“Hot pockets!” If you sang that jingle in your head when you saw Jim Gaffigan’s name as the author of this book, then you should read this book.

Gaffigan covers many types of food in this book, from fruits & veggies (no one REALLY likes those) to fast food to fancy food to Hot Pockets, (obviously), all with a great sense of humor and a little self-degradation.

The best part of reading this book is when you find you agree with what Gaffigan describes. You may think to yourself, “Yes! Wendy’s IS the best fast food chain!” or “Exactly! Who waits two minutes for anything out of the microwave to cool?”

Food: A Love Story can be finished in a day or two, and you will probably find yourself reading sections of it aloud to whomever is near.

This book can also be found in print.

Sweetness swears, “But it’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.” But is it? What happens in childhood does not always stay in childhood, as Toni Morrison demonstrates in this novel.

Bride. Just Bride. It suits the woman who wears that name. She’s a regional manager at Sylvia, Inc., a cosmetics company that is quickly becoming hip. Bride is the inventor of one of the six new cosmetic lines for Sylvia, Inc., and the proud owner of a Jaguar, which she happens to mention repeatedly. She’s also a show stopper with her blue-black skin, all white clothing, and “wolverine eyes.” Others’ eyes are always drawn to her, and always have been, although the reasons are different now than when she was a child.

All grown up and in search of a small town called Whiskey, a freak accident on a winding country road provides Bride with time to think and reflect, once she moves past the self-pity and boredom. It is here that she learns her beauty is not the key to her confidence or success. A mysterious, young child named Rain helps with Bride’s healing process.

God Help the Child is a modern-day story, told mainly from Bride’s point of view, but the reader does get to enjoy insights from Sweetness, Rain, and Bride’s best friend, Brooklyn. These and other characters alternate being the narrator, providing brief glimpses into what they tell themselves to rationalize their own behavior. Book sections are separated by the name of the character acting as narrator, so it is important to take note of the section headings.

Perfect for the knitter who feels comfortable with basic stitches, but wants to explore more patterns that can be created. Stitches vary from beginner to expert, so there is something new for everyone in this book. Directions for each stitch are listed in both written and charted formats. Knit Stitch Dictionary does not include item patterns such as scarves or afghans, but by learning new types of stitches, a creative mind will design her own. The final few pages provide information on needle sizes, gauge, starting and ending a garment, and how to read a chart.

Looking for an easy new stitch to try first? This reviewer recommends the Garter Diagonals.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is the debut novel by Ransom Riggs that tells the story of a fifteen-year-old boy named Jacob who had grown up listening to his grandfather’s extraordinary stories of his bizarre life in an orphanage in Wales and how he came to live in America. Soon after the story begins, Jacob’s family is struck with tragedy as Jacob finds his grandfather mysteriously murdered after hysterically telling Jacob over the phone that the monsters from his stories were coming.

 After his grandfather’s death, Jacob helps clean out his grandfather’s apartment and finds a letter from Miss Peregrine, the orphanage director, dated 1940. Jacob takes this letter to his new psychiatrist, Dr. Golan and they both convince Jacob’s dad to take Jacob to the small island in Wales to learn more about his grandfather’s past. They leave to spend three weeks in Wales on an island that is only accessible by ferry.

 Jacob’s father tells him not to wonder around the island on his own and asks him to find someone to accompany him but no local children will go near that ruins of the house that his grandfather used to occupy. Jacob finds an old house that was destroyed by bombs in wars past and searches it for hidden secrets. In the crumbling house, he finds several very old pictures of peculiar children doing very extraordinary things, such as lifting large boulders. He finds this unbelievable until he sees a girl, one from the pictures, spying on him. She quickly runs away into a bog, where he can find no traces of her except for a few footprints.

Jacob leaves the ruins to find his father, but instead he runs into the girl again and learns that he is had stepped into a time loop and is now in the year 1940. The girl, Emma, introduces him to all the other children who tell Jacob that he must be special like them and his grandfather if he is able to go through the time loops. He also learns that the monsters his grandfather had always told him about are real, and he can see them too.

The monsters that Jacob can now see have been wreaking havoc while Jacob is spending time with Emma and other kids from the 1940s orphanage. Eventually, the monsters murder a man in Jacob’s time and Jacob decides he must face the monsters to save anyone else, including the orphans who he has become very fond of, from being killed. With the help of Emma, they team up to save Miss Peregrine and her home for peculiar children.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film) will be released in theaters September 30, 2016.

Available in the following formats: print, audiobook, and e-book at the Vigo County Public Library.

Alzheimer’s at 38. It’s not what one would expect to happen, but Anna Forster is living that reality. But just because she’s been diagnosed, does not mean she has forgotten everything. Anna is determined to have, and end, things her way.

Eve, a newly single mother, shows up at Rosalind House, the assisted living facility, a few months after Anna. She intends to be the new cook, but she can’t help but become attached to Anna and the other residents. Told from alternating points of view, this story will capture the reader and perhaps provide a different perspective on person’s living with Alzheimer’s.

This title is available in print or ebook.

Henry Hayden is a cold and calculating psychopath.  He has always told lies mixed with bits of truth which he believes is the only way to lie.  Henry is masquerading as a world famous author and living the lifestyle of one.    He's never written a book in his life,  but his wife, Martha,  has written several.   It is their agreed secret that he take credit as the author of her books.  She only wants to write.   Stir in to the mix a pregnant mistress who wants marriage,  a person from Henry's past stalking him and  haboring revenge,  a sad mistake of murder, and Henry's life and lies begin to unravel.  Can he keep spinning lies and half truths or will it all come crumbling down?

 " It's not easy to keep a secret.  A lifetime keeping silent is agony. Looked at that way, a murder's punishment begins on the day of his crime."

 " His punishment had already begun, each day when he awoke, the memory would wake with him and be renewed. To keep a secret, you should never lose concentration; tell nobody and never forget.  That was how Martha had begun the first chapter of , Aggravating Circumstances. She must have meant him, who else could she have meant?"

" Martha had written  in pencil on the last page…hang on a little while longer. Can you guess how it ends? Kisses, Martha"

This is an excellent first novel by the German screenwriter, Arango.  The author takes a look at truth and lies as they relate to our identities, the truth as it relates to the past and our memory of it,  fame, and mortality.  The book is fast-paced, suspenseful, dark, and witty.  It  is one psychologically, wicked tale to add to your reading list.

The speaker was Zak Ebrahim. The 1200 audience members jumped to their feet with tears and applause as the poised young man concluded his powerful nine minute talk. It was a TED conference in Vancouver, British Colombia. Also speaking that particular day in September 2013 were Bill and Melinda Gates, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jehane Noujaim and the musician Sting but it was Zak’s talk that resonated with the listeners. They were transported back to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center where six individuals were killed and over a thousand injured.

One of the masterminds of this heinous act was El-Sayed Nosair, who was serving time in the Attica Correctional Facility, a supermax New York State prison, for crimes related to the assassination of the leader of the Jewish Defense League. Considered a prime instigator of terrorists’ acts in the United States, El-Sayed was specifically mentioned in one of Osama bin Laden’s infamous video messages where bin Laden urged the world to "Remember El-Sayed Nosair."

El-Sayed Nosair was Zak Ebrahim’s father. Zak’s memoir, The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice, was inspired by his heart-rending TED talk. Imagine moving more than twenty times during your childhood, not only being bullied because you are the new kid in school but because of the atrocious crimes committed by your father. This true account recalls in great detail being awoken at age seven, advised to put all his worldly possessions into a sheet by his panicked mother and the flight from their apartment in New Jersey to which he would never return. The trials and tribulations endured by Zak and his family are detailed in his remarkable journey to escape the legacy of his father’s choices.

At barely under one hundred pages, this is a "small book about big ideas", designed to be read in one sitting. Zak’s choice to reject his childhood indoctrination of bigoted ideology espoused by his father and to instead embrace a life of tolerance and empathy provides an ultimately hopeful story.

"I’ve spent my life trying to understand what drew my father to terrorism, and struggled with the knowledge that I have his blood in my veins. By telling my story, my intention is to do something hopeful and instructive: to offer a portrait of a young man who was raised in the fires of fanaticism and embraced nonviolence instead.”

Zak Ebrahim’s The Terrorist’s Son won the American Library Association’s Alex Award in 2015 for being one of the 10 best adult books of the year that also appeal to young-adult readers. A portion of the earnings the author received to write the book have been donated to Tuesday’s Children, a nonprofit organization helping communities affected by terrorism around the world.