Each Monday through April 15, you can relax in Central Library’s Aaronson Auditorium, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue, from 12:10-12:50 p.m., and hear local book lovers share their views on recently published books. Coffee and sandwiches are available for purchase or you may bring your lunch. The series is sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries.
The series begins March 4 with “Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child” by Bob Spitz. Susan Swatek, Friends board member, will review the adventure story of one of America’s most fascinating and beloved figures. Julia Child was 50 years old when “The French Chef” went on the air, which touched off the food revolution that has gripped America for more than 50 years.
Edmund de Waal’s “The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance,” is the featured book for March 11. Karen York, curator, Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, reviews de Waal’s search to find the history of his inherited collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke. And so begins this moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers both the history of the netsuke and of his family.
Wayne Hardy, Friends board member, will review Karen Thompson Walker’s “The Age of Miracles” on March 18. Told through the perceptive eyes of Julia, an 11-year-old girl, this coming-of-age story is a thoughtful moving portrait of a family life set against the backdrop of an utterly altered existence.
March 25 features Peter Pagnamenta’s “Prairie Fever: British Aristocrats in the American West 1830-1890,” reviewed by Eldon Eisenach, retired chairman of the political science department, University of Tulsa. From the 1830s onward, a succession of well-born Britons headed west to the great American wilderness to find adventure and fulfillment. They brought their dogs, sporting guns, valets, and all the attitudes and prejudices of their class.
Steve Turnbo, chairman emeritus of Schnake Turnbo Frank PR, reviews Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit” April 1. As an award-winning New York Times business reporter, Duhigg explores why habits exist and how implementing keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.
Robin Leech, associate professor and head, Digital Initiatives, Oklahoma State University, reviews Boris Johnson’s “Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the Word” April 8. Johnson, the mayor of London since 2008, presents a highly entertaining book of popular history. Whether you’re going to London, would like to go or to remember, or would just like a touch of London, this book has something for everyone.
The series concludes April 15 with William Landay’s “Defending Jacob” reviewed by Daniel Boudreau, retired Oklahoma Supreme Court justice. When an assistant district attorney is blindsided by his 14-year-old son’s murder charge, parental instincts kick in. This book explores the distance between truth and allegation, and loyalty and justice.
For more information on Tulsa City-County Library programming, call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit the library’s website, www.tulsalibrary.org.
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