Blog Post
Staff Picks: For the Love of Birds
by lucroe
Birding has become especially popular since the pandemic. It can be a relaxing and enjoyable hobby for adults and kids. It can even be rewarding when you spot a new species to add to your list. The library has a number of great books and resources for those just starting as well as pros who want to learn more. From the Wingscapes Birdcam to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of World database (see below for more about this), there is something for every bird lover at AADL.
Birding to Change the World by Trish O’Kane | Request Now
This memoir tells the story of O’Kane’s tragic loss of her New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina and how it led to her environmental activism especially dedicated to wildlife conservation. In her mid-40’s, she decided to return to college to earn a PhD in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There her focus turns to ornithology. She realized that bird-watching was “like journalism. ... You observe. You listen. You take good notes. You piece together clues.” Her other concern became lower income children’s lack of access to the wonders of nature. As a result, she created an after-school birding club and mentoring program between college students and middle schoolers which is still active today.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Recommendation Potpourri: Seven Books in Seven Days
by emjane
At the end of February, I took one of those wonderful, restorative vacations where you fly somewhere warm and don’t do much of anything for a week. When I find myself lucky enough to have these “gift of time” trips, I still can’t help but set up a little structure and challenge myself to read a book a day. I have the benefit of being a fast reader, and I also stack the deck a bit by leaving the giant tomes at home (you can only pack so many books!), but on the trips where I manage to achieve that silly benchmark, I return home bubbling about the reading even more than about the sunshine! Here are my reading highlights from that trip!
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood | Request Now
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Graphic Novels Series to Start
by nicole
If you're sick of standalone reads or need something to keep you hooked for a while, here are some great graphic novel series from AADL's collection. These titles are perfect if you're looking to start a new series.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan | Request Now
Blending sci-fi and romance, Saga is a sweeping tale about star-crossed lovers from enemy worlds fighting to find their place in the universe. When Alana first meets Marko, they're two soldiers fighting on opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Against all odds, they fall in love and risk everything to escape and bring a fragile new life into their dangerous old universe. This story is a wild, intergalactic ride that follows new parents Marko and Alana as they try to raise their child in a war-torn galaxy. This epic space opera is both heartfelt and hilarious, and is intended for mature readers only. Readers who love the first book can find the others in the series in AADL's catalog.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Fiction By Debut Authors
by eapearce
Everyone has to start somewhere, and sometimes an author’s first book isn’t always their best work. It can take time to find one’s voice and style of writing! I often find it interesting to go back and read an author’s early work after discovering them by reading their third or fourth novel. Debuts often just feel a bit less… polished. But sometimes an author seems to know exactly how to tell a story right from the start and, first book or not, the writing keeps readers turning the pages as quickly as they can. Several 2024 debuts that fall into this category have already been released. If you’re looking to discover a new author and dive right into some excellent writing, peruse these suggestions!
Ways and Means, by Daniel Lefferts | Request Now
Alistair McCabe arrives in New York determined to escape the Rust Belt poverty of his childhood. He’s determined, fiercely intelligent, handsome, gay, and eager to earn an excellent living to support the mother who raised him and give her a better life. There’s a fine line between ambition and greed, however, and as Alistair is sucked into the world of modern high finance, he finds himself adrift and unsure of how to make the right decisions. Desperate, in the spring of 2016 he begins working for an enigmatic billionaire and tries to keep his dream alive. Of course, things don’t go according to plan and when Alistair discovers his employer’s secret he finds himself on the run and, along with the older couple he’d been in a relationship with, facing a nation on the brink of chaos to match that of his personal life. Ways and Means is an “indelible, deeply moving investigation of class and ambition, sex and art, and politics and power in the American 21st century.”
Blog Post
Staff Picks: A Bit of Romantasy
by lucroe
For readers craving that overlap between romance and fantasy, check out these titles that have it all: magic, creatures, and love!
Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna | Request Now
A cozy romantasy about Mika Moon, who happens to be a witch but no one knows except her coven, who don't understand how lonely she has felt throughout the years. When a mysterious message arrives asking her to come to Nowhere House to train three young witches how to control their magic, she knows it's a bad idea to go. Who knows, maybe there she'll find something worth taking a chance on like the house librarian Jamie Kelly who she is immediately attracted to but who gives her the cold shoulder. Could she melt that icy heart of his?
Blog Post
Staff Picks: New Historical Fiction at AADL
by eapearce
Historical fiction remains one of the most popular genres for local readers! Titles in the genre offer readers the opportunity to learn more about past events, especially ones you’re not familiar with, often in a less-dense manner than non-fiction books about the same events might provide. If you’re looking for your next historical fiction read, check out one of these newly added titles to the library collection and add yourself to the holds list.
The Berlin Letters, by Katherine Reay | Request Now
The Cold War is coming to a close and CIA codebreaker Luisa Voekler is frustrated. Since a young girl, she’s always enjoyed using her logical, quick mind to solve puzzles and crack codes. She expected to move up quickly in the CIA, but while her colleagues are working hard to complete assignments that will hopefully finally bring the Cold War to an end, Luisa is stuck still cracking leftover codes from back during World War II. When she analyzes a letter with symbols she recognizes from her childhood, though, something clicks into place and she begins to wonder if her long-lost father is not, in fact, dead after all, as she’s always thought. Determined to figure out the truth, Luisa travels East Germany, determined to get her father out–if he’s still alive. As the book races toward the climactic fall of the Berlin Wall, readers journey with Luisa to the heart of Berlin to experience the monumental moment with her, and to hopefully share in her discovery of answers to questions she has had her whole life. This book includes book discussion questions at the end, making it a good fit for book clubs!
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Fabulous Fiction from U-M Alum
by emjane
The Helen Zell Writers Program, University of Michigan’s MFA program, has an impressive alumni list, who—would you believe it—have written some impressively good books! Here are a few of my favorites.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Request Now
Twin sisters Desiree and Stella both leave home at 16 and their lives, which up until that point had been lived in tandem, dramatically diverge. Told from shifting perspectives between Desiree, Stella, and their daughters, The Vanishing Half spans generations to tell an engaging story of identity, family, and connection.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Teen Books on TV
by nicole
Several Teen books have been adapted into shows in the past few years. If you like to read the book before you see it on TV, check out these YA stories that have been recreated for the small screen.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman | Request Now
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea. Which means that Armageddon will happen on Saturday night. So the armies of Good and Evil are gathering, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, awkwardly armed with antiquated instructions and stick pins. Armageddon is in the air. Which is a major problem for Crowley, a fast-living demon, and his opposite and old friend Aziraphale, a fussy angel. They like it down here, and they're not particularly looking forward to the end of it all. So they've got no choice but to defeat the marching ranks of the Witchfinder's army and - somehow - stop the Rapture from happening. Above all, they've got to find and kill the most powerful being on earth, the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. This over-the-top story is equal parts humor and fantasy, and the TV series is also available in our catalog.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Cooking Abroad: Explore the World With International Cookbooks
by eapearce
One way to experience other places is through food. And the great thing about food is, even if you can’t actually cross the ocean to try it in its country of origin, you can always try your hand at making a dish at home! Cooking with unfamiliar ingredients or preparing dishes that you’ve never made before can be daunting, but these cookbooks make it easy to explore other cuisines in the comfort of your own kitchen. Take a look!
Maydān: Recipes From Lebanon and Beyond, by Rose Previte | Request Now
Author Rose Previte is the owner of a restaurant in Washington, D.C. with the same name as this cookbook. At both her restaurant and in this book, she invites readers to join her on a culinary journey through North Africa and parts of the Middle East, following many of the ancient spice trading routes. In fact, Previte herself traveled extensively throughout the region learning from home cooks before opening Maydān and creating this cookbook. Of course, the old spice transport routes don’t follow modern geopolitical boundaries, and one of the foundations of the cookbook is the parallels that Previte draws in the different foods from the region. She notes that people have baked bread in clay ovens in strikingly similar ways across the region, and that many of the spice blends in one area have extremely alike counterparts in another. The cookbook offers over 150 recipes and Previte encourages readers/cooks to prepare foods the way her family did when she was growing up: scale down for a weeknight meal and up for a weekend one or a party, mix and match components from different recipes, make a simple meal pop with a delicious dip or spice blend. She also includes Georgian and Lebanese wine pairings of wines that are easy to source or find here in the U.S. This cookbook is a flavorful treat.
Blog Post
Staff Picks: Breakfast Bonanza: Cookbooks for the Start of Your Day
by eapearce
Whether or not you believe that the most important meal of the day is breakfast, as the old adage goes, there is something to be said about having a delicious beginning to your morning. In the following cookbooks, you’ll get ideas for how to make breakfast unique, yummy, easy, and all three!
Breakfast: The Cookbook, by Emily Miller | Request Now
This delightful and comprehensive book shares recipes for home-cooking breakfasts from all over the world. Hundreds of recipes are compiled here with straightforward and simple instructions, so that you can prepare a dish that you’ve perhaps never even heard of before (a good thing, if you’re cooking at 7am!). Culinary notes and backgrounds on the origins of the recipes add a nice touch and provide the reader with interesting insight as to where the recipe they are preparing comes from and how people in that region might enjoy it. Conveniently, the index is organized by both food and country, so you can search for what you’re looking for by either categorization. Recipes are divided by food type as well as dietary restriction, such as gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan, quick and easy, under five ingredients and more. Lovely photographs accompany the recipes. This is a great book for any breakfast-lover, or even for anyone who is breakfast-curious and looking to up their morning meal routine.