MICONIC
Author: Leipprandt, Tyler
Photographer: Leipprandt, Tyler
Call number: NEW 977.4 LEI
Reviewer: Randy Morgan
Date: February 20, 2025
Tyler Leipprandt is a photographer and the state of Michigan is his muse.
Tyler bought a drone with the intention of becoming a self taught aerial photographer. He was quickly immersed by YouTube rabbit holes that propelled his ambitions to new levels. Now his main objective is to capture photos people had never dreamed of. In the book MICONIC, Tyler shares the adventure behind so many mesmerizing photos of our great state.
As a library, we love expanding our collection and receive a lot of recommendations from patrons. This helps us to provide the community with resources they will enjoy and utilize. A patron came in with a mission to find this book and asked me to help locate a copy. And Now it sits on our shelf!
Please note that Tecumseh District Library has many resources and ways to find the materials you are looking for. MeLCat is another great resource that is available for books not in our collection.
Additional information about Tyler and his photography can be found at https://www.michiganskymedia.com/#/
Ash's Cabin
Author: Wang, Jen
Illustrator: Wang, Jen
Call number: NEW Y GN WAN
Reviewer: Randy Morgan
Date: February 12, 2025
It is hard to find solitude as a highschooler living in the Bay Area. Fortunately, Ash and the family have an annual vacation near the Shata- Trinity National Forest, where Ash’s finds comfort and creates fond memories. Grandpa often talked of a secret cabin, and Ash is determined to find it.
Author and illustrator Jen Wang created a delicate masterpiece with a nature inspired water- color that inspires a sense of serenity only found in the forest. Ash’s coming of age story is filled with challenges surrounding family, activism, and gender identity, which leads into feelings of isolation.
This story demonstrates the differences between isolation and solitude. It is important to note that isolation/ loneliness is complex and includes feeling inept, depressed, and/ or ostracized. Though this book is highly relatable, it is a work of fiction. Please be safe and inform people if you choose to go off grid.
Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Call Number: Y FIC BAR
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: January 30, 2025
Leigh Bardugo wrapped up the GrishaVerse series with this mesmerizing tale of sacrifice and redemption for Alina and her followers. LIke many trilogiy finales, this one answers a lot of questions, and as I read it, I became more and more enamored with the character of Alina. She is humble, yet keenly aware of her developing powers that become even more forceful after being nearly depleted at the end of book 2 of the series.
Admittedly, this genre is not my favorite, but Bardugo's talent and skill for the action scenes seemed to become even more engaging as the plot leads to the inevitable climactic confrontation with The Darkling, who Alina is uncomfortably alike in many ways. After reading this for the teen book club here at the Tecumseh District Library, I am looking forward to exploring more of Bardugo's books in the future.
Why We Love Baseball
A History in 50 Moments
Author: Joe Posnanski
Call Number: 796.357 POS
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: January 25, 2025
Joe Posnanski literally started this collection of baseball tales perfectly and ended it the same way. And everything in the middle was a joyful romp through decades of episodes that have me eagerly anticipating Opening Day of MLB (only 17 days from now)!
I had originally planned on reading this during baseball season, but devouring it during -20 degree windchill temperatures this week helped me to reflect on what my friend Jim once told me about why the game is uniquely great: “anything can happen on any pitch.”
Five Presidents
My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford
Author: Clint Hill, with Lisa McCubbin
Call number: 363.28 HIL
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: December 23, 2024
Clint Hill was not exaggerating with his subtitle of "extraordinary journey" as a Secret Service agent in three separate decades. If you want a non-partisan narrative of the major national (and sometimes international) events between the late '50's and mid 70's, this is a good start. Each of the Presidents (and their families) that he protected presented their own safety challenges, and his description of JFK's assassination is especially poignant and haunting. Notably, Hill was aware of the PTSD that he was experiencing mostly as a result of 11/22/1963, but he soldiered on through Johnson, Nixon, and part of Ford before his undiagnosed trauma caught up to him physically and mentally. In the end, Hill was a unique witness to history and he relays it well.
The Anxious Generation
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Author: Jonathan Haidt
Call Number: In process
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: January 6, 2025
After reading A Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt, I looked forward to reading this one. As a recently retired high school teacher, I saw firsthand the unmitigated damage that smartphones did to the atmosphere in my classroom. Haidt thoroughly relays the history of smartphones and their detrimental effects on Generation Z. Coincidentally, their youth was reined in by the rise of overprotective parenting methods, the combination of which has fueled a mental health crisis that is unprecedented.
His solutions (no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and more unsupervised play/childhood independence) may be too late for this generation, but maybe we can do better going forward. Our children's librarian, Dr. Jennifer Moore, and I are considering doing a book study for The Anxious Generation at the Tecumseh District Library in the future.
Unbroken: An Olympian's journey from airman to castaway to captive
Adapted for young adults
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Call number: Y 921 ZAM
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: November 30, 2024
I have read two of Laura Hillenbrand's other books, Unbroken and Seabiscuit before, and I had seen the movie versions, so I knew what to expect from this adapted version of the amazingly resillient (and lucky) Louis Zamperini. However, I was impressed how Hillenbrand managed to scale back her epic story of the 1936 Olympian whose legacy only grew after that iconic experience. It is hard to convey Zamperini's survival story without spoilers, so I won't attempt to do that here. However, I find myself still inspired by what he endured, and amazed how he managed to emerge battered but ultimately "unbroken" in the end. It should also be noted that Laura Hillenbrand has had some serious health challenges of her own, which makes her tasks of researching and writing much harder and slower. Perhaps she gained some motivation from her subject's story as well. This version of the book was our November teen book club choice.
The Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Call number: FIC JAC
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: November 27, 2024
I finally took @StephenKing's advice and read The Haunting of Hill House. He praised the novel that was published in 1959 as a model for all horror stories, and I can see why. The way that Jackson builds suspense and then unleashes it on the audience is searing. #aphsreads
This gothic tale unfolds slowly, yet purposefully, and it almost reads like poetry. Shirley Jackson, best known to many for her short story "The Lottery", clearly had a sense of what really scares us. I meant to tackle this around Halloween, but I am grateful that I finished it by Thanksgiving, instead.
The Thirteenth Child
Author: Craig, Erin A
Narrator: Lakin, Christine
Call number: NEW Y FIC CRA and Libby
Reviewer: Randy Morgan
Date: November 21, 2024
Hazel Trépas was an unwanted child and promised to the gods. Her childhood was spent waiting for her godfather - Merrick, the Dreaded End. Merrick envisions Hazel as the greatest healer the kingdom has ever known and gifts her with the ability to instantly sense any ailments and provide the needed cure. All gifts come with a price and Hazel can see when death has claimed a patient and is tasked with ending their suffering. Hazel faces her biggest challenge yet; save the king marked for death.
Erin A. Craig hypnotizes readers with a timeless yet contemporary narrative reminiscent of the classic fairy tale “Godfather Death.” The dynamic cast of characters captivates the audience while simultaneously deliberating morals.
Fun fact - Erin A. Craig lives in Michigan.
The Weight of Blood
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Call number: Y FIC JAC
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: October 28, 2024
@WriteinBK wrote more than just an homage to@StephenKing with this one. By updating the novel Carrie, the author infuses racism, bullying, and a glimpse of high school life to the contemporary reader. This is very suspenseful and engaging. #aphsreads (From my X post on February 23, 2023)
The Weight of Blood was the teen book club choice for October, 2024. The second read for me was better than the first!
Being Henry
The Fonz...and Beyond
Author: Henry Winkler
Call number: 921 WIN
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: November 11, 2024
Henry Winkler's memoir was a very enjoyable read. Like most of my generation, I was introduced to this highly successful actor, director and producer through his iconic character "The Fonz" on the long-running Happy Days sitcom. And I remember vaguely when he appeared in An American Christmas Carol as Scrooge a short-time later. Watching that adaptation, I do remember that I would always think of him as Arthur Fonzarelli, which was Winkler's biggest fear about his career--so much so that he evidently turned down the role of Danny Zuko in the movie version of Grease to avoid being typecast. Winkler's insecurities about his career are on full display here, along with his genuine desires to overcome them. A younger generation may only know him from Arrested Development and Barry, which isn't a bad thing. Because from his struggles with dyslexia to dealing with his eccentric parents, there is a lot more to the man than the guy who lived above the Cunningham's garage.
