Reviewed by Hilary It is 1890 and India Steele has just been dumped by her fiancé – after he inherited her father’s watchmaking shop, of course. India is furious – she’s out of money, out of job prospects and out of ideas. She’s resigned herself to become a spinster and given up on proper ladylike behavior when she bursts into her family’s former shop to give that ex-fiancé a pieceRead More →
Reviewed by Asha This book examines the complex relationship of being mothered, spanning across different dynamics and genders, and I loved it. This has been one of the best collection of essays I’ve read, its incredibly diverse in its experience and you may find a story that is relatable to your own. The essays incorporate a spectrum of experiences from people who are very close to their mothers to othersRead More →
Reviewed by Asha I may be late to the table with this book but wow, absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s not like trauma-porn — there are those less fortunate than you so be grateful for your life— kind of book, its a depiction of a world that makes you question your own understanding of poverty — if you have any. Katherine Boo did an excellentRead More →
Reviewed by Hilary Must Love Otters is a sweet Rom-Com style novel that follows 911 dispatcher Hollie Porter after she loses one person on the line, and another reminds her that she only gets one life to live. Re-evaluating her current situation – a job she only took because it was union and in the medical field her father loves, a boyfriend who lives with her for convenience, and aRead More →
Reviewed by Hilary Hazel knows that her personality is… a lot. She doesn’t hide who she is, and she doesn’t calm down – she won’t be the perfect quirky girl in your romantic comedy dreams, and then change for your friends. So when she reconnects with an old college acquaintance, she doesn’t expect love – she just wants a new friend and can tell that straight-laced Josh needs someone likeRead More →
Reviewed by Sarah P. The story of a young girl and her free-spirited father as they wander across the country in a renovated school bus. The pair run into an assortment of unique individuals during their travels, making new friendships and having adventures along the way. The dialogue was witty and often made me smile, and the ending was heartfelt and leaves the reader feeling good. I recommend this forRead More →
A man is found dead in his house in the Polish countryside. Two neighbors discover him and call the police. One of them is the protagonist. Ms. Duszejko, who hates her first name, Janina, often speaks her truth without a filter. Though she is advised not to by her friends. They fear that people will think she is a crazy old lady. That old stereotype. Beyond sexuality and beyond theRead More →
We’ve increased our hoopla loans to 12 while the library is closed. PLUS, hoopla has made “Bonus Borrows” available. Any of these titles that you check out will NOT count towards your 12 downloads for the month! Use the phrase “bonus borrows” in the search box to see what you like from the 1100 titles available. Have questions? Email us at circulation@bplmo.org or call 314-963-8630. We will return calls ifRead More →
I liked the premise of this book but I must admit only a couple of chapters in I was doubting whether I would spend the whole read asking awkward questions of the author, mainly ones like ‘How on earth…?’ or the main question ‘But….?’. Having said that, I liked the characters, Oona and her Mum in particular, so I bravely soldiered on. Things began to fall into place and aRead More →
UPDATE July 28, 2020 Starting on Monday, August 3rd, 2020, we will be rolling back to “curbside only” service at the library. Our hours will change as well to reflect the patterns of use that we have seen over the last few weeks. Monday-Friday 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. UPDATE July 6, 2020 Starting on July 6th we will offer limited access to the library building primarily forRead More →
