Recommended by a teacher, the book Dope sick is based in the realism found in many of the popular urban fiction titles. But Myers gives the nod to acclaimed South American writers Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez by adding magical realism to his usual NYC inner-city setting. It opens with a young man, Lil J, on the run from the police with a bullet in his arm. Then the book takes a detour into fantastic realms when Lil J runs into an abandoned building.

    A funny!  I was delighted  to discover that the book Dog on it by Spencer Quinn was a hoot.  Not expecting anything beyond a cozy PI book, Dog on it turned out to be one of the better reads this year. This series is told by Chet the Jet, an almost K9 trained mutt.

A huge shout-out to the Jackson Citizen Patriot for deciding to keep the library's newspaper column At the library when the format changes take effect. There will be no break in the articles appearing on the book page of the Live It Up section.  Thanks so much!

  Not all scientists can write. Stanford visiting professor Nathan Wolfe can, and he does a superb job in his new book The Viral Storm. Concepts which have been difficult for others to explain flow easily from Wolfe's pen.