MLC Reads: October 29, 2015

We love reading a new book. Not necessarily a book hot off the press, but a new-to-us book. Here are a few new-to-us books that Mississippi Library Commission staff read this past week.

In the Woods

written by Tana French

fiction: mystery, thriller

four stars

In the Woods is the debut novel of author Tana French and the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. In the Woods is notable for its richly detailed characters and their relationships with each other. What could easily be another run-of-the-mill police procedural is instead a refreshing story populated with compelling and flawed characters. The novel veers away from a neatly wrapped up ending and is immensely satisfying because it does so.

Black Hole

written and illustrated by Charles Burns

graphic novel

three stars

Black Hole is set in the 1970s. There's an STD with crazy, creepy, downright horrific side effects and there's no cure. Those who catch it are shunned and ostracized. It reminded us of the transition from the free love era of the 1960s to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, and that may very well be what Burns intended. We found it a tiny bit pretentious, but Black Hole's saving grace is it's amazing art. (And really, we had to keep reading to find out what happened. No setting this one aside for later. But the ending--what?!) This is definitely for mature readers. Those who are against nudity, sex, and drugs in their reading material should steer clear.

Modern Romance

written by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg

non-fiction: sociology, dating, humor

four stars

A sociology study on dating peppered with off-color humor: informative and hilarious.

 She Is Not Invisible

written by Marcus Sedgwick

young adult

five stars

She Is Not Invisible is pretty spectacular. There's a strong female protagonist with plenty of gumption and the writing kept us on the edge of our seat. Bonus: we learned a lot of neat tidbits about coincidence and probability.











Next week, our staff are reading these books:

• Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald
  edited by Suzanne Mars and Tom Nolan
  nonfiction: letters
• The Truth About Alice
  written by Jennifer Mathieu
  young adult
• Uprooted
  written by Naomi Novik
  fiction: fantasy
• Freedom Summer
  written by Deborah Wiles
  illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue
  picture book

Until next time, happy reading!