Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2017 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
“Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch” is about Lin, a Southern girl, who married her childhood sweet heart and beat it out of her home town with him as her husband to Atlanta. 30 years later, Lin tucked tail and returned to her little home town without him, after her husband’s antics of disloyalty and insane choices with their money gave her no other choice. Returning to a small town with no money or skills, other than having been a socialite, is compounded by strained relationships with every member of her family.
I liked it this book because I find it therapeutic to read books about women who have experienced life as I have. The characters of the book are friends for that short time it takes to read about them; there is encouragement and there are lessons. I particularly liked the wisdom of grandmas of the South.
Three words that describe this book: awakening, family, acceptance
You might want to pick this book up if: you like books about women for women, their friendships, their talents and that sort of thing.
-Pamela
The first national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in 1986, although at that time only 17 states had official King holidays. The intent of the holiday is to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King and remind
ourselves of the ideals for which he fought. Observance of a holiday for decades risks becoming a rote exercise that misses the complexities of the person and the historical period. Fortunately, there is a continually growing body of work on Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement to keep us engaged with this part of American history and how it connects to our present.
One of King’s most iconic speeches, the “Mountaintop” speech in support of striking black sanitation workers, was given hours before his assassination in Memphis. The progress of King’s thinking on labor and economic justice issues are traced in “All Labor Has Dignity.” This collection of King’s speeches includes the “Mountaintop” speech, as well as other previously unpublished ones in which he advocated for jobs, unionization and other labor concerns. You can also listen to the speeches of the skilled orator in “Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Essential Box Set: The Landmark Speeches and Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Continue reading “Literary Links: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement”
It’s January once again — time for reflection and setting new goals. It’s also time for book challenges! I almost always set a yearly goal of so many books but this year the Columbia Public Library is hosting a year-long program around reading through the 2018 Read Harder Challenge. How could I not participate in that? The very first task on the Read Harder Challenge is a book published posthumously, meaning that it must have been published after the author has died. I have a few that I have read and loved. Continue reading “Posthumously Published Books: Read Harder 2018”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“Fire at Sea”
Website / Reviews
An Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, this film takes place in Lampedusa, a remote Mediterranean island that has become a major entry point for refugees into Europe. There, we meet Samuele, a 12-year-old boy who lives simply, climbing rocks by the shore and playing with his slingshot. Nearby, we bear witness as thousands of people risk their lives to make the brutal crossing from Africa. Continue reading “New DVD List: Fire at Sea, Twin Peaks & More”
Here is a quick look at the most noteworthy nonfiction titles being released this January. Visit our catalog for a more extensive list.
TOP PICKS
James Patterson is moving into true crime in a big way this year. He will release three true crime titles in January. Two of them, “Murder, Interrupted” and “Home Sweet Murder” will coincide with the first episodes of the television show “Murder Is Forever.” The third is “All American Murder,” the story of the professional football player Aaron Hernandez. A fourth is slated for release in February and it would not be surprising to see others announced for later in the year. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: January 2018”
Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2017 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
“Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them” is great because it does not pretend to be something it’s not. From the onset, the author is unapologetic about her opinions, lets her sense of humor fly with abandon and is clear on her message. It works because she labels her opinions for what they are. There is snarky humor galore and the pages are rife with pop culture references. This topic is one for which laughter really is the best medicine, and making historic events tangible to modern readers is beneficial for being able to internalize the very serious issues at hand. The overarching “stunningly obvious” messages of this book are: (i) learn from the mistakes and successes of the past, (ii) our survival and quality of life during a plague depends on all of us, (iii) diseases do not infect people based on personality traits, income, sexual orientation or sin, and (iv) care about your fellow humans. Yet, as the epilogue reminds us, we continue to make the same mistakes through modern times.
Three words that describe this book: sincere, worthwhile, humorous
You might want to pick this book up if: you are interested in surviving an epidemic and you enjoy snarky humor.
-Shannon
Editor’s note: Several of our regular blog writers have looked back at the books they read in 2017, and they’ve each written their own “Year in Review.” This is the last installment. Enjoy!
2017 Year in Reading
Jeremiah
2016 was tough; 2017 could have been better than 2016, but wasn’t. So, this year I re-read books for the comfort of knowing I’d spend hours reading well. I returned to Hanya Yanahihara’s “A Little Life” for the third time, and re-read, slowly, Maggie Nelson’s “The Argonauts,” “The Red Parts,” “Jane: A Murder,” “Bluets” and “The Art of Cruelty.” For their elegant sentences, challenging ideas, and strobe-like illumination, these books are treasures to me. The character of Jude, in “A Little Life,” reminded me that healing isn’t for all—that some people don’t change, that fate, in all its dogmatic baggage, binds, stills, abides, sustains. This novel again taught me also, among many other things, that happiness is plush, a privilege, not for everyone. I coupled this thought with Nelson’s insistence on queer world-making and queer family-making
in “The Argonauts.” Even if happiness dissembles and eludes, there is pleasure. Continue reading “A Year in Reading: Rereads and More Favorites”
Editor’s note: Several of our regular blog writers have looked back at the books they read in 2017, and they’ve each written their own “Year in Review.” This is the first installment. Enjoy!
My Year in Books: Literary Travels
Anne
One of my favorite things to do in December is reflect on the books I’ve read over the past year. Reading is a bit like traveling, and it’s really nice remembering all the places I’ve been able to visit over the past year. In my “real life” I was blessed with trips to Hawaii and Colorado this year, but thanks to the books I’ve picked up this year, I’ve been able to travel to many other places and times. Here are some of the highlights:
I journeyed to Australia in the twisty domestic thriller “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty. This book recently inspired an award-winning miniseries on HBO, but the book is even better, offering a darkly humorous and suspenseful tale of how friendships and lies can lead to murder. Continue reading “A Year in Review: Travels and “Best of””
Our list of debut authors is very short this month as December is a quiet time of year for publishing. But quality over quantity, right?
“The Last Suppers” by Mandy Mikulencak
As the daughter of a murdered warden Ginny Polk is familiar with the harsh realities of prison life in the 1950s. Still, as an adult she chooses to return to the Greenmount State Penitentiary in Louisiana, where her father worked, as the prison cook. There she struggles to make peace with her past while serving prisoners on death row their last meals—along with a little compassion and human kindness.
Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: December”
What does it mean to be a single mother in today’s world? What joys and challenges do single mothers face? Check out these documentaries featuring single mothers.
“Kind Hearted Woman” (2013)
This documentary acts as a portrait of a 32-year-old divorced single mother and Oglala Sioux woman living on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation. The film follows her over three years as she struggles to raise her two children, further her education and heal herself from the wounds of sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Continue reading “One to Grow On: Docs Featuring Single Mothers”
