First line: I arrive at my ex-girlfriend’s house at ten o’clock at night with the prelude to a tension headache and mere dregs remaining of my self-respect.
Summary: Callahan Leitner has spent years working for and then owning an antique store. He takes pride in his career and his shop. However, this all is in jeopardy by an illegal taxidermy goose in his apartment. With the help of his temporary assistant and burgeoning small business owner, Annie, he tries to find a way to return the goose without being arrested. Unfortunately, for them, the goose disappears, sending them on a wild goose chase to find the bird that could ruin both of their careers.
My Thoughts: Like Adler’s other books, this was just a lot of fun! The witty banter between the two main characters, the chemistry and the weirdness were just a perfect mix. I loved the characters. Annie sitting on the counter singing to her sub sandwich. Cal’s nerdiness and vulnerability. It was just so wonderful from the very start.
I had no idea about the laws surrounding taxidermy geese. I really appreciated how the author started the book with information on this law to give context for the story.
I loved the dual timelines as well. This structure is one of my favorites in novels. I like to see the history and the present day mixed in to give deeper meaning to the story. It added such a fun layer to the plot and made even the goose a more fleshed out character.
Sarah Adler does such a great job of writing a funny romantic story. She is definitely a writer I will continue to automatically request on Netgalley or from the library.
First line: Early on in the process of writing my first book about axe murder, I took a job working in an after-school program.
Summary: Over the millennia the axe has changed. It is an important tool used in hunting, building and creating other tools. Along with it being a tool of survival, it became a tool of murder too. As time progressed the types and style of axe has evolved with human’s needs. Told by moving through history from prehistoric to the modern era, we are shown different types of axes and how these axes played a part in history and true crime. Ranging from the executions of Henry VIII to the trial of Lizzie Borden, the author brings the role of axes to the reader in a completely new way.
My Thoughts: I remember seeing this book a year ago when we first purchased it and find it very intriguing. I knew I wanted to read it someday but until I picked it up again recently, I had completely forgotten about it. In May 2026, Whack Job was recognized as a Kansas Notable Book. This award brought the book back to my attention and I decided it was a great time to give it a go.
I found the layout and structure of the book to be a creative way to explore this microhistory. Each chapter begins with a different historical type of axe and explaining its uses at the time in question. These sections are then followed by a historical event in which this type of axe may have been used.
In the first chapter, we find a stone axe and what appears to be a murder of a prehistoric human. Using cranial reconstruction the scientists were able to see that a sharp blow to the head was the cause of death and could have come from one of these stone axes. Science is so remarkable in what it can tell us. As we progress through time, events become more documented and well known but no less interesting.
I found this book to be completely fascinating and I wanted to read “just one more chapter” each night. For fans of true crime and microhistories, this is the perfect addition to your TBR list.
Our summer reading theme, Unearth a Story, is in full swing and we’re surrounded by dinosaurs and prehistoric tales. We thought this would be the perfect time to ask our library staff about their favorite dinos!
What are some of your favorite dinosaurs or ancient creatures from the Mesozoic Era (Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods)? This could be an actual dino like the brontosaurus or the t-rex, or it could be a pterosaur, marine reptile, synapsid, or even early mammal. What do you like about these specific creatures?
Megan, Outreach Coordinator: My favorite dinosaur is the Compsognathus. Why? Simply because they’re cute! They remind me of a chicken. I would be the little girl from Jurassic Park II who was trying to feed one; that became several!
Kristy H., Public Support Services: Tyrannosaurus Rex because he is the biggest and best dinosaur that I’ve loved forever. It’s just so impressive and massive and huge and has a big ‘ol head and mouth!
Maycie, Public Support Services: I’m a biiiiigg fan of long-neck dinosaurs. Brachiosaurus is my favorite but I’m also partial to a brontosaurus or a diplodocus. I think they just look really neat!
Shane, Public Support Services:I love the Brontosaurus because I will always have a soft spot for Little Foot from Land Before Time. However, as an Anthropology graduate, I am super interested in any ancient species of apes. Homo Erectus is the most interesting one to me as the first species to have a “humanlike” stature and fully walk on two legs.
Hannah, Assistant Director: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist. Not very practical for a kid from Kansas, but I was fascinated with whales, dolphins, and sharks. It’s probably no surprise that my answer is prehistoric sharks. Not necessarily the megalodon specifically, but it is a very cool creature just based on its predicted size alone. It just blows my mind how old some sharks can live and how long their species has been on the planet. Like the Greenland Shark, which was genetically studied and is believed to have been around over 2 million years ago. They have the longest lifespan of any vertebrate with some Greenland sharks living for over 500 years!
Kameron, Public Support Services: My favorite is the parasaurolophus because of its distinct look with the horn extending out the back of its head!
Justin, Technology Coordinator: So everyone wants to talk about the T-Rex being their favorite and I’m sure its been mentioned multiple times by staff. That’s fine. But the real deal is the Ankylosaurus. He is just out there, low to the ground, munching on leaves, completely armored up and dragging a literal wrecking ball on its tail. Do you want to mess with that? Be my guest. The T-Rex gets all the glory, but the Ankylosaurus just doesn’t care. That’s my kind of dinosaur.
Annalise, Public Support Services: It’s no secret that I’ve always been fascinated with dinosaurs and other creatures from the Mesozoic Era. I was obsessed with The Land Before Time movies as a kid, and I still have my old VHS copies somewhere in my closet. The fascination grew I got older, especially after discovering the Jurassic Park films when I was a teenager. Despite my love and curiosity for dinosaurs, my favorite creature from that period is not a dinosaur. It’s a heteromorph ammonite called The Paperclip “Squid,” or Diplomoceras maximum. Interestingly, it wasn’t quite a true squid, just an ancient relative of the squids and octopuses we know today.It lived at the very end of the Cretaceous Period, and it quite literally looks like a paperclip. It’s not presumptuous to say that it was a strange creature, and that’s exactly why I like it.
Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favorite dinosaurs or ancient creatures?
First line: Without thinking about it too much, conjure up an image of Benjamin Franklin–whatever comes to mind.
Summary: In Brooke Barbier’s new book she takes a look at how alcohol shaped the early years of our country. Using primary sources, she delves into the importance of alcohol in policy making, networking and financing the new nation. Spanning the years after the French and Indian War to the presidential election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, we learn how “drink helped transform British subjects into Americans.” At the end of each chapter, Barbier provides a recipe for an eighteenth century cocktail that is adapted for modern audiences.
My Thoughts: When most people think of the American Revolution and drinks, you would assume their first thought would be tea. I know I do. After reading Cocked and Boozy I have a completely new view of what helped drive the founding fathers.
One of the most controversial taxes on the American colonies was on sugar and molasses. Since it affected the production of rum and small beer, it caused riots and increased smuggling. These drinks had become part of the everyday lives of the population. Adding the extra expense became too much for the colonists.
However, the production costs were not the only way alcohol played an important part in our nation’s founding. Many gatherings of the founding fathers happened in taverns. Celebrations for the ratification of the Constitution featured copious amounts of beer, cider and brandy. The amount of wine Thomas Jefferson purchased from France each year is astounding. George Washington started to produce thousands of gallons of whiskey at his plantation after leaving office. There is no denying that alcohol played an important part in our nation’s birth.
If you were looking for an unconventional book about the American Revolution then I would steer you to this one! It was a fascinating read about the little discussed part of our history. It also will might give you some inspiration for your Fourth of July party plans!
