Kathleen Basi is a Columbia, MO author whose first novel is “A Song for the Road.” The book follows Miriam, who starts an unconventional road trip across the U.S. to grieve her family and face up to her choices. The story is a hopeful exploration of human frailty, resilience and the healing power of music. Basi is a classical flutist who’s composed a number of works for instrumental and choral ensembles. Her writing can be found in Apeiron Review, Chicken Soup for the Soul and NPR’s All Things Considered. She was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Kathleen Basi, Author of “A Song for the Road””
Join us for our monthly virtual book discussion on Thursday, February 3 from 12-1 p.m. This month we’ll depart from our usual format to discuss some picture books with Black history themes. Adults can find value in reading picture books, which provide an introduction to a subject and are often illustrated with beautiful artwork.
Here are the books to read for our discussion:
- “The Undefeated” by Kwame Alexander
- “Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre” by Carole Boston Weatherford
- “Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks” by Suzanne Slade
- “Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott” by Dee Romito
- “Swish! The Slam-dunking, Alley-ooping, High-flying Harlem Globetrotters” by Suzanne Slade
- “We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song” by Debbie Levy
- “Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race” by Margot Lee Shetterly
- “Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams” by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Register for a Zoom link.
The moment. The breath. “Start Here, Start Now” focuses on these and teaches you how to come back to those whenever you should stray. With touches of a Buddhist connection, it stays mostly on the path toward finding a better you, the you that’s already there, through the simplest thing you’re already doing. You just have to focus. I enjoyed this book for the meditation instruction and tips, but was most thrilled with the humor. “Somewhere in this process, you will come face to face with the sudden and shocking realization that you are completely crazy,” is among the sharper lines that caught me off guard in this sea of calm prose.
Three words that describe this book: Calm, considered, filling
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to learn about mindfulness meditation, need a refresher, or want a fun read.
-Jim
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
Did you know that January is National Blood Donor Month? It is celebrated each January during what is traditionally one of the most difficult times of year to maintain a sufficient blood supply. The act of donating blood takes less than an hour and is virtually painless, which inspired me a few years ago to become a regular donor at our local Red Cross. Blood donations are vital for saving lives, but so are the doctors and nurses who work to ensure my donation makes it to a person who needs it. So, this month I’d like to explore some books that capture their stories and experiences with bringing people back from the verge of death. Continue reading “Literary Links: The Art of Saving Lives”
Ringing in the new year is a plethora of adult fiction debut novels. Here are just a few of the most notable titles coming out this January. These have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a longer list, please visit our catalog.
“Daughter of the Moon Goddess” by Sue Lynn Tan
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the powerful Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, untrained, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the Crown Prince, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the emperor’s son.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. When treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, however, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream — striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: January 2022”
New year and new nonfiction books coming out this month that you can put on hold! 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. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: January 2022”
Comic fans, welcome back! We’re at it again with a list of five of Marvel’s most impactful events. The criteria for this list are that the stories herein had some lasting effect on the Marvel Universe or the featured characters. Additionally, some of these might have reached such a level of renown or infamy that they went on to become benchmarks of sorts for future Marvel content. I hope you’re as excited to get into this as I am. Here we go! Continue reading “Quintessential Comics: Marvel Events!”
As we near the end of another year, the number of books being published dwindles. But there are still a handful of debut adult fiction titles coming out this month. Here are a few of the more notable titles for December. These have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a (slightly) longer list, please visit our catalog.
“Learwife” by J.R. Thorp
Word has come. Care-bent King Lear is dead, driven mad and betrayed. His three daughters too, broken in battle. But someone has survived: Lear’s queen. Exiled to a nunnery years ago, written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she can tell her story.
Though her grief and rage may threaten to crack the earth open, she knows she must seek answers. Why was she sent away in shame and disgrace? What has happened to Kent, her oldest friend and ally? And what will become of her now, in this place of women? To find peace she must reckon with her past and make a terrible choice — one upon which her destiny, and that of the entire abbey, rests.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: December 2021”
Jólabókaflóðið is coming!
If you don’t happen to be one of the 314,000 people in the entire world who speak Icelandic, we’re talking about the Yule Book Flood.
Maybe you’ve seen the meme on social media about the tradition of Jólabókaflóðið, pronounced YO-la-bok-a-flud. People exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading and drinking hot chocolate. Sounds magical, right? Continue reading “Jólabókaflóðið Cometh”
If you’re looking for a way to make the world a better place, and you’re a gifted inventor, I recommend inventing an empathy machine. Imagine if more people cared about other people, and also cared about animals and plants and whether they’re going to leave behind a habitable planet. It sounds pretty cool to me, but short of some device that forces one to feel empathy, such imaginings are clearly the stuff of speculative fiction.
Of course, there is always the original empathy machine: stories. These are incredibly effective at producing empathy and enlightenment, but their drawback is that one has to read them, and reading is something most people don’t do. So, to all the gifted inventors reading this, if you can’t quite crack the empathy machine, I recommend inventing a machine that forces people to read. (Just to be clear, dear inventors, so that my words don’t haunt me: the machine forces them to read in their leisure time: not while they’re operating machinery or performing a medical procedure or precariously balancing knickknacks on the lip of a frothing deep fryer, etc.)
Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Richard Powers”
