Enjoyable Audiobooks

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When I was younger I went through a phase where I turned up my nose at the thought of audiobooks. “That isn’t real reading” I recall my smug self thinking. Well, younger self, here I am today, writing a dedication to audiobooks. 

For me an audiobook is many things. They’re a way to multitask, listening to a book while I cook, clean, exercise, pretty much any daily task that has my mind wandering or thinking “it’d be really nice to know what happens next in my book.” They’re a companion in the car or on a walk. But what I’ve found most is audiobooks are a performance and a connection with the story. Anyone that listens to audiobooks has likely experienced the ones that do not have ideal narrators, an otherwise good book falling flat because of the narration. To that end what follows are three audiobooks I listened to this year that are not only good books, but good audiobooks.

 

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Set in Minneapolis and spanning from November 2019 to November 2020 The Sentence follows Tookie, a woman who has recently been released from federal prison for a laugh-worthy crime. Becoming an avid reader during her time in prison, Tookie takes a job in a bookstore upon her release. Tookie soon discovers the bookstore is haunted by the ghost of Flora, the store’s most dedicated and annoying customer, even in death. What begins as a crime caper, ghost story mashup soon turns into a deep contemplation on the Covid-19 pandemic, George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the historic horrors and culture of Native Americans that often permeates Erdrich’s novels. While this might sound like a confusing culmination of themes it is executed expertly in the moving fashion common for the Pulitzer Prize winning author. Erdrich herself narrated the audiobook I listened to, and if there is ever an opportunity to listen to an audio with the author as narrator I will happily take it. Erdrich is the best person to bring the story to life, invoking Tookie’s experiences through one of the most tumultuous years of modern history with the soul she wrote into this novel. 

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 The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is an author of historical fiction, her novels generally focused upon a female protagonist. In The Diamond Eye Quinn fictionalizes the true story of Russian female sniper Lyudmila “Mila”  Pavlichenko. Mila is a single mother studying as a history student in Kyiv when Hitler invades Ukraine and Russia. Mila’s life forever changes, as she leaves behind her history books for a sniper school. Mila soon rises to be one of the best and well known Russian snipers, with over 300 kills to her name; this earns Mila the nickname Lady Death. Her country decides to use Mila’s renown by sending her on a goodwill tour to Washington, D.C., where she spends time at the White House and befriends First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. However, it doesn’t take long for danger to once again find Mila. This novel is full of history and Mila was a person I greatly enjoyed getting to know, full of strength, determination, and hope in a struggling time. The audiobook I listened to is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, a prolific narrator in the audiobook world. What I particularly enjoyed about the narration is the seemingly easy transitions from the various accents and languages in the novel. Listening to this made me want to read more of Quinn’s novels. 

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The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

I haven’t picked up a John Green book since several of his novels made a mockery of my teenage heart (I’m looking at you, The Fault in Our Stars), but I was interested in Green’s recent essay collection The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. The collection contains numerous essays reviewing various topics within our current geological age, such as the Lascaux Cave Paintings, Viral Meningitis, Canada Geese, and Teddy Bears. Whatever the topic, Green fills the reviews with humor, personal tidbits about experiences with the chosen topic, factual information, and insightful reflections. The essays demonstrate a masterful ability to begin with what seems like a straightforward topic (for example, Wintry Mix) and take the reader through an empathetic reminder to wonder, to pay attention to what is around us and our part in it. At the end of each essay Green gives a rating for what he reviewed based on a 5 star scale. I listened to the version narrated by Green, and while I enjoyed the collection as is, Green’s narration took it to a different level, pulling me along his introspective journey through the Anthropocene. And, as a seasoned reader of Green’s novels, I couldn’t help slightly fangirling over the deep dive into his mind. I give The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet 4.5 stars.

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Audiobooks can be checked out from the Joplin Public Library in CD form, as well as electronically from the digital borrowing platforms Libby and Hoopla. 

Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator

 

Tolkien Companion Books

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Titles reviewed:
The Atlas of Middle Earth (revised edition) by Karen Wynn Fonstad
J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist & Illustrator by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by David Day

Hello, book fans! It’s fandom week here at the book review, so buckle up as we travel through one of my favorites, the world of J.R.R. Tolkien!

Whether based on authors, individual books, or a series, literary fandoms generate a lot of material to pore over and to dissect. There can be a lot to enjoy and a lot to ponder beyond a book’s basic plot. When world building is involved, that amount of material can increase dramatically. When the world is as detailed as Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, it’s an exponential jump.

What to do with all of this information? Organize it, of course! One of my favorite fandom creations is the companion book–a title created specifically to aid the reader in exploring the fictional world that sparked the fandom. Companion books can take a variety of approaches to the original work–atlas of the fictional world, dictionary of terms or characters, encyclopedia, character genealogy, etc. They are generally very helpful books aiding in enjoyment of the original work and often entertaining in their own right.

The first time I binge-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy I had just seen the Peter Jackson films and had that visual reference vividly with me. Years later when I read the series again, I had a companion book nearby with a detailed map of Middle-Earth, character genealogies, a glossary, and other tools that added so much more to the experience..

Every journey needs a map, and a trip with Tolkien is no exception. (One does not simply stop in Mordor to ask directions.) The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition) by Karen Wynn Fonstad is a great resource for the casual and hardcore Tolkien reader alike. Fonstad was an American cartographer whose methodical, thorough approach offers an opportunity for casual readers to dip in and out of the sections they want without being overwhelmed.

The atlas begins with chronological divisions showing the history of Middle-Earth then follows with a chapter of regional maps (including the Shire) and maps covering The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings topped off by thematic maps such as climate, vegetation, and languages. Each map is accompanied by explanatory text that may prove helpful for casual fans navigating the books and movies and interesting throughout (particularly the history section) for superfans. The sepia-toned maps with their minimalist precision lend an old-school feel resembling Tolkien’s original drawings.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist & Illustrator by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull delves into the body of pictorial works across Tolkien’s lifetime from childhood paintings to final sketches. A deeeeeeep dive into Tolkien’s art, this title is great for readers intensely interested in the history of book illustration or all things Tolkien. The book is laid out chronologically, generously filled with 200 reproductions of his designs–the majority of them in full color–and just over 200 pages of thoughtful, in-depth text. It’s the academic tone of the highly detailed text that moves the book to the realm of die-hard fans although absolutely worth a flip-through for the mid-level enthusiast.

Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by David Day welcomes a range of Tolkien fans by pulling together a variety of details about the fictional world and its inhabitants. Arranged like a traditional encyclopedia, Day’s work provides detailed-yet-easily-digestible information on Tolkien himself and the history, geography, sociology, natural history, and biography of Middle-Earth. Each entry offers background and description of its subject matter in clear, concise terms and provides context within Tolkien’s writings. The encyclopedia is heavily illustrated throughout using a wide assortment of art styles, most in full color. Its design is accessible and engaging, making it easy for a casual user to find what they need. The varied art produces a welcoming, slightly groovy vibe that meshes well with the text, creating a delightful companion on the journey through Tolkien’s imagination.

Speaking of Tolkien’s imagination, Hobbit Day refers to the shared birthday of characters Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and is observed on September 22 by many Tolkien fans. This year, the Joplin Public Library and the Empire Market have teamed up to bring a piece of Middle-Earth to Joplin for Hobbit Day! Kick off the free, all-ages fun at the Library on Friday, September 22, 11am-6pm, with a scavenger hunt, crafts, and more, then visit the Empire Market on Saturday, September 23, 10am-2pm, for awesome activities plus special food and merchandise from market vendors. Costumes are always welcome. See you there!

Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West by Katie Hickman

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Katie Hickman’s Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West is as much about westward expansion and the colonization – or, in seemingly benign language, westward ‘migration’ and ‘settlement’ – of what we now know as the American West as it is about the history of the women who were among the first to make their way westward.

Stories, both fictional and non, of westward migration abound. Most of these stories, like much of the romanticized imagery of, and entertainment about, the American West, are about men–cowboys, explorers, fur traders, guides, merchants, military, warriors, etc. But what about the women? Although Brave Hearted is not, nor does it pretend to be, comprehensive, it helps tell a fuller story about travels to, and the settling of, the American West. And it all starts with a couple of ladies who felt called to missionary work.

Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding, along with their husbands, set out for the so-called frontier in 1836. In fact, both women married their husbands, who they barely knew, in order to fulfill their dreams of becoming missionaries. It was unacceptable for women to set out on their own at that time and, even if it had been acceptable, women lacked the means to do so. But these two men needed the women as much as the women needed them because they needed to be married to set up permanent missionary settlements in the West. Thus, their marriages were mutually beneficial. It was an interesting dynamic, with a bit of personal history and tension (that you could read more about in the book proper).

The two couples set out from Liberty, Missouri, in the company of a handful of others, including a carpenter, who served as “lay assistant and mechanic,” three Nez Perce, and two other men. Communally, they made some necessary purchases for the journey, such as cattle, horses, and a farm wagon, and each carried “a plate, a knife and fork, and a tin cup.” Any other personal belongings were toted along however by whoever owned them. They were headed to an American Fur Company rendezvous spot from which they would start the “real” journey West. Their arrival caused a sensation there, as it did when they made it to their final destination, for Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding were the first white women to travel westward overland–it was a magnificent feat.

They, like the women who followed, left everything – material and immaterial – behind with the hopes of successfully establishing themselves in the West. Often, and likely more often than not, these women did not again see the family or friends who they left behind. Also, communication could be sparse, as it depended on mail delivery. To say it was not an easy journey, or an easy way of life if and when they got there, is perhaps an understatement.

Hickman’s book, however, isn’t just about the experiences of the Narcissa Whitmans and Eliza Spaldings of the world. As she writes in her introduction, the women she depicts “encompass an extraordinarily diverse range of humanity, of every class, every background, and of numerous different ethnicities, many of them rarely represented in histories of the West.” Indeed, that’s an accurate description, if self-described.

In addition to writing about the women of the Whitman Mission, Hickman writes about others who traveled west for religious reasons, such as the Mormons, as well as Native American, African American, Chinese, and other women, from all sorts of social classes and standings. Her story starts with Whitman and Spalding, presumably, because they were the first women who traveled overland to the west. Their success – meaning only that they actually arrived alive to where they were going – illustrated that women, too, were capable of making the journey. Soon thereafter, an unprecedented amount of people, including “unheard of” amounts of women, traveled overland to migrate west.

Not all women who landed in the west chose that journey, however. General Custer and his wife, Elizabeth, took their slave, Eliza, from camp to camp. Biddy Mason, who was born into slavery in Georgia in 1818, and her family were forced west by their owner, Robert Smith, who was part of the Mormon migration. Fortunately for Mason and her family, they were able to become freed when in California, due to a legality when Smith tried to remove them to Texas. Biddy Mason moved to Los Angeles, was “one of the first non-Mexican residents,” and became a well-respected, “prominent property owner and philanthropist.” Others were not as fortunate, such as the numerous Chinese women who languished as slaves or indentured sex workers after arriving from China by sea, often in horrendous conditions.

Brave Hearted is told in 18 expertly-researched chapters, complete with maps, notes, and a select bibliography. Although the book is not image-heavy, it does contain a handful of photographs, including one of “Handcart Pioneers” (pg. 196), people who headed west pulling what they owned themselves with a hand cart; a promotional image of Olive Oatman (pg. 231), who became famous for her time among the Mohave; Biddy Mason (pg. 284), who is described above; and others, some of whom remain anonymous/unknown.

Brave Hearted is one of the better books I’ve read about women and the American West, if not the best. Which is to say I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topics discussed herein. As always, happy reading.

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Murder at an Irish Castle by Ellie Brannigan / Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore

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I was set to introduce the first book in a new cozy mystery series for this review then I read The Lonely Hearts Book Club. I enjoyed it so much I decided to tell you about both titles.

Murder at an Irish Castle by Ellie Brannigan is billed as the beginning of An Irish Castle Mystery series. Rayne McGrath runs a successful bridal boutique on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. Her specialty is designing one of a kind wedding dresses. So how does a California girl end up in an Irish castle?

On her 30th birthday she and her partner, Landon, are set to lunch with an investment banker then will hopefully be celebrating at dinner. Landon is her romantic as well as business partner and she is expecting that partnership will also go to the next level by the end of the evening.

I was set to introduce the first book in a new cozy mystery series for this review then I read The Lonely Hearts Book Club. I enjoyed it so much I decided to tell you about both titles.

Murder at an Irish Castle by Ellie Brannigan is billed as the beginning of An Irish Castle Mystery series. Rayne McGrath runs a successful bridal boutique on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. Her specialty is designing one of a kind wedding dresses. So how does a California girl end up in an Irish castle?

On her 30th birthday she and her partner, Landon, are set to lunch with an investment banker then will hopefully be celebrating at dinner. Landon is her romantic as well as business partner and she is expecting that partnership will also go to the next level by the end of the evening.

Arriving at her shop she can’t get in as someone broke something off in the lock. Landon should be there and is not answering his phone. Rushing to his home she finds it empty, as empty as their bank account. At Landon’s suggestion all their money went into one account to make the business more attractive to the bank. When the police gain access to her boutique it is empty as well, Landon took her completed gowns.

Amid the devastation and chaos, Rayne receives a call from Ireland. Her uncle died and her presence is required at the reading of the will. With no trace of Landon and her mother providing a ticket and vowing to handle things in her absence, Rayne takes the long flight to Dublin.

Transported to Grathton Village by a less than cordial Ciara, Rayne is taken directly to the solicitor’s office for the reading of the will. She is shocked to learn that she not only inherited a castle but also has a cousin, Ciara. An even more hostile Ciara as she expected to be her father’s heir.

Rayne is ready to turn the castle over to Ciara but the will prevents it and if she sells all proceeds will go to a church. To inherit any money Rayne and Ciara must stay one year and somehow turn the castle into a profitable concern. The village, Ciara, and the castle staff are depending on Rayne to stay and find a way to bring the castle and the village into the 21st century.

To complicate things further, Ciara is convinced her dad’s death was no accident. So all Rayne has to do is learn how the castle functions, make it profitable to save the village, and create wedding gowns when her shop and customers are thousands of miles away. Oh, and help Ciara find Uncle Nevin’s killer.

This is a murder mystery so there is a killer waiting to be found but in this series debut the focus is more on the place and characters than the murder. It will be interesting to see how things work out in the next book.

Lucy Gilmore brings together an unlikely group for her latest novel, The Lonely Hearts Book Club. There is the seemingly meek self-effacing Sloane, mean and curmudgeonly Arthur, nurturing and empathetic Maisey, kind self-absorbed Mateo, and quiet considerate Greg.

Sloane, a librarian at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, is reshelving items when she first meets Arthur. As he rudely points out, she is blocking his way to Roman history. Arthur is well known by most of the staff, including fellow librarian Mateo, and they scatter whenever he enters. But Sloane, surprisingly, is not intimated and in the ensuing conversation (banter from Sloane, insults from Arthur) she earns a little of his respect.

Sloane anticipates his visits each day even though he can be cruel at times. When he doesn’t show up for several days, she breaks the rules to look up his home address. Discovering he is ill and alone (because he throws out or runs off every nurse they send) Sloane is determined to help.

When her decision leads to being fired, she becomes Arthur’s full-time caretaker. Her ‘job’ is to catalog his vast array of books. As a retired literature professor, Arthur has amassed a huge collection stacked haphazardly throughout his home.

Arthur will tolerate Soane but Maisey, his neighbor, is another matter. However, Maisey needs someone to care for so Sloane and Arthur are it. Searching for a way to ensure her place, Maisey tentatively proposes they read The Remains of the Day together since there are multiple copies. Sloane loves the idea and their book club is formed.

Soon Greg, Arthur’s estranged grandson, and Mateo join their club. Then a stranger wants to join but why and what is his connection to Arthur?

This novel has five narrators as each member of the club tells their own story while moving the narrative along. Enjoyable with good, relatable characters this is a tale of five lonely people brought together through one cranky elderly man’s love of books.

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Trust by Hernan Diaz

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How vast individual wealth is amassed often hits its mark in biographies. We know the usual suspects: Carnegie, Rockefeller, Jobs. Within each is a story of a commodity or a manufactured good, something tangible for the mind’s eye. Concentrated wealth by way of finance capital is a more nebulous biographic endeavor. Rarer still are novelizations about finance capitalists.

If such a novel sounds beyond dull and has you mentally placing it back on the shelf, then this year’s co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction should have you reconsidering. I’ll take it even further: If there’s one novel I would recommend, here and now, it would be Trust by Hernan Diaz, the aforementioned winner. It’s a brilliant work told in four parts, each with a different narrator. As such, it’s tempting to label all narrators as unreliable. Fair enough, yet some narratives appear truer than others, with each casting doubt on what you think you’ve already learned. Throughout, the reader is putting together an intriguing narrative puzzle: Who are Benjamin and Helen Rask?

The novel begins with a novella that reads like a biography that’s essentially free of dialogue. Written by a man named Harold Vanner, he pens as his first sentence: “Because he had enjoyed every advantage since birth, one of the few privileges denied Benjamin Rask was that of a heroic rise.” Bookish and solitary, a young Rask enters the 20th century with “no appetites to repress.” When his father dies during his senior year of high school, “relatives and acquaintances alike were impressed by Benjamin’s composure, but the truth was that mourning simply had given the natural dispositions of this character a socially recognizable form.”

To say that he’s without appetite is somewhat of a misnomer. True, the tobacco business that yields great generational wealth within the Rask family bores him. Using that wealth to buy and sell securities decidedly does not bore him. In fact, as he moves through early adulthood, the New York financial community is awed by his ability to capitalize on the market.

But Rask has a problem. His localized fame works against his need for solitude. Continuing his monastic life carries the risk of being labeled, understatedly, “a character.” Rask is cognizant enough to know “there was nothing more conspicuous than anonymity.” He finds the remedy in Helen Brevoort, his future wife. It’s more than a marriage of convenience. They both share ravenous intellectual curiosities. Helen, too, craves a life of the mind. Yet she’s more adroit in crafting their image, understanding that “privacy requires a public facade.” She and Benjamin host numerous gatherings at their New York City mansion, notably chamber orchestra performances.

Throughout their marriage, the Rask fortune grows to levels that leave other financiers wondering exactly how this was achieved. Helen, in turn, uses this wealth to become the nation’s leading benefactor of the arts. Then comes the stock market crash of 1929.

Rather than being ruined, the Rasks inexplicably profit from the crash. They are vilified in the newspapers, Benjamin accused of orchestrating the calamity for personal gain. The Rasks become social pariahs before a brutal illness takes Helen’s life. In the end, despite their lavish parties, no one can say that they really knew the Rasks.

The novel’s second narrator is a financier who worked during the time in question. The novel’s third narrator is Ida Partenza, a woman who’s recalling—many decades later—her employment by the second narrator. And the final narrator’s diary entries completely change the novel’s tone, revealing and answering much. To expound on these narrations here would steal some of the novel’s thunder.

I say “some” because even if someone had disclosed what was to come, I would have devoured the novel nonetheless. Diaz’s writing is exquisite. He captures the voices of the learned, ranging from securities traders to cultural elites. He can also jettison any high-mindedness and share the musings of someone—regardless of socioeconomic class—who’s nearing the great equalizer: death. “Is the strawberry in my mouth alive? Or is its flesh, speckled with the unborn, already dead?”

Partenza’s narration also reveals a life outside the rarefied air of the wealthy. She and her Italian immigrant father are barely surviving the Great Depression in their Brooklyn apartment. It doesn’t help that her father is a self-styled anarchist who detests the very concept of money, a quasi-Marxist who can’t stand the Marxists in power. Still, he and the financier who employs Ida have something in common. They both see the economic depression as a corrective, but for vastly different reasons.

Ida loves her father and doesn’t necessarily disagree with some of his views; yet she finds his dogma insufferable, bordering on fascistic. She can’t help but take some pleasure in knowing that her father must accept that her income comes from a finance capitalist, money that keeps them housed. This period of her long life is short, but a certain person and event within it will also become the standard by which she will forever “measure hatred.”

The stories within Trust surround how paper capital begets more paper capital. But it’s also a story about how views on money bleed into all interactions, whether someone realizes it or not. It’s a story about how reality can be made to fit mistakes, about the “bizarre sort of violence in having…memories plagiarized.” Some of life’s narratives are born of deceit, becoming earnestly told and believed with each retelling.

Reviewed by Jason Sullivan

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Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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For as long as she can remember, Alex Stern has been able to see ghosts. For most of her life it has been an inconvenience at best, but now it has gotten her a fresh start in life and a free ride to one of the most prestigious colleges in the world.

Last summer Alex woke up in a hospital bed after surviving a horrific attack at her home. There she is visited by Dean Elliot Sandow; he knows about her ability to see ghosts and he wants to offer her a position in one of the nine houses, secret societies on Yale’s campus.

Eight of the houses are essentially fraternities, run by the children of the rich and powerful – who were themselves members of these houses. Within these groups, members perform magical rituals: some predict the future, others change themselves into animals. In one Alex witnesses a famous musician undergoing a ritual to sing more beautifully.

The ninth house, Lethe, serves as a watchdog for these other houses. Lethe makes sure their rituals do not get out of hand and that the societies do not reveal themselves to the general public. Alex’s abilities will make her a valuable asset in this group.

All of the members have their own part to play within Lethe. Alex is an apprentice member, working under the direction of Darlington – Daniel Arlington – an upperclassman known and respected around campus. Darlington went missing earlier in the year when Alex saw him pulled into a portal to hell. Alex is driven to bring him back, despite everyone telling her that he is dead.

Lethe also has an Oculus, someone dedicated to recording and gathering information, and the Centurion, a member of the local police who can alert them if a crime scene seems magical or cover up something that the houses will deal with on their own.

Initially, Alex feels isolated in this group. Darlington is jealous of her innate ability to see ghosts. Pamela Dawes, the Oculus, seems offended by Alex’s presence. And the Centurion, Detective Turner, suspects that Alex may have been involved in the grisly murder she escaped in California.

Alex herself is difficult to get along with. She actively opposes the polite facade that has kept the balance between the houses and she is disgusted by the rich kids who play with magic without understanding the dangers. Back in California she was a high school dropout with an abusive drug dealer boyfriend. She knows this is an entirely different world, but she refuses to bow to its conventions.

Midway through her first semester, Alex is sent to the scene of a possible homicide. A young woman from New Haven has been found murdered. Detective Turner is eager to turn Alex away, the woman and her boyfriend are known criminals and he is already in custody, but Alex cannot shake the feeling that something is off.

As she follows up on her suspicions, Alex uncovers a string of similar murders going back decades. And if these are some kind of secret ritual gone wrong, Alex is going to get to put a stop to it.

Bardugo is an expert at crafting a satisfying antihero, Alex is a protagonist that the reader cannot entirely trust. She is complicated, secretive, and more likely to punch someone in the gut than walk away. Alex has had a hard life, but she will do anything to protect her friends – whatever the cost.

Leigh Bardugo’s NINTH HOUSE is a bit of a puzzle box. The novel jumps around through time; flashing back to scenes from Alex’s training with Darlington and keeping certain details hidden from the reader until just the right moment. There are layers of mysteries that build over the course of the story. Most of those mysteries are concluded by the end of the book; others are resolved in Hell Bent, the sequel that came out earlier this year.

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Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

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In April, the Library hosted bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt.  Following her presentation, during the Q&A, an audience member asked what she was currently reading.  She shared that she had just finished a new book by Steven Rowley called The Celebrants. She loved it and thought that it was a powerful, thought-provoking read. 

I am a Rowley fan, so I knew I had to read his latest and immediately added myself to the Library’s hold list.  Several weeks later, the book was ready for me and I could hardly wait to start reading it.  

It is the story of five long-time friends – Jordan, Jordy, Craig, Marielle, and Naomi.  A pack that used to be six, but a few weeks before the group’s graduation from Berkeley, their friend Alec died. His death, right on the cusp of their group entering the adult world, without each other, left them shaken and questioning what their lives and connections would look like after graduation.  

After Alec’s funeral, the friends gather at Naomi’s parent’s house in Big Sur, and spend the time comforting each other and rehashing Alec’s death. During the visit, Marielle suggests the remaining friends make a pact. The rules of the pact being, they will drop everything and get together when one of them calls and requests it. They will throw the requestor a living “funeral.” A group celebration to stop and remind themselves that life can be hard, but worth it, especially with one’s friends in their corner. During times of need these gatherings will be pockets of time where they share their love for one another.  

During the next 28 years, the five friends meet up for “funerals” on three occasions, but the newest call to action is different. Jordan has something he has been keeping from the group and it will not be an easy secret to share, and for the group, not something easy to process.  

Rowley has crafted a beautiful composition to the power and beauty of friendship and what lifelong support looks like. This is not a sappy story, more of the matter-of-fact, read between the lines, style that Rowley is known for, but the elements combined to make an emotional (grab the tissues) and heartfelt offering that reminds readers to not leave anything unsaid. 

Full disclosure, I did not love this book when I first started reading it.  Some, if not all, of the characters are not very likable, at least not from the beginning of the book. They are flawed, and Rowley’s writing style and the way the book jumps between points of time, make this more challenging. But I am so glad I stuck with and finished it. 

At one point, it all just clicked and I was able to realize why he had written it to move from present day to past events in the uneven manner that he did.  The story and the friendships really resonated with me. Friends are there to provide hope, encouragement, and to remind you why this life is worth living. Kudos, Steven Rowley, you have crafted another winner. 

Find the book in the catalog. 

Review written by: Jeana Gockley, Joplin Public Library Director

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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As a reader I generally gravitate toward novels. From time to time, however, I enjoy reading memoirs. I’ve never written a memoir, but I can imagine it sometimes proves difficult to say what one wants to say while worrying about hurting feelings of family or other personal relationships. Or, deciding if the memoir should even be written in the first place. A solution of celebrity actress Jennette McCurdy: wait until that someone dies. McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died chronicles her career as a child actress rising to stardom and her heartbreaking relationship with her abusive mother. While this topic could easily become an angry tirade, McCurdy’s memoir is darkly humorous, earnest, and a quick read, albeit gut-wrenching. 

No doubt one of the most striking aspects of the book is its title and cover art. Don’t hate me here, but I’m going to use a familiar idiom: don’t judge a book by its cover. The bright, pastel colors of the cover art combined with McCurdy smiling as she holds a pink urn, along with the obvious title, does very much give the impression that McCurdy is happy her mom has died, and in some ways, she is. The cover serves as a shock to the system; I don’t know about you, but it’s not everyday that I see a book title announcing blatant cheer over the death of a parent. This is one of the aspects about McCurdy’s memoir that, for me, hits the nail on the head (surprise, another idiom!) as it immediately pulled me in and I wanted to know more. Within the memoir McCurdy details some of the physical, emotional, and mental abuse she received from her mother, and what I think pushes McCurdy’s memoir past the initial impression the title provides is that it examines how to process abuse from the hands of a loved one. I think McCurdy’s memoir may be judged too quickly or harshly because of the title, but what the memoir does is navigate the very complex relationship between abuse and love. 

McCurdy makes this possible with the way she sets up her memoir. The memoir’s opening chapter finds McCurdy and her two brothers at the side of their mother’s hospital bed, taking turns attempting to tell their unconscious mother something so shocking that it will rouse her from her coma. When McCurdy gets her turn she believes she has the perfect thing to wake her mother: she has reached a total weight of 89 pounds, her mother’s goal weight for her. McCurdy is in her early twenties at this point. 

From here McCurdy jumps back in time, starting when she is a child prior to her acting career, and proceeds through the rest of the memoir in timeline order. McCurdy relates entire happenings and conversations from her childhood and teenage years, often with her overbearing mother, as well as the thoughts and feelings her younger self had at the time. This provides insight into the evolution of McCurdy’s acting career, the abuse she suffers, and her love for and relationship with her mother during various points of her life. McCurdy describes what it was like growing up acting (which she did to please her mother), the ups and downs of being a Nickelodeon star, her relationships with fellow actors (this reaffirmed my belief that Miranda Cosgrove is a kind human), and how being a child actor has shaped her life today. McCurdy also describes her struggles with addiction and eating disorders, which her mother introduces her to as “calorie counting” during adolescence. 

I’m glad I read McCurdy’s memoir. It is well written and has a good deal of wit and sarcasm akin to what fans of McCurdy’s iCarly character Sam Puckett might expect. I listened to the audio version that is read by McCurdy herself, making the experience of the memoir even more personal. McCurdy candidly shares quite a lot of herself in this memoir, and while her story is raw and difficult at times, she demonstrates an openness that deserves to be recognized. 

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Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator

Cryptid Club by Sarah Andersen

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It’s that time of year again–the 2023 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (better known as the Eisner Awards) will be held on July 21, 2023, in conjunction with Comic-Con International: San Diego. The pinnacle of comics accolades, they are named for Will Eisner who was a cartoonist, as well as a pioneer of the comic book industry and of graphic novels. Eisner valued high-quality work within his field and championed both works and creators to the public at large. The annual awards honor excellence in more than two dozen categories over the previous year. 

Even though I never quite make it through the entire list of nominees, I enjoy delving into the current nominee list and reflecting on some old favorites. This year, I find myself loving the 2023 “Best Humor Publication” nominee Cryptid Club by Sarah Andersen.  

Andersen is the author and illustrator of the popular “Sarah’s Scribbles” comic strip which uncovers the life of “an adulting introvert” which is full of delightful, awkward weirdness.  In Cryptid Club, she turns her lens to an imaginary social club composed of creatures whose existence is unproven.  Bigfoot, Slenderman, the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, ghosts, space aliens, and a host of other characters gather to share stories of human encounters, to hassle each other and humans, and to carve out a place for themselves in the world.

Arranged primarily in single-page spreads, Cryptid Club offers a full-color mini-story on each page.  The text is tight and concise as are the jokes.  A four-panel page shows two space aliens complimenting their art skills, “Omg, you DREW that?…You are so talented…I can’t even draw a stick figure” then pulls back to a long shot of mysterious shapes carved into a hillside of chalk.  One of my favorite pages offers two vertical panels–the top a closeup shot of a famous creature of the deep shouting in a scary font, “RELEASE THE KRAKEN!” and the bottom one a wide shot showing a fenced-in baby kraken next to its mother who is reading a newspaper while deadpanning, “You’re staying in time-out, Benjamin.”  In the two-panel page “The Call of Cthulhu”, the title character stares down at a cell phone while steeling itself to answer, “Come on, Cthulhu. Pick up the phone. Your anxiety does not control you. You can do it.”  Andersen’s quirky humor shines in a spread introducing Mothman to the audience. Bigfoot describes Mothman to a ghost saying, “Have you heard the legend of Mothman? He only appears to humans before a disaster.” Then, we see a woman preparing to cut her hair exclaim, “These bangs are gonna be so cute!”

Sarah Andersen offers a delightful, funny take on the anxious moments of adulthood in a title that’s fantastic for adults and many teens.  Whether you’re into comic strips or the weird unknown, Cryptid Club is a hoot and well worth investigating.  You can find it through our e-resources Hoopla and ComicsPlus. Happy reading!

1000 Design Classics by Phaidon

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Phaidon’s revised and updated 1000 Design Classics (2022) is as entertaining as it is educational, bringing together the visual depictions of 1000 designs and their brief histories. For those of you familiar with social media, you might imagine a well-curated, expertly-researched feed of objects, from everyday wares, such as cutlery or various types of chairs, to more obscure items, like the Mercedes-Benz Type 300 SL and other vehicles, and everything in between, complete with wonderful, full-color photographs published into a book. Although I don’t make a habit of likening books to social media, flipping through this title was not unlike scrolling through a well-organized Instagram feed, with each entry being its own tidy standalone post. But the comparison stops there because this book is tangible, and, like many nonfiction art and design books, bulky and heavy–a coffee table book that perhaps one day will become a classic in and of itself!

1000 Design Classics is organized chronologically, beginning in 1663 with the Zhang Xiaoquan Household Scissors and ending in 2019 with the Bata Stool. Each entry falls within one of 20 categories, including: accessories; cameras; clocks and watches; electronics; furniture; glassware; household items/homeware; kitchenware; lighting; luggage; music/audio; packaging; sport; stationery and office accessories; tableware; telephones; tools; toys and games; transport; and utilities. An entry’s category is signified by colorful tabs on the edges of the pages for quick reference, with the legend at the beginning of the book.

In keeping in spirit with the way the book is organized, I’ll discuss selective contents in chronological order, except for a few things that, to this day, their designers remain unknown. I chose the following objects either because I like the way they look, their histories are interesting, or simply because they are familiar to most people, thus hopefully familiar to you.

Jigsaw puzzles, which date back to 1766, have a somewhat surprising history, especially because they are so widely available today (even through the library’s “Library of Things” collection, which contains a wide variety of things that may be checked out). They were first introduced by a London-based mapmaker as a tool to teach geography to children. The term “puzzle” was coined in 1908. The 1900s also saw the introduction of jigsaw puzzles for adults. Expensive to make, they were at first accessible by only the “well-heeled” members of society, with mass-production not making them available to everyone until the Great Depression.

The Pocket Measuring Tape came about in 1842. It was patented by James Chesterman (1795-1867) when he was only 25 years old. He founded the Chesterman Steel Company, which fashioned “high-quality measuring instruments, especially tapes, calipers and squares, exporting its products to the US.” It’s interesting to think of the design of tools that, in turn, help us to further the field of design, whether it be the precision designing of our built environment or commonplace everyday objects. The 1800s saw numerous other useful designs, such as the safety pin (1849), drinking straws (1888), and the Swiss Army Knife (1891), as well as some that are more for entertainment, such as the Bolz Musical Spinning Top (1880) and the dartboard (1898).

The 1900s ushered in a plethora of designs. From Dixie Cups (1908), which ended the era of communal drinking vessels, and the Ford Model T (1908), to the Apple Macintosh (1984) and a wall-mounted CD player (1999), it is the most expansive century of those covered in the book. One of my favorites is the US Tunnel Mailbox, which was engineered by Roy J. Joroleman. Prior to this design, rural mailboxes were made of whatever empty thing people had that could be attached to a pole. When the design was approved (1915), it was not patented “in order to encourage competition between manufacturers.” Other favorites from the 1900s include the Ticonderoga Pencil (1913), the pint glass (1914), the Chemex coffee brewer (1941), the pendant lamp (1947), and numerous styles of furniture, especially that of midcentury.

Phaidon doesn’t let us forget that the 2000s brought some classic designs, too! The iPod (2001) and the iPhone (2007) made their debuts, as did the Spun Chair (2007), which, I can attest, is as fun as it is spun. Although we do not have one at the library, you’ll find them downtown at the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex. No doubt more designs from the 2000s will be added to future editions of this book as well.

Scissors, jacks, and Moleskin notebooks, all designed in the 1800s, as well as the whisks and disco balls of the 1900s have unknown designers. Some designs were hilarious, such as the Snurfer, a sort of snowboard, that came out in 1965, and others, such as egg cartons (1966) are particularly useful.

A library-related design that I’m fond of is the Kickstool. Designed by the Wedo Design Team in 1975, it’s a stool that can be kicked along by foot yet provides a stable platform when weight, such as a standing person, is placed on top of the stool. As stated in the book, the Kickstool is “an emblem of the librarian’s and archivist’s trades.” In fact, I keep one in my office!

I recommend this book to anyone interested in design and/or the histories of the objects therein. If you’re looking for a book to keep atop your coffee table for a few weeks, then I’d recommend it for that, too. Whether your eye is caught by the wares of centuries ago or by a more present-day design, I encourage you to check out Phaidon’s 1000 Design Classics.

As always, happy reading.

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