Huntington Public Library Adult Reading Challenge

The second part of Marjane Satrapi's memoir follows her life in Austria as a student before moving back to Iran after the end of the war. Satrapi shares how her culture shock affected her life in both countries and her attempts to carve her own way.  

  This book was darker than I thought it would be. Pacing was kind of an issue, and the ending wrapped up really fast. But I felt a lot of tension in several scenes, which kept me invested. This book reads more like a thriller.

 A beautiful re-telling of Cupid and Psyche from the older sister's point of view. The book gives the reader a lot to think about and touches on the meaning of religion, love, and family.

  This book is a sequel to the highly acclaimed "Brooklyn" (which was later filmed starring Saoirse Ronan). I had not read the first, but loved the movie and an NPR interview with the author prompted me to read "Long Island". A wonderful cast of flawed characters both here and among those she left behind in Ireland. Definitely a page turner.

  A super cute read and perfect for the summer time! January and Gus are both writers and are struggling on finding the right words to write on paper. They are also afraid of love but find love with in each other. January has been going through a rough time as both of her parents passed away and also finding out a devastating secret her Father was keeping from her. Gus helps her along the way and in the end they both finally realize where they belong, Gus was my favorite character as he always was a bit goofy and found ways to make January laugh, truly be happy and find herself again. If your looking for a cute summer read this is the perfect book for you!

  This is a fabulous story about the mixed race children left in Viet Nam by American soldiers who abandoned the children and their mothers. It is written from the perspective of one of the children, but also from the perspective of the women and one particular American soldier who is trying to find his child.

  This book was excellent. It admittedly took some time to get into because the narrator is so unlikable - a fact that the author talks about in interviews. The questions it raises about who has the right to tell which stories, what we owe the dead, and to what extent ideas and art belong the artist make it well worth it to push through. The look into the publishing world and the extent to which bestsellers are chosen before they sell their first copy is also fascinating though it seems obvious once pointed out. Juniper Song misrepresents both herself and her work. This book follows her as she interacts with her friends, publishes a best seller, is found out as a fraud, and rationalizes every choice along the way. Simultaneously, we come to know parts of Athena Lu - a young and brilliant writer who dies early in her career. Which of the women is more virtuous? More morally bankrupt?

  This is the book if you have ever wanted to know what it’s like to live on a space station.

  A well written and keen insight into aging and being pushed out of a job.. not a happy or up book ..well worth reading.

  This is Bohjalian's newest novel; it's much like a mystery: who killed the hotel owners? who killed the "princess's" new boyfriend? who are all these crypto currency bigwigs? This book is told in three voices: Crissy, her sister Betsy, and Marisa, Betsy's newly adopted 13 year old. I found the "voices" quite authentic, even in the artificial atmosphere of Las Vegas. I do miss the Vermont settings of many of Bohjalian's books.

  This book should be required reading for every American. This book is an important look at the life of an individual slave, slavery as an institution, the plight of women slaves, and our nation’s first ever first family. The book is compellingly written and keeps you reading on in breathless anticipation, despite the fact that we already know how this story goes. But for me, I found it gave me a better visceral understanding of this shameful piece of our nation’s history. Ona Judge’s courage and will to live on her own terms is amazing as it is inspiring. And I don’t believe I’ll ever look at the Washingtons in the same light again.

  This book is a story of one woman’s poignant mediation on the life experience, consciousness and ability to commune with other species. Sy Montgomery embarks on a journey to meet and learn about octopuses and winds up falling in love with the species. The author writes and easy to read first person narrative of her experiences and journey into relationships with various octopuses at an aquarium. She isn’t alone. There are other unique individuals who all are enamored with aquatic life and the octopus specifically and they form a community. Montgomery gives some interesting scientific facts about the octopus so you learn all the basics about how they work and function, based upon what we know of them. But mostly the story is about the relationships she forms with them and the other humans in this group. Her enthusiasm leads her to learn to scuba and view octopuses in the wild which is a whole journey. An interesting and engaging read.

  This is a beautifully written historical novel of colonial Victorian England. Through a rich tapestry of characters that include well known ones like Charles Dickens, Zadie Smith narrates an account of a court case involving a so-called heir to a noble fortune that had been thought to have perished in a shipwreck. I read the ebook format that was helpful in looking up unfamiliar terms and historical events.

 I picked up this book on the library's new-release shelf, being a fan of Gordon's podcast, "Maintenance Phase," and I'm so glad I  did. This book shatters anti-fatness narratives that are so prevalent in society and challenged me to examine my own internalized biases. Backed by solid research and smart writing, this book is a must-read.

Wow! What a book! Quick, easy read with so very much to say about WWII. I was surprised by the ending and also saddened by the truth. 

 Loved this book! It's exciting and tells a great story about Southern Appalachia. Easy read.

  In this short novella, a young woman looks back to when her mother brought home a crane who dressed like a man. Kelly Barnhill gives her twist on the story of the Crane Wife, exploring the lives of the children of a woman obsessed. Great story, only 120 pages long.

  Holy moly! This book was a recommendation from a colleague and I was skeptical because the premise seems so obvious, but the depth of research and statistics from Criado-Perez shocked me time and time again as I read. She explores everything from how city planning limits women's financial mobility to the impact of not having female crash-test dummies. If there was ever a convincing argument for why representation matters, this book is it.

  I picked this book up on a whim and was very happy that I did. This is an amazing look inside teachers lives both in and out of school. While I did go into this knowing that teachers are overworked and underappreciated I was still jarred by some of the statistics and facts throughout this book. I am privileged to have grown up in and lived in an area with an amazing, thriving school system. This was an eye opening book on how life is like in many schools across America. I think this is must read for anyone but especially people who want to become educators or even people who have children currently in the education system.