Category Archives: Uncategorized
Indian Authors, part II: Kid Lit
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Books in Chennai, Part I: Anna Centenary Library and Starmark
Our family is currently in Chennai, India, for a ten-week stay. You can read more about our travels on our shared blog, Birds’ Words. This post is the first in a series about Indian authors whose books I have run across here, as well as local libraries and bookstores.
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Silk and Cotton: Textiles from the Central Asia that Was, by Susan Meller
Susan Meller’s books on Central Asian textiles are a rare find. Even if I weren’t researching a novel set in early twentieth-century Central Asia, the wealth of brilliant photos alone would be captivating. Since I am, Meller’s coffee-table sized books provide a treasure trove of information not just on textiles but dress, trade, agriculture, ethnic groups, and the impact of Russian colonization and the Soviet Union on all of these. Continue reading
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Unapologetic, by Francis Spufford
Francis Spufford’s Unapologetic is a witty, engaging defense of Christian faith from a respected British writer. For this reason alone I wanted to like it. It is directed toward those whose a priori assumption is that there is no place for God in modern society–that intellect, education, and science have rendered belief in Him obsolete and irrational. Another reason I wanted to be able to endorse it. And I did, to all and sundry, throughout my reading of the first two-thirds of the book.
Spufford’s graphic descriptions of the reality of sin and its consequences effectively illustrate our dire need for grace–not just for those who have tragically destroyed their lives, but all of us. It is all well and good, he says, for atheists to urge us to relax, forget about God, and enjoy life. But to do so presupposes that our default state is peace, love, and joy. Anyone who is honest will admit that these are states that we have to work at and that we achieve, if at all, very temporarily and in part.
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University of Oregon Course: Central Asia from Within
The Registan mosque in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
I’m excited to be able to offer a class on Central Asia at the University of Oregon from August 19 through September 6 (2-3:50 p.m., M-F). Yes, it’s short and intense, but those who enroll can anticipate stimulating daily discussions about an eventful period in history and the literature it produced.
In the last half of the 19th century, the Great Game contest for Central Asia was drawing to a close with Russia’s conquest of the present-day “-stans.” A new era was commencing for this region of ancient cultures and empires. Voices, both Russian and Central Asian, were calling for educational, social and religious reform. Continue reading
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2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Somewhat to my surprise (considering the sparseness of my posts over the past three years), Birds’ Books logged about 4,200 views in 2012 from people in 93 countries. Almost half of the Birds’ Books viewers hailed from places other than the U.S., including Indonesia, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Netherlands, and Paraguay. The most popular post was Kite Runner and Persian Folklore, followed by Tea and Trouble Brewing, by Dorcas Smucker, and A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.
My thanks to all the readers who have checked in here. May God bless you all in 2013.
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Tea and Trouble Brewing, passed along
The gift copy of Tea and Trouble Brewing goes, hands down, to the friend of Bertha (see the comments on the post) who lost her 20-year-old son recently. Thank you, Dorcas, and thank you to Bertha for advocating for your friend. And I’m sure that all who read this will wish to say a prayer for Starla and her family.
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Thirty Local Authors Signing Books at Gateway Mall
The Book Nest is pleased to announce that over the holidays we are partnering with local poet and publisher C. Steven Blue (a.k.a. Arrowcloud Press) to host book signings by thirty local authors in the EuGenius Market at Gateway Mall in Springfield. The Book Nest and Arrowcloud Press have teamed up to form The Holiday Bookstore, open for business on Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., until Dec. 23. In addition, the bookstore will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, the day after Thanksgiving. Continue reading
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The Large Rock and the Little Yew, by Gregory Ahlijian
This remarkable picture book inspires both through its message and through its very existence. Retired arborist Gregory Ahlijian has been volunteering at the Jasper Mountain facility for abused children for several years. The students he has encountered there (ages 6 to 13) inspired him to write this picture book about overcoming adversity. Ahlijian financed the printing, the editing, and the remarkable artwork by Janna Roselund and is now donating the full retail price to Jasper Mountain.
The Large Rock and the Little Yew tells the story of a yew seed that falls into a deep crack in a large boulder. When the seed begins to sprout, the boulder continually insists that it will never survive in the outside world. In the end, the yew overcomes the odds and grows into a large tree with roots that surround the boulder. An actual tree in England served as a model for the story; a photo appears at the end of the book.
Ahlijian draws on his professional knowledge of trees in crafting what is really an extended parable. He also infuses it with the values he works to impart to the young people he mentors at Jasper Mountain: respect, confidence, thankfulness, courage, determination, kindness, generosity. The Large Rock demonstrates that hardships are not just obstacles to be overcome; they provide opportunities to grow and develop strength. The Epilogue points out that were it not for the rock, the yew tree would be just another tree in the forest, rather than an awe-inspiring testimony to the power of nature.
On April 28 from 3 to 5 p.m., The Book Nest (inside Indulge! at 1461 Main St., Springfield, OR) will host a reading and signing with Ahlijian. In addition, we will raffle off an original painting by Springfield artist D. Brent Burkett, the proceeds of which will also benefit Jasper Mountain. More information about Ahlijian’s book is available on his site: http://www.littleyewtree.com/.
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Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, by Deborah Hopkinson
Last week we had the privilege of meeting Deborah Hopkinson on our way north to visit Mom for spring break. She signed many copies of A Boy Called Dickens and Apples to Oregon for the bookstore (as well as some for personal use). Deborah also was kind enough to give us an early copy of Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, just out on April 1. (For those who haven’t noticed, April 15 is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.)
Hopkinson’s Titanic appears to be written for upper-level grade school and middle school readers. It tells the story of the Titanic’s demise by closely following the first-person accounts of twenty-seven passengers of varying ages and social positions. The book is narrated in the third person, and includes direct quotes. It is complete with vintage photographs and illustrations, sidebars, and memorabilia such as a diagram of the ship, a menu, and a copy of a telegram sent by a survivor. The exhaustive end matter includes a glossary, a timeline, Titanic facts and figures, sources of further information, and an excerpt from the British Wreck Commissioner’s final report, tips on gathering research, a selected bibliography, and sources for direct quotes, just to name a few of the appendices.
The Titanic holds a timeless fascination for young people, and Titanic: Voices from the Disaster is an accessible piece of nonfiction for curious readers. It not only presents the human side of the disaster, but it gives a glimpse of the background work that goes on in the course of researching history. (Hopkinson seems to have a knack for that. In Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, she provides younger audiences with an entertaining taste of the process a historian might go through in reconstructing an event through oral history and other sources.) I look forward to reading Titanic with my daughter in another three or four years.
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