FDL Reads: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Genre: Civil War, Historical Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is the book about? During the Civil War, many women took action to further the interests of the side they favored. This is an account of four such women, two for the Confederates, and two for the Union. Belle Boyd gained notoriety by killing a Union soldier in her home as a teenager. She built upon her dangerous reputation to become a renowned Confederate spy. Emma Edmonds, originally from Canada, began living as a male a couple years before war broke out. She took a stand by joining the Union Army as soldier Frank Thompson. Rose O’Neale Greenhow was a widowed woman of means in Washington D.C. who worked to gather intelligence for Southern military leaders. And finally, Elizabeth Van Lew, from Richmond, Virginia, was a wealthy abolitionist who headed up a large network of pro-Union spies all while constantly being under suspicion by Confederate officials. No matter their political alignment, these women acted with conviction and tenacity.
My Review: I listened to the audiobook on Axis360 and was hooked in the narrative very early on. Secret communiques, undercover missions in disguise, gritty battlefields, jail time, and even a meeting with Emperor Napoleon III are all detailed in this book that reads like a spy novel and not a dry recounting of history. The title, reminiscent of the of John LeCarré’s spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, does not seem accidental. This is an engaging story about danger, intrigue, lies, and secrets. These four women working on opposite sides of the Civil War were incredibly brave to defy cultural conventions and do what they felt was needed during a time of extreme political turmoil.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Absorbing, Detailed, Intriguing
Give This a Try if You Like… They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook, The Lincoln Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré
Rating: 5/5
FDL Reads Movie Review: Reminiscence
Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant
Genre: Science Fiction Film
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Movie About? Nick Bannister is a memory dealer in the flooded city of Miami. The time is the future, when climate change has made islands out of skyscrapers, war has created a generation of wounded veterans, and looking towards the past is big business for a man like Bannister. Since the daytime is too hot to bear, most people sleep in the day and live by the night. Bannister allows people to relive their fondest memories with virtual reality technology, and the tech allows Bannister to view said memories on a holographic projector.
One day, a radiant woman named Mae asks him to find her lost keys through her memory. During their VR search, he discovers that she is a club singer and Bannister finds himself falling in love as he strikes up a relationship with Mae. After months of puppy-love, Mae vanishes without a trace, leaving Bannister to search his own memories in VR to figure out why she left. After the police contract Bannister to retrieve memory from a comatose suspect, Bannister discovers that Mae was not as innocent as he thought, being connected to the suspect’s memory and a massive drug ring. As Bannister continues to investigate, a whirlwind of lust, crime, deception, and conspiracy are unraveled.
My Review: In a sea of hyper-noir drama and cyberpunk action, Reminiscence is sensational when it comes to gritty science fiction. Directed by Lisa Joy, director of the HBO series Westworld, Reminiscence takes the audience on a wild ride through urban decay suffering from climate change. There are interesting points of interest regarding speculative technology and a convincing cast of con-artists, burnt out investigators, kingpins, and corrupt land “barons.”
If you search the internet, you will find a lot of negative reviews. What I will say is that this movie needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If movie-watchers were turned away by every negative review, noir classics like The Big Sleep and Blade Runner would never get off the ground. I’m not saying Reminiscence should be categorized as a classic treasure, but I will say that it is a fun neo-noir, action-packed film that doesn’t deserve the poor reviews it received. But don’t take my word for it. Judge for yourself by checking it out at Fondulac District Library!
Three Words that Describe this Movie: cyberpunk, thriller, mystery
Give This A Try if You Like… Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Inception, The Matrix, Chappie, Captive State, Strange Days, Total Recall, Existenz, Johnny Mnemonic, Dark City, The Big Sleep
Rating: 4/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
FDL Reads: Fuzz
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Adults, Teens
What is the book about?: Why does the Pope need lasers? To ward off aggressive gulls, of course. Fuzz wanders through the strange realm of human-wildlife conflict, examining the science and history of our bumbling and sometimes harmful attempts to control nature. Author Mary Roach humorously dives right into the muck we’ve made, encountering bear burglars, thieving macaques, robot falcons, man-eating leopards, toxic beans, vandalizing vultures, danger trees, and more during her field research. By talking to wildlife officers and researchers dealing with conflicts around the world, the book examines the logistics and ethics of the vast and mostly futile methods used to prevent, control, and eliminate some of nature’s peskier problems, from bounty-hunting to military interventions and sci-fi-esque gene drives.
My Review: Mary Roach is probably my favorite narrative nonfiction writer due to her wit and approachable take on science-ish subjects, and Fuzz did not disappoint (although I could have geeked out on an entire book about animal attack forensics). I learned several fun new words (like frass and kronism) and about exciting new career options like danger tree faller blaster (!!). I also learned that the beautiful necklace a friend brought me from Peru is actually made of rosary pea seeds that contain abrin – the most lethal phytotoxin on the planet – and promptly sealed it away from my kitten’s insatiable curiosity, saving her life or at least an expensive trip to the vet. Aside from the first few chapters and some fascinating footnotes, the book strays a bit from the “crime” premise, but Roach does make the important point that most of these conflicts involve animals just being animals as humans encroach on their habitats, and touches on the questionable ethics of bioengineering animals and the intentional mass exterminations of ‘nuisance’ populations. Also, I now feel more confident in my ability to possibly survive a bear attack and definitely not survive a cougar attack, and wish this book continued as a podcast.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Fascinating, Witty, Informative
Give This a Try if You Like… Stiff by Mary Roach, On Animals by Susan Orlean, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman
Rating: 5/5
Unicorn Books Feed the Imagination
Imaginations are a beautiful thing! That imagination flourishes when a child reads a book that flies in the face of reality. Books about unicorns help to fuel that imagination. Unicorns are magical, mystical, one-horned, fairy tales in horses’ bodies. Most children are unaware of the myths surrounding unicorns. They don’t care. All they know is that magnificent, rainbow glittered horses are enchantingly beautiful.
Check out the following books available at the library!
Picture Books![](https://fondulaclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/unicorns.jpg)
How to Catch a Unicorn by Adam Wallace
Lily the Unicorn by Dallas Clayton
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Bladney
A Unicorn Named Sparkle by Amy Young
Unicorn Thinks He’s Really Great by Bob Shea
Unicorns 101 by Cale Atkinsons
Unicorns Are the Worst! by Alex Willan
EZ Readers
Are Unicorns Real? by Ginjer Clarke
Pearl the Proper Unicorn by Sally Odgers
Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn’s Missing Colors by Kim Dean
Unicorn Wings by Mallory Loehr
Uni the Unicorn by Lissy Marlin
EZ Chapter Books
Princess DisGrace, a Royal Disaster by Lou Kuenzler
Sparkleton by Calliope Glass (series)
Unicorn Diaries by Rebecca Elliot (series)
Unicorn Riding Camp by Sophie Tilley
Unicorn University by Daisy Sunshine (series)
Fiction
Even and Odd by Sarah Beth Durst
Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville (series)
Waiting for Unicorns by Beth Hautala
Graphic Novels
Grumpy Unicorn by Joey Spiotto
Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson (series)
Unicorns by Gary Jeffrey
Nonfiction
Unicorns: Magic, Myth and Mystery by Virginia Loh-Hagan
Unicorns by Dana Meachen Rau
The Truth about Unicorns by Molly Blaisdell
Drawing Unicorns and Other Mythical Beasts by Steve Beaumont
– Sharon Crawford, Youth Services Specialist
Switch to Libby!
Have you made the switch to Libby yet? If you’ve been using the OverDrive app to borrow eBooks and audiobooks, you’ll want to download the Libby app soon! Both library apps access the same collection of great eBooks and audiobooks, but Alliance Digital Media Library (ADML) will begin phasing out the OverDrive app in February 2022, making Libby the primary way for users to enjoy the ADML collection. Users can still browse, borrow, and enjoy titles from the library’s OverDrive website and enjoy that content on their devices with Libby.
- Easy onboarding for new users
- A unified bookshelf for all loans and holds
- Support for multiple library cards
- Direct user support from OverDrive
- Best-in-class eBook reader and audiobook player
- Improved accessibility features
- Wish list syncing
- Push notifications
- Support for multiple world languages
- Access to “Extras,” including streaming video services, educational courses, and more
- Sonos speaker integration
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support
Getting started with Libby is easy. Just download the free app from your app store and sign in with your FDL card to start exploring. Ask a librarian for help if needed. And of course, even more digital content is available through the Axis 360 and hoopla apps and collections.
FDL Reading Challenges
Are you in a reading slump, or just love a challenge? Reading challenges can be a great motivator to establish better reading habits and reach your reading goals. Participating in a reading program is an easy way to read more or explore different genres of books while earning fun prizes, and FDL has challenges for all ages throughout the year! Readers can register and track their reading with Beanstack (online or with the free app), or register at the library. Get started by registering or ask a librarian for more info!
Adult Winter Reading Program
- Choose Your Gnome Adventure!
- Happening now! January 3 – February 28, 2022
- Ages 18+
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
- Connect with your child, develop their vocabulary, & establish good reading habits!
- Self-paced & year-round
- Infancy – PreK
100 Club
- Explore different kinds of genres
- Self-paced & year-round
- Kindergarten – 8th grade
Summer Reading Program
- June – July (new themes every year!)
- Programs for all ages
- PreK – Adult