BOOKS
Dan Levitin headlines Life Sciences and Society Sy
Science and art don’t intersect too often in educational curricula and reference books. In best-selling author Daniel Levitin’s world, however, the two subjects overlap constantly. Levitin, the author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs, will lecture about his books and more on March 12 at 7 p.m.
March 11, 2010
Dan Levitin headlines Life Sciences and Society Symposium
The bestselling author will speak about art and science Friday night
Science and art don’t intersect too often in educational curricula and reference books.
Blind readers check out audio and leave Braille on the shelves
In a tech-savvy nation, blind readers say Braille is still necessary
Growing up in South Carolina, MU graduate student Gina Ceylan always had her nose buried in fantasy novels such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion collection. That is until retinal degeneration left her legally blind when she was 12. Her favorite books became too difficult to read, and because she never learned Braille, those texts weren’t an option. She stopped reading when she was 14, and The Silmarillion was put back on the shelf. In college, Ceylan tuned in to the world of audiobooks, which provided her easy access to thousands of texts. Soon, however, she discovered relying on audio was no replacement for Braille.
March 04, 2010
A comprehensive I-70 book in time for spring vacation
The temperature will inevitably rise, and with spring break on the way, a caravan of Columbians will take to the road. For soon-to-be road trippers, I-70 will likely be the most forgettable part of their vacation. But for those looking to stave off the boredom of the open road, Ted Cable and LuAnn Cadden are eager to help.
Read This: Missouri Guidebooks
Read (or skim) through the following books, and discover that Missouri’s roads are rich in history and full of must-see sites. Staycation, anyone?
February 25, 2010
CoMo native writes his way to China
Peter Hessler drove from the East China Sea to the Tibetan Plateau. He strolled down Beijing city streets. And he walked the halls of Hickman High School.
Local author shares a tale of love and betrayal
Dressed in a pair of light-wash denim jeans, a black shirt and an aqua scarf, Columbia native Toni Rahman holds a 439-page book on her lap. “The story is about betrayal,” she says. The story is hers.
How did your latest book come about? I took a trip across China. I was just passing through all these villages and towns that were losing population as young people migrated to the cities to find jobs. It was a wonderful trip. People were so friendly, and the landscapes were stunning, and it was very fascinating. It also made me think about the changes that were going on, such as migration and urbanization.
On the nightstand: Peter Hessler
February 18, 2010
BiblioCommons hits the shelves at Columbia’s public library
You know social networking has taken over when baby boomers are friending old classmates on Facebook and Twitter makes cyber-stalking reality stars a cinch. The Daniel Boone Regional Library system joined the trend on Feb. 8 by launching BiblioCommons, a new catalog that combines old-school book searching with an online community to give readers a niche of their own.
February 11, 2010
Brooklyn author brings memoir of torture and fatherhood to Columbia
In 2007, wanting to discover more about the stories behind the people in the Abu Ghraib pictures, Brooklyn-based author Nick Flynn traveled to Istanbul to talk with some of the ex-detainees. Those stories, woven together with parts of his childhood and his impending fatherhood, became his newest memoir, The Ticking Is the Bomb. On Feb. 18, Flynn will share his newest memoir with Columbia during a reading at the Reynolds Alumni Center.
In honor of President’s Day Monday, local political experts provide you a list of the best books about U.S. commanders in chief.
February 04, 2010
Local author Ibtisam Barakat shares her childhood refuge — words — by teaching others to tell their stories
Ibtisam Barakat has always found safety in language. Since her childhood as a Palestinian refugee in the West Bank, she has looked to the Arabic alphabet for stability and companionship. Language provided a refuge when her world was blown apart after the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and neighboring states.
Get Book Smart: The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1989, is a gem among literary collections and highlights the author’s underappreciated talent in short-form writing. The collection was compiled by two men who share a great understanding of Fitzgerald.
January 28, 2010
Surprising skeletons lie in the literary closets of famous Missouri writers
Some of the most gifted writers in literature hail from the Show-Me State. Although they’re applauded for their creative narratives, tales and poems, these authors also have some real stories you might not have heard.
The back roads were blue in William Least Heat-Moon’s road atlas a quarter-century ago when, after losing his job and wife, he set out east from Columbia in his van, Ghost Dancing. To forget his troubles, Least Heat-Moon takes a scenic lap around America and describes what he finds in its most insular pockets.
January 21, 2010
Getting your career in gear
Résumé sagging with outdated, irrelevant activities? Cover letters void of personality? Follow Vox’s regimen to trim and tone credentials. You’ll be in shape for this tough job market in no time.
January 10, 2010
(Web Exclusive) Loaded with wealth, promiscuity, naiveté and death, John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is an early 20th-century soap opera. This fast-paced dark fiction, published in 1952, explores the familiar clash between good and evil, but it’s far from predictable.
December 17, 2009
Two local women are using a 50-year-old press to create impressionable prints
The sound of the rusted letterpress’ churning motor fills the room as the machine punches down on business cards to give them an artistic flair. The inking is unlike anything you would pick up at a copy shop; deep grooves from the impression of the more than 50-year-old letterpress blow all other mass copier supply stores out of the office.
The Sun Also Rises
Long before For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea came Hemingway’s first (and arguably best) novel, The Sun Also Rises. This bestseller, published in 1926, is considered one of his greatest works, but don’t take the critics’ word for it; check out the novel for yourself.
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