Staff Review: The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

It's been twenty years since Iowan-turned-Englishman Bill Bryson wrote Notes from a Small Island, relating his 1995 trip around Great Britain. The book wound up being the most successful travel book ever, with 2.5 million copies sold to date. So, Bryson's publisher, with "little glinting pound signs" in his eyes, suggested Bryson do it again, with a different itinerary this time of course.

The result is The Road to Little Dribbling, written just as Bryson passes his test to become a British citizen (his wife is English). His itinerary this time roughly follows the so-called Bryson Line, a line he invents linking the two most far-flung points in Britain, Bognor Regis and Cape Wrath, as the crow flies. Bryson perambulates this route, with numerous side-trips to London (his favorite city in the world, a city with more green space than any other in Europe). 

His travel commentary is entertaining and often very funny. Those who have read Bryson know he's a real curmudgeon; this work confirms that his curmudgeonliness has moved to the next level. Some reviewers have called him on this, saying he's become an over-the-top crank, but I found his grousing largely amusing and was more annoyed by his penchant for acting "over the hill" and in his "dotage" (at 63) when it's clear that he is as sharp as ever and can easily walk for miles. Why pretend to be decrepit? Besides, his crankiness is more than offset by the loving tribute he pays throughout the book to the stunning beauty of Britain's natural landscape and to her countless cathedrals, monuments, museums, and other historical sites. Britain's a bottomless treasure trove for art buffs, book lovers, historians, and nature enthusiasts. 

Sadly, not all of Britain is doing very well these days. Bryson pays visits to formerly vibrant villages and resort towns now well on their way to dying, leading him to make caustic remarks about the government's austerity measures. In the main though, this book will leave you yearning to cross the Atlantic and see for yourself  “how casually strewn with glory Britain is.”  

~Ann, Adult Services

Nine Books that will Inspire You to Explore Nature

Did you know that June is Great Outdoors Month? It's hard to resist the call of the outdoors in the early days of summer, whether you're strolling the River Walk, hiking through the Mines of Spain, or just relaxing in your own backyard.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, though our first National Park (Yellowstone) is even older. Whether you're planning a visit to a National Park this summer, or just interested in reading up on their history, we've put together a list of helpful books to get you started.

If you're looking for some inspiration for outdoor fun (or if the weather's just too muggy for your taste), we've gathered together a list of Nine Books that Will Inspire You to Explore Nature!

Following the Wild Bees: the craft and science of bee hunting by Thomas D. Seeley
(595.799 SEE) Following the Wild Bees is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today. Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and science behind this lost pastime and how anyone can do it.

Happy Home Outside: everyday magic for outdoor life by Charlotte Hedeman Guéniau
(747.49 HED) Taking in garden rooms, outdoor spaces such as cabins, canopies, and dining areas as well as moveable spaces such as vintage vans and tents, Charlotte brings her everyday magic and glorious sense of relaxed living with bright color to every corner of the garden.

Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv
(155.91 LOU) Vitamin N is a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive, and practical guidebook for the whole family and the wider community, including tips not only for parents eager to share nature with their kids but also for those seeking nature-smart schools, medical professionals, and even careers. It is a dose of pure inspiration, reminding us that looking up at the stars or taking a walk in the woods is as exhilarating as it is essential, at any age.

The Rarest Bird in the World: the search for the Nechisar nightjar by Vernon R.L. Head
(598.99 HEA) In 1990, a group of research scientists performed a survey of birds in the Plains of Nechisar in Ethiopia, returning with hundreds of specimens, including a single wing from a bird unlike any ever seen before. Vernon Head joins an expedition two decades later that will attempt to locate the rarest bird in the world.

The Wander Society by Keri Smith
(153.35 SMI)  Several years ago when Keri Smith discovered cryptic handwritten notations in a worn copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, her interest was piqued. Little did she know at the time that those simple markings would become the basis of a years-long, life-changing exploration into a mysterious group known only as The Wander Society.

Patterns in Nature: why the natural world looks the way it does by Philip Ball
(500.2 BAL) Though at first glance the natural world may appear overwhelming in its diversity and complexity, there are regularities running through it, from the hexagons of a honeycomb to the spirals of a seashell and the branching veins of a leaf. Revealing the order at the foundation of the seemingly chaotic natural world, Patterns in Nature explores not only the math and science but also the beauty and artistry behind nature’s awe-inspiring designs.

The Book of Camping and Woodcraft: A Guidebook for Those Who Travel, in the Wilderness by Horace Kephart
(796.54 KEP) In the early 20th century, travel writer Horace Kephart published a series of articles in Field and Stream, which served as the foundation for this classic book on wilderness camping. His work as an outdoorsman led to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Parkour & Freerunning Handbook by Dan Edwardes

(796.046 EDW) An illustrated introduction to parkour--freerunning--that provides step-by-step instructions on basic moves, which include landing, rolling, jumping, mounting, balance, and more, along with tips to avoid injuries. The book also discusses clothing, culture, and other related topics.

GoatMan: how I took a holiday from being human by Thomas Thwaites
(BIOG Thwaites) A research grant offers Thomas Thwaites the chance to take a holiday from the complications of being human--by transforming himself into a goat. What ensues is a hilarious and surreal journey through engineering, design, and psychology, as Thwaites interviews neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, prosthetists, goat sanctuary workers, and goatherds.

New Item Tuesday

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1YcT2q2

Staff Review: Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley

Displacement: A Travelogue is the fourth* book from the autobiographical cartoonist Lucy Knisley, and it is my hands-down favorite.** I've been reading her comics since 2009***, and I've admired the way she's grown and expanded in her skills as an illustrator and as a storyteller. That she focuses her pen on her own life only adds to that sense of growth; inevitably, both she as author and I as reader have gained perspective and maturity over the years.

I've encountered readers who found it difficult to relate to her earlier works because of  her youth. That generational differences are part of the focus for Displacement might add appeal to readers outside of the "Millennial" label, especially those readers who might be hearing of her work for the first time after her recent Eisner nomination.

Click to enlarge

Displacement focuses on Lucy's experience accompanying her 90-something grandparents on a Caribbean cruise. Lucy is adrift in her mid-twenties, facing all the uncertainty of career and personal life, while her grandparents are experiencing the decline and loss of their twilight years. The change in roles and responsibilities in their relationship is an aspect that I found particularly meaningful in my own reading. There's a billboard I pass every time I drive to visit my parents showing a young girl with her parents, and then the same family thirty-forty years in the future with the phrase "Roles Change" and I have to grip the steering wheel a little harder for a mile or two.

My favorite element of the book were the passages Lucy illustrated from the diary her grandfather kept during World War II. This added a depth to the narrative, which, by the nature of a memoir, has the danger of falling too deeply into the author's own experience. These passages created a fuller image of her grandparents by giving us a glimpse into their lives when they were 20-somethings themselves. It certainly contributed to the fact that I was tearing up by the end of the book.

~Sarah, Adult Services


*not counting her self-published titles or anthologies she's contributed to

**to be fair, I'm only halfway through reading her most recent book, Something New

***Full disclosure, Lucy Knisley is part of my sister's extended social circle, to the extent that my sister appeared in a few of Lucy's online comics. We've met once or twice, but this was many years ago.

New Item Tuesday

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1TVQbQo

Staff Review: Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

Did You Ever Have a Family, a debut novel by Bill Clegg, opens with a bang. Literally. A big one. In the scale of the whole wide world, it may not be a cataclysm, but in the more modest scale of family and community it's catastrophic. In an instant the novel's main character loses everyone and everything; she's rendered family-less in the blink of an eye, yet she must find a way to go on. What choice does she have, other than suicide?

By this point you may be thinking this book does not sound like a feel-good read and that you probably ought to avoid it. But that would be a mistake. I found it to be one of the most moving, most human, and ultimately most redemptive novels I've read this past year and I heartily recommend it.

After the opening big bang, Clegg beautifully and succinctly relates not only the incident's aftermath but also years of backstory -- the relationships and events -- that lead to this particular cast of doomed characters being together in one place on the incendiary day. The wider network of relatives, friends, acquaintances, and even service workers affected by the tragedy, closely or tangentially, is painstakingly introduced, person by person within their own chapters, their individual humanities brought to life in a series of exquisite scenes that move from the affluent Connecticut 'burbs of New York City through Montana and Idaho and on to the turbulent coast of the Pacific Northwest.

What is particularly impressive about this novel is the even-handed and compassionate way in which Clegg presents his characters, people of very different income and educational levels, racial backgrounds, sexual preferences, and social standing. The catastrophe at the core of the plot has wounded them all and in their raw vulnerability they slowly rise to the occasion, becoming more rather than less, reaching out to one another, and, in the end, forming new communities based not upon occupation, class, or local reputation, but upon more basic and authentic aspects of being human.

Before tackling fiction, Clegg, a literary agent, wrote two memoirs about his own devastating drug addiction; it seems his descent into the abyss and eventual restoration are serving him well in his fiction.

~Ann, Adult Services