Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America

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Box Brown turns over another piece of history to reveal its seedy underbelly. I think I'd read pretty much anything Box Brown wrote. I loved Andre the Giant and got sucked in to Tetris. I wasn't sure that I'd like or appreciate Cannabis, but I was wrong. Brown's simple line drawing and matter-of-fact writing style make clear muddled history. I think this is a timely book, not just because there are recreational cannabis laws popping up on ballots across the country, but also because we're continually being faced with dissembling politicians trotting out "scientific facts" and "polls" to support whatever legislation they're being paid to support. For people who like graphic novels, history (including Steve Sheinkin), and political scandals.

Every Body Yoga by Jessamyn Stanley

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Jessamyn Stanley is known for her fresh Instagram account, posting pictures of herself in all kinds of yoga asanas.  While this might not seem revolutionary to most, Jessamyn isn't your typical yoga practitioner - waifish and white.  She's a big black lady who can twist into the most epic asanas I've ever seen.

 I've been waiting for this book for a while, because I love yoga and I love seeing Jessamyn's Insta and because we need it.  Yoga is good for most people - I know that it works for me.  I'm more flexible, stronger, and more healthy mentally when I'm practicing on the regular and Jessamyn hits on those points in this book.  But the more important message here is that EVERY BODY can do yoga.  You don't have to get in shape to then try to get in shape.  So many of the messages coming from yoga, outright and subliminally are that you have to be skinny and in shape to do yoga and it's not true.  Jessmyn talks about her life and how she got to where she was and how she came into her practice and what that did for her.  The book is also a solid beginner's guide to practicing yoga.  Jessamyn covers basic asanas or poses, modifications, and also puts together some simple sequences to practice. I love the models in this book.  They are diverse bodies - different sizes and shapes rocking different asanas.  I will definitely be purchasing this for the library and putting it into the hands of several of my friends and patrons.

A Change of Heart by Sonali Dev

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After witnessing his wife's brutal murder, Dr. Nikhil Joshi runs away, as far away as he can go, becoming a cruise ship doctor.  He prescribes antacids during the day and gets blackout drunk at night, anything to stop himself from thinking of Jen.  But a woman confronts him on board, berates him for letting Jen's killers get away, and tells him he has to help her.  Because she has Jen's heart and she won't rest until justice is served.

 

I LOVE Sonali Dev.  I just love her.  This book was a magical whirlwind of action, adventure, love, romance, women's fiction and more.  Nik and Jen were so real and so wonderful, you couldn't help but root for them.  The pacing was excellent.  I never found a dull moment or a time where I could put the book away and leave it.  I was racing to the finish, desperate to find out the answer to the mystery, to find out if they would end up together, to find out how it all wrapped up.  *sigh* I'm just disappointed I have to wait for another.

You Look Yummy by Tatsuya Miyanishi

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Tyrannosaurus Rex gets more than he bargained for when he picks a little Ankylosaurus for a snack.  

Tatsuya Miyanishi's little book is wonderful.  I can think of so many situations that it would be perfect for, not to mention it would definitely spark conversations between kids and their parents.  The illustrations remind me of a combination of my own child-like dinosaur drawings and Godzilla, big rounded bodies with triangle spikes. (All dinosaurs had triangle spikes; everyone knows that.)  Most kids like dinosaurs (I would say all but I can think of a few people off the top of my head who have confessed to me their lifelong fear and hatred of dinosaurs) so what better way to talk about parents and children and their relationships.  (Those of you who have been traumatized by dinosaurs, I'll give you a book about bears or something.) Two thumbs up.

My copy courtesy of Netgalley and Museyon.

Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars

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How can you resist a title like that? Prison Ramen is a work of love - love of camaraderie and eating good food (or as good as you can make it in prison). Interspersed between creative recipes are little anecdotes about prison life written by various inmates as well as celebrities who've spent time behind bars, including Shia LeBoeuf, Slash, and Danny Trejo. I'll admit that I haven't had the time to make any of the recipes, but they do sound appealing. This would be a great addition to a library cookbook collection. I can see teens and college students picking this up for the recipes. Because really, who doesn't love ramen?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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Kady Grant and Ezra Mason somehow managed to survive their breakup. And an attack on their planet, home to an illegal mining operation. Now Kady and Ezra are separated by the vacuum of space - Kady on the science vessel Hypatia and Ezra on the United Terran Alliance ship Alexander - as both ships barrel through space, trying to escape the Lincoln, the BeiTech dreadnought that attacked their home. Told through a series of chat logs, internal memos, and surveillance footage, Illuminae is an no-name-taking, ass-kicking entry into the growing field of young adult sci fi. 

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I still can't even. I got a digital chapter sampler of this from First in Line and once I'd read the first couple of pages I knew I needed to read the whole thing. In my humble opinion, Kaufman and Kristoff have done what so many other YA authors have tried to do - make a readable, believable science fiction novel for young adults. So many times I've picked up what I thought was science fiction for YAs only to find the hard science aspect (the thing that makes hard SF) completely pushed to the side in favor of a love triangle. Kaufman and Kristoff manage to maintain the teenage connection between Kady and Ezra without it overtaking the main thrust of the novel. Not only is she successful in that, she takes this one action and manages to spin it out into a hugely complicated conflict. The attack by BeiTech results in complete catastrophe for the Kerenza refugees, but the actions and problems that arise from that never feel contrived or shoe-horned in. This is compulsively readable and like the tagline says: You've never read a book like this.

My copy courtesy of First in Line and Netgalley.

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

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Kaidu wants nothing more than to go to Dandao, the city of a thousand names. When he arrives there, he finds that the Nameless City is nothing like he imagined. He flails through his training to become a warrior, admitting that he "likes books better than blades." During an accidental excursion into the city, he runs into Rat, a girl who has always lived in the city, someone who will change his point of view of both the city and his own people's role in it.
 


The artwork in this installation is gorgeous. Hicks must have spent hours painstakingly drawing out every landscape. The details are astonishing and the coloring is rich and vibrant. That being said, the story is a little lacking. The world-building is intriguing and I definitely want to find out more about the Nameless City and its origins. The characters were interesting, but no one really stood out from the crowd. Kai was, to me, nothing more than a foil for introducing the reader to the city. This felt more like the prologue of a story than a full story in and of itself. The action really starts happening and the book ends. That being said, I will pick up the next installment to see where the story goes and how the characters develop.

My copy courtesy of First Second and Netgalley.