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What We're Reading

Check out the "What We're Reading" display at the library and read something new and different. We keep this display stocked with books that staff members have read and enjoyed.

Every other week, the West Linn Tidings and Lake Oswego Review publish book reviews written by West Linn Public Library staff. Click on the titles to find these books at the library.

	The Angel's Game (audiobook) By Carlos Ruiz Zafron Barcelona is the mysterious setting for this story, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's latest novel recently translated to English. As in his book Shadow of the Wind, we travel through the streets, bookshops, homes, mansions and Cemetery of Forgotten Books within this colorful and ethereal city. David Martin is a young writer whose series "City of the Damned" is heralded for its true crime stories. His work catches the eye of Andreas Corelli, who hires Martin to write for him exclusively. This association leads Martin down dangerous and disturbing paths. People with dark, lurid histories begin to shape Martin’s future. A few close friends help unravel what is hidden behind Martin's strange encounters. Unlike the narrator for Shadow of the Wind, who had a Spanish accent, the narrator for this audiobook has a British accent. If this concerns you, try reading (instead of listening to) this twisted yet entertaining novel.
	Sons of Liberty, Book 1 by Alexander and Joseph Lagos Graham and Brody are two young runaway slaves being chased down by a slave hunter and his vicious dogs. They are eventually caught by none other than William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son, who performs a bizarre electrical experiment on them. Graham and Brody remember nothing, but now have super powers and no explanation. They're taken in by Benjamin Lay, an eccentric abolitionist and friend to Benjamin Franklin, and are trained in dambe, an African martial art. What will Graham and Brody do with their new-found powers? The characters in this graphic novel are fascinating and the story is action-packed! While the issues of slavery and revolution are at the core of the story, the real meat of the book is Graham and Brody's personal journey. This is such a great 'underdog fights back' story and I can't wait for the next!
	Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think By Brian Wansink, PhD. Brian Wansink is a Professor of Marketing and Nutritional Science at Cornell University and his book is full of fascinating insights into the way people eat and why they eat too much. Wansink points out that anything that takes our focus off of the food we’re eating makes us eat more, including eating while reading, watching TV, and driving. People rely on external cues – such as an empty plate or the end of a TV show – to tell them when they're full when they should be relying on physical cues. People also eat so fast that the full feeling doesn't kick in until long after they've eaten too much. And studies have shown that most people underestimate how many calories they've consumed. Fortunately, after presenting all the evidence demonstrating how we overeat without realizing it, the author provides advice for not overeating. Whether you're overweight or not, this is a helpful and insightful book about food in America.
	Ready Player One by Ernest Cline In the near future, the world is in ruin. Not necessarily from war or famine or government upheaval, but from neglect. The majority of the people spend their time in a virtual reality world called the Oasis. Part World of Warcraft, part Second Life, people shop, explore, go to school, socialize, get married, and play games within games in the Oasis, built by an eccentric computer programmer with a love for the late twentieth century. When he dies, he leaves his vast fortune and controlling shares of the Oasis to the first person to find his Easter Egg within the Oasis. Millions devote their lives to searching for the Egg, but no one can even find the Keys (clues to the location of the Egg). And then one day, five years after the contest began, a kid from the high-rise trailer parks of Oklahoma finds the first Key. Pop culture fans, children of the 80s & 90s, and videogame super nerds will all love this fast, funny, and exciting treasure hunt of a story.
	The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush By Howard Blum This is the story of three men. Charlie Siringo is a former cowboy and now a Pinkerton detective who ends up in Alaska when he’s hired to find the thieves who stole a bunch of gold from the big Treadwell Mine. George Carmack is an AWOL marine who fled to Alaska to prospect for gold, marrying an Indian woman in the process. Soapy Smith is a con man who loves nothing more than tricking people out of their money and who sees great opportunities for continuing this activity in the lawless craziness of the Alaska gold rush. Blum has taken old letters, memoirs, and news accounts from the time and weaved the story of these three men together into one masterful tale.
	Beauty Queens by Libba Bray Told in multiple perspectives, this is a satire about the superficiality of consumer culture that influences everything we watch, read, and buy. A plane carrying all fifty Miss Teen Dream contestants crashes on a remote tropical island and the survivors have to quickly learn how to live without refrigerators, manicures, and with whatever else inhabits the island. As starvation looms and the girls’ carefully kept secrets begin to unravel, they start to rely on each other and discover depths of character that were hidden beneath years of dance routines, bikini waxes, and ritual bouts of malnutrition. There is adventure, mystery, and a dollop of romance. Though danger is always around the corner, these girls manage to learn the meaning of survival, friendship, beauty, acceptance, independence, and what it means to be a woman. Hilarious, empowering, honest, and highly recommended.