I love gorillas. As a small child my grandfather would take me to the B&I shopping center in Tacoma, Washington where I would watch Ivan the gorilla for hours. Even that young, I felt sorry for him, but I was, at the same time, happy to be able to wile away literal hours watching him. He was funny, clearly smart, and so incredibly intimidating. It was obvious he was intelligent and it forced me to think about humans relationship with animals in a way I otherwise may not have done.
The book “Ishmael” follows the story of a gorilla named Ishmael who can “speak” telepathically, and communicate vast amounts of knowledge about the aforementioned relationship between men and animals. He advertises for students in the newspaper and the story is a chronicle of his tutoring of one such man that answers the advertisement.
I find it funny that the top three reviews of this book are not only one star, but are written by people that clearly took the book at it’s word and face value. Ishmael uses his time with the narrator to explain why man is on a crash course for self-destruction. While I don’t agree with every detail of Ishmael’s explanation, I do agree with the overall sentiment. Manifest destiny, etc. lend very heavily toward our precarious place in the circle of life. Our hubris and self importance will be our eventual downfall.
This is fiction and should be read as such, but it makes you think and makes you reexamine ideals and supposed knowledge. Isn’t that what all good fiction should do? If the reader is also entertained, it’s a win-win. My copy is littered with Post-It Notes. Ishmael says many, many things that I want to look into further — things I know, but want to know more about.
Three words that describe this book: Thought-provoking, relevant, insightful
You might want to pick this book up if: You question humanity’s place in the world.
-Kandice
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share reviews throughout the year.
Have you ever had a meme on social media turn you into a keyboard warrior? Every few weeks I encounter some faded, black-and-white photo of an early form of bookmobile with captions like, “Remember when books came on buses?” or “Before Amazon, we had bookmobiles.” I instinctively lock my caps and I educate them:
“WE ARE STILL HERE!”
Of course, nobody listens and I just encounter another similar meme again a few days later. I suppose I should just relax and relish in the fact that the imagery of ancient bookmobiles and smiling children with their hands full of books fills so many of us with nostalgia and happy memories. But as a current bookmobile driver for the Daniel Boone Regional Library, I want it to be known that bookmobiles are not just part of our storied past. Bookmobiles continue to brighten our days and propel us into the future. Continue reading “Bookmobiles Are Still Here”
Do you know what guerrilla gardening is? It is the efforts by people to grow something on land that they do not own and
without permission to do so. What is grown is either something to beautify, to eat, and/or to build community. It’s been around for decades under this name; it was probably called something else before the current itineration. You might be aware of the efforts of people like Ron Finley, who transformed the grassy areas around sidewalks into small gardens in his South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. And then he got into legal trouble with the city. He’s fine, it’s fine, it all worked out and he went on to do much more. You can read about Ron Finley and other gardeners in “The Kinfolk Garden” by John Burns. Not all of the gardeners in this book are activists but they each are passionate about sharing their love of green spaces.
Just a reminder that there are laws about respecting other people’s property and I want to make this very clear: the Daniel Boone Regional Library is NOT suggesting that you plant sunflowers on other people’s property, on city or county property, or anywhere else unless you have permission to do so. Does the neighbor down the road have a fence row that would look great with some sunflowers cheerfully bobbing their heads? Ask before you plant, or gift them a packet of seeds.
I could not resist telling you about this upcoming holiday. Sunflowers are cheerful, right? Continue reading “May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day”
Carl Kremer is a Fulton, MO writer who has co-authored and finished a novel started by the late O.T. Harris called “The Professor and the Spies.” Harris, a retired banker from Fulton, began writing the novel in his 80’s, but after he died his friend Kremer helped finish the novel. The fictional book starts with a professor researching the security measures behind Winston Churchill’s 1946 Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, MO, with the narrative bouncing to various international locales featuring spies, drinking, romance, intrigue and dark secrets. Kremer is a retired William Woods University English professor who has written essays and short stories but this is his first published novel. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Carl Kremer, Co-author of “The Professor and the Spies””
Have you ever wanted to know a lot more about a specific topic or increase your knowledge of a broad area of study? The Great Courses allows you to do that by listening to lectures, presented by college professors and experts, in a very diverse range of fields. Now, before you stop reading from fear that anything called a lecture must be boring, you should understand that the presentations are given by some of the most recognized scholars in their field who have been chosen because of their ability to relate to their students. What’s even better is that these resources, which can cost hundreds of dollars, are available to library patrons for free! Continue reading “Learn World History from the Experts With The Great Courses”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in March. 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 downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult: A Memoir” by Michelle Dowd (Mar 7)
As a child, Michelle Dowd grew up on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest. She was born into an ultra-religious cult — or the Field as they called it — started in the 1930s by her grandfather, a mercurial, domineering, and charismatic man who convinced generations of young male followers that he would live 500 years and ascend to the heavens when doomsday came. Comfort and care are sins, Michelle is told. As a result, she was forced to learn the skills necessary to battle hunger, thirst, and cold; she learned to trust animals more than humans; and most importantly, she learned how to survive in the natural world. At the Field, a young Michelle lives a life of abuse, poverty, and isolation, as she obeys her family’s rigorous religious and patriarchal rules — which are so extreme that Michelle is convinced her mother would sacrifice her, like Abraham and Isaac, if instructed by God. She often wears the same clothes for months at a time; she is often ill and always hungry for both love and food. She is taught not to trust Outsiders, and especially not Quitters, nor her own body and its warnings. But as Michelle gets older, she realizes she has the strength to break free. Focus on what will sustain, not satiate you, she tells herself. Use everything. Waste nothing. Get to know the intricacies of the land, like the intricacies of your body. And so she does. Using stories of individual edible plants and their uses to anchor each chapter, “Forager” is both a searing coming-of-age story and a meditation on the ways in which understanding nature can lead to freedom, even joy. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: March 2023”
Dianna Borsi O’Brien is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Historic Movie Theaters of Columbia.” The book shares fascinating facts and stories about all 28 movie theaters of Columbia, MO from the 1894 Haden Opera House to today’s Ragtag Cinema. Dianna is a journalist with a passion for local history that she shares on the website CoMoHistoricPlaces.com. Her previous book, “From Melon Fields to Moon Rocks” is a biography of notable local chemist and entrepreneur Charles W. Gehrke. She was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Dianna Borsi O’Brien, Author of “Historic Movie Theaters of Columbia Missouri””
Writers often reach into the past to find inspiration and content for their stories. Often an entire event or period is recreated in their books or screenplays or, perhaps, the facts of history simply provide a background for the plots that they weave. The American Civil War captured people’s imaginations even as the muskets and cannons were still being fired. As a pivotal moment in the history of the United States, it is not surprising that the war has found its way into a variety of movies. Continue reading “Hollywood and the American Civil War”
Stephen Paul Sayers is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “.” The book explores the city’s hidden treasures with seasonal and themed itineraries for music, art, and history lovers, shoppers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Sayers is a professor at the University of Missouri and has also published three best-selling horror/supernatural thriller novels. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Stephen Paul Sayers, Author of “100 Things To Do in Columbia, MO Before You Die””
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Abbott Elementary”
Season 1
Website / Reviews
This TV show is a workplace comedy featuring a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — who find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Continue reading “New DVD List: Abbott Elementary, Nope, & More”
