexico to act as Maid of Honor for Serena, her former college roommate. Problem is, Russell (the groom), is a dyed-in-the-wool UFO zealot. Even the wedding has a UFO theme. Another problem? Serena has a tendency to pick the wrong kind of guy and Francie is actually planning to do everything she can to convince Serena to cancel the wedding.

 

The Best Man, Larry, author of “The Survivor’s Guide to Alien Abduction” – because, yes, he claims to have been abducted twice – was supposed to have picked her up from the airport but leaves her stranded there because there was a UFO sighting so he and Russell are going to check it out.

 

This is also the anniversary of the Roswell crash, which is why the groom chose this date for the wedding. As a result, Roswell is overflowing with Ufologists and other UFO fan(atic)s so finding a rental car and getting to the wedding site were major logistical issues but she finally makes it.

 

Francie can’t wait to disrupt the wedding plans and get back home to rational people. Until she’s abducted by a space alien.

 

This is an intelligent, witty, hysterical story that plays out to a logical ending that includes many of the UFO, Men in Black, and alien abduction stories. This is best if you are a fan of vintage Westerns and have at least a superficial knowledge of UFO’s and kidnapping stories. Even if you don’t, this is still an intricate, well-told story.

 

( official Connie Willis web site/blog )

 

Read past Library Director Pat Leach’s review of Connie Willis’ novel Bellwether in her fiction review blog in January 2010!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Be the Bus - The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon by Mo Willems

Be the Bus: The Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon
by Mo Willems (817 Wil)

A humorous adult book of aphorisms and comments from The Pigeon of the children’s picture book series Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. No surprise, he’s either the victim or the hero in these sayings as the pigeon just cannot understand why he’s not allowed to drive the bus:

 

A sample of his comments:

‘Genius is seldom recognized. THAT is why I wear a name tag.’
‘Dropped food is gravity’s way of sharing.’

 

And a sample of his other planned books:
‘You’re Okay, I’m Awesome’
‘Speed: An Analysis of Cinema’s Greatest Achievement’

 

A quick, funny read that is satisfying. Be sure to read the introduction by The (long-suffering) Bus Driver.

 

If you’re unfamiliar with The Pigeon and curious about the books, be sure to read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld, or Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections from a Grim Reaper’s Yearlong Sabbatical by Brian Rea.)

 

( official Be the Bus page on the official Mo Willems web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Audiobook Review: Taxes and TARDIS by N.R. Walker

Taxes and TARDIS
by N.R. Walker (Hoopla Audio)

Brent Kelly is a self-employed San Antonio electrician who takes his tax info in to his accountant every year in a shoebox. But this year she is out for a prolonged illness and he’s now assigned to Logan.

 

Logan Willis, a soft-spoken guy originally from Britain, is your typical geek – black glasses, socially awkward, completely mystified by sports, but also a big Dr. Who fan. He’d initially thought the previous accountant had been exaggerating about the shoebox.

 

This would make a good Hallmark romance. A low-angst story – with one big misunderstanding – that you know will work out by the end. You watch the two figure it all out over Dr. Who, Torchwood, pizza, and pool, meet some of their friends, watch Brent rescue Logan’s sister when the electricity at her bookstore has an issue, and the epilogue is perfect.

 

Nick Russo, the narrator, does a fine job with both Brent’s soft Texas accent and Logan’s British speech. An easy, sweet romance at only 3-hours/9-min.

 

( official N.R. Walker web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Grace From the Rubble: Two Father's Road to Reconciliation After the Oklahoma City Bombing by Jeanne Bishop

Grace From the Rubble: Two Fathers’ Road to Reconciliation After the Oklahoma City Bombing
by Jeanne Bishop (976.6 Bis)

This book walks you back through the events of the April 19, 1995 bombing and aftermath of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City through the eyes of two parents — the father of one of the victims and the father of Timothy McVeigh, the bomber. This is considered the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history with the killing of 168 people including 19 children.

 

The author reiterates all the events of that day and the search for survivors, re-igniting all the feelings one had that day, so be prepared. We also follow the fathers as they reconcile how their children were part of that day.

I thought this would be the story of how the fathers met shortly after the bombing and how they came to recognize that each was a victim. Instead, the fathers didn’t meet until much later, and by then they each had reconciled their losses, and McVeigh’s father learned the other father did not blame him.

 

Overall, this was an interesting story of behind-the-scenes of two of the victims as they try to move on with their lives.

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Audiobook Review: Tallowwood by N.R. Walker

Tallowwood
by N.R. Walker with audio narration by Anthony Ferguson (Hoopla Audio)

This is a well-done mystery with a decade’s long serial killer, and a slow romance between the main characters that takes place in New South Wales, Australia.

 

Sydney Detective August Shaw works the cold cases for his police department and has had some success in closing a few. But he has not been able to resolve a string of apparent suicides that he believes could be Australia’s worst serial killer. Then Senior Constable Jacob Porter, from (fictional) Tallowwood, calls with a death similar to those suicides, and the victim is a police officer. Porter is an indigenous officer who grew up in Tallowwood and loves his job, but this death has initially shaken him. This provides Shaw with the excuse he needs to continue his search for the serial killer.

 

The author weaves us a good tale as we follow clues and dead-ends, and perhaps obstruction, along the way. The slow-burn, quiet romance between Shaw and Porter is a given, though you wonder with Shaw’s roots in Sydney and Porter’s ties to Tallowwood how this will all work out. I love an epilogue and everything is sewn up there very nicely.

 

Antony Ferguson, the reader, does an excellent job with each character, and gives us Australian accents that are understandable to U.S. English-speakers. If you intend to binge this book, give yourself 10 hours and 13 minutes to do so.

 

( official N.R. Walker web site )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: From the Earth to the Moon

From the Earth to the Moon

(DVD From)

 

I first saw this award-winning mini-series on HBO (had to first subscribe then I unsubscribed as soon as this series was over). Each segment aired weekly and I was in front of my TV with my VCR recording each one. When the DVD came out I bought that version as well. I was surprised to see no one at the library had yet reviewed this excellent series.

 

Based on A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin, this is one of my favorite shows about the space program, and mostly covers the Apollo Program. Each episode, introduced by Tom Hanks (except for the final one), is about a specific segment of the space race to the moon beginning with President Kennedy’s speech through the last of the Apollo flights. Along the way we learn about building the lunar lander (“Spider”) – this was so fascinating, personal, and humorous, who knew we’d care? – and a segment from the wives’ perspectives (“The Original Wives Club”).

 

The final disc is Bonus Material: the original trailers, Behind-the-Scenes, Special Effects, JFK’s speech, History of the Moon, interesting facts about space beyond our solar system, and famous astronomers.

 

The performances are excellent and they draw you right into the various stories. The soundtrack is ideal and sets the tone as well. If you decide to binge this in one sitting, set aside 12 hours (not including the Bonus disc).

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Apollo 13.)

 

(Also available — the Chaikin book that inspired this, in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this series )

 

See the One Small Step booklist on BookGuide, featuring a massive list of materials — fiction and non-fiction — about the Apollo program!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Mastermind by Amy Lane

The Mastermind

by Amy Lane (Hoopla)

 

The Mastermind is the first book in the Long Con series by Amy Lane. It features recurring characters, a “Leverage” TV show type of criminal activity, a gay romance in each book, and created family.

 

In this book, Danny and Felix meet as young men in their late teens/early twenties, and grift and thieve their way through parts of Europe – but they only steal from those who can afford the loss, as a way to survive, and to right any wrongs.

 

This book alternates between the past and current times. In the past, we learn about Danny, Felix, and how they met Julia — and how the three of them create a family without her abusive father learning the truth about her son. In current times, a now-media magnate Felix is facing false accusations that he must defend himself against. By now son Josh has created his own thieving crew and becomes involved in the behind-the-scenes machinations to prove Felix’s innocence.

 

Aside from the romance between Felix and Danny — and their reunion and efforts to patch up their relationship — watching the crew put together the sting to clear Felix was fun to watch and satisfying. I will admit this is not my favorite of the series, but it provides background on the characters for the future installments.

 

The rest of the series (The Muscle, The Driver, The Suit, and The Tech) are also available as ebooks on the library’s Hoopla app. The newest title The Face Man is coming out October 31, but it’s unknown if the library will acquire it immediately.

 

If you’re seeking a fun, angst-filled, exciting story of a group of friends who have become family and work undercover on their own to play Robin Hood, you should enjoy this series.

 

( official Amy Lane web site — https://greenshill.com/ )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to 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 reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

(DVD 791.457 StaYc)

 

The Center Seat is a documentary on nearly everything Star Trek. Behind-the-scenes stories of its creator, Gene Roddenberry, the producers, writers, cast, the props, and the scripts. Some stories we have heard before, other stories we’ve heard from “those in the know” from their Facebook posts or from chatting with them at conventions, and others are new. Some are in-depths tales of how this all came about. So many interviews with cast, crew, producers, writers, and directors. Narrated by Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the Next Gen movies) this is a fully encompassing, fascinating story of the history of Star Trek as each series and movie is discussed in-depth.

 

If you decide to binge this (as I ended up doing), set aside almost nine hours. Otherwise, each episode is approximately 45 min in length.

 

The final disc consists of uncut interviews with Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, and Kirstie Alley. I began watching the bonus episodes, but I ended up quitting before the end of Nimoy’s interview as the info had already been covered on the previous discs. Your mileage may vary.

 

Definitely for Star Trek fans, especially those who’ve watched all the series and the movies.

 

Four discs, 11 episodes plus three Bonus Interviews:

Disc One

1. Lucy Loves Trek
2. Saturday Morning Pinks
3. Trekking Through the ‘70’s – Phase II and The Motion Picture
4. Trek Goes to the Movies

 

Disc Two

5. Whales, Gods, and Pepto Bismol
6. Queue for Q
7. Dancing with Syndication in the Pale Moonlight
8. Voyage(r) to the Delta Quadrant

 

Disc Three

9. It’s Been a Long Time…
10. Starships A-Z
11. The Stars Above

 

Disc Four (Bonus Material)

Leonard Nimoy Interview (Uncut)
Nichelle Nichols Interview (Uncut)
Kirstie Alley Interview (Uncut)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this 2021-2022 series )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched 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 reviewer’s recommendations!