Tulsa
event guide
INSIDE! November 2014
Book Review 2 6 9 12
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
C H E C K
Tap to Play
The book you shake! Page 4
Elizabeth Is Missing
I T
A mystery through a fractured mind Page 6
O U T
Waiting for the Electricity
A novel of culture shock, with or without light Page 8
What We See When We Read
A Home for Bird
By Philip C. Stead Neal Porter Books, $16.99, 32 pages Celebrate Books to Treasure with Philip C. Stead on Nov. 14 at Hardesty Regional Library. See Page 5 for more details. While out searching for interesting things — a four-leaf clover, a grape soda bottle cap, a chipped teacup, a scrap of a checkered picnic blanket — Vernon the toad meets Bird. Delighted to have a new, but strangely silent friend, Vernon welcomes Bird into all his favorite activities. He even introduces Bird to his friends Porcupine and Skunk. They all think Bird is wonderful, but worry that he’s not happy. When Porcupine suggests that Bird might be missing home, Vernon sets off on a quest to help Bird find the home he can go cuckoo over.
With a plot structure and rhythm reminiscent of P.D. Eastman’s classic easy reader Are You My Mother?, A Home for Bird tells a story of determined friendship and loving acceptance. Illustrations full of loose scribbles and broad washes of color enhance the story, and careful readers will find that even the smallest details reappear throughout. A perfect blend of silly and tender, this story will be sure to delight young readers and their parents through the inevitable demands to “Read it again!” Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach
Into the mind of a reader Page 12
It Started With Copernicus
An aggressive exploration of how science is pursued Page 13
56 Reviews INSIDE!
Book Reviews Category
Tweens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Courage for Beginners By Karen Harrington Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.00, 304 pages Check this out! Mysti Murphy is having a difficult time. Her mother cannot leave the house. All she does is paint, grow vegetables and bake bread. Mysti’s father tries to keep everything light and running as normally as possible. He does all the shopping, driving, working, etc., and takes care of everyone, but Mysti knows there’s nothing much normal at her house. Few things are going well in her life. Her best friend, Anibel Gomez, has decided he is becoming a new person, a hipster, when they start seventh grade, and he doesn’t want Mysti to talk to him or act like she knows him while they are in school. When Mysti’s father suffers a terrible accident, Mysti must take over while he is in the hospital. Karen Harrington has written a very complex story full of interesting characters and difficult problems. Mysti has to deal with issues including mental illness, bullying, money issues, a terrible accident and more. She is a bright, interesting, courageous character, and readers will naturally root for her. The problems she has to face are things middle-graders will relate to. These are things they worry about. The writing is lovely and the story very satisfying. Don’t miss this one. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck A New Darkness By Joseph Delaney Greenwillow Books, $17.99, 352 pages Check this out! Tom Ward has a lot to live up to. The final pupil of John Gregory – a scholar trained to battle the supernatural – Tom now defends the county against the worst denizens of the Dark. His first assignment: Solve the murders of three girls by an invisible force. His investigation not only will lead him to an unexpected new ally, but a horrific threat as dire as any he’s ever faced. How long will
the last apprentice last as county spook? A New Darkness is my first Joseph Delaney book, which is apropos; the novel kicks off a new arc in his longrunning Last Apprentice series. Although numerous references are made to prior events, Delaney walks the fine line between necessary backstory and tantalizing tidbits to bring fresh eyes to the original series. It feels more like characters reminiscing than shameless plugs to shill for the old books, and that’s rare indeed. Any slow moments or clunky sections are more than offset by Delaney’s delightful twists on outcasts and how they find each other. And this spirit of individualism and camaraderie, combined with a gutsy plot twist at the eleventh hour, make A New Darkness an excellent launchpad for his new series. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
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At Your Service By Jen Malone Aladdin, $7.99, 272 pages Check this out! T h i r teenyear-old Chloe has a terrific life. Her father is the concierge at the posh Hotel St. Michele in New York City. She and her father live at the hotel, and Chloe often is able to help her father with his duties. Sometimes she gets to work with clients, especially the young ones, and hopes to become the youngest concierge ever. After some real successes with young clients, she gets her biggest chance when the King and Queen of Somerstein come to town with their three See Service, cont’d on page 5
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 2
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Book Review
IN THIS ISSUE Tweens...........................................................2
Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com
Get Homework Help Now................................2 Kids’ Books..................................................4-5 Books to Treasure...........................................5
Editor/Coordinator Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library
Fiction........................................................ 6-8
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT
Library Holiday Gift Shop...............................7
James Rasmussen COPY EDITORS Heidi Komlofske-Rojek Holly Scudero James Rasmussen EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Audrey Curtis Christopher Hayden WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com
Set the Table...................................................8 Speculative Fiction.........................................9 Teens.......................................................10-11 ComicsPlus Library Edition..........................11 Crime Fiction................................................12 Nonfiction...............................................12-15 Tulsa Reads With Bill Bryson........................13
FROM THE PUBLISHER We are experiencing unprecedented change and challenges in Oklahoma. In times like these we should all practice tolerance. The beauty of America is the fact that it is a participatory democracy and a melting pot made up of people literally from every quadrant of the globe and of every belief. Nothing is more central to our country’s democratic principles than an informed citizenry and nothing helps a community stay informed and tolerant better than the institution of the public library. A library’s work starts at a very young age. The first task is to help parents and caregivers get their children school-ready. This we do via our Family Place and Every Child Ready to Read programs. Once in school, children face passable hurdles like the third- and eighthgrade reading tests. Here the library also helps. One way we do this is through Books to Treasure. As a part of this year’s program, every second-grader in Tulsa County will receive a copy of the featured book A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead, plus a chance to get a special library card. Once children graduate from high school, they very likely may be voting in their first election at their local public library. As adults they will attend many important civic meetings and interesting author talks at their local library. And one day they will bring their own children to the library so they too can discover the diversity of the world within its walls. As one of the most important civic institutions in our community, the public library can be the glue that holds our community together in difficult times as well as in peaceful times. As we celebrate the third anniversary of the Tulsa Book Review, we hope Tulsa CityCounty Library’s many books and resources may serve not only as a means of escape from a humdrum or challenging life, but also as a way to make sense of the world and as a means to help you change your life for the better.
My Tulsa Library Community Card...............15 The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by City Book Review. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or City Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2014, City Book Review
Meet Novelist Ann Patchett..........................16
Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO
Coming Up! American novelist Ann Patchett is coming to Tulsa in December to receive the Tulsa Library Trust’s Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. See the back cover of this issue of the Tulsa Book Review for more details.
Book Reviews Category
Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Circle, Square, Moose By Kelly Bingham, Paul O. Zelinsky (illustrator) Greenwillow Books, $17.99, 48 pages Check this out! Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky’s Circle, Square, Moose is the hilarious follow-up to Z Is for Moose. In this concept book, Moose is back to interrupt the narrator’s lesson about shapes. Although the narrator repeatedly tells Moose to leave the book and stop interrupting, Moose is persistent. Also, Moose’s friend Zebra unintentionally helps Moose sabotage the narrative. Zelinsky’s warm and funny illustrations, such as Moose rewriting the text with his paintbrush, make this picture book a delight to read. With every aspect of the book decorated — the endpapers, title page, cover — this is an ideal book for storytimes since Zelinsky creates a narrative before the text begins. Further, a notable quality of this book is the agency it gives the child reader. Aside from teaching the different shapes, the text and illustrations enable the reader to make connections between what the narrator says and the validity of what Moose interjects. Bingham and Zelinsky once again succeeded in creating a picture book that not only teaches, but also tells a humorous and engaging story for the readers. Reviewed by Diane Vestuto Drop It, Rocket! By Tad Hills Random House Books for Young Readers, $3.99, 32 pages Check this out! Young readers who fell in love with the adorable dog Rocket from Tad Hills’ picture books will be excited for Drop It, Rocket! This book is perfect for those young Rocket fans who are just learning how to read. With large type, strong rhythm and repetitive words, Rocket will guide young readers into the magical world of reading. The book is scattered with picture clues to help young readers identify the words. For example, the text teaches young readers how to recognize the words through what Rocket is holding in his mouth. The bird will
tell Rocket to drop the leaf, which the young reader is able to see play out in the pictures. Drop It, Rocket! is the ideal beginner reader book that not only familiarizes young readers with easy and fundamental words for beginning readers, but also provides a fun, engaging story for the young audience. While Rocket is already a familiar character to some, new readers will be so charmed with him that they will be begging for more Rocket! Reviewed by Diane Vestuto Tap to Play By Salina Yoon Balzer + Bray, $15.99, 40 pages Check this out! T h i n k about the shaking and twisting a video gamer does with a microconsole or a tablet. In an innovative technique, Tap to Play uses a similar approach. It doesn’t just engage young readers’ minds like other books; it encourages them to interact with the book physically as well. How clever is that? A round red character asks the reader for help to get to his destination. It takes multiple rounds of physical manipulation to get the little red guy where he needs to go, and kids will have a fun time doing it. I’m a big fan of the art style featured in Salina Yoon’s Penguin series. The art here is simpler, to better convey the graphic style of a Pac-Man era video game, I suspect. The color palette is mostly limited to red, blue, black and grey. The ending of the book didn’t feel very connected to the story for me, but our red friend earns a pleasant surprise. In addition to its successful implementation of a revolutionary technique, Tap to Play is loaded
with humorous images of the results of the little red fellow’s failed attempts to reach his goal. Reviewed by Henry Herz Pete the Cat and the New Guy By James Dean, Kimberly Dean HarperCollins, $17.99, 40 pages Check this out! Pete and his friends are rocking out when the gang spots a moving truck across the street. Excited, Pete sk ateboa rd s by the house in hopes that he’ll get a chance to meet a new friend. Sure enough, Gus the Platypus emerges, eager to make new friends and to try new games. But Gus isn’t good at any of the things he tries. He can’t climb trees; he can’t jump; and he certainly can’t juggle. Disheartened, Gus decides there’s no fun for a platypus in Pete’s neighborhood. Pete is wishing there was something he could do with Gus when he hears a groovy sound. Gus can play the drums! Pete and his friends form a band and cruise into the end pages on the Gus Bus. Pete the Cat never fails to provide a lesson with a groovy beat and a catchy song. Pete the Cat and the New Guy is no exception. James and Kimberly Dean have framed a lesson about inclusion and acceptance with bold illustrations, endearing characters and enough repetition to make the story stick. Kids and adults will find themselves singing Pete’s words of wisdom. The only danger in reading this book is getting hooked on Pete the Cat. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Backhoe Joe By Lori Alexander, Craig Cameron (illustrator) HarperCollins, $15.99, 40 pages Check this out! In Backhoe Joe, Nolan finds a “stray” backhoe and takes him home to be his new pet. His parents are a bit skeptical. Nolan tries to show he can train his pet to come, stay and leave it! But Backhoe Joe has a lot of energy and humorously makes messes — just like a real pet! Finally Nolan finds a way to teach Joe commands. Then Nolan sees a sign saying Joe is lost and if found to call for a reward. Nolan struggles with wanting to keep the backhoe as a pet
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 4
and knowing he should return it to its owners. He chooses to do the right thing. His reward is visiting Joe at his real worksite. And there’s a delightful twist at the end when Nolan gets his next pet. This is a perfect, heartfelt book for boys and girls who like trucks and construction things. The illustrations are friendly and give Backhoe Joe a personality that complements Nolan’s. The combined story and illustrations have the potential to become classics. This is a fun book about a different kind of pet! Reviewed by Susan Roberts A Chick ‘n’ Pug Christmas By Jennifer Sattler NYRB Classics, $16.95, 32 pages Check this out! The beloved superhero duo Chick and Pug return in Jennifer Sattler’s delightful holiday bookA Chick ‘n’ Pug Christmas. Chick and Pug are on a mission to spread Christmas cheer, but they quickly learn that spreading cheer is easier said than done. With Pug dressed as Santa and Chick as Santa’s helper, Chick and Pug must overcome danger such as snowstorms and their nemesis, Mr. Snuggles, to spread cheer. In likeness with the rest of the series, Sattler’s illustrations and text complement each other beautifully. The interdependence between the text and illustrations compels readers to rely on both to fully understand the story. Most notable is the final illustration of Chick and Pug flying across the moon on a shovel with little children looking out the window and crying “Santa!” Such humor is weaved in throughout the story. The relationship between the energetic Chick and the indifferent Pug makes these characters irresistible. A Chick ‘n’ Pug Christmas will be one of those holiday books that children will demand to be read over and over again. Reviewed by Diane Vestuto Who Needs a Reef?: A Coral Ecosystem By Karen Patkau Tundra Books, $17.99, 32 pages Check this out! Most young people have never seen a coral reef, except on television, but when they find out what a vibrant and vital ecosystem one is, they will be fascinated. As she has done with her other books in this series, Karen Patkau does an amazing job of representing this complex environment in a way children can have a good understanding of how a coral reef grows and its importance to ocean life. Youngsters will be fascinated to learn the reef is made up of millions of tiny
Book Reviews animal skeletons of coral polyps that look more like plants than animals. What creatures and plants live on the reef, infor mation about the food chain, the life cycle, how the reef protects the shoreline and other topics about the reef are beautifully illustrated throughout with nice-sized chunks of text just long enough for the elementary-school crowd. A map showing all the coral reefs around the world is included. Flora and fauna of the reef are identified with thumbnails in four pages in the back rather than on the spreads, and a glossary is included that is not as comprehensive as it might be. However, this is a book that kids will love. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Who Needs a Prairie?: A Grassland Ecosystem By Karen Patkau Tundra Books, $17.99, 32 pages Check this out! Every continent, save A nt a rct ic a , has prairies providing great benefits. Prairies constitute a special ecosystem unlike any other. A variety of flora and fauna are native to grasslands and create a circle of life, both beautiful and interesting. Karen Patkau, author/illustrator of this book in a series of ecosystem books, has put together a beautiful book that will be of great interest to youngsters of elementary-school age. Each spread in the book has just enough text to not be daunting to youngsters. The text focuses on a particular group of plants and animals illustrated in glorious detail that, at first glance, might be mistaken for a photograph, but on close examination, is a painting. Kids will be fascinated by all the creatures that make their homes on and under the prairie, how the seasons affect the prairie wildlife and even how fires can be beneficial. This book is chock-full of interesting facts children are curious about. The plants and animals are identified in the back of the book with thumbnails from the larger paintings rather than on the spreads, and the glossary is a bit light, but other than that, this is a terrific book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Kids’ Books Who Needs a Desert?: A Desert Ecosystem By Karen Patkau Tundra Books, $17.99, 32 pages Check this out! There is not much interest ing in a desert, is there? It’s just a dry expanse of sand and cactus, right? Not so, this book will explain to delighted elementary school-aged children. The desert is really a rich ecosystem filled with a surprisingly wide variety of plants and animals. Even though the environment is quite harsh, plants and animals have adapted to this arid place and survive quite nicely there. Author/illustrator Karen Patkau uses age-appropriate text in small enough chunks to keep her young readers from being overwhelmed. The rest of each spread in the book is a beautiful, detailed painting showing the flora and fauna of a particular kind of desert environment. The life cycle, down to bacteria, is one of the several fascinating spreads, while others include how deserts are formed, desert rain and desert life. Unfortunately, the flora and fauna is not identified on the spreads, but instead in a four-page section in the back with thumbnails. There is also a glossary, but it could be more extensive. That said, this is a lovely book children will find very engaging. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
See Service, cont’d from page 2 children. The handsome young prince and two princesses turn out to be a real challenge, especially when the younger princess disappears. Jen Malone has written a real romp of a middle-grade story. The first-person point of view she chose for Chloe to tell her story is pitch-perfect, and Chloe is an absolutely believable character. She is smart, driven, clever and still a typical middle-school girl with all the accompanying baggage. Most of the time she makes good decisions, but every now and then, she simply acts her age. There is plenty of conflict, adventure and just a touch of romance. This is the perfect book for the middle-grade crowd, but especially the girls. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 5
Friday, Nov. 14 • 7 p.m.
Hardesty Regional Library, Connor’s Cove 8316 E. 93rd St. • 918.549.7550 Meet children’s author and illustrator Philip C. Stead. A book signing will follow. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust through a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation.
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead. Copyright © 2012.
Book Reviews Category
Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Everything I Never Told You By Celeste Ng Penguin Press, $26.95, 304 pages Check this out! Celeste Ng’s novel is about a Chinese-A merican family in the truest sense of the words; James Lee is a Chinese -A mer ican professor married to an Anglo woman. Although born in the U.S., “(James) had never felt he belonged here....” James has consistently experienced discrimination as a minority resident of Ohio – an experience his wife Marilyn has largely been exempted from – and his sense of bitterness has been building up. Matters come to a head when his 15-yearold daughter Lydia goes missing and eventually is found dead. The loss of Lydia threatens to destroy the Lees’ marriage as Lydia was the favorite of their three children, a daughter in whom their hopes for a perfect future had been placed. This family novel is also a mystery as the circumstances of Lydia’s death are largely unknown. Marilyn Lee makes it her mission to “figure out what happened ... She will find out who is responsible. She will find out what went wrong.” Ng’s thought-provoking tale informs us that a sudden tragedy can either destroy individuals or give them the chance to start anew. And this unique, engaging novel reminds us that the great American melting pot operates haphazardly and imperfectly. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano Elizabeth Is Missing By Emma Healey Harper, $25.99, 320 pages Check this out! Maud is an 82-year-old woman whose memory is rapidly declining. But she is absolutely sure her friend Elizabeth has gone missing, and it frustrates her when no one seems to take her seriously. She visits Elizabeth’s house, she goes to the police station, she goes to the newspaper office. She is scrabbling at little clues her brain offers up and writing herself notes as reminders.
All the while, the current situation is causing her to spend more and more time in her past, reliving the months after her older sister, Sukey, went missing shortly after World War II. Readers learn more and more about the possibilities of what happened to Sukey even as they experience the present day through Maud’s fractured mind. The result is a fascinating novel that has elements of a mystery but also is an unsettling reminder of the plight of many individuals who are at the mercy of their deteriorating brains, as well as those who struggle to care for them properly. Healey makes us sympathetic toward both Maud and her daughter, who has the tough job of watching out for her mom’s welfare and figuring out what she is trying to express. The book is a pitch-perfect debut. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Last Breath By Kimberly Belle Harlequin MIRA, $14.95, 400 pages Check this out! Sixteen years ago, Gia’s father was convicted of murdering his wife. Gia has been on the run, in a sense, ever since then, with a fastpaced life as a humanitarian aid worker. Now her father has been released on house arrest because he is dying, and Gia is home to care for him. She’s still not sure if she believes he committed the crime, her siblings are avoiding her, and the townspeople are protesting outside the family home. To further complicate things, the fling she picked up with to distract herself is turning into something
more, and he’s got a big secret of his own. What Gia really needs is to know the truth, but the story of what happened so long ago keeps getting more and more complicated. For a complex and intense read, look no further than The Last Breath. This novel deals with all sorts of thought-provoking issues: life in prison, adultery, dealing with guilt, how shades of grey combine to make the truth. The Last Breath is well-written and features a cast of heart-wrenchingly real characters, all struggling with their own problems as they struggle to come to terms with the past. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Why Are You So Sad? By Jason Porter Plume, $15.00, 224 pages Check this out! It’s the middle of the night when Raymond Champs has an epiphany: that everybody in the world, including himself, is depressed. And even worse, that everybody is unaware of it. To prove his hypothesis, Raymond creates a questionnaire, which will determine the emotional well-being of his co-workers. Based on his findings, Raymond will have to decide how best to proceed with giving this epidemic his full attention. The survey was very funny and each chapter in the first section of the novel was separated by the narrator’s own answers to his questions, which was fun. Reading this novel was also experiencing Raymond’s survey for myself. Why Are You So Sad? has a funny premise and straightforward plot. The novel is divided into two sections: short answer and multiple choice. The beginning was more comical and had more personality, especially with the way Raymond was characterized. But with the assertiveness Raymond Champs displayed in his want to cure the world from its sadness, the ending felt a little lackluster. There were many moments of Jason Porter’s writing that made me laugh in both overall concept and individual sentences, and thus it’s a novel I thoroughly enjoyed and will recommend. Reviewed by Lenna Stites The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing: A Novel By Mira Jacob Random House, $26.00, 512 pages Check this out! When Amina was just a girl, a family trip to see relatives in India ended in disaster and estrangement. Amina never saw her grandmother, her uncle or his family again,
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 6
as they all died in a tragic house fire. In the present day, Amina, an events photographer in Seattle, goes home to Albuquerque after a troubling call from her mother. There seems to be something wrong with her father, and the tests that Amina insists upon reveal an inoperable brain tumor. But the situation is more complicated than it appears, and Amina finds herself revisiting both that painful trip to India as well as her brother’s death a few years later. There is no way to do The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing justice in just a short summary. This complex and beautiful story demands your whole attention from the first page, and you will find yourself wondering about the characters’ fates long after the last chapter ends. Mira’s complicated professional history layered over the family’s past makes her a fascinating character, and author Mira Jacob does an impressive job drawing readers into every nuance of her life. With a debut like this, Mira Jacob is an author to watch. Reviewed by Holly Scudero One Plus One: A Novel By Jojo Moyes Pamela Dorman Books, $27.95, 384 pages Check this out! Life is hardly a bowl of cherries for single mom Jess. Her husband has been gone for two years, ostensibly too depressed to be useful, and she’s working two jobs to take care of her daughter and her hus- band’s son. Then after some bad decisions on her part, she and her kids and big slobbery dog end up on a drive to a faraway city with a man whose house she cleans. Ed is a computer geek whose company has done well enough to be bought out. But a stupid decision gets him on the hook for insider trading. When he gets the chance to help Jess get her bright daughter to a math competition that could help pay for her to attend a private school, he thinks maybe he can redeem himself. It’s a premise that seems guaranteed to have an unlikely pair fall in love. Luckily, Jojo Moyes is writing this book, and though
Book Reviews
Fiction
it’s true that this is a love story, it’s not predictable or a straightforward romance. It’s a real story about the messiness of life and love and the possibility for wrongs to be made right. An enjoyable book, just as one would expect from the talented Moyes. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim Landline By Rainbow Rowell St. Martin’s Press, $24.99, 320 pages Check this out! After 15 years of marriage, Georgie and Neal seem to finally have reached a breaking point. They have been struggling to keep the spark alive for months, and when screenwriter Georgie has to miss out on a family trip in order to promote her upcoming sitcom, Neal does something Georgie never dreamed he would do: he takes their children and leaves for the vacation without
her. Alone and upset on Christmas, Georgie stumbles upon a link to the past through a mysterious landline, and through it, she is able to reevaluate her entire life with Neal. Rainbow Rowell creates characters so vivacious and relatable that anybody would love this book, regardless of the plot. The story is fast-moving and atypically upbeat for contemporary adult literature. Rowell truly is a master storyteller, bringing each character to life, no matter how minute they are with regard to the overall plot. I soaked up every word, and even though the plot deals with more serious adult issues, the story maintains a heartwarming and magical feeling. No disappointment to any fan of Rowell’s Eleanor & Park or Fangirl, Landline is a novel that everyone can — and will — enjoy. Reviewed by Bailey Tulloch Delicious!: A Novel By Ruth Reichl Random House, $27.00, 400 pages Check this out! Any book by Ruth Reichl promises one thing: mouth-watering talk about food. Delicous!, Reichl’s sixth book and first novel, delivers from the first chapter, which amounts to a love letter to gingerbread. Billie, a baker with an astoundingly accurate
palate — the kind of prodigy who can identify hyssop at a whiff — uses that recipe to snag a job at a prestigious magazine, Delicious!, where she encounters fervent foodies, crazy readers and quirky employees prone to photographing rotting meat or disappearing for long stretches to Morocco. When the magazine is shuttered, Billie’s true story begins. Kept on to respond to reader complaints, she discovers a secret in the magazine office — a secret that leads her to confront her own deeply buried family heartache. The gorgeous New York City mansion where the food magazine Delicious! is housed and the foodie New York that Billie gains access to threaten to eclipse the story itself in vibrancy and verve. Indeed, though the central mystery and its characters are compelling, Billie’s love story is flimsy by comparison, and in the end this reader found herself flipping ahead to read
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more about the food, the magazine – and the people who love them. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell Funny Once: Stories By Antonya Nelson Bloomsbury USA, $26.00, 304 pages Check this out! F u n n y Once, Antonya Nelson’s seventh collection of short stories, showcases Nelson’s reliable skill in portray ing couples and families in all manner of function and disfunction. An ex-stepdaughter relies on her former stepmother for childcare and indulgence in “First Husband.” A woman in AA avoids self-reflection by sharing elaborate stories about an eccentric neighbor in “Chapter Two.” In the title story, “Funny Once,” a woman lies to her close friends about having cancer, to the horror of her husband. The final portion of the book is
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Book Reviews a novella called Three Wishes, about three siblings struggling with their feelings of guilt and displacement after putting their father in a nursing home. In all these stories, we meet characters who are at the breaking point, or who will be soon; Nelson makes us care about them all. We tumble into her stories deeply and effortlessly, and it’s easy to forget the tiny miracle that short-story writing really is: an entire life and a real, pulsing soul created over a scant few pages. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell Egghead: Or, You Can’t Survive on Ideas Alone By Bo Burnham Grand Central Publishing, $15.00, 224 pages Check this out! Poet r y, at its core, is about emotional expression, connecting with the reader through wordplay and imagery, and imparting the tiniest bit of p e r s p e c t ive and wisdom to another. But it’s rare for the prevailing emotion to be humor, and it’s far rarer for the poet to be as laugh-out-loud funny as he is insightful. But Bo Burnham is a rare talent indeed, and his collection Egghead reads like the madcap brainchild of Shel Silverstein and George Carlin. Careening from pure absurdism to multitiered wordplay (both visual and spoken), Burnham plays with your expectations, manipulating form, meter and puns with equal deftness. Each is perfectly complemented by Chance Bone’s similarly dark, silly and clever illustrations, some of which are as hilarious and as poignant as the poems they accompany. It’s almost too much to take in at once (though you won’t want to stop turning pages). While they’re far fewer in number, Burnham’s nonjokey pieces are just as thoughtful – “Flowers” is particularly wonderful – and serve as anchors to keep the reader grounded amidst the silliness and snark that pervades much of the book. Egghead is great fun, another testament to a young talent with a tremendous career ahead of him. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Waiting for the Electricity By Christina Nichol The Overlook Press, $26.95, 336 pages Check this out! Slims Achmed Makashvili is a maritime lawyer living in post-Soviet Georgia who wants more than anything to go to America and get away from complacency, being above the law, questionable business practices and finicky electricity. At first he thinks that Anthony, an Englishman hired to work on
Fiction an oil pipeline project, will be able to help him, but Slims’ real chance comes to him in the form of a fax: a contest for “small business proposals for former soviet republics to ensure democracy and security throughout the post 9/11 world.” Inspired by this and its sponsor, Hillary Clinton, Slims composes a letter to Hillary in English, where the novel begins. The writing was good, funny, and the main characters were all well-developed. Slims was a very likeable character as was his best friend and literary foil, Malkhazi. The personalities are all very distinct from one another while still highlighting an interesting look into Georgian culture and mythology. Waiting for Electricity is Slims’ journey as a disenchanted Georgian who dreams of a better standard of living and electricity that isn’t controlled by the government, entwined with some romance and politics from back home in Georgia. Reviewed by Lenna Stites
some other Chase heroes. He’s devious and witty. He’s a real pleasure to follow as the action unfolds. While I felt that the previous Dressmaker novels lacked sparkle, I keep reading the series because I’m interested in Lady Clara Fairfax, a prominent supporting character. While Vixen in Velvet originally felt like a detour from the story I wanted, it is an entertaining diversion, full of hilariously bad poetry and scintillating romance. Reviewed by Rachel Anne Calabia Burning Desire (Dark Kings) By Donna Grant St. Martin’s Paperbacks, $7.99, 320 pages Check this out! Book three of the Dark Kings series takes us to Ireland, where Kiril has been living amongst the enemy, the Dark Fae, in hopes of learning who they are conspiring with to destroy the Dragon Kings. He is also hoping to get an indication of where they are holding Rhi so that he can rescue her and hopefully avoid capture. Shara is trying to get back in her family’s good graces by helping them capture Kiril. She shamed her family and has been under house arrest for over 600 years. She knows that if she fails to capture Kiril, her family, more specifically her brother, will not hesitate to kill her.
Vixen in Velvet (The Dressmakers) By Loretta Chase Avon, $7.99, 384 pages Check this out! The third insta l lment in the popular Dressmaker series, Vixen in Velvet features the youngest Noirot sister, Leonie, who struggles to keep the family business afloat. With Marcelline ill and Sophie away, Leonie’s running Maison Noirot singlehandedly. Leonie doesn’t have time for leisure or love. Lord Lisbourne thinks Leonie should make time for him. Lisbourne’s in London to look after his famous cousin, Lord Swanton, a sentimental poet with a rabid female following. As Swanton embarks on many public poetry readings, Lisbourne can’t help but pursue the redheaded businesswoman who attends the events to attract new clientele. When a scandalmonger besmirches the reputation of Maison Noirot and Swanton, Leonie and Lisbourne are drawn together to fight the slander. Leonie’s an independent and sensible heroine while Lisbourne isn’t as dumb as Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 8
Shara is sent to seduce Kiril and he knows it but neither of them expected to actually fall for the other. However, past betrayals and old insecurities hinder their budding romance and almost cost both of them their lives. Donna Grant has written another wonderful addition to the series. She expands of the world of the Dark Fae in this installment and provides more insight into Ulrik, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the burgeoning war with the Dragon Kings. The series is propelled forward by the Dark Fae’s obsession with finding a mysterious object the kings hid and another king taking a mate in spite of Con’s attempts to prevent it. Reviewed by Jennifer Moss
Frequent family meals are associated with stronger family bonds and healthier food Frequent family meals choices, as well as lower rates of smoking, are associated with stronger drinking and substance abuse among family bonds and healthier food adolescents. Join other Tulsans choices, as well as lower rates of smoking, this month and make time to drinking and substance abuse among Set the Table. adolescents. Join other Tulsans this month and make time to setthetabletulsa.org Set the Table. setthetabletulsa.org
Eat with your family at least four times per week during November. What will family meals do for you? Eat with your family at least four times per week during November. What will family meals do for you?
TulsaLibrary.org
918.549.READ
NOveMber 2014
A FREE MONTHLY GUIDE TO YOUR COMMUNITY LIBRARY, ITS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
WHEN THE SYNAGOGUES BURNED BOOKS TO TREASURE WITH PHILIP C. STEAD NOv. 14 • HArDeSTY reGIONAL LIbrArY
adults & all ages BIXBY LIBRARY A-Book-A-Month Discussion Group Wednesday, Nov. 19 • 2-3 p.m. Read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH Novels @ Night Monday, Nov. 10 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Join us as we read through two works of Native American literature: "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko and/or "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich. A small number of each book is available for checkout at the front desk. For adults. Broken Arrow Great Decisions Wednesdays, Nov. 12, 19 12:30-2:30 p.m. • Are you a news junkie? Do you enjoy analyzing current issues and their historical precedents? If so, join other community members in a lively discussion at this popular series for adults.
LIBRARY CLOSINGS
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY Book Discussion: "Invisible Man" Monday, Nov. 10 • 1:30-3:30 p.m. We'll celebrate Ralph Ellison's 100th birthday by discussing "Invisible Man," perhaps the most descriptive novel of the 20th century psyche and the 1953 winner of the National Book Award. You should read the novel prior to the program. For adults.
COLLINSvILLE LIBRARY All Thumbs Knitting Group Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 19 • 1-3 p.m. All levels of knitting expertise are welcome to join us for this fun and instructional afternoon. For adults. Comedy of Errors Book Group Tuesday, Nov. 18 • noon-1 p.m. Read Jeanne Ray's "Calling Invisible Women" and then join this fun group of readers for a lively discussion. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library.
COMMUNITY vENUES Books Sandwiched In Monday, Nov. 3 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. LOCATION: Oklahoma Methodist Manor, Fleming Center, 4134 e. 31st St. Vane Lucas, president of Mathnasium,
Broken Arrow Library is closed Oct. 27-Dec. 7 for improvements. All Tulsa City-County Library locations will be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day. All libraries will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving.
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will review "Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson IV" by Robert Caro. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. Books Sandwiched In Monday, Nov. 10 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. LOCATION: Oklahoma Methodist Manor, Fleming Center, 4134 e. 31st St. Rich Fisher, host of "Studio Tulsa," KWGS Public Radio 89.5, will review "One Summer: America, 1927" by Bill Bryson. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. Books Sandwiched In Monday, Nov. 17 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. LOCATION: Oklahoma Methodist Manor, Fleming Center, 4134 e. 31st St. Rebecca Howard, manager of the Broken Arrow Library and Your Next Great Read library service co-creator, will review "The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. Books Sandwiched In Monday, Nov. 24 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. LOCATION: Oklahoma Methodist Manor, Fleming Center, 4134 e. 31st St. Adrian Alexander, dean of McFarlin Library at the University of Tulsa, will present "An Ann Patchett Sampler." Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY'S GRAND REOPENING CeLebrATION! PAGe 8
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Simple Steps for Starting Your Business: Start-Up Basics Thursday, Nov. 6 • 6:30-8:30 p.m. Want to start a business? Get the help you need with SCORE experts. Learn the essentials of business start-ups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. SCORE is a nonprofit association of volunteer business experts. Registration is required. Go to www.tulsa.score.org to register. Hardesty Regional Library's Grand Reopening Celebration! Saturday, Nov. 8 • 10 a.m.-noon Join us as we celebrate all the exciting changes at Hardesty Regional Library! We will start off with a storytime at 10 a.m., followed by a magician at 10:30 a.m. and then a 3-D printing demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served in the lobby. Help us celebrate our new look! For all ages. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Books to Treasure Friday, Nov. 14 • 7 p.m. Location: Connor’s Cove Meet children’s author/illustrator Philip C. Stead and celebrate the beauty of children’s literature. A book signing will follow. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust through a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation.
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HELMERICH LIBRARY Books People Are Talking About Wednesday, Nov. 19 • 12:15-1:15 p.m. Join us to discuss coming-of-age stories with a futuristic twist. "Ender's Game" is the multiple awardwinning classic by Orson Scott Card, recently made into a movie. "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker is set on our earth which is gradually slowing in its rotation around the sun. Sponsored by the Friends of the Helmerich Library.
JENKS LIBRARY Jenks Library Book Discussion Group Thursday, Nov. 20 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Join this fun group for a lively discussion of a great book. Call 918-549-7572 for book title and more information. You should read the selected book prior to the program.
KENDALL-WHITTIER LIBRARY Citizenship 101 Monday, Nov. 17 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. This program is designed as an informative and educational tool for anyone preparing for a citizenship application and exam.
LIBRARIUM 3-D Printer Orientation Saturday, Nov. 15 • 2-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 3:30-4 p.m. Prepare for 3-D printing by attending this basic orientation and then make an appointment to use the machines. For all ages. Book Discussion: "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett Wednesday, Nov. 19 • 2-3 p.m. Read Ann Pratchett’s awardwinning "Bel Canto" and then join us for this lively discussion. This novel balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Quinceañera With Author/ Artist Carmen Lomas Garza Thursday, Nov. 6 • 7 p.m. Spend an exciting evening with award-winning author and artist Carmen Lomas Garza as she shares her beautiful picture books, talks
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about her life and works, and celebrates the Hispanic Heritage Center’s quinceañera (15th anniversary) with us! Afterward, she will sign books. Copies of her works will be available for purchasing. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association, Arvest Bank, Hispanic American Foundation and Tulsa Intercultural Association.
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Quinceañera Dance Saturday, Nov. 15 • 7-10 p.m. Location: Auditorium Calling all young and young at heart Quinceañeras! Help us celebrate our Hispanic Resource Center's 15th birthday. Come dressed in your finest, have your picture taken in our special photo booth, enjoy entertainment by Ballet Folklórico Sol Azteca and then show off your dance moves to music featuring DJ Sonida Laser. For all ages. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Hispanic
American Foundation and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association.
MAXWELL PARK LIBRARY Art @ the Library: Portraiture Mondays, Nov. 3, 10, 17 10:30 a.m.-noon In this three-part portraiture course, participants will learn how to recognize the processes and techniques applied in art and will make a piece of art of their own. Directions, guidance and supplies
When the Synagogues Burned: Making Sense of Kristallnacht A lecture by Dr. Jay Geller Sunday, Nov. 9 2 p.m. Charles Schusterman Jewish Community Center, Sylvan Auditorium 2021 E. 71st St. • 918.495.1111 On Kristallnacht, Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazis destroyed hundreds of synagogues and Jewishowned businesses in an unprecedented explosion of violence. But what did Kristallnacht mean to those who witnessed it? How did the victims, bystanders and perpetrators understand the event, and how should we view it today? Dr. Jay Geller, author of Jews in Post-Holocaust Germany, 1945-1953, is the Samuel Rosenthal professor of Judaic studies and associate professor of history at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. From 2002-2009, he was assistant professor and associate professor of history at the University of Tulsa, where he taught a wide variety of courses on European history and Jewish history. This lecture is presented by the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education, a committee of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, in partnership with the Tulsa City-County Library. Free and Open to the Public
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will be provided. Bring a portrait or picture you would like to paint. The course will be broken into three different days: the first day being the introductory class, second being a self-work session and the final being the finishing class. It is highly recommended for attendees to come to all three classes. For adults. No prior art knowledge required. Registration is required. Call 918-5497610 to register. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and Tulsa CityCounty Library Staff Association.
SKIATOOK LIBRARY
RUDISILL REGIONAL LIBRARY
Osage Language Class Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 • 6-7 p.m. Location: North Room The Osage Language class is presented by the Osage Nation Language Department. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and American Indian Resource Center.
Glo Costume Zumba Saturday, Nov. 1 • 3-4 p.m. Location: Ancestral Hall Still not ready to put away that Halloween costume? Well, don't; instead, come and join certified Zumba instructors Carlos and Ariane as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Día de los Muertos! There will be plenty of hips swinging and legs kicking to burn off all those Halloween candy calories. If you prefer not to wear a costume, please wear bright or white comfortable clothing. For ages 8 and older. Sponsored by the Hispanic Resource Center and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association. Simple Steps for Starting Your Business: Start-up Basics Saturday, Nov. 15 • 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: Greenwood Room Want to start a business? Get the help you need with SCORE experts. Learn the essentials of business start-ups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. SCORE is a nonprofit association of volunteer business experts. Registration is required. Go to www. tulsa.score.org to register. For adults. Job Lab Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 1:30-3 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Update your résumé, search for jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft Office software and the Internet. USB flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults. Class size is limited.
Osage Language Class Mondays, Nov. 3, 10, 17 • 6-7 p.m. The Osage Language class is presented by the Osage Nation Language Department. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and the American Indian Resource Center. For all ages.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY
Make and Take! Saturday, Nov. 15 • 1-3 p.m. Join us for these Maker Space projects: pottery presented by Crystal Hanna, medicine wheels presented by Stella Foster and chokers presented by Robin Anquoe. For all ages. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and the American Indian Resource Center.
teens & tweens BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH NaNoWriMo Challenge for Teens Saturday, Nov. 1 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. If you are a writer or have a story to tell but don't know where to start, join us as we celebrate National Novel Writing Month. Learn how to start your own novel and create a writing group with an online forum for support during the challenge. For ages 12-18. Registration is required. Register in person or by calling 918-549-7662. Sponsored by the Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association. In the Middle Book Group Monday, Nov. 24 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Are you "in the middle" – not a little kid anymore, but not a teen yet? Meet other kids your age and talk about books in this fun group that includes games, giveaways and a great discussion! Read the 2013 Newbery Medal-winning "The One and Only
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Ivan" by Katherine Applegate and then join us for this fun discussion. Limited copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk. For ages 9-12.
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY DIY Pretzels: Dip and Decorate Friday, Nov. 7 • 2-3 p.m. We'll make pretzel crafts for fun holiday eats. For ages 1018. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7507 to register.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY Sukikyo! Anime Club Wednesday, Nov. 12 • 3-4:30 p.m. Meet up with other manga/ anime fans to discuss your favorite books, movies, characters and plot twists. For ages 12-18. Thanksgiving Day Celebration Monday, Nov. 17 • 2:30-4:30 p.m. We will celebrate Thanksgiving by making turkey calls and creating corn on the cob using candy. For ages 10-18. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Minecraft Gaming Thursday, Nov. 6 • 6-7:30 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world through the popular game Minecraft. For ages 10-18. Anime Movie and Cosplay Contest Saturday, Nov. 8 • 1-4 p.m. Location: Connor's Cove Join the Hardesty Teen Anime/ Manga Club as we watch the anime movie "Vexille" (rated PG-13) followed by a cosplay contest on stage with prizes for first, second and third place. Afterward, we'll enjoy refreshments and discuss our favorite anime/manga books, characters and movies. For ages 12-18.
HELMERICH LIBRARY H-tag# Tuesday: EyeEM and more! Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 4:15-5:45 p.m. Bring your smartphone as we EyeEM googly-eyed book pics for this snap a photo event. Drop by the service desk and ask for googly eyes, arrange them on a book cover in various ways, snap the picture and share your EyeEMs with other teens. Board game stations and snacks will be provided. Sponsored by the Friends of the Helmerich Library.
JENKS LIBRARY JTAG Tuesday, Nov. 4 • 4-5 p.m. Joins the Jenks Teen Advisory Group as we discuss and plan teen services for the library. Share your ideas for seasonal events. For ages 14-18.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Quinceañera Dance Lessons With Ballet Folklórico Sol Azteca Saturday, Nov. 15 • 2-3:30 p.m. Are you preparing for your Quinceañera or simply want to try some new dance moves? Join us for a fun afternoon as we learn traditional Quinceañera dances from Ballet Folklórico Sol Azteca. For ages 10-18. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Hispanic American Foundation and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association. Manga Ai! Saturday, Nov. 22 • 2-3 p.m. Location: Conference Room Munch on Pocky and meet up with other manga fans to discuss your favorite manga series, anime, characters and mayhem. For ages 12-18.
SCHUSTERMAN-BENSON LIBRARY The Craft Connection Monday, Nov. 3 • 6-7 p.m. Learn the art of Zentangle at this crafty gathering. We'll sip hot tea, listen to music and learn how to make works of art from simple doodles. For ages 10-16.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Teen Crafts Tuesday, Nov. 4 • 4-5 p.m. Get creative and unwind after school with a fun DIY craft project. For ages 10-18. Homestuck Club for Teens Thursday, Nov. 13 • 6-8 p.m. If you're a reader of "Homestuck" or interested in learning more about this Web comic/flash animation/ video game hybrid, join us for a fun evening with fellow fans. Minecrafternoon Friday, Nov. 28 • 2-4 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world in the popular computer game Minecraft. For ages 10-18.
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MS Word 2 Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create and format tables, use bulleted and numbered lists, and apply and format columns in a document. You should take MS Word 1 prior to attending. For adults. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
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HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY
Get your books in a few days!
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MS Word 1 Tuesday, Nov. 4 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to use toolbars and menus, set margins, apply spell check, and preview, save and print documents. You should have some experience using a computer keyboard and mouse prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
There is no cost to you!
FREE
MS Excel 1 Saturday, Nov. 8 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create formulas, use automatic fill and change basic formatting. You should take MS Word 2 and have some experience using a mouse prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis. MS Excel 2 Saturday, Nov. 15 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create and edit formulas, and apply functions and advanced formatting to your spreadsheets and workbooks. You should take MS Excel 1 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY
MS Excel 3 Saturday, Nov. 22 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create charts, apply conditional formatting and control the appearance of printed spreadsheets. You should take MS Excel 2 prior to taking this class.
Not finding what you are looking for in the Tulsa City-County Library catalog?
MOBIUS is a regional group of over 100 libraries in three states that share more than 60 million books.
MS PowerPoint 101 Saturday, Nov. 1 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create group
Not finding what you are looking for in the Tulsa City-County Library catalog?
MOBIUS is a regional group of over 100 libraries in three states that share more than 60 million books. MOBIUS items are:
FREE
There is no cost to you!
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MS Word 3 Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to create and use borders and shading, headers and footers, page numbering and drawing tools. You should take MS Word 2 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
MOBIUS items are:
Internet Basics Thursday, Nov. 13 • 9:30-11:30 a.m. Location: Computer Lab This class is designed for those with little or no experience in using the Internet. We'll teach you how to use Internet Explorer, as well as how to preview, print and save information. We'll also show you how (and why) to use Yahoo's Directory and how to improve your results in
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presentations and slide shows. You should take MS Word 2 prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Google Search. You should have some experience using a computer keyboard and mouse prior to taking this class. For adults. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
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ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Really Basic Computer Class Wednesday, Nov. 5 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Location: Computer Lab This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms. For all ages. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis. Computer Office Hours for Seniors Wednesday, Nov. 12 • 1:30-3:30 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Get one-to-one assistance from library staff on accessing all the wonderful free digital content available from your library including eBooks, audiobooks, music, movies and more. Bring your device and we will walk you through setup and answer all your questions. General questions about using your mobile device? Bring those too! For ages 55+. Registration is required and limited. Call 918-549-7683 to register.
children BIXBY LIBRARY My First Storytime Mondays, Nov. 3, 17, 24 10:30-10:45 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime Mondays, Nov. 3, 17, 24 11-11:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 2-5. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Nov. 8 • 11 a.m.-noon Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 7-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
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BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH Growing Readers Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18 • 10:30-11 a.m. Ready, set, READ! Bring your emergent readers to this beginning reading storytime that focuses on helping children develop important literacy skills (such as vocabulary, sound-letter correspondence and background knowledge), while emphasizing the fun and love of reading. Stay for early literacy stations from 11 to 11:30 a.m. For ages 2-5. My First Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10-10:30 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Toddler Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10:30-11 a.m. • Enjoy stories, action rhymes, music, bubbles and meeting other toddlers in the neighborhood. For ages 2-4 and their caregivers. Music & Movement Storytime Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 10:30-10:50 a.m. • Stretch! Jump! Sing! Read! Join us for a storytime that is all about movement and motion. We will enjoy great books while we get out all our wiggles with fun group activities. For ages 5 and younger. Russian Bilingual Storytime Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 10:30-11 a.m. Enjoy stories, songs, and activities in English and Russian. For newborns to 5-year-olds and their families. Mother Goose on the Loose Storytime Wednesday, Nov. 26 10-10:20 a.m. OR 10:30-10:50 a.m. Mother Goose is loose! Join Miss Laura for an interactive storytime that uses traditional songs, rhymes, puppets, musical instruments and more to engage and educate infants and toddlers in early literacy skills. For newborns to 4-year-olds and their caregivers.
BROOKSIDE LIBRARY Preschool Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10:15-10:45 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 2-5 and their caregivers.
My First Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 11-11:20 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Nov. 12 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 7-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Pony Bead Indian Corn Craft Saturday, Nov. 22 • 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Multicolored beads and pipe cleaners make adorable little Indian corn decorations. Stop by the library and we''ll show you how to make them. Materials are provided. For ages 5-12.
CHARLES PAGE LIBRARY Preschool Storytime: Listen to the Music Tuesday, Nov. 4 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this storytime. For newborns to 5-yearolds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: School Daze Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this storytime. For newborns to 5-yearolds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: We Give Thanks Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this storytime. For newborns to 5-yearolds and their caregivers.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY Stories From the Rocking Chair Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18 • 10:30-11 a.m. Enjoy stories, songs, crafts and more. For ages 1-4 and their caregivers.
GLENPOOL LIBRARY Ms. Tatiana's Family Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30-11 a.m. • For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster
c o n t i n u e d critical early literacy skills. For ages 4 and younger and their caregivers.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Toddler Time Mondays, Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24 Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 10-10:20 a.m. • Enjoy stories, action rhymes, fun flannels, music, bubbles and meeting other toddlers in the neighborhood. For ages 2-3 and their parents/caregivers. Mr. Paul's Preschool Storytime Mondays, Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24 11-11:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5. Ms. Karen's Marvelous Monday Stories Mondays, Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24 6:30-7 p.m. • Join Ms. Karen for stories and other fun activities. For all ages. My First Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:20 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime With Ms. Kristie Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 11-11:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5. Hardesty Regional Library's Grand Reopening Celebration! Saturday, Nov. 8 • 10 a.m.-noon Join us as we celebrate all the exciting changes at Hardesty Regional Library! We will start off with a storytime at 10 a.m., followed by a magician at 10:30 a.m. and then a 3-D printing demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served in the lobby. Help us celebrate our new look! For all ages. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Books to Treasure Friday, Nov. 14 • 7 p.m. Location: Connor’s Cove Meet children’s author/illustrator Philip C. Stead and celebrate the beauty of children’s literature. A book signing will follow. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust through a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation.
HELMERICH LIBRARY Preschool Storytime Tuesday, Nov. 4 • 10:30-10:55 a.m. The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For newborns to 5-year-olds and their caregivers. Family Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10:30-11 a.m. • Join us for new books and classic favorites, music, flannel board and more! On Nov. 19, we will feature a Thanksgiving storytime. For children of all ages and their families. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Nov. 19 • 4-5 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 7-11 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Registration is required and is limited. Registration starts the week before. Call 918-549-7631 to register.
HERMAN AND KATE KAISER LIBRARY My First Storytime Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 10-10:25 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 10:30-11:30 a.m. • For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 2-5 and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Nov. 12 • 3:30-5 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-10 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7542 to register. Family Fun Friday Friday, Nov. 14 • 1:30-3 p.m. Enjoy stories, crafts, games, a science activity and fun for all ages. Sensory Storytime Saturday, Nov. 22 • 10:30 a.m.-noon Does your child have difficulty sitting through storytime? If so, this inclusive,
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c h i l d r e n (Herman and Kate Kaiser Library continued)
interactive program of stories, songs and activities may be just what you are looking for! Sensory Storytime focuses on learning with all five senses and is especially designed for children with a variety of learning styles or sensory integration challenges. Registration is required. Register online at http://kids.tulsalibrary.org/ sensorystorytime or call 918-549-7542.
JENKS LIBRARY My First Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10-10:15 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit
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storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: On the Farm Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10:30-11 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5. PAWS for Reading Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 4-5 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7570 to register.
JUDY Z. KISHNER LIBRARY Terrific Tuesdays: Turkey Trouble Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 3 p.m. Arthur's Thanksgiving is a real challenge, but we plan to have some fun with his story and turkey activities. For ages 5-10.
KENDALL-WHITTIER LIBRARY Bilingual Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10-10:45 a.m. • Enjoy stories, songs and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 4-5.
tulsa city-county library locations 25 Bixby Library 20 E. Breckenridge, 74008 • 918-549-7514 M, 10-8; T-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 10-5 19 Broken Arrow Library 300 W. Broadway, 74012 • 918-549-7500 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 • (closed Oct. 27-Dec. 7 for improvements) 23 Broken Arrow Library/South 3600 S. Chestnut, 74011 • 918-549-7662 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 17 Brookside Library 1207 E. 45th Place, 74105 • 918-549-7507 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 9 Central Library Closed for renovation 400 Civic Center, 74103 • 918-549-7323 8 Charles Page Library 551 E. Fourth St., Sand Springs, 74063 918-549-7521 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 2 Collinsville Library 1223 Main, 74021 • 918-549-7528 M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 24 Glenpool Library 730 E. 141st St., 74033 • 918-549-7535 M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 22 Hardesty Regional Library and Genealogy Center 8316 E. 93rd St., 74133 • 918-549-7550 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 21 Helmerich Library 5131 E. 91st St., 74137 • 918-549-7631 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 18 Herman and Kate Kaiser Library 5202 S. Hudson Ave., Suite B, 74135 918-549-7542 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 20 Jenks Library 523 W. B St., 74037 • 918-549-7570 M-T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 3 Judy Z. Kishner Library 10150 N. Cincinnati Ave. E., Sperry 74073 • 918-549-7577 M-T, 12-7; W, 10-5; Th, 12-7; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5
11 Kendall-Whittier Library 21 S. Lewis, 74104 • 918-549-7584 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 10 Librarium 1110 S. Denver Ave., 74119 • 918-549-7349 M-Th, 9-7; Fri.-Sat., 9-5 15 Martin Regional Library and Hispanic Resource Center 2601 S. Garnett Road, 74129 • 918-549-7590 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 7 Maxwell Park Library 1313 N. Canton, 74115 • 918-549-7610 M-F, 10-6; Sat., 10-5 14 Nathan Hale Library 6038 E. 23rd St., 74114 • 918-549-7617 M, 10-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 4 Owasso Library 103 W. Broadway, 74055 • 918-549-7624 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 12 Pratt Library 3219 S. 113th W. Ave., Sand Springs, 74063 • 918-549-7638 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 6 Rudisill Regional Library and African-American Resource Center 1520 N. Hartford, 74106 • 918-549-7645 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 13 Schusterman-Benson Library 3333 E. 32nd Place, 74135 918-549-7670 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 1 Skiatook Library 316 E. Rogers, 74070 • 918-549-7676 M, 12-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5 5 Suburban Acres Library 4606 N. Garrison, 74126 • 918-549-7655 M-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5 16 Zarrow Regional Library and American Indian Resource Center 2224 W. 51st St., 74107 • 918-549-7683 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5
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LIBRARIUM PAWS for Reading! Saturday, Nov. 8 • 1-2 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Storytime With Ms. Marie Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 10-10:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related
c h i l d r e n activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 5 and younger. Toddler Time Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:45 a.m. • Toddlers love to explore and learn. Join us for imaginative play and discovery with toys and activities designed to foster young ones' early literacy skills. For ages 1-3 and their caregivers. Siblings up to age 5 also may attend. Bilingual Storytime Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 10-10:30 a.m. • Enjoy stories, songs and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 5 and younger. Quinceañera With Author/Artist Carmen Lomas Garza Thursday, Nov. 6 • 7 p.m. Spend an exciting evening with award-winning author and artist Carmen Lomas Garza as she shares her beautiful picture books, talks about her life and works, and celebrates the Hispanic Heritage Center’s quinceañera (15th anniversary) with us! Afterward, she will sign books. Copies of her works will be available for purchasing. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association, Arvest Bank, Hispanic American Foundation and Tulsa Intercultural Association. Quinceañera Crafts Saturday, Nov. 15 • 10-10:45 a.m. Stop by the Children's Area and make a craft based on the theme Quinceañera. This is a come-andgo event for ages 5-12. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Hispanic American Foundation and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association.
NATHAN HALE LIBRARY Storytime With Miss Nha Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 10:30-11 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 2-6. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Nov. 15 • 2-3 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
OWASSO LIBRARY My First Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 9:30-9:50 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 3-5. Stay and Play Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30-11 a.m. • For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! After our regularly scheduled storytime, join us for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers. Homeschool Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 • 2-3 p.m. Join us as we read stories and make a craft. For ages 6-10. Sensory Storytime Friday, Nov. 7 • 4-5 p.m. Does your child have difficulty sitting through storytime? If so, this inclusive, interactive program of stories, songs and activities may be just what you are looking for! Sensory Storytime focuses on learning with all five senses and is especially designed for children with a variety of learning styles or sensory integration challenges. Registration is required. Register online at http:// kids.tulsalibrary.org/sensorystorytime or by calling 918-549-7624. For ages 1-7 and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Thursday, Nov. 13 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-10 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
PRATT LIBRARY Thanksgiving Craft Fun and Wii Games Saturday, Nov. 1 • 2-3 p.m. Enjoy Thanksgiving crafts and Wii gaming. Refreshments will be provided. For ages 5-11.
c o n t i n u e d Preschool Storytime: Turkey Fun Thursday, Nov. 6 • 10:30-11:15 a.m. The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 5 and younger with a caregiver. Preschool Storytime: Thanksgiving Crafts Day Thursday, Nov. 13 • 10:30-11:15 a.m. The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 5 and younger with a caregiver. Preschool Storytime: Thanksgiving Party Day Thursday, Nov. 20 • 10:30-11:15 a.m. You may bring goodies to share. For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers.
RUDISILL REGIONAL LIBRARY Glo Costume Zumba Saturday, Nov. 1 • 3-4 p.m. Location: Ancestral Hall Still not ready to put away that Halloween costume? Well, don't; instead, come and join certified Zumba instructors Carlos and Ariane as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Día de los Muertos! There will be plenty of hips swinging and legs kicking to burn off all those Halloween candy calories. If you prefer not to wear a costume, please wear bright or
en español
white comfortable clothing. For ages 8 and older. Sponsored by the Hispanic Resource Center and Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association. Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 10-10:30 a.m. • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 2-5 with their caregivers.
SCHUSTERMANBENSON LIBRARY Preschool Stay and Play Storytime Tuesdays, Nov. 4, 18, 25 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For ages 6 and younger. My First Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:20 a.m. • Learn and enjoy songs, stories and activities that are just right for your little one at this lapsit storytime. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Stay and Play Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30-10:50 a.m. • For babies and toddlers, playing is learning! Enjoy storytime and then stay after for games, toys and activities that foster critical early literacy skills. For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers.
Patrocinado por el Centro Hispano y el Fideicomiso de las Bibliotecas de Tulsa. Informes al 918-549-7597.
TulsaLibrary.org/hrc
programas infantiles BIBLIOTECA KENDALLWHITTIER
BIBLIOTECA REGIONAL MARTIN
Cuentitos Bilingües Miércoles, 5, 12, 19 de noviembre 10-10:45 a.m. Cuentos, canciones y actividades en inglés y español. Para niños de 4 a 5 años.
Cuentitos Bilingües Jueves, 6, 13, 20 de noviembre 10-10:30 a.m. Cuentos, canciones y actividades en inglés y español. Para niños de 2 a 5 años.
T ulsa city - county library e v ent guide
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Join us as we celebrate all the exciting changes at the Hardesty Regional Library and help us celebrate our new look!
For all ages
The fun fesTiviTies include:
HaRDESty REgioNaL LibRaRy’S
grand Reopening Celebration!
• Storytime at 10 a.m. • Magician Chris Capstone at 10:30 a.m. • 3-D printing demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served in the lobby.
Saturday, Nov. 8 10 a.m.-noon Hardesty Regional Library 8316 E. 93rd St. 918.549.7550
c h i l d r e n (Schusterman-Benson Library continued)
Family Game Day Friday, Nov. 7 • 2-4 p.m. Looking for something to do on an early-release-from-school day? Head to the library for some fun and games! We'll have a Wii and a variety of board games to keep you entertained. For children of all ages. PAWS for Reading Monday, Nov. 10 • 3:30-4:30 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Mad Science Monday Monday, Nov. 17 • 4-4:30 p.m. Learn a new science experiment. Will they work or explode? Or were they supposed to explode in the first place? Join us for messy excitement! For ages 5-12.
SKIATOOK LIBRARY PAWS for Reading Saturdays, Nov. 1, 15, 22, 29 noon-1 p.m. • Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 3-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Seating is limited. Preschool Storytime Thursdays, Nov. 6, 13, 20 11 a.m.-noon • The best in children's literature, songs, games, finger plays, rhymes and other reading-related activities are shared with your preschooler. For ages 6 and younger with their caregivers.
SUBURBAN ACRES LIBRARY After-School Storytime Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 3:15-3:45 p.m. Meet the children's librarian
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c o n t i n u e d around the fireplace from some autumn stories. For ages 5-10.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Stay and Play Storytime Wednesdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy stories, rhymes and songs, and then stay after for games and activities that foster important early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger and their families. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Nov. 22 • 2-3 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-10 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Family Fun Night Tuesday, Nov. 25 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Join us for stories, songs and crafts. For ages 10 and younger and their families.
TO SEARCH FOR EVENTS, SCAN THIS CODE USING YOUR MOBILE DEVICE AND QR SCANNER APP.
Free and Open to the Public If you are hearing-impaired and need a qualified interpreter, please call the library 48 hours in advance of the program. The Tulsa Book Review and Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide are printed on partially recycled paper.
The Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide is produced by the Public Relations Office of the Tulsa City-County Library. For questions or concerns, call 918-549-7389.
Book Reviews Category
Speculative Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
EXO: A Jumper Novel By Steven Gould Tor, $25.99, 464 pages Check this out! There are only three people in the world who can teleport: Davy, his wife Millie and their daughter Cent. But while Davy and Millie have mostly spent their time avoiding the sinister Daarkon Group and protecting their family, Cent has greater ambitions: space. As Cent begins making the connections necessary to launch her revolutionary one-woman space program, Davy tries to root out Daarkon once and for all. EXO takes the series in a new direction, away from the intrigue and action of Jumper and Reflex and into more science and exploration-based storytelling. I wonder if this stems from an unwillingness to put a young female protagonist in the same danger that Davy faced. That’s not to say Cent doesn’t get her fair share of adventure. While she’s obviously brilliant and completely capable of masterminding her own NASA program, she’s still a teenage girl, plagued by romantic problems and palling around with equally witty chums (not to mention being perceived as an easier target than her father by shadowy forces). While all the tech speak may lose some younger readers, I suspect most will love seeing Cent reach for the stars in ways that so few teen protagonists these days could even imagine. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) By Jeff VanderMeer FSG Originals, $15.00, 352 pages Check this out! After another expedition fails to solve the mysteries of Area X – an alien landscape that seems to violently reject all things human – the Southern Reach brings in Control,
a.k.a. John Rodriguez, to make sense of the cryptic notes that remain. But as he confronts his aggressive and distrustful new colleagues, Control accepts the challenge of Area X ... even though the answers he finds could be far worse than he ever imagined. VanderMeer’s elusive, horrifying and atmospheric Authority follows the path laid out by predecessor Annihilation, applying Lovecraftian weirdness and paranoia to classic storytelling styles (this time, conspiracy and psychological thrillers). Again, we accompany an unreliable narrator into the unknown, tackling every baffling twist alongside Control. Here, the dangers are twofold, since Area X is secondary when compared to what studying it has done to members of the Southern Reach. The reader is dropped into the third act of a horror movie and expected to keep up. It’s daunting, weird and confusing, all of which enhance the reading experience. I have no idea what shape the third and final book in the series will take, but I suspect it will follow in the footsteps of Authority and venture into even stranger places. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Tomorrow and Tomorrow is just-aroundthe-corner sci-fi filtered through the dark melancholy of survivor’s guilt. It’s simultaneously a cautionary tale about living too much in the past and an impressively patient psychological thriller about a broken man trying desperately to right a horrific wrong. While unlikely events begin to pile up about two-thirds of the way through, Sweterlitsch does a capable job of offering an expanding cast of believable supporting characters for Dominic to encounter. No one in Tomorrow and Tomorrow is without a past, and it makes the overall sense of melancholy that much more poignant. (More haunting still was the experience of reading this book on the anniversary of 9/11.) Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Bones are powerful. They’re history made real, bringing the past to life. But for Daniel Blackland and others like him, bones are more than that. They’re magical fuel, capable of summoning up the powers and abilities of long-dead creatures. And when Daniel gets the chance to rob the greatest bone storehouse in the world, he knows he’ll need his friends to pull it off. Because more than a big payday is up for grabs; Daniel’s birthright awaits him as well. California Bones is an intriguing mix of new magic and alternate history, a supernatural fantasy novel by way of a Hollywood heist movie with monstrous stakes. Van Eekhout offers a strange, independent California as a backdrop, as well as a cast See California, cont’d on page 15
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Tomorrow and Tomorrow By Thomas Sweterlitsch Putnam Adult, $26.95, 352 pages Check this out! Dominic spends most of his time in the past. As a virtual researcher, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constantly immersing himself in the visual archive of Pittsburgh in order to investigate insurance claims following the terrorist attack that leveled the city. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the only way heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ever see his wife again, as he grows more obsessed with a city that no longer exists. But his drug addiction and obsession with solving a 10-year-old murder leads him onto an even darker search: finding a woman who is being systematically erased from the archive.
California Bones By Greg van Eekhout Tor, $24.99, 304 pages Check this out!
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Teens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Perfectionists By Sara Shepard HarperTeen, $17.99, 336 pages Check this out! S a r a Shepard has a new series in store for readers, one whose mystery and suspense equals that of her best- se l l i ng Pretty Little Liars novels. The Perfectionists is currently slated as a two-book series about a group of five girls who have all been burned by the same boy: Nolan Hotchkiss. The girls, all carrying on different lives, are grouped for a discussion in class one day and are talking about murder, when all of a sudden they plot a theoretical plan to kill Nolan. The girls laugh it off until a week later, when Nolan is found dead – in exactly the way they planned. Except they weren’t the ones who did it. With their futures on the line, the girls must discover the real killer to prove their own innocence. I enjoyed The Perfectionists, but I actually think that having read Pretty Little Liars first was a huge detriment to my overall feelings about it. Objectively speaking, however, the novel is filled with innate mystery, intense intrigue, and provides a unique twist on typical young adult contemporary literature. The thought-provoking nature of the novel will compel readers to finish quickly, leaving them begging for the next. Reviewed by Bailey Tulloch The Fall By Bethany Griffin Greenwillow Books, $17.99, 432 pages Check this out! In Bethany Griffin’s second foray into reimagining the works of Poe, she stays respectfully close to the bare bones of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” but cleverly turns the storytelling voice over to Madeline, the young woman of the house who eventually finds herself buried alive. In short and wildly intense chapters, she alternates between Madeline at different ages to perfectly show both how the house itself possesses her
and how she fights against it to stay in control of her sanity. I quickly found myself immersed in the haunting at mos phere and eerie occurrences of The Fall. Griffin’s writing is full of beautiful descriptions and hypnotic prose, and from the first chapter, successfully makes the reader’s blood run cold. The story builds in intensity in a way that feels like the tightening of a screw, with each brief chapter giving us another small glimpse at the whole picture. Intermixed with Madeline’s voice are journal entries from Lisbeth Usher who, like Madeline, was trying to escape. It’s easy to feel for Madeline’s plight as every attempt to outwit the house is foiled and everyone around her falls into madness. This bleak, horrific tale will make a perfect Halloween read. Reviewed by Becky Vosburg Love by the Morning Star By Laura L. Sullivan HMH Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 320 pages Check this out! Hannah Morgenstern was a singer in her father’s cabaret and she would have gone on to sing in the Vienna Opera soon had it not been 1938 … and if she had not been halfJewish. Instead, she was sent to her mother’s familyby-marriage in England. Anna Morgan is a buxom blonde, sent by her father’s friends to be a kitchen maid and spy at Starkers. A spectacular case of mistaken identity places each girl in the other’s space. Add in an attractive, well-muscled under-gardener and
a dashing, charismatic heir to the manor, along with a heap of secrets and misunderstandings, and you have one outstanding story. This story has all the best parts of many of my favorite classics — the optimism and drama of Anne of Green Gables, the class conflict of Jane Eyre, reversals of fate a la The Little Princess, mistaken identities and hijinks worthy of The Importance of Being Earnest or A Comedy of Errors, the baudy humor of … well, maybe it doesn’t only bring classic literature to mind. Infused with the energy of the charming cabaret girl, the story addresses the serious side of the time period, while still providing an enticing love story full of wit and banter. Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach Get Even By Gretchen McNeil Balzer + Bray, $9.99, 400 pages Check this out! In a preppy high school full of bullies and cruel teachers, there exists a secret society whose purpose is to take revenge for the tormented who can’t stand up for themselves. Don’t Get Mad consists of four very different girls: Bree, Olivia, Kitty and Margot. School administrators are already wary of their brand of vigilante justice, but
when their latest target ends up dead, things get serious. Now the police are involved, and a mysterious source is seeking revenge on them. Can the girls solve the mystery before one of their own becomes the next victim? Young adult readers who love a suspenseful read will quickly get sucked into Get Even, the first in a new series by Gretchen McNeil. The four main characters each bring an interesting perspective to this novel, and as the mystery twists and turns even deeper you won’t be able to put it down until the end … when you have to, because there is no real resolution to be found in this story. Hopefully it won’t be too long before McNeil relieves our desperate curiosity with the next volume in this series. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Traveling the Mother Road this Winter?
Download the Guide to Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for diners on this route and many others.
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 10
Book Reviews Echoes of Us (The Hybrid Chronicles, Book 3) By Kat Zhang HarperCollins, $17.99, 368 pages Check this out! Echoes of Us is the conclusion to the Hybrid Chronic les, a series set in a dystopian America that is trying to rid itself of hybrids, two distinct “souls” born inside one body. Teens Eva and Addie are the main characters, souls who never “settled” (in other words, one never faded away and left the other completely in control of the body). They have learned how to share their body equally and have been involved in some action, alternately evading the government and trying to draw attention to the plight of hybrids by various activities. In this last installment, Eva and Addie agree to go back inside an institution to get video footage of what’s really happening
Teens to innocent children and teens so a reporter can air it to the country. As with the previous two books in the series, this one isn’t as intense or revolutionary as a number of other popular dystopian young adult books. Addie and Eva are a part of the change, but they aren’t necessarily the leaders. The book is also less action, more introspection. The story is interesting, but not gripping. The series is great for most ages, however, because it contains very little offensive content. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Volume 1 By Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell HarperCollins, $19.99, 192 pages Check this out! Nobody Owens, a toddler with a drive to wander, saved his own life by wandering safely inside the gates of a cemetery the night his family was brutally murdered. Now an orphan, he is raised by the cemetery’s ghostly residents to who open up Nobody’s life to a marvelous world of mysteries, adventures, ghosts, vampires and witches. Though he can freely explore the graveyard, Nobody’s safety relies solely on him staying within the boundaries of the cemetery, and it quickly becomes clear that it will not only
take a graveyard to raise the child, but a resident guardian as well. T h e Graveyard Book, a graphic novel, is a beautiful adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s original spine-tingling tale, meant to capture and allure readers. With P. Craig Russell’s graphic novel adaptations, the illustrations highlight the beauty of bringing a novel to life. Each individual chapter showcases the extraordinary artistic talents of those known in the industry, celebrating their individual signature styles. The illustrations, paired with the storyline, will enthrall not only fans of Neil Gaiman, but those of graphic novels as well. Reviewed by Amy Shane
Stream digital graphic novels, comic books and manga 24/7 for free! • Have immediate access to thousands of titles that are always available. No waiting! • Access from any Wi-Fi or Internet-connected mobile device, tablet or PC. At the library, at home or on the go, Comics Plus: Library Edition always will be there! Visit TulsaLibrary.org/comics and use your Tulsa City-County Library card to access this free service. This service is funded by:
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Voices from the March on Washington By J. Patrick Lewis, George Ella Lyon Wordsong, $15.95, 128 pages Check this out! Perh aps the seminal moment in the American civil rights movement came on August 23, 1963. More than a quarter-million people arrived in Washington, D.C., to demand equal rights in housing, jobs, voting, education for all. Imagine the stories that brought these people from across the country — from small towns, big cities, farms, factories, colleges, even elementary schools. That is exactly what poets J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon have done. In brilliant, lyrical writing, they have told stories of the common people, the famous people, the giants who conceived this great moment and brought it to fruition. The power of what occurred that day over See Voices, cont’d on page 15
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Crime Fiction
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A Grave Matter (A Lady Darby Mystery) By Anna Lee Huber Berkley Trade, $16.00, 432 pages Check this out! There’s a new sleuth in town and she’s about to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money. Lady Kiera Darby hopes for some rest and a reprieve from danger and drama following the death of a dear friend. Spending time with her brother at their childhood home seems just the thing to do. Soon a dead body enters the scene, a nearby grave is robbed, and dangerous characters destroy any chance of forgetting her cares. Someone is stealing bones from the abbey and holding them for a ransom. If they’re not stopped, goodness knows who else will end up dead. Gender has never held her back before, and once again Lady Darby risks a further tarnished reputation to put her crime-solving skills to use. Not only will she use her vast knowledge of anatomy, but she’ll work and travel with a man to whom she is not married (In her day, these were big deals!). With handsome private investigator Sebastian Gage at her side, charismatic and fearless Lady Darby dives headfirst into another fast-paced mystery. A Grave Matter is the third in the Lady Darby series and each book is even better than the last. Exciting and well-executed, the plot is full of dynamic twists and unforgettable characters. I simply cannot wait to see what Lady Darby does next. Reviewed by Jennifer Melville
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The Button Man: A Hugo Marston Novel By Mark Pryor Seventh Street Books, $15.95, 270 pages Check this out! H u g o Marston had spent most of his career as an FBI profiler, but now has moved to London as head of security for the US Embassy. He is assigned to keep an eye on a couple of Hollywood movie stars who have killed a man in a hitand-run accident. Before Marston even has a chance to meet them, the woman is found dead, hanging from a tree in a graveyard. Even though Marston has Mr. Movie Star with him, he loses him, and he, too, turns up dead, largely due to a British member of Parliament, a former MI5 agent, who has decided to help Marston. Bodies start to pile up wherever Marston goes. This book is a prequel to three earlier Hugo Marston novels, and fans of those should enjoy this one. The main character is a compelling and interesting character who has a fascination with a 100-year-old murder that is sort of a frame story for this one. The secondary characters are equally interesting. The mystery is full of twists and turns with red herrings aplenty. The writing is very good and the story is a real pageturner. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
What We See When We Read By Peter Mendelsund Vintage Books, $16.95, 448 pages Check this out! With so many books being turned into movies, I think we all have had moments where what we see in the movie doesn’t match up with what we pictured when we read. But what exactly do we see when we read? How do we take all the little details from the text and turn them into a specific image? How detailed are these images that we conjure up in our minds? Do we really picture the action of a story like a movie playing, or is that just how we remember the experience? Peter Mendelsund considers these questions and many more in What We See When We Read. Mendelsund explores the connection between text and imagery in a highly visual book — he plays with design not only in the many accompanying illustrations, but also in page layout and font style and size. Reading the book is an adventure through the musings of the author. I’m not sure that I agree with the universality of his conclusions, given that his career as art director of a major publishing house must make him more attuned to the visual nature of words than the average reader, but it was a fascinating look into the mind of one reader, nonetheless. Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach Come Here Often?: 53 Writers Raise a Glass to Their Favorite Bar By Sean Manning, editor Black Balloon Publishing, $16.00, 408 pages Check this out! “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world…” Perhaps that line from Casablanca is what set Sean Manning on his quest to find stories of what made particular bars memorable to or favorites of more than 50 writers. And stories abound in this wonderful book. These stories are personal and revealing and heartbreaking and uplifting and funny and crushingly sad. They are stories that could make one swear off the
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hootch forever or just as easily induce one reach in the back of the cupboard and dust off that bottle one saves for special moments. What is it about saloons and taverns that make them so memorable? Well, it is the people and the stories, of course. How brilliant of Manning to mine something so many writers seem to have in common, and yet, for each is so different. The stories are interspersed with great quotes about drinking from all kinds of books. This is such a fresh take on an age-old story that it is not to be missed. Keep it at hand for quick reads when you have only a few minutes or read the small sections aloud with a few friends. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives By Laura T. Murphy Columbia University Press, $30.00, 344 pages You might be surprised to discover that slavery still exists today. Nearly 30 million people live in some kind of slavery, from debt bondage to forced labor, from chattel slavery (similar to the form of slavery that used to be legal in America, although not very common today) to forced sex work. Despite the fact that every country in the world has laws against slavery, officials often turn a blind eye, while everyday citizens have no idea what is going on. One of the best ways to aid the abolitionist movement is to publicize the stories of those who have lived or are still living within slavery. To that end, Laura T. Murphy, director of the Modern Slavery Research Project at Loyola University, presents Survivors of Slavery, a collection of narratives. Some of these stories were written by the victims themselves, while others are
Book Reviews interviews. All of them document an issue that just won’t go away, one that needs to be eradicated for good. Don’t come to this book looking for a voyeuristic description of the day-to-day life of a slave. Instead, what you will find here are stories thick with emotion: desperation that got the victim into a bad situation, despair at being forced to work, determination to live free, hope for a brighter future. This book is a message that everyone needs to hear. Reviewed by Holly Scudero It Started With Copernicus: Vital Questions About Science By Keith Parsons Prometheus Books, $19.95, 350 pages Check this out! Science asks hard questions, but perhaps the hardest questions are asked about science. What is its prevailing philosophy? What role do religion, skepticism, objectivity, morality and free will play in both scientific endeavors and life itself? Keith Parsons tackles these questions and more in It Started With Copernicus, a no-holds-barred look at the growing pains that accompany scientific advancements so sweeping that society itself also changes. Unlike most tomes about science, this one is aggressive, even argumentative at times, and that’s terrific. Parsons sparks discussion and debate. His words betray zeal and passion for the subject. Whether he’s discussing warfare between scientists (like that of Cope and Marsh, or proponents of impact theory and their opponents), the harshness of hindsight toward disproven or formerly prominent theories, or unleashing the awesome Chapter 3 (which encompasses woman in science AND the reputation of godlessness in science), Parsons is provoking reconsideration and challenging preconceived notions at every turn. And while the book loses its way a bit along certain tangents, it remains a fantastic spark, one that should ignite important conversations for years to come. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Where Do Camels Belong? Why Invasive Species Aren’t All Bad By Ken Thompson Greystone Books, $17.95, 272 pages Check this out! Camels originally evolved in North America, and lived there up until only about 8,000 years ago. So would they qualify as being “native” to North America? The author of Where Do Camels Belong? poses this query not just as an academic exercise (although that is interesting in itself), but to point
Nonfiction out the irrelevancy of terms such as “native” and “alien,” especially concer ning plant and animal species. The paranoia about “invasive aliens” leads to a lot of wrongheaded (and expensive, ineffectual, and even counterproductive) policy. Author Ken Thompson builds a careful, documented, detailed case with copious examples; smooth, factual, wry and humorous writing; an ecologist’s training but a journalist’s writing. His explanations are accessible and very entertaining. He walks the reader through paleontological history, then debunks the myths attributed to aliens (such as their supposed costs, lowered biodiversity, or eradication of “natives”); and finally offers solutions for dealing with species, plant and animal, alien or native, that are not where we want them to be. This clear-eyed, lucid, conversational essay securely asserts that our focus on native or alien is misguided, so we can stop chasing the wrong answers and instead begin asking the right questions. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner The Carnivore Way: Coexisting With and Conserving North America’s Predators By Cristina Eisenberg Island Press, $30.00, 288 pages Check this out! Here is a road to walk with large c a r n i vore s , along the cont inent a l spine from the tundras of Alaska to the varying ecologies of Mexico. It traverses not only vital routes essential for species’ genetic maintenance, but a lifetime of personal exploration of the interactions of humans and the other top predators of our continent. Christina Eisenberg explicates the sheer complexity of how each organism interacts with all. An example: wolves prey upon elk, and the leftover carcasses feed grizzlies. More importantly, lupine hunting along waterways makes elk wary there and so less likely to prevent the early growth of riparian saplings. That browsing change leads to stands taller than can be destroyed by grazing, later to more songbirds and hawks, eventually to forest densities conducive to
Lynx habitation. While remaining eminently readable, she shows the various ecologists’ models used to correlate data, their sampling and tracking techniques. Methods to permit coexistence, such as highway over/under passes, get featured space, a hopeful note. In several sensorially poignant recountings, we are gifted with personal and team encounters with bears, wolves, lynxes and cougars. Global warming is addressed as a reality to be anticipated in habitat maintenance for wolverines and lynx, but this book never becomes an antitech political diatribe. In today’s political hysteria, I found this profoundly refreshing. Fluidly written, engaging and informative. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton The Soul of the World By Roger Scruton Princeton University Press, $27.95, 216 pages Check this out! Atheism seems to be the fashion du jour. While people across the globe practice various religions and have since the dawn of time, religion is oftentimes shunned in modern Western culture. How can one be educated and still believe in God? From an opposing point of view, how can they not?
Philosopher Roger S c r uton’s opinion of spirituality is fascinatingly unique. Rather than promote a specific religion or fight to prove that there is a God, Scruton reflects on why a sense of the sacred is essential to human life. Our personal relationships and moral institutions cannot be explained through science alone. What does it mean to our well-being when we disavow these truths? What does it mean for the world should we lose the sacred? Drawing from fields as varied as music, politics, art, law and literature, Scruton brings his readers on a well-rounded and fascinating journey through the human need for sacred things. The journey is unexpected and speaks to the soul. Incredibly deep and well-written, The Soul of the World is a book that will make you think. No matter your position on religion, this is one philosophical debate you simply should not avoid. Reviewed by Jennifer Melville
An Evening With
Bill Bryson
Thursday, Nov. 13 • 7 p.m.
Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. • Ticket Cost: $15 Spend an evening with beloved author Bill Bryson as he reads passages from his works, answers questions from the audience and signs books. To purchase tickets, visit http://myticketoffice.com or call 918-596-7111. Special rates are available for Oklahoma Center for Poets & Writers members, teachers and students.
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 13
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Book Reviews Television on the Wild Wild Web: And How to Blaze Your Own Trail By Marx H. Pyle Michael Wiese Productions, $22.95, 220 pages Check this out! The Internet is the most paradigmshifting force in decades, and one of the most unexpected and amazing deve lo pme nt s to come out of the Internet revolution has been the democratization of entertainment. Storytellers not only have an effective platform for their work, but greater access to an audience than ever before. And as the Web series format continues to rise in popularity and prestige, the amount of competition rises as well. Thankfully, Marx H. Pyle is a Web series veteran, and he’s offering up his hard-won expertise in Television of the Wild Wild Web, a terrific launchpad for any and all aspiring Web series creators. Not only does he describe building a solid foundation for your series — creatively, economically and marketing-wise — but he presents numerous examples to study AND valuable tools to help you along. From a history of Web series development to valuable lessons running the gamut from brainstorming to following up on your success, Pyle has you covered. I was a little disappointed to see that as up-to-date as the book feels there were mistakes (like YouTuber Grace Helbig no longer being under the Daily Grace brand), which ever-so-slightly underminded Pyle’s otherwise unshakeable aura of authority and expertise. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Un-Junk Your Diet: How to Shop, Cook and Eat to Fight Inflammation and Feel Better Forever By Desiree Nielsen Skyhorse Publishing, $24.95, 224 pages Check this out! If you’re living on the Standard American Diet, then Desiree Nielsen has a few things she’d like to discuss with you. Un-Junk Your Diet has a lot to say — the margins are slim and there are few photos. But the colorful layout and the concept of shopping,
Nonfiction cooking and eating to battle your body’s inflammation will grab you from the beginning. Nielsen makes it easy. She walks you through why processed foods are not doing you and your health any favors. She makes it fun, even giving you a quiz to match the off-the-shelf baked goods with its ingredients. I enjoyed Nielsen’s sense of humor as it pulls you into it with such tongue-in-cheek headlines like “Bulk Foods: Not Just for Hippies Anymore.” Nielsen is a registered dietitian and she has a game plan to help readers on the path to feeling better. To prove it, she’s included a 14-day kick-start and a 28-day menu plan, both come in handy to help take that first step. I liked her selection of recipes — she’s included a neat grouping of foods, such as the Liquid Gold Smoothie that gets the day started with golden beet and turmeric. Remember, you are what you eat! Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey The Complete Coconut Cookbook By Camilla Saulsbury Robert Rose, $24.95, 320 pages Check this out! T h e Complete Coconut Cookbook by Camilla V. Saulsbury contains an enormous selection of recipes for the coconut fanatic. Saulsbur y squeezes every inch from the coconut and provides 200 gluten-free, grain-free and nut-free vegan recipes using coconut flour, oil, sugar, milk. We’re not looking at sprinkling a few flakes around. This book gives you recipes from drinks to main dishes to desserts. Her introduction thoroughly explains why coconut, in recent years, has gotten a bad rap, but why you should be adding it to your diet. Her detailed section on different types of products, like yogurt or water kefir, is a great primer for all the differences and distinctions. I liked the cookbook because it has a wide variety of dishes — pumpkin latte waffles (which are yummy and seasonal!), chipotle black bean tacos, an easy chocolate cake and butterscotch pudding. The full-page, fullcolor photos are not for every dish, but each photo is so gloriously rich, you’re going to want to cook all of them at once. Certainly there are paleo, vegan or gluten-free cookbooks that contain some coconut bits and pieces, but this compendium of coconut will have you satiated and stocking up on coconuts. Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey
The Bloomsbury Cookbook: Recipes for Life, Love and Art By Jans Ondaatje Rolls Thames & Hudson, $39.95, 384 pages Check this out! Take a liberal helping of a rich historical time. Gently stir in the most i nterest i ng and talented of the people in that time. Sprinkle generously with pithy quotes, pieces of fine art, sepia photographs, and handwritten letters and notes. Bind together with well-researched and compelling stories and recipes. Serve with hot tea and good friends for long, conversational meals and you will have a recipe for the Bloomsbury way of life. Author Jan Ondaatje Rolls has assembled a marvelous, lively history of arguably the most interesting group of writers, artists and great thinkers of the 20th century. John Maynard Keynes, Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forester, Frances Partridge, T.S. Eliot, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, to name a few, gathered with the best and the brightest during these years to engender some of the finest art and literature of the time. Rolls brings to life the gatherings through family stories, letters and doggedly-researched material that has never been published before that shines a light on this already brilliant time. This is a book that is not to be missed by those with an interest in the process of great art and thinking. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Sweet: Our Best Cupcakes, Cookies, Candy and More By Editors of Food Network Magazine Clarkson Potter, $25.00, 336 pages Check this out! From tried and true classic recipes like Boston Cream Pie to unique flavor combinations like the daring Peanut Butter Bacon Cookie, the folks at Food Network have filled Sweet with all manner of indulgent ideas for both baking and food decorating. It features kitchen creations as simple as often-overlooked options for chocolate-dipped delicacies to more challenging feats such as decorating a cake to look like a pot of cheery flowers. Though seasoned bakers and chefs might not find much to be challenged with, there are definitely some unique ways to put a twist on old favorites presented here, such as the Salted Caramel-Orange Upside-Down
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Cake, the Pumpkin Chocolate Chiffon Pie, or even a homemade version of every kid’s favorite fruit-filled toaster pastry. Best of all, this book is filled with hundreds of gorgeous photographs of the finished products, and sometimes even includes pictures of the full step-by-step process. With the uncomplicated ingredients lists and easyto-follow, concise instructions, this book makes delicious treats achievable by even the most inexperienced cooks and would make a perfect wedding gift bundled with a cupcake pan and a few fun cookie cutters. Reviewed by Becky Vosburg 150 Best Dips and Salsas: Plus Recipes for Chips, Flatbreads and More By Judith Finlayson, Jordan Wagman Robert Rose, $19.95, 192 pages Check this out! If you think chips and dip mean only potato chips or salsa, think again! In this fun, inventive book, the authors show how creative your dipping appetizers can really be. Recipes include both dips and spreads, and are divided into sections that include: Vegetable; Dairy; Fish, Seafood and Meat; Savory Salsas; Fruit Salsas; Bean Dips; and Desserts. The final section gives recipes for dippers: Chips, Crostini, Flatbreads, etc. There are too many interesting recipes to mention them all, but each is very clearly explained, with easy-to-follow directions and unusual steps or tools highlighted in bold. Each recipe has a short introduction, which includes suggested serving pairings (crudités, chips or other dippers), and most include helpful tips for making the most excellent dip possible, for example how to toast your own spices or which variety of herb to use. These dips are simple, but may be timeconsuming; many require lots of chopping and have several ingredients, some of which take a while to prepare (caramelizing onions, for example); however, the result will be fabulous and well worth the effort. Most dips are not pictured, but there is an extensive and helpful index. This book will wonderfully elevate this social appetizer! Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner National Geographic Guide to the World’s Supernatural Places: More Than 250 Spine-Chilling Destinations Around the Globe By Sarah Bartlett National Geographic, $26.00, 256 pages Check this out! Planning a vacation? If you don’t want any nasty surprises, you just might want to check out this book. On the other hand, if
Nonfiction
Book Reviews you would like to add a little excitement to an upcoming trip – excitement of the spooky kind – you really might want to check out this book. National Geographic has put together a compendium of more than 250 places from all around the world, categorized in six sections, that are known for ghostly sightings, vampires, witchcraft and the dark arts, sacred places, places that have had UFO sightings, and myths and legends. Each has the story of the place with just enough information to whet one’s appetite. If that’s not enough, the photographs and illustrations are darkly delicious. For travelers and armchair travelers alike, especially those interested in things supernatural, this is a perfect book. The writing is lively, and the stories are well-researched. The grim facts of many of these are absolutely spinechilling, and when paired with haunting illustrations and photographs, one might not like to read this late at night when home by oneself. Better grab hold of a copy before they all fly off the shelves. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Queen Victoria By Matthew Dennison St. Martin’s Press, $25.99, 189 pages Check this out! Take my word for it; this is a wellwritten book and great story. Many reviewers have disliked the book, mainly because of the author’s prodigious vo c a bu l a r y. If you love to learn new words and revel in history, this is the right book for you. Of course, there are many books on Queen Victoria, who ushered in the Victorian age. Queen Victoria ruled for 39 years, ascending the throne at age 18. She married her cousin, Albert, and had nine children in 17 years. Most of her children married into European royalty thus giving Victoria a personal and familial connection to all the crowned heads. She ruled at a time of great industrial and colonial expansion. She reveled in her title as Empress of India. Yet, for all of that, this book is a very personal story about the many shortcomings and vainglory of the queen. After Albert’s death when she was 42 years old, she remained in mourning for the rest of her life. She refused public appearances and almost caused the monarchy to fade into oblivion. Her subjects
were not amused at the queen’s reticence to be seen. Without fulfilling her public duties, the queen still spent lavishly and gloried in her empire. I loved Dennison’s writing style and the story! Reviewed by Julia McMichael Blackboard: A Personal History of the Classroom By Lewis Buzbee Graywolf Press, $23.00, 224 pages Check this out! In Blackboard, Lewis Buzbee views Ca l ifor nia’s educat iona l system from three perspectives — a memoir of his own experiences in grades K-12; parental observations as his daughter goes through private school; and reflections as a teacher. Buzbee’s memories have a realistically golden glow. He attended Bagby Elementary in San Jose, California; then Ida Price Intermediate; then Branham High — all when California’s public schools ranked No. 1 in the nation. Buzbee conveys his fondness for early classroom days: the chalkboards, the desks in rows, teacher crushes and recesses with friends. In junior high, his father’s death sparked a decline and Buzbee lost his way, but in high school he found it again. He credits teachers for literally saving his life. Now, he points out, California’s schools rank 48th or 49th, due to overcrowded classrooms, over-scheduled and underpaid teachers, and serious lack of financial commitment to public education, beginning in 1978 with proposition 13. Enrichment programs that only private schools now offer were once part of the public school’s curriculum. Today they depend on bake sales and fundraisers by parent volunteers. Blackboard invites serious conversation about the state of California’s schools and a search for better solutions. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir By Roz Chast Bloomsbury USA, $28.00, 240 pages Check this out! Deftly utilizing graphic art to accompany hand printed prose to describe her family, that means herself and her maturing parents, Roz Chast’s memoir exposes aging and family issues that currently affect too many of us. Recounting beautifully fond memories of herself with her passive warm father and regretting her remoteness from her commanding authoritarian mother, the reader can reminisce on distressing attachments with significant others. As the only child of elderly parents, she watches as these fiercely independent academics begin
the slide into senescence. When physical fragility disables both parents and is compounded by mental lapses in her father, Roz is overwhelmed with their medical problems compounded by parental inflexibility. Frayed personal relationships are small matters compared with the demands to find assisted living accommodations, prepare insurance papers, cope with the draining monetary resources. This picturesquely verbal account of the dilemma of caring for the elderly in modern America is engraved brutally and painstakingly honestly in this must-read memoir, especially for the baby-boomers who are inevitably approaching this senior age. In the past I have eschewed any comic containing texts, but having recently reviewed two awesome graphic books, the first Relish by Lucy Knisley about growing up, and currently this selection about reaching the peak and breaking down, I firmly endorse the form. The graphics lines, colors, add movement, emotion, and all the necessary flavoring to enhance the story. Reviewed by Aron Row
California, cont’d from page 9 of characters so weird, wonderful and loyal that they make Ocean’s Eleven look subdued. This is the rare fantasy book that is loaded to the brim with plot, setting and backstory, yet never feels hampered or unbalanced by it. The world emerges organically as Daniel and his team prepare for the heist, offering provocative glimpses that raise questions instead of feeling like plotholes or missteps. Here’s hoping there’s more of Daniel Blackland and his crew to come. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Voices, cont’d from page 11 50 years ago is well represented through this fine collection of poetic imaginings of lives forever changed through the messages and music of those who marched. Clearly Lewis and Lyon have done their homework and through excellent research have been able to bring the time alive in a way that will touch everyone lucky enough to get hold of this slim volume. While marketed as being for adolescents, it certainly should be found in high-school and middle-school classrooms and libraries everywhere; it should be widely read by adults as well. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
My Tulsa library CoMMuniTy Card.
Each swipe will benefit the campaign to renovate the Central Library. The Visa Debit Card is available with an Oklahoma Central Credit Union checking account. There are no annual fees and it can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. Visit any Oklahoma Central Credit Union location or go to http://me.occu.org for more information. This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
Tulsa Book Review • November 2014 • 15
MEET ann paTchETT
PHOTO BY HEIDI ROSS
WinnEr of ThE Tulsa library TrusT’s 2014 p E g g y V. h E l M E r i c h D i s T i n g u i s h E D a u T h o r a W a r D
frEE public prEsEnTaTion anD book signing Saturday, Dec. 6 • 10:30 a.m. Hardesty Regional Library, Connor’s Cove • 8316 E. 93rd St.
Hailed as one of the most interesting and unconventional writers of her generation, Ann Patchett has dazzled readers for the last two decades with her award-winning books, including The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, the critically acclaimed The Magician’s Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, and her most recent work, State of Wonder, a provocative and ambitious novel set deep in the Amazon jungle. Her nonfiction works have intrigued readers as well. Titles include Truth & Beauty: A Friendship, a memoir about her friendship with writer Lucy Grealy; What Now?, an expansion of her graduation address at Sarah Lawrence College; and, most recently, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a collection of essays that examines the theme of commitment. Patchett also is the co-owner of an independent book store, Parnassus Books, in Nashville, Tenn.
c E l E b r aT E ann paTc h E T T
Bo o kS S an Dwi C H ED in : an a nn PatCHEtt SamPLER monday, nov. 24 • 12:10 p.m. oklahoma methodist manor, Fleming Center • 4134 E. 31st St.
Join Adrian Alexander, dean of the University of Tulsa’s McFarlin Library, for an introduction to Ann Patchett’s works. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
n ov EL ta Lk: m uS iC, t H E u nivERSa L LanguagE wednesday, Dec. 3 • 7 p.m. • aHHa • 101 E. archer St.
Panelists will explore Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto. Panelists include Sloan Davis, assistant English professor, Tulsa Community College, and Linda Strummer, former opera singer.