Mar 29, 2016
Three mini topics. Plus, don't you forget about Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon.
In addition to candy, my kids got books for Easter. Later that day, Friends came over and we gave their daughter a late birthday gift: a signed copy of Demon Dentist by David Walliams. At one point during the sugar-fueled antics of the day, I looked into the living room to see my son and their daughter reading quietly. It was wonderful!
Ten Books, a Whale, and a Library Farm (11:44)
A few different mini topics this week:
- Flying Books in Toronto is a mini pop-up shop that sells only ten books at a time.
- Plymouth University has created an audio version of Moby Dick, called Moby Dick Big Read, in which each chapter is read by a different narrator, many of whom are famous.
- Mental Floss published a list of libraries that lend non-book things, including The Brooklyn Art Library of sketchbooks submitted by artists around the world. Ann was surprised that tool libraries were not included.
Don't You Forget About Me (27:07)
Ann recommends an older book that's new to her: Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, the story of a terrorist attack on a gala birthday party in an unnamed South American country. Ann calls it brilliant and wonders why no one forced her to read it earlier!
Since Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon was first published in 2007, the concept of locavorism has exploded into the mainstream consciousness. Though many people are unlikely to go to the lengths of these authors (eating only food from a 100 mile radius of their home for a full year), readers today will get much information (and entertainment) from this book.