When one sees me about town, festooned in my finery, the epitome of elegance, one may assume that the outdoors are of little import to me. But while I may appear to be more concerned with polishing my monocles or removing the cat hair from my topcoat, be assured that while I’m no John Muir, my affinity for natural splendor is as rich and vast as our National Parks System, and given ongoing efforts to diminish the aforementioned treasure, it will likely soon exceed it. Indeed, as I see it, there are few better ways to flee from what ails you than to compete in a hot air balloon race or to make a few loops around the park on one’s penny-farthing. Alas, we now find ourselves firmly in the clenches of winter’s icy claws. Though perhaps when this is published we’ll have returned to fall’s friendly if distressingly moist grasp. Of course, that moist grasp will be at best a brief reprieve before it refreezes and the soggy fingers reform as icy claws from which there is no escape (until spring). Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Peter Heller”
We’re back! Hello, everyone, and welcome to the triumphant return of Quintessential Comics! It’s been awhile (almost a year!), so I figured what better way to get back into the swing of things than to do a list of some of the best reads of 2019. We’ve got Batman! We’ve got magic! We’ve got talking foxes in the Midwest?! Well, you’re about to find out. Let’s get into it.
“The Batman Who Laughs”
First up is a spin-off of the popular Dark Nights: Metal series. Written by Scott Snyder, the Dark Nights series accomplished something that I never thought was possible: it made Batman even more dark. Not that Batman was all sunshine and rainbows before, but when you take his character and create a slew of evil re-imaginings of him based on some of his closest allies and friends, it gets pretty rough. The Batman Who Laughs might be the most twisted character born from that idea. He is an amalgam of Bruce Wayne and, arguably, his greatest foe: The Joker. An obsession with chaos combined with the focus and abilities of Batman make The Batman Who Laughs a force to be reckoned with. In his own run, he forces Bruce to contend with his inner demons and own dark impulses in ways that begs the question: What makes Batman, well, Batman? Don’t miss your chance to find out in this series. Continue reading “Quintessential Comics: Top Reads of 2019”
“Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude”
(From “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene VII)
In past eons, the earth without ice was not a particularly habitable place for humans. It was a scene of relentless volcanism, vast continental swamps and humid rainforests that extended as far south as Antarctica. We are currently in a very different age, the Holocene, represented by the ebb and flow of massive ice sheets. This age may rapidly be coming to an end, replaced by something many scientists call the Anthropocene. Recent books examine both the influence of the ice age on human culture and also what its absence portends. It may soon be a very strange world indeed. Continue reading “Literary Links: The Legacy of Ice”
Welcome back to another post for our monthly nonfiction roundup! Look below for some suggested titles to put on hold and check our catalog for a more extensive list. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: November 2019”
The end of fall and beginning of winter is generally a slow time for publishing, as evidenced by this month’s small list of titles by debut authors. There aren’t too many more than the ones here, but if you’re interested in a (slightly) longer list of debut titles for November, please visit our catalog. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: November 2019”
The concept of dystopian living is pretty scary stuff. You know, because everything is generally horrible. But there are some dystopian visions that lean more overtly into horror as a genre than others. Supernatural elements combine with, or are the cause of, some sort of societal collapse or takeover. The horror is doubled! For this Halloween, let’s have a look at some of the spookier takes on dystopian worlds.
Can you imagine if a technology company could link users’ emails, social media accounts, banking, and purchasing with a universal operating system? I know, it sounds totally far fetched. Well, this crazy idea is what Dave Eggers explores in “The Circle.” Mae Holland is hired to work for the world’s most powerful tech company, the Circle. The idyllic corporate campus starts to reveal itself to be more of a creepy totalitarian compound. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Halloween Edition!”
K.L. Harris is a Columbia, MO author who just came out with her debut book, “Equillian’s Key.” The book is the first in her fantasy adventure series, Archives of the Night-Watchers, and it introduces us to the nautical world of Equillian, where magic is outlawed, pirates plague the seas, and the fates of humankind are destined by the stars. You can find out more about the book on her website, where she has a book trailer, picture boards and even some additional short stories about the world of Equillian. I recently emailed some interview questions to her and she was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to write back some answers. Continue reading “Author Interview: K.L. Harris”
The August 19, 2019 edition of “High Country News,” the award-winning magazine that has been reporting on the American West since 1970, reported the news for 2068. Conceding that “Global warming is a human-caused phenomenon that exceeds the human capacity for understanding” the editorial staff decided to try
an imaginative experiment and publish an issue of “speculative journalism.” For the issue, writers read research papers, interviewed scientists and used the projections of the Fourth National Climate Assessment as a starting point. Each piece imagines what the West would look like 50 years from the release of that climate assessment.
The cover story for the September 23, 2019 issue of “Time Magazine” dedicated to climate change is titled, “Hello From the Year 2050. We Avoided the Worst of Climate Change — But Everything Is Different.” In it, Bill McKibben writes a report from the future that suggests a path for hope, but not without significant loss and disruption. Continue reading “Know Your Dystopias: Speculative Nonfiction”
Here are just a few of the books by debut authors that are being published this October. As our long-awaited fall weather moves in, these are best enjoyed curled up under a blanket with a hot beverage and the furry animal of your choice. For a longer list, don’t forget to visit our catalog.
“The Library of the Unwritten” by A. J. Hackwith
Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing — a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell … and Earth. Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: October 2019”
I have five older siblings. Yet it wasn’t until I came along that my parents had to create specific rules around tree climbing and how high was too high. A line of trees stood along the border of our modest back yard. I loved to scramble up in their branches and gaze out on my surroundings. My love of trees never waned, though I haven’t climbed one lately. Here’s a book list for my fellow enthusiasts. Continue reading “Tree Affection”
