What Lincoln is reading
Wondering what the folks in Lincoln are reading? Here are a few of this month’s most popular titles at the Lincoln Public Library District.
ADULT NON-FICTION
“Thousand-Year Statehouse: The Art and Architecture of the Illinois State Capitol” by David L. Finnigan
Local author David L. Finnigan has compiled a beautiful, oversized book taking a look at the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. The massive book shows off the complex architecture and beautiful murals of the building and offers historical commentary on its construction at the beginning of the book. Even if you’ve taken a tour of the building before, you’ve probably never had a look at all the nooks and crannies this in-depth.
“Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring, Truth About Voting in America” by Erin Geiger Smith
With the Illinois primaries just around the corner, it’s important to take a reflective look at voting, its history in our country, and why it’s important to do it. In Thank You For Voting, Erin Geiger Smith digs deep into the history of voting in America. From its founding, up to the Voting Rights Act, into the present, and then into the speculative future. She examines the different ways voters are encouraged or discouraged (by age, gender, race, and economic class) and how the future of voting in America might be.
ADULT FICTION
“Let’s Not Do That Again” by Grant Ginder
Nancy Harriman is running for Senate, and by God, she’s going to win. Nancy’s done and said all the right things, and tried her hardest to get the vote. She’s just got one problem though. Her family. She’s a widow looking after her two kids, Nick and Greta. Nick is a playwright that’s been completely heartbroken after a breakup and struggling to write. Greta is an uninspired youth who falls into a French extremist political group doing violent protests. Let’s Not Do That Again is a very funny, poignant, and occasionally heartbreaking look at the balancing act Nancy has to do between her political life, and her family drama, and how they both intersect in the strangest places.
“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
While everyone has probably read this novella at least once before in high school or in their personal life, this is a great book to reread. The story focuses on Lenny, a giant of a man with the mind of a young child, and George, his small, rough-around-the-edges caretaker. The story follows their attempts to find work and a good home during the Great Depression. At only 107 pages, it’s so short and full of deep meaning and flowing prose that it can be read in a day, or even in a single sitting. So please, if you’ve never read this book before, take the few hours it takes to read this fully realized and beautiful work.
YOUNG ADULT
“From Bunker Hill to Baghdad: True Stories of America’s Veterans” by Patrick Mendoza
Patrick Mendoza compiles and tells the true stories of many American veterans, from average citizens drafted directly into war to legendary American historical figures. These eye-opening, highly personal stories give very different perspectives on the act of war which will give any reader of this book a new understanding of war in all its sacrifices and hardships.
“Enchantress from the Stars” by Sylvia Engdahl
Enchantress from the Stars is about a girl named Elana. She belongs to a highly technologically advanced space traveling society called the Federation. The Federation watches over and guards planets whose creatures have not yet “matured” to space travel, to make sure no other space-traveling races interfere with the planets’ development. The Federation does not intervene in the worlds they protect but watches over them unknown. While guarding the planet Andrecia (whose people are advanced only to medieval times), Elana and the Federation are forced to intervene when a different space traveling civilization invades the planet for its resources. Elana must pretend to be a witch to the people of Andrecia and give her “magical powers” to them so they can fight off the invading space colonizers.
DVD/VIDEORECORDING
Blurbs are taken from the back of video cases
Anatomy of a Murder
A virtuoso James Stewart plays the small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: the defense of a young army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Lee Remick). This gripping envelope-pusher, the most popular film by Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger, was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex-but more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast-with a young George C. Scott as a fiery prosecutor and the legendary attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge-and an influential score by Duke Ellington, Anatomy of a Murder is an American movie landmark, nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture.
The Critic: The Complete Series
From the producers of “The Simpsons” comes this hilarious animated sitcom about Jay, a New York movie critic, and cable television host. Pudgy and balding, Jay is not a well-liked man. His unsympathetic boss makes his life miserable, his ex-wife hates him, his adoptive parents barely tolerate him, and even the makeup lady treats him with disgust. Fortunately for Jay, he has his 11-year-old son Marty and one unlikely friend, Jeremy Hawke, the Australian film hunk. Jon Lovitz provides Jay’s distinctive voice as a single father who searches for happiness while satirizing life and the movies in this irreverent comedy.
This and past articles can be found on our website www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org ● Other reading recommendations can be found under “I Don’t Know What to Read” ● Still stumped? Call the annex circulation desk for more suggestions at (217)732-8878
This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Check out what Lincoln is reading
