Book Review-The Rosie Effect

After reading a lot of serious books I was ready for something light and humorous, so I downloaded The Rosie Effect (or here for the eaudiobook).
What fun!  I was laughing before the first chapter ended.  Don is a professor of genetics from Australia who is currently working in NYC.  His wife, Rosie, also from Australia, is in school working on her MD and PhD.  Don is a little different-he most likely has Asperger's Syndrome-which gets him into some unusual situations.  He is fully aware of his social shortcomings and works hard to overcome them.  He and Rosie are quite happy.  Until...Rosie announces she is pregnant.  Don is shocked because he thought they would plan when to get pregnant.  His surprise sets in motion a complex chain of events.
I liked this book because of the humor, but also because of how Don is protrayed.  He is very analytical and a good problem solver, but he also is open to learning from his mistakes and didn't seem to take things personally.  I thought Rosie should have taken Don's quirks into account more than she did, but other than that, it was a fun book.

What to read while waiting for...

Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive By Sanderson, Brandon 2017-11 - Tor Books 9780765326379 Check Our Catalog In the third volume of Sanderson's New York Times-bestselling series, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance. …More

Are you patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for that best seller?  Here are some suggestions.

The Savage Dawn By Grey, Melissa 2017-07 - Delacorte Press 9780385744690 Check Our Catalog The series that began with the book Danielle Paige, author of Dorothy Must Die, called "inventive, gorgeous, and epic" comes to its thrilling conclusion. "Catnip for fans of Cassandra Clare." --BookPage.com on The Girl at Midnight The sides have been chosen and the battle lines drawn. Echo awakened the Firebird. Now she is the …More

A Plague of Giants By Hearne, Kevin 2017-10 - Del Rey Books 9780345548603 Check Our Catalog From the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles, a thrilling novel that kicks off a fantasy series with an entirely new mythology--complete with shape-shifting bards, fire-wielding giants, and children who can speak to astonishing beasts MOTHER AND WARRIOR Tallynd is a soldier who has already survived her toughest battle: losing her husband. But now she …More

The Four Legendary Kingdoms By Reilly, Matthew 2017-05 - Gallery Books 9781501167157 Check Our Catalog The thrilling new novel featuring Jack West, Jr. from the New York Times and #1 international bestselling author A RUTHLESS KIDNAPPING Jack West, Jr. and his family are living happily on their remote farm when Jack is brutally kidnapped and he awakes in an underground cell to find a masked attacker with a knife charging at him. THE GREAT GAMES Jack, it seems, …More

Upcoming Events at HPL

ALL-DAY BOARD GAMES All Day, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25 Don't get bored over the holiday weekend. Stop by anytime to play one of the library's many board games.

Charles Hackley Look-a-like No-Shave-November Contest Award Ceremony 6:00 pm, Tuesday, November 28 Noshemberers (No-Shave November participants) will be judged by how closely they resemble Charles Hackley.  We'll have awards in a variety of categories.  Come out to see the fun and vote for the People's Choice!

Computer Class-Publisher 10:30 am, Saturday, December 2 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-7276 to register.  Registeration opens one month before the class date. Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. This weeks' topic--Intro to Publisher.  Learn how to make posters and signs.

MOVIES AT THE LIBRARY:  HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 2:00 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2 Carve up a slice of roast beast and join us for a showing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. We'll get into the holiday spirit with a fun craft during the showing of the original made-for-TV animated film featuring Boris Karloff!

Hackley Craft Club 6:00 pm, Monday, December 4 Join the fun!  Our craft club meets the first Monday of each month.  Participants will be able to request the crafts that will be offered during the year.  Led by Nancy Hartman.  This month Nancy will be teaching how to make a folded cloth Christmas ornament. Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library.

Play:  Last Man in Merrinsville 6:00 PM, Tuesday, December 5 Welcome Ray Goodwin (author of Sawdusted) with his one man play, Last Man in Merrinsville.  It tells the story of the 30 year courtship between the station agent at a small town railroad depot and the local schoolteacher. The play is approximately 55 minutes long. His previous play, The Wreck of the Gimpy Gin,  was about a boat wreck on Lake Huron in 1927. Some Facebook testimonials… It was standing room only for this afternoon's theatrical production of "Wreck of the Gimpy Gin." The audience was mesmerized from the moment the one-man-show started until they exploded with applause at the end. Thanks to everyone in attendance - you helped make this event a success - and special thanks to Ray Goodwin for your spectacular performance! Mackinaw Area Public Library Raymond Goodwin did a wonderful job last night with his one man play The Wreck of the Gimpy Gin. The audience was hanging onto every work as he described the newest developments in a 1927 boat wrecked in a Lake Huron storm. Everyone had a wonderful time! Shiawassee District Library Super. 515 Gallery, Clare Mr. Goodwin is a manager of human resources at Central Michigan University.

MONTHLY MAKERS:  SNOW SLIME! 2:00 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 What happens when you combine Elmer's glue and liquid starch? Slime! Add in some glitter and you have snow slime. All participants will keep what they make at this Monthly Makers!

Staff Picks

Check here every month to see what the HPL staff recommends based on our reading.  You can also  find your next good book by stopping by or calling the Reference Desk, or by using our online form:  Your Next Good Book

Alison's Picks

Rebecca By du Maurier, Daphne 2002-07 - Avon Books 9780380778553 Check Our Catalog Rebecca has been dead for several months, but her sinister influence is still very much alive at Manderley, as Maxim de Winter's second wife soon comes to realize. …More

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine By Honeyman, Gail 2017-05 - Pamela Dorman Books 9780735220683 Check Our Catalog Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon. "Warm and funny...plus Reese bought the rights to this one...You'll want to read it."--TheSkimm "A charmer...satisfyingly quirky."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times "Books to Breeze Through This Summer" "This wacky, charming novel...draws you in with humor, then …More

Diana's Picks

Full Wolf Moon By Child, Lincoln 2017-05 - Doubleday Books 9780385531429 Check Our Catalog The New York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Room and Deep Storm is back with a new thriller that follows the trail of a killer who cannot exist . . . featuring Jeremy Logan, the renowned investigator of the supernatural and fantastic. Legends, no matter how outlandish, are often grounded in reality. This has been the guiding principle behind the …More

The Mountain Between Us By Martin, Charles 2010-06 - Broadway Books 9780767927000 Check Our Catalog Awards: Florida Book Award (2010) Bestselling author Martin returns with a captivating story about two strangers who crash into a frigid mountain wilderness and must rely on each other to survive. …More

Lockdown: A Novel of Suspense By King, Laurie R. 2017-06 - Bantam 9780804177931 Check Our Catalog A community comes together when threatened by someone with a thirst for revenge in this stunningly intricate, tautly plotted novel of rich psychological suspense from the New York Times bestselling author of the Mary Russell mysteries. Career Day at Guadalupe Middle School: A day given to innocent hopes and youthful dreams. A day no one in attendance will ever …More

Thalia: A Texas Trilogy By McMurtry, Larry 2017-09 - Liveright Publishing Corporation 9781631493751 Check Our Catalog Larry McMurtry burst onto the American literary scene with a force that would forever redefine how we perceive the American West. His first three novels-- Horseman, Pass By (1961), * Leaving Cheyenne (1963), and The Last Picture Show (1966)-- all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II, are collected here for the first time. In this trilogy, …More

Jocelyn's Picks

Origin By Brown, Dan 2017-10 - Doubleday Books 9780385514231 Check Our Catalog The #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Da Vinci Code Bilbao, Spain Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend a major announcement--the unveiling of a discovery that "will change the face of science forever." The evening's host is Edmond Kirsch, a …More

At the Water's Edge By Gruen, Sara 2015-03 - Spiegel & Grau 9780385523233 Check Our Catalog HPL patron: This is the highly unlikely story of a poor little rich girl who finds adulthood and happiness in a remote part of Scotland. On Good Reads I gave it 4 stars. That was stretching it about because of the setting. …More

The Muralist By Shapiro, B. A. 2015-11 - Algonquin Books 9781616203573 Check Our Catalog When Alizee Benoit, a young American painter working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), vanishes in New York City in 1940, no one knows what happened to her. Not her Jewish family living in German-occupied France. Not her arts patron and political compatriot, Eleanor Roosevelt. Not her close-knit group of friends and fellow WPA painters, including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Lee …More

Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St. Mary's Book One By Taylor, Jodi 2016-06 - Night Shade Books 9781597808682 Check Our Catalog The first book in the USA Today bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone's cup of tea. "History is just one damned thing after another." --Arnold Toynbee Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary's Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don't call it "time …More

What to read while waiting for...

The Midnight Line: A Jack Reacher Novel By Child, Lee 2017-11 - Delacorte Press 9780399593482 Check Our Catalog #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child returns with a gripping new powerhouse thriller featuring Jack Reacher, "one of this century's most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes" (The Washington Post). Reacher takes a stroll through a small Wisconsin town and sees a class ring in a pawn shop window: West Point 2005. A tough year to graduate: Iraq, then …More

Are you patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for that best seller?  Here are some suggestions.

The Room of White Fire By Parker, T. Jefferson 2017-08 - G.P. Putnam's Sons 9780735212664 Check Our Catalog "Mesmerizing and haunting."--Lisa Gardner "T. Jefferson Parker is the poet of American crime fiction, and The Room of White Fire absolutely proves why."--C.J. Box "A fast-paced, beautifully written thriller."--The Washington Post In this stirring thriller from New …More

The Drifter By Petrie, Nicholas 2016-01 - G.P. Putnam's Sons 9780399174568 Check Our Catalog "Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Petrie's Peter Ash is the real deal."--Lee Child An explosive thriller debut introducing Peter Ash, a veteran who finds that the demons of war aren't easily left behind... Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: what he calls his "white static," the buzzing claustrophobia due to …More

Benefit of the Doubt: A Newberg Novel By Griffin, Neal 2015-05 - Forge 9780765338501 Check Our Catalog Neal Griffin is a twenty-five year veteran of law enforcement. He's seen it all, from routine patrols to drug enforcement to homicide investigations, from corrupt cops to men and women who went far above and beyond the call of duty. Benefit of the Doubt is a gripping thriller that exposes the dark underbelly of policing in small-town America, where local police departments now deal …More

Upcoming Events at HPL

Computer Class-Word 10:30 am- 12:00 pm, Saturday, November 18 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-8000 or visit HPL Events to register.   Registeration opens one month before the class date.Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. Word:  Learn the basics of word processing, including opening and saving a document, entering text and making changes.

MINECRAFT 2:00 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Sharpen your pickaxe and take on our Minecraft world! This event is open to the first 20 paticipants. Register online or over the phone at 231-722-8014.

Tech Tuesday 12:00 - 7:00 pm Tuesday, November 21 Reserve your 30 minute appointment to have your computer/tech questions answered by our in-house IT people. We will answer questions on using computers and apps-anything from how to navigate Windows to how to upload pictures to Facebook.  Call 231-722-8012 at least 24 hours in advance to reserve your spot.  By appointment only, walk-in spots will not be available.

Computer Class-Excel 10:30 am, Saturday, November 25 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-7276  or visit our calendar to register.  Registeration opens one month before the class date.  Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. Intro to Excel.  Learn the basics of using a spreadsheet, including opening and saving, entering formulas, and making changes.

ALL-DAY BOARD GAMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25 Don't get bored over the holiday weekend. Stop by anytime to play one of the library's many board games.

Charles Hackley Look-a-like No-Shave-November Contest Award Ceremony 6:00 pm, Tuesday, November 28 Noshemberers (No-Shave November participants) will be judged by how closely they resemble Charles Hackley.  We'll have awards in a variety of categories.  Come out to see the fun and vote for the People's Choice!

Computer Class-Publisher 10:30 am, Saturday, December 2 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-7276 to register.  Registeration opens one month before the class date. Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. This weeks' topic--Intro to Publisher.  Learn how to make posters and signs.

Book review-The Muralist

I have been able to find a lot of good fiction on Overdrive lately.  Recently I finished The Muralist (or here for the e-audio book) by B A Shapiro.  It is another book in a long line of recent fiction that is set during World War II. This book is set primarily in New York City and alternates between the early 1940s and current time.  The main character in the 1940s is Alizee Benoit, an Jewish American painter with French family, working with the WPA on public murals.  The main character in the current time is Alizee's grand niece Danielle Abrams, an artist working with Sotheby's.  Danielle comes across some paintings hidden behind other works that she is sure are Alizee's work.  No one believes her so she takes it upon herself to investigate.  Part of her difficulty is that there are not very many of Alizee's works to compare them to because she disappeared in late 1940. Alizee convinces Eleanor Roosevelt to encourage the WPA to include Abstract Impressionist art in some of the murals.  She learns that her family in France is struggling with the growing Nazi threat and she trys to get visas for them.  We learn about her difficulties as Danielle pieces things together. I enjoyed this book quite a bit.  It was interesting to read about the events leading up to the US's entry into World War II and how different people viewed it-especially after reading a number of novels that took place in Europe during the same time period.  The characters were very interesting and I learned a lot about Abstract Impressionism.

The Muralist By Shapiro, B. A. 2015-11 - Algonquin Books 9781616203573 Check Our Catalog When Alizee Benoit, a young American painter working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), vanishes in New York City in 1940, no one knows what happened to her. Not her Jewish family living in German-occupied France. Not her arts patron and political compatriot, Eleanor Roosevelt. Not her close-knit group of friends and fellow WPA painters, including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Lee …More

Complimentary Reads

All the Light We Cannot See By Doerr, Anthony 2014-05 - Scribner Book Company 9781476746586 Check Our Catalog Awards: ALA Notable Books (2015), Alex Awards (2015), Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence (2015), Colorado Blue Spruce Award (2016), Dayton Literary Peace Prize (2015), Idaho Library Association Book Award (2014), Indies Choice Book Awards (2015), National Book Awards (2014), Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award (2015), Pulitzer Prize (2015) From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. …More

Sarah's Key By De Rosnay, Tatiana 2007-06 - St. Martin's Press 9780312370831 Check Our Catalog Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about …More

The Nightingale By Hannah, Kristin 2015-02 - St. Martin's Press 9780312577223 Check Our Catalog Awards: National Jewish Book Award (2015), Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award (2016) A #1 New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and soon to be a major motion picture, this unforgettable novel of love and strength in the face of war has enthralled a generation. France, 1939 - In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She …More

What to read while waiting for...

Two Kinds of Truth By Connelly, Michael 2017-10 - Little Brown and Company 9780316225908 Check Our Catalog Harry Bosch searches for the truth in the new thriller from #1 NYT bestselling author Michael Connelly An Amazon Book of the Month Harry Bosch is back as a volunteer working cold cases for the San Fernando Police Department and is called out to a local drug store where a young pharmacist has been murdered. Bosch and the town's 3-person …More

Are you patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for that best seller?  Here are some suggestions.

Deep Freeze By Sandford, John 2017-10 - G.P. Putnam's Sons 9780399176067 Check Our Catalog Class reunions: a time for memories--good, bad, and, as Virgil Flowers is about to find out, deadly--in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. Virgil knows the town of Trippton, Minnesota, a little too well. A few years back, he investigated the corrupt--and as it turned out, homicidal--local school board, and now the town's back in view with more …More

Fool Me Once By Coben, Harlan 2016-03 - Dutton Books 9780525955092 Check Our Catalog A widowed veteran gets the shock of her life in this impossible-to-put-down thriller from #1 New York Times bestseller Harlan Coben. In the course of eight consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers, millions of readers have discovered Harlan Coben's page-turning thrillers, filled with his trademark edge-of-your-seat suspense and gut-wrenching emotion. In Fool Me …More

Upcoming events at HPL

MONTHLY MAKERS:  OZOBOTS 2:00 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 Did you know you can program robots with markers and paper? Ozobots have color sensors that drive around a piece of paper any way you tell them to. Solve a coding puzzle or design your own obstacle course for your robot.

Hawks and Owls 6:00 pm, Monday, November 13 Hawks and Owls String Band has been delighting audiences around West Michigan since 1997.  Bruce Ling leader of Hawks and Owls and one of Michigan's finest musical treasures, is a River-side mystic, eloquent storyteller and passionate caretaker of America's collection of traditional music.  With stage performances that combine the expressive style of Garrison Keillor or Will Rogers, he paints musical portraits celebrating the colorful history of rural America with a broad repertoire of both original and time-savored traditional folk songs. As a collector of tunes, and songs, Bruce understands the importance of keeping the history of this timeless musical genre alive and well. He shares his keen knowledge with caring and passion, and his inspiration has propelled a legion of young musicians to continue playing these songs...a true testament to Ling's talents as a teacher and mentor. Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library.

Great Michigan Read Program with Mitch Kachun 6:00 PM, Tuesday, November 14 Dr. Kachun will be speaking on the historical context of Malcolm X, explaining the people and events that helped him solidify his thinking on race and civil liberties. Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. This project is funded in part by Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities

Tips and Tricks for Phones and Tablets 1:00 - 2:00 pm, Wednesday, November 15 Having trouble with your tablet? Flustered by your phone? Bring it to HPL on Wednesdays at 1:00 to get tech help. Walk ins welcome.

Computer Class-Word 10:30 am- 12:00 pm, Saturday, November 18 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-8000 or visit HPL Events to register.   Registeration opens one month before the class date.Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. Word:  Learn the basics of word processing, including opening and saving a document, entering text and making changes.

MINECRAFT 2:00 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Sharpen your pickaxe and take on our Minecraft world! This event is open to the first 20 paticipants. Register online or over the phone at 231-722-8014.

Tech Tuesday 12:00 - 7:00 pm Tuesday, November 21 Reserve your 30 minute appointment to have your computer/tech questions answered by our in-house IT people. We will answer questions on using computers and apps-anything from how to navigate Windows to how to upload pictures to Facebook.  Call 231-722-8012 at least 24 hours in advance to reserve your spot.  By appointment only, walk-in spots will not be available.

Tips and Tricks for Phones and Tablets 1:00 - 2:00 pm, Wednesday, November 22 Having trouble with your tablet? Flustered by your phone? Bring it to HPL on Wednesdays at 1:00 to get tech help. Walk ins welcome.

Computer Class-Excel 10:30 am, Saturday, November 25 De'ondra Pentecost will teach computer classes on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Registration is required. Call HPL at 231-722-7276  or visit our calendar to register.  Registeration opens one month before the class date.  Brought to you through the generosity of the Friends of Hackley Library. Intro to Excel.  Learn the basics of using a spreadsheet, including opening and saving, entering formulas, and making changes.

ALL-DAY BOARD GAMES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25

Don't get bored over the holiday weekend. Stop by anytime to play one of the library's many board games.