West Chicago Public Library

Today was the first day I visited a brand new library for this blog! This is the West Chicago Public Library in (obviously) West Chicago.

After recently returning library books at libraries where you have to look around for where to return the books at night (like Bartlett Public Library, where the drop box is behind the building!), it was refreshing to see the drop slot located right next to the front door.

The other thing I have to share is this panel from a fold-out YA pamphlet dedicated to their programming. This ties in with another post I did about supporting local authors.  The art shown here is, of course, from Gene Ha's Mae, and Gene is a local Chicagoland author.  He loves to do library appearances, will talk about his book anywhere that will have him, and he's a pretty great guy. 

Bad Machinery

My first exposure to this title was a Free Comic Book Day book that came out about two years ago. Today, when I was at the Bartlett Public Library, I was thrilled to see I could find an oversized trade paperback collecting this wonderful comic book in their YA section.  And it came out in 2013?  How did I miss it?

Bad Machinery is a webcomic (well, started as a webcomic) from England. The author, John Allison, has a wonderful ear for dialogue -- I've never been to England, but I can imagine that English teens sound just like this, and it's a completely fresh voice for a reader like me used to American comics.  Oh, and there's mysteries and humor and stuff too!