Tag Archives: one book one lincoln
Counting down to August 31st
For everyone who’s been sampling the five finalists for the 2009 One Book One Lincoln — the winning title (of those five) will be announced on August 31st, at which time you’ll find web pages here on the library’s site dedicated to that book and the related programming we’ve got planned.
In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you regarding your thoughts on the five finalists. Which have you read so far? Which did you enjoy the most? Were there any you didn’t care for? Come share your thoughts in a response to this posting below!
I Geek Books and Authors
A library promotional campaign is underway–Geek the Library.
It celebrates that streak of nerdiness-curiousity-obsession in who-knows-what that many of us harbor. Of course, your public library is the place to indulge this inner Geek.
I had a Geek spell just the other night when I was researching some authors. For a talk I’m preparing, I was searching for quotes by authors with books on the One Book One Lincoln list, and on this year’s American Library Association Notable Books list.
Lo and behold! Geraldine Brooks, the author of the One Book One Lincoln finalist, “People of the Book,” is MARRIED to Tony Horwitz, who wrote “A Voyage Long and Strange,” one of this year’s Notable Books, and one that I enjoyed quite a bit.
I can’t tell you how VERY pleased I was to learn this.
I’ve noticed that people feel like they know my husband because they’ve heard his voice on their radio, and they believe that they’ve welcomed him into their kitchens, bedrooms, and even bathrooms. I feel a little like that about authors whose books I’ve enjoyed. I have a sense that they’ve visited my home. In my why-yes-I-did-grow-up-in-a-small-Nebraska-town way, I love learning about the connections between those people. Even though I don’t know them.
So what do you geek? Consider yourself invited to indulge YOUR geek at Lincoln City Libraries!
Do I HAVE to finish it?
My Facebook status today states that I don’t feel compelled to finish books that I don’t find compelling. Many people seem to agree with me on that.
The book that inspired my status is “American Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work” by Nick Taylor. I was reading it because it’s on this year’s American Library Association Notable Books List.
VERY interesting and timely topic. The first 100 or pages set the tone for what our nation was facing at the start of the Depression, as FDR was preparing to take on the presidency. The questions raised at the time, such as the role of the federal government, the effectiveness of massive spending, and the ability to know when the economy was turning around, seemed SO applicable to 2009.
My complaint is that Taylor misses the opportunity to make this book really sing by weaving in the stories of actual people whose lives were impacted by the Works Progress Administration. I want to be upfront in saying that I usually prefer a book where I care about somebody. I’m generally interested in the history of this time period, but not interested enough to keep reading, without that connection to people. “The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan, the One Book One Lincoln featured title from 2007, weaves stories throughout the book, and I’d say this is what made it readable despite its brutal topic.
So I’m putting this one down. Often, I set books aside with the idea that I might return later, thinking that maybe when I’m in a different mood, a book will work for me. I don’t think that’s going to happen here.
I’ll move along to either the final One Book One Lincoln selection that I haven’t at least sampled, “What Is the What?” by Dave Eggers, or perhaps to another of the thick nonfiction titles on the Notables List–maybe “Defying Dixie: the Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919 to 1950” by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore.
How okay are you with putting a book down once you’ve started it? Is what you’re reading now compelling? Share!
Great OBOL nominee–The River of Doubt
I’m just returning a copy of “The River of Doubt” by Candice Millard, subtitled, “Theodore Roosevel’s Darkest Journey”. It’s one of the nominees for this year’s One Book One Lincoln (OBOL) program.
Theodore Roosevelt lived this adventure down a river of the Amazon Basin in 1913 and 1914, shortly after his defeat as a third-party candidate for president in 1912.
Interesting story! The expedition began as a fairly mild trip down previously-charted waters. It became a life-and-death struggle down a river full of rapids, without adequate equipment or provisions. Roosevelt became seriously ill with an infection in his leg that had been injured years earlier.
The rainforest of the Amazon becomes almost another character–it is so full of life that the team of adventurers can’t begin to understand. They can barely see the world of plants and animals that have adapted to the ecosystem there. Millard describes too how the people of the rainforest have also adapted, and how they let this group of explorers live, when in reality, they could have killed the whole group relatively easily.
My experience of this book was that I enjoyed it as I read it, but I didn’t find it more compelling than gardening or a delicious supper. I did enjoy reading how the people on the expedition interacted, and how they dug into their reserves of strength and resilience.
This book would likely appeal to people who enjoy reading about history, or adventure, or South America, or the lives of the presidents.
Have you read it? What do you think?
Love that nonfiction!
I’ve heard a few comments from readers who are SO EXCITED that our list of One Book One Lincoln nominees includes nonfiction titles, “The Color of Water” by James McBride, and “River of Doubt” by Candice Millard.
My annual reading of the Notable Books list over the years has shifted my preference toward nonfiction. Every year the nonfiction section of that list includes titles that are true pleasures to read, with the added bonus of imparting information. I’ve re-structured my former reading groove of choosing fiction almost exclusively. I appreciate the way that nonfiction sometimes reads differently. I so admire writers who take technical information and make it available and meaningful to non-experts.
In the arena of youth reading, some experts have pointed out that many boys prefer nonfiction, and yet many classroom book collections emphasize fiction for recreational reading. Michael Sullivan refers to this issue in “Connecting Boys with Books 2.” We need to recognize the diversity of reading tastes in young people as well as adults. School Library Journal devotes a monthly blog and column (discontinued in the years since this blog post) to highlighting nonfiction reading for children.
What’s your preference? Do you lean strongly one direction or the other? What have you learned from going outside of your usual reading groove? And what inspired you to do so?
