The Front Porch prints book reviews by local librarians, rotating to a different library each month. September reviews are by Thane Benson, Monica Washenberger and Tara Bannon Williamson from Park Hill Branch Library. If you are a librarian and interested in writing reviews email Madeline@FrontPorchStapleton.com.

Adult Graphic Novel
BBXX Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2 by Rick Kirkman
Baby Blues consistently delivers quality jokes with engaging, sympathetic, and funny characters. Occasionally, it even pushes the boundaries of the strip format, experimenting with form and content in innovative ways. Baby Blues is a good comic strip, but if you are a parent it’s a great comic strip because you will relate to the characters’ struggles, making the jokes all the more funny. You will also be comforted knowing that other parents have it just as bad, or maybe even worse than you do. Raising kids is not easy. You have to have a sense of humor about it. Baby Blues is there for you.

Adult Nonfiction
Riveted: The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One With the Universe by Jim Davies
If you find yourself wondering why certain trends, ideas, or notions capture attention while others fail to catch on, the analysis and summary provided by Davies will sate your current questions and simultaneously ignite your imagination. If you enjoy the writing style and thorough research of authors like Malcolm Gladwell, Riveted will no doubt engage, inform and provide fascinating insights into the complexity of “the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling.”

What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund
Utilizing an engaging, creative and playful format, Peter Mendelsund—a celebrated book jacket designer—delves into the deepest recesses of readers’ minds and examines the magical evocation of images based on the words we read. Throughout time immemorial, every reader creates a unique picture in their head based on the carefully chosen words of the author, and while the words are always the same, the pictures in our head change over time. Mendelsund explores phenomenology and will forever change the way you think about reading.

Adult Fiction
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Bee has always been a bright child, despite her heart condition and a peculiar upbringing by her workaholic father, Elgin, and reclusive mother, Bernadette. As a reward for Bee’s good grades, her family plans to take a trip to Antarctica, and Bee couldn’t be more excited. Little does Bee know, her mother has a secret life including an overseas, virtual assistant and an ongoing feud with the other mothers at Bee’s school. Bernadette goes missing only days before their trip. This satirical, character-driven novel told through the eyes of 15-year-old Bee will keep you guessing until the very end.

Kids Fiction
Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
Alex and Connor had always looked forward to their father’s stories to help them through hard times, until his death. One year later, they receive a surprise birthday visit from their grandmother bearing a copy of his favorite fairytale. Elated to own a piece of his past, the twins are shocked when the book begins to hum and glow. This first book in the Land of Stories series will give you a behind-the-scenes view of your favorite
Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen tales with both the adventure and romance boys and girls will enjoy.