Staff Recommendations
Pages
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Soup for Syria : recipes to celebrate our shared humanity
by Massaad, Barbara Abdeni, compiler, photographer.
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 23, 2016
Call Number: 641.71 M414
This book evolved out of trips made by writer and photographer Barbara Abdeni Massaad to Syrian refugee camps forty-five minutes from her apartment in the Bekka Valley, Lebanon. At least once a week, during the winter of 2014-2015, she put food in the trunk of her car for numerous refugee camps in Lebanon. There were many who shared her dismay and concern for 3.8 million people who have been displaced throughout the region and live in temporary camps, in need of food and shelter. She enlisted the help of world food writers, chefs and others who love to cook. Everyone... Read Full Review
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Every heart a doorway
by McGuire, Seanan.
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabMay 16, 2016
When you were a kid did you ever wish that you could find a magic door that would whisk you away to somewhere stranger and better than your ordinary life? The kind of place where, against all odds, you fit in and made a difference? The kind of place where you had a chance at a new and wonderful life? It happens to children in fantasy novels all the time. They get new worlds full of adventure, and magic, and friendship. Then they have to come back here. As a reader, it is a let down. But imagine how it feels for the child, going to all the effort of building a new life and then losing it... Read Full Review
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Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture
by Gee, Stephen
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMay 4, 2016
Call Number: 027.47949 L881Ge
Last Friday, April 29, 2016 was the 30th anniversary of the fire at Central Library. The remembrance of that day, and its significance in the history of the library, was admirably covered by the Library Docents, and by Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection. Last week also marked the arrival of a significant new book about the Central... Read Full Review
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In the country of last things
by Auster, Paul, 1947-
Reviewed by: Bennett Rankin, Central LibraryApril 21, 2016
Dystopian fiction, ranging from George Orwell’s classic 1984 to the modern day phenomenon of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, typically conjures up images of oppressive regimes subverting the spirit of the common people in pursuit of some greater, yet ultimately insidious purpose. A meager resistance force struggles to overthrow this regime and restore peace, freedom, and love to these rigid, heartless worlds. Sometimes the resistance gets to wear fashionable neoprene bodysuits in wildly successful movie franchises. Sometimes things are much bleaker, and monochrome... Read Full Review
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Wake of vultures
by Bowen, Lila.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryApril 13, 2016
Nettie Lonesome is an unlikely hero. She’s half Native American, and half African American with no idea of her past or her people. She dresses and acts like a boy to avoid the hellish treatment she sees perpetrated on women, young and old, in the tiny town of Gloomy Bluebird in the Durango territory. While she bristles at the label of slave, that is exactly how Mam and Papp treat her, and she dreams of someday working as a hired hand, breaking and taming horses, on a ranch far away. The stranger that wandered onto the farm in the middle of the night seemed normal enough. And he seemed to... Read Full Review
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These vicious masks
by Shanker, Tarun.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryApril 1, 2016
Call Number: YA
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the term “superhero” dates back to at least 1917, and there are many characters from folklore, like Robin Hood, The Scarlet Pimpernel or Dr. Syn, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh that predate the term. Like Batman, these heroes have no extraordinary powers. Instead, they rely upon their skill, cunning, training, the wearing of distinctive clothing, generally a costume that includes a mask and a cape, and, of course, having a secret identity to protect themselves and their loved ones. The idea of a super-powered superhero came to the fore in the... Read Full Review
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Consider the fork : a history of how we cook and eat
by Wilson, Bee.
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabMarch 29, 2016
Call Number: 643.309 W746
In the library we have vegetarian cookbooks and barbecue cookbooks. We have French cookbooks and microwave cookbooks. We have cookbooks by famous chefs and famous musicians. Almost anything you’ve ever wanted to serve at a meal, we have cookbooks that will help you make those foods. But why do we cook the way we do? What influences the way you make a breakfast slice of toast or cup of coffee?
Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork, has the answer. It isn’t simply ingredients or culture that shapes food choices. She tells us that the way we cook, the technology we... Read Full Review
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This old man : all in pieces
by Angell, Roger.
Reviewed by: David B., Librarian, InfoNowMarch 21, 2016
Call Number: 818 A583
Roger Angell, America's senior man of letters, returns with a collection of pieces culled from The New Yorker. Angell was a long time fiction editor and baseball columnist for the magazine. He writes gracefully about the ravages of old age, and the pleasant memories of the past which keep him going after losing his wife and daughter. Angell's mother, Katherine White, and stepfather, E.B. White, both wrote for The New Yorker. Katherine White was the magazine's first fiction editor. E.B. White was a mentor for Angell when he was budding young writer... Read Full Review
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In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin
Reviewed by: Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & FictionMarch 12, 2016
Call Number: 940.5472437 I355
This book is of special interest for Women’s Heritage Month, and in reference to the exhibit at Central Library, State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda.The subject matter of this book does not directly or completely address Nazi propaganda, but does so partially and in an oblique way.The setting was Terezin, a concentration camp which also was a transit center, with one section created as "a paradise ghetto" for propaganda, and at the very end as a death factory... Read Full Review
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Illuminae
by Kaufman, Amie.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryFebruary 22, 2016
Call Number: YA
When Kady Grant got up in the morning, she thought breaking up with her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Ezra Mason, would be the most eventful thing to happen. Living on Kerenza IV, an illegal mining colony on the edge of the universe and farthest from anything exciting means routine is the norm. And then the ships came thundering out of the sky, bombing the mine and destroying anything else they could target. As upset with Ezra as she is, Kady can’t leave him to die at their school. The two of them take her truck to get away. She wants to go to the hospital where her mom is a Doctor. Ezra wants to... Read Full Review
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All the Birds in the Sky
by Anders, Charlie
Reviewed by: Andrea Borchert, Librarian, Koreatown Media LabFebruary 14, 2016
All the birds in the sky is a slightly dystopian, romantic, comedic bildungsroman wrapped in a rich, creamy sci-fi, fantasy wrapper. It has everything you need from urban fantasy and science fiction: artificial intelligence, talking cats, great dialogue, flying, nerd parties, magic schools, doomsday machines, time travel, assassins posing as guidance counselors, riddles, loneliness, and love. The story, told in a series of flashbacks and in the present, follows two lonely kids: Laurence, who builds his own time machine and wears it on his wrist (it’s less useful than you... Read Full Review
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A Gathering of Shadows
by Schwab, Victoria.
Reviewed by: Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch LibraryFebruary 1, 2016
In A darker shade of magic Victoria Schwab presented Kell and Lila set within their worlds of four different Londons. The magic and adventure continue in this sequel.
It has been four months since the Black Night, when the rulers of White London attempted to take over Red London, leaving chaos and casualties in the wake of the attack. While Kell saved the kingdom from this threat, he is also blamed for what happened. Once a trusted member of the royal family, he is now viewed with suspicion, doubt,... Read Full Review