I grabbed “You Are Here” spur of the moment off a recommendations shelf at the library, and every time we opened it, the whole family, from age 45 down to age 7, were mesmerized. Every page or two I said, “Wow.” And then again, “Wow.”
Chris Hadfield took photos from the International Space Station, but not just big visions of a grand earth. He zoomed in to small(ish) geographical features and applied whimsy and imagination to what he saw, creating shapes out of them the way we do with clouds.
It’s a picture book accessible to all ages and a book I may just have to buy for my coffee table (assuming I ever have one again!).
Three words that describe this book: Wonder, beauty, nature
You might want to pick this book up if: You’re fascinated by photography and space.
-Kathleen
Here are some of the most talked about books by debut authors that are coming to shelves near you this month. Place your holds now! And please visit our catalog for a more complete list.
“The Unspoken Name” by A.K. Larkwood
What if you knew how and when you will die?
Csorwe does. She will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice. On the day of her foretold death, however, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Csorwe leaves her home, her destiny, and her god to become the wizard’s loyal sword-hand — stealing, spying, and killing to help him reclaim his seat of power in the homeland from which he was exiled. But Csorwe and the wizard will soon learn — gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: February 2020”
It is now 2020. Doesn’t that sound so futuristic? I feel like we should be able to travel to Mars for our vacations and jet pack our way to work every morning, but that isn’t happening. There have been significant technological innovations, but in many ways, today resembles what life was like a few decades ago.
Let’s take a look at some prognostications from the past of what life would be like in the 2020s. Some are laughably off base. A few are eerily on target. And then there are the frighteningly plausible possibilities. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: The 2020s”
Karen Piper is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is called “A Girl’s Guide to Missiles.” Piper grew up at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, a missile testing base in California’s Mojave Desert where her family had a role in developing weapons for the US government. This memoir looks back at her unusual childhood and how it affected her and her family as she emerged into adulthood. The book was named the Capital READ for the Missouri River Regional Library in 2019. Piper is the author of several other nonfiction books and is currently a professor of literature and geography at the University of Missouri. I recently emailed some interview questions to her about the book, and she wrote back some answers. Continue reading “Author Interview: Karen Piper”
“Little Women” was a favorite book during my girlhood. I’m happy to find that it’s still a favorite book now! So well-written, so filled with valuable lessons of life, so full of hope and goodness! As a girl, I enjoyed reading about the games they played — giving plays, P.C. and P.O., Camp Laurence, Castles in the Air and Amy’s will. Upon re-reading them, I find them still every bit as enjoyable! And this time around I appreciated, more than when I was young, the life lessons learned by the sisters — Meg’s Vanity Fair, Jo’s Apollyon, Amy’s lime drop anguish and her later failed attempt to host a stylish luncheon, Meg’s ups and downs after her marriage. I also loved some of the vignettes on interactions between the characters — Beth going over to Mr. Lauren’s to thank him for the new piano, Laurie following Jo on her way to submit her manuscript, Laurie’s reaction after Jo refused him, Beth confiding to Jo at the seashore about her terminal illness, Meg’s wedding in which she chose not to follow traditional customs, Marmee’s heart-to-heart talks with Jo, and the March family giving their Christmas dinner to a poor family they knew. After reading Louisa May Alcott’s journal, I can tell a lot of these content came from real life experiences of her and immediate family, which makes me like the stories even more. Love, love, love the book. Will probably read it again in another couple of years.
Three words that describe this book: Fun, hear-warming, hopeful
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to read good, heart-warming historical fiction that gives a reader a sense of hope.
-Cathy
I read a lot of books I like and some that I like a lot and occasionally one that metaphorically causes my guts to combust because I love the book so much. “Inland” by Tea Obreht made my insides explode and whatnot. I get those great-art aches when I think about this book, and not just because of the book’s wells of sadness (which, unlike the book’s well of water, overfloweth) or how beautiful and elegant the writing is. I reckon the ache also comes from how thoroughly the novel attached the main players to me and how badly I wanted things to go right for those folk and from the literal ache a primary character feels when a ghost touches him and he is then imbued with a desire for whatever that ghost wants and from the knowledge that it is a narrow possibility at best that I’ll ever forge any sort of relationship with a camel, never mind the airtight kinship of the human and camel pairing in “Inland.” Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Tea Obreht”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture”
Website / Reviews
Playing last year at Ragtag Cinema, this fictional film takes place after the conclusion of the hit television series, which examined the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who worked for them at the turn of the 20th century in an Edwardian English country house. In this film the Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives: a royal visit from the King and Queen of England. Continue reading “New DVD List: Downton Abbey, Linda Ronstadt, & More”
Post-holiday blues and cabin fever aside, something is making us all very agitated these days. The general level of anger feels like it has been escalating in recent years, as evidenced by heated social media exchanges and, often, by our daily encounters. It’s a worrisome trend, which can cause us to doubt our every move as we attempt to navigate the murky waters of human interaction.
While most difficult people are only fleetingly troublesome, there are a few types of people who can, knowingly or unknowingly, do us great harm — and they are not always easy to spot. In “5 Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life,” lawyer and family mediator Bill Eddy helps identify the narcissistic, borderline, sociopathic, paranoid and histrionic among us. These high-conflict personalities can leave others extremely damaged, emotionally and physically. Eddy offers tactics to engage compassionately with these troubled souls, while allowing protection for those who are close to them. Continue reading “Literary Links: Troublesome Types”
The new year is ushering in a slew of new books by debut adult fiction authors. Those featured here have already received glowing reviews, so check one out today and see if you agree. As always, please visit our catalog for a complete list of this month’s debut titles.
“When We Were Vikings” by Andrew MacDonald
Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains. For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules:
1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.”
2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect.
3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home.
4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet.
5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: January 2020”
It’s a new year and I’m here to highlight some new nonfiction titles you should consider checking out this month from the library! For a more extensive list of what’s coming out this month check our catalog.
Top Picks
“Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains” by Cassie Chambers
Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is one of the poorest counties in both Kentucky and the country. Buildings are crumbling and fields sit vacant, as tobacco farming and coal mining decline. But strong women are finding creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills. Cassie Chambers grew up in these hollers and through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. Chamber’s Granny was a child bride who rose before dawn every morning to raise seven children. Despite her poverty, she wouldn’t hesitate to give the last bite of pie or vegetables from her garden to a struggling neighbor. Appalachian women face issues that are all too common: domestic violence, the opioid crisis, a world that seems more divided by the day. But they are also community leaders, keeping their towns together in the face of a system that continually fails them. With nuance and heart, Chambers uses these women’s stories paired with her own journey to break down the myth of the hillbilly and illuminate a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: January 2020”
