For the First Thursday Book Discussion this March, step into the Chicken Hill neighborhood, circa 1925, where African Americans and European immigrants struggle to find or keep their place in our still-young nation.
In the vein of Zora Neale Hurston, “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story” captures a rarely documented view of early 20th century American culture with wit, wisdom and authenticity. Regardless of race or religion, the characters of McBride’s diverse cast come to life on the page in their shared effort to protect a deaf, orphaned boy from being sent to a horrific state institution.
Winner of the National Book Award for the novel “The Good Lord Bird,” McBride is surely one of the great authors of our time. His books read like instant classics, filled with nuance and layers of meaning that give way to more depth with each examination. And yet, the writing is accessible and readable, with plot and characters that hold the reader’s attention on their own merit.
If you’ve already read “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,” read it again. Like other classics, rereading one of McBride’s books will reveal new insights and meaning, staying relevant over time. Whether you’re new to McBride’s work or a return visitor, bring your observations and questions to our First Thursday Book Discussion at noon on March 6 in the Children’s Programming room of the Columbia Public Library.
This past November, The Atlantic released an alarming article about elite college freshmen who lack the ability to read books. It turns out that many students have never received an assignment to read an entire book in their middle and high schools, but rather have studied excerpts, poems and articles. Concerned educators have cited several possible and fairly obvious explanations: smartphones, the No Child Left Behind Act, Common Core educational standards, the pandemic, an increase in focus on practical employment and declining enrollment in the humanities.
Top universities and colleges are adjusting as best they can without compromising educational excellence. For example, Andrew Delbanco, a Columbia University American studies professor, has modified a seminar to emphasize short pieces of writing rather than longer classic literature. Instead of powering through “Moby-Dick,” students now examine “Billy Budd” and “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” In support of such a pivot, Columbia’s literature humanities chair, Joseph Howley, maintains that he’d rather students skip over some longer classics if they can benefit from focusing on shorter works in greater depth.
The idea that short stories might offer an option warrants follow-up. In addition to teaching necessary skills such as critical analysis and empathy that can lead readers to tackling longer, more ambitious pieces of literature, short stories are valuable on their own merits. Short stories allow readers to explore new genres, perspectives and authors, especially collections of stories including different authors.
To that end, here are a few fascinating and unique anthologies perfect for stretching the mind in smaller doses: Continue reading “Literary Links: Exploring Short Stories”
Sunday, February 9 marks a special day. In 1964 on February 9 the Beatles made their first appearance on live American television on the Ed Sullivan show. President William Henry Harrison was born that day. Super Bowl Sunday falls on February 9 this year.
Most importantly: it’s National Pizza Day.
Pizza is one of the most popular foods in America, and National Pizza Day is something to celebrate. The ‘Zza is also one of the most kid friendly foods, assembly is easy, and weekly homemade pizza is a tradition for many families, including mine. Some of my fondest memories of Friday night as a child, which unfortunately also included watching the Dukes of Hazzard in its prime time slot, was eating the delicious homemade pizza my Mom would make for the large brood of kids in my family.
We actually renamed this pizza “Beez Pizza” after the famed matriarchal Siamese cat in our house (who was also named Barry, and it’s unclear how she got the nickname “Beez” but that’s another story), because this same cat would often be found partaking in a slice she’d dragged to the floor. Continue reading “February 9: National Pizza Day”
February brings another edition of LibraryReads, also known as: new books that library folk love! Of course, with it being February, we’ve got a fair amount of romance. But if you’re not much of a romance reader, fear not! There are also some murder mystery, historical and speculative fictions, and psychological suspense.
“First-Time Caller” by B.K. Borison
This is a cute story about Lucie, whose daughter calls into a radio show for people looking for love. Aiden, the show’s host, is taken by her honesty and invites her to the show to document her quest for love. It’s a bumpy ride, but Aiden is there the whole way! Readers will love the tension between Lucie and Aiden, and the secondary characters are chef’s kiss.
~Claire Schroeder, Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, OH Continue reading “February 2025 LibraryReads”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in February. 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
“Memorial Days: A Memoir” by Geraldine Brooks (Feb 4)
Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz — just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy — collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk. After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, Geraldine and Tony settled down to raise two boys on Martha’s Vineyard. The life they built was one of meaningful work, good humor and tenderness, as they spent their days writing and their evenings cooking family dinners or watching the sun set with friends at the beach. But all of this ended abruptly when, on Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine received the phone call we all dread. The demands were immediate and many. Without space to grieve, the sudden loss became a yawning gulf. Three years later, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn. In a shack on a pristine, rugged coast she often went days without seeing another person. There, she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: February 2025”
The book opens with a lightning bolt of a sentence: “It took three car crashes to kill Jake.” But it’s the second line that strikes the heart: “I was there for the first two.”
Jake is 17 when the story begins, and Theron is 15. We hear the story from the survivor, but Jake is no ghost. He is immediately dazzling, even before we know him as anything more than the manager of the hardware store where Theron’s father has insisted he spend the summer working. Continue reading “Staff Review: “Anyone’s Ghost” by August Thompson”
For those of you that can remember a bygone era when Quintessential Comics was last posted, then do I have a treat for you! We’re back after a long, long hiatus to cover a handful of new and upcoming graphic novel releases to coincide with a fresh start to a new year. If you’re looking for a new series or just want to keep up with upcoming releases then this is the issue for you. Onward and upward!
“Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown”
This first entry is getting a lot of buzz amongst “Hellboy” fans, as author Mike Mignola has been celebrated for his work on the Dark Horse protagonist. This work is more of an anthology piece, as opposed to a linear story with congruent themes. What really makes this one so fun is that the stories draw from folklore, showcasing familiar tropes such as a search for a lost artifact, devilish deals and grim games of chance. Not to mention, as is the case with “Hellboy,” there’s plenty of occult mystery if you’re into that whole thing. If you’re a big fan of Mignola’s past work or his signature art style, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to love in these pages! Continue reading “Quintessential Comics: New Year, New Graphic Novels!”
Greg Olson is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Indigenous Missourians: Ancient Societies to the Present.” The book explores the Show Me State’s Indigenous past and presents it as one spanning twelve millennia of Native presence, resilience, and evolution. Greg Olson served as the Curator of Exhibits and Special Projects at the Missouri State Archives from 2000-2018 and has also published several articles and books about the history of Indigenous people in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Greg Olson, Author of “Indigenous Missourians””
Looking at how Americans use alcohol, it’s hard to pick a statistic. The data can be as specific and sensational as you want. Americans who reported increased drinking during COVID-19 lockdowns: 60%. The percentage of driving fatalities attributable to alcohol impairment in 2022: 32% or 13,524 deaths.
But there are softer numbers, too: 41% of U.S. adults reported that they were trying to drink less in 2024. More people are growing curious about sobriety, and where there is curiosity, there are books to recommend. I’ve gathered these titles for the reader who is curious about sobriety, evaluating their relationship with alcohol or interested in how other people have moved in and out of addiction.
Leslie Jamison’s book “The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath” travels through space and time; through science, memoir and myth; from the college apartment where she drinks alone, to the freezing car parked outside the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, to the storied scenes of dead writers who drank. She learns to find meaning in the mundanity of addiction narratives — our insistence on the singularity of our relationships to alcohol, she suggests, is where danger lies. Continue reading “Literary Links: Sober Curiosity”
For the First Thursday Book Discussion this February, climb aboard a research vessel and head to the Antarctic in “The Quickening: Antarctica, Motherhood and Cultivating Hope in a Warming World” by Elizabeth Rush.
We only have 200 years of human history in Antarctica, and most of it has been written by men and about men. These stories are fraught with failure and death, struggles to survive, science and exploration.
Into this history steps Elizabeth Rush, a woman who wants to write about Antarctica, the changing climate and motherhood. She brings nuance and empathy to keen observations on crucial endeavor. Her tone is hopeful.
In 2019, Elizabeth Rush set out with 57 scientists on an icebreaker headed for Antarctica. They spent the next 50-plus days studying “the doomsday glacier.” The Thwaites Glacier is significant for its sheer mass. If it melts, the water freed from its ice is enough to raise the sea level of the world by two feet. In addition, Thwaites is like a keystone in the local topography. The loss of this behemoth would destabilize the surrounding glaciers, causing more thawing, culminating in a devastating 10-foot rise in sea level — doomsday.
The 2019 expedition was first the research trip to study the glacier and look at the forces affecting it, with the hope of understanding its — and ultimately our own — fate.
Rush’s thorough reporting of the scientific mission combined with the perspective she brings as a reporter, a woman and a future mother provide plenty of fodder for discussion. Join us for the next First Thursday Book Discussion on February 6 at noon in the Columbia Public Library to delve into the subjects and themes Rush brings to light.
