#ComicsWednesday: Lucky Penny by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota

Penny Brighton has made some poor choices in her life (see tattoo of a snake on her neck); add in a string of terrible luck (fired on the same day her roommate moves out and Penny can't afford the rent on her own). Lucky Penny, written by Ananth Hirsh and illustrated by Yuko Ota, has a blend of optimism and dark humor that will appeal to anyone familiar with the struggle that is your twenties. I'm especially fond of Ota's art, which has an appealing balance of realistic detail and cartoony movement. It works especially well in the sections illustrating Penny's active imagination. The team behind this graphic novel scores bonus points for respecting the romance novel genre, even as they poke gentle fun (see alternate cover design below).

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley

Displacement: A Travelogue is the fourth* book from the autobiographical cartoonist Lucy Knisley, and it is my hands-down favorite.** I've been reading her comics since 2009***, and I've admired the way she's grown and expanded in her skills as an illustrator and as a storyteller. That she focuses her pen on her own life only adds to that sense of growth; inevitably, both she as author and I as reader have gained perspective and maturity over the years.

I've encountered readers who found it difficult to relate to her earlier works because of  her youth. That generational differences are part of the focus for Displacement might add appeal to readers outside of the "Millennial" label, especially those readers who might be hearing of her work for the first time after her recent Eisner nomination.

Click to enlarge

Displacement focuses on Lucy's experience accompanying her 90-something grandparents on a Caribbean cruise. Lucy is adrift in her mid-twenties, facing all the uncertainty of career and personal life, while her grandparents are experiencing the decline and loss of their twilight years. The change in roles and responsibilities in their relationship is an aspect that I found particularly meaningful in my own reading. There's a billboard I pass every time I drive to visit my parents showing a young girl with her parents, and then the same family thirty-forty years in the future with the phrase "Roles Change" and I have to grip the steering wheel a little harder for a mile or two.

My favorite element of the book were the passages Lucy illustrated from the diary her grandfather kept during World War II. This added a depth to the narrative, which, by the nature of a memoir, has the danger of falling too deeply into the author's own experience. These passages created a fuller image of her grandparents by giving us a glimpse into their lives when they were 20-somethings themselves. It certainly contributed to the fact that I was tearing up by the end of the book.

~Sarah, Adult Services


*not counting her self-published titles or anthologies she's contributed to

**to be fair, I'm only halfway through reading her most recent book, Something New

***Full disclosure, Lucy Knisley is part of my sister's extended social circle, to the extent that my sister appeared in a few of Lucy's online comics. We've met once or twice, but this was many years ago.

I Read Banned Books: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

This year for Banned Books Week I read Fun Home: a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, a graphic novel which has lingered on my TBR (to be read) list for almost a decade. A combination of recent controversy, an award winning Broadway adaptation, and some friendly encouragement finally tipped the scales.

Fun Home was first published in 2006, and was almost immediately challenged in a Missouri public library. Due to the images depicting sexual acts, specifically sexual acts featuring LGTBQ participants, there have been several other challenges over the years. You can read more about its controversial history in this article from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Fun Home is a memoir about Bechdel's relationship with her father, his death, and her journey to understanding her own sexuality. It is not an easy read. This book is dense with complicated emotions, not uncommon when considering how our relationships with family change as we grow older. However the added tragedy of her father's sudden death (or possible suicide) hard on the heels of Bechdel coming out as a lesbian and the revelation that her father had spent his life in the closet, creates a sort of drama that colors every other aspect of their relationship. She examines her memories for hints and signs overlooked, unable to continue their conversation directly.

In the most recent controversy, students at Duke University objected to Fun Home's selection as a title all incoming first-year students were encouraged to read. As far as I know, no one has called for Fun Home's removal from the library shelves or syllabi at Duke. However, it's interesting how several of the students who refused to read this book said that they would've read it in print, but the graphic novel format made the content too objectionable. It's not uncommon for a challenge to a graphic novel to be based in part on the fact that the objectionable material has been illustrated, rather than simply described in words.

There are three graphic novels on the American Library Association's list of Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books for 2014:

• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: a memoir about growing up in Iran
• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples: a sort of science-fiction romance (read my review)
• Drama by Raina Telgemeier: a story about a first love and a middle school play (read Andrew's review)

Like those Duke students, I avoided reading Fun Home -- not for some moral reasons, but simply because I knew this wasn't a fun book and I prefer happy endings in my books. However, it is important to push myself outside of my comfort zone sometimes because each time I have, I've discovered something wonderful. That said, I'm glad I waited until I was ready to read this book, and I'd reached a point in my life where I had the perspective to really appreciate Bechdel's memoir. Nine years ago I might have fixated on the tragedy and missed the quieter advice that it is damaging to force yourself to live within the confines of expectations, even your own.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Downloading Digital Comics From Overdrive

We've got a lot of fans of comic books and graphic novels here at Carnegie-Stout and we're very proud of our collection of print comics for adults. We're also very excited that digital comics are starting to find their way into Overdrive as publishers like Image and Dark Horse start making their books available to library ebook readers. For a full list of comics currently available through Overdrive, use Advanced Search to see everything with the subject "Comic and Graphic Books." You can see the results of that search here.

(If you're not into kids' comics and want to get fancy, remember that you can set your Overdrive account to show only books of certain maturity levels -- but that's a different blog post.)

If you're used to downloading our ebooks in EPUB format, our comics are going to work a little differently from what you're used to. Most of them are in Overdrive's Read format. Read opens books in your browser and is generally pretty handy, but it takes a few extra steps to get your comics saved offline so you can read them without an internet connection. Let me walk you through it:

 On Anything Except an iPad or iPhone

If you're not on an iOS device, this is really quick. The screenshots I have are from an Android tablet, but things should be the same on an Android phone or a computer.

Once you've checked your comic out and you're at the Bookshelf page, you'll see a picture of the book and a button that says Read. Click Read to open the book in your browser.

Once the book has loaded, tap the center of the page to open up the Read menu and then the black box in the top left corner of the page to see more options.

In this sidebar menu, pick Offline Access.

In the Offline Access page, click the round button with a little cloud in the middle. Your device will spend a few seconds downloading and let you know when it's done. At this point, the book is saved on your device, but you still need to give yourself an easy way to get back to it. You can bookmark it just like a webpage, but I recommend putting it on your home screen or desktop. These steps will vary a little based on your device and what browser you're using, but Overdrive will give you instructions right on that Offline Access page. When you're done, you'll have a handy button to go straight to your comic.

On an iPad or iPhone

If you're on an iOS device, you'll want to do basically the same steps, but in a slightly different order. 

 Check your comic out and then, on the Bookshelf page, click the Read button.

Once your comic has opened in Safari, click the share button (that's the weird little square with an arrow coming out the top) and pick Add to Home Screen.

Now you've got a nice little link to your comic, but it's not saved on your device yet. Tap your new icon to open the book. You'll be asked to log in with your library card number and PIN, just like when you checked the book out.

Once you've logged in and the book has loaded, tap the center of the page to open the Read menu and then the black box in the top left corner to see more options.

 

In this sidebar, pick Offline Access. In the Offline Access page, click the round button with a small cloud in the center. Your device will spend a few seconds downloading the book and let you know when it's done. Once it's finished, you're all set. Just tap the icon on your home screen whenever you want to read more.

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs has everything you need to start being a girl geek (or boy geek) or enhance your already established geekdom. (It even has a litany!)

It discusses:

• fandoms like Harry Potter, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Whedonites, the Unsullied (fans of Game of Thrones who've only seen the TV show) and Bookwalkers (people who've read the books before watching the TV show),
• defining characteristics of being part of a fandom including key accessories, how to become one, and the unending debates fandoms have (Is DC better than Marvel? Kirk or Picard? Who is Jon Snow's mother?), and
• where to find like-minded people (like our Graphic Content book club that meets every other month to discuss graphic novels).

There's a chapter on conventions that includes a how-to guide so you stay hydrated, get that photo with your favorite celebrity, and rock a costume like no one else.
It also has interviews with women working on some of your favorite TV shows and writing your favorite books. Jill Pantozzi, editor in chief of The Mary Sue; Jane Espenson, writer and producer of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, and Once Upon a Time; Laura Vandervoort, star of Bitten and Smallville; Beth Revis, author of the Across the Universe trilogy and others answer questions on the positive influence of geekdom in their lives and advice for geek girls.

The book also recommends media where you can find kick-ass female characters.

Comics

Batwoman: Elegy written by Greg Rucka, artwork by J.H. Williams III, colors by Dave Stewart

Ms. Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jacob Wyatt (Check out Sarah's review of Ms. Marvel here.)

Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe

Television and Movies

Firefly

Haywire

Sanctuary






Books

Huntress by Malinda Ho

The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce









Anime

Attack on Titan

Slayers









When you're done reading The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks, check out some other related books.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by Felicia Day (star of The Guild)

Staff Review: Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, & Jacob Wyatt

Heroes and heroism are at the center of the 2015 summer reading program, when the library challenges readers of all ages to read something new. We do offer rewards to readers who meet or exceed the challenge, so be sure to check out the details for the Adult Summer Reading Program if you haven't yet.

At various points in our lives, we all look to a variety of people and professions for our heroes, but who is more obvious than a superhero? They might not be real, but they can provide inspiration to people of all ages. I'm still fairly new to the world of superheroes, but I have my favorites, including Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel.

Written by G. Willow Wilson, and illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jacob Wyatt, Ms. Marvel is both entertaining and inspiring. This is the sort of comic book I wish I could give to my teenage self to read because she would've loved it. There will be some spoilers from this point forward, so be warned!

Kamala, a normal teenage girl, suddenly gains superpowers that allow her to save people just like her hero, Captain Marvel. Unfortunately, she gained them after sneaking out of her house to attend a party her parents specifically forbade her to attend. And that's the charm of this series, in between superpowered battles, Kamala faces challenges and questions familiar to most teens and young adults. Everyone has to learn how to balance the expectations of family, friends, and society at large, while still being true to the person you are inside. Kamala is exploring not just what it means to be a hero, but how she can be a hero and a good daughter to her parents who moved from Pakistan to New Jersey to give their children a chance at a better life.

Not that Ms. Marvel is 100% serious all the time, this is absolutely a fun series. Seriously, if I were limited to one word it would be fun. Kamala's shapechanging abilities are versatile, unstable, and used to great effect. The art is both detailed, with interesting backgrounds that make the setting a real part of the larger story, while still colorful and cartoony. The book does assume you have a basic familiarity with superheroes, but you don't need to get any of the references to other series or characters to thoroughly enjoy this series on its own.

There are currently two volumes of this series available, with the third to be released later this summer:
Ms. Marvel volume 1: No Normal
Ms. Marvel volume 2: Generation Y
Ms. Marvel volume 3: Crushed*

~Sarah, Adult Services

*Volume 3 is on order and will appear in the library's catalog for holds by the end of the July.

Books for a Blizzard

We've pulled together a few favorites for you to check out before the first real winter storm of the season hits. Stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor to grab one from the display.

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Also available as an OverDrive eBook.

Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte

Marley and Me by John Grogan
Also available as an OverDrive eBook.

Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Also available as an OverDrive eBook.

Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

If You Liked Rocket Raccoon, Try Airplane Monkey!

Sarah and I were both huge fans of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice (you can read Sarah’s review here). We’ve spent the last several months watching the literary awards roll in for Leckie’s singular and inventive story of a former spaceship out for revenge. When the British Science Fiction Association announced the choice for Best Novel of 2013, Ancillary Justice had tied with Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell, a book whose synopsis made “former spaceship out for revenge” sound positively pedestrian. From the back cover:

In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed ‘Ack-Ack Macaque.’ The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey, and he’s starting to doubt everything, including his own existence.

To be honest, that’s the sort of pitch that usually elicits a chuckle but then disappoints me. With so many self-consciously far-fetched ideas in play, it’s no mean feat to keep a book from spinning wildly out of control. But if the British Science Fiction Association said Powell’s Nazi-fighting monkey pilot book was actually one of the two best sci-fi novels of the year, then I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

Once I got into the book, things became even more complicated with the addition of a modern day plot built around alternate history, domineering corporations, transhumanists, and nuclear zeppelins. With all these elements crammed together, I’d have been impressed if Powell simply pulled off a crash he could walk away from. Instead, he soared effortlessly. The characters are fun and believable. The plot is engrossing and cohesive (though really hard to convey to a third party -- just ask my wife). There were moments where it's exactly as silly as a warrior monkey book should be alongside moments of genuine suspense and emotional weight.

My title for this review suggests Ack-Ack Macaque as a good follow-up for Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite the shared theme of cybernetically-enhanced mammals with big guns and aircraft, I don’t know that I’d say one is a good match to the other. Ack-Ack Macaque is fairly dark and spends a lot of time considering questions of humanity in a world of cybernetic implants. Guardians of the Galaxy certainly has some heart and sci-fi chops, but keeps things loose and funny. All that said, both works share an important feature of successful high concept media: despite the superficial absurdity of their premise, they play things straight. They don’t wink to the reader or viewer, trying to make sure we know that they know that a talking monkey is silly. Nor do they veer toward grim and gritty excess in order to grind out any trace of silliness. To some degree, both works succeed because their creators believe they can -- no extra support or justification required.

If, after Ack Ack Macaque, you’ve still not had your fill of uplifted animals, try one of these:

• Hive Monkey by Gareth Powell -- The sequel to Ack-Ack Macaque. I haven’t read it yet, but it seems an obvious place to turn.

• We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly -- If you want to read a thrilling and gory action comic that will have you weeping bitterly at the end, I’ve got the book for you!

• Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines -- For those who like their talking animal comics with a more philosophical bent.

• Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O’Brien -- A classic and personal favorite, this children’s novel is quieter and lighter on the sci-fi, but no less engrossing.

Mini Staff Review: Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

I'm honestly a little surprised that we haven't already reviewed the Saga series on the library's blog before because it is a bit of a staff favorite. Written by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man & Runaways), and gorgeously illustrated by Fiona Staples, Saga is an endlessly creative science fiction romp. And yes, the covers seen here are Staples' work (I'm always annoyed when the art inside a comic is nothing like the art I loved on the cover). A witty space opera with a fascinating cast of characters that stands up well to rereads, a plus when one considers the wait between new issues. The central characters are Alana and Marko, soldiers from opposite sides of a galaxy spanning war who fall in love and have a daughter, which makes their family a target of just about everyone. Readers bothered by violence, nudity, and other adult content should steer clear, but everyone else is in a smart and entertaining treat.

~Sarah, Adult Services

ComicsPlus Library Edition

Carnegie-Stout has digital books, audio books, music, and magazines. These services have proven to be a popular option that lets folks get library materials without worrying about hours or parking. Now, thanks to funding from the Friends of the Library, we're pleased to start offering digital comics.

ComicsPlus Library Edition offers thousands of comics, readable on any device with an internet connection and a full-featured web browser. The comics look great and work smoothly on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. To get started, click the link above or go to our homepage, mouse over E-Branch Library to select Digital Collections, and then click the link for ComicsPlus Library Edition.

To start reading comics you'll need both a library card and a ComicsPlus account. If you're new to ComicsPlus, you'll want to start by clicking Register Now to make an account. Just type in your email address and make up a password (the password must contain numbers, lowercase and uppercase characters -- minimum 5 characters).

Once you've created your account and return to the login page, click on the Library box to switch it to
Carnegie-Stout. Then enter your email address, the password you just made, your library card number, and your PIN (the boxes for your card number and PIN are labeled Patron Username and Patron Password). If you get an error saying that your patron username or password are considered invalid, it's probably a simple issue with your card. Give the library a call at (563) 589-4225 and we'll probably be able to clear it up over the phone.

Once you've logged in, you can browse the available comics by publisher or search by title and author. When you find something you want, just click Borrow to start reading. Titles check out for one week. You don't need to do anything once the week is up. Your expired comic will just disappear. Every comic can be read by any number of patrons at a time, so you'll never see something that isn't available. Because you read the comic online rather than downloading it, you do need to have an Internet connection while reading.

Relish VS And the Mountains Echoed: Dubuque Tournament of Books, round 2

This week we'll be posting the judges' decisions for the second round of the 2nd Annual Dubuque Tournament of Books. To see an overview of the judges and contestants, check out this blog post. To see why Fran selected Relish by Lucy Knisley in the first round, click here. To see why Marie selected And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini in the first round, click here.

Judges: Fran and Marie
River Lights Bookstore
Relish was a quick read and we both enjoyed its humor and colorful cartoon-like illustrations. It was engaging but, of course, lacking in depth because it dealt with a very young person’s look back at her childhood experiences. We chose And the Mountains Echoed as our winner. The author’s strong storytelling style, the complex structure of the story, and the heartrending choices that the characters must make held our interest. This novel makes you think about family relationships and how they play into decision making. And the Mountains Echoed can’t really be described as an enjoyable novel, but it is certainly thought-provoking. 

Gulp VS Relish: Dubuque Tournament of Books, Round One

This week we'll be posting the judges' decisions for the first round of the 2nd Annual Dubuque Tournament of Books. To see an overview of the judges and contestants, check out this blog post. 

Judge: Fran

River Lights Bookstore 

Comparing Lucy Knisley’s Relish: My Life in the Kitchen and Mary Roach’s Gulp is like comparing pancakes and pigs’ feet. Both books deal with food but in a totally different context.

Let's first look at the ways the two books are similar.  Both are written by women who have a rich sense of humor and a clever writing style. Both are nonfiction. The consumption of food is a subject frequently mentioned in the two books. Both have amusing illustrations.

The Gulp illustrations appear prior to a chapter and are generally realistic. Knisley’s illustrations, since Relish is a graphic novel, are fundamental to both the format and the story. The cartoons are bright, colorful, and charming.  They help tell the story of Kinisley’s adventures and also provide a step-by-step guide for how to prepare the recipes she includes.  Her cartoon style reminded me of the Archie comics I enjoyed as a child.

Their differences are more apparent. Relish, a young adult book, is a memoir of Lucy Knisley’s childhood and young adulthood experiences with food. Her mother is a chef and her father a gourmand so she grows up eating a wide variety of food. She learns to cook, and to appreciate and enjoy food.  As a child and teen, she helps her mother with her garden and works in her catering business. The book is composed of her personal memories and her reflections on cooking and eating. Although several recipes are included they are her own or her mother’s recipes and no particular scientific information is offered.

On the other hand, Glup: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, while written in a humorous and somewhat breezy style, is definitely a scientific work. Roach includes numerous footnotes and a twelve page bibliography. Details are given of experiments performed in the 1800s on through ones being done today. She conducts interviews and reports her discoveries. The language she uses is scientific although much of it is understandable and palatable to the non-scientist. She references her personal experiences, but they are related to the circumstances of a particular interview.

Roach is a well-known, established author. Many adults will choose to read her works and will find them enlightening. I highly recommend Gulp, but I feel it is a book that one should select as a personal preference. Given the subject matter, I don’t want to force someone to read it. On the other hand, since Relish is a book that many adults are going to pass over. It is a light, quick read and will make you smile. It will provide a much needed breath of fresh air as we struggle through the last months of a trying winter. And like me, a reader might discover that a graphic novel can be interesting and fun to read.

Tiny book review

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"Great Pacific, Vol. 1" by Harris- Great premise, promising start, too much exposition - AZ http://t.co/FaDfTgUgAw #dbqreads #tinybookreview
— Carnegie-Stout PL (@Carnegie_Stout) August 26, 2013

Staff Review: Adventure Time ... and cats!

Lately, I've been in a bit of a reading funk. While it seems impossible, I may have grown tired of YA dystopia (at least until Horde, Flame or UnSouled finally come out). In the meantime I've been picking up short, humorous books and graphic novels, many of them offshoots of television shows or websites and many of them about cats. Here are some of my favorites:

Adventure Time, vols. 1 & 2

If, by some chance, you're not an avid watcher of children's cartoons like I am, Adventure Time is an animated TV series on Cartoon Network created by Pendleton Ward. Imaginative, silly and subversive, the series follows Finn the human and Jake the dog and their adventures in the Land of Ooo. Adventure Time Volumes 1 and 2, written by webcomic veteran Ryan North and illustrated by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb, are wonderful companions to the TV show. I was a little wary that the show's magic wouldn't translate well onto the printed page, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. One of the best parts of the books are the hidden messages at the bottom of each page, some of which require decoding! Spin-offs the the original comic books have been published, including Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens by Meredith Gran and Adventure Time: Playing with Fire by Danielle Corsetto and Zack Sterling. Even if you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend the comic books!

Tiny Confessions: The Secrets of Dogs, Cats and Everything by Christopher Rozzi
Tiny Confessions is a collection of single-panel illustrations in which the subject - cat, dog or seashell- confess their most intimate secrets. Rozzi sells art prints of select confessions and maintains a Tumblr, dailytinyconfession. The book is funny, short and, on occasion, hits a little too close to home ...

Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden
Henri, le Cat Noir, rose to Internet celebrity status through his series of black-and-white videos on YouTube, in which he expresses his special brand of angst-ridden feline philosophy (narrated in French, bien sûr). His book, written by William Braden, is a selection of his most profound observations and meditations. I challenge anyone to read this book without a French accent.

I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano and Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed: And Other Heartwarming Letters from Kitty by Jeremy Greenberg
In the same vein, both I Could Pee on This and Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed are collections of humorous (unintentional of otherwise) writings by cats. I Could Pee on This is collection of poems written by comic strip author Francesco Marciuliano (he also writes Sally Forth and the webcomic Medium Large) that allows us to peek into the inner thoughts of feline companions. Not always profound (unlike Henri) but always hilarious, these poems are perfect for cat owners. Not to be left out, dog owners can look forward to I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs later this month.

Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed offers similar insight into our cats' lives. A collection of letters written to the humans in their lives, such as "Clump Scooper" or "Enabler," they address such pressing issues as the need to sleep more than 12 hours a day, to concern over a perceived addiction to eating grass. Each letter is accompanied by a photo of the "author," presumably in mid-dictation.

Two upcoming web-inspired books that I'm looking forward to reading are Lil' BUB's Lil' Book: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Amazing Cat on the Planet (early September) and Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened (late October). Fortunately, I'm finding plenty of other books to occupy me in the meantime!

~ Allison, Adult Services