Breakfast at Sally's: One Homeless Man's Inspirational Journey by Richard LeMieux

I was walking through the New Book section when this title caught my eye. I wondered, “Who is Sally and why is she making breakfast?” Within the first few pages, I learned that the author had been a very successful businessman in the publishing business. When his company failed, his life spiraled downward to the depths of despair. As his depression increased, his relationship with his family disintegrated and so did his finances. He eventually began to live in his car along with his dog and faithful companion, Willow.

Richard takes us through his journey of homelessness by sharing the stories of the people he befriended. It was through the kindness of strangers and groups like The Salvation Army ( Sally’s) and a church that he began to put his life back together. He learns that by caring about others, he is able to regain some of his former life. His relationship with his dog is a very special one. At one point in his life, the author was on the brink of suicide and it was only the love of his dog that saved him.

This is an inspirational story for these difficult times. - Reviewed by Deb

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Did you know that you can check out games for the Nintendo Wii at the library? Well, you can – our library system owns a few and can loan them. Ask your reference librarian how! In the meantime, here’s one suggestion for you: Super Smash Brothers Brawl!

It is a bit harder to review a video game than a book or movie, as a video game is by its nature an interactive experience. In the end, however, the question on any video game is: “Will I have fun playing this?” In the end, the answer is a resounding yes, especially if you have a multiplayer game going on.

We put this game in at a party having never played it before. So here’s the weakness of the game: you will have no idea what is going on, and you probably won’t gain one. But here’s the strength: you won’t care. It is just fun. Pick a character. Any character, and there are so many characters – 20 or so to start, with another 10 or so unlockable – and pick a stadium, and start pressing buttons. Each character has its own special moves, and I suppose you could try to learn them. But more fun things happen just button mashing.

And that’s the main fun of this game. 3 friends and I fighting, handing off Wiimotes to our friends between bouts, playing random characters to see what they could do, and different stadiums to see what would happen. And the stadiums matter – some of them shift shapes, or are constantly being destroyed at one end and built at the other. Some are more static. And weird stuff just happens. Probably the weirdest was when, in the middle of a 4 person brawl, a yellow lab from Nintendogs just popped up on screen – like 3/4s of the screen – and started barking at us for a few seconds. We don’t know if we caused that or if it just happened, but it’s something that we still talk about.

In other words, the game is just bizarre fun. You don’t know what’s going on, and that’s the point. Just play and have fun.

For Nintendo Wii only. - Reviewed by John