|
• Cover
• News | blog
• Music | blog
• Lazy I
• Film | blog
• Theater | blog
• Art | blog
• Sports
• Lifestyle | blog
• Dish | blog
• Books | blog
• Culture
• 8 Days
• Heartland Healing
• Hoodoo Blues
• MoJoPo
• News of the Weird
• Television
• Letters
|
|
|
Home - Books
|
In This Lifetime - |
Novel’s mother-daughter thing makes it to the screen
by Leo Adam Biga
Omaha native Carleen Brice often doubted she’d complete, much less get published, her first novel, Orange Mint and Honey (One World/Ballantine). But she did, and it broke big in 2008. A Lifetime Movie Network version of it premieres Sunday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. (CST).
The movie, Sins of the Mother, stars Jill Scott and Nicole Beharie as a mother and daughter struggling to heal their broken relationship. Scott is a powerhouse as Nona, the mother in recovery from alcoholism. Beharie is intense as Shay, the resentful daughter whose childhood was stolen by Nona’s drinking and carousing. |
|
|
|
Booked - |
First, a correction/clarification: in last week’s issue we mentioned the Omaha Public Library’s launch and celebration of its new brand, but we didn’t send you to the proper website. While you could have gotten all the details at omaha.lib.ne.us, the library’s new and official website is omahalibrary.org, so please update your bookmarks.
Saturday, Feb. 20, the Joslyn Art Museum will host the eastern regional competition for Poetry Out Loud: a National Recitation Project at the Joslyn Art Museum in the Abbott Lecture Hall beginning at 3 p.m. Poetry Out Loud is a program in which high school students memorize poems and recite them in competition. The winner from each state will compete in the national Poetry Out Loud competition held in snow-covered Washington, D.C. State finals will be March 13 at the Sheldon Art Museum in Lincoln. Both events are free and open to the public. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraskans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation. |
|
|
|
Biting Back - |
Popular series about unpopular teen vampire visits Bookworm
by Jill Bruckner Robberts
Sometimes, life bites. Such is the case with Heather Brewer’s popular (more than 500,000 in print) vampire series, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod.
Brewer, a St. Louis-based author who has lived in Nebraska and will be at The Bookworm Wednesday, Feb. 17, has earned esteem in a genre often characterized by stunning, supernatural beings that happen to drink blood.
Vlad Tod, Brewer’s teenage vampire and protagonist, is, by contrast, a bit of an outsider — albeit a gutsy, vulnerable and likable one. |
|
|
|
Booked: Literary News - |
If you’re looking for something literary to do this Saturday, swing by one of the many branches of the Omaha Public Library. The OPL is re-launching its brand and inviting those who haven’t visited for a while, or have never been to their local branch, plenty of reasons to check it out. Activities, which vary by branch, include free jazz concerts, clowns, temporary tattoos and face painting for the kids, a photo booth, many giveaways and refreshments. The celebration begins at 10 a.m. Contact your local branch to learn more or visit the library’s web site (omaha.lib.ne.us/) for a complete list of activities and times.
|
|
|
|
Booked - |
Author Natalie Marie will be at the Borders in the Shadow Lake Center in Papillion this Saturday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m. to sign copies of her new book Race for Your Life. Written from a jockey’s perspective, Marie highlights the feelings and thoughts before, during and after a race, and their applications to everyday life with a Christian spin.
Even though Oprah’s hanging up her microphone and, presumably, book club with it, Sam’s Club and Starbucks are both unveiling book clubs of their own. Though one of the many zombie books would have been an obvious choice (ever been to Sam’s on a Saturday?), the mammoth warehouse retailer has opted for Beth Hoffman’s debut novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, which Publishers Weekly called a “by-the-numbers Southern charmer.” Starbucks has set their sights a little lower, selecting Darren and Daniel Simkin’s The Traveler, a 48-page picture book described as “a beguiling and tender fable about what really matters in life.” |
|
|
|
Folding and Binding - |
Rough year in publishing
by Kyle Tonniges
Every industry was hit hard by the recession this year, and publishing was no exception. High-profile magazines like Home, Cottage Living, Vibe, Blender and even the mighty Gourmet ceased to exist. Even industry rags like Kirkus Reviews and Editor and Publisher are gone.
Then the almighty Oprah, beloved anointer of instant bestseller status, announced her retirement. Love her or loathe her, she was a force in book sales. She renewed interest in reading among many. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
Celebrate the shortest day of the year this Sunday, Dec. 20, with the 7th Annual Winter Solstice Celebration at Studio J, located in the Hilltop Office Building, 105 S. 49th St, from 2-5 p.m. There will be poetry, belly dancers, food and drink. Admission is a can of food (but feel free to bring more) for the Omaha Food Bank.
Earlier this month, a first edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s self-published collection of poems from 1827 was sold to an unidentified American collector for $662,500, setting a record for a 19th century book of poetry. Poe wrote the book when he was 18, and printed 50 copies. He didn’t attach his name to them.
|
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
* Celebrate the shortest day of the year this Sunday, Dec. 20, with the 7th Annual Winter Solstice Celebration at Studio J, located in the Hilltop Office Building, 105 S. 49th St, from 2-5 p.m. There will be poetry, belly dancers, food and drink. Admission is a can of food (but feel free to bring more) for the Omaha Food Bank.
* Earlier this month, a first edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s self-published collection of poems from 1827 was sold to an unidentified American collector for $662,500, setting a record for a 19th century book of poetry. Poe wrote the book when he was 18, and printed 50 copies. He didn’t attach his name to them. |
|
|
|
Chronicling The Scene - |
Long-gone ’zine
Capitol Punishment
resurfaces in book form
by Jesse D. Stanek
Before Cursive and The Faint, before Frontier Trust and Mousetrap and even before Lincoln’s Caulfield Records was a blip on anyone’s radar, Lincoln and Omaha had a punk scene in the early 1980s. Bands like The Click, Get Smart, For Against (who is still around), The DK’ed Willies, Richard Nixon, The Better Beatles, Cartoon Pupils and The Youngsters brought mohawks, minute-and-a-half rage-filled songs, civil disobedience and an all-out punk ethos to the Cornhusker state. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
— Kyle Tonniges
After 30 years of serving Lincoln, owners Linda Hillegass and husband Jim McKee have decided to retire and close Lee Booksellers.
“The lease is about to expire,” McKee said in a press release, “and at almost 69, I wanted to make sure the lease expires before I do.” |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
|
* Swing by the RNG Gallery at 1911 Leavenworth Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m., to check out the latest reading in the As-Of-Yet-Unnamed Reading Series featuring poet Katie F-S and friends. Lauded as one of the best poetry choreographers in the country, Katie performs group poems with other local poets. If you’re planning to make an evening of it and start with dinner at Dixie Quicks next door to the gallery, it’s a good idea to call ahead for reservations. Dixie Quicks’ number is 346.3549. Cover for the reading is $5. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
|
* A sort of YouTube for books, Scribd (scribd.com) enables users to quickly and easily turn files like PDFs, Word, PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets into a Web document and upload them. No longer do friends and family need to suffer, slogging through your 500-page screenplay about a cat that solves crimes — you can inflict it on the entire world! Most of the material is free, though you may have to pay for some content. (At press time, the 11-page report “Children With Conduct Issues” was $1.25 to download, for example.) |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
* If you have a Parisian book lover on your Christmas list, consider swinging by The Bookworm in Countryside Village at 87th and Pacific Sunday, Nov. 22, when Omaha native Leslie Little will sign copies of her book
Paris: Icons. The book combines the fine art images of photographer James Scholz with the insights of poets, composers and writers who have chronicled the history of Paris through the centuries. Paris: Icons is the winner of the Independent Publishers’ Gold Medal for Most Outstanding Book Design of 2009. More information can be found at iconimages.us. If Paris isn’t your thing, Michael Forsberg will be there, to simultaneously sign copies of Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild. Complementing Forsberg’s images and firsthand accounts are essays by Great Plains scholar David Wishart, acclaimed writer Dan O’Brien and poet laureate Ted Kooser. Both signings start at 1 p.m. |
|
|
|
Ink Tank - |
Local cartoonist/musician Jeff Koterba inks a memoir
by Jesse D. Stanek
Anyone who has perused the Omaha World-Herald’s Opinion Page is familiar with Jeff Koterba’s work. His hand-penned editorial cartoons on topics ranging from 9/11, to The Challenger launch, to healthcare reform are clipped and posted to fridges citywide, and his crisp wit has spawned many a heated water cooler debate. Along with his nationally recognized cartooning, Koterba is a mainstay in the local music community with his guitar playing and songwriting for The Prairie Cats. And now, Mr. Koterba has penned a thoughtful, endearing and engaging memoir. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
|
* Wednesday Words, at the Nebraska Arts Council in the lower level of the Burlington Place Bldg. at 1004 Farnam St., previously scheduled to run from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 11, has been postponed. The event featuring writers who have been awarded the Council’s Individual Artist Fellowships in Literature, will be held, same place and time, Wednesday, Nov. 18. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
* A reminder that all month long, “Organism” presents a variety of poetry and chair building (?!) activities at The Empty Room at 13th and Webster, most nights of the week. For a complete schedule of the rest of the month’s events, go to poetrymenu.com/emptyroom.html.
* The Hold Steady frontman, Craig Finn, and CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” writer Tom Ruprecht are at work turning writer Chuck Klosterman’s memoir Fargo Rock City into a movie. The highly readable memoir revisits Klosterman’s years as a writer and heavy metal fan in a small town in North Dakota. Klosterman has signed on to help produce the movie. |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
* Organism: A Festival of Words and Building will set up shop in The Empty Room, located behind Film Streams and Slowdown at 13th and Webster, for the entire month of November. Events include poetry readings and workshops as well as “interactive chair making.”
It kicks off Sunday, Nov. 1, with Day of the Dead Poets in which attendees are encouraged to bring a poem by their favorite dead poet, to read from and also to attach to the wall for the month. It runs from 3-5 p.m. The Local Wonders poetry reading is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, and features Todd Robinson, Heidi Hermanson, Withlove Felicia, Jack Hubbell and Prahduct. Tuesday at 7 p.m. is Backwaters Night, featuring local writers sponsored by The Backwaters Press. |
|
|
|
Real Genius - |
‘Daily Show’ producer sets new novel in Omaha
by Jesse D. Stanek
Josh Lieb, executive producer of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” has many ties to Omaha. He has family on both sides here. His great uncle founded the No-Frills grocery chain, his family has had CWS tickets dating to his childhood, and he spent many a summer here, staying with cousins and working in the family’s grocery business. It’s little wonder that the South Carolina native set his new young-adult novel, I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President in Omaha.
“My dad’s family and my mom’s dad all lived in Omaha,” Lieb said. “My dad went to Central High School and I always loved going to the College World Series. My grandpa actually played ball with Johnny Rosenblatt. Omaha has always been my second hometown. I debated on where to set the story, and the South, the area I’m most familiar with, just has too much baggage. And I thought, well, most people probably think of Omaha as kind of bland and boring, which it isn’t, so it seemed like an unlikely place for an evil genius.” |
|
|
|
BOOKED - |
* The Omaha Public Library will hold a colossal book sale Sunday, Oct. 25 and Monday, Oct. 26, at the Swanson Branch at 91st and Dodge. All books will be priced between $.25 and $.50. The sale runs both days from noon to 5 p.m.
* The Nebraska Center of the Book announced Oct. 9 that Stew Magnuson’s The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns was the 2009 Nebraska Nonfiction Book of the Year. Graphic designer Lindsay Starr also won best cover illustration for her work on the book. Magnuson will appear at the Nebraska Book Festival Nov. 14, in Lincoln to accept the award and discuss the work. |
|
|
|
Taking Economics - |
Lauded economist
lectures at the Holland
by Ben Hankey
It isn’t a stretch to say James K. Galbraith is one of the most influential economists in America. The decorated scholar’s new book The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too was released earlier this year, earning warm critical reception. Galbraith will speak about it next week at the Holland Performing Arts Center. His lecture, “The Predator State and the Great Crisis,” is an addendum to his work in print concerning the American financial system and the public policy governing it.
|
|
|
<< Previous 1 2 Next >>
|
|
|
