Author: Tom Bissell
Bissell and his pleasingly argumentative style explore the privileges and pratfalls of creativity in this loose, erudite essay collection. “Escanaba’s Magic Hour” takes a look at the makings of a film in Bissell’s hometown of Escanaba, Michigan, and forces Bissell to come to terms with his dislike of his fellow Escanabans. Another standout is “Grief and the Outsider”, which gives a tour of the workings of the Underground Literary Alliance, a group of frustrated aspiring novelists who take on the intelligentsia with admirable intensity and irrepressible immaturity.
Author: Sam Fell and Chris Butler
If you have a love of zombies and ghosts, this movie does not disappoint. But there’s a lot more to the story than I originally thought – I was surprised by how the creators were able to take a topic such as a boy who sees ghosts and turn it into a heartwarming story that advocates for acceptance of everyone’s differences, not bullying others, taking responsibility and staying true to yourself (even when your parents don’t listen!) It’s a movie for both children and adults and it’s been nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. ParaNorman is available through our online catalog, SWAN; it’s definitely worth seeing.
Author: Scotty Smiley
Last week I read Hope Unseen by Captain Scotty Smiley. He is the Army’s first active-duty, blind officer and its first blind company commander. In 2005, he lost use of both eyes in Iraq when a suicide car bomber blew himself up right near Smiley. With the love and support of family and friends and a determined spirit, he has been able to move beyond despair and depression. The book’s website says, “Since that day [of the accident], Scotty Smiley has surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, skydived, climbed Mount Rainier, completed a triathlon, and graduated from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business with his MBA. The Army Times named Captain Smiley its Soldier of the Year in 2007, and in 2008 he won an ESPY as the world’s Best Outdoor Athlete. Scotty, a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, recently taught the core course in leadership at West Point and now commands the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point’s Keller Army Medical Center…He speaks to corporations, educators, and church groups, sharing his message of optimism and perseverance.”
Although it was a bit sobering to read because I have a nephew currently serving in Afghanistan, I appreciated reading about how Smiley survived, how family and friends rallied around him, and how he was determined never to quit. It was interesting to read how he felt so strongly about staying in the army and how he was able to continue his education. The commitment and dedication he has to serve our country and for his wife to stand beside him in that dedication is commendable. Strong in so many ways, Smiley is also a humble and gracious man. I encourage you to read the book and also to check out his blog on www.hopeunseen.com. As the facilitator of Acorn’s Lego club for children ages 6-12, I also enjoyed reading on his blog his experience building legos with his son. Try putting legos together when you can’t see them! Here is what he writes on his blog:
“My oldest son, Grady, has two small LEGO sets that make up houses, helicopters and cars. Today, Grady wanted me to help him put together the helicopter. I remembered doing this when I was a kid and thought it would be a great opportunity for me to teach my son. Oh wait, I’m blind. How is this going to work? How am I to teach him to follow the instructions when I can’t see them? I gave it a try and this is how it went…
I tell him to find the little book with a helicopter on the front and see if there are pictures inside, of the helicopter in pieces being built. Check. He finds the instructions and proceeds to tell me what he sees on the first page. He says, “it’s a long yellow piece with two grey pieces on it.” Recalling my childhood building skills I ask, “Tell me how many dots are on the yellow piece.” He then counts out loud and ends with 8. I know for a fact that I’ve never felt an 8 dot long LEGO, so I instruct him to cover up half of the piece and count only half of the numbers. I tell him there are fat pieces (two rows) and skinny pieces (one row), so he can better explain to me which piece we are looking for. I have him close his eyes and then put his hands over them. “This is what I see,” I tell him and he understands there is no more need to talk about colors. I can almost see his mind concentrating on how to describe the next piece. We get to work.
After 30 minutes, a lot of describing and feeling pieces, we have successfully put together only 5 of the couple hundred pieces. What an exercise in patience! Our attentions were both fading, and it didn’t help that my youngest son strew the Trivial Pursuit cards and pie pieces across the floor. Needless to say, the lesson ended. But I have to remember these moments, the times I get to spend with my kids, watching their minds think and learn.”
I urge you today to be thankful for our troops and our veterans and realize what sacrifices they and their families make for us!
Author: Studs Terkel
I’ve really enjoyed Studs Terkel’s second memoir, Touch and Go, written when he was 95 years old, because it reads more like a who’s who and what’s what of the 20th century than a personal biography. Studs rambles from one story to the next as he takes us from his early days working in his family’s boarding house to his acting days, through his radio days, through his blacklisted days and through his 30 year career as an oral historian. We have 14 of his books at Acorn, including a graphic novel version of Working that I also recommend.
Author: Quentin Tarantino
This movie has all of Tarantino’s signatures: splashy score, irrepressible characters, campy violence, baroque dialogue, and fifty shades of chutzpah–which tackles one of the most painful aspects of American history here. So, is this film woefully misguided? Or does this madcap methodology manage to get to the heart of the march of human progress? Either way, Tarantino’s ambition makes this one to catch in theaters. The visceral soundtrack, which features Jim Croce, Rick Ross, and Luis Bacalov (Argentina’s answer to Neil Diamond), is currently available from SWAN.
I’m still a relative newcomer to the area, so I relish any tidbits or artifacts that make me feel like I’m getting somewhere with my local knowledge. Calumet 412 is a Tumblr that captures Chicagoland’s architectural heritage, lesser-known historical events, and peculiarities through an eclectic mix of stunning photographs and information-rich captions. Recent posts recall the Refrigerettes, artist Archibald Motley, and analog-era aviation at Midway Airport.
Author: Alvaro Mutis
I’ve been re-reading my favorite book, The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll by Alvaro Mutis, for the past few weeks. It is a collection of 7 novellas published as a single paperback by NYRB and, at 700 pages, left me wanting 700 more. Maqroll is an enigmatic sailor, with a passport from Cyprus and expired visas from ports all over the world, who is constantly entangled in one scheme or another to earn enough money to support himself. He is a surprisingly well-read and dreamy philosopher with an inspiring level of devotion. I can’t say enough about Maqroll or Mutis. It’s only owned by two libraries in SWAN, but it’s worth requesting. It’s a great book for the winter.
Author: Ayana Mathis
In a recent interview with Ayana Mathis, the author revealed that her most treasured possession was her grandfather’s diaries – whether or not they had any influence on her debut novel is subjective at best, but certainly indicative of the expert blending of the historical and the personal in The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. The novel follows the lives of Hattie’s nine children as they navigate the 20th century, each following distinctive paths and succumbing to trials of self-awareness, responsibility, loss, and triumph. Mathis weaves what at first seems to be a series of short stories into something of a grand narrative (grand in scope, not literary theory), leading up to the present and future generation. This book has been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, but don’t let that be the only reason you do or do not take the time to enjoy some of the most earnest character studies you’ll read all month. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is available on Acorn’s New Books shelf or through SWAN.
I’m still new to using this service, but I thought it was worth a mention. Bookmooch is a website where you can exchange books online. A relative started to use this website as a way to get rid of the crazy amount of books she had and didn’t need anymore. All you do is set up an account with basic information and then you can add books on your “inventory” that you would like to exchange or add books that you want to receive on your “wishlist”. The site sends you notifications as to when someone wants a book that you have or when there is a book available from your wishlist. All you really have to do is pay for the shipping costs. It’s definitely another great way to get out-of-print books or books that are hard to find.
Author: Moises Vasquez-Manoff
Reviewer: Acorn Patrons
Do you suffer from asthma, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, or any other immune disorder? How about allergies?
Moises Vasquez-Manoff suffers from alopecia, loss of bodily hair—even eyelashes. Thus he traveled to northern Mexico to get a dose of microbes. Before this though, Vasquez-Manoff did a lot of research. It resulted in his monograph An Epidemic of Absence: A New Understanding of Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases. Turns out that our “immune system is adaptive, part sensory organ and part cognitive apparatus.” It has been adapting for millions of years, ever since we roamed the savannah in Africa, and suffered debilitating malaria. The immune system adapts too, according to the life experiences of our grandmothers and mothers. If our ancestors gorged themselves, the grandkids could be more likely to get diabetes. Or if our grandparents suffered with the Spanish flu in the 1920s, we or our children could be more likely to suffer cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Our immune system adapted to save us from malaria infecting the brain.
But we do not suffer from malaria much anymore. So our immune system kind of has been getting into trouble by not having enough to do and sort of atrophying. Turns out that children in rural areas of Africa, who walk barefoot and use latrines or the great outdoors, inadvertently imbibe worms and microbes. Thus, if they are subject to allergens such as dust mites and animal dander, they do not suffer allergy or immune disorder. But deworm them, and the runny eyes and nose start. Thus the immune system needs to be kept busy fighting infection, parasite and microbe infestation. If we are “civilized” and have rid ourselves of parasites, wear shoes, and use modern toilet facilities, we will suffer the consequences of an immune system gone awry.
So if you are pregnant or have a baby, get some animals for your home, walk barefoot, subject your child to dirt and the microbes within. Chances are that nothing bad will occur, but that child will grow up with an immune system adapted to the 21st century.
Running for My Life
Author: Lopez Lomong
Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong is a gripping book about Lomong being captured as a 6-year-old boy in war-torn south Sudan. He ran with 3 older boys for 3 days to Kenya. There he survived a refugee camp with other boys for 10 years. Finally he was allowed to come to the United States and was taken in by a loving couple. He was able to go onto college and became a U.S. citizen. He even competed as a runner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. He is now partnering with World Vision on the “4 South Sudan” project to bring clean water, health care, education and nutrition for people in South Sudan. Go to www.LopezLomong.com to learn more. I highly recommend this book
Author: Wes Anderson
It’s Wes Anderson’s most recent film; his films are very stylized but this one really captures the essence of growing up and falling in love for the first time. It also makes you think about the choices we make and how things don’t necessarily change for us as we go into adulthood; we are faced with similar problems that we had as children, but we make them more complicated because we are adults. I could probably watch this film over and over and not get sick of it; it’s excellent! Frances MacDormand, Edward Norton, and even the unknown youngsters in the film Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman really steal the show.
