I’m continuing my tour of the United States through literature by heading up the coast to the Pacific Northwest. My first stop on the way is Portland, Oregon with the science fiction classic, “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula K. Leguin. It tells the tale of George Orr, who can manipulate the world with his dreams, but they have become nightmares for him and so he tries to never sleep. He seeks help from a psychiatrist who quickly begins to use George, through hypnosis, for his own gain. But, in spite of things going horribly awry, the psychiatrist is not willing to stop. Continue reading “Travel Through Story: The Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii”
Long ago, when I first had a yard that was mine to do with as I wished, my ignorance was vast. I bought plants based only on what looked pretty. Over the years, I’ve become aware of the importance of encouraging native plants and avoiding invasive species. My learning curve seems to have followed that of society in general.
For a years, the Callery pear tree — especially the Bradford variety — was a popular landscaping choice in the Midwest. Now we know it propagates with abandon, crowding out more beneficial greenery. But there’s a bit of good news for those suffering planter’s remorse. Continue reading “Callery Pear Tree Buy-Back”
Editor’s note: This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will be sharing more throughout the year.
The book “Endurance” details Ernest Shackleton’s doomed attempt to be the first to make a trans-Antarctic voyage. The story is true and absolutely amazing, and Shackleton’s leadership is inspiring. This is, unfortunately, the only book Lansing wrote, but his writing is excellent. He really captures the misery and suffering the men with Shackleton must have experienced, as well as many details about how they survived in impossible circumstances, and uses the men’s diaries to build understanding of their characters. It’s a well-written, and amazing adventure book. Some photos are included too.
Three words that describe this book: Thrilling, intense, inspiring
You might want to pick this book up if: You like history, true stories, explorers, the Antarctic.
-Ruth
When I first began working at the library, I quickly learned that most staff could walk directly to the true-crime section, having long ago memorized its Dewey Decimal classification. Novels of mystery and suspense fly off the library shelves, so it’s not surprising that their nonfiction counterparts are also hugely popular. Like a good mystery novel, true crime provides a glimpse into the darker side of human nature. Unlike the fictional stories where the good guy almost always wins out, true-crime books often feature crimes that remain unsolved or criminals whose true motivations are scarily unclear. But true crime also offers a satisfying look into the process involved in crime solving and the real-life individuals whose dogged pursuits are often the key to solving the case. Let’s take a look at some of the new true-crime reads on the library’s shelves. Continue reading “Literary Links: True Crime Reads”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection. Click on the website links to see the trailers.
“News of the World”
Website / Reviews
Based on the book that was the 2018 One Read runner up, this film follows Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd in 1870 America as he crosses paths with a 10-year-old girl taken by the Kiowa people. Forced to return to her aunt and uncle, Kidd agrees to escort the child across the harsh and unforgiving plains of Texas. However, the long journey soon turns into a fight for survival as the traveling companions encounter danger at every turn. Continue reading “New DVD List: News of the World & More”
April is Autism Acceptance Month. Even though there are still a lot of stigmas and misconceptions surrounding autism, there is beginning to be a shift in perspective from autism as a disease to autism as a neural divergence, and from autism awareness to autism acceptance. According to the CDC, “Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives; others need less.” In 2013, the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) replaced Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders with the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Continue reading “Autism Acceptance Month: Autism in Women”
Spring publishing is in full swing with lots of great new books to check out! All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and eAudiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Radden Keefe (Apr 13)
This is the saga of three generations of a single family and the mark they would leave on the world, a tale that moves from the bustling streets of early twentieth-century Brooklyn to the seaside palaces of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Cap d’Antibes to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions: Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis. “Empire of Pain” chronicles the multiple investigations of the Sacklers and their company, and the scorched-earth legal tactics that the family has used to evade accountability. The history of the Sackler dynasty is rife with drama — baroque personal lives; bitter disputes over estates; fistfights in boardrooms; glittering art collections; Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers; and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. “Empire of Pain” is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling. It is a portrait of the excesses of America’s second Gilded Age, a study of impunity among the super elite and a relentless investigation of the naked greed and indifference to human suffering that built one of the world’s great fortunes. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: April 2021”
Editor’s note: This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will be sharing more throughout the year.
I don’t remember how “Harry’s Trees” got on my radar or on my to-read list, or even how it ended up being the next one I read. But oh my, what an enchanting book. How can you not fall in love with a book about trees?
I wasn’t sure at the start — there were some men who turned my stomach in this book and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to continue. But Harry, Oriana, and Amanda won my heart with this story of trying to heal what seems beyond healing. And really, the parallels between fairy tale and real life are just beautiful. Everything is tied together so seamlessly. Truly, a lovely book.
Three words that describe this book: enchanting, heartwarming, affirming
You might want to pick this book up if: you love fairy tales.
-Katheen
Spring is a big time of year for publishing, as evidenced by the many debut novels coming out in April. Here are just a few that have received quite a bit of buzz. For a complete list, please visit our catalog.
“Dial A for Aunties” by Jesse Q. Sutanto
What happens when you mix one (accidental) murder with two thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on three generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?
You get four meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business — “Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!” — and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love — and biggest heartbreak — makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: April 2021”
B.K. Boes is a Mid-Missouri author who recently came out with her debut book, “Mother of Rebellion.” The book is the first in her epic fantasy series, The Leyumin Divided Saga, and introduces us to the divided continent of Leyumin, where two nations vie for dominance — one through politics and manipulation, the other through brute force and self-proclaimed pure blood. You can find out more about the book on her website, or follow her through twitter, facebook, and her email newsletter. I emailed some interview questions to her, and she was kind enough to take time to write back some answers. Continue reading “Q&A With B.K. Boes, Author of “Mother of Rebellion””
