Kazu Kibuishi, Hiromu Arakawa, David W. Cowles, and Giada De Laurentiis

I'm excited about my interview tomorrow with Everest College, although I do tend to get nervous around committee interviews. Luckily it is easy to get to, and I hope to have a few to walk around the library if we don't do it in the interview. I started to listen to the audiobook version of  Madame Bovary today, which was a Banned Book Club pick, which I am temporarily not doing until we move to the new place. 

Young Adult

Flight, Volume 1 edited by Kazu Kibuishi

I picked up this volume after picking up Kibuishi's "Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council," and finally decided that I wanted to read more of the author's work. The book is a collection of up-and-coming comic/graphic novel creators, and they are all-based on the idea of flight. My favorites were Derek Kirk Kim (author of "Good as Lily"), Kazu Kibuishi, Jake Parker, Vera Brosgol (author of "Anya's Ghost"), Jen Wang, Neil Babra, Rad Sechrist, and Phil Craven's work. Recommended for ages 12+, 3 stars. 

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 2 (Fullmetal Alchemist #2) by Hiromu Arakawa

In this volume, Ed and Al go with Colonel Mustang (the Flame Alchemist and Ed's superior officer) to see the leading specialist on biological transmutation, Shou Tucker, the "Sewing Life Alchemist". Ed is excited to get into Shou's archives to do research and Al befriends Shou's daughter. Everything is going great until Ed realizes the truth behind the chimeras that Shou creates. For his transgressions against God, a mysterious man kills both Shou and his new creation, and tries to kill more state alchemists. He manages to severely damage both Ed and Al, so much that they have to go to the mechanic back in their home town. On the way there, Major Armstrong recognizes a doctor from the civil war who used to work for the military. The reader finds out that he is/was working with the two shady characters from the first book, Lust and Greed. Their mission is never explained, but it seems that they are up to no good.

I liked this book, but I wished they explained more about the Shou Tucker and his daughter part like they did in the anime. It is one of the most disturbing part of the series. My favorite part was the introduction of Alex Louis Armstrong, the "Strong Arm Alchemist". I thought his character was hilarious in the anime. Recommended for ages 14+, 3 stars.

Adult
The Deli Maven's Cookbook by David W. Cowles

Well I definitely know more about the origin of the Jewish Deli than I ever knew before. The author breaks it down into many categories, not all of which I really think should be in the book, but there ya go. He first describes what a deli is, his search for a good deli in Washington state, and true tales of the deli (including quotes and jokes). He then describes the recipes for the items one usually finds in a deli, such as homemade pastrami, beef brisket, pastrami lox (which is apparently lox cured like pastrami), potato knishes, lox/scrambled eggs/onions (which I had never tried until the other day at a breakfast place and was delicious), cheese blintzes, Dilly Deli Horseradish Mustard and more. 3 stars.

Weeknights with Giada: Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner by Giada de Laurentiis

This is an ARC from Netgalley. 

Normally I love watching Giada on Food Network, she always makes yummy looking Italian recipes and it is pleasant to watch her show. Giada's daughter will be 4 years old by the time the book is published and the author wanted to make more healthy meals for her family and share them with others. Now as a new mom, I can appreciate what she is trying to do. While the pictures make the recipes look even more appetizing, I found the recipes to be a bit too mainstream and boring. 2 1/2 stars.