Huntington Public Library Adult Reading Challenge

  A great memoir from great actor Al Pacino ! This page turner shows him from a young boy who came from nothing on his rise to stardom! His hard fight to remain in the career changing film The Godfather is just one of this book's highlights a great story from a great actor

This book describes the life of a CIA spy and it is not what you would think it would be. Lindsay describes it a lonely, soul-breaking job. In reading the book, it seems as if she is disillusioned with her job almost immediately. She describes often that she thought it would be like in the movies, scaling walls or ziplining from building to building. In reality, she spent most of her time in her car, driving around making sure she was not being followed and trying to recruit "assets." As a case officer, she was considered the upper echelon of the CIA, although she describes almost every aspect of the "company" as sexist and chauvinistic. After 9/11, she became further disillusioned, feeling that the company had let the United States down. Not surprisingly, she left the CIA, although that was not an easy process either.

  The book takes you through different stages of the vacation process. She walks you through cruises and how to find a quiet place on a large ship, how to find a good table and poolside chair. She also suggests different types of vacations that may make a solo traveler feel safe

  Blogger and James Beard Award winner shares her thoughts on the intertwining relationship amongst food, feminism and fury. Cleverly titled essays fill the memoir with thought provoking topics, leaving the reader hungry for a good meal and a bit of debate.

  I found this book in the library, and felt it was worth a read. It is written by a local (Lives in Huntington) author, who saw the historical society sign while jogging. The book is about the crime committed in 1872 in Huntington. A farmer, and sometimes poet was tarred and feathered, and murdered by locals in the town. The victims sister, Cathleen, works especially hard to get to the truth of what happened to her brother. I found it a fascinating subject, and did do additional reading after finishing the book. My only critique would be that the author did not use the name of Huntington in her book, changing it to Huntoria instead.

 This is a beautiful Christian self-help guidebook on "unveiling the mystery of a woman's soul.' It has many uplifting, therapeutic, and spirit-filled moments that I could identify with and help my own feminine self heal. It would make a great woman's bible study guide.

  A detailed account of the rise of the worlds greatest investor. A riveting read regarding the development, methodology and growth of one of the true great Americans. I found this story engaging and could not put the book down.

A creative exploration of how we understand God in terms of gender and sexuality, and how this does not have to be limited to a binary view. This is a great book of expanding ones horizons and exploring a different perspective from the traditional one.

  Marji is a young Iranian girl living with her parents during the Islamic Revolution. Her inner rebel grows as she becomes a teenager, but she is constantly dealt blows as friends and family are killed by bombings or captured by secret police. This autobiographical work cuts to the core and shows the dangers of radical fundamentalism and the importance of maintaining oneself in times of adversity.

  The central thesis of this book is that the paired impact of over protecting our children in the physical world (which Haidt says began sometime in the 1980s) and failing to protect them enough in the digital world (he points to 2010-2015 as the moment when this really occurred) have resulted in the mental health crisis that currently plagues the young people of this country. He offers extensive graphs to support these shifts and likewise sites significant research to show the outcomes going as far as to indicate a causal relationship between a "phone-based childhood" and increased incidence of both clinical anxiety and ADHD. Haidt puts forth 4 major negative impacts of the phone-based childhood - social deprivation, sleep deprivation, fragmented attention, & addiction. Haidt also lays out the different impacts that the phone-based childhood + safteyism have had on girls and boys pointing to social media as the main culprits in hurting girls and porn & video games a...

  This parenting book starts by laying out the author's core beliefs about parenting and then applies them to some of the most common parenting woes. At the center of all of her ideas is the idea that we're all "Good Inside" - that both parents and children are doing they best they can with the tools they have. She further centers connection and empathy paired with clear roles as the structures that allow for an approach to parenting that ideally feels less fraught for all involved. I really enjoyed this book. I've read a number of parenting books over the years, and this is the first that didn't include any advice that made me cringe (either for being too rigid or too wishy washy). Not every example was applicable to my home and my family, but it wasn't a stretch to see how even those might be adjusted for our specific set of circumstances. It also felt so good to read a book that truly offered no judgement, but truly embodied the empathy that it espoused...

This is a very interesting book written by an acclaimed former NYT journalist. This case received nationwide attention when 4 college students from the University of Idaho were viciously murdered in a seemingly random attack, and very few updates have been released to the public after a sole suspect was arrested a little over a month after the murders occurred in November 2022. Howard Blum's investigative research on this case is impressive, and there is a lot of information he obtained from speaking with people close to the victims, suspect, and law enforcement directly working on the case that was previously unknown to the public. For anyone who is a fan of true crime, or simply interested in this particular case, I highly recommend picking up this book. Blum's writing style and ability to bring this case down to an intimate & personable level will keep any reader enthralled.  

 Interesting read. Despicable person but unbelievable of all he did. Pretty quick read.

  Sad but true past and present reports of how Jewish history is being exploited to make the living feel more comfortable.

 This is a smart spiritual book to study the great desert monastics spiritual life and how it still applies to modern life. It is filled with ancient wisdom, helpful even today. This was a powerful read! Very real and applicable to our daily struggles and being aware of social injustices. I want to read more of her books.

Essentially the Dave Ramsey doctrine in the voice of a millennial. It makes breaks down budgeting and wise spending in a way that's entertaining and engaging. I'm glad that there's a fresh voice to the Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps so that it's more accessible to younger generations.  

  This book invites us into the stories of 5 different people and their therapy sessions with the author. If you were drawn in by Educated, you will definitely like this book. The lengths that people can go to heal after very tragic lives is truly inspiring.

 If you're interested in learning about games, this is the book!  From Chess to Trivial Pursuit, the author details the history and social science of popular past times. Crack open for a behind the scenes peek at some of the nation's trendy and enduring favorite classics.

This short book is a spiritual practice book of sincere, true, and real advice of practicing being closer to God. it is sweet and valuable. it has letters written that explore life's challenges, but with God and faith, our walks will be lighter.

  It's a light-hearted book for moms and soon-to-be moms. I recommend because chapters are short and very funny. You can pick it up and put it down whenever.