March Book Madness 2024: Week 1

Announcer: To the esteemed readers of the Logos Library blog, we are proud to present this next installment of March Book Madness. Are you ready? We’ve decided to take things back to a simpler time, and all the books you’ll see here will be found in the Family Room. For each genre, we will have a classic (pre-2000s) and contemporary (post-2000) pick. While thinking of some of these books as classics makes library team members feel a tad old, we hope to provide them with worthy up-and-coming competition.  

Our first round will feature Mystery and Realistic Fiction. Sarah and Amber will serve as your commentators. Sarah, why don’t you introduce yourself, tell us some about the mystery genre, and about your classic pick?

Sarah: Hi, friends! I’m Sarah Blevins, Circulation Associate here at the library. I’m very excited to be back as a commentator for March Book Madness. This year, I’m introducing the mystery genre. Mystery is a genre where an event—usually a crime—happens under strange circumstances. After a series of twists and turns, the heroes piece together clues and figure out exactly what happened.

Our classic pick is The Secret of the Caves, a Hardy Boys mystery published in 1965. In this installment, amateur detectives Frank and Joe Hardy search for a missing professor, who was last seen investigating a system of caves by the sea.

Announcer: Thank you. Will the clues you provided mean that you have a front runner? Only time will tell.  Could you now tell the readers about your contemporary pick?

Sarah: Absolutely! Our contemporary pick is The Case of the Missing Marquess, the first book in the Enola Holmes series of mysteries. The book follows Enola, the younger sister to literature’s most famous detective: Sherlock Holmes. When her mother suddenly vanishes, Enola hopes to find her in London. However, she instead becomes caught up in the kidnapping of a young marquess.

Announcer: Mystery isn’t a genre that I read often, so I’m unsure how this one will pan out. Which selection do you think will advance?

Sarah: Ooh that’s a tough one! I feel like Enola Holmes has the edge with ingenuity. It’s a fresh story with both new and classic characters. However, I know plenty of people who read at least one Hardy Boys book growing up, and I know they’re still beloved by many. So, that’s the one I see advancing to the next round.

Announcer: Thank you. We’ll see if you’re right. Next up, we have Amber to tell us about her selections for Realistic Fiction.  Amber, would you introduce yourself, tell us some about this genre, and about your classic pick?

Amber: Howdy, I’m Amber, Union’s Instruction Librarian. I am one of those library team members who is feeling a tad old with this year’s classics vs. contemporary matchups. Realistic fiction is a popular genre where the settings, characters, and plots remind you of events that could happen in real life. You won’t find any magic or fantasy in these books, but you might relate to some of the characters’ thoughts, feelings, or experiences. This classic pick is one that brought back childhood memories of competing in The Battle of the Books. Our classic pick is How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. This book is pretty much as cringe-worthy as it sounds. Basically, Alan bets his friend, Billy, that he can’t eat 15 worms in 15 days. Billy finds a variety of different ways to get these big night crawlers down, while Alan does everything he can to stop Billy from winning. This ridiculous novel showcases friendship and childhood shenanigans.

Announcer: I feel like this will be a unique genre because the picks could make us think of events that have occurred in our lives. What is your contemporary pick?

Amber: Our contemporary pick is a 2017 novel by Erin Entrada Kelly titled Hello, Universe. I think this will be a good matchup because both books look at friendship. Hello Universe represents our current literary world better and may represent the world in general better. Hello, Universe is told in the alternating perspectives of four middle schoolers. Virgil is too shy, at least that’s what his parents say, but his grandmother and guinea pig are supportive. Valencia is deaf and looking for friends. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic trying to start a business. Chet is a bully who also wants to make the basketball team. Hello, Universe follows the kids and shows how their lives intertwine. This is a great book because you can really see each child’s thoughts and how they may not be as different as they think.

Announcer: Both of these sound like great choices. Which do you think will advance?

Amber: Hmm…this is a hard choice. I think both books are great, and I secretly hope the classic books win because they are the books I read as a child. But in this case, I think Hello, Universe might win out because it does a better job of representing diversity and the realness of life.

Announcer: It sounds like we’ll be in for some good matchups in this first round. Join us next week to meet our next two genres.

2023 My Year in Books: Rachel

One of my favorite things about the beginning of the year is seeing the books that others have read and celebrating the reading goals that were met in the previous year. No two people will experience books in the exact same way, so it’s neat to think about what they’ve experienced, and it can also be helpful to build your TBR list for the next year. While I still didn’t use any one set tool (like Goodreads) to track my titles or plan to read a certain number of books, I am glad that I kept a list with a short description of each book to help refresh my memory and think about the journeys I got to go on last year.  

If I had some awards to give out, this is what I’d choose:

Favorite Read: Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd 

This book put me in my feels. We meet a twelve-year-old girl named Olive who dreams of being able to go to school. Her parents have always been hesitant to send her, due to her dealing with osteogenesis imperfecta (what we know as brittle bone disease). However, she gets the chance to go, and learns about the legend of a magical hummingbird that can grant your deepest wish if you find it. While searching for the bird, she learns the lesson, that reminds the reader, that while we think we may know our “perfect” wish, life has a way of surprising us along the way.  

*Honorable Mention: My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen 

I loved this story that was mixed with both salty and sweet moments. Two friends (Helena and Penelope) are in their final year at the Royal Academy. They meet Elijah, and a project unlike any other begins to unfold. Elijah is a lonely street merchant with not much to his name. Penelope’s goal is to turn him into a refined gentleman chef. Will her plan succeed like the perfect recipe, or will things blow up in her face? If you’re a fan of My Fair Lady, you’ll likely enjoy this sweet, clean young adult romance.  

Most Likely to Recommend: The Listening Life by Adam S. McHugh 

I don’t read a lot of self-help books, but this one was very easy to read and practical in nature.  

It reminded me about being able to make simple changes to allow myself to better listen and understand those around me and the world as a whole. As one that doesn’t appreciate all seasons, one of the best parts was remembering to see the beauty in each one and to find opportunities to experience different things.  

Least Likely to Recommend: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 

I want to start by saying that I didn’t dislike this book, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Kya’s story was interesting to read, but truthfully, not a lot of it stayed with me. One part that I did enjoy was her description of the marsh. I’m not always the best at visualizing, but with her writing style, I felt like I did better than normal.  

One I’m most glad that I tried: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 

I don’t do well with branching out to different genres very much. I will most often read middle grade, young adult, romance, or historical fiction.  However, after last year’s March Book (& Movie) Madness, I decided to venture into the mystery genre and read Murder on the Orient Express. I really enjoyed the pacing of the story and was excited to see how everything would unfold. While mystery still isn’t my favorite genre, I was reminded when reading this book how important it is to branch out from time to time.  

Most Unexpected: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Available through ILL)  

The reason I gave this book this award is that sometimes a book comes along that you need to read, but you didn’t know how much you needed it. There are times when I get into a reading funk and the desire to pick one up is gone. Life can be hard sometimes, and I think books are often the perfect escape into a different reality. This is what The Wishing Game was for me; it was the type of book that made me think about why readers fall in love with reading.  

Jack Masterson was the author of a highly popular series of books called Clock Island. Lucy Hart found peace while reading these pages, and since adulthood, she has desired to read another story, but Jack has stopped writing. Unexpectedly, there is news that Jack has written another installment in the series, and for those that can solve the riddle, they will be invited to the real Clock Island (where Jack lives) with a chance to win the one copy that’s available. This book made me think some of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the opportunity to experience something unlike any other. If you’re looking for something to pick up your spirits, this may be the one for you. 

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Thanks for reading. Come back next week to learn about Darius’ year in books.   

Rachel Bloomingburg’s reviews reflect her personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university. 

Genre Starter List: Mystery

We are well into November. Fallen leaves coat the ground and nights are cold. The chill in the air makes November the perfect time to curl up with a mug of hot coffee (or tea, apple cider, or hot chocolate) and a book. Why not make that book a mystery? To get started, here is a list of mysteries—both classics and recent bestsellers—that would pair well with these late fall days.

*Book descriptions provided by the publishers via the library catalog, unless noted otherwise.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

When an English lord dies due to a supposed family curse, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are put on the case. Meanwhile, a ghostly hound haunts the moors and secrets are uncovered.

-Description written by Sarah Blevins

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal–and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.

Content waring: prejudiced language and violence.

The Maid by Nita Prose

A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed, turning her once orderly world upside down—and inspiring a motley crew of unexpected allies to band together to solve the mystery—in this utterly original debut. Molly Dunn is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and interprets people literally. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has had to navigate life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself very dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s odd demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect and she finds herself in a web of subtext and nuance she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, a medley of friends she didn’t realize she had refuses to let her be charged with murder—but will they be able to discover the real killer before it’s too late? A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, must exonerate her father of murder. Armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together and examine new suspects, she begins a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself.

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers

This is a tale of murder and scandal at a chic London advertising agency, featuring the dashing and brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey. When executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the iron staircase at Pym’s Publicity, a posh London ad agency, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to investigate. Before his tragic demise, the victim had tried to warn Mr. Pym, the firm’s owner, about some scandalous behavior involving his employees. Posing as a new copywriter, Wimsey discovers that Dean was part of an unsavory crowd at Pym’s whose recreational habits link them to the criminal underworld. With time running out and the body count rising, Wimsey must rush to find the truth before his identity is discovered and a determined killer strikes again.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Content warning: strong language, talk of sexual situations, and violence.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her mother.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

After working with bestselling crime writer Alan Conway for years, editor Susan Ryeland is intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries in sleepy English villages. His traditional formula has proved hugely successful, so successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job. Conway’s latest tale involves a murder at Pye Hall, with dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects. But the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

A long-lost letter arriving at its destination fifty years after it was sent lures Edie Burchill to crumbling Milderhurst Castle, home of the three elderly Blythe sisters, where Edie’s mother was sent to stay as a teenager during World War II.

Sarah Blevins’ reviews reflect her personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.

Library Staff Book Club: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

For October’s staff book club meeting, members read the suspenseful thriller Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. The book begins ten years after the disappearance of 15-year-old Ellie Mack. Her mother, Laurel, is long divorced and estranged from her family as she still struggles to cope with the loss of her youngest daughter. But when she connects with Floyd, an attractive man with a young daughter named Poppy who looks eerily like Ellie, she begins to delve back into the mystery of how her daughter disappeared and where she could be now.

Book club members share their thoughts about the novel below…

Then She Was Gone is, first and foremost, a mystery. Yet many questions are answered quite early on in the book. How soon did you guess what really happened to Ellie, and if you did, did it affect your enjoyment of the book? 

Sarah Blevins, Circulation Associate, answered: I will be the first to admit that I’m not very good at figuring out plot twists. That being said, I guessed one of the biggest plot points relatively early. Knowing what happened earlier than I anticipated sort of made me enjoy the book less, since the main character, Laurel, was solving what we as the readers already knew.

Rachel Bloomingburg, Circulation Manager, answered: This book started off slow to me, and I didn’t really pick up on the clues. 

Sara Hand, Circulation/Serials Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: While I did have a fairly good idea of what was going to happen early in the book, I was invested to see how everything would unfold. I was especially interested in finding out how Laurel would react when she found out the truth. The ending was more anticlimactic than I expected it to be, but I still thought it was a good novel with a realistic perspective of how a family heals after a devastating tragedy.

Amber Owrey, Instruction Librarian, answered: I think I kind of knew what happened to Ellie in the beginning but wasn’t totally sure of all the details. It was definitely a different way to write the book and not a typical mystery. However, I don’t read too many mystery novels, so I am not usually too great at guessing the ending anyway. I did still enjoy the book even though we were told many of the details at the beginning and then throughout the novel.

There are four different perspectives shown in the book, but only Noelle and Floyd’s narration are in first person. Why do you think the author chose to write their chapters in first person while Laurel and Ellie’s chapters are told through third person? What effect did this have on you as you read? 

Sarah Blevins answered: Reading Noelle and Floyd’s narration in first person made it a lot creepier to me, since we could see the innerworkings of their actions through their warped viewpoints. I wonder if it was the author’s intention to up the “creepiness factor.” If so, it worked.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: It didn’t have much effect on me while I was reading, but I could see how Noelle and Floyd’s perspective being in first person could help us think about how we might have acted in their situations. I don’t think we would forgive what either one did, but I do think it helped garner some sympathy for them. 

Sara Hand answered: I think it was an excellent way for readers to understand how someone could get to a place of such desperation that they choose to commit an unthinkable crime. While Noelle was a very unlikeable character, her inner monologue about her past leading up to her present made it more believable as to how she could have decided to do what she did.

Amber Owrey answered: I truly did not notice this while I was reading, so I am not sure it had any effect on me as I read. However, I think possibly writing in first person for Noelle and Floyd helped personalize them more and increase the reader’s empathy towards them. It may also have given Laurel and Ellie more victim characteristics because things were happening to them that couldn’t be controlled. It probably also helped show similarities between Noelle and Floyd and then Laurel and Ellie.

What was your impression of Poppy when she is first introduced? Did this change over the course of the book, and if so, how?

Sarah Blevins answered: Honestly, I struggled with what I thought about Poppy. A lot of her mannerisms and dialogue throughout felt more like an adult than a kid, especially for a kid her age. However, given she’s an only child raised by a single parent, it’s possible she just wasn’t around kids her age very much and instead adopted adult mannerisms. 

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: Poppy was a unique character, and she is very different from many children I know. I don’t think my impression of her changed much, but it does make you think about how the environments we’re raised in can affect our actions. 

Sara Hand answered: My first thought was that she acted older than her age because I assumed she may have been held hostage by Floyd without her realization. He did not allow her to go outside often, and she had no friends her age. Floyd is smart, but also pompous, so it is not surprising that Poppy acted like him. By the end of the novel, she started acting more like a child because she was being exposed to more childlike activities.

Amber Owrey answered: I always felt bad for Poppy. She is somewhat pretentious for a child, but I think it really is indicative of her upbringing. Her dad is an academic and treats her like an adult, so she tends to act like one. However, she is still a child with childlike emotions and truly childlike understanding of the world. I think she becomes more childlike and maybe acts her age more as she spends more time with Laurel.

Did you think Lisa Jewell’s portrayal of Laurel and her journey was realistic? Could you relate to the way she dealt with her grief, or did you find it alienating? 

Sarah Blevins answered: Grief is a difficult thing. While I didn’t really relate to her grieving process, I’m sure others could. It made me sad that she drifted apart from her older children during her grief, so I really wish we were able to see Laurel rebuild relationships with her kids as part of her healing journey. It’s all implied, but I especially wanted to see a scene of reconciliation between Laurel and her older daughter, Hanna.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: Grief is something that no two people will experience in the exact same way. I think in a situation like this, where so many questions were left unanswered, it made sense why her grief consumed her as much as it did. I think it was helpful to see how much grief can continue to affect a person’s life even years after a death occurs. 

Sara Hand answered: While I hope I am never in a situation like the one in the novel, I assume that most people would probably traverse grief in the same way Laurel did. If I were Laurel, I probably would have been more aggressive in finding out more about Poppy and why she looked like my daughter, but at that point she was probably tired of trying to find answers and meeting a dead end every time. She was trying to put the past behind her and find what little happiness she could under the circumstances.

Amber Owrey answered: I don’t know if I relate to how she dealt with her grief, but I did find it realistic. I think losing a child in the way she did would cause many different reactions. It is unfortunate for her children that she was so lost in her grief and stuck on Ellie being the golden child she lost. However, I do think this could happen to many parents and may even be the way Noelle’s parents reacted to the death of their child. Her behavior did alienate her from her family and friends, but I also think it was because maybe her grief wasn’t dealt with and that there was never closure for her. She became obsessed with figuring out what happened to the detriment of her other children and her marriage.

You can find Then She Was Gone in the Recreational Reading section of our library.

Monday Movie: Soylent Green

Welcome back to Monday Movies! It’s been some time since the library blog’s last entry to this series, but we’re bringing it back to life. This time Darius and Micah sat down to watch and discuss Soylent Green, directed by Richard Fleischer. The 1973 movie is a dystopian science fiction thriller based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. Check out our thoughts below.

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What did you think of the worldbuilding in Soylent Green?

Darius Mullin, Evening Circulation Supervisor, said: I thought the worldbuilding was fascinating. Details were subtly revealed in ways that were clear yet didn’t insult the audience’s intelligence. As a viewer, my lack of awareness of the overall world the characters inhabited had the potential to cause confusion while the main character carried out his investigation; this was not the case though, and I felt that the pacing was easy to understand. Everything seemed very ordinary, yet quite “off” at the same time. It was a very believable-feeling near-future dystopia.

Micah Rhodes, Cataloging Associate, said: It did a good job of both showing and telling how the world had arrived at the state we see in the movie. The opening reel takes the audience from the Industrial Revolution to a polluted, manufactured future. The characters were almost always sweating, on account of the soaring temperatures caused by global warming. One detail that especially grabbed me was that tenement landlords would sit and openly brandish assault rifles, presumably defending their property and maintaining some semblance of order. It was clearly communicated–though never explicitly spoken–that space was as precious a commodity as food.

Did you have a favorite character?

Darius Mullin said: A lot of the characters were hard to like… I did find Sol the “book” to be quite likeable, though.

Micah Rhodes said: My favorite character was Solomon Roth, the protagonist’s elderly roommate/coworker. He was old enough to remember a different world, one before the climate crises, food shortages, and overpopulation of the Soylent Green future. I particularly liked his desire for Thorn to experience some of life’s lost simple pleasures, like a meal of real beef, or the sweet taste of strawberries, or landscapes of the natural world.

Soylent Green was released in 1973. Did you find it prescient? Unrealistic? Cynical?

Darius Mullin said: Soylent Green is often referred to as an ecological thriller, and I can see why. Main themes include climate change, overpopulation, and pollution. I think this story is a fascinating look into what climate anxiety looked like 50 years ago compared to today. The movie is set in 2022; as such, I found it to be both prescient and exaggerated. Climate change has not impacted the lives of (most) humans in urban areas to the degree portrayed in the film: at the same time, it has had disastrous and obvious effects on the world at large.

Micah Rhodes said: Obviously, the speculated technology presented in Soylent Green 2022 is laughably archaic from our perspective in a digitized 2023. However, the climate concerns still feel very well-founded and pertinent 50 years later, as we continue to see the effects of climate change on our planet and its ecosystems.

What do you think of the overall plot of the movie? Any other comments?

Darius Mullin said: I already knew the big reveal going in, so it didn’t take me aback like it would have for the original audience. Nonetheless, it was well executed (imagining that I didn’t already know). I liked that the movie followed a police detective’s investigation. The tone of the movie was less Star Wars, Star Trek, or even Alien, but reminded me a lot of Ray Bradbury’s writing.

Micah Rhodes said: I was engaged throughout the whole movie, even though I had the ending spoiled for me long before. The framing of a detective noir story in a dystopian setting was at times jarring and at others quite effective; overall, I think it succeeds in communicating the tone, state of the world, and speculative future the filmmakers wanted. It was hard for me to really like any of the characters besides Sol, even the main protagonist, but I also think that was intentional. Soylent Green is a rather infamous movie, and I think it earned its reputation for good enough reasons that most people should watch it at least once.

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Soylent Green is a science fiction classic. If you have seen this movie, leave a comment with your opinion! If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out from our library today.

Library staff reviews reflect their personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.

Book Review: “Every Single Lie” by Rachel Vincent

Want to read a book in which WBBJ and Jackson, TN is featured? A book that’s both a mystery and social commentary?

Every Single Lie is set in the fictional community of Clifford in West Tennessee; Jackson is mentioned frequently as the nearest larger town. Beckett Bergen is a regular teen who finds a deceased baby in the girls’ locker room at school, an event that turns her life and town upside-down and garners national attention. But who is the baby’s mother? What happened to the baby? And how will Beckett be able to clear her own name- if that’s even possible anymore?

Mild spoilers ahead.

What Every Single Lie gets right: This is a great book about the realities of teen pregnancy in the South, how social media can completely get out of hand, and how secrets can threaten to destroy lives. It’s well-written, engrossing, and empathetic. Each character has their own personal motivations and reasons for why they act the way they do.

I won’t write too much about this and spoil it, but let’s just say the “salon scene” was hard to read because it was too real. Author Rachel Vincent got that whole subset of Southern culture completely right in that moment. While Vincent didn’t get everything right (see below), she did a good job overall of portraying the good and bad of a small Tennessee town.

What Every Single Lie gets wrong: I loved this book, but, being from the real area of Jackson, there’s two things I thought were definitely, well, fictionalized.

1. People in West Tennessee don’t really call drinks “sodas” as far as I’m aware. It’s usually “soft drinks” or “Cokes.” The characters mentioned “sodas” multiple times and I found that odd. However, the author did grow up in a small Tennessee town, so maybe they really did say “sodas” where she’s from.
2. The go-getter, dishonest Jackson reporter from WBBJ was just . . . not how WBBJ reporters are. I can’t see them acting the way that they do in this book even if we had a huge national news kind of story here. That’s just not how local reporting is done in Jackson.

So, take this book with a grain of salt in regards to how West Tennessee is portrayed, and maybe just think of this version of Jackson as completely fictional.

Recommended for: Fans of mysteries and thrillers; readers who enjoy high school/contemporary settings. And if you’re a Mindy McGinnis fan like me, you’ll love this; Every Single Lie has that same gritty, practical tone that McGinnis uses in her books.

Not recommended for: Readers who may still be experiencing trauma about childbirth, abortion, or the death of a family member. All of these topics are at the forefront of this book, and, while they are handled carefully, it might be too overwhelming for some readers.

Every Single Lie is available in our Recreational Reading section.

Content note: language, death, teenage pregnancy, brief mentions of sexual activity

Olivia Chin’s reviews reflect her own opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.

Monday Movie: “Sherlock Holmes”

When evil criminal Lord Henry Blackwood is finally caught and executed, all of England rests peacefully. That is, until he comes back from the dead to terrorize England all over again. This time, it is up to detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his partner Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) to uncover the mystery surrounding Blackwood’s supposed resurrection and to apprehend the wanted criminal.

Sherlock Holmes is a masterful mystery, full of wit, humor, and charm, and no small amount of action and character. Robert Downey Jr. shines as the classic character, portraying the genius as impressively cunning and witty, and yet socially awkward and a rather bad friend at times to Dr. Watson. He balances his extreme intelligence and deductive skills with a rather oblivious social character who many times, though he can see how a fight will go before it happens, can’t see how his words and actions will affect his relationships.

This is where Watson is such a good partner. An intellectual lesser to Holmes, Watson possesses the relational ability Holmes lacks. While he loves the adventure that traveling with Holmes brings, Watson really just wants to settle down and marry his fiance Mary. However, this marriage will take Watson away from Holmes, something Holmes doesn’t want, which leads to a rather awkward love triangle that persists throughout the movie. Thankfully, this tension causes both characters to grow.

Sherlock Holmes works as a perfect mystery, as Holmes deduces sometimes absurd conclusions from limited data throughout his pursuit of Blackwood. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes offers enough actions and twists to keep audiences engaged throughout. However, younger audiences may not be able to follow the entirety of the intricate plot and might not enjoy Sherlock Holmes as much as other action movies. For older audiences, Sherlock Holmes is likely Downey Jr.’s best performance outside of Iron Man, and one of the best mystery movies of the 2000’s.

Sherlock Holmes is available in the Logos.

Book Review: “The Girl On The Train” by Paula Hawkins

I wanted a popular, well-rated thriller to keep me occupied over a long holiday weekend, so I picked up The Girl On The Train from our Recreational Reading section. Written by Paula Hawkins, this thriller follows the intertwined stories of three women: an unemployed alcoholic, a superficial stay-at-home mother, and a former artist who mysteriously goes missing. What do they all have in common, and what happened to the missing woman? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

Mild spoilers ahead.

 

What The Girl On The Train gets right: I could not put this book down. I had to know how the three main women were connected. There was also an antagonist somewhere in this story, and that person is not revealed until the last third of the book, so I was kept guessing about who they were and why they were doing all of this.

Rachel, the main character, is an alcoholic and still recovering from her complicated divorce several years ago. She is both frustrating and sympathetic, making her point of view seem unreliable. However, as the reader, you will see that her intuition and memories are not always wrong.

When Rachel witnesses a strange scene from her commuter train, and then hears about a missing woman, she begins investigating the situation. Slowly, more information is revealed as we get the perspective of other characters, too. Finally, the book leads us to a harrowing conclusion.

What The Girl On The Train gets wrong: One of the characters, Megan, is not as fleshed out as the other two point-of-view characters. While there’s a plot-related reason for this, it makes reading from her view disappointing. She just doesn’t seem like a full person.

I was also a little disappointed by the reveal of the antagonist. This person just seemed so typical. I had already come up with an entirely different scenario to explain the crimes committed, and to be honest, I liked my idea better.

Who should read The Girl On The Train: Readers who want a page-turner that they can’t put down.

Who shouldn’t read The Girl On The Train: Readers who dislike reading about suspense and abuse.

 

The Girl On The Train is available in our Recreational Reading section.

Content note: language, violence, domestic abuse, substance abuse, brief suggestive scenes.

Book review written by Circulation Manager Olivia Chin; personal opinions are her own and not those of the library or university.

Top 5 Suspenseful Movies For Halloween

If you enjoy a little Halloween fun but don’t want to watch a movie that’s too scary, then a suspenseful film may be the right choice for you. The library has several suspenseful and older horror movies that, while entertaining, will probably not shock a modern audience. Check out our list below for some great choices!

Note: there are a lot of fantastic thrillers in the world of cinema, so this list is limited to the ones that we have available in the library.

Rebecca

A young bride is brought by her new husband to his manor house in England. There she finds that the memory of her husband’s first wife haunts her, and she tries to discover the secret of that mysterious woman’s death. Rebecca the book is also a classic suspense novel.

Nosferatu

Take it all the way back to 1922 with this thrilling, silent film about Dracula (called Nosferatu in this version). While the effects may not be as scary to a modern viewer, they are dazzling for the time period. Nosferatu is one of the most influential films of the modern horror genre.

Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock was certainly one director who knew how to tell suspenseful stories. Vertigo is the story of San Francisco police detective Scottie Ferguson, who is forced to retire when a freak accident gives him a severe case of acrophobia. Ferguson is hired by a rich shipbuilder to follow his wife, who is behaving suspiciously and might be planning suicide.

The Sixth Sense

If you don’t know the twist to The Sixth Sense, watch it before you find out! This is a great movie to watch at least twice- once before you know the twist, and once after. Bruce Willis gives an empathetic performance as a child psychologist who tries to help a boy with visions of dead people.

Donnie Darko

This was my favorite movie for many years. Donnie Darko has everything that a good suspense/science fiction movie needs: a giant bunny rabbit, a countdown to the end of the world (starting on October 2nd and ending on Halloween), and a classic 80’s New Wave soundtrack. I love Donnie Darko because it’s a movie that could fit in so many genres- and it will keep you guessing until the very end- but ultimately it’s about a troubled teenage boy trying to figure out how the world works, and what’s more relatable than that?

Bonus movie:

Jaws

The first summer blockbuster was also a terrifying experience for moviegoers in 1975. Jaws is notable especially for its soundtrack, which inspires a creeping sense of dread as the giant shark approaches. Jaws will not be as scary to current horror fans due to limited (but still impressive) effects, which makes it a great movie for those who prefer suspense. You can read Matthew’s review of Jaws here.

Matthew’s Monday Movie: “Insomnia”

Insomnia by director Christopher Nolan is a hidden gem and one of his lesser known works. While Nolan is mostly known for his epic action pieces like The Dark Knight franchise or his sci-fi themed dramas like Inception, Insomnia is a modern take on noir, mystery crime thrillers. The film features a star studded cast that includes Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank.

The plot centers around Will Dormer, a veteran detective with a troubled past who agrees to help out an old friend with a case in a remote Alaskan town. There he finds that a young girl has been murdered, and it is up to him to find the girl’s killer. While attempting to track down the culprit, he soon finds that the tables have turned, as the killer has learned of a terrible mistake that Detective Dormer is responsible for. The killer uses this information as leverage and blackmails the troubled detective into helping him attempt to clear his name from growing police suspicion.

Detective Dormer struggles with the guilt of his crime and his sense of duty in bringing the killer to justice. The tension of the film builds due to the location and time of year: in Alaska during the summer months, it remains bright and sunny even at night. Along the way, a young local detective named Ellie Burr (Hillary Swank) who idolizes Dormer begins to suspect that things are not what they seem with the veteran officer. The film ends with a long anticipated showdown between Dormer and the killer, culminating into a dramatic confrontation.

This film tends to fly under most people’s radar and is usually eclipsed by Christopher Nolan’s more famous works, but I find it quite thought provoking and the acting is spot on. The intensity and depth of the characters is remarkably both genuine and realistic.  The film still stands at a solid 92% on the website Rotten Tomatoes.

Insomnia is a great addition to Mr. Nolan’s filmography; it’s an engaging thriller and not your average murder mystery. It is available at the Union University Library and rated R for violence and language.