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Katie's Picks

Book Cover for Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain Martinez, A. Lee
Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain

Science Fiction
Emperor Mollusk has spent his days conquering other worlds of the universe. Now this mad genius has decided to retire, and could not be more bored—that is, until half the universe, all at once, tries to destroy him. If you are looking for a great, funny, exciting science fiction read, then Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez is the book for you.
Recommended April 2013

 
Book Cover for On the Map Garfield, Simon
On the Map

Nonfiction
Simon Garfield's On the Map is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. On the Map is a collection of true stories of maps, from the first known map in history to mapping Mars and even the brain. The book also tells of true tales of how a map in London stopped the spread of cholera, or how a map found in a shop in Geneva started a huge controversy. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a fondness for history and geography.
Recommended March 2013

 
Book Cover for Sum Eagleman, David
Sum

Fiction
What happens in the afterlife? In David Eagleman’s book Sum, we are given forty different answers. Eagleman takes the reader through forty different tales of what he imagines the afterlife is like. The tales are sad, happy, funny and hopeful. Each tale in Sum is only about two or three pages long, yet they are all thought-provoking and imaginatively written.
Recommended February 2013

 
Book Cover for The Cyclist Conspiracy Basara, Svetislav
The Cyclist Conspiracy

Fiction
Usually when I am asked to recommend a book I am pretty good about giving a detailed description of what the book is about and why I thought it was so well written. This is not the case with the book The Cyclist Conspiracy. Written by Serbian author Svetislav Basara and translated into English by Randall Major, The Cyclist Conspiracy tells the story of a brotherhood who travel throughout history influencing events. The story is told through drawings, documents, letters, biographical stories and other writings that depict what is happening throughout history. The book is not really one continuous story, but more of a 'collected works' that include Sigmund Freud and Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a hard book to describe, but -- take my word for it -- this book is worth picking up.
Recommended January 2013