Lincoln City Libraries in Lincoln, Nebraska http://www.lincolnlibraries.org en-us Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:51:49 Central Daylight Time Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:51:49 Central Daylight Time Copyright 2013, All rights reserved. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. QCRSS I'm a few titles in to this year's Notable Books List from the American Library Association, and just finished The Round House by Louise Erdrich. One sentence summary--An adult Ojibwe man looks back on his youth, and his response to a brutal sexual attack on his mother. One sentence evaluation--This is classic Erdrich, exc... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Its_NotableThe_Round_House_by_Louise_Erdrich.htm Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:35:00 Central Daylight Time I'm slightly sheepish in saying that I was happy about The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes because it's just 163 pages. As I work my way through this year's Notable Books list, a shorty is a relief. Barnes is a British writer, and here presents a British story. It's told by a middle-aged man, Tony Webster, who looks back on his boa... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/The_Sense_of_an_Ending_by_Julian_Barnes_another_Notable.htm Thu, 5 Jul 2012 17:32:00 Central Daylight Time Finally, I've read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I've heard so many people comment on this nonficiton story of Louis Zamperini, a runner on the US Olympic team who became a World War II hero by surviving for weeks on a life raft, and months in Japanese Prisoner of Warcamps. And it was good, one of the titles on this year's Ameri... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/What_a_NotableUnbroken_by_Laura_Hillenbrand_2.htm Thu, 5 Jul 2012 17:04:00 Central Daylight Time Last week, I finished The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, a novel from the American Library Association Notable Books List. Charles and Eli Sisters are hired guns from the Gold Rush era of the 1850s.Eli tells this story of their final job for a man called The Commodore. As the story progresses, Eli makes up his mind to leave... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/The_Sisters_Brothers_from_the_Notables_List.htm Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:23:00 Central Daylight Time I finished Swamplandia by Karen Russell a couple of weeks ago. It makes me a little nervous to blog about a book that isn't entirely fresh in my mind. Readers may recall that Swamplandia! waspart of the drama of the Pultizer Prize for fiction this year. It was oneof the three finalists for the prize, but the com... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Swamplandia_from_the_Notables_List.htm Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:29:00 Central Daylight Time A couple of weeks ago I drove by myself to and from Denver for a short library conference. Along with Diet Coke, pretzel MMs, and Twizzlers, I kept myself company with an audiobook on CD, Sebastian Junger's A Death in Belmont originally published in 2006. Every few years I crave a true-crime book, and this one about the Boston S... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/A_Death_in_Belmont_by_Sebastian_Junger.htm Mon, 14 May 2012 17:08:00 Central Daylight Time I took a break from my Notable Books reading for Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I'd heard some interviews with her earlier this year, and found her comments intriguing. And then I had to wait awhile because there were (and are!) quite a few holds on it. Cain's title tells it all--s... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Quiet_the_Power_of_Introverts_in_a_World_That_Cant_Stop_Talking.htm Tue, 8 May 2012 17:38:00 Central Daylight Time I continue in my reading of the American Library Association Notable Books List with Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman. Reitman is a journalist/writer who was inspired to write this nonfiction book after she began writing a feature article on Scientology for the Rolling Stone&qu... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Inside_Scientology_from_the_Notables_List.htm Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:53:00 Central Daylight Time The Memory Palace: A Memoir by Mira Bartok falls into the category of memoirs by women with mentally ill mothers. Others in this category include Liars' Club by Mary Karr and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I picked it up because it's on this year's Notable Books List from the American Library As... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/A_Notable_Memoir_The_Memory_Palace.htm Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:15:00 Central Daylight Time I'm continuing my annual trek through the American Library Association Notable Books List, having recently finished The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. This novel takes place on a ship traveling between Sri Lanka and England in the early 1950's. Its narrator, Michael, is eleven and traveling without supervision. He befriends two oth... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/A_Notable_Novel_The_Cats_Table_by_Michael_Ondaatje.htm Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:23:00 Central Daylight Time Just this morning I finished Francisco Goldman's Say Her Name, an autobiographical novel about the death of his young wife, the writer Aura Estrada. The book has won many accolades, and is included on this year's American Library Association Notable Books List. The basic story is that Goldman was an established writer in his early 50... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/A_Notable_Novel_Say_Her_Name_by_Francisco_Goldman.htm Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:19:00 Central Daylight Time Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard is subtitled, A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of A President. In this American Library Association Notable book, Millard tells the story of President James Garfield, who was elected in 1880 and died in 1881. Some readers may recall Millard as the author of The Ri... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/An_Especially_Good_Nonfiction_NotableDestiny_of_the_Republic.htm Sun, 4 Mar 2012 13:30:00 Central Standard Time Here's my short assessment of The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. It's a fine book with a fabulous first half. As a reader and evaluator, I'm so overwhelmed by the unfulfilled promise of that first half that I may be underestimating the second. But to back up--this is a baseball novel combined with a coming-of-age story. Its focus i... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/A_Notable_Novel_The_Art_of_Fielding.htm Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:07:00 Central Standard Time I just finished Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams, one of the nonfiction titles on this year's American Library Association Notable Books List. Adams alternates chapters of his own recent trek to Machu Picchu with chapters describing the travels of Hiram Bingham, the Yale profess... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/From_the_Notables_List_Turn_Right_at_Machu_Picchu.htm Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:21:00 Central Standard Time The 2012 American Library Association Notable Books List was announced last Sunday--and that made January 22 a Recognized Holiday at my house. I've got several notables checked out, a few more on hold, and I have finished my first--We the Animals by Justin Torres. After last year's rants about LONG books dominating the list, I can ea... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/First_Notable_of_2012We_the_Animals.htm Wed, 1 Feb 2012 17:34:00 Central Standard Time Over the weekend, I read The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America by Steven Johnson. Basically, it's a book about Joseph Priestley, the 18th century scientist/pastor/political writer who is credited with discovering oxygen. Priestley was born and lived most of his life in England, mo... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Steven_Johnsons_The_Invention_of_Air.htm Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:32:00 Central Standard Time I'm continuing my reading of best of the year titles, this time from Library Journal. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones begins with a fabulous first sentence, My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist. The novel is told by Witherspoon's two daughters, both growing up in Atlanta in the 1980s. The first sec... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Silver_Sparrow_by_Tayari_Jones.htm Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:39:00 Central Standard Time I came across The Call by Yannick Murphy in a best of the year sort of list. It's a novel about a New England veterinarian whose son is shot while hunting. It's format was a tad off-putting to me at first. It's told as if in notes regarding the calls that the veterinarians receives. For instance, from page one: Call: A... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Yannick_Murphys_The_Call.htm Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:31:00 Central Standard Time One of my favorite customer service people at the Mail Plus store on South Street called my attention to Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James a couple of months before it came out in December. The book is a P.D. James mystery in a Jane Austen setting, a kind of sequel to Pride and Prejudice. While skeptical that anyone,... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Death_Comes_to_Pemberley_by_PD_James.htm Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:44:00 Central Standard Time I came across this title on a best of the year list recently. I loved House of Sand and Fog written by Dubus years ago, and I'm always on the lookout for a memoir. Townie sounded interesting because of the relationship that Dubus III had with his father, Andre Dubus, the late short story writer. Dubus III, his... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Townie_by_Andrew_Dubus_III.htm Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:21:00 Central Standard Time The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht has received plenty of acclaim and applause already. I finished it between the holidays, and while I enjoyed reading it, I didn't ever feel book lust for it. I've been reflecting on that. The novel has three basic strands. One is of a contemporary doctor, Natalia, living in an unnamed Bal... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/The_Tigers_Wife.htm Wed, 4 Jan 2012 17:28:00 Central Standard Time Over the holiday break, I read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. How had I lived so long without reading it? I enjoyed it immensely, this story of a Chinese farmer in pre-revolutionary China. The novel opens with the wedding day of Wang Lung. His bride is a slave in a rich household. She is all that a man of his small means can aff... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/FinallyThe_Good_Earth_by_Pearl_S_Buck.htm Tue, 3 Jan 2012 17:04:00 Central Standard Time I came across Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling listed in the New York Times 100 Notable of the year for 2010. I confess--I haven't read The Good Earth. Yet. After reading this biography, I intend to. Spurling describes the evolution of Buck as a writer, spending ample time during Buck's childhood as the... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Pearl_Buck_in_China.htm Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:15:00 Central Standard Time I was looking for a book that was entertaining and fast--Bossypants by Tina Fey was perfect on both counts. And really, I just like saying (and writing) Bossypants. I haven't watched Saturday Night LIve for years, and I don't watch 30 Rock so I wasn't familiar with many of the people and events tha... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Tina_Feys_Bossypants_4.htm Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:03:00 Central Standard Time Due to unforeseen events, I ended up on my own for lunch on Tuesday, so I did what many downtown workers do. I found a book on the Bennett Martin Public Library new books display. I chose American Boy by Larry Watson because I'd so enjoyed his Montana 1948 several years ago. I started it over an Oso Burrito lunch, and was... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Its_Good_Its_Fast_American_Boy_by_Larry_Watson.htm Thu, 8 Dec 2011 17:14:00 Central Standard Time Over the Thanksgiving weekend I finished In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, who Lincoln readers may recall as the author of the 2006 One Book One Lincoln selection, The Devil in the White City. In the Garden of Beasts describes the tenure of William E. Dodd, the United States ambassador to Germany from... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/In_the_Garden_of_Beasts.htm Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:50:00 Central Standard Time I finished Lit by Mary Karr just over a week ago. I'm nervous when writing about a book more than a few days after finishing it. I'm the kind of reader who tends to forget whole portions of even the books that I enjoy the most. In my defense, I do retain strong mental files of particularly riveting scenes. This is the third of Mary K... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Mary_Karrs_Lit.htm Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:41:00 Central Standard Time I hit the Readers' Jackpot over the Veterans Day weekend--started and finished a whole book, The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, a mystery set in Norway. I enjoyed it immensely. I picked it up off of our Books to Go shelf because I'd heard its title come up in conversation about mysteries to read that might be similar to Stieg Larss... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Jo_Nesbos_The_Snowman.htm Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:18:00 Central Standard Time Sunday evening I finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize. My college roommate suggested I read it, well, actually, she sneered me into it, suggesting that a public librarian who hadn't heard of Wolf Hall needed to get out more often. I enjoyed this novel of the life of Thomas Cromwell,... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Wolf_Hall_by_Hillary_Mantel.htm Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:40:00 Central Daylight Time I can't remember who first recommended Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish to me. But to that mystery person--thanks! Right up my alley--a memoir, in this case about growing up in Iowa during the Great Depression. Kalish begins by recording the big mystery of her childhood--her father was banished from the family when she... http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Firefly/Little_Heathens_by_Mildred_Armstrong_Kalish.htm Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:01:00 Central Daylight Time