Reviews

Want to know what our librarians and staff are reading? Browse through a variety of reviews added to our catalog from a variety of genres.

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  • The Witches
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Aug 4, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    the movie is about a group of witches having a convention and they want to turn children into mice. A boy and his grandmother look for a way to stop them. They come up with a formuka that turns them into mice and are successful in doing so. The boy does become a mouse in the process. Will he return to human form? You will have to watch the movie and see. was a good movie

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  • North country
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Donna P on Aug 3, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    Based on a class acyion in 2002. A woman leaves her abusive husband and moves back home and takes a job in the iron mines. Her a few other women that work there get harrassed by the men who feel that the job should only be for men. She gets enough women to eventually join her and they take the owner of the mine to court for harrassment. Was a very good movie.

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  • Perfect health : the complete mind body guide by Chopra, Deepak.
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen E on Aug 1, 2020

    Tagged: Health and Fitness Self-Help Cooking and Nutrition

    This is my first time reading a Deepak Chopra book and I highly recommend it! Here is an opportunity to learn the basics of Ayurvedic thinking including the doshas, sub-doshas, and chalkras as they relate to five elements. I have always been a believer in 5elements but never quite understood indian quantum healing and what the take-aways are for modern living. Here is your opportunity to learn the lingo and be able to discuss and reflect on Vata, Pita, or Kapha imbalances and examine the compromises you might be making in an attempt to thrive in modern 2020 society. In particular if you suffer from workaholism, granola bars have replaced your need to cook for yourself, caffeine has replaced your breakfast, and adrenaline keeps you up working even later at nights this might be the book you have been seeking to help break that cycle. While some of the suggestions sound minor or inconsequential; if a proper regime is followed it would likely provide some welcome respite to the treadmill of productivity. Solutions discussed include everything from adding sesame seeds to your salad, eating sprouts, massaging your skin, giving yourself hugs, and going multiple days in a row without coffee to break the addiction cycle. If you are already following a strict 'diet' (atkins, keto, weight watchers) being told to meditate and go on walks is going to sound super low key but all healthy choices are cumulative and it's not to late to cultivate that lifestyle for yourself. The solutions feel low key and you are not told exactly what to eat. If you are already into healthy practices such as raw foods, veganism, and kombucca and able to incorporate even more of these ideas into your routine please comment below how you made time for it and how it helped train your body and your mind.

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  • The Karate kid.
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 24, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    Daniel goes to Okinawa with Mr. Miyagi. Mr Miyagi's father is dying. They encounter a group who are holding a grudge against Mr Miyagi.He learns a few more moves and eventually fights. He has an opportunity where he could kill his opponent he doesn't instead he tweaks his nose. Mr Miyagi looks on proundly.

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  • The Karate Kid
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 20, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    a good movie, A boy moves to a new state and gets picked on. He wants to join a karate class but the person picking on him is in the class. He becomes friends with an older gentleman from his apartment complex, He learns karate the right way from this gentleman and wins a tournament.

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  • Dirty dancing
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 16, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    A good movie today just like it was when mit first came out. A nice summer movie that I enjoyed watching.Only wish I could dance like them.

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  • All the President's men
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 10, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    Washington Post reporter Bob woodward covers the story of what he thought was a break in to the Democratic National Headquarters. The more he investigated the more suspicious he got about the accused. He gets assigned the story and told to run with it. What he unvails goes all the way up to the whitehouse. Good movie.

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  • The lake house
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 8, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    A romantic story of two people who stayed at the lake house in various years. One in 2004 the other 2006. They communicated by letters they put in the mailbox of the house. They set a date where they would meet, he didn't show up. She realized why he didn't show up(something nad happened to him) she write him a letter to tell him what happened and to stop him from showing up. She wasn't sure if it would reach him in time. Was a good movie.

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  • Welcome to the universe : an astrophysical tour by Tyson, Neil De Grasse
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen ? on Jul 7, 2020

    Tagged: African American Science History

    Tyson, Strauss, and Gott met when they were working on their respective thesis' and remained in contact and eventually taught together and now after years of research and career success have united to publish this book with a jazzy cover design Welcome to the Universe. This is what you need to read if you need a refresher course on what Atoms are, where planet Centauri is. This is the book you need to read if you have forgotten which galaxy is beyond (ours) the Milky Way; Andromeda. Likewise if you haven't kept up with discoveries in our lifetimes on Cosmic microwave background radiation which is what is left of the 'big bang' that we can observe this should clarify that so that you can discuss it at dinner. Finally, and somewhat amusingly, since 1997 we have applied simpler terms like Expansion and even 'low grade inflation' to explain the idea of multiverse. So the universe is complicated, and we are still in an expansionary period but you can read up on it here and be cutting edge for free now thanks to these three phenomenal authors, educators, but most of all enthusiastic astrophysicists. 

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  • Letters from an astrophysicist by Tyson, Neil deGrasse,
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen ? on Jul 7, 2020

    Tagged: African American Rare Books Manuscripts and Digital Collections Science

    I am alleging that this is actually Neil Degrasse Tyson's best or most important work. That is due to the wide variety of material selected from a period of time in the 1990s when his email address was public and he was responding to a wide variety of fan mail, hate mail, and truly bizarre pseudo science questions as well as real questions. My email inbox has never been this interesting and neither has yours I am willing to bet.  NDT's wit, intellect, and pure knowledge of physics are on full display. It makes sense; you grow up in the Bronx, you set your sights high literally and figuratively and become an African American Astrophysicist and people have questions for you. Generously, Mr. Tyson has included and categorized the topics thematically, standout letters which present an aggregate of not only the overall content that he has responded to for decades; but representative of the sincerity, dedication, steadfast consistency and delicacy with which he has treated his audience of devotees, yielding some of the most profound responses one could ever hope for, from anyone of any race or creed or profession, across all time and space. A True hero.

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  • The hidden kingdom by Sutherland, Tui,
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Megan M on Jul 7, 2020

    Tagged: Audiobooks Children Fiction LGBTQ Summer Reading

    This review contains spoilers! Click to reveal...

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  • Hope for animals and their world : how endangered species are being rescued from the brink by Goodall, Jane,
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen ? on Jul 3, 2020

    Tagged: Science Summer Reading Animals and Nature

    Imagine what luxurious experiences your life would contain if you travelled the globe learning about different animal species! That is exactly what Jane Goodall did. When she wasn't doing her own work in Kenya and England she was networking and building relationships with conservationists all over the world and accepted literally 100s of invitations to visit zoos, species habitats, or conservation projects. This book provides personal stories from people on the frontlines doing work to re-introduce species to the wild, or prevent their extinction. The book therefore is hopeful in that it covers a hodgepodge of species which have made a come back. This is a wonderful Tour de Force Nature and could be used as a bedtime summer reading book as well because many of the animals are covered for 4 or 7 pages and you have suddenly traveled from Brasil to Florida Everglades, to Australia in under an hour. There is also a useful 'What you can do' resource and bibliography at the back of the book so if you are not interested in the California condor or Red Wolf you can skip to the animals you want to be proficient in. The stories are printed in a sort of stream of consiousness there is no rhyme or reason to the order so jump in anywhere and enjoy! #Marine Biology #Conservation
     

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  • God is red : a native view of religion by Deloria, Vine.
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen ? on Jul 2, 2020

    Tagged: New Americans Religion Social Science

    Vine Deloria is to Native Americana what Julia Childs is to cooking, or better; what Neil DeGrasse Tyson is to Astronomy. Vine Deloria was the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. He's probably the only Native person to have been a Marine. Go to theology school then also get a J.D. and author 20books. Patiently but directly explaining and correcting your biased understanding of a white mans' God concept which you have been hounded with either subtly or by . Native Americans don't view Earth as an object. Shrines and Temples and the fact that God acted historically, none of that is central to the native concept of God. The Spirit of the Universe was felt and tapped into, and the role that medicine men played is explained. If you are in a dry spot spiritually due to the chaos in the universe and our fabricated money centric economy why not give Vine Deloria a try. Spirituality is something that you create for yourself; not something that someone can sell you. Remember the grass is green wherever you water it.

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  • Black Klansman : race, hate, and the undercover investigation of a lifetime by Stallworth, Ron.
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Ellen ? on Jul 2, 2020

    Tagged: African American Movies and Television History

    The Movie has been circulating, but of course the book came first and is based on a true story. I defer to the New York Times plot summary to pique your interest: "In 1978, Ron Stallworth was a 25-year-old officer on the Colorado Springs police force — the first black detective in the city’s history — when he rang David Duke, then the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. That call, part of a successful, if highly improbable, seven-month undercover operation Stallworth conducted into the Klan’s local chapter, has been memorialized on film by John David Washington, who plays Stallworth in this summer’s much lauded adaptation by Spike Lee of Stallworth’s memoir, “Black Klansman” (retitled for the movie as “BlacKkKlansman”)." Give it a try. It's heavy, painful, real, and surreal. HIlarious moments and epic hairdoo help lighten how things really were in America just a few decades ago. Please post your comments below. Curious to hear what you think. There are some slights against Jews in the film (another stereotype, but a stereotype worth talking about). If you are mixed ethnicity caught in the middle of this hugely polarized portrayal of race which has played out for too long in America, but you simultaneously realize you stand on the shoulders of human rights leaders and other everyday heros please contribute on why this was poignant and what was most un-comfortable.

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  • Dark places by Flynn, Gillian,
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jul 2, 2020

    Tagged: Fiction

    A girl investigates the murder of her mom and 2 sisters in which her brother is in jail for committing. There were lots of twists and turns but she does uncover the truth about the murders and who committed them. Was a good book, kept my interest.

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  • Whiplash
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jun 30, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    was an intense movie. A student in an elite music school is an ambitious drummer. An instructor known for his terrifying and often not nice ways of teaching hears him practicing and invites him to join a jazz ensemble. Thi instructor pushes him to the brink of his ability and sanity.

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  • The Help
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jun 24, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    I enjoyed this movie. It was set in mississippi when the help of the white people were black. The black mostly raised the children of their employers. A woman decided to write a book of the help and the stories they told and how they were treated by their emploer. The residents of the town didnt like what was written about them. goog movie

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  • The lost heir by Sutherland, Tui,
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Megan M on Jun 23, 2020

    Tagged: Audiobooks Children Family Fiction LGBTQ Summer Reading

    Tsunami believes she is a long, lost sea dragon princess, the last royal female sea dragonet, and now that she and her friends have escaped their Skywing prison, she is finally going to see her kingdom and reunite with her tribe! But once there, with all her dreams seemingly come true, a disillusioned Tsunami realizes that the Kingdom of the Sea isn't quite what she expected, and she may not belong there after all. First, Tsunami has a major deficit in her education that she's just finding out about, and because of it, she may not be able to communicate properly with her fellow sea dragons. Second, she discovers, with surprise, that she is NOT the last royal female sea dragonet! She has a one-year old sister who is being bred for the throne and is literally attached to their mother, Queen Coral, day and night. And then there's that secret about her father Tsunami desperately wishes wasn't true, and that her mother may have her put to death for! While the first Wings of Fire book introduced me to the world Pyrrhia, and revolved around Clay's story and his perspective, The Lost Heir took me to a new area, the Kingdom of the Seawings, and continued the story, focusing on Tsunami. I was genuinely sad for Tsunami when her story didn't work out quite like the fairy tale she thought it was based on her, but ever-ready and ever-confident Tsunami was quickly able to switch gears and set her priorities straight, like the true leader she is, and always was, regardless of title. I highly recommend this audiobook to new Wings of Fire fans, although I feel like this series is definitely one to read in order so make sure to read or listen to The Dragonet Prophecy first. The audiobook version read by Shannon McManus is fantastic! It has a very clear sound and McManus gives each dragon a unique voice which makes the listening experience even better. Listen while cleaning your room, doing the dishes, or get the whole family to journey to Pyrrhia during a long car ride! And, this audiobook is available on hoopla so you don't have to wait!

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  • Dead Poets Society
    ★★★★★

    Reviewed by Donna P on Jun 23, 2020

    Tagged: Movies and Television

    Was about a group of boys who went to a prestigious boys school and the friendships they made. This one particular teacher helps them to be themselves. One boys father takes him away from his dreams. The boy commiuts suicide. They blame the teacher not the parent. The teacher is forced to leave but as he's leaving the students show how much he really meant to them. very good movie

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  • The dragonet prophecy by Sutherland, Tui,
    ★★★★☆

    Reviewed by Megan M on Jun 22, 2020

    Tagged: Audiobooks Children Fiction LGBTQ Summer Reading

    He doesn't want to believe it, but he knows it must be true. The guardians were there that day, and one in particular likes to remind him of what he had tried to do, of what a deadly creature he can be.  He's a murderous monster who tried to kill his fellow dragonets moments after hatching from his own egg, and that monster inside him is just waiting for the right moment to show its claws again. Clay's been told that story a thousand times, and battle trained for years, but the five-year old dragonet just doesn't want to hurt or kill other dragons. All he wants is a good meal and to spend time with his closest friends: Tsunami, Glory, Sunny and Starflight.  But when Clay discovers that their guardians plan to kill Glory, he and the other dragonets hatch a plan of their own to ensure her survival, and escape from the cave they've lived in their whole life.  This is necessary because these five young dragons are the Dragonets of Destiny, ordained through a prophecy to end the great war and save the world.  But how can five dragonets who've been hidden away in a cave their whole life accomplish that?  Clay has no idea, but once their plan is set into motion, there is no going back.

    I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I love the fantasy genre, but for some reason I've always abhorred stories that don't feature humanoids as the main characters. I mean, can I really get invested in a story told from the perspective of an imaginary animal?  Well, apparently when Tui T. Sutherland creates a world and characters like the ones in the Wings of Fire series, and Shannon McManus reads those stories aloud, I totally can!  If you’re looking for a new fantasy series that combines adventure and mystery with relatable characters, this might be the series for you.  I checked out book two, The Lost Heir, as soon as I finished listening to The Dragonet Prophecy, because I couldn’t wait to hear about the dragonets next trip to the sea kingdom!  

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