Staff Picks: Books
Staff-recommended reading from the
KPL catalog.
I just finished reading two books that center around the theme of the importance of friendship in the lives of women. I listened to The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow and read Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan. Girls is nonfiction that follows eleven childhood friends from Iowa as they mature and grow over forty years. Midwesterners will surely relate to the small-town adventures and tribulations the girls face, as well as the strong bonds created by the close-knit community. Commencement (a novel) begins when four very different girls meet their first year of college and remain friends after graduation. The books' approaches are very different but both succeed in illustrating the tight relationships women have with one another.
Book
The Girls from Ames
1592404456
In Jump at the Sun on Audiobook Kathleen McGhee-Anderson does an excellent job of conveying the vitality, power and pride of Zora Neale Hurston’s personality. By listening to the audio version I made more of a connection with Zora Neale Hurston. Through Ms. Anderson’s voice I could almost see Zora’s eagerness and determination to live her life her way. But Zora was ahead of her time. The heartbreaks and failures did not seem to dim the light in Ms. Anderson’s voice as she communicated Zora’s spunkiness regardless of her adversities. Listening to Zora Neale Hurston’s story it is hard to understand how someone with her talents, gifts and ambitions died broke and unappreciated. A. P. Porter in the book Jump at the Sun said “Being needy didn’t make her humble.”
Music
Jump at the Sun
LWO58081297A
Forty years ago this week, the world watched together as mankind landed on the surface of the moon for the first time. And for my own family, and of course millions of others, it was the voice of Walter Cronkite who led us there. As a kid, naturally, I was excited. My father had kept meticulous scrapbooks of all the space program events, and had even taken us on a family vacation to visit (then) Cape Kennedy. I remember watching my father shed tears of disbelief as Cronkite told us that the Eagle had landed. It seemed that a new world of possibilities was opening right before our eyes.
In A Reporter’s Life, Cronkite himself summed it up rather well. “That first landing on the moon was, indeed, the most extraordinary story of our time and almost as remarkable a feat for television as the space flight itself. To see Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles out there, as he took that giant step for mankind onto the moon’s surface, was a thrill beyond all the other thrills of that flight. All those thrills tumbled over each other so quickly that the goose pimples from one merged into the goose pimples from the next.” (The library also stocks an audiobook version of A Reporter’s Life (read by the author), and lots more.)
And as we look back on our first explorations into other worlds, it seems ironic that the very person who took us on that amazing journey and would have perhaps celebrated this anniversary as enthusiastically as anyone, has himself left this world for another.
Plenty has (and will be written) about Cronkite’s professionalism and the personal-ism he brought to his craft. Indeed, television journalism as we know it might have been very different were it not for his pioneering leadership. In a CBS News Saturday Early Show tribute this morning, many of his colleagues remarked that Cronkite insisted the evening news program he first pioneered was to be about accurate reporting rather than celebrity entertainment.
But for me as a kid growing up in rural America and watching the news each evening to see what the rest of the world was doing, it was Cronkite’s enthusiastic optimism that I remember and treasure most. Indeed, there was plenty to be worried (even scared) about during the sixties and seventies, but for me at least, Cronkite’s positive outlook guided our family through it (and even attempted to make sense of it) all.
One of my personal favorites was the Emmy award-winning CBS series The 21st Century (1967-70). In a weekly news magazine format, Walter brought us stories about fascinating inventions and new developments, and provided us with an optimistic glimpse of what the world might look like in what then seemed like the quite distant future. Today, that seemingly distant future is here and many of those fascinating ideas are indeed a reality.
“And that’s the way it is…”
Book
A Reporter's Life
0394578791
One of the most enjoyable series of books I have read in a long time evolve around the character of Maisie Dobbs. Set in post-WWI England, Maisie is a private investigator/psychologist. Each of the six books chronicles events involving the Great War and how its aftermath plays out in the lives of either Maisie or one of the people she is called upon to investigate.
The books are well written, and include much detail about life in England in the late 1920’s. There is good character development and enough plot to keep you riveted until the end.
One of the best ways to “read” these books is by listening to the audiobook versions. They are narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, who has the ability to project feeling and life into every one of the books characters. In addition her lovely English accent, her calm voice has the ability to transport you into Maisie’s mind and heart.
Titles in this series include: Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies, Messenger of Truth, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge.
Book
Maisie Dobbs
1569473307
Summer has arrived, and for some families that means car trips with the kids. The dreaded question “Are we there yet?” has been asked by generations of young (and not so young) travelers.
These audiobooks can help make the miles seem shorter, and they’re stories the whole family can enjoy. These selections are suitable for all ages of children, though will probably be best enjoyed by school age kids in grades 3 and up.
John Grogan has written a children’s version of his popular story about his dog, Marley. “Marley: a Dog Like No Other” is the tale of yellow Lab Marley from puppyhood to adulthood, a dog with a wonderful personality and boundless energy who tries so hard to be good. Animal lovers will enjoy this one.
If you and your children like historical novels, a good choice is “Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis. This Newbery Award winner tells the story of Elijah, born free in Canada’s Buxton Settlement, where his parents landed after escaping from slavery. Elijah journeys across the Detroit River into America on the trail of a thief who has stolen a friend’s money, and witnesses firsthand the treatment his parents fled.
Mystery, adventure, art, and puzzles within puzzles await listeners of “Chasing Vermeer” by Blue Balliett. Set in Chicago’s Hyde Park, sixth grade outsiders Petra and Calder become friends as they try to figure out who stole a missing Vermeer painting. That’s the plot in a nutshell, but this story is more than just the sum of its parts - it also encourages thinking about coincidence and possibilities, in a fun way with a good story.
Check out your library for other great listening, for all ages! We’re happy to make suggestions.
Book
Marley: a Dog Like No Other
0061255092
Several years ago, my mother and I enjoyed a memoir-writing Elderhostel program on the central Oregon coast. The natural beauty of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding area provided the perfect backdrop for searching my past to discover some of my own interesting stories. Indeed, that’s all memoirs are: extraordinary stories in the lives of seemingly ordinary people. One such account I recently read is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Now a columnist for MSNBC.com, Walls’ childhood was filled with more transience and uncertainty than most. As a result, it was one of great poverty and hardship. Throughout the book, however, I was impressed by the spirit of two parents who, despite their own difficulties—with alcohol, parenting, and just grasping reality sometimes—never gave up hope and somehow managed to instill in their children the drive to move on when things just got too unbearable. In the best way possible, Walls’ stories are some that have stayed with me for a long time after finishing the book.
If you’re interested in memoirs too, you might enjoy the Reading Together Memoir Writing program coming up on April 8 at the Powell branch.
The Glass Castle
0743247531
Book