The Blessing Way
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series: book 1
Author: Tony Hillerman
Call number: X FIC HIL
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: September 2, 2025
After watching all the seasons of Dark Winds on AMC, I decided to read the book that it was at
least partially based on. Originally published in 1970, The Blessing Way is set on a Navajo
Reservation in New Mexico. The plot involves Tribal Police Detective and Native American Joe
Leaphorn’s investigation of a fugitive who is soon found deceased in the desert. At the same
time, a white anthropologist (Bergen McKee) leaves his college campus town for the
reservation to do research on Navajo myths. Inevitably, he meets up with Leaphorn, whom he
knows from their college days. Through a variety of circumstances, their paths cross at an
opportune time for both characters.
At times, The Blessing Way is quite an easy read, especially when McKee unexpectedly finds
himself in danger. The inner dialogue that Hillerman provides propels the narrative forward.
And the dialogue throughout the book feels authentic, while providing enough detail to
illustrate the scenes effectively. However, I did find myself re-reading parts of chapters
occasionally—mainly because there are so many characters and background to keep track of. Hillerman’s gift for sensory detail and creating suspense allowed me to overcome all of that,
though, and I look forward to reading more of the series—and the introduction of Jim Chee,
who is absent from this book entirely.
Ultimately, Tony Hillerman’s grasp on native American culture, and his ability to integrate it into
a compelling story makes Dance Hall of the Dead (next up in the series) enticing.
John Muir
To the Heart of Solitude
Author: Lomig
Call #: Y917.94 LOM
Reviewer: Sonja Downey
Date: September 2, 2025
What a beautiful book - in every aspect. A book about John Muir is always special. And a book that is about John Muir which contains amazingly detailled graphics is just a delight.
I am a great admirer of John Muir, his philosophy and his reverence for nature and all that it entails. The graphic novel details the 1000 mile walk he took from Wisconsin to the South shortly after the Civil War was over. WIth an astute and keen eye Muir captured the interconnectedness of fauna and flora and understood that one cannot be without the other. He also saw the hand of man interfering with this precarious balance. The graphic novel ends with the poignant sentence: "May we, at least for the span of a walk, see [the exosystem of our wonderful planet] through John Muir's eyes, before it's too late".
Meditations for Mortals
Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
Author: Oliver Burkeman
Call #: 158.12 BUR
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: August 30, 2025
Oliver Burkeman has authored many popular books on psychology, and after reading this one, I
intend to read them all eventually. The experience is like reading his newsletter, which he
emails intermittently—and only when he really has something to write about.
With Meditation for Mortals, Burkeman encourages us to only read one slim chapter at a time,
and it is quickly apparent why that strategy is probably best as he shares his thoughts on “Being
Finite”, “Taking Action”, “Letting Go” and “Showing Up” over the twenty-eight days prescribed.
One of my favorite chapters was Day One, which contained this nugget that you are unlikely to
find in most self-help books (which Meditation for Mortals is not): “…if you want to spend
more of your time on the planet doing what matters to you…grasp the sense in life as a finite
human being…(that it) is really much worse than you think.” He goes on to explain that once we
accept that we “definitely” will not get what we want out of life, we will be free. He uses the
example of the “to-do” list that we think we might get through. That list is inexhaustible, and
infinite—so if crossing things off the list makes us happy, we will simply never be.
Burkeman’s style is journalistic with a humorous voice, yet he is never sarcastic. He points out
the absurdities of life in an entertaining and helpful way, although he does not believe that
ubiquitous self-help genre works for most. As he points out on day fifteen of the reading: how
boring would life be if this were easy?
The Sun Blessed Prince
Author: Byrd, Lindsey
Call number: NEW FIC BYR
Reviewer: Randy Morgan
Date: August 9, 2025
Elician is the crown prince of Soleb, is a Giver - he has powers that allow him to heal himself and others. It is the royal family's best kept secret because the crown is not permitted to inherit these abilities. After the most recent battle, Elician finds a terrified, emaciated man at the edge of the bloody battlefield… a Reaper, someone who can kill with a single touch. Fearing that this Reaper will be tortured, he is taken to a sanctuary for Givers and Reapers. Here the Reaper maintains his new identity and refines his skills as a Reaper.
I am a sucker for healing magic, and with life comes death, making The Sun Blessed Prince a promising read. Author Lindsey Byrd is very deliberate in her parallels between fantasy and reality, which makes for a more engaging read. The romance was a very light dusting, which was surprising because it is advertised as an enemies to lovers situation. All this to say, I was stoked when I looked at Lindsey’s website and found the announcement for the next novel!
Food For Thought
Essays & Ruminations
Author: Alton Brown
Narrator: Alton Brown
Call #:CD 921 BRO
Reviewer: Sonja Downey
Date: July 14, 2025
This audio book is entertaining and delightful. I have known Alton Brown only from one cooking show (Cutthroat Kitchen) and had no idea how much wit and wisdom he hides behind his snarky facade in this particular show. In no particular order Brown takes the listener to various stages of his life. At times he is hilariously funny and then turns into a more somber mood. But he never takes himself too seriously or comes across as arrogant or entitled.
For all our patrons with special culinary skills, Alton Brown even whispers a few of his best-kept cooking secrets and hacks into the listeners ears. All in all a different but very well done autobiography.
The Business Trip
Author: Jessie Garcia
Narrator: Read by a full cast
Call #: CD FIC-GAR
Reviewer: Sonja Downey
Date: July 10, 2025
Jasmine and Stephanie meet on a flight to San Diego. Jasmine is broke and fleeing an abusive relationship, Stephanie is a well-etablished news caster on her way to yet another news conference. Both have seemingly nothing in common. Yet both wind up vanishing while their concerned friends and families receive texts with confusing messages. Where are they? Are they dead? As the police and Stephanie's friends are looking for answers, more and more questions arise until the end surprises not only them but the reader alike.
I liked this audio book very much. The full cast reading was extremely enjoyable. Each character had their own story and their own voice. Hearing the story in bits and pieces from each character and from their perspective made the plot realistic and gripping. The ending was a huge surprise and very rewarding.
Everything is Tuberculosis
The history and persistence of our deadliest infection
Author: John Green
Call number: 616.99 GRE
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: May 20, 2025
book that I read of his was the brilliant Turtles All the Way Down, and the second was his
equally insightful collection of essays The Anthropocene Reviewed.
After those two highly engaging reading experiences, I was skeptical that Green could bring the
same level of interest to tuberculosis, a disease that few Americans seem to think about. I was
wrong. Green personalizes the highly contagious and lethal disease through Henry, a young
man who he met in a Sierra Leone hospital in 2019. By tracing Henry’s experience with TB, the
audience can see the inherent racism and classism that have become obstacles to treatment for
many worldwide. Especially when caught early, this form of bacterium can be cured in most
people, but it is not an easy process, as Green relays.
Ultimately, Everything is Tuberculosis, through the finely tuned language of John Green, does
accomplish the goal of bringing awareness and some viable solutions. The audience will likely
be surprised (as I was) about the various ways that TB has shaped our past and will continue to
impact our collective futures.
Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline
Author: Dave Birkett
Call number: 796.332 BIR
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: May 9, 2025
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Detroit Lions fan, but the first season that I really followed sports intently was 1980, the rookie season of #1 draft pick Billy Sims from Oklahoma (and fresh off of his Heisman trophy season). The previous season had been disastrous at 2-14, but Sims was a nice consolation prize. I was enamored with Sims and the team, even after their strong 4-0 start dissolved into a 9-7 season, which did not qualify for the playoffs. Reading Birkett’s prose and seeing the images of not only Sims, but also Gary Danielson, Al “Bubba” Baker, Eric Hipple, and others from that era brought back some good memories, even as head coach Monte Clark’s unanswered prayers before a missed field goal attempt by Eddie Murray in a divisional playoff game at San Francisco still makes me wonder what might have been (the 49ers went on to be the dominant NFL franchise in the ‘80’s, while the Lions clearly were not).
Unlike Bill Morris’s book The Lions Finally Roar, which was released at about the same time, Birkett almost exclusively sticks to the action on the field, starting with the franchise’s founding in 1934 (when they were known as the Portsmouth Spartans). Much like my visits to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, I am amazed with the success that the Lions and their legendary players had up until the 1960’s. From the days of Dutch Clark up until Bobby Lane and his replacement Tobin Rote, the Lions were the envy of the NFL, along with storied franchises like the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Baltimore Colts, and the Green Bay Packers.
But force majeur--circumstances changed–first gradually, and then rapidly. By the late 1980’s, the Lions were not only on a losing streak, but they were also becoming increasingly irrelevant. Luckily, the arrival of Barry Sanders in 1989, stemmed the tide, but he was only a temporary fix, and they still only won one playoff game during his tenure.
Birkett’s succinct, yet accurate words capture it all. I was impressed with what he included, and also with what he chose to leave out of The Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline. Mr. Birkett will be at the library soon to do a book talk, and copies will be available for him to sign.
The Lions Finally Roar
The Detroit Lions, the Ford Family, and the Road to Redemption in the NFL
Author: Bill Morris
Call number: 796.332 MOR
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: May 9, 2025
I was born in 1970, so until recently, I had only seen the Detroit Lions football team win one playoff game, which was in 1992 against the Dallas Cowboys. 1992 was also the first year that I began my teaching career in Allen Park, and when I retired in January, 2024, they had finally beaten the Rams to secure the second playoff win in my lifetime--a fact that I discussed with former Lion and current Allen Park teacher Cory Schlesinger at my retirement party. And even after the Lions' satisfying resurgence in the past couple of seasons, they are still one of just four current NFL franchises (Cleveland, Houston, and Jacksonville are the others) who have never been to a Super Bowl. Morris details the history of the Fords, the NFL, the Lions, and even the city itself to extrapolate how this futility was created and continued for decades.
One of the biggest surprises of the book was the detail included of the Ford family and the company founded by the patriarch Henry. This section was relayed by Morris’s father, Dick, who was in the inner circle of William Clay Ford, owner of the Lions from the infamous November 22, 1963 purchase from a local syndicate until his death in 2014. In addition, the author also gives a history of the evolution of the Motor City during the late 20th and early 21st century, although he concedes that his account is tinged with his biases at times.
But the majority of The Lions Finally Roar is about the decisions (mainly by William Clay Ford) that contributed to the Lions descent from their championship seasons of the ‘50’s to the average campaigns of the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s through the roller coaster years of the 80’s and 90’s (which included the Billy Sims and Barry Sanders eras) until their winless season of 2008 and beyond. But as the title attests to, the story ends on a high note–and some better hiring moves by current owner Sheila Ford Hamp. This title is a 2025 "Michigan Notable Books" selection.
Braiding Sweetgrass (for Young Adults)
Author: Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Narrator:Kimmer, Robin Wall
Call number: 305.597 KIM (Y 305.8 KIM), Libby, and Hoopla
Reviewer: Randy Morgan
Date: May 7, 2025
Braiding Sweetgrass is a gift from Indigenous scientist, author, and narrator Robin Wall Kimmerer. Her compassionate language creates fluidity between botany, sociology, philosophy, and spirituality. Robin embraces readers through the traditions of storytelling while creating space for curiosity, criticism, and awe of the world. With this endorsement of community, Robin challenges the value of currency by emphasising the power of kindness and natural consequences.
Long Way Down
Author: Jason Reynolds
Call number: Y FIC REY
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: May 1, 2025
I highly recommend this narrative poem as a place to start reading the work of Jason Reynolds. I read an excerpt at a YA conference, but this piece eclipses any particular genre. Reynolds does a fantastic job building suspense as his protagonist, Will, contemplates getting revenge for his brother's recent and violent death. The entire plot of the poem takes place in the sixty seconds that it takes for Will to get from his apartment to the first floor.
Jason Reynolds is clearly a gifted storyteller, but his genius in causing us to empathize with Will is that he manages to engage the audience to create the maximum amount of empathy possible. Long Way Down was our April teen book club selection at the library.