Local Reviews

Do you have a favorite book you'd like to share with other Monroe County Public Library patrons?  Impressed by the idea of a review that you wrote showing up in the library's catalog for other patrons to find and read? If you are the kind of person who doesn't just want to read good books, but also write about good books then we've got something new for you.

It is now possible for patrons who want to write reviews of library materials to do so.  Visit the Create Local Review page and let us know what you think of your recently read book or ebook. Maybe you listened to an audiobook, a music cd or even watched a movie you'd like other patrons to know about.  Write as much or as little as you'd like, and give a rating of 1-5 stars.  Once the reviews are published, they will show up in the catalog under the record for the selected title.  The complete list of local reviews can be found together on our website as well. 

Library staff will continue to write reviews here on this blog, but now you can share your voice too.  Happy reviewing!

Michael Koryta's The Prophet

Local author Michael Koryta's new book isn't coming out until August 7 but you can already place a hold in our catalog.  The Prophet is a straight up thriller that stars two brothers, one as an upstanding high school football coach and the other as a fringe bail bondsman.  The brothers are estranged after the devastating fallout resulting from the kidnapping and brutal murder of their sister many years earlier.  When a similar murder happens, the brothers must learn to work together before the murderer strikes again. 

Master thriller author Dennis Lehane says, "The Prophet is a relentless, heart-in-your-throat thriller about ordinary people caught in the middle of an extraordinary nightmare."  And Kirkus reviews praises Koryta's newest as  "a brilliantly paced thriller that keeps its villains at a tantalizing distance, a compelling family portrait, a study in morality that goes beyond the usual black-and-white judgments, and an entertaining spin on classic football fiction. A flawless performance."

Staycations in Indiana

Vacation time will soon be here. With gas prices high and disposable income low, it may be another good year for a staycation. Those of us living in Indiana can plan some great overnight trips or even day trips to fun and interesting places throughout Indiana.

The Indiana Room collection has many travel books to help you plan a fun outing.

Just a few examples include the following books.

If you like the unusual and just plain weird, consult Weird Indiana by Mark Merrimen. The Tunnelton Tunnel in Lawrence County is included, the world's first Ferris wheel turned into a bridge near Tifft and the ever popular Gravity Hill near Mooresville are also included.

Indiana Curiosities by Dick Wolfsie is in it's third edition. Arranged by geographic area, this guide lists and describes unusual museums, statues and businesses. The Italian Chapel at Camp Atterbury, built by WW II Italian prisoners of war, Dr. Ted's Musical Marvel's museum near Santa Claus and the Cass County Carousel in Riverside Park in Logansport are just a few examples of entries.

Room

Jack is a typical five-year-old who enjoys watching TV, reading, and playing games with his Ma. But he has lived all of his life in a single room. The room is his world, shared with his Ma, and occasionally with Old Nick, a mysterious and unnerving nighttime visitor. Told from the perspective of Jack, the novel explores not only survival in captivity but also what happens when captivity ends and the world expands beyond the four walls of Room.

Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys

I am deep in the middle of Adam Hochschild's new book, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 about the anti-war movement before and during World War I (and is thus far excellent). And I recently slogged through British historian Antony Beevor's 500+ page D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, which was a bit too detailed, but very fair in representing Allied incompetence and portrayed some of the major players, including Montgomery, Eisenhower and Patton in a new light for me. Can you tell I was a history major? Standing out so far in this recent WWI/WWII kick was Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in WWII by Indiana University history professor, James H. Madison.

Parks and Recreation

Image As an Indiana native and someone who finds bureaucracy ridiculous, Parks and Recreationconsistently tickles my funny bone.

The key for me is Amy Pohler's performance as Leslie Knope. As the deputy director of the parks and recreation department for Pawnee, Indiana her eagerness and honest belief in the system make her as sympathetic as she is funny. The rest of her colleagues have a more realistic view of their positions and their town but either like Leslie enough or are bored enough to help her on her many crusades.

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