One Book One Garden-- The Sequel

Back in March, I led the first ever One Book One Garden book discussion at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We read The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. Click here for all of the details on that book and our discussion.

Well, I will be back to reprise my role as the moderator of this awesome series with a discussion of Lab Girl by Hope Jahren in November.

While you have to be able to physically get to the Chicago Botanic Garden in order to participate, this  event is open to anyone and it is free.  

If you are not a regular visitor to the garden but you love discussing books, now is your chance to visit for free.

For those of you who live far away, don’t worry, I will post my handouts and the discussion report soon after the event. 

But also, for every reader of my blog, no matter where you may reside, I hope you look at this series as an inspiration to help you to rethink your own book discussions. I was  energized by leading a discussion of people who don’t normally participate in book discussions. They brought a different energy and focus that made me rethink the purpose of book discussions-- in a good way.

You can read the notes of that discussion to see more details.

Working with the dedicated and enthusiastic staff for the Lenhardt Library also has made me more aware of the wide range of partnership opportunities that are out there which we do not take proper advantage of. For example, does your town have a small, niche museum or even a historical society? What about a senior center? Most have at least one of these things. But are you partnering with them to have book discussions? Have you reached out to work with them on programming? Why not? You have two unique groups of users who may not use the other's services, but both of you can benefit from bringing these groups together for a shared event. A book discussion is an easy bridge. It’s something everyone can relate to. 

So join us if you can, but if not, use this post to rethink how and where you offer book discussions. Reach out to other groups who might love to have this opportunity to have a book discussion with their patrons but don’t even know where to begin to make it happen. Be that bridge and they will remember you helped them get started. No one says you have to lead them forever, just let them know you are there to help and see what happens.

Now here are the details about the upcoming discussion from the Chicago Botanic Garden’s website:

Join us for a discussion of Fulbright Award-winning geobiologist Hope Jahren's book, Lab Girl.

One Book One Garden

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Lenhardt Library
Free; preregistration required

Register Now

Join us for the second installment of our new program, One Book One Garden—a book discussion at the Lenhardt Library.

Our featured book is Fulbright Award-winning geobiologist Hope Jahren's Lab Girl.

In her widely-acclaimed debut memoir, published in 2016, Jahren traces her life through stories from her childhood days growing up in rural Minnesota to her years of college, graduate school, and building three laboratories for studying trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Growing up, Jahren found a sense of sanctuary and purpose in her father’s lab at the local community college where he taught physics and earth science. Her passion is plants and she intersperses her own stories with a fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see the natural world.

Author Cheryl Strayed notes, “Lab Girl made me look at trees differently. It compelled me to ponder the astonishing grace and gumption of a seed. Perhaps most important, it introduced me to an inspiring woman—a scientist so passionate about her work I felt myself vividly with her on every page. This is a smart, enthralling, and winning debut.”

Selections from the Lenhardt Library’s Rare Book Collection will be available for viewing during the program.

Our discussion will be led by reader’s advisor, Becky Spratford, who trains library staff all over the world to match books with readers and lead book discussions. Please register early as space is limited.

Copies of Lab Girl are available for purchase in the Garden Shop. Members may also check out a copy of Lab Girl from Lenhardt Library.

Book Discussion Report: Lab Girl at the Chicago Botanic Garden

As I wrote about in this post, I was invited back to the Chicago Botanic Garden to lead their second One Book One Garden. We met on the evening of November 14th and discussed Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Click through to read about their One Book One Garden program in general. This post is my report on our discussion. Feel free to use these notes to help you lead your book club.

On a side note, we had 25 people come out on a Tuesday night! All participated in the discussion. We had men and women who from the young (20s) up to seniors. You do not see this diversity in your average public library book discussion.

I think I know why because it was at the Garden NOT the Library. The Chicago Botanic Garden attracts everyone, not just library people. Also, because they are normally more of a research library, this program is “different” for them. It draws interest for being unique and standing out among their other programs. Also the library staff involves the public programs staff to help advertise and run the program so they get help with that part.

Takeaways for those of us in the public library to learn from this with wonderful opportunities to consider:

• We often host book discussions outside of the library-- bars and restaurants being the most popular. We know those draw a different crowd than in the building, but it is still library leaning people. 
• Is there an organization in or near your community who would be willing to have a book discussion with you? Local history museum, Art League, or something of the like. A place where people are already members and participate in programming? Why can’t we have them offer up a book discussion on a title that would appeal to their members and we help by offering a staff member to facilitate. It could help both organizations. The library will advertise themselves to a group who might not be core users and the other organization can offer a program that is totally different from what they usually offer.
• Don’t forget that there are special libraries embedded within organizations and businesses in your area. Contact the Special Library Association to get a list. If they have a special library, they have at least 1 staff member. Work with that person to provide book discussions at their location, to their patrons. Even at a law library, you could have a book discussion once in a while. 

Okay, enough about that. As you can see, I loved being a part of the One Book One Garden program this year, and I am so proud of them for already having the next one scheduled for March. I have also spoken to their Director about sharing their success at a library conference. But let’s get on with the actual report.

Here is the publisher’s summary courtesy of LitLovers:

Lab Girl  Hope Jahren, 2016Knopf Doubleday304 pp.ISBN-13: 9781101873724

SummaryAn illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime friendship; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see the natural world. Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more. 

Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. 

It is told through Jahren’s remarkable stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work. 

Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home. 

Jahren’s probing look at plants, her astonishing tenacity of spirit, and her acute insights on nature enliven every page of this extraordinary book. Lab Girl opens your eyes to the beautiful, sophisticated mechanisms within every leaf, blade of grass, and flower petal.
Here is an eloquent demonstration of what can happen when you find the stamina, passion, and sense of sacrifice needed to make a life out of what you truly love, as you discover along the way the person you were meant to be. (From the publisher.)

I was very nervous to discuss this book about a botanist with hard core plant people. They were also book people, so I reminded myself of that, but I also was very honest at the start as to how much of a botany-novice I was. I think they appreciated me acknowledging it, and I was only corrected once during the evening for saying, “ Who knew dirt was so interesting and complex.” One participant responded curtly, “It's called soil.” I said, “Thank you for correcting me. You are right.”

Since I began by telling them I was not as much of a plant person as them, I then led into my first question [one I created for this talk]

Question: Why are plants so important in your life? And did reading Jahren’s memoir of her life compliment or contradict your own connection with plants.

• Someone chimed in right away to say, you know, I read this book with my neighborhood book club and everyone hated the book. They said they didn’t “get” it. I was surprised because as a plant person, it was amazing to me. I found it fascinating because, although I like plants, she approached them from a different place than me.
• That led me to quickly poll the group on if they all did actually like Lab Girl. They did 100%. I am not surprised. As a side note, for these special library type book clubs you are going to get a lot more consensus on a book than you might in a library book club. You want to make sure to pick a book people will like because just having a book discussion is outside the wheelhouse of the place who is hosting it.
• These opening comments led to a barrage of comments about the book to start things off
• I liked how her inclusion of science was approachable, not over the top but enough so I learned something new.
• I am so glad I read this book than for no other reason than it explained to me [scientifically] why I don’t like a certain tree.
• I liked how she was honest about how hard it is to be a scientist in the real world when you aren’t doing popular research.
• It was an interesting view into the world of science. Some of it I knew but the fact that you literally have to go where the money is, study what they give you money for, and look into what you want only if you have time.
• I didn’t know how resourceful they had to be-- jerry-rigging their own instruments to do specific tasks. 
• I thought a new professor walked into a lab that while not fully stocked was more than a dirty basement with nothing.

Question: Let’s talk about the way Jahren tells her life story in this book.

• It was approachable and humorous while still be serious and scientific. 
• I loved how she had a long chapter about her life and then a “Let’s Botanize” short chapter. 
• Those botany chapters were so fascinating, like the one about how the trees “talk;” communicate over long distances.
• I learned so much about plants
• I am in horticulture education and I loved how she made plants relatable. She taught key things without dumbing it down or making readers feel stupid. 
• I was excited to learn from her and hear about her life.
• I would love to be able to sit in on one of her lectures, She must be an amazing teacher.
• I loved how she related her studies to life lessons. She learned about living from studying plants.
• She writes very well. She told this in a fiction story format.
• She humanized trees and plants. She took her passion inspiration as a guide and is encouraging others to look at plants and their lives the same way.

Question: Let’s talk about Jahren family and personal life

• From the opening scenes where she writes about going to the lab with her father and then to bring her dream to have her own lab one day to fruition was inspiring. She worked so hard and without any emotional or financial support from her family to get there.
• Her words-- she “played" in her father’s lab, but she “toiled” in her mother’s garden.
• She talks about the cold of outside-- walking home with dad being replaced by a different kind of cold when she got home to her mother.
• This led a few of us to bring up the fact that Jahren dedicated this book to her mother-- “Everything I write is for my mother.” Why? They did not have much of a relationship and after the opening chapters she never really comes up again.
• Jahren’s love of reading and writing came from her English major mother.
• It shows an acceptance of her mother for who she was by dedicating the book to her.
• Hope was worried about how to be a mother herself since she had not role model. Instead she decides to be a “father” to her son.
• She plays with idea of gender a lot in the book. Being a female scientists in an all male world and being more attached to her father were examples.
• Her parents and bothers were NO WHERE in the story.
• The family stuff is the groundwork of who she became-- a self made woman who felt isolated at times, but who made her own family.
• This is more than just a memoir of her personal life, but that info is there.

Question: Speaking of making her own family....Bill. Who wants to talk about her lab partner?

• Everyone should have a Bill in their lives!
• Not everyone was as enamored with Bill.
• Someone pointed out that this is still a book and Jahren is the author. It may be her life, but Bill is a character in her drama. He seems a bit exaggerated. A “Falstaff” like character.
• He is pragmatic and she is the idea person.
• What she doesn’t say about Bill is as important as what she does say. She releases info about him and herself very sparingly. You have to “dig” for details. [Ha]. Think about how late in the book we find out that the run down brownstone Bill lived in in Baltimore he actually slowly fixed up and flipped, making a fortune on it. Enough to buy a gorgeous house on a mountain in Hawaii overlooking the ocean.
• Someone asked if they thought Bill was truly in love with her romantically and just never told her. Her argument was, why did he follow her around the world job after job, without a guaranteed salary if he didn’t.
• More people than not thought no, they loved each other like brother and sister. They were each other’s family [even though Bill had a close family]. Both were odd and broken, but they found each other.
• Bill did not have the Phd and could never have had as exciting, interesting, or as high up of a job in any lab but hers. He sorta had to follow her. But thankfully, he believed in her.
• Also, who knew more about “dirt,” I mean soil than Bill.
• I was amazed that Bill allowed her to show so much about his life. That is trust. 

Question: From the audience-- Is everything in here true?

• Becky began by saying that is the million dollar question when we talk about memoirs. Memoir by definition is different from a biography in that is the author telling a story about a part of their life. It never claims to be a birth to present recounting of every detail. It is a story first and foremost. So I asked the group-- what do you think is true? And does it matter?
• The science of course is true and her discussions of the experiments she ran and the jobs she had. 
• But there is a poetry and rhythm to the book-- the way she tells it-- that life does not so neatly lay out.
• So many lines that are pure beauty.  People shared a few. Also the paragraph she wrote about grief in response to Bill’s father dying was beautiful.
• The way she described trees! It was different than anything like it I have read before, and I read a lot about trees. So interesting and exciting.
• She compares a tree to writing a budget. It’s a perfect metaphor.
• I am an environmental science teacher and I bought this book last year to give to my TAs to inspire them to become scientists. Someone asked her if they were female. She said yes. That person said I think this is a book for women.
• A man chimed in, no. It is for anyone- especially anyone who has struggled.

Question: This led us to another line of questioning-- What is this book about? Besides it’s genre as memoir.

• Again, it is a book for anyone who struggles.
• You can focus on different things and the book is “about” something completely different
• Life of a scientist
• Female in a male profession
• She is very blunt and direct about the misogyny in science. There are so many examples here.
• We talked about women in science and the statistics about how they are mistreated, not cited as much, treated poorly, and hard to retain. A few of the women in the room were women in science and had been to conferences on the topic. This discussion was very interesting. I was glad we had these women in the room and they were willing to share their knowledge and personal experiences.
• Living with mental illness-- bipolar
• Her “family”
• It would be interesting to reread the book a few times and concentrate on how she tells only one of the story threads. Go back and repeat with a different thread. That would be cool.
• Writing this book was her therapy
• She is a special person. This book can’t be about 1 thing because she is not defined by one thing.

We talked about her bipolar disorder for a bit

• We see bits of her mania at first and while we are uncomfortable about is as readers, it seems like she is just a workaholic.
• But she slowly unveils more and more details and we see her hit bottom.
• But we also see her seek medical help, get a diagnosis and get a better handle on her condition
• We have to watch her get worse, but we also get to see her improve.
• It is amazing how much she did while very ill. She did world renowned scientific research and managed a lab-- budgets, meetings, etc... all while ill.
• We also see how stressful being a scientist is. Just how hard it is to get funding was stressful and then knowing you have people who rely on you for a salary too? Yikes
• I think it is interesting that she found a career that her mental illness didn’t hold her back. Sometimes it helped her to go on her manic binges and work for hours straight. Sometimes research needs that.
• Nature can also calm anxiety.
• When you learn about trees and what they can and have survived just to live-- she talks about this point a lot-- it gives you hope about your trials.

Question: Any final thoughts?

• It was Einstein who said, Without science there is no wonder and without wonder there is no science. I am grateful she can continue to study science for the wonder and not just for the money.
• We are lucky she has an inner thirst for knowledge and studies the things that we need to know but might not have practical applications-- like all of her paleo-botany.
• Nature will always accept you and make you feel better.

Readalikes: During the discussion we had a heated exchange about whether or not H is for Hawk by  Helen Macdonald is a readalike for this book. Many resources and marketing materials for Lab Girl list it as one. There were people who have read both and some liked both and some only liked Lab Girl. We talked a bit about why they were similar and how they were different. In the end, a few people who hadn’t read H is for Hawk were excited to read it.

Other readalikes came up throughout:

• Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman- Lab Girl is the best book I have read to portray what it is actually life to live with mental illness since reading this one.
• David Sedaris’ memoirs go back and forth between serious and humours like Jahren
• It reminded me of Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Finally here is the text that I gave the Botanic Garden Library staff to use for readalike handouts if they wanted. Please note, these are only titles held by their library [summaries all link to Goodreads]:

If you liked Lab Girl, here are a few more books in our collection you may also enjoy...

All things reconsidered : my birding adventures / Roger Tory Peterson ; edited by Bill Thompson III. [QL677.5.P384 2006]

Summary from Goodreads:

The world's most famous bird watcher recounts his travels in pursuit of birds. A decade after the death of Roger Tory Peterson, his unique perspective on birding comes to life in these highly personal narratives. Here he relates his adventures during a lifetime of traveling the world to observe and record nature. Peterson's sense of adventure and curiousity could not be extinguished.

The backyard parables : lessons on gardening, and life / Margaret Roach. [SB454.3.P45R63 2013]

Summary from Goodreads:

After ruminating on the bigger picture in her memoir And I Shall Have Some Peace There, Margaret Roach has returned to the garden, insisting as ever that we must garden with both our head and heart, or as she expresses it, with "horticultural how-to and woo-woo." In THE BACKYARD PARABLES, Roach uses her fundamental understanding of the natural world, philosophy, and life to explore the ways that gardening saved and instructed her, and meditates on the science and spirituality of nature, reminding her readers and herself to keep on digging.

The hidden life of trees : what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world / Peter Wohlleben ; foreword by Tim Flannery. [QK475.W64 2016]

Summary from Goodreads:

In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.

...Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him.

Seeing trees : discover the extraordinary secrets of everyday trees / by Nancy Ross Hugo ; photography by Robert J. Llewellyn. [QK477.2.I4H84 2011] Summary from Goodreads: Have you ever looked at a tree? That may sound like a silly question, but there is so much more to notice about a tree than first meets the eye. Seeing Trees celebrates seldom seen but easily observable tree traits and invites you to watch trees with the same care and sensitivity that birdwatchers watch birds. Many people, for example, are surprised to learn that oaks and maples have flowers, much less flowers that are astonishingly beautiful when viewed up close.

...Stop by for even more ideas on what to read next.

Virtual Book Discussion Books and Resources: The Invention of Nature

I have been asked by a few libraries to help them find good titles to use for their Zoom book discussion meetings. Not only are regular book discussion attendees eager to get back to their book clubs, but many new people are interested in joining. One library worker told me they had double the number of participants sign up in the first day when they announced the virtual discussion!

The obvious key right now is to pick books that are easy to procure digitally [text or audio] through our streaming services and find ways to add them for multiple views at one time through OverDrive or Hoopla. Looking for older, award winning, extremely popular titles [again from a few years ago] is a great bet.

But one other important consideration that many are forgetting is to also find titles that can be discussed without someone having finished it.

[insert awkward silence]

Ahem....Yes, I did just say to pick books that can still be discussed by patrons who haven't read them.

Why? Well, in our current situation not only will we have newbies signup-- patrons who meant to finish the book but bit off more than they can chew-- but we will also have people for whom the idea of a virtual, live discussion with new people is just what they need in their quarantine life. They may not even try to get a copy of the book.

But guess what, if you choose the right book, that is okay.

Today I have a suggestion that I have used with success in a nontraditional book discussion setting AND lead a discussion where some people did not read the book and yet, still contributed positively to the discussion because they had knowledge on the topic.

The book I am talking about is the nonfiction title, The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf. You can click here to read a series of posts I did about this book and the discussion I led of it at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There is even a post with the questions I created for this discussion and a long recap post of what happened during the discussion.

I discussed this book with a non-traditional book discussion audience. These were regulars at the Chicago Botanic Garden and volunteers for their library. These were fans of Humboldt and/or nature, no regular book club attendees. Most read the book, all had opinions about nature. We had plenty to discuss both from the book and through topics which the book touched on,

[FYI, I also did Lab Girl by Hope Jehren with this group. Click here for those posts and details.]

Feel free to use this book, my questions, and even my summary of our discussion as a guide. Or pick your own title. At the very least, consider that the book club participants right now are not all going to be those who are even familiar with how a book discussion works these days. It will be different, and not just because you are on Zoom.

In general, choose older titles, both so you can get multiple e-copies and because some people might have read the book previously. In fact, if you have a potential participant who doesn't want to re-read, provide links to in-depth reviews, interviews with the authors, Goodreads entry, and more; places people can go to "jog" their memories.

Also, nonfiction and/or books based on real event will also work well in an environment where not everyone reads the book because participants can discuss the situation, they can look up details, or they might have a connection to the source material outside of the book you are reading [that is what happened at my Botanic Garden discussion of Wulf's book; we had a published Humboldt scholar show up who didn't even try to read this book].

If you need more help running a Zoom book discussion or you need crash course training for new book club leaders, contact me. In the meantime, you should also check out the ARRT Book Club Study [which I helped to reboot a few years ago] or my "book discussion books" tag where I have archived hundreds of summaries of book discussions I have moderated over the years.

BPL Displays: June 2008

The summer reading program is here at is is Metamorphosis @ Your Library. At the Berwyn Public Library we have 2 displays going all summer. One will not change and it is a coming-of-age theme with two annotated lists. My server was not accepting the word documents so I will post the text here.

List 1:
Aciman, André. Call Me By Your Name
Beautiful Italian countryside is the setting for Aciman’s psychological study of a first crush and young gay love. Seventeen year old Elio is used to his parent’s summer guests, but this year’s graduate student Oliver is a true charmer. Elio’s intense feelings and the boys’ eventual romance is detailed in Aciman’s lush prose.

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home
Bechdel, author of the popular Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip, presents her autobiography in a graphic format. The story mostly revolves around her relationship with her closeted, philandering father and how she reconciles his homosexuality with her own coming out issues.

Díaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Wao family saga has been influenced by the fuku curse as well as by the history of the Dominican Republic’s brutal dictator, Trujillo. The curse is blamed for much of the tragedy that befalls the family, but Oscar, an overweight “ghetto-nerd” is convinced he can still find true love and happiness. Told in a distinctive voice, this impressive novel won this year’s Pulitzer Prize.

Hedges, Peter. An Ocean in Iowa
Seven year old Scotty Ocean is devastated when his mother abandons the family. He is sure it is his fault and his only remedy is to stay seven forever. Hedges’ follow-up to What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? is perfectly realized through the eyes of Scotty, reminding the reader of how the world is perceived at seven years old.

Iweala, Uzodinma. Beasts of No Nation
Civil war breaks out in an unnamed West African country. After a young boy’s family is killed, he is taken by a guerilla leader as part of his army of children. As a soldier, the boy commits unspeakable acts in order to save his own life. Told in the boy’s broken West African English, this slim novel is intense and affecting.

Langer, Adam. Crossing California
The California of the title is California Avenue in Rogers Park; it is also the dividing line between East and West, poor and rich, Jewish and not. With this setting and the backdrop of the Iran Hostage Crisis, Langer tells the funny, sweet and pop-culture laden coming-of-age story of Jill and Michelle Wasserstrom.

Lowenthal, Michael. Charity Girl
Frieda Mintz is a naïve young woman working in a department store during World War I. During an impulsive evening with a soldier, she contracts an STD and is sent to live in a detention center for so-called “charity girls.” There she is subjected to ridicule, poor conditions and invasive medical exams; learning the hard way that life isn’t always simple.

Mosley, Walter. Fortunate Son
African-American Thomas and white Eric are raised as brothers for the first several years of their lives but after Thomas’ mother dies and he goes to live with his alcoholic father, they end up following very different paths. A touching parable about race, culture, privilege and unconditional love.

Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep
Escaping her middle class, small town Indiana upbringing, Lee Fiora heads to an elite private high school on the East Coast. She’s not the prom queen, she’s not the loser, she’s not the jock, she’s plain and a perfect, insecure adolescent observer and ultimate partaker of the politics of private school.

List 2:
Brown, Rita Mae. The Rubyfruit Jungle
The book tells the story of Molly Bolt, a lower-class girl growing up in rural Pennsylvania, learning about sex and dealing with her own homosexuality, leaving home and starting a life of her own, college, city life, dating, etc. When a college romance erupts into scandal, she decides to follow her dream of being a film director and makes her way to New York--where she finds that her gender, even more than her sexuality, has stacked the deck against her.

Fischer, Jackie. An Egg on Three Sticks
Abby Goodman lives in a comfortable suburban San Jose, California, home in the early 1970s with her staid, predictable father, her precociously bright younger sister and her mother, Shirley. It is Shirley's descent into suicidal mental illness that sets Abby's internal compass spinning out of control. The pain of adolescent years is compounded by the challenge of a family torn apart by the ravages of mental illness.

Johnson, Diane. Le Divorce
When California girl Isabel Walker comes to visit her stepsister Roxy in Paris, she discovers that Roxy’s husband has left her for another woman. Roxy is distraught, alone, pregnant and left to face her in-laws at Sunday dinner. It is up to Isabel to help Roxy pick up the pieces and decide if this is the time for Le Divorce.

Lamb, Bette Golden. Bone Dry
Cancer patient Carl Adams has been blasted and wasted with chemotherapy until he is barely alive. Tomorrow, he will be given his last chance for survival and infused with his own bone marrow, frozen and stored in the lab of one of California’s most prestigious hospitals. Then he receives the note: “We have your marrow…pay or die.”

Letts, Billie. Where the Heart Is
Novalee Nation is 17, pregnant and on the road with her boyfriend who leaves her stranded when she goes in an Okalahoma Wal-Mart to buy a pair of house slippers for her swollen feet. She doesn't dissolve, but adapts well to her unfortunate situation and camps out in the local Walmart, where she winds up having her baby. The book explores her growing relationships with various inhabitants of the town, as we watch her and her baby grow and mature.

Margolis, Sue. Gucci Gucci Coo
Ruby Silverman is thirty two and still single, running Les Sprogs, an exclusive baby boutique, when her mom (at the age of 50) announces her pregnancy. Though Ruby enjoys her line of work, she can't help but to feel a little pressure to find the right man and maybe start a family of her own. Then she meets Dr. Sam Epstein, an American doctor working in London. All goes along beautifully until Ruby uncovers some possible shady goings on at the maternity hospital that may involve Sam.

Mitchard, Jacquelyn. A Theory of Relativity
Georgia and Ray die in a tragic car accident, leaving behind their one-year-old daughter Keefer. Georgia's adopted brother Gordon McKenna wants to adopt Keefer, believing it would fulfill his sister's dying wishes. Unfortunately, his wealthy in-laws also wish to adopt Keefer. The issue of what constitutes a "blood relative" arises when Gordon's adoption request is initially dismissed because he is an adopted relative rather than a blood relative.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old prep school adolescent, relates his lonely, life-changing twenty-four hour stay in New York City as he experiences the phoniness of the adult world while attempting to deal with the death of his younger brother. Reluctance to leave the wonderful, innocent, carefree world of youth is understandable and almost universal – the quintessential coming of age story.

The other display case has a more whimsical feel. For now it is books with insects, but coming in July it will change again. Here is the text...

The insects in these stories may be
found in the title or they may be
found in the plot.

Anderson-Dargatz, Gail. A Recipe for Bees
Augusta Olsen has been given the gift of clairvoyance from her mother. Unfortunately it has not kept her out of a loveless marriage or a lackluster life. It isn’t until she starts using her mother’s other gift, the craft of beekeeping, that she is able to transform her life.

Blunt, Giles. Black Fly Season
It’s spring in Canada’s remote Algonquin Bay and that means the arrival of swarms of black flies. When a young woman walks into a bar covered in fly bites not knowing who or where she is, the locals are as confused as she is. It is up to two local detectives to solve the mystery of who she is.

Estrin, Marc. Insect Dreams: the half-life of Gregor Samsa
Gregor Samsa, the main character from Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, has been sold to a Viennese circus after turning into a cockroach. After the circus loses interest he heads to America, becoming a half man, half insect superhero, revisiting major events of the 20th century such as Prohibition, the feminist movement and the Scopes trial.

Herbert, Frank. Hellstrom’s Hive
In Herbert’s future police state America, Dr. Hellstrom has been working in his underground laboratory creating something so horrifying that not even the Agency could have imagined it. He is breeding a human hive where individual will is suppressed and all work is done for the good of the collective.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis
Waking to find himself turned into a giant beetle-like insect, Gregor Samsa becomes a disgrace to his family and an outsider in his own home. Is this the most famous story of metamorphosis? Perhaps, but it is definitely an absurdly comic parable about alienation.

Kingsolver, Barbara. Prodigal Summer
In a detailed Appalachian setting, Kingsolver presents three intertwined stories during the course of a humid summer. Wildlife biologist Deanna Wolfe, “bug scientist” Lusa Landowski, and feuding neighbors Garnett Walker and Nannie Rawley are revealed through their relationships with nature and the land they share.

Pearl, Matthew. The Dante Club
Members of the Dante Club, including Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are busy translating Dante’s The Inferno. Halting their work is a series of grisly murders based on those found in the pages of The Inferno. Knowing that their knowledge of the author is not common, the Dante Club decides to conduct their own investigation.

Saul, John. The Homing
A crazed entomologist turned serial killer has chosen insects as his method of murder. Fifteen year old Julie Spellman has been infected with a buzzing concoction of mutant mind controlling insects that also gives her the ability to infect others. A fast paced thriller not for the weak of stomach.

Swainston, Steph. The Year of Our War
Three humanoid species live peacefully together until they are threatened by the Insects. It is up to Jant Comet, who is the only one among the humanoids that can fly and has access to an alternate universe, to save his world from an imminent civil war.

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Long List with Becky’s Comments

The list came out today. I have attached it below but here is the official link.

I have a few things to say about this award in general, but first, please don’t forget my post about how to use award lists as a RA Tool.

That leads me to the first thing about why this list is important-- since it is picked by library people, they make even the announcement press release more useful to us than the average award list. For example the titles listed below are all linked to the Booklist review, so you can immediately see a library focused review of the book written for its best reader. That is important to mention too.  Just because a book is on an awards list doesn’t mean it is the right pick for every patron who walks through your door. But a quick click on the titles here on the list will lead you to a review that can help you and the patron decide which, if any, of these books are right for them.

Another way this list is more helpful than the non-library people ones is that right in the announcement are the links to the past years’ long lists. Backlist options right in front of you. No searching necessary. Use those lists at the bottom of this page... RIGHT NOW. Only library people are smart enough to include that in the press release.

This award is also important because it is basically the adult version of the Newbery Award. Over the years that has become THE MOST IMPORTANT award for childrens’ literature precisely because librarians pick it. People see librarians as book experts in this youth category now, hands down, and slowly but surely, we can have people see us this way for adult literature with the Carnegie Medal. Last year was a huge step forward because the Carnegie Medal picked The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen months before it also won the Pulitzer Prize. We adult library people know what we are talking about when it comes to book too, and the rest of the world is starting to notice.

In fact, let me take a moment here to make a general comment about awards lists for adult books-  all of them would be improved if librarians were required to be a part of the jury process.  Yes it is great for authors and critics to be involved, but only authors and critics is not enough.  We library workers understand the books, and more importantly, the readers, better. We need to be more involved. This award is a start, but only a start. We need to keep fighting to have our expertise taken more seriously.

Finally, the Carnegie Medals Longlist has always been diverse even before there was a cry to make sure diverse voices are considered. This year is no exception.

Enjoy. Once the list gets whittled down further, Booklist will prepare readalikes too. [Oh, I had forgotten that as a reason why a librarian chosen list is better.]

Click here for all the posts I have written on this award over the years.

Awards Longlist

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence: Longlist 2017

Six finalists, three fiction and three nonfiction will be announced on October 26, 2016.  The winners are announced at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony, Sunday, January 22, 2017, 5-7:00 p.m. EST, at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta.

Fiction:

Alameddine, Rabih. The Angel of History. (Atlantic Monthly)

Beverly, Bill. Dodgers. (Crown)

Butler, Robert Olen. Perfume River. (Atlantic Monthly)

Chabon, Michael. Moonglow. (Harper)

Eggers, Dave. Heroes of the Frontier. (Knopf)

Enrigue, Álvaro. Sudden Death. (Riverhead)

Erdrich, Louise. LaRose. (Harper)

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing. (Knopf)

Haslett, Adam. Imagine Me Gone. (Little, Brown)

Ivey, Eowyn. To the Bright Edge of the World. (Little, Brown)

Lee, Krys. How I Became a North Korean. (Viking)

Mbue, Imbolo. Behold the Dreamers. (Random House)

Morgan, C. E. The Sport of Kings. (Farrar)

Murphy, Tim. Christodora. (Grove)

Patchett, Ann. Commonwealth. (Harper)

Prose, Francine. Mister Monkey. (Harper)

Smith, Dominic. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. (Farrar)

Smith, Zadie. Swing Time. (Penguin)

Strout, Elizabeth. My Name Is Lucy Barton. (Random House)

Terrell, Whitney. The Good Lieutenant. (Farrar)

Thien, Madeleine. Do Not Say We Have Nothing. (Norton)

Watson, Larry. As Good as Gone. (Algonquin)

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. (Doubleday)

Woodson, Jacqueline. Another Brooklyn. (Harper)
 

Nonfiction:

Bell-Scott, Patricia. The Firebrand and the First Lady: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice. (Knopf)

Desmond, Matthew. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. (Crown)

Dum, Christopher P. Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel. (Columbia University Press)

France, David. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS. (Knopf)

Isenberg, Nancy. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. (Viking)

Jahren, Hope. Lab Girl. (Knopf)

Kanigel, Robert. Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs. (Knopf)

King, Ross. Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies. (Bloomsbury)

Kurlansky, Mark. Paper: Paging through History. (Norton)

Macy, Beth. Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest—A True Story of the Jim Crow South. (Little, Brown)

McBride, James. Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul. (Spiegel & Grau)

McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis. (New Press)

Phillips, Patrick. Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America. (Norton)

Rawlence, Ben. City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp. (Picador)

Roach, Mary. Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War. (Norton)

Sax, David. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter.(Perseus/Public Affairs)

Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures:The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.(Morrow)

Sobel, Dava. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. (Viking)

Staiti, Paul. Of Arms and Artists: The American Revolution through Painters’ Eyes. (Bloomsbury)

Wideman, John Edgar. Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File. (Scribner)

Williams, Terry Tempest. The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. (Farrar)

Voight, Emily. The Dragon behind the Glass. A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish. (Viking)

Younge, Gary. Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives. (Nation Books)

 

The previous up-to 50 titles considered for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction:

2016 Longlist

2015 Longlist

2014 Longlist

2013 Longlist

2012 Longlist

Library Reads: June 2016

Here is your monthly reminder that the Library Reads list is out.  These are the librarian picks for June 2016.

Don't forget, from a helping leisure readers perspective, the past Library Reads lists are a lifeline. Every list combined offers hundreds of pre-approved titles for every type of reader, complete with their own soundbite booktalk, and the kicker, the further you go back, the more chance these great reads are on your shelves...RIGHT NOW!

Click here to access all of the lists in reverse chronological order here on RA for All.

And finally, shout out to Darren from Sno-Isle who wrote the annotation for Grunt. I had a very nice time meeting him at BEA yesterday. 

June 2016 LibraryReads List

Vinegar Girl:
A Novel

by Anne Tyler

Published:6/21/2016 by Hogarth
ISBN: 9780804141260

“The newest entry in the Hogarth Shakespeare series brings The Taming of the Shrew into the modern world. Kate is stuck in a life taking care of her absent minded professor father and her sister, Bunny. When her father suggests a marriage of convenience in order to secure a green card for his lab assistant Pyotr, Kate is shocked. This is a sweet and humorous story about two people, who don’t quite fit in, finding each other. Tyler’s wonderful writing updates and improves on the original.”

Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, MA

The Invisible Library

by Genevieve Cogman

Published: 6/14/2016 by Roc
ISBN: 9781101988640

“Directed by powerful librarians, agents roam alternate realities searching out special volumes for their mysterious library’s collections. Irene is a spy for the library but something is a little off about her current mission; there’s something strange about her new assistant that she can’t quite put her finger on and worse, the requested volume has already been stolen. Cogman’s engaging characters and a most intriguing imagined world are sure to delight readers, especially bibliophiles.”

Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY

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Under the Harrow:
A Novel

by Flynn Berry

Published: 6/14/2016 by Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780143108573

“Nora leaves London to visit her sister, Rachel, in the countryside often. But this trip is different – a silent house, a dead dog hanging from the railing and so much blood. Nora stays, trying to help the police solve the case. She thinks it might have something to do with the unsolved attack on Rachel when she was just a teen but it could be someone new. This story is thrilling and quietly gripping. We become as obsessed as Nora in finding her sister’s killer and what if he strikes again?”

Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX

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Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

by Mary Roach

Published: 6/7/2016 by W.W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393245448

“With courageous curiosity, journalistic persistence, and a wry empathetic sense of humor, Roach once again delves into a fascinating topic few of us would openly explore. She writes about the issues confronting the military in its attempt to protect and enable combat troops. Roach brings to our attention the amazing efforts of science to tackle all the challenges of modern warfare. Grunt is another triumph of sometimes uncomfortable but fascinating

revelation.”

Darren Nelson, Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, WA

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Homegoing: A Novel

by Yaa Gyasi

Published: 6/7/2016 by Knopf
ISBN: 9781101947135

“An engaging family saga following two half-sisters – one who marries into privilege and one sold into slavery – and their descendants as they navigate the politics of their separate countries and their heritage. Each is directly affected in some way by the choices of the past, and finding the parallels in the triumphs and heartbreak makes for an engrossing read.”

Amanda Monson, Bartow County Library System, Cartersville, GA

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Missing, Presumed: A Novel

by Susie Steiner

Published: 6/28/2016 by Random House
ISBN: 9780812998320

“This is a thoughtful police procedural about a missing person case and the secrets that come to the surface when a feisty detective becomes relentless in finding the truth. Edith is a successful college student from a well-known family, but all is not what it seems. Detective Manon Bradshaw is feeling the pressure to quickly resolve the case. What sets this apart from other detective stories is how the lead character is brought to life; she exposes her melancholy and it adds a satisfying mix to the thrills. Recommended for fans of Tana French.”

Andrienne Cruz, Azusa City Library, Azusa, CA

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Stiletto: A Novel

by Daniel O’Malley

Published: 6/14/2016 by Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 9780316228046

“In the long-awaited sequel to The Rook, negotiations between two highly secret organizations, one based on science and reason and the other on the supernatural, are continuing. Odette and Pawn both come to the forefront of the story as we get more of the history of the groups and why mortal enemies would want to join forces. With its blend of intricate world-building and fantastical situations, Stiletto both surprised me and made me laugh.”

Mary Bell, Wilbraham Public Library, Wilbraham, MA

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We Could Be Beautiful: A Novel

by Swan Huntley
Published: 6/28/2016 by Doubleday
ISBN: 9780385540599

“Wealthy art collector Catherine spends her time fussing over her tiny boutique card shoppe so that she can feel like a productive member of society. She meets the handsome and refined William Stockton, yet something seems just a little too good to be true. The plot thickens as long hidden family secrets emerge. Huntley certainly knows how to build up the suspense. This debut novel includes some nice plot twists and Catherine’s character evolves favorably. Recommended for fans of psychological fiction.”

Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX

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Lily and the Octopus

by Steven Rowley

Published: 6/7/2016 by Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781501126222
“Rowley has lovingly captured what it is like to be totally invested in caring for another life, another heart. This book is a true gift for anyone who has experienced the loss of a dog, but especially for those of us who have nursed a beloved dog through an illness even though you both knew it was going to be a losing battle. A special bond is formed there, and the story of Lily and Ted illustrates it so perfectly.”

Mary Coe, Fairfield Woods Branch Library, Fairfield, CT

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Widowmaker: A Novel

by Paul Doiron

Published: 6/14/2016 by Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250063700

“Doiron delivers a novel of intensifying suspense. The brooding and flawed Bowditch deals with a newly revealed family secret that sets him off on a search for the truth. His personal mission leads him into danger as he chases a vigilante through the wintry Maine woods. Doiron perfects his storytelling with a richly detailed setting and admirable sense of timing. You’ll want to go back to the previous Bowditch adventures while awaiting the next installment. Highly recommended for fans of Nevada Barr and C.J. Box.”

Mamie Ney, Auburn Public Library, Auburn, ME