Jeff Guinn’s Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage

Any time Jeff Guinn releases a new book is a special occasion on this blog. I’m a big Guinn fan–thanks so much to Mary-Esther to introducing me to his books a few years ago. In the past, I’ve reviewed or profiled his books that span from Jim Jones to Bonnie and Clyde to the Pershing Expedition. I always know that a Guinn nonfiction book will be thought-provoking, well-written, and well-researched, and I think he particularly shines at historical true crime. He excels at examining the social and historical contexts that his subjects both shaped and were shaped by.

His latest book, about the Branch Davidians, their leader David Koresh, and the infamous standoff that unfolded at Waco thirty years ago this spring, particularly succeeds at this and is a fascinating read. Thanks so much to Julie for purchasing it for the library!

Book Buzz: Little Women Redux, Yorkshire Fiction, Eerie Residences, Joy, Horse Girls, Gullah Foodways, and Classic Mysteries

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For March, we’re looking at Little Women from Marmee’s point of view, a heartwarming tale set in the Yorkshire Dales (that’s not James Herriot), a gothic novel that should appeal to Silvia Moreno-Garcia fans, an anthology that’s all about joy, a historical mystery centered around the horse racing industry, a cookbook devoted to recipes from the Sea Islands, and an audiobook rendition of some classic Agatha Christie mysteries.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes: March

This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you lace up those sneakers and join our journey. For March, our theme is Faith Speaks Many Languages, and we’re profiling books with characters from a variety of religious backgrounds.

Maker Corner: February

Over the past few years, we’ve been developing and expanding our reach into the world of making, by offering both programs and resources.

What exactly is making? Well, we actually helped craft a formal definition for it for library staff across the nation. But the short answer is pretty simple: it is the process of being willing to get your hands dirty and learn while you create whatever you want to make to accomplish a task or just have fun. Do you cook?  Do you craft? Do you invent? Do you build? Do you fix things? You are a maker! 

In fact, some are even talking about making as at the core of a new type of literacy: invention literacy  (i,e, the ability to look around you and figure out how human-made things work). Like any type of literacy, you can never be too old or too young to start your making journey and nurturing the growth mindset on which all making depends. You also can never have enough tools in the forms of books to get your creative juices flowing.

So, this year we plan to highlight all of the various making resources we have–which range from needlework to Legos to more. February is all about yarn . . . mostly, as we cover knitting, crocheting, and macrame resources.

Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow

Count Alexander Rostov is lucky to escape the tumultuous Russian Civil War with his life. When a Soviet tribunal sentences him to, essentially, house arrest in the Moscow luxury hotel he’s been living in, Rostov knows he’s been spared, but life as he knows it is still over. That is, until he meets an unusual little friend. . . .

Book Buzz: Romances Galore, Dual-Timeline Historical Fiction, WWII Nurses, Serial Killers, Mining Mayhem, and Storytellers

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at four different romances (right in time for Valentine’s Day!), historical fiction that spans from the Civil War to World War II, a true crime memoir from a cold case specialist, and audiobook novels about turn-of-the-twentieth-century labor strikes in Colorado and the intersection of secrets and stories.

Walk A Mile In My Shoes: February

This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you lace up those sneakers and join our journey. For February, we’re going to be looking at a growing issue in Carroll County–homelessness.

Maker Corner: January

Over the past few years, we’ve been developing and expanding our reach into the world of making, by offering both programs and resources.

What exactly is making? Well, we actually helped craft a formal definition for it for library staff across the nation. But the short answer is pretty simple: it is the process of being willing to get your hands dirty and learn while you create whatever you want to make to accomplish a task or just have fun. Do you cook?  Do you craft? Do you invent? Do you build? Do you fix things? You are a maker! 

In fact, some are even talking about making as at the core of a new type of literacy: invention literacy  (i,e, the ability to look around you and figure out how human-made things work). Like any type of literacy, you can never be too old or too young to start your making journey and nurturing the growth mindset on which all making depends. You also can never have enough tools in the forms of books to get your creative juices flowing.

So this year we plan to highlight all of the various making resources we have–which range from needlework to Legos to more. We’ll kick off this series with the big picture—a look at some of the resources we have on making in general.

Amber Camp’s Canter with a Killer

Mallory Martin, like so many Ozarkers who leave the area as young adults, returns midlife. In her case, she leaves behind a broken marriage and a career as a legal nurse consultant in St. Louis to fix up her parents’ old farm and start a horse rescue. She loves the new life she’s carved out for herself in fictional Hillspring, Arkansas. Her rescue is not necessarily thriving financially, but she and the horses and her devoted volunteers get a lot out of it, and she has big plans for expansion, including offering riding lessons.

But it all comes crashing down when her neighbor–the snooty Albert, who runs a champion horse breeding barn–is found murdered and Mallory finds herself the chief suspect. Drawing on her own professional background, Mallory launches an investigation to clear her name, which brings her into conflict with the sheriff (her old friend from high school) and draws her closer to Albert’s surviving son. Along the way, she uncovers potential suspects ranging from unhinged other neighbors to Albert’s girlfriend, who may or may not be as bereaved as she wants to appear. What could possibly go wrong?

Book Buzz: Marshy Intrigue, Wrecked Houses, Baked Inheritances, Modern Family Sagas, Avian Theft, and Thriller Audiobooks

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at a literary mystery set in the Florida wetlands, a novel that explores the fallout of an act of vandalism, modern sagas about Caribbean and Native American/Hispanic families, true crime about a falcon thief, and an audiobook about nice couples who may not be so nice after all.