The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County Featured Book of the Month

About Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

2010-09-01T10:57:00.008-04:00

September's Featured Book of the Month is Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. If you thought you knew the tale of Cinderella, wait until you read the story of Iris, one of the "less attractive" step-sisters in this revised version of the fairy tale. Set in 17th-century Holland, Iris and her family experience a mixture of hardships and happiness as they move from the poor streets of Haarlem to the homes of the elite. In the end, Maguire challenges readers to think about beauty and ugliness, and who the real heroine of this fairy tale should be.

Let us know what you think! Pick up a copy at your local library or place a copy on hold through our catalog. You can also meet Gregory Maguire on Tuesday, September 21st in the Main Library Reading Garden Lounge.

Let's Discuss Three Cups of Tea

2010-08-20T16:01:00.003-04:00

I hope you're enjoying Three Cups of Tea. I also hope that you got your tickets to see Greg Mortenson at Xavier University on September 29. There are no more tickets available for that event.

Let's get the discussion started!

-There is a telling passage about Mortenson’s change of direction at the start of the book: “One evening, he went to bed by a yak dung fire a mountaineer who’d lost his way, and one morning, by the time he’d shared a pot of butter tea with his hosts and laced up his boots, he’d become a humanitarian who’d found a meaningful path to follow for the rest of his life.” What made Mortenson particularly ripe for such a transformation?

-Relin gives a “warts and all” portrait of Mortenson, showing him as a hero but also as a flawed human being with some exasperating traits. Talk about how Relin chose to write about Mortenson’s character—his choice of details, his perspective, the way he constructs scenes. Is Mortenson someone you’d like to get to know, work with, or have as a neighbor or friend?

-At the heart of the book is a powerful but simple message: we each as individuals have the power to change the world, one cup of tea at a time. Yet the book powerfully dramatizes the obstacles in the way of this philosophy: bloody wars waged by huge armies, prejudice, religious extremism, cultural barriers. What do you think of the “one cup of tea at a time” philosophy? Do you think Mortenson’s vision can work for lasting and meaningful change?

-The Balti people are fierce yet extremely hospitable, kind yet rigid, determined to better themselves yet stuck in the past. Discuss your reactions to them and the other groups that Mortenson tries to help.

-Much of the book is a meditation on what it means to be a foreigner assimilating with another culture. Discuss your own experiences with foreign cultures—things that you have learned, mistakes you have made, misunderstandings you have endured.

-Did the book change your views toward Islam or Muslims? Consider the cleric Syed Abbas who implores Americans to “look into our hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people.” Discuss this statement. Has the book inspired you to learn more about the region?

About Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

2010-08-11T15:15:00.004-04:00

Greg Mortenson

Greg Mortenson is the co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute, founder of Pennies For Peace, and co-author of New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea which has sold over 4 million copies, been published in 47 countries, and a New York Times bestseller since its 2007 release, and Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.

Mortenson was born in 1957, and grew up on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. His father, Dempsey, founded Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, and mother, Jerene, founded the International School Moshi. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, and later graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1983.

In July 1992, Mortenson’s sister, Christa, died from a massive seizure after a lifelong struggle with epilepsy on the eve of a trip to visit Dysersville, Iowa, where the baseball movie, ‘Field of Dreams’, was filmed in a cornfield. To honor his sister’s memory, in 1993, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram range.

While recovering from the climb in a village called Korphe, Mortenson met a group of children sitting in the dirt writing with sticks in the sand, and made a promise to help them build a school. From that rash promise, grew a humanitarian campaign, in which Mortenson has dedicated his life to promote education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson is a living hero to rural communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has gained the trust of Islamic leaders, military and militia commanders, government officials and tribal chiefs from his tireless effort to champion education, especially for girls. He is one of few foreigners who has worked for sixteen years in rural villages where few foreigners go, and considered the ‘front lines’ of the ‘war on terror’

While not overseas half the year, Mortenson, 52, lives in Montana with his wife, Dr. Tara Bishop, a clinical psychologist, and two young children.

David Oliver Relin

In his work as an investigative journalist, Relin has long been committed to increasing awareness about critical human rights issues. His interviews with child soldiers have been included in Amnesty International reports, and his investigation into the way the INS abused children in its custody contributed to the reorganization of that agency.

David Oliver Relin is a graduate of Vassar and was awarded the prestigious Teaching/Writing Fellowship at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. After Iowa, he received a Michener Fellowship to support his groundbreaking 1992 bicycle trip the length of Vietnam. He spent two additional years reporting about Vietnam while based in the nation's former imperial capital. In addition to Vietnam and Pakistan, he has traveled to and reported from much of East Asia.

Relin is currently finishing a new book about blindness in the developing world, another book about food, a children’s book with the artist Amy Ruppel, and a novel about land mine survivors in Vietnam. He is a contributing editor for Parade and he has won dozens of national awards for his work as both an editor and an investigative reporter. He feels lucky to make his home in Portland, Oregon.

About Three Cups of Tea

2010-08-01T00:01:00.011-04:00

August's Featured Book of the Month is Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time. It's the inspiring true story of Greg Mortenson and his campaign to build schools in some of the most dangerous and remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.

Visit your local branch to check out a copy of the book and for more information, read the transcript of the Washington Post's online chat with Greg Mortenson.

After you're read the book, get your free tickets to see Greg Mortenson at the Cintas Center on September 29 at 7pm. A limited number of tickets are available at the Main Library and Green Township and Madeira branches starting on August 2. Tickets are availble on a first-come, first-served basis with a limit of two tickets per person. For more information about the event, visit
Xavier University's website.

Let’s Discuss Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie!

2010-07-23T09:39:00.002-04:00

Here are some discussion questions for you to think about. Please share what you thought about the book! Hope you’ve enjoyed this book as much as I have.

With her high level of knowledge, her erudition and her self-reliance, Flavia hardly seems your typical eleven-year-old girl. Or does she? Discuss Flavia and her personality, and how her character drives this novel. Can you think of other books that have used a similar protagonist?

With her excessive interest in poisons and revenge, it’s no surprise that Flavia is fascinated, not scared, as she watches the stranger die in her garden. In your view, is her dark matter-of-factness more refreshing or disturbing?

Flavia reminds us often about Harriet, the mother she never knew, and has many keepsakes that help her imagine what she was like. Do you think the real Harriet would have fit into Flavia’s mold?

Flavia’s distance from her father, the Colonel, is obvious, yet she loves him all the same. Does their relationship change over the course of the novel in a lasting way? Would Flavia want it to?

Like any scientist. Flavia expects her world to obey certain rules, and seems to be thrown off kilter when surprises occur. How much does she rely on the predictability of those around her, like her father and her sisters, in order to pursue her own interests (like solving the murder)?

Discussion questions are from the book’s publisher Random House.

About Alan Bradley

2010-07-13T13:45:00.005-04:00

Born in Toronto, Alan Bradley grew up with an education in electronic engineering. He worked at many radio and television stations and was a Director of Television Engineering in Saskatoon, SK, before he started writing during his early retirement. He is the author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and the memoir the Shoebox Bible. Bradley became involved in the Saskatoon writing community by becoming the first President of the Saskatoon Writers and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His short story Meet Miss Mullen, received the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children’s Literature. Bradley was one of the founding members of the Casebook of Saskatoon, which is a society that studies Sherlock Holmes. Here, he met Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, which led to the collaboration of their book Ms. Holmes of Baker Street, which theorizes that the famous detective could have been a woman. Most recently, Bradley has won the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award for the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. He has written five more in the series, where Flavia is the main character.

The author lives in Malta, with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.

Check out his website for more information on the author and the Flavia de Luce series.

About The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

2010-06-30T08:00:00.017-04:00

The July Featured Book of the Month, the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is unlike most detective stories, being told from the perspective of an eleven year old girl who has a passion for poison! Flavia de Luce is a chemistry loving, bicycle riding, spirited and intelligent girl who stumbles upon peculiar events. Set in the 1950s, Flavia starts out her summer in an English village fighting with her two older sisters and brewing dangerous potions in her secret laboratory. Suddenly, life takes an unusual turn when a dead bird appears on their doorstep with a bright orange stamp on its beak. A strange red-headed man has an argument with her father and the next morning Flavia discovers the unknown man dying in their cucumber patch. Young girls would normally be frightened of a murder committed outside their own home, but Flavia’s interest burns with curiosity. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” The summer starts to look very promising to Flavia and she is determined to solve this murky mystery!

Alan Bradley presents a young heroine who is an engaging, quick-witted, and fearless sleuth. Winner of the 2007 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger, this inventive detective story is a delightful read with many twists and turns.

Awards:
Winner of the 2007 - Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger
Winner of the 2009 - Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel

Read an excerpt from NPR’s website

Check out the international versions of the book covers!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Here is a trailer to promote the book:

Discussion questions for Last Child in the Woods

2010-06-22T14:31:00.002-04:00

We’re sure that Last Child in the Woods has given you a lot to ponder! (By a pond, perhaps?!) But in case not, here are some questions to think about, wherever you may be.
Please share your comments!

Can you compare your own childhood interactions with nature to those of a contemporary child? What are the similarities? Differences?

Can a child in an intensely urban setting easily find “a piece of nature” (without going to a park)? Where might they find it?

What’s more real for today’s children, technology or nature? Or is there a balance?

What experience in nature have you had that you wish every child could have? Why?

About Richard Louv

2010-06-15T14:38:00.003-04:00

Richard Louv is an American journalist credited with identifying the phenomenon and coining the now-common phrase known as “nature deficit disorder.” He has written for major American newpapers like The New York Times and Washington Post and was a columnist for the San Diego Union–Tribune from 1984 – 1987. He is the author of seven books, arguably the most famous being Last Child in the Woods.

To review recent columns and commentaries, visit Mr. Louv’s blog, Fieldnotes from the Future, a component of the Children’s Nature Network of which he is chairman and co-founder. And be sure to check out Louv’s official website for information about his books and the latest news in the Children and Nature movement.

Louv is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and is father to Jason, 28 and Matthew, 22.

About Last Child in the Woods

2010-06-01T12:00:00.004-04:00

Find your favorite tree stump and pull out your copy of June's Featured Book of the Month, Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.

The author contends that today's children, unlike children a mere thirty years ago, are dangerously deprived of exposure to nature, the thing that inspires, teaches and gives us comfort. Gated communities, obsession with electronic technology, and changing standards in education are just some things that distract our children from their "eighth intelligence" and creativity.

Louv includes some great quotes and stories from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Beatrix Potter, Mark Twain, and Thomas Edison that credit their early curiosities to time spent in wood and field. And it’s certainly interesting to ponder what role the natural world played in our own childhoods and how it shaped our adult pursuits.

Is nature inaccessible to today’s children?
Can we go back to nature? How?
Or is nature even important anymore?

The author, a former journalist, offers up research from environmentalists and educators that lays bare the reasons for reconnecting, rebuilding, rethinking, and redesigning our relationships with the outdoors.

There are suggested actions to take and activities to pursue with kids. Who knows, maybe we can go back to Walden! What do you think?

Written by Bob

Discussion Questions for The Lost City of Z*

2010-05-20T14:45:00.006-04:00

I hope you're enjoying The Lost City of Z! Without giving too much away, here are a few discussion questions for you to consider. Post a comment about them or just tell us what you think about the book--we would love to hear from you!

How would you describe Fawcett? A rational man of science? A victim of his own obsession? What were his most admirable qualities and what aspects of his character were most troubling?

Does the interweaving of Grann's own story of his search for the truth about what happened to Fawcett add to or detract from The Lost City of Z?

What does The Lost City of Z reveal about the nature of obsession? Why were people fascinated by Fawcett in 1925? Why are people still fascinated by him 85 years after his disappearance?

Does The Lost City of Z remind you of any other books you have read, either fiction or non-fiction?

*Discussion questions courtesy of litlovers.com, murmur.com, and me!

About David Grann

2010-05-11T09:42:00.007-04:00

David Grann is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and the author of The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (2009) and his latest book, The Detective and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession (2010).

Prior to joining The New Yorker, Grann was a senior editior and contributor at The New Republic, and has also written for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal.

Grann's stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Best American Crime Writing (2004, 2005, and 2009) and The Best American Sports Writing (2003 and 2006). He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Be sure to read this interesting interview with David Grann about The Lost City of Z, or listen to his NPR interview on Talk of the Nation!

About The Lost City of Z

2010-04-30T12:39:00.007-04:00

Our May Featured Book of the Month is a true adventure story! In The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann, renowned British explorer Percy Fawcett embarked on an expedition deep into the Amazon jungle in 1925, vowing to make archaeological history by locating an undiscovered ancient civilization he called the Lost City of Z. He was never heard from again ...

While researching a story, The New Yorker writer David Grann stumbled on a reference to Fawcett's role in inspiring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, The Lost World. Intrigued, Grann began reading as much as possible about Fawcett and became fascinated by his idea of Z. Armed with information uncovered in Fawcett's private diaries and logbooks, he headed into the Amazon, determined to discover the truth about the explorer and his fatal mission--despite his utter lack of outdoorsmanship, his terrible sense of direction, and the knowledge that over 100 "Fawcett Freaks" had perished in the jungle before him ...

Did Fawcett find Z? Did Grann find Fawcett? Let's read and find out!

Next week, I'll post more information about author David Grann. And in the weeks to come, I'll post some discussion questions and a related reading booklist. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy The Lost City of Z. Your comments are always welcome!

Let’s Get Started: Discussion Questions for All the Living

2010-04-15T10:10:00.007-04:00

So, tell us, Readers, what do you think of All the Living?

Did it grab you right away, or did it take hold slowly? Did you enjoy the author’s style? How do your feelings about it match up to all the rave reviews?

I’ve lifted a couple questions from ReadingGroupGuides.com that I would love to hear you comment upon—and don’t worry, they don’t give away any plot twists or spoil the ending! Here they are:

Though All the Living unfolds in the 1980s, many members of this community hold fast to old-fashioned attitudes. What are the costs and benefits of living in a locale that is removed, in some ways, from the modern world?

How did your understanding of the characters’ circumstances change as you read All the Living, based on what was revealed and withheld in the opening scenes? Were your first impressions of Aloma and Orren accurate?

Do you have a discussion question of your own you’d like to pose? Share it with us!

About C. E. Morgan

2010-04-02T16:11:00.033-04:00

As I mentioned in Thursday's post, the author of our Featured Book of the Month for April is a Kentuckian, born in Ohio. She attended Berea College, where she studied English and voice, and earned her master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity school.

Her career is still quite young, so information about her is limited. Listed below are a few items I've pulled together that should help give you a slightly more well-rounded idea about who she is and how she views her craft:

The first is an audio clip of an interview with Morgan from Random House of Canada’s website, Booklounge.ca. She talks at length about her experience writing All the Living.

The second is from the "Book Notes" feature of the blog Largehearted Boy, in which the author is asked to provide a musical playlist for their novel. In Morgan’s case, the result is a classical music primer, of sorts. Here’s what she says about her list: “What follows is not comprehensive and not programmatic..these pieces don't impress through virtuosity alone, and I make no claims for their supremacy within the genre. I just believe that the best place to start is with whatever moves you”

(At the bottom of her music list you’ll also find a nice collection of more than a dozen links to reviews of All the Living)!

And lastly, here’s a link to a short story she wrote which was published in the New York Times in December of 2008, titled, “Over by Christmas”.

I hope you're enjoying the book so far. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

About All the Living

2010-03-29T11:05:00.038-04:00

We’re back!

Hopefully, you had a chance to read the immensely popular Hunger Games, which performed double-duty as the On the Same Page selection and as our Featured Book of the Month for February and March. Now, it’s time for something completely different…

Have you heard about All the Living, the novel by C. E. Morgan? One of the things that makes it special is the author's hometown heritage--she was born in Ohio and lives in Kentucky. Of course, as soon as you begin reading you’ll discover that the local connections are the very least of what makes it special.

The novel, which is set in the farmlands of Kentucky in the 1980s, nonetheless has a timeless feel to it--and, though relatively short at just under 200 pages, is dense with depth and meaning. Central to the story is the relationship between Aloma, a young woman and talented pianist who was orphaned and raised in a mission school, and Orren, a young man still grieving the tragic loss of his family and struggling to maintain the family farm on his own.

Here’s a sampling of the glowing praise the book has received since its debut last year:

“[All the Living] is a first novel, and the writing is simply astonishing. It is the writing of a much older author. Descriptions of the landscape of the rural South remind a reader of Willa Cather. The characters' utter lack of a sense of entitlement calls to mind Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.”—Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times

"A first novel so self-assured and unto itself, so unswerving in its purpose, so strummed through with a peculiar, particular, electrifying sound, that I found myself reading in a state of highest perplexity, and also gratitude and awe . . . All the Living is a novel about the hardest things—about grief and lonesomeness, about desiring much and staying true, about loving through and forgiveness..."—Beth Kephart, Chicago Tribune

"Morgan's prose is enchanting from the outset, its descriptions fresh, its cadences biblical. It is also fiercely inventive..."—Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle

I hope you’ll join us in reading All the Living.

Check Back in April....

2010-03-19T12:34:00.003-04:00

I hope you're enjoying the On The Same Page selection, The Hunger Games. Be sure to check back on April 1 to find out which book was selected as the next Featured Book of the Month.

On The Same Page

2010-02-01T08:46:00.002-05:00

The Featured Book of the Month program is on break during February and March to make way for The Library's On The Same Page community reading program. Check the On The Same Page website for information on the 2010 title, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Be sure to stop into your local branch to check out a copy and then discuss the book in person at one of our book discussions or online.

Let's Get the Discussion Started!

2010-01-14T13:50:00.004-05:00

I hope you're enjoying January's Featured Book of the Month, Farewell, My Subaru by Doug Fine. I'm sure you have lots of thoughts about the book, so let's get the discussion started!

-What do you like about the book? What don't you like?
-What steps have you taken to lead a greener lifestyle? Would you go as far as raising goats and driving a ROAT (Ridiculously Oversized American Truck) powered by vegetable oil?
-Do you think it's really possible to live a green lifestyle without giving up your modern conveniences? Why or why not?

About Doug Fine

2010-01-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

After being raised on Dominoes Pizza and Brady Bunch re-runs, Doug Fine’s method of journalistic investigation was to strap on a backpack and travel to five continents; to the nooks where the world’s monied media venues weren’t sending their people.

As a young freelancer, Fine reported in this manner for the Washington Post, Salon, U.S. News and World Report, Sierra, Wired, Outside, National Public Radio, and other venues from little-visited jungle war zones like Burma, Rwanda, Laos, Guatemala and Tajikistan. He became a world-class adventure writer and investigative journalist, writing culturally-insightful and funny dispatches. One of these, about democracy efforts in Burma, was read into the U.S. Congressional Record.

During this time, his 20s, Fine recognized that he lived on an actual planet, and that he felt most alive while in wild ecosystems. Following this impulse in contradiction to all the suburban values with which he was raised (which can be summarized as, “if you’re not going to be a doctor, you can at least be a lawyer”), he moved to extreme rural Alaska to see if a former suburbanite could survive. Happiness and self-awareness were the goals. This resulted in his award-nominated first book, Not Really An Alaskan Mountain Man, which is now in its third printing.

Realizing that living in sync with his ecosystem is indeed where his own inspiration and personal happiness reside, Fine for his second book decided to embark on a “Hypocrisy Reduction Project,” to see if he could truly live a sustainable lifestyle, rather than borrowing from Babylon to live in an ecological Zion. He moved to a beautifully-obscure valley in Southern New Mexico to write Farewell, My Subaru, to quite simply see if a Digital Age Human can live without Petroleum but without giving up any of his Digital Age Comforts. His conclusion? He can, once he figures out how to keep the coyotes from eating his chickens, his solar panels from electrocuting him, and his vegetable oil truck exhaust from giving him a bad case of the munchies (it smells like Kung Pao chicken).

Be sure to visit your local branch and check out a copy of Farewell, My Subaru and mark your calendar for Doug Fine's visit to the Main Library on February 6.

About Farewell, My Subaru

2010-01-01T00:01:00.007-05:00

Is your New Year's resolution to live a more green lifestyle? If it is (or even if it isn't) stop into your local branch and check out a copy of January's Featured Book of the Month, Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine. The book details Fine's attempts to live locally and reduce his dependence on oil, all while keeping his modern conveniences. In the author's words,

"This ia a book of carbon-neutral carnage, about my attempts to kick oil while still living like an American. Farewell, My Subaru is the account of everything that can go wrong (and then right) when a regular guy tries to get oil out of his life. It details, among other embarrassing (but, my editor insists, inspiring) realities: coyotes eating my chickens, my near-death due to clumsiness during solar panel installation, and my suffering from Extreme Munchies thanks to the exhaust of my new carbon-neutral, vegetable oil-powered R.O.A.T. (Ridiculously Oversized American Truck). Hence the title of the book – I had to ditch the ol’ reliable Subaru in favor of a diesel. But for all the mishaps, I have reduced my electric bill by 80% and no longer need gas stations to drive. All while keeping my Netflix, my Internet, my fridge, washing machine, and most of all, my booming subwoofers."

For more information about the book visit Doug Fine's website. Be sure to check out your copy today, check back here to discuss the book, then visit the Main Library on February 6 at 2pm to meet Doug Fine.

Discussion Questions for Under the Banner of Heaven

2009-12-15T08:04:00.004-05:00

I hope you're enjoying our December Featured Book of the Month, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer. Some insightful comments about the book have already been posted, so here are a few discussion questions for you to consider. Join the conversation or add your own thoughts...we'd love to hear from you!

Did you like the book? Why or why not?

Given the nature of--and the motive for--the murders of Brenda Lafferty and her child, should Ron Lafferty be considered mentally ill? Or, as Krakauer states in his book, "If Ron wasn't insane--or at least no more "insane" than anyone else who believes in God--what was he? Why had the Lafferty brothers' religious beliefs turned them into ruthless killers?"

How would you expect maintream and fundamentalist Mormons to react to Krakauer's book?

About Under the Banner of Heaven

2009-12-01T10:53:00.017-05:00

What's not to love about Under the Banner of Heaven, our December Featured Book of the Month? It's a true crime story, an exploration into the extremes of religious belief, and it's written by Jon Krakauer, one of my all-time favorite authors.

Under the Banner of Heaven tells the true story of Mormon fundamentalists Dan and Ron Lafferty, who murdered the wife and infant daughter of their younger brother Allen in 1984, but claimed they were acting on direct orders from God.

So take a break from the holiday madness, grab a blanket and some hot chocolate, and spend a chilly winter's night absolutely mesmerized.

Be sure to listen to Krakauer's informative NPR interview about his book or read my blog post on Turning the Page, our staff blog about books and reading.

About Jon Krakauer

2009-12-01T00:00:00.043-05:00

Born in 1954, writer and journalist Jon Krakauer grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, where his father introduced him to mountain climbing at the age of eight.

He reached the summit of Mt. Everest while on assignment for Outside magazine in May 1996, but during his descent, a storm engulfed the peak, taking the lives of four fellow climbers. His subsequent book about the experience, Into Thin Air (1997), became a national bestseller.

Best known for writing stories about lives conducted at the outer limits of nature and society, Krakauer is also the bestselling author of Into the Wild (1996), Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2003), and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (2009).

About People of the Book

2009-11-01T22:42:00.014-05:00

Perhaps I'm biased but I think our November selection, People of the Book, is a great choice to settle in with on a brisk fall evening. Joan, one of the contributors to Turning the Page, our books and reading blog, did a beautiful job summing up the plot. Here's an excerpt from her review:

"Australian manuscript conservator Hanna Heath is called in by a museum librarian in Sarajevo to preserve the unusual haggidah, which has miraculously survived the ethnic cleansings in that city as just the latest chapter in its long and violent history. She discovers tiny physical traces of the book’s past—a bloodstain, a fleck of butterfly wing, a cat’s hair, salt crystals—in its pages and binding.

As Hanna investigates the provenance of each of these clues, the novel jumps back in time through the centuries to reveal how each came to be in the book and to tell the tale of each person through its history who helped protect the book against destruction..."

And she concludes by saying:

"Lots of readers are going to enjoy Brooks’ detailed historical research, her very readable style, and the knowledge that it’s all inspired by a true story, the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah."

I couldn't agree more! By the way, if you'd like to read more of Joan's review, here's the link to her post in Turning the Page.

About Geraldine Brooks

2009-11-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

Before turning her attention to writing novels, Geraldine Brooks was an award-winning foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, covering the crises in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. According to her website, while in Nigeria on assignment, she was arrested, thrown in jail, and accused of being a spy. While there, "she began to consider a midlife career change." (Who could blame her?) In 2001, her first novel, Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague, was published. Five years later, March, a retelling of Little Women from the perspective of Mr. March, was published and won the Pulitzer Prize.

If you're interested in learning more about Geraldine Brooks, I'd like to direct your attention to a couple of interesting links on her website. The first is an essay on "The Writing Life," and the second is a profile of her that appeared in the Washington Post.

I hope I have the opportunity to meet her someday. She's had a fascinating life and I've thoroughly enjoyed all three of her novels.

In Conclusion

2009-10-17T16:28:00.002-04:00

Are you enjoying this "tale" about a dog's life? What part of the story have you come to? Is it when Annika...? I won't spoil it for you, but if you haven't finished yet continue reading you will be delighted.

It is said that in Mongolia a dog's tail is cut off and buried where no one can walk over the grave. If the dog has unfinished business it will come back as a human. Do you believe this to be true? Can you imagine your canine friend as a person? I had a dog that seemed to be trapped inside his body, the look in his eyes was so human. He has passed away, but wonder if maybe he had unfinished business and I didn't know it.
Would you know?

About the Art of Racing in the Rain

2009-10-01T10:44:00.008-04:00

We're pleased to announce that The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, is the October selection. In this heartwarming and beautifully crafted novel, canine Enzo evaluates his life on the eve of his death, recalling his days as the loving protector of aspiring racecar driver Denny Swift and his family. "If you've ever wondered what you're dog is thinking (and who hasn't!), Stein's third novel offers an answer" said Publishers Weekly in their review of The Art of Racing in the Rain.

After you read and fall in love with this book (which we know you will), mark your calendar because Garth Stein is going to be one of the authors appearing at the Books by the Banks Book Festival on Saturday, October 17 at the Duke Energy Center. He'll be in the Author Pavilion all day, signing books and chatting with Festival attendees. Admission is free!

About Garth Stein

2009-09-30T17:29:00.005-04:00

Garth Stein was born in Los Angeles and later moved to Seattle where he now resides with his wife, three children and his faithful companion Comet. According to his website the cover of his book displays a picture of his dog. Garth Stein has written two other books, Raven Stole the Moon and How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets. He has also produced and directed short films and documentaries. He is also a novice race car driver which makes this fictitious story credibly real.
Go to Garth's website and check out his credits, you can even submit your own "Enzo" snapshot.

Discussion Questions for The Art of Racing

2009-09-30T17:14:00.003-04:00

Did you enjoy this tale of the life of man's best friend? In the last day of Enzo's life he recounts what meant so much to him. Denny Swift is an aspiring race car driver. Enzo is his animal companion; although he perceives himself to be a human without thumbs. Denny and Enzo knew they could rely on each other through life's ordeals. When Eve got sick Enzo was there to support Denny. Enzo was there to protect Denny from the custody battle with Zoe's grandparents and the accusations from Annika. And that magnificent ride in Denny's race car. Enzo learns a lot from watching television so he knows the techniques of racing a car, especially in racing in the rain of life, love, and friendship? Is there anyone you can truly rely on to be by your side like the friendship Enzo and Denny have. Enzo looks after Denny like a human. Do you think that is possible to be able to communicate in this manner?

Let's Get Started: Discussion Questions for In Defense of Food

2009-09-11T13:26:00.014-04:00

Have you started reading In Defense of Food? Whether you're on page 10, page 20, or on to something else already, you must have something to say about it. So say it--right here! Mr. Pollan has, after all, provided us with a feast of ideas and insights to digest!

Here are some easy questions to get you warmed up--but feel free to post your own:

Are you enjoying the book so far? What do you like most? Is there anything you don’t like?

Have your eating habits changed during the last decade? If so, how? If not, why not?

Is there anything in the book that really surprises or interests you enough to investigate further?

Also, don't forget about Michael Pollan's free and open-to-the-public lecture at Xavier University's Cintas Center on September 27th. (See my previous post for more details).

Keep on reading!

About Michael Pollan

2009-09-03T13:42:00.010-04:00

There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of Michael Pollan, and an even better chance that you’ve read something he’s written. He’s an award-winning author and journalist who, for the past twenty years, “has been writing books and articles about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: food, agriculture, gardens, drugs, and architecture”. He’s been both an editor and writer for Harper’s Magazine and the New York Times Magazine, and his 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, was a New York Times bestseller and won numerous awards.

I learned all this by looking at his website, which you might want to check out, also. There’s a lot more to see there, including a very nice bibliography.

You can also watch a full-length television interview with him here.

Or maybe you’d like to see him in person – if so, then be sure to mark your calendar for Sunday, September 27th . That’s the day he’ll be at Xavier University’s Cintas Center to deliver his lecture entitled “In Defense of Food: An Omnivore’s Solution” as part of their Ethics/Religion and Society Lecture Series. The event begins at 1 p.m., is free and open to the public, and no reservations or tickets are necessary.

In the meantime, let’s see if we can get our own discussion started. In a week or so, I’ll post some questions, so keep reading, and then come back and share your thoughts.

About In Defense of Food

2009-08-31T11:19:00.011-04:00

If you’ve ever wondered why eating -- or, more specifically, eating right -- has to be so complicated, then you will be very interested in September’s Book of the Month selection.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, describes in highly-readable and fascinating detail how science and politics have impacted the way we eat in America, how the resulting “Western Diet” has impacted our health, and, most importantly, how we can alleviate some of our 21st Century confusion about food. Best of all, the story is told with good humor, and with insight that extends well beyond the realms of science and politics.

Join us in reading and discussing In Defense of Food -- a delicious way to start the season!

Michael Pollan is best known for his 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Stay tuned for more information about the author.

Discussion Questions for The Other

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

I hope you're enjoying The Other. Let's get the discussion started!

1. Neil describes John William at sixteen as “The rich kid who hates and loves himself equally. The contrarian who hears his conscience calling in the same way schizophrenics hear voices, so that, for him, there’s no not listening”. Have you encountered people like John William in your own life? In literature? What makes him a believable character, rather than a stereotype?

2. Does Neil also represent a familiar type or character? What makes him interesting or appealing to you? To John William? What distinctive characteristics (strengths and flaws alike) inform the way he tells John William’s story? Consider the qualities that Neil admires in John William in contrast to how he describes himself.

About David Guterson

2009-08-13T09:10:00.003-04:00

David Guterson was born in Seattle in 1956. He received his Master's Degree from the University of Washington and after graduation, he moved to Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, where he taught English at the local high school and began writing for Sports Illustrated and Harper's Magazine.

Guterson is the author of a number of books and short stories, but he is probably best known for his 1994 novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, which won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award. Check out an interview with David Guterson here, then be sure to visit your local branch to check out a copy of The Other.

About The Other

2009-08-04T18:19:00.006-04:00

David Guterson's The Other is a moving portrait of male friendship, set in the backdrop of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. John William Barry and Neil Countryman, meet as high school students at a track meet in 1972. John William is from an elite Seattle family while Neil stems from a working-class background. Despite their differences, their forge a lifelong friendship that is tested when, as adults, they choose radically different paths. John William chooses to live as a hermit in the wilderness while Neil becomes a teacher, gets married and has a family. Sound interesting? Check out a review of the book and then check out a copy at your local library! Stay tuned to the Featured Book Blog. Information about the author and discussion questions are coming soon!

About Jonathan Barnes

2009-07-15T12:07:00.006-04:00

Jonathan Barnes was educated at the University of Oxford and is a regular contributor to The Times Literary Supplement. He lives near London, and his hobbies include "swimming, walking, loafing about, and watching the baby fox cubs gambol on the lawn". Follow this link to read an interview with Jonathan Barnes:
Jonathan Barnes

About The Somnambulist

2009-07-01T11:12:00.008-04:00

If you like quirky mystery novels you'll love our featured book of the month for July. The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes was described in one review as "sneaky, cheeky, and dark in the best possible way". Set in Victorian London, we follow conjurer and detective Edward Moon and his sidekick, "The Somnambulist" through a strange and twisty mystery filled with surreal surprises. To see how this tale unfolds, visit your local library branch to pick up or reserve a copy. Information about the author will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

A Few More Discussion Questions for Gardens of Water

2009-06-10T16:55:00.004-04:00

I hope you're enjoying Gardens of Water.

I'm really looking forward to hearing Alan Drew speak on June 21st at the Main Library.

Did you notice the discussion questions at the back of the book? I picked the three that I liked best for my final post, but feel free to post your own:

In what ways do Sinan and Marcus represent the larger issues of East vs. West?

Would this story be different if Dylan and Marcus were from a different country? If so, how?

What do you think defines a happy life? How do the characters' perceptions of this differ from one another?

Let's Get Started: Discussion Questions for Gardens of Water

2009-06-04T13:22:00.017-04:00

Wow, lots of you out there have already picked up your copy of Gardens of Water, and are no doubt reading away (I'm a librarian, I've seen how voracious you are)!

So hit me with your thoughts and ideas; in case you've never added a comment to a blog posting (which is what you're reading right now), all you need to do is click on the word "Comments" below. A box will pop up, and inside it you can tell me what you like or don't like about Gardens of Water. Fill in the "Word Verification" box with the password provided, then "Choose an Identity" (you can remain anonymous if you like) and click "Publish Your Comment", and, once approved, your comments will appear right underneath my posting.

Here are a couple questions to get things started:

Which character do you relate to the most so far, and why?

Have you come across a descriptive passage yet that you find particularly powerful or evocative?

Oh, and don't forget to mark your calendar for Alan Drew's Main Library appearance on June 21st...

About Alan Drew

2009-06-01T15:16:00.014-04:00

In 1999, Alan Drew set off for Istanbul to teach English literature to high school students. Four days after he arrived, an earthquake devastated the area, and the event left an impression on the author that would form the backdrop for his debut novel, Gardens of Water.

Drew has stated that although he was born and raised in southern California, and had experienced earthquakes before, he had never witnessed the kind of devastation he saw in Turkey that year. It was while he was participating in the relief effort and observing the dynamics of the relationship between the aid workers and the poverty-stricken victims that the ideas that inform his novel really began to take shape.

Perhaps you'd like to read about it in his words! Here's an interview from bookreporter.com, along with some more biographical information.

About Gardens of Water

2009-05-31T21:23:00.047-04:00

Hello Readers!

Our Featured Book of the Month for June is Alan Drew's Gardens of Water.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through it right now and I'm really enjoying Drew's style.

The story is set against the backdrop of the terrible quake that devastated northwest Turkey in 1999, and it explores the clash of cultures between an American family and a family of devout Muslim Kurds--former neighbors (uneasy acquaintances, at that) who are forced closer together in the quake's aftermath. The clash is made even more intense by the secret romance that's going on between the American family's teenaged son and the Kurdish family's teenaged daughter.

I'm eager to see how it turns out, and I'm fascinated by the fact that Alan Drew actually lived in Turkey at the time of the 1999 quake. Maybe I'll even get a chance to talk to him about it when he visits the Main Library on June 21st!

Here's a link that provides some facts about the earthquake.

And here's one that provides some information about the history of the Kurdish people in Turkey.

I hope you'll join me in reading Gardens of Water.

Check back in a day or two for a profile of the author and some thought-provoking discussion questions.

About David Benioff

2009-05-06T13:15:00.003-04:00

You may not have heard of David Benioff, but you’ve probably seen, or at least heard of one of his movies: Troy, The Kite Runner or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. David Benioff is probably best known for his career as a screenwriter, although he has written several critically acclaimed books, novels The 25th Hour and City of Thieves and a collection of short stories, When the Nines Roll Over. Benioff was born in New York City in 1970 and attended Dartmouth College, the University of California Irvine and Trinity College in Dublin. He worked as a high school teacher, a bouncer and a DJ before his writing career took off with the publication of The 25th Hour.

David Benioff spent years working on his latest novel, City Of Thieves. Contrary to what many people think, the book is not a memoir, even though the main character, Lev, is telling the story to his grandson, David, who happens to be a writer. Benioff says that the book is “99.99% fiction” and encourages readers to “take everything between the two covers with a big dose of salt.” That being said, before writing the book, he traveled to St. Petersburg and did extensive research there, visiting many of the sites that are featured in the book, to ensure that the story was historically accurate.

Benioff lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Amanda Peet, and their daughter. To learn more about him and his work, check out this interview.

About City of Thieves

2009-04-30T22:12:00.009-04:00

The Featured Book of the Month for May is City of Thieves by David Benioff.

Set during the Siege of Leningrad in the winter of 1941, City of Thieves follows the story of Lev Beniov, a seventeen-year old Russian boy whose life changes forever when, driven by desperation, he was caught looting the body of a German paratrooper in the street. Lev is arrested and thrown in a jail cell with Kolya, a young army deserter, and together they wait to face certain death in front of the firing squad.

However, Lev and Kolya are granted a reprieve when an NKVD colonel needs a favor. The colonel’s daughter is getting married in a week and his wife has her heart set on having a wedding cake. The colonel is sure that the young thief and deserter will be able to find the missing ingredient - a dozen eggs. If they succeed, they will win their freedom. If they fail, they will be left to die.

Lev and Kolya set out on the journey to find eggs in a city where the citizens have resorted to cannibalism and eating “library candy”, made of melted glue from book bindings. City of Thieves is the story of their desperate quest, where they are in constant danger from the Germans, their own countrymen and the harsh Russian winter, and it’s also the story of the friendship that Lev and Kolya form along the way. Do they find the eggs and make it back in time for the wedding? Check City of Thieves out at your local branch to find out!

About Marcus Luttrell

2009-04-07T09:26:00.036-04:00

Marcus Luttrell always wanted to be a Navy SEAL. He and his twin brother Morgan were born in Huntsville, Texas in 1975, and his parents were hard workers with high expectations of their sons. At the age of 14 Marcus began training for the SEALs with former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier Billy Shelton, who often trained young men aspiring to join the military.

In 1999 Luttrell joined the U.S Navy and began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training with Class 226 in Coronado, California. In his first round of training he fractured his femur, but returned as soon as his injury healed. After serving in Iraq for two years, he was deployed to Afghanistan, where he and Seal Team 10 would begin Operation Redwing in 2005.

Read this article to learn more about Marcus Luttrell's story, or better yet, see him in person at the Main Library. He will discuss the experiences detailed in his book on Tuesday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library Reading Garden Lounge. Afterwards Mr. Luttrell will be available for book signings and Lone Survivor will be available for purchase. We hope to see you there!

About Lone Survivor

2009-04-01T05:48:00.019-04:00

The Featured Book of the Month for April is Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell.

In late June 2005 four U.S. Navy SEALs embark on a reconnaissance mission to gather intelligence on a brutal al Qaeda leader garrisoned by Taliban fighters. Within 24 hours, after navigating the rugged terrain from their base in northern Afghanistan to the Pakistani border, only one of them would remain alive.
This is the story of U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the fire team leader and lone survivor of Operation Redwing, and the impossible decision he and his teammates were forced make that ended in a battle which cost the greatest number of lives in Navy SEAL history. For four days, Luttrell, badly wounded and presumed dead, courageously fought off six more al Qaeda assassins and crawled for seven miles through the mountains until he was rescued by a Pashtun tribe.
Luttrell's description of the merciless training he endured to become a SEAL, followed by the harrowing account of the battle in Afghanistan that almost cost him his life, make Lone Survivor an excellent read. Check it out at your local branch, and be on the lookout for more information about Marcus Luttrell's upcoming visit to the Library.

About The Geography of Bliss

2009-03-03T10:05:00.001-05:00

The author, Eric Weiner, calls The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World , "a travelogue of ideas" and a "philosophical self-help humorous travel memoir." Weiner, a former NPR foreign correspondent, searches the world for the unheralded happy places, such as Iceland, Bhutan, Switzerland, India, and Thailand to name a few. All told, he looks at more than three-dozen countries assessing their happiness potential in a lighthearted survey that includes profiles of such locales as the American shores, glacial Iceland, and the Bhutan jungles.

In general, the Dutch are happy, the Romanians aren't, and we here in the good ole US are somewhere in between. Thailand, in fact, has a Gross Domestic Happiness Index that the government established to ensure fun is had by all. On the other end of the happy spectrum are the wealthy Qatar citizens who lead unhappy lives in a "gilded sandbox."

Weiner becomes involved with the citizens of these happy/not-so-happy countries. He eats rotten shark meat in Iceland, visits strip clubs in Bangkok, and smokes Moroccan hashish in Rotterdam, all in hopes of making the reader happier.

From The Geography of Bliss :

"With our words, we subconsciously conﬂate geography and happiness. We speak of searching for happiness, of ﬁnding contentment, as if these were locations in an atlas, actual places that we could visit if only we had the proper map and the right navigational skills. Anyone who has taken a vacation to, say, some Caribbean island and had ﬂash through their mind the uninvited thought 'I could be happy here' knows what I mean."

So, where is the happiest place in the world? You'll just have to read the book to find out.

About Eric Weiner

2009-03-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

Eric Weiner always wanted to be a foreign correspondent, getting his wish in 1993 when he became NPR's first full-time correspondent in India. Over the course of his career, he has reported from more than 30 countries, "most of them profoundly unhappy," he says. He spent time in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era, and in Afghanistan in 2001 when the Taliban fell. As a journalist he reported on war and its results (refugees, war orphans, etc.), and in general sought out the unhappy.

He has worked as a correspondent for NPR in New York, Miami and Washington, D.C. as well. In addition to his time with NPR, he was a reporter for the New York Times and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. He was also part of an NPR team of reporters that won the 1994 Peabody award for their investigation into the tobacco industry. He now lives in the Washington area with his wife and daughter.

He was a self-proclaimed grump (see subtitle) before writing The Geography of Bliss, but his outlook changed afterwards by accepting the simple Thai notion of "mai pen lai" which basically means, just let it go.

If you'd like to learn more about Eric Warner, check out his website.

A Few More Discussion Questions for The Soloist

2009-02-20T11:04:00.002-05:00

Music is a powerful presence in the book. For Nathaniel, the music he plays seems to help him keep his illness at bay. Do you believe there is a link between creativity and mental health or mental illness?

A visit from his sister is a joyful moment for Nathaniel, but her court appeal to manage his finances sets off his rage. (p. 240) Discuss what Steve and his readers know about Nathaniel’s family. Do you believe that family dynamics play a role in mental illness? If you know a family dealing with mental illness, how has that changed your preconceptions?

At one point in the book, Steve asks, “Is he happy?” (p. 126) What constitutes happiness for Nathaniel? How does asking this question help Steve to help Nathaniel? Do you think the book has a “happy ending?”

In what ways does Nathaniel's story fit your preconceptions about people facing homelessness, and in what ways has it changed your ideas? In what ways does his story fit your preconceptions about people facing serious mental illnesses, and in what way has it changed your ideas?

More discussion questions can be found in the On the Same Page website.

Let's Get Started: Discussion Questions for The Soloist

2009-02-13T13:51:00.002-05:00

1. When they meet, Steve sees Nathaniel simply as a newspaper story, one that can bring attention to LA’s Skid Row. What obligations does Steve have—to his paper, to society, to Nathaniel—in reporting that story? How does his role change once the story affects Nathaniel’s life?

2. Readers begin to donate instruments and money immediately after Steve’s first article. What do you think compels people to help a stranger? Would people have been as eager to help Nathaniel if Steve hadn’t written about him or if Nathaniel had not been a musical genius? What do you think this says about human nature?

3. Although Steve doesn’t approach Nathaniel looking for either a friend or a music teacher, he winds up with both. Discuss how their relationship progresses from writer/subject to friendship. Is there a turning point in their relationship that you can identify? Have you experienced something similar in your own life?

Steve Lopez Visit

2009-02-13T08:47:00.004-05:00

Hopefully you had a chance to see Steve Lopez at either the Main Library of Joseph Beth earlier this week. If you didn't, you might want to check out a couple of interviews that were recorded when he was in town to support On the Same Page. There's one on CETconnect and one on FOX19.

Steve Lopez Visit

2009-02-06T15:39:00.005-05:00

We're absolutely thrilled about the fact that Steve Lopez is going to be visiting Cincinnati next week to support On the Same Page. Even if you haven't had a chance to read yet The Soloist yet, we hope you'll be able to make one of his booktalks! Here's where he's going to be:

Sunday, February 8
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Main Library
Book talk and signing, musical performances by the College Conservatory of Music, and an information fair with community organizations serving people who have mental illnesses or are homeless. Bring your musical instruments to donate to CCM's LINKS (Lonely Instruments for Needy Kids) program. Panera Bread will provide the refreshments.

Sunday, February 8
6:00 p.m.
Joseph Beth Booksellers
Book signing

Monday, February 9
7:00 p.m.
265 Tangeman University Center, University of Cincinnati
Book talk and signing.

About The Soloist

2009-02-01T01:30:00.004-05:00

Did you enjoy January's Book of the Month selection? I did--I'm a big fan of Bill Bryson to begin with but I thought the Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid was particularly charming.

Our February Book of the Month selection is equally compelling but in an entirely different way. It's The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, by Steve Lopez. This nonfiction title is based on LA Times columnist Lopez’s newspaper articles about musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, whom he met on LA’s Skid Row. Ayers studied at Juilliard before developing schizophrenia and spending decades on the streets. It's an inspiring story of music and friendship, as well as a compelling examination of homelessness, mental illness, public policy, and race in America. A movie based on the book starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jaime Foxx is expected to debut this spring.

The Soloist is also the featured title for On the Same Page, our annual community reading event. On the Same Page has been going strong for eight years--it's one of the longest-running programs of its kind in the country! In conjunction with the program, book discussions and special events will be taking place all over the city throughout February and March. I'll highlight a selection of them in upcoming posts but be sure to check the On the Same Page website for the complete list.

Happy reading!

About Steve Lopez

2009-02-01T01:00:00.001-05:00

Steve Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, where he first wrote the series of enormously popular articles about Nathaniel Anthony Ayers on which The Soloist is based. He has also written for Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Oakland Tribune.

His work has won the H. L. Mencken Writing Award, the Ernie Pyle Human Interest Award, the National Headliner Award for Column Writing the Sigma Delta Chi Magazine Reporting Award, the Society of Professional Journalists Award, and the Quill Journalism Award. Third and Indiana was a selection of the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age and a finalist for the Dashiell Hammett Award.

Lopez is the author of three novels, Third and Indiana, The Sunday Macaroni Club, and In the Clear , and a journalism collection, Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

If you'd like to learn more about Steve Lopez, check out his website. And take a few minutes to listen to the interview with him that aired on National Public Radio on April 22, 2008. In it talks about the evolution of his friendship with Nathaniel Ayers.

February's Featured Book of the Month

2009-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

We hope you’ve enjoyed our January Featured Book of the Month title. For a sneak peak at our February selection (which is also our community-wide On the Same Page title), click here!

Coming Soon! Related Reading

2009-01-12T00:00:00.004-05:00

Let's Get Started: Discussion Questions for The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

2009-01-02T00:01:00.002-05:00

What is one of your favorite (or funniest) memories from childhood? Do you have any memories that are similar to Bryson’s?

What was your impression of Bryson’s father and mother?

Have you read any of Bryson’s travelogues? Do you prefer his travel writing or his memoir? Why?

Special thanks to the Madison Public Library in Madison, Wisconsin and the Twin Falls Public Library in Twin Falls, Idaho for sharing some of their discussion questions with us.

To Be Continued...

2009-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'll be adding a few more discussion questions soon, so be sure to check back!

About The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

2008-12-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that Bill Bryson's memoir The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is the January selection for the Library's Featured Book of the Month program! Place your hold today!

School Library Journal writes: "The Thunderbolt Kid was born in the 1950s when six-year-old Bryson found a mysterious, scratchy green sweater with a satiny thunderbolt across the chest. The jersey bestowed magic powers on the wearer--X-ray vision and the power to zap teachers and babysitters and deflect unwanted kisses from old people. These are the memoirs of that Kid, whose earthly parents were not really half bad—a loving mother who didn’t cook and was pathologically forgetful, but shared her love of movies with her youngest child, and a dad who was the greatest baseball writer that ever lived and took his son to dugouts and into clubhouses where he met such famous players as Stan Musial and Willie Mays. Simpler times are conveyed with exaggerated humor; the author recalls the middle of the last century in the middle of the country (Des Moines, Iowa), when cigarettes were good for you, waxy candies were considered delicious, and kids were taught to read with Dick and Jane."

From The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid:

"I was captivated by the Dick and Jane family. They were so wonderfully, fascinatingly different from my own family. I particularly recall one illustration in which all the members of the Dick and Jane family, for entertainment, stand on one leg, hold the other out straight, and try to grab a toe on the extended foot without losing balance and falling over. They are having the most delightful time doing this. I stared and stared at that picture and realized that there were no circumstances, including at gunpoint, in which you could get all the members of my family to try to do that together."

About Bill Bryson

2008-12-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Bill Bryson is how much he makes me laugh. I’ll be reading a passage in one of his books and start laughing so uncontrollably that my stomach hurts. Once this happened sitting next to my friend on a plane to New York City while reading A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. The second time was sitting on the couch next to my husband reading our January Featured Book of the Month, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. My friend’s reaction (as well as my husband’s) was that I was pretty weird. But if you haven’t read Bill Bryson before, you just don’t understand.

According to the author's website, Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. (Or as he humorously writes in his first travel book, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America: “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to"). A backpacking expedition in 1973 brought him to England where he met his wife and decided to live. He wrote for the English newspapers The Times and The Independent for many years, and supplemented his income by writing travel articles. He lived with his family in North Yorkshire before moving to Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1995 with his wife and four children before returning again to England in 2003, where they currently reside.

Although he is best known for his travel writing (A Walk in the Woods, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, etc.), he has also written engaging books about his other interests: the English language (Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words, The Mother Tongue, Made in America, Shakespeare: The World as Stage) and science (A Short History of Nearly Everything).

Be sure to listen to his hilarious 2006 NPR interview about his childhood and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, or read my very own Turning the Page blog about A Walk in the Woods.

Coming Soon - Discussion Questions

2008-12-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

I hope you enjoy The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. I'll be posting some discussion questions soon, so stay tuned!

The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County Featured Book of the Month

About Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Let's Discuss Three Cups of Tea

About Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

About Three Cups of Tea

Let’s Discuss Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie!

About Alan Bradley

About The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Discussion questions for Last Child in the Woods

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In Conclusion

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Steve Lopez Visit

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To Be Continued...

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Coming Soon - Discussion Questions