When I heard that “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center was going to be the next First Thursday book, I had my doubts about how much there would be to discuss. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good romance novel, but it’s not what I usually expect to read for a book club. If that’s your concern too, you can stop worrying.
Center is a smart and thoughtful writer, and while her books pivot around a central theme of love, there are more layers to be found — and discussed.
Among the layers in this particular book, are the ideas of cognitive bias and confirmation bias. If you don’t know what these are are, read “Hello Stranger.” I can’t imagine a more enjoyable introduction to the concepts. If you’re already familiar with them, read “Hello Stranger” and enjoy watching the concepts in action.
Other themes include living with an invisible disability, surviving grief and loss, and a dash of neuropsychology.
Perhaps the biggest source of discussion could be the confirmation bias (or pre-judgements) about the romance genre. Take a moment to check the bias you may be bringing to this book and this genre before you read it. Join us Thursday, January 2nd at noon to share your thoughts.
Mollie Jackman is a Columbia, MO author whose debut book is “Ornithomancy.” The book offers poetry and illustrations that explore loss and how we get through it. Jackman is a graduate of Lindenwood University with an MFA in writing who runs a freelance business as a writer/editor and has a job as a full-time copywriter. She was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Mollie Jackman, Author of “Ornithomancy””
2024, what a year, huh? It feels both like forever ago and just last week when I started the Read Harder Challenge. For anyone following along, or anyone who read the blog title, you might think, “this is it! Michael is going to share their last four books of the challenge!”, and dear reader, I failed. I came very close to finishing the challenge, and I stumbled at the very end, which I knew was going to be the most difficult part.
From the Book Riot website, “the challenge is made up of 24 tasks (an average of two per month) that invite readers to explore formats, genres, and perspectives that might go beyond their reading comfort zones. How you approach Read Harder is up to you: you can read one book per task or count one book for multiple tasks. The point of the challenge isn’t to do the thing one particular way but to push yourself to diversify your TBR.” My goal was to read 24 different books that met the tasks, and review them, sharing my first attempt at reading harder, and I managed to read and review 21 books! As it turns out though, starting the challenge a full month into the year, and then plotting out what to read when and leaving two 500+ page books for the last two months of the year, while also taking multiple graduate school classes is uhhhh, not a good idea! And we find ourselves thus. Continue reading “Reading Harder in 2024: The Finale!”
December is a busy time, filled with lots of get togethers and sharing and celebration. But it can also serve as a time for reflection as we face the reality of another year come and just about gone. For some, it’s ending on a high note, while others find themselves in a season of despair. Let’s check out some books on endings as we bring another year to a close.
“The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On” by Franny Choi is a collection of poetry that presents a sharp, but often tender look at the multiple ways the world has ended and yet manages to continue on. Her writing delves into the challenges humanity, particularly those on the margins, has faced. This includes living (and dying) through a global pandemic, the painful legacy of racism in this country, which the Black Lives Matter movement has illuminated and the far-ranging horrors of the atomic bomb dropped long ago in Hiroshima. Though heavy with the despairs we face, Choi’s poems help lighten the emotional load with glimpses of hope: the life that emerges from a landscape decimated by an atomic bomb and the powerful legacies left by those taking collective action. Continue reading “Literary Links: Thinking About Endings”
If Sally Rooney has a million readers, then I am one of them. If Sally Rooney has one reader, then I am that one. If Sally Rooney has no readers, then I do not exist. If Sally Rooney… you get it.
What I’m trying to say is, I am honored to present you with my review of “Intermezzo”—Sally Rooney’s recent, gorgeous offering to the world of contemporary fiction, in which her celebrity already looms large. (I am honored, really, to have read it at all.)
Returning Rooney readers will find familiarity here: Elegant, intelligent characters, thrillingly plain conversation, sudden tenderness at every turn, bonds that seem to originate from the soul. A woman who is very ill, vulnerable always to pain; a man tortured by the movements of his heart, acting with both extreme sensitivity and destructive force. A wealth of worthy quotes:
Nights he no longer has to spend trapped in claustrophobic solitude, self-medicated, panic attack or am I dying how to tell. Instead the deep replenishing reservoir of her presence.
Continue reading “Staff Review: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in December. 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
“Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter” by Clare Mulley (Dec 3)
During World War II, Elzbieta Zawacka — the WWII female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo — was the only woman to reach London as an emissary of the Polish Home Army command. In Britain, she became the only woman to join the Polish elite Special Forces, known as the “Silent Unseen.” She was secretly trained in the British countryside, and then she was the only female member of these forces to be parachuted back behind enemy lines to Nazi-occupied Poland. There, while being hunted by the Gestapo (who arrested her entire family), she took a leading role in the Warsaw Uprising and the liberation of Poland. After the war, she was discharged as one of the most highly decorated women in Polish history. Yet the Soviet-backed post-war Communist regime not only imprisoned (and tortured) her, but also ensured that her remarkable story remained hidden for over 40 years. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: December 2024”
Here we are in November. It has been a crazy month already. Many of us are feeling stressed and holiday prep has barely begun. But November is also a time for self reflection, gratitude, service, community and family as we celebrate Veterans Day (11/11), World Kindness Day (11/13), National Gratitude Month and Thanksgiving (11/28).
All of that makes this the perfect moment for me to have picked up the book “What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service” by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. I know that seems like so much of the past, but I still love the show for so many reasons: the fast pace, the inside look at a place I’ll likely never be, and, of course, the incredible characters. (And yes, we do have all seven seasons on DVD.) I also love the idealism expressed in the show and the emphasis on service. Don’t get me wrong — it’s fun reading about the show’s inception, casting process and little tidbits behind the scenes — it is really the service that’s the inspiring legacy of the show. Every cast member had a cause including animal rescue, breast cancer, and prison reform, and they all supported each other in their causes — and still do. Continue reading “Welcome to November”
There are many basic truths that aren’t always treated as such, but here’s a huge one: people are people no matter where they were born. Another large truth: in the United States, studies show that not only do refugees and immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born citizens, but they indeed strengthen the economy and the communities in which they live.
As of May 2024, there were 43.4 million refugees worldwide. The United States allowed 100,034 to enter during the 2024 fiscal year. Given the escalating impacts of climate change and war, the number of refugees will continue to grow dramatically. Our capacity for love and empathy ought to do the same.
Here are some recent titles that explore the immigrant and refugee experience and help demonstrate their place within this nation that is itself built on immigrants. Continue reading “Literary Links: Exploring the Immigrant and Refugee Experience”
Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in November. 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
“What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird” by Sy Montgomery (Nov 5)
For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery — whose “The Soul of an Octopus” was a National Book Award finalist — has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way. In this short, delightful book, Sy takes us inside the flock and reveals all the things that make chickens such remarkable creatures: only hours after leaving the egg, they are able to walk, run, and peck; relationships are important to them and the average chicken can recognize more than one hundred other chickens; they remember the past and anticipate the future; and they communicate specific information through at least 24 distinct calls. Visitors to her home are astonished by all this, but for Sy what’s more astonishing is how little most people know about chickens, especially considering there are about 20% more chickens on earth than people. Continue reading “Nonfiction Round-up: November 2024”
Food truly serves as a living window into culture, history and societal values. It’s fascinating how food culture can reflect everything from historical trends to social stratification. Food culture includes the way food is prepared, presented, eaten and shared. Food often reflects current trends in society, such as the plethora of cookbooks related to current books, movies and television shows. (Anyone ever try a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams?) Traditional recipes are often passed down for generations and reflect values and beliefs. In the Philippines, Yumburgers from Jollibee restaurants represent a taste of home and cultural pride. A region’s diet often represents the ingredients available in a particular location, such as olives from the Mediterranean. Specific dishes can also tell stories about societal history. Consider the cultural and historical changes that took lobster from a poor family’s meal to its current status as haute cuisine.
Continue reading “Literary Links: Learning Our World Through Food”
