A List of Adult Graphic Novels

Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson
Goodbye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes
Perdida by Jessica Abel

To find these books please visit http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Adult Graphic Novels Arrive

Graphic novels are the new genre. What are they? They look like bound comic books, but the definition is that the work needs to be of substantial length and be understood as a single work. Much of the growth and popularity of this genre is due to the Japanese graphic novels known as "manga" that often were about superheroes/groups and their adventures. There is now a growing number of graphic novels just for adults that go beyond the superheros. They include autobiographies, historical dramas and first hand documentary journalism. Come in and look over our new collection.

Brooklyn: A Novel

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin

Eilis Lacey has come to age in a small town of Ireland in the years following World War II. She lives in the shadow of her older sister Rose who works and seems to have her life in order. Life is not exciting and there is little opportunity for work or love. Eilis is offered a chance to go to America to "better her situation" by Father Flood and agrees to the opportunity. The story line follows her life in Brooklyn as she adjusts to being Irish in America, a job and living in a boarding house with 5 other Irish girls. . She attends dances, helps at the church and studies for her bookkeeping courses and along the way meets a handsome Italian man, Tony. When a family crisis calls her back to Ireland she must decide whether to return to America or stay and continue to live out her mother's and community's expectations.

For those readers who enjoy a book written about the thoughts and feelings of the main character, this book is for them. The book does not move fast and has little plot or tension. It does give a nice rendition of the New York area following the war.

To find this title in our library go to our website at: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

This review was written by Denise

Animals Make us Humans

Animals Make us Human, Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin

Dogs are the only animals that can follow a person's gaze or pointing finger to find out where a piece of food is hidden. Cats have social needs (they aren't the loners we think they are). Cows establish close relationships with their sisters and mothers. Dolphins and whales are multicultural.

Acclaimed animal scientist/author Temple Grandin is a person with autism and a unique ability to understand how animals think. In her latest book, Animals Make us Human, she focuses on how to create the best life for animals - domestic and wild. Grandin explains that a good life needs three things: health, freedom from pain and negative emotions and activities that turn on seeking and play. Even if you believe you know a lot about animals, this book will surprise and intrigue you. I highly recommend it!

To find this book in the Library, go to our website at http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Reviewed by S. Easterly

A Reliable Wife

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

This novel, about a rich man in 1907 Wisconsin who advertises for a wife, is not what I expected. I guess no one in the book, wealthy Ralph Truitt or his mail order bride Catherine Land, got what they expected either. Set just outside a little town rife with madness, the plot develops with twists, turns and a lot of (not very explicit) sex. The Washington Post called this "a bizarre tale of forgiveness", and I guess it is. I liked it a lot.

To find this book in the Library, go to our website at www.newberglibrary.org

Reviewed by Jean S.

The Little Stranger

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I love unreliable narrators! At least, I think he was unreliable. This is a gothic novel set in a decaying English country house just before World War II. The narrator, Dr. Farraday, whose mother was once a maid at the house, gets called to the house to care for a sick maid and gradually becomes emeshed with the impoverished family who is barely able to keep the house running. There's a sort of mystery at the core as major and minor tragedies overtake the house and the family. This is a long book, but the kind of book that rolls along in the best gothic brooding tradition.

To find this book in the Library to our website at www. newberglibrary.org

Reviewed by Jean S.