Tulsa
event guide
INSIDE! October 2014
Book Review 4 9 12
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 12
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
C H E C K
Rogues
Fiction’s best look to the shadows for heroes and villains Page 4
I T
Long Man: A Novel
O U T
Rites of Passage
A powerful river and a nearly lost town Page 7
The dare she might not survive Page 9
Retronaut: The Photographic Time Machine
One Summer: America, 1927 By Bill Bryson Doubleday, $16.95, 509 pages Meet Bill Bryson when he comes to Tulsa Nov. 13 and 14 for Tulsa Reads. See Page 6 for related Novel Talk event.
14
Two things are certain when you read a Bill Bryson book; you will learn something and you will be entertained. Bryson’s latest, One Summer: America, 1927, is no exception. In the past Bryson has intrigued readers with travel narratives, books about science, a hilarious memoir about growing up in the 1950s, books about the English language, Shakespeare and history. Now he turns his attention to one pivotal summer in America, regaling readers with tales
of the good, the bad and the ugly of such prominent figures as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth and Al Capone. He also feeds his readers tasty tidbits and juicy details about everyday people and their extraordinary stories, such as flagpole sitter “Shipwreck Kelly,” and murderers Ruth Snyder and her lover (a corset salesman), who bumped off Ruth’s husband with a window sash weight. See One Summer, cont’d on page 8
Time travel through tantalizing tableaus that transcend theatricality Page 13
America’s Fiscal Constitution: Its Triumph and Collapse Digging us out of debt Page 15
58 Reviews INSIDE!
Book Reviews Category
Crime Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Those Who Wish Me Dead By Michael Koryta Little, Brown, $26.00, 400 pages Check this out! Jace Wilson is trying to overcome his fear of heights. That’s all. He doesn’t mean to find the body, and he sure doesn’t mean to see the two men kill another. Now Jace has to disappear. Most teens would love to ditch their parents and go on an adventure, but not like this, not with those two steely-eyed men wanting him dead. Jamie Bennett approaches Ethan Serbin in the wilds of Montana’s mountains. He is the best at survival training. Jamie had been through the course and trusted him. She knew he worked with kids in the summer and she wanted to send Jace to Ethan, but Jace would have a new name and even Ethan wouldn’t know which one he was. Ethan’s wife doesn’t like it, but he agrees to do it. When seven boys show up for survival training, Ethan takes every precaution, but things start to go terribly wrong. The local sheriff is dead, a forest fire is climbing the mountain and Ethan’s wife sends an emergency message. Michael Koryta has written an absolute thriller with more heart-stopping twists and turns than the most sophisticated roller coaster, and reading this book is an amazing ride. Get this one! Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck The Miniaturist: A Novel By Jessie Burton Ecco, $26.99, 416 pages Check this out! Petronella is 18 when she marries a virtual stranger. In the fall of 1686, Nella arrives at her new home in Amsterdam, where she receives no welcome from her much older husband, a wealthy merchant, and a cold one from her austere sister-in-law. Marin rules the house and, oddly, for an unmarried woman, has a great deal of involvement in her brother’s work. Her new life isn’t what
Nella expected, including nights spent alone. The only space Nella controls is the huge dollhouse Johannes gives her, and she begins requesting items to fill it from a miniaturist she never meets, but who sends her packages containing amazingly detailed dolls and furnishings. Soon, though, the miniaturist is sending items she never requested and which unsettle her with their seeming prescience. Nella observes from a distance Johannes’ and Marin’s argument over when and how to sell a large amount of sugar for a man and wife with whom they have a history, and then she discovers a shocking secret about her husband, something that could ruin all of their lives. The Miniaturist is an interesting story about life in a time of repression. The only drawbacks are its imposition of modern mores on that era and a not-quite-satisfactory story arc involving the title character. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Last Taxi Ride: A Ranjit Singh Novel By A.X. Ahmad Minotaur Books, $26.99, 368 pages Check this out! The Last Taxi Ride is an outstanding book that looks at the lives of South Asian immigrants in New York. Having been through serious difficulties in the first book, Ranjit Singh is now trying to make a living by driving a taxi in the Big Apple. On this fateful day, he picks up a woman whom he recognizes as a faded Bollywood star. As he drops her off at her apartment block, he also
recognizes a man he knew while in the Indian army. They agree to meet for a drink that night and, as they say, Ranjit Singh’s problems escalate as the actress in found dead in her apartment the following morning. This book is carefully structured in twin narrative tracks as we watch the young actress and her sister growing up in India and then, by chance, breaking into the movie business, while Ranjit Singh tries to find his friend and prove himself innocent of the murder. On the way, there’s a beautifully written description of the difficult and dangerous lives of these characters both in India and New York. Communities may be separated by thousands of miles, yet they may share danger and hardship. Only the strong survive. Reviewed by David Marshall Murder in Pigalle (Aimée Leduc) By Cara Black Soho Crime, $27.95, 320 pages Check this out! Murder in Pigalle is the 14th in the series featuring Aimée Leduc as our intrepid Par isienne private investigator. In theory, she and her business partner René Friant specialize in corporate wrongdoing and computer crime, but they are always being diverted into dealing with murder mysteries and other equally dire crimes. This time, we find Aimée five months pregnant (she’s yet to tell the father, so that should tell you something about the strength of their relationship) and caught up in pursuit of a 13-year-old girl. As a school project, this girl and at least one other member of her class at school have been investigating a man they believe to be a serial rapist. Yes, this is not quite what the school expected her to do, but this girl hero-worships Aimée and wants to follow in her footsteps. When she disappears, Aimée believes she’s been kidnapped by the rapist. Now it’s a race against time to find her before the rapist kills her. Set in 1998 when France was hosting the World Cup, this zips along with plenty of thrills and excitement. It’s not quite the best of the Cara Black novels, but it’s nevertheless very good. Reviewed by David Marshall
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 2
Blade of the Samurai: A Shinobi Mystery By Susan Spann Minotaur Books, $25.99, 304 pages Check this out! Blade of the Samurai is an outstanding historical mystery set in Japan during the shogunate. Despite the pressures for globalization, modern Japanese culture remains highly distinctive. In 1565, it was even more difficult to understand. The author has solved the problem by having a local man act as interpreter and bodyguard to a foreigner. Our point-of-view protagonist, therefore, explains and interprets those events so the visitor can make sense of them. What adds to the enjoyment of the history is a most elegant mystery that grows out of the politics of the time. In the quasimilitary organization with the shogun at the top, there are always factions vying for power. This time, a man is killed just as one faction leader is about to visit. This could be the harbinger of an assassination attempt. The investigation, therefore, has to balance possible motive and opportunity for a “private” murder against the possibility this may be the first step in a plot to kill the shogun. All this is told in stripped-down prose as we edge carefully through the thickets of confusion and emerge on to the plain of revelation as the killer is unmasked and uncertainty over the threat to the shogun is resolved. Reviewed by David Marshall
Tulsa
Book Review
IN THIS ISSUE Crime Fiction..................................................2
Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com
Speculative Fiction..................................... 4, 5 My Tulsa Library Community Card.................5 Fiction.....................................................6, 7, 8
Editor/Coordinator Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library
Books Sandwiched In......................................8
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT
Teens..............................................................9
James Rasmussen COPY EDITORS Gretchen Wagner Amy Simko Holly Scudero James Rasmussen EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Audrey Curtis Christopher Hayden
WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com
Meet Author Gayle Forman.............................9 Kids’ Books...................................................10 Meet Author/Illustrator Philip C. Stead.......10 Tweens.........................................................11 Build a Scholar..............................................11 Nonfiction...................................12, 13, 14, 15 Get the Tulsa Library App.............................13 Meet Author/Artist Carmen Lomas Garza....16
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
FROM THE PUBLISHER Fall is finally here and we at the Tulsa CityCounty Library are excited by the progress of our Central Library renovation project! Crews recently completed selective demolition. Soon work will begin on the construction and before you know it all of us will be enjoying our brand-new Central Library housed within the walls of the former building. While there will be familiar remnants of the building (e.g. the midcentury modern feel, the openness of the main floor and the grand staircase), it will be brand new everywhere you look. It also will feature the latest in 21st century library offerings. Fortunately, the greater Tulsa community has begun to respond to the fundraising for the Tulsa Central Library Renewed project in a big way! There are many ways you too can help support the project, including placing your name or the name of a loved one on our donor wall for a nominal cost. If you are interested in making a contribution, please call Janis Updike Walker, Tulsa Library Trust executive director, at 918-398-6644 for more information. You also can donate spare cash at every library location via a plexiglass donation box shaped like the Central Library. You may show your library pride by purchasing “Libraries Change Lives” gel bracelets, front license plates, T-shirts and more from the library’s online gift store at www.tulsalibrary. org/giftshop. While on the gift store page, you can connect to Amazon.com where the purchase of items you were planning to buy anyway will result in a donation to Tulsa Central Library Renewed. Plus, you can show your library pride by applying for a special Visa debit card at Oklahoma Central Credit Union, featuring the renovated Central Library. Every time you use the card a donation will be made to the campaign. As you can see, there are many ways to support your beloved Central Library. Of course taking advantage of all the amazing products and services, including checking out many of the books in this issue is another way to show your support. Remember: libraries do change lives but only if we use them and support them.
Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO
Coming Up! Tulsa City-County Library will celebrate the beauty of children’s literature at Books to Treasure on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at Hardesty Regional Library. Philip C. Stead, author and illustrator of A Home for Bird and other children’s picture books, is the featured artist.
Book Reviews Category
Speculative Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Wurms of Blearmouth: A Malazan Tale of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach By Steven Erikson Tor, $14.99, 208 pages Check this out! What is it that makes Steven Erikson’s writing so compelling? For me, it’s the ability to craft a dark, brutal, horrific world and still find a thread of ludicrous humor in it. Enter the intrepid necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, unofficial champions of disorder, with their luckless manservant, Emancipor Reese. The trio has been shipwrecked on a hostile coast inhabited by wreckers who pick their living from shattered ships. The nearest town offers shelter, but its inhabitants, their improbably named lord and an assortment of other travelers pulled along in the wake of our antiheroes might just be more than they can handle … though probably not. In either case, as the town’s history comes boiling to the surface, the status quo is going to be shattered, for good or, more likely, for ill. Erikson’s Malazan novels form a sweeping epic fantasy anchored by a grim world and complex characters. The short stories and novellas following Bauchelain and Korbal Broach will likely appeal most to readers already familiar with their appearances in Memories of Ice and later books. If you’re not already a fan, you can look at The Wurms of Blearmouth as an assault on your expectations of the fantasy genre, one that just might make you look at it in a whole new light. Reviewed by James Rasmussen
The Magician’s Land: A Novel (Magicians Trilogy) By Lev Grossman Viking Adult, $27.95, 416 pages Check this out! Quentin Coldwater, former Brooklyn honors student, former King of Fillory and now former Brakebills faculty member, suddenly finds himself back where he started — alone in the real world, in need of a purpose and in need of a job. Fortunately, as happens so often, a job presents itself to him. Quentin finds himself in a gang of thieves, hired to steal a priceless (and unstealable) object. He accepts the job, just for the opportunity for it to take him somewhere and hopefully back to Alice. This is the final installment in the Magicians trilogy, and just like in book two, where Quentin’s magical journey takes a back seat to Julia’s story, Lev Grossman develops another character’s story. Plum, a fifth-year undergraduate at Brakebills and the president of the ominous “The League,” is expelled from school during her last term and takes up a position as Quentin’s assistant (no, they’re not sleeping together — “Why does literally everyone think that?”), while Quentin pulls off a world-changing spell, which he thinks may allow him to finally save Alice. This is a stunning conclusion to a heartbreaking coming-of-age-story, often described as “Harry Potter for adults.” Reviewed by Robert Robinson Steles of the Sky (The Eternal Sky) By Elizabeth Bear Tor Books, $26.99, 432 pages Check this out! Steles of the Sky is the concluding volume to the Eternal Sky trilogy and, although it starts quite slowly, it picks up pace in the
final third, and produces a tragic but satisfying ending. The world of the horsemen is nicely balanced against the magic of One Thousand and One Nights, with the added novelty of the sky that literally changes, depending on where the characters are and what events have occurred in the place. It’s a most elegant piece of world-building. Similarly, the prose is a pleasing balance between the poetic and the literal. The result is a joy to read. Perhaps also of importance is the slightly muted feel to the volume. Although those of us reading through the first two episodes might have been looking forward to an epic battle between good and evil, there’s far less militarism than you might have expected. Indeed, the ostensible villain who’s been building an army finds himself marginalized early on and makes no serious play for power. This leaves it to the core characters to finally come together to decide who’s going to rule the empire. In the end, there’s enough left for Elizabeth Bear, if she wanted to write more in this world. I hope she does so. Reviewed by David Marshall Rogues By Edited by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois Bantam Books, $30.00, 832 pages Check this out! George R.R. Martin opens this collection with “Ever ybody loves a rogue,” and he’s right. Rogues are inst igators, independent operators with goals and ambitions outside the box of conventional society. Whether they fight for a cause or they’re out for themselves, rogues are engaging, mysterious, exciting and unpredictable. Bounty hunters and swashbucklers, smugglers and nomads, thieves and thugs ... rogues have dominated popular culture for centuries now. Rogues is a compendium of short stories and short novellas featuring an impressive cast of outsiders for your enjoyment. Some are familiar (like Bast from Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle, Daemon Targaryen from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 4
and Fire books, and Hap and Leonard from Joe R. Lansdale’s long-running series), but many are new to the literary world, with a host of tricks up their sleeves and plenty to prove. These stories ricochet between crime thriller, fantasy, contemporary and mystery, ably representing the best each genre has to offer. No collection is perfect — some of these stories left me cold, no matter how long or short — but the hits definitely outweigh the misses in this one. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Rescue Mode By Ben Bova, Les Johnson Baen, $25.00, 432 pages Check this out!
Rescue Mode from luminary Ben Bova and Les Johnson of NASA is a great primer for those who think about our possible future on Mars. There are at least a few of these adventures published each year with the impassioned cry that we should have gotten people there already, but this one is more realistic than most. Bova and Johnson know a great deal about the subject, and there is bound to be an outcry if we have not sent people to Mars by the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in 2019. This book provides a lot of accurate information and explores many of the current issues involved. There is some coverage of Planetary Protection, Washington politics, the role of journalism and some of the dangers involved. Not all who go on this journey of eight survive. Not everything goes as planned. This, however, is an exciting read if you have not read many of these before. There may never be another Mars classic on the way, but Bova has explored the real issues in detail. Like Johnson, he has argued that going to Mars will make mankind better. The book is a bit propagandistic, but why not let the brave make the adventure for us. Reviewed by Ryder Miller Fool’s Assassin: Book One of the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy By Robin Hobb Del Rey, $28.00, 688 pages Check this out! Robin Hobb is the most brilliant fantasy writer ever. In her new book, she revisits a universe she’s written before, that of FitzChivalry Farseer and his group of assassin friends. FitzChivalry lives in peace under an alias, Tom Badgerlock. Well into middle age, his wife, Molly, announces she is pregnant. After a bizarre pregnancy, Molly
Book Reviews gives birth to a tiny girl, and FitzChivalry’s past comes back to haunt him. A thread of futility runs through all of Hobb’s novels. Will poor Fitz ever catch a break? Hobb has a knack for making her characters so lifelike that readers grow attached to them. They are thoughtful, multifaceted and ultimately flawed. After the birth of his daughter, Fitz wonders at her future and Hobb’s writing made me feel the hope and fear Fitz felt. It’s magical stuff. I missed out on Hobb’s Tawny Man trilogy, which should probably be enjoyed before this newest installment. Still, the narrative explains a little of what happened in the 15 years after the Farseer trilogy. Avid fantasy readers should definitely pick upFool’s Assassin or any book by Hobb. Her writing is absolutely riveting. After reading nine of her books, I have yet to be disappointed. Reviewed by Caryn Shaffer
Speculative Fiction Dust and Light: A Sanctuary Novel By Carol Berg Roc Trade, $16.00, 464 pages Check this out! Just when you thought it was all over, an author can suddenly bring a fantasy world back to life. In this case, Dust and Light follows on some years after the end of Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone. The old king has died without leaving a clear heir. The two sons, therefore, begin the traditional civil war to decide who has the better right to rule. Under normal circumstances, this would have been completely irrelevant to Lucian de Remeni-Masson. He’s very quietly serving out his time as an artist in the Pureblood Registry. But, as is always required in books like this, his talent gets him into trouble, so he’s demoted to the necropolis where all he gets to draw are dead bodies. Surely he can’t make trouble there.
Well, fortunately for us, the coroner gives him some very interesting bodies to draw and, when identified, some prove politically dangerous. We’re, therefore, quickly drawn into mystery mode to discover who has been killing these children and why someone is out to wreck this young man’s quiet life. All is told in a highly entertaining way, and it positively rushes forward to a nicely balanced conclusion with everything still to play for in the next book. Reviewed by David Marshall Dreams of the Golden Age By Carrie Vaughn Tor, $25.99, 320 pages Check this out! Dreams of the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn is a sequel to After the Golden Age. Although you can read this as a standalone, the experience is better if you’ve read the first. This is a story of superheroes and their families. Not everyone can be “lucky” enough to be born with superpowers. So, in the first book, Celia is born powerless and is kidnapped by supervillains who hope to blackmail her superparents into letting them get away with crimes. How Celia and her parents react is highly entertaining and well worth reading. Twenty years later, Celia has two daugh-
ters of her own. She’s calculated there’s about a 40 percent chance of a child being born with superpowers. She’s, therefore, watching her children for any sign of developing powers. Needless to say, the older has a passive power and the usual teen angst about sharing anything with her parents. She and several others at school have formed a gang and are practicing the use of their powers, but there are the usual jealousies, worries about who to invite to the prom and so on. Parts of this book are excellent, as Celia is, yet again, kidnapped. This time, the responsibility for her rescue falls on the youngsters. Reviewed by David Marshall
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 share draft account and provides members access to their checking account funds without writing a check. There are no annual fees and it can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. Visit www.oklahomacentral.org for more information. This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 5
Book Reviews Category
nating story, one that readers will be hardpressed to drag themselves away from for even a moment. Lorrie Ann is a train wreck, and the astonishing twists and turns her life has taken are shocking and painful to read, and somehow entirely believable. Rufi Thorpe has written something compelling here, and you won’t want to miss it. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains: A Tale of Travel and Darkness With Pictures of All Kinds By Neil Gaiman, Eddie Campbell (illustrator) William Morrow, $21.99, 80 pages Check this out! N e i l Gaiman’s novelette The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains was originally published in the collection Stories: All New Tales edited by Gaiman, which went on to win an award. It is now reprinted and made available in this beautifully illustrated and collectible version. This four-color edition is illustrated by renowned artist Eddie Campbell. It is the moving story of one man’s journey with an untrustworthy guide in search of a specific cave in the black mountains in Scotland where they hope to find gold. Along the way, they meet some strange characters and face some daunting odds. Told with the powerful, haunting words of Gaiman showing his talent for the craft, the illustrations help to make the story fuller and more complete. Sometimes the illustrations show small scenes of the ongoing story; other times, they simply add to the feel and emotion of the page. A mixture of media and color help to enhance the story and make a journey for the reader also. Reviewed by Alex Telander The Virgin of Clan Sinclair By Karen Ranney Avon, $7.99, 384 pages Check this out! From its breezy plot to its complex secondary characters, the third book in Karen Ranney’s Clan Sinclair series is a gem. The story follows Ellice Traylor, a modest young woman with a secret: she wrote a scandalous romance novel and wants to publish it. When she slips into a carriage compartment, thinking its traveling to Edinburgh, she is shocked when she runs into Ross Forester, the Earl of Gadsden. In a series of missteps and scandalous behavior, the pair end up in a precarious situation, which forces them to marry. Will Ellice be happy in her arranged marriage? Will she get to realize her dream of becoming an author?
I loved The Virgin of Clan Sinclair for its humor, its complex secondary characters, and its cheeky hero and heroine. The banter between Ellice and Ross was amusing, and both characters were easy to love. I found myself chuckling at some of the scenes between Logan and Mairi, two of the secondary characters whose stories are told in another installment. Ross’s insightful mother, Janet, was another one of my favorite characters. This novel went above and beyond what I expect to find in a romance novel. The pages just flew by. Reviewed by Caryn Shaffer The Girls From Corona del Mar: A Novel By Rufi Thorpe Knopf, $24.95, 256 pages Check this out! Mia and Lorrie Ann have been friends for pretty much their entire lives, despite being so different. Mia had a troubled family life as a kid, an unwanted pregnancy at 15 and a lot of responsibility heaped on her shoulders at an early age. Lorrie Ann, on the other hand, had the most loving of families, but faced tragedy at an early age, after which her life began to slowly unravel. As Mia works to build a life for herself through school and the study of ancient languages, Lorrie Ann falls apart. After losing contact for several years, Lorrie Ann shows up in Istanbul, where Mia is living while working on a major academic project, and as they talk about their lives, past and present, Mia realizes that she has no idea who her friend truly is. The Girls From Corona del Mar is a fasci-
The Dog: A Novel By Joseph O’Neill Pantheon Books, $25.95, 256 pages Check this out! Fleeing the lifestyle of his Manhattan law firm world and the girlfriend with whom he recently ended a relationship with, the hero of this novel sets out for Dubai to accept a position as the family officer of the wealthy Batros family. He spends his days ignoring an onslaught of CC:d emails
Novel
Talk P r e s e N Ts
and trying to take a teenaged Batros intern under his wing. His nights are spent alternatively staring out of his luxury apartment’s floor-to-ceiling windows at the inevitable and ubiquitous Dubai construction and interacting with the expat community and other foreigners in Dubai there to serve them. Joseph O’Neill, who himself grew up traveling and living abroad, provides us with unique insights into the comfortable loneliness to be found in the individual progress in a community of expats. At the same time, this is a sobering reflection on the class distinctions that exist between the well-off professional class of people in Dubai (and New York) and the servant class who silently construct their luxury lifestyle. Reviewed by Robert Robinson Elephant in the Sky: A Novel By Heather A. Clark ECW Press, $14.95, 326 pages Check this out! Ashley loves her high-stakes job as an executive at an advertising firm, even though it keeps her away from her family sometimes. She thinks she’s doing a good job balancing her life … until her son starts acting strangely, and all of her maternal instincts tell her something is seriously wrong with her 9-year-old son, Nate. Nate has been
An EvEning of
readings
from thE Works of
Bill Bryson
Wednesday, Oct. 22 • 7-8:30 p.m.
OSU-Tulsa • B.S. Roberts Room • 700 N. Greenwood Ave. Tulsa is reading Bill Bryson in preparation for his Tulsa Reads appearances on Nov. 13 and 14. Join celebrity readers Deborah Hunter, Jeff Martin, Teresa Miller and Will Thomas as they read passages from a variety of Bryson’s works. Two things are certain if you attend this program: You will learn something and you will laugh!
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 6
Book Reviews struggling to make sense of his life recently, and the things he has been seeing and hearing leave him feeling scared and alone. Heather Clark has produced another amazing novel with Elephant in the Sky. By delving into the world of childhood mental illnesses, she brings to light a topic that is too often ignored by mainstream media. Readers will identify strongly with Ashley, with her love of her career constantly at odds with the overwhelming guilt she feels about not spending enough time with her children and husband. By switching back and forth between Ashley’s and Nate’s perspectives, one gets a strong sense of just what these characters are up against and how all-encompassing mental illness is. This book is well-written and hard to put down, as Ashley struggles to protect her son from the hand life has dealt him. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Black Vodka: Ten Stories By Deborah Levy Bloomsbury USA, $23.00, 136 pages Check this out! Some stories are all about the plot, regaling you with welltold, wellconstr ucted chains of events. Other stories are all about the characters, memorable and witty sorts who linger with you like old friends. But a few stories, the rarest stories, are all about the emotional connection struck between the story and the reader, one that transcends plot and characters to reach inside and pluck your heartstrings in unexpected ways. The 10 stories featured in Deborah Levy’s collection Black Vodka are emotional gut punches, taking what would otherwise be tiny internal moments from longer narratives and putting the spotlight on them. These are instants writ large and grandiose, offering a theatrical style of execution in short story format. Love and loss, identity and perception, reinvention and revelation ... these stories slip past your armor and sit with you. Not all of them will resonate, but the ones that
Fiction do, the ones that stick the landing and live with you for days after, will sting you and inspire you in equal doses. There are some real gems lurking within the pages of Black Vodka, tiny moments that catch the light just right. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas What Strange Creatures: A Novel By Emily Arsenault William Morrow, $14.99, 384 pages Check this out! I did not intend to read this book. I picked it up while I was heating something to eat and, boom, I was hooked. This is the story of a divorced graduate student, Theresa Battle, about five years past her Ph.D. completion date, whose younger ne’er-do-well brother has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. The problem is that her brother lied to the police during the homicide investigation; he actually stalked his own girlfriend when she went out of town, thinking she was meeting an old flame. He had the means, motive and opportunity to kill her. Author Emily Arsenault draws the reader in with a very calm, focused style. It’s almost as if one’s watching the story unfold in slow motion, but everything about it seems real — from the dialogue to the people involved and their pets. This is not a book for those who want action on every page. I put that type of book down to read this one, without regret. The reader will wonder whether Battle can free her brother, because his plight involves a very powerful individual out to protect himself at all costs. It’s worth reading What Strange Creatures to find out. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano
to relate to her as someone with a disability, but as they spend time together, he comes to like her, and the two seem to bring out the best in each other. But economic stresses, as well as old burdens of guilt and worry, plague the Riveras, and getting along in a strange place is difficult. Their life is precariously perched, and small events threaten to tip them off the edge. Henriquez’s novel is a reminder that books can allow readers to walk in others’ shoes, breaking down walls that keep us from remembering how alike we all are in many ways. It’s a powerful story that touches on grief, forgiveness, love and hope. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim
Long Man is based on a nightmarish scenario: an entire town is about to be intentionally flooded by the Long Man river, which aut hor it ies will dam to facilitate the delivery of electricity and jobs. Everyone in town must evacuate, despite the fact that many families have lived here for generations. The draw of family roots and ancestral land, however, won’t deter the government’s plans. The river will overflow in less than a week, and the residents of Yuneetah are on their way now to other places — everyone, that is, except a few wary, resentful and land-loyal dissidents. The story of these holdouts — including a missing child — is what drives Long Man, and Greene’s achievement is that she builds such a clear sense of community, place and history in a town where hardly
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The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel By Cristina HenrĂquez Knopf, $24.95, 304 pages Check this out! Arturo and Alma Rivera come to Delaware from their home in Mexico hoping for a better life for their only daughter, Maribel, whose brain injury the year before has â&#x20AC;&#x153;taken away a partâ&#x20AC;? of the girl they adore. Their new neighbors in a modest apartment complex have all come from different places and situations, but they all share the experience of being immigrants. Rafael and Celia Toro are more established, and they welcome the Riveras and try to help them find their footing. The Torosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; son, Mayor, is drawn to Maribelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beauty and isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t initially sure how
Long Man: A Novel By Amy Greene Knopf, $25.95, 288 pages Check this out!
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An Interview With Supernatural Thriller Author, Sire Cedric Badredhead Says... How Much Can Indie Authors Realistically Make? Interview with Matthew Krajewski, author of Modern Magic: Reclaiming Your Magical Heritage
AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL ROBISON
Tulsa Book Review â&#x20AC;˘ October 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ 7
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Book Reviews
any living person remains. The dreamy, evocative writing style moves as freely and powerfully as Long Man itself, and the ominous tension builds along with the story’s urgency. Water will come to Yuneetah; water will overtake it; and the question of what happens to those who have decided to put their own lives at risk is reason to keep turning the pages as the water rushes in. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell Evergreen: A Novel By Rebecca Rasmussen Knopf, $25.95, 352 pages Check this out! Love can span generations, conquer hardships and heal broken hearts, as Rebecca Rasmussen beautifully reveals in her novel Ev e rg r e e n. The novel begins with a young bride in 1938 Minnesota, to whom the unthinkable happens. Her decision to abandon her second child will haunt her and her children and her children’s children. Only love, forgiveness and time have the power to heal this family. Evergreen is a surprisingly quiet read, despite the heartbreaking subject matter. It is a book worthy of a blanket, hot cocoa and a lit fireplace. Its themes are profound in their simplicity and the way the story reaches across generations adds a certain depth to the novel. It may take readers a while to get into the story, but pressing through is worth it. The book is split into three sections, each told from the perspective of a different family member. Despite a lack of vivid setting description, which left me fumbling to visualize the time period and an inconsistent pacing, I enjoyed the book greatly. If one is willing to dedicate the time to work through the slower parts of the novel, I think Evergreen could provide heartwarming insights on the power of love in the midst of brokenness. Reviewed by Maggie Marshall Bird Box: A Novel By Josh Malerman Ecco, $25.99, 272 pages Check this out! Malorie is the sole remaining survivor at 273 Shillingham Road, the house that has been her refuge since the world was inexplicably taken over by the creatures. Trapped in the house, now she is tasked with some-
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how caring for her two small children. With supplies running scarce, she is forced finally to confront the truth: she must secure blindfolds for herself and her children and navigate the river to a safe haven, which she can only hope is still there. Unable to rely on her vision, she must navigate the river with the assistance of the children’s keen hearing, avoiding bears and wolves on the shore, or worse. Malorie’s unknown foe — no description of the creatures exists, because one look at them drives one mad with deadly violence and suicidal actions — provides a landscape in which one’s imagination becomes a main character of the story. This excellent debut novel will remind readers of Joe Hill and later titles by Stephen King. If you’re a fan of the book, keep your eyes peeled — the film rights to the novel have already been sold. Reviewed by Robert Robinson
girl from Vincennes running away from a forced marriage and making her living as a seamstress at the Moulin Rouge, attracted Picasso’s attention and captured his heart. In the hands of Girard, Picasso is a sympathetic, if complex, figure; Eva a haunting heroine, reminiscent of Mimi in Puccini’s opera La Boheme. This is a book to savor and read more than once. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan
Mondays Oct. 6-Nov. 24 12:10-12:50 p.m.
Madame Picasso By Anne Girard Harlequin, $14.95, 400 pages Check this out! The great painter Pablo Picasso was also a great wom a n i z e r. His affairs were numerous. His marriages didn’t last. But one woman, Eva Gouel, became the legendary love of his life. They met four years before her death from either tuberculosis or cancer. (The author admits information isn’t clear.) Picasso loved Eva deeply enough to write hidden messages to her in paintings. In this novel, they had planned to marry, and Eva was considered “Madame Picasso” when she died. Girard’s lush, sensuous writing brings bohemian Belle Epoque Paris to life — Picasso’s shabby studio in Montmartre, backstage drama at the Moulin Rouge, salons of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Paris at that time was teeming with new movements in art. Picasso was moving into cubism, influenced by artists like Georges Braque. Into this world Eva Gouel, a young
One Summer, cont’d from Cover Anyone who has read Bryson knows that he eagerly fills in details of both well-known and little-known historical facts, making readers feel like insiders and preparing them for a star turn on Jeopardy. In addition to fascinating people Bryson includes depictions of horrific man-made and natural disasters, like the bombing of an elementary schoolhouse by a tax-protesting farmer and a devastating flood in which the Mississippi River overran its banks and submerged a hefty portion of the American South. Bryson neatly corrals all of this compelling information between a prologue and an epilogue, which provides context. Bryson is prone to digression, but that is what makes his books so much fun. One thing leads to another and before you know it he has led you down the rabbit hole, only to bring you back up again, satiated by stories you didn’t even know you craved. While 1927 was certainly a year of momentous events, I suspect that Bryson could write about any given time period or subject and keep his audience riveted. Reviewed by Cindy Hulsey, adult services coordinator, Tulsa City-County Library
Oklahoma Methodist Manor Fleming Center, under the steeple 4134 E. 31st St. • 918.549.7323 Prominent Tulsans will present reviews of engaging books. You may bring your lunch; no sandwiches will be sold. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
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A FREE MONTHLY GUIDE TO YOUR COMMUNITY LIBRARY, ITS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
library launcHes coMics plus: library ediTion • page 2
adults & all ages BIXBY LIBRARY a-book-a-Month discussion group Wednesday, oct. 22 • 2-3 p.m. "All Things Latino" is the theme of our October discussion as we will discuss Latino authors, subjects, fiction and nonfiction to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Read your own or choose from a selection displayed at the library. For adults.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY TeMporarily Will be closed ocT. 27-dec. 7 for iMproveMenTs. open book discussion group Tuesday, oct. 7 • 6:30-7:45 p.m. Join us as we discuss "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett, winner of the Tulsa Library Trust's 2014 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. Copies of the book will be available at the library. For adults. Participants should read the book prior to the program.
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a night of flamenco/ Tuesday, oct. 14 • 7-7:30 p.m. Join us for an unforgettable cultural experience with melodic flamenco music and dance. For all ages. Sponsored by Hispanic Resource Center.
BROKEN ARROW library/souTH broken arrow great discussions Wednesday, oct. 1 • 12:30-2:30 p.m. Join us for a lively and informative discussion on the decline of representative democracy. Our guest speaker Herb Van Fleet is a blogger, writer and retired financial consultant with a focus on environmental assurance programs. For adults. novels @ night Tuesday, oct. 14 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Join us on a journey through a classic mystery novel and contemporary thriller. Read Agatha Christie's "A Mysterious Affair at Styles" and/or Laura Lippman's "What the Dead Know." A small quantity of each title is available for checkout at the circulation desk. For adults. broken arrow great discussions Wednesday, oct. 15 • 12:30-2:30 p.m. If you are interested in discussing current issues with other people in the community, join us for a lively
All Tulsa City-County Library locations will be closed on Monday, Oct. 13 for staff training.
TulsaKids college planner available aT library • page 4
and informative discussion. Topic to be announced. For adults. broken arrow great discussions Wednesday, oct. 29 • 12:30-2:30 p.m. Join Liz Neas, director of community relations for Youth Services of Tulsa, for an informative discussion on youth homelessness in our community. For adults.
brooKside library brookside book discussion Tuesday, oct. 14 • 1:30-3 p.m. Join us for a discussion of "Run," an Ann Patchett classic set over a 24hour period in which she illustrates the "humanity that connects disparate lives, weaving several stories into one surprising and endlessly moving narrative about the lengths we will go to protect our children." And feel free to talk about YOUR favorite title by Patchett, who is the winner of the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2014 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. For adults.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY all Thumbs Knitters Wednesdays, oct. 8, 22 • 1-3 p.m. All levels of knitting expertise are welcome to join us for this fun and instructional afternoon. For adults.
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Comedy of Errors Book Group Tuesday, oct. 14 • noon-1 p.m. Join this fun group of readers for a lively discussion of "The Racketeer" by John Grisham. You should read the book prior to the meeting. Contact the library to reserve a copy. For adults. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library. Patchworkers Tuesday, oct. 14 • 6:30-8 p.m. If you want to learn to quilt or are an experienced quilter, join us for an informative and fun evening. For adults.
COMMUNITY VENUES books sandwiched in Monday, oct. 6 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. locaTion: oklahoma Methodist Manor, fleming center, 4134 e. 31st st. Catherine Gatchell Cooper, retired attorney, Friends board member and facilitator of the Oklahoma Methodist Manor Book Club, will review "Sycamore Row" by John Grisham. For adults. Sponsored by Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. books sandwiched in Monday, oct. 13 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. locaTion: oklahoma Methodist Manor, fleming center, 4134 e. 31st st. Rabbi Charles Sherman, rabbi emeritus, Temple Israel, will review "50 Children" by Steven Pressman. For adults. Sponsored by Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
Hispanic HeriTage MonTH prograMs are MarKed WiTH THis icon.
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books sandwiched in Monday, oct. 20 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. locaTion: oklahoma Methodist Manor, fleming center, 4134 e. 31st st. Susan Green, museum educator for adult programs, Philbrook Museum of Art, will review "The Art Forger" by B.A. Shapiro. For adults. Sponsored by Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries. novel Talk presents: an evening of readings from the Works of bill bryson Wednesday, oct. 22 • 7-8:30 p.m. locaTion: osu-Tulsa, b.s. roberts room, 700 n. greenwood ave. "A Walk in the Woods," "One Summer: America, 1927," "A Short History of Nearly Everything," "At Home: A Short History of Private Life," "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" – these are just a few of the titles that have delighted Bill Bryson fans over the years. Tulsa is reading Bill Bryson in preparation for his Tulsa Reads appearances on Nov. 13 and 14. Join celebrity readers Deborah Hunter, Jeff Martin, Teresa Miller and Will Thomas as they read passages from a variety of Bryson's works. Two things are certain if you attend this program: You will learn something and you will laugh! For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust, Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, Tulsa Town Hall and Tulsa World.
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books sandwiched in Monday, oct. 27 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. locaTion: oklahoma Methodist Manor, fleming center, 4134 e. 31st st. Dr. Jeffrey Alderman, consulting medical director, Hospice of Green Country, will review "God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine" by Victoria Sweet. For adults. Sponsored by Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
HardesTy regional LIBRARY HardesTy regional library TeMporarily Will be closed ocT. 14-26 for iMproveMenTs. Hardesty book discussion Wednesday, oct. 1 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Join us for a discussion of April Smith's "A Star for Mrs. Blake." You should read the book prior to the program. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk. For adults. simple steps for starting your business: start-up basics Thursday, oct. 2 • 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
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HelMericH library books people are Talking about Wednesday, oct. 15 • 12:15-1:15 p.m. We will discuss "I Am Malala" and "In the Sea There Are Crocodiles," both accounts of the lives of children affected by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Malala was shot as she rode the bus to school, and Enaiatollah Akbari's story involves five years of dangerous travel alone, just to escape the Taliban in his village. For adults. Refreshments are provided. Sponsored by the Friends of the Helmerich Library.
JENKS LIBRARY Jenks library book discussion group Thursday, oct. 16 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Read "The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.
LIBRARIUM 3-d printer orientation Wednesday, oct. 8 • 3:30-4 p.m. Tuesday, oct. 21 • 11-11:30 a.m. We will have a short orientation to 3-D printing using the Makerbot 2 and the Ultimaker 2. For all ages.
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Check out 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 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 Comics Plus: Library Edition.
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of volunteer business experts. Registration is required. Go to www. tulsa.score.org to register. For adults.
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MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY an evening With distinguished author and scholar roberto suro Thursday, oct. 2 • 7-9 p.m. location: auditorium Roberto Suro was the inaugural speaker when the Hispanic Resource Center opened its doors in 1999. He will speak about his latest work, "Writing Immigration," and discuss the changes that have taken place in the country’s Latino community over the past decade and a half. Afterward, he will sign books. Copies of his books will be available for purchasing. For adults. Seating is limited. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust, Hispanic Resource Center, Yolanda Charney and Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
naTHan Hale library downloadable ebook and audiobook drop-in clinic Wednesday, oct. 15 • 1-3 p.m. Bring your eReader, tablet or smartphone, and get assistance checking out and downloading eBooks and audiobooks from the library's collection. For all ages.
scHusTerMan-benson LIBRARY Mystery readers roundtable Thursday, oct. 2 • 2-3 p.m. Stuck in a mystery rut? Come for coffee and share what you've been reading. For adults.
SKIATOOK LIBRARY osage language class Mondays, oct. 6, 20, 27 • 6-7 p.m. A representative from the Osage Nation Language Department will teach the basics of the Osage language. For all ages. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust and American Indian Resource Center.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY osage language class Wednesdays, oct. 1, 8, 22, 29 • 6-7 p.m. location: north room A representative from the Osage Nation Language Department will teach the basics of the Osage language. For all ages. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust and American Indian Resource Center.
Hearing loop available. Switch hearing aid to T-coil.
a d u l t s DIY Maker: Using a Sewing Machine Saturday, Oct. 4 • 2-4 p.m. Is your sewing machine starting to collect dust? Have you always wanted to learn to sew, but have been intimidated by your machine? We're here to help! Let us show you the basics of sewing. Learn to wind a bobbin, thread your machine, plus basic machine care and maintenance. Also, learn basic stitches and get started on your first sewing project. We will provide you with resources to pursue your own DIY sewing projects and answer any questions you might have about sewing. Bring your sewing machine. For teens and adults. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7683 to register. eBook Office Hours Wednesdays, Oct. 8, 22 • 2-4 p.m. Get one-to-one assistance from trained library staff on accessing eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, music downloads, streaming movies and more. Bring your device, and we will walk you through setup and answer all your burning questions about library eContent. For all ages. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7683 to register.
teens & tweens BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY Broken Arrow Library temporarily will be closed Oct. 27-Dec. 7 for improvements. Happy Happy Cake Ball Party! Thursday, Oct. 16 • 2-2:50 p.m. Super yummy! Decorate cake balls to look like your favorite book or anime characters. Costumes welcome. For ages 13-18.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH Tumbling With the Library Tuesday, Oct. 21 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Talk about Tumblr, fandoms and blogging (and reblogging!) with other teens. Create content, reblog for the library's Tumblr account and even set up your own! For ages 12-18. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7662 to register. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust.
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In the Middle Book Group Monday, Oct. 27 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Are you "in the middle" – not a little kid, but not a teen yet? Do you want to meet other readers your age and talk about books? Join us for games, giveaways and a great discussion! October's book is "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio. Limited copies of the book are available at the circulation desk. Please read the book prior to the program. For ages 9-12.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY Sukikyo! Anime Club Wednesday, Oct. 8 • 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. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library. Celebrate Star Wars Reads Day Saturday, Oct. 11 • 2-4 p.m. Tulsa Star Force will present "Star Wars" characters. We also will have face painting, Jedi activity stations, storytime, prizes and drawings. Cosplay in your "Star Wars," Syfy or other anime/manga characters. For all ages. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library. Books to Movies Festival Monday, Oct. 27 • 2:30-4:30 p.m. Join us as we make book covers, play Wii games and enjoy snacks. For ages 1018. Sponsored by the Friends of the Collinsville Library.
HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Hardesty Regional Library temporarily will be closed Oct. 14-26 for improvements. Minecraft Gaming Thursday, Oct. 2 • 6-7:30 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world in the popular game Minecraft. For ages 10-18. Anime/Manga Club for Teens Saturday, Oct. 11 • 1-2:30 p.m. Location: Ash Room If you love anime/manga and can't stop talking about it, then join us! Wear your favorite cosplay and win a prize while snacking on Pocky. For ages 12-18.
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HELMERICH LIBRARY tad@H Tuesday: Make a Playlist Tuesday, Oct. 7 • 4-5:45 p.m. We will make a playlist with our Freegal music downloads. Bring your phone, laptop or tablet, plus your library card. We also will have a book giveaway. For teens. Teen Book Wars! Wednesday, Oct. 8 • 6-7 p.m. Join us for an epic battle of the books! Listen to librarians defend some of their favorite books in four categories: Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel, Sci Fi/ Fantasy and Mystery. The audience will vote on winners and have a chance to win door prizes. Trash talk encouraged! For ages 12-18. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality: Learn How to Create a Successful Blog Tuesday, Oct. 14 • 6-7:30 p.m. Join Cullan Hudson, author of "Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma" and the corresponding blog strangestate. blogspot.com. Hudson has traveled the globe searching for unexplained mysteries that inform and inspire works like his supernatural thriller "The Mound." Meet Hudson and pick up some cool tips on how to create your own successful blog. For teens.
JUDY Z. KISHNER LIBRARY iDreams: My Vision of My Future! Thursday, Oct. 9 • 3-4 p.m. Celebrate Teen Read Month at this fun DIY event. For ages 10-18. Creepies & Crawlies Thursday, Oct. 30 • 3-4 p.m. We will make ghostly lanterns and other creepy things for Halloween. For ages 10-18.
LIBRARIUM Unmaking Wednesday, Oct. 1 • 3:45-4:45 p.m. Tinker, deconstruct or even destroy household items and electronics to see how they're made. Check out the Maker Space and other library resources while you're here. For ages 10-18. Halloween Mini Maker Fair Thursday, Oct. 16 • 1-3 p.m. Join us for a Halloween Maker Day! We will have various activities for every age range, including Halloween crafts, 3-D printing, face painting and more! For ages 6-18.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Minecraft Night Thursday, Oct. 9 • 6-8 p.m. Location: Computer Lab Put your imagination to the test building your own world in the popular game Minecraft. For ages 10-18. Class is limited to 12 on a first-come, first-served basis. Teen Time Wednesdays, Oct. 15, 29 • 4-5 p.m. Location: Auditorium Join us for fun activities, Wii gaming and board games. Also, learn how to make a dream catcher. For ages 10-18. Meet Author Gayle Forman Thursday, Oct. 16 • 7-8:30 p.m. Location: Auditorium Gayle Forman is the awardwinning, New York Times best-selling author of "Just One Day," "Just One Year," "Where She Went," "If I Stay" and other works for teens. Forman will speak about her life and works, answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of her books will be available for purchasing. For ages 12-adult. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Clever Cards! Saturday, Oct. 18 • 1-1:45 p.m. Location: Storytime Castle Learn how to design your own greeting card with stamps, markers and more. For ages 7-12. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis. Manga Ai! Saturday, Oct. 18 • 2-3 p.m. Location: Conference Room Join other anime/manga fans to discuss your favorite books, movies, characters and plot twists from this popular Japanese publishing trend. For ages 12-18. Teen Advisory Board Saturday, Oct. 18 • 3:15-4:15 p.m. Location: Conference Room Join the Martin Regional Teen Advisory Board as we discuss and plan services for teens at the library. We'll have snacks and help provide a teen perspective on the services and materials that the library offers. New members are welcome to attend. For ages 12-18.
MAXWELL PARK LIBRARY Print Your Trick-or-Treat Bag Saturday, Oct. 25 • 1-3 p.m. Get ready for Halloween by screen printing your own trickor-treat bag. For ages 8-12.
Tulsa city-county library event guide
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naTHan Hale library old Jack's lantern friday, oct. 31 • 3:30-5 p.m. Join us for some Halloween pumpkin carving, painting and decorating. Make your jack-o'lantern on Halloween, just in time to scare the trick-or-treaters. For ages 7-18. Class size is limited.
OWASSO LIBRARY dreams to reality: Minecraft edition Wednesdays, oct. 1, 8, 15 • 4-5 p.m. Join us for these special Minecraft sessions where participants will have a half hour to create a given objective as a team or individually. Registration is required due to limited computer availability. Call 918-549-7624 to register. For ages 9-18.
PRATT LIBRARY diy bookbinding saturday, oct. 11 • 1-3 p.m. and Tuesday, oct. 14 • 6-7 p.m. Keep track of your goals and dreams by creating your own journal. We will create a book using card stock and other supplies. This project will be completed over two sessions. For ages 12-18. Registration is required and is limited. Call 918-549-7638 to register.
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diy dream catcher Tuesday, oct. 28 • 6-7 p.m. Celebrate the end of Teen Read Month by creating your own dream catcher. For ages 12-18. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
scHusTerMan-benson LIBRARY The craft connection: Crochet Workshop Monday, oct. 6 • 6-7 p.m. If you're interested in learning how to crochet, this is the place to be! We'll have experienced crochet teachers on hand, plus supplies, books and beginner projects. Even if you already know how to crochet, you're sure to learn something new and have a great time at this crafty gathering. For ages 10-16. Mad science Monday Monday, oct. 27 • 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. Harry potter Halloween party Thursday, oct. 30 • 6-7:30 p.m. Hop on your broomstick and head to the library! Dress as your favorite character or wear your house colors. We'll have Hogwarts-themed
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festivities and a scavenger hunt using a Marauder's Map. A magical time will be had by muggles and wizards alike! For ages 10-18.
SKIATOOK LIBRARY Magazine silhouette Wall art Tuesday, oct. 21 • 3:30-4:45 p.m. Create your own wall art from magazines. We will have several designs to choose from or create your own. Turn your dreams into reality with Teen Read Month! For ages 8-18. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7676 to register.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY diy Maker: using a sewing Machine saturday, oct. 4 • 2-4 p.m. Is your sewing machine starting to collect dust? Have you always wanted to learn to sew, but have been intimidated by your machine? We're here to help! Let us show you the basics of sewing. Learn to wind a bobbin, thread your machine, plus basic machine care and maintenance. Also, learn basic stitches and get started on your first sewing project. We will provide you with resources to pursue your own DIY sewing projects and answer any questions you might have about
College Planner
TulsaKids 2014-2015 Now Available at the Library! The TulsaKids College Planner is an invaluable guide for high school students and parents as they set goals for post-secondary school life. Articles include: • a high school countdown • information on Oklahoma’s Promise and TCC Achieves Program • what you need to know about the FAFSA and financing a college education • information on traditional four-year and technical colleges, career training and nontraditional academic experiences • and everything from tips for writing a college essay to what to ask on a college tour. It’s all in the College Planner! Pick up your free copy today at any Tulsa City-County Library.
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sewing. Bring your sewing machine. For teens and adults. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7683 to register. Homestuck club for Teens Thursday, oct. 9 • 6-8 p.m. location: south room 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. star Wars reads day saturday, oct. 11 • 1-3 p.m. Feel the Force! Make a light saber, play games, join the costume contest and celebrate all things "Star Wars." For all ages. Make it! arm Knitting Thursday, oct. 23 • 6-8 p.m. Who needs knitting needles? Learn this fast and easy way to create your own handmade, wearable projects! Materials are provided. For ages 10-18. Minecraft night Thursday, oct. 30 • 6-8 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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digital services HardesTy regional LIBRARY HardesTy regional library TeMporarily Will be closed ocT. 14-26 for iMproveMenTs. for adults. class sizes are limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis. Ms powerpoint 101 Tuesday, oct. 7 • 6-8 p.m. location: computer lab This class shows how to create group presentations and slide shows. You should take MS Word 2 prior to taking this class. Ms publisher 101 Tuesday, oct. 28 • 6-8 p.m. location: computer lab This class shows how to create fun and colorful signs and fliers. You should take MS Word 2 prior to taking this class.
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check, and preview, save and print documents. You should have some experience using a computer keyboard and mouse prior to taking this class.
MS Word 1 Saturday, Oct. 4 • 10 a.m.-noon 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.
Internet @ the Library Friday, Oct. 17 • 9:30-11 a.m. Location: Computer Lab This class is designed for people with little or no experience using the Internet. You will learn to navigate the World Wide Web and use the library's catalog system and online resources.
For adults. Class sizes are limited on a first-come, first-served basis.
MS Word 2 Saturday, Oct. 11 • 10 a.m.-noon 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. MS Word 3 Saturday, Oct. 18 • 10 a.m.-noon 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. MS Word 4 Saturday, Oct. 25 • 10 a.m.-noon Location: Computer Lab This class explores mail merge, and shows how to use tables to perform calculations and create onscreen forms. You should take MS Word 3 prior to taking this class.
Email 101 Friday, Oct. 24 • 9:30-11 a.m. Location: Computer Lab This class teaches you how to set up a free account and use it to send and receive email. You should take an Internet @ the Library class or have a familiarity with the basic functions of navigating the Internet prior to taking this class.
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY eBook Office Hours Wednesdays, Oct. 8, 22 • 2-4 p.m. Get one-to-one assistance from trained library staff on accessing eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, music downloads, streaming movies and more. Bring your device, and we will walk you through setup and answer all your burning questions about library eContent. For all ages. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7683 to register.
NATHAN HALE LIBRARY Downloadable eBook and Audiobook Drop-in Clinic Wednesday, Oct. 15 • 1-3 p.m. Bring your eReader, tablet or smartphone, and get assistance checking out and downloading eBooks and audiobooks from the library's collection. For all ages.
RUDISILL REGIONAL LIBRARY
For adults. Registration is required. Class sizes are limited. Call 918-5497645 to register. Really Basic Computer Class Friday, Oct. 3 • 9:30-11 a.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. Introduction to MS Word 2007 Friday, Oct. 10 • 9:30-11 a.m. Location: Computer Lab This class shows how to use toolbars and menus, set margins, apply spell
children BIXBY LIBRARY My First Storytime Mondays, Oct. 6, 20, 27 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, Oct. 6, 20, 27 • 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 and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Oct. 11 • 11 a.m.-noon Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-10 are invited to read their favorite books to
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a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY Broken Arrow Library temporarily will be closed Oct. 27-Dec. 7 for improvements. Preschool Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22 10:30-10:50 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 Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22 11-11:30 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 3-5. My First Storytime Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21 10:30-10:50 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. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Oct. 8 • 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 begins at 3:45 p.m. the day of the program. Elementary, My Dear Book Club: Mystery Book Discussion for Kids Tuesday, Oct. 21 • 4-4:50 p.m. Read "The Case of the Lost Boy" by Dori Hillestad Butler and then join us for this fun discussion and mystery activities. For ages 5-12.
BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH My First Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 29 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, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 29 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 toddler. For ages 2-3 and their caregivers.
Music & Movement Storytime Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 10:30-11 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. Growing Readers Storytime Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21 10:30-11 a.m. • Ready, set, READ! Bring your emergent readers to this NEW storytime with Miss Laura that focuses on helping children develop important literacy skills (such as vocabulary, phonological awareness, background knowledge), while also emphasizing the fun and love of reading! Registration is recommended. Call 918-549-7662 to register. For ages 2-5 and their caregivers. Stay and Play Tuesday, Oct. 7 • 11-11:30 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 2-5 and their caregivers. Fractured Fairy Tales Wednesday, Oct. 15 • 3-4 p.m. Hear traditional fairy tales, and then see how they can be bent in weird and wacky ways, like "Sleeping Bobby" and "Cinder Edna." Finally, create and act out your own bizarre new stories! For ages 7-12. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7662 to register. Mother Goose on the Loose Storytime Wednesday, Oct. 22 10-10:30 a.m. OR 10:30-11 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 ages 2-3 and their caregivers. Bilingual Russian Storytime Tuesday, Oct. 28 • 10:30-11 a.m. Enjoy stories, songs, and activities in English and Russian. For newborns to 5-year-olds and their families. PAWS for Reading Thursday, Oct. 30 • 6:30 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. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7662 to register.
Tulsa city-county library event guide
october 2014
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brooKside library preschool storytime Wednesdays, oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 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 accompanied by an adult. My first storytime Wednesdays, oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 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.
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paWs for reading Wednesdays, oct. 1, 22 • 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.
cHarles page library preschool storytime Tuesdays, oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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. oct. 7 • Hats oct. 14 • Firefighters oct. 21 • Moles oct. 28 • Not-So-Scary Stories
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.
COLLINSVILLE LIBRARY
GLENPOOL LIBRARY
stories from the rocking chair Tuesdays, oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 10:30-11 a.m. • Join us for stories, songs, crafts and more. For newborns to 4-year-olds and their caregivers.
Ms. Tatiana's family storytime Wednesdays, oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10:30-11:15 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 5 and younger.
paWs for reading Wednesday, oct. 15 • 3-4 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are
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 (closed oct. 14-26 for improvements) 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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HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Hardesty Regional Library temporarily will be closed Oct. 14-26 for improvements. My First Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 29 Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 28 10-10:20 a.m. • For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime With Ms. Kristie Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 29 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. Toddler Time Mondays, Oct. 6, 27 • 10-10:20 a.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 28 • 11-11:20 a.m. Join us for stories, action rhymes, fun flannels, music, bubbles and an opportunity to meet other little ones in the neighborhood. For ages 2-3 and their caregivers. Ms. Karen's Marvelous Monday Stories Mondays, Oct. 6, 27 • 6:30-7 p.m. Join Ms. Karen for stories and other fun activities. For all ages.
HELMERICH LIBRARY Preschool Storytime Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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 ages 5 and younger. Family Festival Storytime Wednesday, Oct. 8 • 10:15-10:45 a.m. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with stories, music and more! For all ages. Family Storytime Wednesday, Oct. 15 • 10:15-10:45 a.m. Join us for fall stories, songs and more! For all ages. Fall Break Festival Thursday, Oct. 16 • 2-3 p.m. Celebrate all things autumn with stories, games, craft and treats. Bring a friend and make a sacko-lantern together. For ages 5-7. Registration is required. Call 918-5497631 to register. Sponsored by the Friends of the Helmerich Library.
PAWS for Reading Wednesday, Oct. 22 • 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, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 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 Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 10:30-11:30 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 and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Wednesdays, Oct. 8, 22 • 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. Sensory Storytime Saturday, Oct. 25 • 10:30 a.m.-noon 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 918549-7542. For ages 12 and younger.
JENKS LIBRARY My First Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10-10:15 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.
c o n t i n u e d Preschool Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 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. Oct. 1 • Fall Is Here! Oct. 8 • Let's Count Oct. 15 • Things That Go Oct. 22 • Make Like Trees Oct. 29 • Little Monsters PAWS for Reading Tuesday, Oct. 21 • 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.
KENDALL-WHITTIER LIBRARY Bilingual Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10-10:45 a.m. • Enjoy stories, songs and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 3-5.
LIBRARIUM Family Storytime Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 11-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy stories, finger plays and songs. For ages 5 and younger and their families.
en español programas para toda la familia BIBLIOTECA BROKEN ARROW Reflejos Flamencos Martes, 14 de octubre • 7-7:30 p.m. Los invitamos a la biblioteca para una tarde inolvidable de flamenco, el baile tradicional y apasionado de España. Para todas las edades.
clases de informática BIBLIOTECA REGIONAL MARTIN La Computadora: Lo Básico Jueves, 2 de octubre • 6:30-7:30 p.m.
PAWS for Reading Saturday, Oct. 11 • 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. Halloween Mini Maker Fair Thursday, Oct. 16 • 1-3 p.m. Join us for a Halloween Maker Day! We will have various activities for every age range, including Halloween crafts, 3-D printing, face painting and more! For ages 6-18. Spooky But Not Too Spooky Crafts! Tuesday, Oct. 28 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. • Join us after storytime and create some spooky art to take home. For ages 5 and younger accompanied by an adult. Child-care groups, please call before attending. Seating is limited so we may refer you to another library.
MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY Bilingual Storytime Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 10-10:30 a.m. Location: Storytime Castle Enjoy stories, songs and activities in English and Spanish. For ages 5 and younger.
Patrocinado por el Centro Hispano y el Fideicomiso de las Bibliotecas de Tulsa. Informes al 918-549-7597.
TulsaLibrary.org/hrc La Computadora: El Internet Jueves, 16 de octubre • 6:30-7:30 p.m.
programas infantiles BIBLIOTECA KENDALL-WHITTIER Cuentos Bilingües Miércoles, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 de octubre 10-10:45 a.m. • Cuentos, canciones y actividades en inglés y español. BIBLIOTECA REGIONAL MARTIN Cuentos Bilingües Jueves, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 de octubre 10-10:30 a.m. • Cuentos, canciones y actividades en inglés y español.
Tulsa city-county library event guide
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Preschool Storytime With Ms. Marie Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 10-10:30 a.m. Location: Storytime Castle 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 accompanied by an adult. Toddler Time Wednesdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22, 29 10-10:45 a.m. Location: Storytime Castle 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. Zumba Glo Friday, Oct. 17 • 4:30-5:15 p.m. Location: Auditorium Party at the library! Join Carlos Bejarano and Ariane Betancourt for a great time of dancing to Latin and pop rhythms. Both are certified ZUMBA® instructors and are passionate about fitness, music and meeting new people. Please wear comfortable shoes and clothing, preferably white because it’s a glo party! Everyone is invited! For ages 5-12. Sponsored by Hispanic Resource Center. Clever Cards! Saturday, Oct. 18 • 1-1:45 p.m. Location: Storytime Castle Learn how to design your own greeting card with stamps, markers and more. For ages 7-12. Class is limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis.
MAXWELL PARK LIBRARY Print Your Trick-or-Treat Bag Saturday, Oct. 25 • 1-3 p.m. Get ready for Halloween by screen printing your own trickor-treat bag. For ages 8-12.
NATHAN HALE LIBRARY Storytime With Miss Nha Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 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, Oct. 18 • 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. Old Jack's Lantern Friday, Oct. 31 • 3:30-5 p.m. Join us for some Halloween pumpkin carving, painting and decorating. Make your jack-o'lantern on Halloween, just in time to scare the trick-or-treaters. For ages 7-18. Class size is limited.
OWASSO LIBRARY My First Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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 Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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 Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 • 2-3 p.m. We will read stories and make a craft. For ages 5-11.
PRATT LIBRARY Preschool Storytime: Splat the Cat Meets Pete the Cat Thursday, Oct. 2 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Who is your favorite cat: Splat or Pete? Come and hear about both of them so you can decide! We will make special cat crafts. For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: Pots and Pans Band Thursday, Oct. 9 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Bring your favorite pot and wooden spoon, or other kitchen "musical gadget" and join the band! For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers.
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c o n t i n u e d Preschool Storytime: Pretty Little Pumpkins Thursday, Oct. 16 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Enjoy pumpkin stories, flannel boards, rhymes ... pretty little pumpkins galore! For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: Halloween Craft Day Thursday, Oct. 23 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. We love Halloween and we love crafts. Today we will enjoy both! For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers. Preschool Storytime: Halloween Parade and Party Thursday, Oct. 30 • 10:30-11:30 a.m. Wear your costumes, bring goodies to share. We'll celebrate Halloween, if you dare! For ages 5 and younger with their caregivers.
SCHUSTERMANBENSON LIBRARY My First Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 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, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 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. Calling All Superheroes! Saturday, Oct. 4 • 10:30 a.m.-noon Help! The library is under attack by a Bookworm Villain and we need the Superhero Kids of Tulsa to help us save our books! Wear your best costume and help us save the day. For ages 4-10. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7670 to register. Preschool Stay and Play Storytime Tuesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 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 5 and younger with their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Monday, Oct. 20 • 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, Oct. 27 • 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 Preschool Storytime Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 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. Oct. 2 • Down on the Farm Oct. 9 • Apples, Apples, Apples Oct. 16 • Counting and Cookies Oct. 23 • Spooky Animals Oct. 30 • Dress-Up Day
ZARROW REGIONAL LIBRARY Stay and Play Storytime Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10:30-11:30 a.m. • Enjoy stories, songs and rhymes and then stay after for games and activities that foster important early literacy skills. For ages 5 and younger. PAWS for Reading Saturday, Oct. 25 • 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. Halloween Family Fun Night Tuesday, Oct. 28 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Prepare for a fun and frightening time as we share Halloween stories and make Halloween crafts. You may wear your costume. For ages 10 and younger and their families.
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
Teens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before By Jenny Han Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 368 pages Check this out! Lara Jean Song Covey is a middle child, older than rambunctious Kitty, younger than studious Margot. When Margot heads off to college, Lara Jean steps up to keep the household running, while trying to maintain a friendship with Margot’s ex, Josh. But when love letters Lara Jean wrote to the five boys she’s loved are accidentally mailed, everything changes. One goes to a boy who asks Lara Jean to pretend to be his girlfriend to make his ex jealous. And another letter goes to Josh ... To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a paean to the awkwardness of dating, boygirl friendships and the power that secrets hold, both the ones we protect and the ones we let slip. While the “fake girlfriend” story arc smacks of teen novel cliché, Han keeps it interesting by adding the complication of the letters and the what-if thinking they provoke. The novel’s rough spots are helped by how likable Josh and Lara Jean are, because much of the story rests on their interactions. More winsome than I expected, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before almost feels like a female companion to Markus Zusak’s Getting the Girl, which is no small compliment in my book. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas The Lovely and the Lost (The Dispossessed) By Page Morgan Delacorte Press, $18.99, 368 pages Check this out! The Waverly siblings have discovered that there are dark and creepy things, demons to be precise, that lurk in the shadows and that they may be able to fight these demons. But it’s not always the demons that they must be wary of, but also those humans that sur-
round them, no matter how close they seem. And while the Dispossessed or gargoyles are their protectors, there are lines being drawn and sides being taken. Ingrid, Gaby and Grayson must each decide which path to take. And Luc, the fierce and loyal gargoyle, must determine if Ingrid is worth the wrath of the angels or if he needs to move on. The Lovely and the Lost is the second book in the Dispossessed series by Morgan Page. The writing pulls the reader in, and the imagery that Page creates is stunning. The story is set in old-world Paris, with horse-drawn carriages, ladies with parasols and a splash of demons, hellhounds, gargoyles and angels thrown in. The plot is well-crafted with plenty of twists, turns and surprises you never see coming. The characters are intriguing, complex and full of depth. A thoroughly enjoyable read with an ending that will leave you wanting more. Reviewed by Patricia Mendoza The Jewel By Amy Ewing HarperTeen, $17.99, 368 pages Check this out! In this dystopian fantasy, the Jewel is the inner ring on an island walled from the sea. Only wealthy nobility live in the Jewel, which is divided into four sections for various nobles, while the Elector and Electress rule from their palace in the center. For mysterious reasons, women in the Jewel are not able to bear children of their own. They rely on surrogates taken from the island’s outer
ring, the Marsh. In the Marsh, 12-year-old girls are tested for special gifts called auguries. If they have these gifts, they are trained in a holding cell four years, then auctioned off in the Jewel. Violet Lasting (renamed 197) is one such surrogate, and her augury powers are particularly strong. The Jewel is full of court intrigues; at stake is which daughter born to a surrogate will be betrothed to the current rulers’ baby son. Violet’s arrival sets off a compelling train of events fueled by the competition of hopeful mothers. The author has done a masterful job of world-building. Her characters, both sympathetic and nefarious, are well-defined and ring true. Tension is well-maintained throughout. The last scene suggests an exciting sequel to come. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan Rites of Passage By Joy N. Hensley HarperTeen, $17.99, 416 pages Check this out! Sam McKenna has never been able to say no to a dare, and this year she’s about to embark on her most meaningful dare yet. Before her brother’s death, he dared her to enroll in one of the country’s most prestigious military academies, which is accepting female cadets for the first time in history.
Sam knows it will be hard, knows she will have to go far in order to prove herself, but she wasn’t prepared for the hatred she faces there. From intense physical training to “acc ident a l ” injuries during training exercise, Sam faces more enemies than she knows: enemies that are determined to force her out. But Sam has allies too: the other female recruits, a few of the guys and even her drill instructor, who she is undeniably attracted to. Can she make it to the end of the year? Joy Hensley’s debut novel, Rites of Passage, deals with some uncomfortable subject matter. While an extreme example that most girls today will never face, the way Sam deals with bullies is inspirational (and more than a little scary at times), and readers will be rooting for her the whole way. This one will hook you until the very end, and leave you hoping for a sequel. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Celebrate Teen Read Month With Author Gayle Forman Thursday, Oct. 16 • 7 p.m. Martin Regional Library 2601 S. Garnett Road 918.549.7590 Gayle Forman is the award-winning New York Times best-selling author of Just One Day, Just One Year, Where She Went, If I Stay and other works for teens. Forman will speak about her life and works, answer questions from the audience and sign books. Copies of her books will be available for purchasing.
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 9
Book Reviews Category
Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth By Ian Lendler, Zack Giallongo (illustrator) First Second, $12.99, 80 pages Check this out! At night, after the visitors have gone home and the zookeepers have locked up, the animals of the zoo entertain one another by p e r for m i n g classic plays. Tonight’s performance: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in which the great hero Macbeth (played by the lion) gets an idea planted in his head (by the “weird sisters” — a lemur, a koala and a rabbit) that if he kills the king (an owl), he can become the king! His wife (a leopard) enthusiastically urges him to give it a try, but then he can’t stop himself from eating others! Detective Macduff (a heron) is on the case, and Macbeth is starting to have nightmares. Where will the madness end?! This is not your traditional performance of Macbeth; really, The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents: Macbeth is unlike any version I’ve ever encountered before. And I mean that in the best way possible; this clever little retelling is funny and imaginative, and the illustrations really make it sparkle. This graphic novel would be a fantastic way to introduce a younger audience to this classic story, but adults are sure to enjoy every page too. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales From Deckawoo Drive, Volume One By Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen Candlewick, $12.99, 96 pages Check this out! Leroy Ninker is not a big fellow. In fact, he is rather small. But he has boots and a hat and a lasso. He often is heard to say “yippiei-oh.” He wants to be a cowboy, but he works in a theater concession stand and is happiest on Western night. He is finally told real cowboys must have horses, so he sets out to get one. When he finds Maybelline, it is a match made in heaven. They love each other immediately. The woman who sells Maybel-
line to Leroy Ninker tells him there are three rules to owning her. Can Leroy Ninker remember all three and become a real cowboy with a horse? Kate DiCamillo has a real winner on her hands with this new book. Leroy Ninker is a great little character who will be fascinating to the first- to third-grade crowd and will keep them turning pages and asking for more. This book is funny, smart and very entertaining. The illustrations by Chris Van Dusen, also funny, smart and entertaining, are the perfect complement for this story. There is a special surprise at the end for fans of DiCamillo’s other chapter books. Don’t miss this one. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
city as the characters move through locations, making for additional discussion possibilities during storytime. Although this story is about New York City, the message of the book is applicable for a child visiting any large city or to demonstrate how to see a scary situation with a different perspective. The book is recommended for ages 4 to 8, but the text of the story is simple and reads quickly and would also be great for much younger children. Reviewed by Megan Just Lives of the Explorers: Discoveries, Disasters (and What the Neighbors Thought) By Kathleen Krull, Kathryn Hewitt (illustrator) Harcourt BFYR, $20.99, 96 pages Check this out! Since man first roamed the earth, some have always had a need to look over the next hill or across the wide river, to go where none have gone before. These explorers have changed the face of history and helped to bridge cultures. With
so many adventurers from which to choose, Kathleen Krull must have had a difficult time choosing 17 to include in this wonderful book for kids. Kids love to read about explorers and their travels, and this book will give them a glimpse into their lives beyond the explorations. Old favorites, such as Christopher Columbus and Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea, will be found here, but so will Ibn Battuta, Zheng He and Isabella Bird. These explorers, though lesser-known, are certainly no less interesting. Kids will be fascinated to read about how these people lived, how they came to be explorers, and what they faced as they ranged far and wide. The delightful, brightly colored illustrations and maps by Kathryn Hewitt are the perfect complement to Krull’s lively accounts of the explorers’ lives. This book will be a welcome addition to the study of explorers. Kids won’t be able to pass it by. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Andrew Draws By David McPhail Holiday House, $16.95, 32 pages Check this out! Andrew finds a crayon. When he begins to draw on the floor, Mom stops him, but his grandmother comes to the rescue with a drawing pad. Andrew draws and draws and draws nearly everything he sees. When he gives a picture to his mother, she says it’s a See Andrew Draws, cont’d on page 15
Nana in the City By Lauren Castillo Clarion Books, $16.99, 40 pages Check this out! A young boy arrives in New York City on an overnight visit to Nana. The city is dark and sinister with its loud noises, graffiti, panhandlers, honking horns and construction scaffolding. Even inside the safety of Nana’s apartment, the rumbling sounds make him too scared to fall asleep. In the morning, Nana presents him with a red cape for bravery, and together they explore the city, listening to street musicians and visiting landmarks like Central Park. By the time the tour is over, the boy sees the city in a different light and declares that it isn’t filled with scary things, it is filled with extraordinary things. Children and adults will appreciate Castillo’s vibrant illustrations against the backdrop of geometric cityscapes. The illustrations depict the fullness of activity in the
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.
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 10
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
ment. The stories are all there, but the writing is fresh and smart. There is a great deal of humor throughout, and kids are going to love this – if their parents don’t steal it away. A great addition to the Percy Jackson series and should not be missed. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Tweens SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Because They Marched: The People’s Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America By Russell Freedman Holiday House, $20.00, 83 pages Check this out! It has been nearly 50 years since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the South nearly as much as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Russell Freedman has written an astonishing account of the battle in and around Selma, Alabama, for this most basic of rights. Freedman’s research is always impeccable, and he deals with the facts and only the facts, but somehow he shapes it all into a most enthralling story that will have kids (and adults) turning the pages as if reading a mystery thriller. He is a great storyteller. Kids will read through this fine book, replete with news photographs that complete the story in ways that can make the readers shudder, without ever realizing they are learning that dry old subject — history — in a way that will stay with them for a long, long time. Looking into the eyes of the marchers in these startling photographs while reading the stories of the brutality they faced day after day for the months this book covers will leave a lasting impression on anyone fortunate enough to get their hands on it. This book should be in every library and classroom across America. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck The Secrets of Tree Taylor By Dandi Daley Mackall Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 288 pages Check this out! It’s 1963 and Tree Taylor, 13, has just two goals for the summer: she wants a real kiss from a boy who is not a relative, and she wants to write an article for the school newspaper that will win her a spot on the staff. As Tree is sitting outside trying to think, a shot rings out. Her father rushes by in robe and slippers, and Tree, even though she is told to sit tight, follows. What she sees is the beginning of a story that will change Tree’s life in so many ways. As she takes her journey, she finds out who truly cares about
her, who she truly loves and who she really is. This brilliant comingof-age story is set early in the 1960s as the United States begins a decade-long losing war that divides the country as sharply as the Civil War, as a beloved president is lost to an assassin. It is a time like no other, and there are few tween books set in this time. Dandi Daley Mackall’s writing is beautiful, the voice pitch-perfect, the characters strong and believable, and the story absolutely true and heartfelt. Don’t miss this one. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods By Rick Riordan, John Rocco (illustrator) Disney-Hyperion, $24.99, 336 pages Check this out! There are so many books about Greek mythology; one must ask why the need for a new one? Well, for one reason, to find a way to get young people interested in reading about it. Most of what is out there is pretty dry. This is not only interesting, but it is totally fun. The tween set has been ripping through the Percy Jackson books for the last several years. They couldn’t get their hands on them fast enough. Now Percy Jackson (through his creator, Rick Riordan) has written a new take on the Greek myths and gods. And who better to do this than a very bright half-god half-mortal pre-teen who has been repeatedly kicked out of school? Actually, with his extended family peopling those myths, he is a pretty good choice. Rick Riordan is a master of writing what kids want to read, and this is no disappoint-
Family Ties By Gary Paulsen Wendy Lamb Books, $12.99, 144 pages Check this out! K e v i n Spencer is back, and his ideas are, ahem, more interest ing than ever. He decides to heal a rift between his father and his Uncle Will, and invites him to visit. Will shows up with his new bride, her son Sparky (who really likes fires) and their huge dog with bladder issues. Kevin, it seems, is the only one happy to see them. And he decides they should have a real wedding right
there at the house. Kevin busily texts everyone in their extended family (they arrive in droves) and promises he will handle everything. Oh, and he also has an art project due in a week and a group project with his old nemesis Katie, all while trying to impress Tina Zabinski, the best smelling and prettiest girl in the eighth grade. What could go wrong? Gary Paulsen has a terrific franchise with the Liar, Liar series, and this book is the best of the bunch. The first-person voice of Kevin is pitch-perfect for a smart, extremely inventive, and funny eighth-grade boy, with the emphasis on funny. Kids will love this, but adults will see their wackiest relatives all over the place in this book. This is a must-read. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
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Nonfiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 By Dan Epstein Thomas Dunne Books, $28.99, 400 pages Check this out! It was a year like no other, and big changes were just over the horizon. It was the first year in a dozen that the United States had not been involved in a war. It was the bicentennial of our great country. Forced busing to ameliorate segregation had many in an uproar. Presidential primaries brawled until at last Carter and Ford were nominated. But baseball backdropped everything because times were changing. It was the last year before free agency would change the face of American baseball. Baseball was peopled with colorful characters such as Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and Randy “Junkman” Jones facing off in the All-Star game and Sparky Anderson and the Big Red Machine sweeping the Yankees in the series. Dan Epstein already examined the 1970s in all their wild and wacky glories in an earlier book, but with this book, he is focused on one year only, and he brings baseball to the forefront. His research is impeccable, and his writing is fun and engaging. This is a book every history buff will enjoy, but for fans of baseball it is an absolute must-read. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Let Us Fight as Free Men: Black Soldiers and Civil Rights (Politics and Culture in Modern America) By Christine Knauer University of Pennsylvania Press, $49.95, 360 pages Check this out! The integration of the military was a long, hard struggle. This book looks at the fight that African-Americans waged to integrate the military and to integrate normal society as well. The book covers the integration of the military extensively, only looking outside the military a few times. Focusing
as heavily as it does on the military, the book does have the potential to seem too focused, not providing enough historical and societal context. This is a book written for students studying history of the latter half of the 20th century. Even though the average reader will enjoy it and learn a lot, that is not the target audience. The writing is strong and avoids a lot of the academic prose that can overwhelm this type of book. What could have made this stronger was if the author put more societal context into her thesis; the role that the events discussed in this book played in the larger society feels lost at times. But, in the end, this is a wellwritten book. Reviewed by Kevin Winter Last Stand at Khe Sanh: The U.S. Marines’ Finest Hour in Vietnam By Gregg Jones Da Capo Press, $26.99, 400 pages Check this out! Walk into the deepest gorge in the wall of names facing the Vietnam m e m o r i a l ’s trio of bronze soldiers and gaze into the reflection on the dark granite as your fingers touch the grooves. Jones shares many of their stories while unraveling the shrouded mysteries of what happened at Khe Sanh, as well as the political decisions surrounding the siege. In these pages, we see the battleground through the eyes of those who fought at Hill 881, Hill 861, Lang Vei, Hill 64, Khe Sanh Combat Base and all points in between. Jones recaptures the mounting tension felt with the threat of another Dien Bien Phu
brand of annihilation. While politicians debate about the costs and commitment of holding ground, America’s youth pays the butcher’s bill. Jones not only unveils the bloody drama from the soldiers’ perspective, he grants us insight into the political pressure driving the decisions: “As Khe Sanh began, and then Tet, and the fighting, dying, bombing, and destruction reached unprecedented levels, McNamara and Johnson found themselves in a nightmare of their own making.” In the end, Khe Sanh held because of the fortitude of our troops despite the blunders made by their superiors. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London By Judith Flanders Thomas Dunne Books, $27.99, 544 pages Check this out! Charles D i c k e n s walked London’s streets when he couldn’t sleep and then incor porated his observations into his fiction. In this well-researched work of Victorian history, Flanders quotes liberally from Dickens’ novels, but it is her skillful writing that makes this an exciting read. Flanders takes a thematic approach, from the first chapter’s revelations that “the City” was on the move before dawn, to the final chapter’s exploration of prostitution. In one chapter, Flanders traces the history of London’s transportation, starting with those who walked miles to work, proceeding to horse-drawn vehicles (varied by class), then the railway system (which destroyed neighborhoods) and steamboats (which changed travel on the Thames). Another chapter explores the unsanitary conditions that turned the Thames into a veritable sewer and caused periodic epidemics. One chapter is devoted to the Duke of Wellington’s funeral procession, which became street theater for poor and rich alike. Flanders also quotes from newspapers, other novelists, letters and diaries of the time. Fifty pages of notes and 20 pages of bibliography follow the 424-page text — a text that never became dull for this reader. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Victorian era. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 12
Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter By Randall Balmer Basic Books, $27.99, 304 pages Check this out! Randall Balmer’s personal memories and savory writing send us back to the 1970s, when Vietnam losses and Watergate lies still bled from fresh social wounds. The country yearned for honesty and integrity. We saw it in a Georgia peanut farmer, and we made him president. And then, just as quickly, we jaded. Balmer describes the era as well as the man, Jimmy Carter, himself. Regardless of how you voted, or if you were even alive that long ago, this story is much more than a biography about a man who faced the Iranian hostage crisis or the cliff of financial disaster from two decades of fiscal irresponsibility. There are some secrets disclosed, not due to national security, but because we hid the facts from ourselves. In the course of seeing Carter in a new light, we see the ugliness of politics for all it does to us, to our eroding integrity as a people. We glimpse behind the scenes of campaigning only to ask ourselves: Does a Godly man stand a chance in such a corrupt business? By the end of Carter’s term, we wanted something more complicated. Balmer holds up the mirror for us. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War By Thomas Fleming Da Capo Press, $17.99, 384 pages Check this out! T here’s never been a war more costly to A mericans than the Civil War. Those years of strife forever changed our nation, and to this day, we continue to study not only its effects, but how the conflict arose in the first place. A Disease in the Public Mind poses a fascinating theory regarding the causes of the Civil War, taking us into the collective psyches of both the North and South, and suggesting that states’ rights, slavery and
Book Reviews economics had less to do with taking up arms than prevailing opinions and fears. As Fleming charts preceding events both in America and abroad, he casts what we thought we knew in a new light, examining how these “diseases of the public mind” took hold, and more intriguingly, how they might have been defused without bloodshed. With a tremendous grasp of history and some unique insight into the psychology of both factions, Fleming has presented a valuable glimpse into what was and what might have been. We need more history books like this, embracing the why, more than the what and when, providing crucial lessons to learn from, and offering chances to avoid the same mistakes in the future. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Retronaut: The Photographic Time Machine By Chris Wild National Geographic, $28.00, 352 pages Check this out! Based on the popular Internet website of the same name, this hardcover book contains historical ads, photographs, il lustrations and various ephemera meant to change the common perspective of history. It is divided into five main chapters: Future Worlds, Icons Unmade, The Power of the Trivial, Alternative Realities, and It’s a Big, Small World After All; these are subdivided by thematic content. Each picture is accompanied by explanatory text, and the entire collection is framed by an introduction and an afterword. It’s easy to understand the widespread appeal for the blog on which this book is based. From prephotographic history to more contemporary technological concepts, these images captivate on so many levels. Whether they capture celebrities before they were famous (like Ronald Reagan posing for a sculpture class!) or involve ridiculous futuristic visions (including personal flying machines), these images can quickly challenge anyone’s fixed perception of reality. Probably the most thought-provoking are vintage photos that depict architecture in the making, especially one where two formally dressed waiters serve lunch to workers perched on lofty girders during the building of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. The legacy of Retronaut will be how it has educated through amazement — in a tasteful and entertaining manner. Reviewed by Richard Mandrachio
Nonfiction Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age By Brent Hull Brown Books Publishing Group, $26.95, 160 pages Check this out! This book is not so much a recipe or set of instructions for design, but, rather, a statement of the author’s ph i losophy. Author Brent Hull has been trained in historic preservation of architecture, and his studies have led him to conclude that modern American houses, while certainly getting bigger and perhaps more expensive, are definitely not better than ones built a hundred or more years ago, and, in most cases, are much worse. He believes that improved craftsmanship we put into our houses not only makes them better, but our families, communities and selves better as well, and that they are a reflection of our true and core values. Hull makes a great case. Beginning with a historical overview of design and architecture, he explains how classical, timeless design has been lost, particularly through the rise of mass-manufactured, production houses. He also addresses the use and overuse of decoration and ornamentation, and about being true to the story of the house, and, as a corollary, building a house that is true to the story one wants to tell about themselves. Included are lovely photos of timeless houses and beautiful craftsmanship that enhance the message of appreciation for truly timeless, classic design. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner
childhood. He shares memories of different houses where his family lived, going to the beach and on vacations, making friends with the neighbor children and family reunions. He tells about his grandparents and parents and how they came to live in California in the first place. Sweet, enchanting illustrations of these times with his family are intimate and sensitive; the love he felt, especially from his mother, is intensely evident. The narrator has a gift for telling these anecdotes, which are often funny, making you feel like you know these people too. He brings the wisdom of his years to bear on his memories, giving him a sympathetic understanding that he lacked as a child. This personal portrait is well-told and exquisitely illustrated, a lovely tribute to his childhood. It resonates, because the experiences, though set in a place that no longer exists, are common to all children everywhere. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia By Candace Fleming Schwartz & Wade, $18.99, 304 pages Check this out! This is an engrossing, fast read; once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down. It tells the tale of the fall of the Romanov empire. The last tsar, Nicholas, had no interest
How the World Was: A California Childhood By Emmanuel Guibert, Kathryn M. Pulver (translator) First Second, $19.99, 160 pages Check this out! California was a very different place 85 years ago, but childhood e x per iences are timeless. Emmanuel Guibert captures this dichotomy beaut if u l ly in How the World Was: A California Childhood. The artist’s evocative sketches and line drawings illustrate his friend’s autobiographical narrations of his Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 13
in politics, so when he was unexpectedly thrust into the role, he was completely unprepared. This was a critical time to have a weak ruler. Peasants and workers were perishing under impossible living conditions, and revolutionary forces were gaining momentum, but Nicholas completely ignored this. Instead, he holed up in his pleasure palace with his wife, Alexandra, and five children. Alexandra had an inordinate amount of influence over his decisions, and the people resented her foreign influence. Massacres by Nicholas’ government against his own people further stoked rebellion, and the horrors of World War I eventually led to the government’s overthrow. The book follows three threads in tandem: mainly the Romanov family, but also the personal stories of the peasants and workers, contrasted with the opulence of the royalty, and also the revolutionary forces that gathered power and led to the dramatic conclusion. Each story influenced
Book Reviews the other, and author Candace Fleming brilliantly weaves them together in a gripping story. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder and Madness From Romanov Russia By Michael Farquhar Random House Trade Paperbacks, $16.00, 368 pages Check this out! In 300 years of history, the Romanovs are bound to have some memorable characters, and they certainly do, as detailed in this book. Peter and his granddaughter Catherine (the Greats) are only two; there were also the imbecilic Feodor; the usurping Sophia; and the commoner Catherine (not the Great); of course there is Alexander, who fought Napoleon; and the most famous Romanov, Nicholas II (the final). Each tsar gets a chapter or so, detailing what the author feels is the most important, overarching theme of the person and the reign. It is usually the most salacious. The empresses Elizabeth and both Catherines apparently were sexually insatiable, as were most of the emperors. This may be fun to gossip about for a reign or two, but after 300 years of the same old, same old, was it really that surprising anymore? Still, it is a rollicking read, irreverent and funny, and gives the scope of history along with the gossip. There is a lot to cover, so it is nice to have a lighter approach. Overall, I enjoyed the tone and the personal details; it is an entertaining and informative overview of this important part of Russian history. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life and Saw the World By Lynne Martin Sourcebooks, $14.99, 320 pages Check this out! Everyone who enjoys travel has thought of living abroad a time or two. We all know someone who has seen the world, and we’re envious. But when it comes to selling your home and most of your possessions to live “home free,” in various countries, the logistics sound far too challenging to even consider. But author Lynne Martin and her husband, Tim, did just that. Home Sweet Anywhere chronicles their jump from be-
Nonfiction ing restless golden years homeowners to global hopping through Me x ico, France, Italy, the U.K. and Portugal. A whole lot of prep work goes into such a grand advent ure: making travel arrangements, booking flights and/or cruises, renting apartments (sight unseen!) — all on a limited budget. Lynne shares their escapades complete with language barrier challenges, maneuvering through complex crazy city traffic patterns, making their way with the far from accurate assistance of a GPS unit lovingly named Victoria, and finding the wonder and beauty in coveted vacation spots all over the world. She also makes one’s mouth water in teasing us with the all the local cuisine and the grocery and market shopping that is unique to each new place. If you’re not up for making the effort to try it yourself, then be content to enjoy the journey without the muss and fuss. A great read! Reviewed by Laura Friedkin Who Invented the Bicycle Kick?: Soccer’s Greatest Legends and Lore By Paul Simpson, Uli Hesse William Morrow, $14.99, 304 pages Check this out! There are some books you need to have on your shelf or coffee table, or at least near at hand for when you need those split-second answers to questions that can quickly lead to shouting matches and the end of friendships. Who Invented the Bicycle Kick is one of those books; in fact, once you’re done with this book, you should just go get yourself a copy. Whether you’re an occasional soccer watcher or a full-on football fanatic, you often wonder when goalkeepers started wearing gloves, who has the weirdest superstitions before a game, why matches last 90 minutes or who invented the bicycle kick? Paul Simpson, the launch editor for Four Four Two and Uli Hesse, a prevalent writer for ESPN FC, provide the answers and their research. In some cases – such as the eponymous question to the book – there isn’t a de-
finitive answer, so the authors present the most likely candidates and theories. Whether you intend on reading the book cover to cover or using the excellent table of contents or thorough index, your questions and wonderings on the subject of soccer will be quickly answered. Reviewed by Alex Telander Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth Behind Food Labeling By Peter Laufer Lyons Press, $25.95, 288 pages Check this out! Organic. Natural. Freerange. These are some of the latest buzz words in the food labeling industry. The perception is that organic must mean better than conventional. But is it? And who’s overseeing this, who decides what is or is not organic, and what are the defini-
tions behind the labels? In his book, Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth Behind Food Labeling, Peter Laufer traced the origins of his highly suspect “organic” walnuts from Kazakhstan and a can of beans from Bolivia. What he learned amazed him. From the resistance on the part of the organic food industry to discussing the origins of his walnuts and beans, to the questionable methods of certifying organic, Laufer’s dogged journey in food labeling and food distribution channels is reminiscent of Michael Pollen’s attempt to trace his meals back to the feedlot and field that it came from. This is an eye-opening account of how disconnected we’ve become from our food sources and the tenuousness of the entire system, and should definitely make readers question the implicit trust they place in those in charge of our food system. It most certainly leads this reviewer to again deciding that the only trustworthy garden is our own. Reviewed by Axie Barclay
Traveling the Mother Road this Fall?
Download the Guide to Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for diners on this route and many others.
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 14
Book Reviews Sticky Fingers: DIY Duct Tape Projects: Easy to Pick Up, Hard to Put Down By Sophie Maletsky Zest Books, $16.99, 240 pages Check this out! Many believe duct tape is the best invention of the 20th century. Dozens of books have been written about this wondrous product — covering everything from medical applications to building applications to many books on fun projects. Since the advent of colored and patterned duct tape, the applications have grown exponentially. This book is designed for young people, but is so comprehensive and well-designed, it will become a staple for any crafter or art teacher, as well as all those crafty kids out there. The opening chapter, Tools of the Trade, covers all the basics: What kinds of work surfaces are appropriate? Where can one buy the tape and what are the differences between brands? What other tapes can be combined with duct tape and which tapes should be avoided? The subsequent chapter discusses setting up the work area, what tools are needed or helpful, and what tchotchkes can be used to decorate the projects. Eight more chapters cover everything from quick crafts to purses, bags and cases, to projects for your room. Each of the 70-plus projects has a materials list, step-by-step written instructions with photos of all the steps along with a difficulty scale and time needed. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck America’s Fiscal Constitution: Its Triumph and Collapse By Bill White PublicAffairs, $35.00, 576 pages Check this out! Bill White rings the bell in a desperate attempt to wake us from our financial coma before it is too late, and it is almost too late. Taking upon himself the thankless role of a nationaldebt-cr isis historian, White recounts our country’s battle with spend-thrift politicians. A senior adviser for Lazard, a firm advising both governments and corporations, White musters
Nonfiction all available resources to explain what every checkbook balancer already knows: you cannot spend more than you earn for very long without suffering serious consequences. Remarkably well-annotated, White writes with a clear, easy-to-understand style, weaving lush history with a price tag for war, industrialization and government subsidies. He documents the presidents who put us in the hole, which ones pulled us out and how they managed it. White dares his readers to imagine what our country’s founding fathers might have done about today’s financial crisis. The short answer is: They would probably faint. But, more important, White explains exactly what you can do as a citizen of this great nation to force our government into a new era of financial responsibility. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn All In Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything Is on the Line By Diana Kander Wiley, $24.95, 304 pages Check this out! Owen has been chasing his dream of a successful startup for more than a year, but now his dreams and, not coincidentally, his marriage, are on the rocks. A friend’s gift of a ticket to the World Series of Poker is an unusual, but welcome, distraction from his troubles. While in Vegas, he meets a beautiful, successful entrepreneur who takes him under her wing. As the poker hands increase in value and intensity, Owen realizes the direct parallels to his own business venture, using the lessons from the one to succeed in the other. I ended up enjoying the story and appreciated the parallelism between highstakes poker and starting a new business. The book is fun to read, with important points highlighted, but made memorable, with supporting events in Owen’s life. The author takes life concerns seriously, obviously understanding the stresses that come with entrepreneurism, and points out the most common problems in a commonsense, self-evident way that proves her point. It is an engaging teaching style; couched in such a diverting, interesting story, the lessons won’t soon be forgotten. Author Diana Kander shows that luck actually has little to do with launching a successful business in this entertaining look at entrepreneurship. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner
Absolute Value: What Really Influences Customers in the Age of (Nearly) Perfect Information By Itamar Simonson, Emanuel Rosen HarperBusiness, $27.99, 232 pages Check this out! Even for the authors of this book about buying behavior, rational consumers are a heresy. For years, the discipline of marketing preaches the bible of the emotional consumer who is swayed by brand image and their unmet needs which cloud his/her consumer preferences. These authors make a credible case for a new paradigm of consumer behavior fueled by ready information and consumer ratings that describe the actual satisfaction with the quality of the product not the sizzle created by product managers Not just early adopters, but average consumers, are relying on the Internet to provide information about the products, often much earlier than the decision to purchase. That this research is based on people like themselves and their actual experience with the product creates a new even playing field for the unknown brands or products. For this reason, a new product launch can create successful products if the early purchasers tout the product in Internet reviews. Of course, this trend does not reach into commodity products, but for high-ticket items, consumers are increasingly willing to trust reviews and ignore – or at least place less reliance on marketer’s product push. Even for brand-loyal consumers, a review’s persuasion can create a shift in buying preference. This book is a must-read for every marketer. Reviewed by Julia McMichael The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph By Ryan Holiday Portfolio Hardcover, $24.95, 224 pages Check this out! The subtitle of this book promises content that anyone alive might be interested in. We all have troubles, and we all want to succeed. The idea of success because of, not just in spite of, our trials is very appealing. Rather than your typical self-help book, what Holiday has crafted here is a primer on the philosophy of Stoicism. It is full of inspiring quotes and examples from history for each new idea. The main sections cover how we perceive the world, the need to take action and the power of will to see us through
Tulsa Book Review • October 2014 • 15
the hardest times. I did have a snooty sort of kneejerk reaction against reading a phi losophy book written by a college dropout, but that’s not really the point, is it? The point is that there are many paths to greatness; it’s a matter of seeing opportunity and taking action. Holiday does not use his own experience in his examples, though he could have. Instead, he focuses on stories of the greats in history — many stories we know already, but perhaps did not think about in quite that way. Here, we find a fresh perspective in the wisdom of the ancients. Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach
Andrew Draws, cont’d from page 10 lovely flower, but it is not a flower. It is a dog. Andrew keeps on drawing – wherever he is and whatever he is doing, he draws. He draws while he is at the zoo. He draws when he goes to the aquarium. He even copies his favorite paintings at the art museum. Then something magical happens. David McPhail has created an absolutely charming character in the little artist Andrew, and this enchanting story will have little ones trying their artistic wings and understanding that practice can, indeed, make perfect. The illustrations take no backseat to this lovely story. The winsome illustrations bring to mind the old-fashioned charm of the illustrations in The Little Prince. The soft colors and the whimsical story will draw children back to this book over and over. Those who read it to them won’t mind at all. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Celebrate the Tulsa City-County Library Hispanic Resource Center’s
With Carmen Lomas Garza Thursday, Nov. 6 7 p.m.
Martin Regional Library • 2601 S. Garnett Road • 918.549.7590 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 Resource 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, Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association, Hispanic Resource Center, Arvest Bank, Hispanic American Foundation and Tulsa Intercultural Association.
Artwork from Cuadros de familia, edición quinceañera ©2001 Carmen Lomas Garza
For additional events celebrating the Hispanic Resource Center’s anniversary, check the library’s October and November event guides, go to TulsaLibrary.org/hrc or call 918-549-7590.