all about books

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) book club meeting is on Halloween, Tue Oct 31st at 6:30pm!  The topic up for discussion is journalism and there are suggestions available on the Shelf Care page of our website, simply scroll down to find it: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations. 

If you’d rather attend via Zoom, register your email on the calendar: https://emmetoneal.libnet.info/event/6648599

This week, BAB met to discuss booky topics: books and films about libraries, librarians, bookstores, etc.

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton
In need of a good adventure, Delaney Nichols takes the leap and moves to Edinburgh, Scotland, to start a job at a quaint bookstore called The Cracked Spine. But before she can settle in to her new life, a precious artifact - a previously undiscovered first folio of Shakespeare's plays - goes missing, and Edwin's sister is murdered, seemingly in connection to the missing folio. Delaney decides to do some sleuthing of her own to find out just what the real story is behind the priceless folio and how it's connected to the tragic death - all without getting harmed herself.

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories. But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
You may think you know how the fairy tale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three “saints” who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.

Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library by Amanda Oliver
Through her firsthand experiences from six years of professional work as a librarian, Oliver highlights the national problems that have existed in libraries since they were founded, troublingly at odds with the common romanticization of the library as a shining beacon of equality: racism, segregation, and economic oppression. These fundamental American problems manifest today as police violence, the opioid epidemic, widespread inaccessibility of affordable housing, and a lack of mental health care nationwide—all of which regularly come to a head in public library spaces.

Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.

You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning (not available in the JCLC)
Sweet, bookish Neve Slater always plays by the rules. And the number one rule is that good-natured fat girls like her don’t get guys like gorgeous, handsome William, heir to Neve’s heart since university. But William’s been in LA for three years, and Neve’s been slimming down and re-inventing herself so that when he returns, he’ll fall head over heels in love with the new, improved her.

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davies (not available in the JCLC)
No books have been more feared than grimoires, and no books have been more valued and revered. In Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Owen Davies illuminates the many fascinating forms these recondite books have taken and exactly what these books held.

Loving Literature: A Culture History by Deidre Shauna Lynch (not available in the JCLC)
How did it come to be that professional literary scholars are expected not just to study, but to love literature, and to inculcate that love in generations of students? What Lynch discovers is that books, and the attachments we form to them, have played a vital role in the formation of private life—that the love of literature, in other words, is deeply embedded in the history of literature.

Material Girls (podcast) https://podnews.net/press-release/material-girls
For fans of Witch, Please and shows like Pop Culture Happy Hour, Maintenance Phase and You’re Wrong About, Material Girls offers a fresh approach to discussing pop culture of the past and present by asking: Why this, why now? Why do we like what we like, and what can pop culture teach us about how the world works?

Among Others by Jo Walton
Startling, unusual, and yet irresistibly readable, Jo Walton's Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
From one of England's most celebrated writers, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. 

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The lives of a 15th century orphan, a present day octogenarian in Idaho, and a young girl on the interstellar ship Argos are gloriously intertwined through the pages of a mysterious book.

A Lesson in Thorns with Sierra Simone (available in ebook on Hoopla)
When librarian Poe Markham takes the job at Thornchapel, she only wants two things: to stay away from Thornchapel’s tortured owner, Auden Guest, and to find out what happened to her mother 12 years ago. It should be easy enough-keep her head down while she works in the house’s crumbling private library and while she hunts down any information as to why this remote manor tucked into the fog-shrouded moors would be the last place her mother was seen alive. But Thornchapel has other plans for her...

all the pretty horses

Horses are majestic, strong, display a broad range of emotions, and they are amazingly communicative and thrive in social settings. These qualities are part of the reason why horses can develop such a strong bond with humans. These books explore that bond in various ways!

NONFICTION

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
The triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean.

Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond by Halimah Marcus
A compelling and provocative essay collection that smashes stereotypes and redefines the meaning of the term “horse girl,” broadening it for women of all cultural backgrounds.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts
The dramatic and inspiring story of a man and his horse, an unlikely duo whose rise to stardom in the sport of show jumping captivated the nation.

Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens
The powerful true story of the champion Thoroughbred racehorse who gained international fame in the tumultuous Civil War–era South, and became the most successful sire in American racing history.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend.

Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning by Dorothy Ours
Dorothy Ours's Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning tells the fascinating true story of one of the greatest racehorses who ever lived.

Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer
At the age of nineteen, Lara Prior–Palmer discovered a website devoted to “the world’s longest, toughest horse race”―an annual competition of endurance and skill that involves dozens of riders racing a series of twenty–five wild ponies across 1,000 kilometers of Mongolian grassland. On a whim, she decided to enter the race. As she boarded a plane to East Asia, she was utterly unprepared for what awaited her.

The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts
In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find—his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world’s finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine—an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.

Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse by Robin Hutton
She might not have been much to look at—a small "Mongolian mare," they called her—but she came from racing stock, and had the blood of a champion. Much more than that, Reckless became a war hero—in fact, she became a combat Marine, earning staff sergeant's stripes before her retirement to Camp Pendleton. This once famous horse, recognized as late as 1997 by Life Magazine as one of America's greatest heroes—the greatest war horse in American history, in fact—has unfortunately now been largely forgotten.

The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland by Walter Thompson-Hernandez
A rising New York Times reporter tells the compelling story of The Compton Cowboys, a group of African-American men and women who defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America’s most notorious cities.

Unbreakable: The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World's Most Dangerous Horse Race by Richard Askwith
A story of endurance and defiance in an age of prejudice and fear—featuring a courageous countess who defied the Nazis in a legendary horse race.

Out of the Clouds: The Unlikely Horseman and the Unwanted Cold Who Conquered the Sport of Kings by Linda Carroll
The propulsive, inspiring Cinderella story of Stymie, an unwanted Thoroughbred, and Hirsch Jacobs, the once dirt-poor trainer who bought the colt on the cheap and molded him into the most popular horse of his time and the richest racehorse the world had ever seen.

FICTION

Horse by Geraldine Brooks
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. And Annie Graves has traveled across a continent to the Booker ranch in Montana, desperate to heal her injured daughter, the girl’s savage horse, and her own wounded heart. 

The Mare by Mary Gaitskill
The timeless story of a girl and a horse is joined with the story of people from different races and socioeconomic backgrounds trying to meet one another honestly. It is a novel that is raw, striking, and completely original.

Dark Horse by Tami Hoag
In the glamorous world of horse shows stalks a killer who will lead undercover sherrif's detective Elena Estes down a dark, twisted trail of decadence and deceit, mayhem and murder--from the gilded life of Palm Beach to the darkest corners of the Florida swamps, to a final show-down that could cost her everything. A race against time and evil. A race in which Estes is the dark horse--and no one is betting on her to win.

The Cowboy and the Cossack by Clair Huffaker
Fifteen Montana cowboys sail into Vladivostok with a herd of five hundred longhorns, ready to cross a thousand miles of Siberian wilderness. When a band of Cossacks, Russia’s elite horsemen and warriors, shows up to escort these rough and ready Americans to their destination, the clash of cultures begins.

Mercury by Margot Livesey
Donald believes he knows all there is to know about seeing. An optometrist in suburban Boston, he is sure that he and his wife, Viv, who runs the local stables, are both devoted to their two children and to each other. Then Mercury—a gorgeous young thoroughbred with a murky past—arrives at Windy Hill and everything changes.

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.

The Work of Wolves by Kent Meyers
When fourteen-year-old Carson Fielding bought his first horse from Magnus Yarborough, it became clear the teenager was a better judge of horses than the rich landowner was of humans. Years later, Carson—now a skilled and respected horse trainer—grudgingly agrees to train Magnus’s horses and teach his wife to ride. But as Carson becomes disaffected with the power-hungry Magnus, he also grows more and more attracted to the rancher’s wife, and their relationship sets off a violent chain of events that unsettles their quiet town in South Dakota.

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic
Fifteen-year-old equestrian prodigy Roan Montgomery has only ever known two worlds: inside the riding arena, and outside of it. Both, for as long as she can remember, have been ruled by her father, who demands strict obedience in all areas of her life. She has been able to compartmentalize that dark aspect of her life, ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider heading for the Olympics, just as her father had done. However, her developing relationship with Will Howard, a boy her own age, broadens the scope of her vision.

Kept Animals by Kate Milliken
A bold, riveting debut novel of desire, betrayal, and loss, centering on three teenage girls, a horse ranch, and the accident that changes everything.

The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, a novel about a lost girl and her horse, the enduring strength of friendship, and how even the smallest choices can change everything.

Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead
When Robey Childs's mother has a premonition about her husband, a soldier fighting in the Civil War, she does the unthinkable: she sends her only child to find his father on the battlefield and bring him home. At fourteen, wearing the coat his mother sewed to ensure his safety—blue on one side, gray on the other— Robey thinks he's off on a great adventure. But not far from home, his horse falters and he realizes the enormity of his task. It takes the gift of a powerful and noble coal black horse to show him how to undertake the most important journey of his life: with boldness, bravery, and self-possession.

The Horsewoman by James Patterson
This "hugely entertaining, riveting page-turner" (Louise Penny) follows the complicated relationship between mother and daughter as they face off in the Olympics—and into a ride they can barely control.

True Betrayals by Nora Roberts
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts delivers a thrilling story of family secrets and unexpected passions, set against the high-stakes world of championship thoroughbred racing.

Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley
The strange, compelling, sparkling, and mysterious universe of horse racing that has fascinated generations of punters and robber barons, horse-lovers and wits, has never before been depicted with such verve and originality, such tenderness, such clarity, and, above all, such sheer exuberance.

Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley
How long can a runaway horse stay undiscovered in Paris? How long can a boy keep her hidden and all to himself? Jane Smiley's beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity, ingenuity, and the desire of all creatures for true love and freedom.

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck draws on his memories of childhood in these stories about a boy who embodies both the rebellious spirit and the contradictory desire for acceptance of early adolescence. 

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

Constitution Week

Join the nationwide celebration of Constitution Week September 17-23, 2023!  Visit the Constitution Week reading list on the O'Neal Library Shelf Care wepage.

The Daughtersof the American Revolution website describes Constitution Week: 

“The United States Constitution, America’s most important document, stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties, freedoms, and inalienable rights. In 1955, DAR petitioned Congress to set aside one week annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week to commemorate its history, im
portance, and bring attention to how it serves its citizens. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into public law on August 2, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Constitution Week is celebrated annually during the week of September 17-23.”

Inquire about membership in your local Alabama chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

FURTHER READING

See a transcription of the Constitution as it was inscribed by Jacob Shallus on parchment (the document on display in the Rotunda at theNational Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflect the original.

View a video course on understanding the US Constitution.

Harvard Law Professor of Practice Alan Jenkins discusses the U.S. Constitution and its treatment of race, how to guarantee fundamental rights, and why lawyers should be better communicators. 

Leer la Constitución de los Estados Unidos en español.