Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Finally, a time-travel book that actually makes sense! (Or at least as much sense as a time travel book can make.)

In this sequel to Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, familiar characters Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Marvin continue their adventures through space, dodging interstellar alien adversaries like Vogons and Frogstar Fighters while hunting down the man who controls the galaxy and striving to discover the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. However, the crew discovers they cannot continue their quest on empty stomachs, so they venture to the five-star restaurant at the end of the universe to witness the greatest show in the galaxy: the apocalypse.

Though not as good as its predecessor, I found this novel very entertaining and quite clever, especially when it came to the concept of time travel and how it was portrayed. However, a lot of the questions that were answered were resolved with such levity that I did not know if that was truly the resolution or if Douglas Adams was just playing a trick on the reader, making it seem like the questions were not answered at all. Since the novel was humorous in general, though, I did not find this a very large problem and still greatly enjoyed the read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or anyone who enjoys a clever twist on time travel.

Availability: USMAI, COSMOS and SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Brianna Glase
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read reviews of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Mostly Harmless.

I enjoyed this book mainly because I enjoy romance novels and this one had an edge to it, cancer. Green took a new and unique angle to writing a love story. In literature there are only so many topics an author can write about, it’s the twist and way that they write that keeps readers engaged. I felt that I was engaged, but almost just because it was a popular book that people said I had to read. I felt like it was a bit slow and sometimes even repetitive, but overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in something a little different than your average love story and something a bit main stream.

Read Jordan Gains’ review of The Fault in Our Stars.

Availability: SMCM Library, USMAI and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Sydney Larkin
Rating:  Highly Recommended

What a strange story, but I found myself entranced by it. A flight attendant who is scared of heights, a super-secret spy who constantly changing identities, flying serpents, Aztec artifacts, and a bunch of other craziness.

Book 1, G. Willow Wilson, writer; M.K. Perker, artist; Chris Chuckry, colorist; Jared K. Fletcher, letterer.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Matthew “That guy who works in the library, right?” Lachkovic
Rating: Highly Recommended

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of newer comics, however given that it was X-Men, I gave it a shot. It’s about par-for-the-course for standard Marvel comics. The storyline was somewhat original, and the characters were quite familiar. The only things that irked me were the portrayal of Beast and Emma Frost. Still, as it was, I still enjoyed it quite a bit, as it was fairly well written and kept my interest for about an hour and half.

Astonishing X-Men Ultimate Collection, Book 1 includes issues #1-12.

Availability: SMCM Library and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Matthew “Juggernaut” Lachkovic
Rating: Recommended with Reservations

I simply must break the first rule of Fight Club to talk about what a great book it was. A novel filled with anarchy and psychological disturbances written in a choppy style, Fight Club never failed to engage me and intrigue me. The narrator, who remains nameless, chronicles the story of himself, his friend Tyler Durden, and Tyler’s lover Marla Singer. The narrator, who suffers from insomnia and will do anything for a good night’s sleep, meets Marla at a support group for cancer that neither of them have, and their complicated relationship develops throughout the novel from sheer hate to some kind of messed up affection.

When the narrator meets Tyler, however, is when things heat up: one drunken night in a bar the two promise to hit each other as hard as they can, thus engaging in the first fight of the Fight Club that they will famously found. Fight Club escalates faster than the narrator could imagine as he finds himself in the midst of a web of anarchy and conspiracy that soon becomes too powerful to stop. With Fight Club expanding beyond control, the narrator’s turmoil and unease grows until a surprising twist at the end reveals the truth behind the founding of Fight Club.

A captivating read with surprises in every chapter, I would recommend Fight Club to anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller or a book laden with fascinating psychological unrest.

Availability: SMCM Library, USMAI and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Brianna Glase
Rating: Must Read

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) has made for a refreshing read this summer. Mindy’s voice rings with humor, energy, and just the right mix of snarky sarcasm and romanticism. She tackles and triumphs the insecurities that plague so many of us throughout this coming of age memoir of a girl who made it BIG but still has room to grow.

Availability:  COSMOS and USMAI
Review Submitted by: Ronelle Cannon
Rating: Highly Recommended

My gosh. Absolutely great, addictive book, but it is looong. Usually I can read a book in a few days, but this took me two weeks. I still highly recommend it as now I’m reading the second one in the series.

The book starts off with Diana, a witch who basically tries to avoid magic as much as she can, and yet it keeps coming back to her. Soon, she’s following by a family of vampires, a haven of witches, and the occasional daemon. Find out what these “creatures” (as the book called them) are up to in this very hooking initiative to a series.

“Witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her. ” (Publisher’s Weekly)

Availability: SMCM Library and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Matthew “Him again?!” Lachkovic
Rating: Highly Recommended with Reservations

In Every Day is for the Thief, Teju Cole explores the past decade of rapid change in his native Nigeria. After 15 years in the United States, the book’s nameless narrator returns to visit family in Lagos. He is shocked by his country’s rampant corruption, embodied by everyone he meets, beginning with the bureaucrats renewing his passport (for a bribe) in New York’s Nigerian consulate. In Lagos, the narrator navigates a home that feels alien after living in the United States. Living in America has changed him – he now has “some of the assumptions of life in a Western democracy.” Wandering the city, he is disappointed in the poor quality of the National Museum, thrilled when he spies a woman on a bus reading a Michael Ondaatje book, and generally uncomfortable with what the city has become.

Beautifully illustrated with the author’s own photos, Every Day is for the Thief is a meditation on belonging and estrangement. The photographs are a haunting representation of a Lagos that is at once global and uniquely Nigerian.

Availability:  USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kaitlyn Grigsby
Rating: Recommended

This book, Lone Survivor: The eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 has of course been recently released as a movie, which sparked my interest to pick it up and see how the two would compare. I have not yet seen the movie, but if you are interested in a gripping, honest, and sometimes heartbreakingly real account of what transpired, this is a definite read. Marcus’ storytelling is very well done, and you get an insider’s view of some of what it takes to become a U.S. Navy SEAL, as well as his recounting of the events that left him the last surviving member of his team. The loss of his team was a devastating blow, to their families, himself, their fellow war fighters and our nation, but he honors by keeping their story alive in these pages.

Availability: USMAI and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Tammy Cannon
Rating: Must Read

Although this book is in the young adult fiction section, and I am a bit beyond this age group, I have found this final installment of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series to be enjoyable. It continues to chronicle the happenings to the Septembers, four friends who have been together since birth. This was both a nice wrap-up for the books, but was also open ended enough that it could be continued in the future, that would be a fun twist, to follow them further. I would recommend the entire series as great summer reading, young adults on up!

Availability:  COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Tammy Cannon
Rating: Recommended