No matter your pace or path, the library offers companions for the journey. A 19th-century naturalist and a contemporary R&B artist gave shape to my recent trip and softened the landing. Which writers help you light the way?
I board the plane with a book and an album: “The Journal, 1837-1861” by Henry David Thoreau and “Chilombo” by Jhené Aiko. Maybe the artists will have something to say to each other — Thoreau with his call to “throw away a whole day for a single expansion, a single inspiration of air” (Aug. 21, 1851); Aiko with her invitation to “rest your weary heart / dry your teary eyes” (“Born Tired”). Maybe somewhere between cities I will catch my breath.
Continue reading “Reading, Flying, Flowing: Henry David Thoreau, Jhené Aiko and Other Travelers”
I love it when a plan comes together. I equally love it when a plan goes off the rails and characters must somehow rebuild it on the fly. “The Lies of Locke Lamora” somehow enables the reader to have both of these outcomes.
The story could be summed up as a heist gone wrong. Or, a found family of thieves in a gritty underworld within a fantastically realized city. Or, a story about a brotherly bond. Or a story about the dangers of playing games on those that appear to have power and those that actually do. Or a story about the luckiest man alive. However you decide to summarize the story or the setting or the characters, it can’t be done without paying compliment to author Scott Lynch’s excellent writing that drives the story forward at such a pace that “one more chapter” easily becomes 100 more pages.
I loved the details of the city. I loved how the fantasy elements were so smoothly blended in that you could pass this book to a non-fantasy reader and they’d enjoy it just as much. I love the pacing and the action — the planning and the people pulling off the plans.
It’s an easy 5 out of 5 for me.
Three words that describe this book: Heists. Schemes. Stubbornness.
You might want to pick this book up if: Your favorite part of “The Mistborn Saga” was the planning to take down the Lord Ruler parts.
-Blake
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
Book I read: “Humankind: A Hopeful History” by Rutger Bregman
Why I checked it out: Last spring I was looking for books about hope and came across this one.
What it’s about: Often we’re told or believe that humans are ruled by self-interest. Bregman explores historic events and research to argue that what defines humans and has made us so successful is our drive to collaborate, our compassionate nature, and our tendency toward kindness.
Why I liked it: It has such a hopeful message about what it is to be human. Maybe if we see ourselves differently it will change what we see as our possible future. Bregman’s style is very readable and engaging and his ideas and conclusions are clearly stated and backed up by data and historical records.
Who will like it: Even if psychology isn’t your thing, Bregman’s style is so readable, I’d recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about human nature.
Diane Wilson’s novel, “The Seed Keeper” will be the subject of December’s First Thursday Book Discussion at noon on December 4 in the Columbia Public Library.
“The Seed Keeper,” spans several generations in a Dakhóta family starting with a Dakhóta girl, her mother and her new born brother fleeing violence and starvation after the 1862 Dakhóta uprising in southern Minnesota. Among their few possessions, they pack a small store of seeds and carefully cache the remaining seeds.
Descendants grow and save seeds, carrying the traditions of their family with them despite hardship and persecution.
In the most recent generation, Rosalie Iron Wing grew up in the woods with her father. He taught her how to survive and shared the stories of the plants and stars and their people. But when he dies, Rosalie is told she has no relatives and is sent to live with a white foster family in Mankato.
But Rosalie did have family and the last surviving elder has painstakingly grown and saved her family’s seeds, hoping to reunite with Rosalie.
Weaving together the voices of four generations, Diane Wilson extends the symbolism inherent in seeds into this family’s story of perseverance, reawakening, and remembering.
Join us on December 4 to share your thoughts and questions with other readers in a facilitated discussion.
“The Hive” introduces readers to the Fehler sisters, who are known as the “bug girls” because their family owns a pest control business in rural Missouri. After their father dies they have to join together to lead their family and the business into the future.
Because the author is from Missouri, she provides many easter eggs for fellow Missourians through the settings, places visited and scenery. It’s a powerful portrayal of a family and their bonds.
Three words that describe this book: Addicting, thoughtful, insightful
You might want to pick this book up if: you love family dramas or if you love Missouri.
-Sara
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
“The Grapes of Wrath” is about a family who attempts to escape the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression by migrating from Oklahoma to California. This book is a classic, but it is a classic for a reason. The themes are many of the same ones that dominate cultural and political discussion today: poverty, homelessness, climate change, migration, worker rights and unions, just to name a few. Steinbeck’s writing is beautiful and evocative while remaining down-to-earth and easy to understand.
I felt like I personally gained more insight from this book because my grandmother’s family went on a similar journey from Southern Missouri to Oklahoma to California and back in the 1920s and 1930s. I imagine that they would have experienced many of the same things as the Joad family on their travels.
Three words that describe this book: timeless, genuine, hopeful
You might want to pick this book up if: you are interested in American history and politics over time.
-Rose
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Weapons” – Website / Reviews
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance in this horror/thriller.
“F1” – Website / Reviews
In this action/drama film, racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team — and mentor a young hotshot driver — while chasing one more chance at glory.
“The Gold” – Season 1 – Website / Reviews
A crime drama series inspired by real events from 1983 where armed men stumbled on millions in gold in London, making a standard robbery into one of the largest robberies in British history.
“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” – Website / Reviews
Based on the memoir of the same name, this film captures the complex childhood of 8-year-old Bobo on her family’s African farm at the end of the Zimbabwean War for Independence in 1980.
“The Fantastic 4: First Steps” – Website / Reviews
Set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world, this sci-fi action film introduces a superhero foursome who must defend Earth from a space god and his enigmatic herald. Continue reading “New DVD List: November 2025”
“After about two months of the war, I decided to do something normal, ordinary, necessary. I took my 8-year-old daughter for a haircut,” journalist Maram Humaid wrote in October 2024 for Al Jazeera, recounting her first year reporting the war on Gaza. Visiting with Najla the hairdresser, Humaid is moved by her generosity in sharing stories that Najla’s clients have shared. These “side-stories” are in some ways at odds with the pressing priorities of Humaid’s journalism.
The necessity Humaid discovers in these ordinary stories speaks to alternative ways of grasping the flow of events or “sitting in the room with history,” as Dionne Brand put it in “A Map to the Door of No Return.” Continue reading “Literary Links: History From a First-Person View”
I absolutely devoured “The Trees” and still wanted more. I think fans of Jordan Peele’s “Us” will love this exploration of race and reparations by Percival Everett.
I loved how he wrote each character, flipping race stereotypes on their head and being unrelenting in his writing of unlikable characters. The chapters were short and fast, making it so easy to fly through. The story was spooky and mysterious, originally taking over a small town before the whole country became involved. With incredible writing, deeply addicting plot, and a stellar, expansive cast of characters, this book has made me a life long fan of Everett’s.
Three words that describe this book: Haunting, vengeful, addictive.
You might want to pick this book up if: you had just finished visiting your racist family.
-Jordan
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.
Brendon Steenbergen is a Mid-Missouri author whose latest book is “.” The book details the story of the 1960 Mizzou Football team — the gridiron struggles, the Civil Rights era battles, and their record breaking and controversial national championship run. A two time Mizzou alumnus, Steenbergen has previously worked with Tiger football recruiting, served as a game-day video replay official for the Big 12 and SEC, and has published the book “
Mizzou Sports Through the Ages.” He currently serves as Executive Director for the
Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers (MCRSP). He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email.
Continue reading “Q&A With Brendon Steenbergen, Author of “Respectable Roughnecks””
No matter your pace or path, the library offers companions for the journey. A 19th-century naturalist and a contemporary R&B artist gave shape to my recent trip and softened the landing. Which writers help you light the way?
with his call to “throw away a whole day for a single expansion, a single inspiration of air” (Aug. 21, 1851); Aiko with her invitation to “rest your weary heart / dry your teary eyes” (“Born Tired”). Maybe somewhere between cities I will catch my breath.
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
