The summer season is in full effect.
The time is perfect to pick your next book for your trip to the beach or for a day by the pool.
Host Christopher Purdy and his guests will share ideas on books you might want to add to your list of must-reads.
Host:
- Christopher Purdy, Classical 101 Morning Host
Guests:
- Kassie Rose, WOSU book critic
- Kris Hickey, youth services manager, Whetstone Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library
- Jillian Ober, curator, Next Chapter Book Club, Nisonger Center, Ohio State University
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Transcript
This transcript is generated with AI. To ensure its accuracy, review the audio file.
Christopher Purdy: Good morning, I'm Christopher Purdy, delighted to welcome you all to All Sides Weekend Books. This is the book show. We get together every month at this time to talk about what's new in publishing, what's new in books, the books our panel loves to read, and we have wonderful recommendations for you. So buckle up and stay tuned. Kassie Rose is here. She is WOSU's book critic. Her blog is TheLongestChapter.com, which is critical for anyone, and fun, for anyone who loves to read. Kris Hickey is here. She is the Youth Services Manager of the Whetstone branch of the Columbus Library. And Kris Hickey every month comes and brings us the quick picks. Those are the books that everybody wants to read. And I am delighted to welcome a debutante to the show. Jillian Ober from the Nysonger Center convenes the Next Chapter Book Club. I believe her title, your title, I'm reading now, OK? Outreach Program Manager, I'll leave it there. I never do this, but I'm going to do it now. I'm just going to read what they wrote about on your bio, just to get it right. And because I happen to know this is true, because I know a little bit about you and what the work that you do. For over two decades at the Ohio State University Nisonger Center, Jillian has been the heartbeat of the Next Chapter Book Club, a program that ensures intellectual disability is never a barrier to the joy of literature. And she is also a recipient of the most recent Distinguished Staff Awards at The Ohio State University for which congratulations.
Jillian Ober: Thank you.
Purdy: And welcome and talk to me. What's the next chapter book club?
Ober: Well, the Next Chapter Book Club is a program for adults with developmental disabilities, regardless of reading ability. That's really the hallmark of our program. It was founded in 2002 at the Nislinger Center at Ohio State by Dr. Tom Fish and has grown quite a lot over the years. Our individual book clubs are small groups that meet weekly for an hour in bookstores, cafes and libraries. And they take time to socialize and then take turns reading from a book that they've chosen. And the meetings are facilitated by volunteers, some of whom also have disabilities. And the volunteers are trained to provide reading and social support as needed. And so as program manager, I support the, we have 15 clubs here in Franklin County. And we also work with other disability organizations, day programs who wanna offer a book club to their clients. And so in total, there are about 150 people who are participating in weekly book clubs here in Franklin County.
Purdy: What is, when you say disabilities, I'm assuming that that's an okay word to use in this context. And full disclosure, I know something about it because I have a family member who's autistic, and so I'm, my family, we're plugged into the community locally. But tell me, what is the range of, shall we say, ability and age among your membership?
Ober: Um, so our book clubs here in central Ohio are for adults. We'll make an exception here and there for a 16 or 17 year old who might be, um, you know, eager to join, but for the most part, we're 18 and up. Um, we had a woman in her eighties at one point in one of our book clubs, um, the ability, uh, level, uh is, is, um the range there is, is quite So we have folks who might need support with most or all of the words on the page. And we have people who read better than I. So just a very, very wide range of abilities and interests. To me.
Purdy: Do you have any programs on Zoom for people who might be a problem to come out?
Ober: Yes, two of our book clubs do meet virtually, and that is something that started during COVID, and then once all of our clubs decided to meet back, to go back out into the community, we had a couple of clubs say, this is really working for us. And so we do have two that meet on Zoom.
Purdy: Jillian Ober is a member of the Nisonger Center, where she is the Outreach Programs Manager and she convenes and is the manager of the Next Chapter Book Club and we will talk more and we'll get some specific book- I'm going to be asking you later what kind of books people are reading, specific titles that others might be interested in as we go along. This is All Sides Weekend, this is The Book Show, I'm Christopher Purdy, Kassie Rose our book critic, WOSU book critic. What are you reading?
Kassie Rose: Well, I'm actually reading several books at one time. I seem to do that, but I want to talk about a book that I have been meaning to talk about in the show that I read actually about a month ago, maybe two months ago, even. "The News from Dublin," their story's written by Colm Tobin. He's the Irish author who is well-known for "Long Island" and the novel "Brooklyn." He's really a magnificent writer and author. I mean, for me, I think that... He really should be a contender for a Nobel Prize. I mean, the way that he covers, he knows Irish culture and history and how he writes about the Irish soul. I will put it that way. And much all of that you can see in this collection of short stories. And one more thing before I describe a few of them is that when you get to the end of them, you feel that you have reached an ending. But he doesn't just say, well, this is the ending and it's neatly wrapped up. You get there because he puts you within the mind and as I said, the soul of the protagonist. And so you know when they have arrived at that. So you get there too.
In the opening story, for example, a woman gets news that her son has been killed. He's a pilot in the World War II and he's been killed in over Dusseldorf, so now she needs to ride the train from to Galway to tell her daughter-in-law that her son has died. And what he captures is that she recognizes that while she's on the train, to the daughter- in-law and the children, he's still alive because they don't know yet. So that concept, and so then for herself, she thinks back to the day before and the day before about how. He was alive for her too, but probably wasn't. And it's captured magnificently.
Also in another story, he does something sort of similar and it's the title story, "The News from Dublin," where a man is in Dublin to talk to the health minister about a new drug for tuberculosis that he's read about. His family is read about, is available in the United States and they have a relative who is dying from this. So he needs to get this drug. And when his encounter with the health minister and all that happens and the politics around that and then what he knows and what he has to carry back to his family. And he's debating, what do I tell them? Here's what I know, what I tell to them? So again, that situation very human that all of us can be in of what do you do?
And finally, I just wanna tell about another story that has remained with me since reading this book. And actually the protagonist is a pedophile. And what magically happens though in this story is how he is able to make us feel safe and let us have the remove while this, a man who has been in jail for 10 years and he's released from prison. And the underlying theme of the story is that he will never be free. And he moves to Barcelona where there is a friend who left. Seminary with him, both of them left the seminary. This friend is married with children now. And he, the man goes to Barcelona to set up a life for himself. And first of all, we know also that his family has rejected him, written him a letter, family, you know, Irish family, you know 10 kids, probably 12 kids. And he's also, he has to find a place where he won't be recognized by Irish tourists. We do not feel sympathy for him at all. And Tobin is very clear because Even in a moment when he's talking to this friend, you can hear the man does not have remorse, which is, in a way, it's shocking.
Purdy: So there's no question that he's guilty
Rose: Yes. Oh, he was absolutely guilty. And it doesn't matter that he served his term. So here he is. And I don't want to give away the ending, but I will also say that the friend, you can feel this, the friend having the remove too, I cannot, I'm going to be, I see you're a human being, but and I'll give you this connection to find an apartment, but I can't be with you. So he captures that and it's not hatred. It's not It's a kind of disgust that we all would feel. I mention this because of the talent of Colm Tobin, what he is able to capture in terms of a human life.
Purdy: Colm Tobin, also the Book of Mary. That was a beautiful book that he wrote. The Testament of Mary, I loved that as well. Yes, a book by Colm Thobin, recommended by Kassie Rose. "The News from Dublin," a collection of stories heard on this edition of All Sides Weekend Books. And here's Kris Hickey with the Columbus Library with the latest Quick Picks, Get In Line.
Kris Hickey: Get in line for Anne Patchett. Anne Patchet's new book "Whistler" is out and it is very, very popular. This is my favorite Anne Patchette and that is saying something because how much I loved "Tom Lake." But this is about friendship and the love of friendship. So our character is Daphne and she's in her 50s. Her mother was married to three different men. So her father. Her current stepfather. And when she was nine years old, her mother was married to a man named Eddie. And it was just, it was a brief marriage and they had a really good connection. She felt seen by him, but didn't see him again after the divorce until all of these years later, she and her husband run into him in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
And what comes after is this beautiful friendship between the two of them, this reconnecting of stepfather and stepdaughter. They, shortly before the divorce, the two were in a car accident together. And so there's a slow reveal about that. There's a low reveal about who Eddie is and what happened between him and her mother. She, Ann Patcha calls this the most romantic book that she's ever written, like the most love. And she talks about how in friendship, we can be our full selves with people. Where in a romantic relationship, we might hold things back because there's always that fear that this romantic partner will leave. Where with a friend, you don't always have that kind of fear. So this is inspired by a friendship between her and a man named James. And he recently passed away at the age of 85 and they were just the best of friends. So this not about James, but it's inspired by James.
And it is just... It's lovely, it's not a big plot book, but it is just that this getting to know these characters and the very deep dive into who they are. And I just found it to be beautiful and comforting and made me think of other parental figures in my life. And I think this is gonna be a good book club because there's so much to unpack in this story. It's called "Whistler." It's call "Whistlers." So why is there a horse on the cover and why is it called Whistsler? There is a story about a horse, and this horse becomes the mascot of their friendship. And I won't tell the story of the horse because that's a very interesting piece of this. But yeah, that's why there's a horse on the cover. Read the book. Read the books, it is beautiful.
Purdy: "Whistler" by, what's the waiting list on this one, do we know?
Hickey: Oh gosh, I didn't check, but I know it's high.
Purdy: But talk about Tuesday.
Hickey: Tuesdays, yes, that is release day. That is a publisher release day, and so often if you come in on a Tuesday, you will see the brand new Quick Picks that are released that week.
Purdy: Yeah, give give us just the pricey's once again. What what the quick way to quick?
Hickey: We're to Quick Pick. So Quick Pick, these are the hot books, the books with the long hold lists. And the idea is that you can put the book on hold, but you could walk into one of our buildings and you could see the book. On the Quick Pick display, you could jump the line, check it out and read it.
Purdy: You have it for 30 days, I believe. 21 days. 21 days, okay. These books do not renew. I'm sorry I asked. That's fine. Never mind. Yes.
Hickey: Yes, these don't renew, so you do need to bring them back.
Purdy: Quick picture at the Columbus Library with Chris Hickey. The recommendation is "Whistler" by Anne Patchett. We're going to take a quick break now and then come back and talk more with Jillian Ober about her book club and her work at the Nice Sunker Center. Don't go away.
Purdy: We are back, All Sides Weekend the Book Show. I'm Christopher Purdy here with Cassie Rose, WOSU's Book Critic. Here with Chris Hickey, who is the Youth Services Manager at the Wetstone branch of the Columbus Library, who brings us each week, each month at this time, quick picks. And Jillian Ober from the Nisoger Center, who convenes the Next Chapter Book Club. Jillian, what are people reading? What's working well? Do you have any favorites or recommendations? You're giving me the nod good. Let's go
Ober: Well, what's working well depends on the club, because we have such a wide range of abilities and skills represented among our members. Our book clubs read everything from the boxcar children to the Hunger Games. And even though the club is for adults with disabilities, we don't shy away from great children's fiction either there's a
Purdy: Neither do we here in the show, yeah.
Ober: Yeah, there's a C.S. Lewis quote that I love that says a great children's story that can only be enjoyed by children isn't a great story in the slightest. I think I got that right. And I really agree. I think if it's a good book, it's good book. And so we've got just kind of starting out with a couple of recommendations. We've had several clubs read a book called "Chester and Gus" By Cammie McGovern, and it is written from the perspective of a dog that is hoping to become the family's service dog. And it really is a very heartwarming story that, you know, has a little bit of humor as well. And it's been really well received by a number of our clubs.
Um, I, I one book that, um, A few of our clubs have read is the London Eye mystery. And so right now I'm kind of focusing on some, some titles that do have, um, a main character with a disability. Um, and so, um. The London Eye Mystery is by Siobhan, uh, Siobhán Doud. Um, I believe she has, um passed away, um unfortunately, but, um this is about a, um a family in London and their cousin takes a ride on the London Eye and doesn't get off. The bod and what has happened to him and siblings Ted and Kate decided they're going to figure this out and Ted has autism and what I really liked about this book is that we do learn about autism through Ted's point of view but it's not about his autism, it's really about family and how family interacts during a crisis. Sometimes I think that there are books that are featuring characters with disabilities and they can tend to be a little heavy handed when it comes to wanting to impart a lesson. And what I like about the London Eye mystery is that really it's, you know, he's the main character and he has autism, but it's not necessarily about that. I just found that refreshing.
But on the other hand, we've got... There's a book called "Anything But Typical" by Norah Raleigh Baskin and I thought that it offered a really realistic portrayal of a family's just dealing with having a family member with autism and the struggle that Jason, the character's mother, really has coming to terms with. Having a son with that diagnosis. And in the end, what is great is that the main character does seem to come to the realization that he's okay, just the way he is. Do you want me to keep going?
Purdy: Let's, I want to come back to you and get some more. You've given us some great ideas and I should also mention to people, thanks to Chris Hickey and thanks to Marcus Charleston, these books will be shared, the titles will be shared on the WOSU website so you can look for them there. I'm like writing things down very quickly and to the point that I can't read them. So it'll be out there probably within 24 hours. So wosu.org slash all sides, you'll find it there. This is The Book Show. Thank you, Jillian Ober. We're going to come back to you for some more recommendations. I want to talk more about how the books are chosen, but I want to ask Cassie Rose for something else to read as well. Well, I first, I...
Rose: I think I need a clarification here. I'm looking at upside down that Chris has it. There's this book, but it is not the book. I'm thinking of it just like the color on it is making me think of another book. And I think it's one I wanted to read. The book that I'm thinkin' of, which is not one that Chris is gonna talk about, it's called "Trash." And it's a garbage man's story. And it is written by a man named Simon Pare-Pupar. He is a garbageman. I think its in Quebec. Montreal or whatever and I haven't read the book but I've sort of it just keeps popping up and I keep thinking I must want to read this book I've read about it and he's writing his memoir about what it's like to be a garbage man and one of the things that I have read about it from other reviews or maybe I heard an interview with him or something but it's about how the pride there and up in. Quebec, I guess, where he is working, they're still the garbage man that are throwing it in the trucks. So it is not like here in Columbus where you have the arms grabbing it and throwing it in the back. And so you talk about the muscles that it takes and the challenge that they each have for all of them or whatever. So I don't know if I'm recommending the book or if I just sort of just having a moment here where a little voice inside I'll be saying Cassie just. You know, just go out and read the book.
Purdy: Because obviously you'll come back next month and we'll ask you, you'll read the book before next month, and we will ask you that.
Rose: Right, right. So, if you want me to recommend another book that I have read, I will. Would you like me to do that?
Purdy: Go for it.
Rose: A book, it's a mystery. It's called "The Silent House of Sleep" and it's written by Alan Gaw, G-A-W. And it's the first book in his mystery series. And it is very interesting because the protagonist is not a detective but a pathologist. And so he is, he's smart. He is insightful. He's the guy that gets into court. And just all he has to do is say the facts and the prosecutor knows that just he's done under. And that's how the book opens up. So he, it takes place in London, this is 1929 and certainly there is a murder that happened. A boy goes, a university student from Oxford goes missing and there's a new chief inspector who is arrogant and he just pretty much doesn't like this, Cuthbert is what the. Pathologist's name is. So they have a little head-to-head, you know, I don't know, lion sort of coming at each other.
Anyway, the reason I love this mystery is because of the backstory that goes on with Cuthbert and why I want to follow the series. The next one's going to come out in February is because we get his medical education in Edinburgh. We get his service in World War I, and which does, it does affect the story. And it's his dignity, I think, that really attracts me. And the story of what he went through in the trench is also why he enlisted. He didn't have to when he was in medical school. And so then we come around to the crime that is being solved, and it has to do with Virgil's Aeneid. I'm just throwing things out here. As one does. As one done. I'm throwing things here to show you how interesting and complex the story is.
He also, he lives in a lovely townhouse, and there is this scene where the inspector comes over to talk with him at night, and he, Cuthbert also has a French, a young French housekeeper. She is married and, but I think her husband had died. Whatever, and so there's this wink, wink of the, you know, the inspector saying, oh, I know why you've got the, you know this little French house keeper, which is not that at all. And so he embarrasses himself. We as readers. See the embarrassment. And because again, Cuthbert has such dignity, and that's a scene where you see that come out. It's really, really well done. There is a point at the end where I was a little bit dissatisfied, I would say, but then he came right, the author came right back around and was just like, oh no, no, you have no idea what's gonna go on here.
Purdy: As Cassie Rose always tells us, you have no idea what's going to go on around here. Cassie rose recommendation. Cassie is, give us a title and also one more time.
Rose: It's called "The Silent House of Sleep" and it's by Alan Gaw, G-A-W.
Purdy: Cassie is WOS. She's a book critic. Don't miss her blog, thelongestchapter.com. Now, Chris Hickey, it's hot outside and it's smoky. You got anything racy for us to read?
Hickey: Reader. Okay, let me scoot over. Let me let me Oh, she's grabbing the racing grabbing it. This is called "Hot Girl Murder Club" by Ashley Winstead. Okay. Is that hot enough? Yes. Okay? So this is one of those rich people behaving badly psychological thrillers. So it's about a singer. Her name is Scout. And she's being investigated by a police officer because her lyrics are found at murder sites. So he she's been investigated because she is a person of Scout's sister was killed at a party years ago. Okay, so follow this. She believes that a high powered executive is responsible for it. The police officer who is investigating her also has a sister that disappeared years ago, so.
This book is inspired by the lore of Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun. And Scooter braun is the person who owned her music for a number of years. Which is why she re-recorded her music and re-released the Taylor's version of a number of her albums. Also, she's got a song called Vigilante. It has some expletives, so I won't say them on the air. It's also inspired by that song from the Midnight album.
Rose: So are the Swifties after like after this book, like they are swarming around?
Hickey: I have not heard anything about that. I have a feeling they will like it. But again, I don't know. I couldn't tell you what Swiftie's. I don't know. I don't know what's in the minds. So Ashley Winstead saw a photograph of Taylor Swift and her and her friends. They went out to dinner and she thought, what if they were making secret deals with each other to take out each other's nemesises? And what if there just too good at it? So think like they walk on stilettos, they run on revenge. So this is like a sudden fame compared with sisterhoods if the sisterhood were killer sororities and the Bene Gesserit's from Dune.
Purdy: You've got me!
Hickey: You've got my attention. This is going to be a page turner. It's a great beach read. It's just it's a quick pick. No surprise. It's going to be fun. And if you like Taylor Swift, this is going to be right up your alley. The writer is Ashley Winstead. Ashley Winsted. She's yeah, she writes a good thriller.
Purdy: Okay, so you're giving us racy because it's hot outside. Yes, yes. Chris Hickey is is at the whetstone branch of the Columbus library go up and whisper to us sometimes just slip me a couple of hot, hot titles there. But these are quick picks from the library. I want to clarify that on Tuesday, the quick picks come out. Yes. And they're the same at every branch.
Hickey: They're the same. Any branch that you walk to should have a number of quick picks for you to select from.
Purdy: Okay, Jillian Ober, I want to come back to you and talk about your book club. First of all, there are people who are listening who will want to know, A, how to participate, and B, if I have a loved one or somebody I think should participate or would like to, how did we make that happen?
Ober: Well, if you are in central Ohio, in Franklin County, then all you need to do is reach out to me, and I will get that person connected or get your family member or loved one connected. I don't know if you want me to go ahead and give my email address right here. You want to? That's fine with me. Go ahead, go for it. My email is Jillian, that's J-I-L-L I-A-N dot over O-B as in boy E-R at OSUMC dot E-D-U. And I will be happy to to get you connected the program's also an international program now though It started here in central, Ohio in 2002 it grew quite a lot Over the years and there is a nonprofit organization That administers the next chapter book club affiliates in other cities states and countries And if you go to next chapter Book Club org, you can put in your address and find if there's a program near you
Purdy: That's even a better way to next chapter book club dot org correct will give you a search engine for for for meetings. So you said they meet they don't meet on campus necessarily they meet all over. How does that work out.
Ober: Well, so our book clubs, other than the two that we have that meet on Zoom, they're meeting in local Barnes and Noble cafes at the Gehanna branch of the Columbus Metro Library, a number of Panera cafes. We've got a club meeting up at a mom and pop coffee shop and a baked shop up in Mr. Ville. And so I just introduce myself to those, you know, whoever the manager on duty is and let them know about our book club and say we'd like to come on, you know, Tuesdays at six o'clock and
Purdy: I'm sure they're glad to have you. I'm I'm sure nobody's ever said no to you. I'm very happy to have you wherever you're going out there.
Ober: We have had really, really wonderful responses from the places where we meet.
Purdy: Next chapter book club org is where you go for more information about a meetings near you or whatever Do you do you? Put out the titles to be read in advance and wait advance
Ober: That's a good question. So I have built and maintained a lending library that we have at Nisonger Center that has about eight copies of currently 232 titles. And so I distribute the currently available books to all of the volunteers who are co-facilitating our book clubs. I distribute the inventory list every week. And then they, based on what they know about their abilities and interests and preferences they will you know curate a smaller list of books for the clubs to vote on and so it's really important that the members are choosing the books that they read and you think choosing the books that that choosing when they don't want to finish a book we've had a couple of clubs you know one club read the first two Harry Potter books and then got the chapter. Did they get carried out after? They sure did! They got a chapter into the Prisoner of Azkaban and they pushed their books to the middle of the table and this is too hard. We don't want to read this. And it's your club. You don't have to.
Purdy: So how many members would be in each meeting? What's the range of that?
Ober: Yeah, so we have usually between four and eight.
Purdy: An average of six. That's nice. That means everybody gets a chance to talk and participate. Give us a couple more recommendations, if you will.
Ober: Sure. So one of the books that I have really enjoyed and that others have really liked is "Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper. And that is a book about a girl with cerebral palsy who's not able to walk or talk. She has synesthesia and so she, you know, sees colors with certain music and just a wonderful, I think Sharon Draper is a great. Writer, and she does a wonderful job of helping you get an idea of what it would be like to be in a body that isn't able, you know, you're not able to express yourself. And then she acquires a metatalker, which is an augmentative assistive communication device. And she's able to communicate, and really stuns her family and her classmates and her with how much she knows. And ends up participating in the, there's a local and then statewide trivia competition. And it's really, you know, about her journey and learning to also stand up for herself. And you really, I'm blanking on the main character's name at the moment, but you really boy, you root for her throughout. Come to the-
Purdy: Come to the book club, you'll find out. Give us the website address again.
Ober: Nextchapterbookclub.org. And I'm at the Nice Songers Center at Ohio State. So you can come directly to me or go to nextchaptorbookclub dot org.
Purdy: For information, if you'd like to participate, or you know somebody who would like to participate, I'm sure they would be welcome. Shout out to all the good people at the Nice Songers Center who do a lot for, certainly for WSU because they're involved with Immersed, which is our program of music for kids, little kids on the spectrum, and we really couldn't do that as well as we do without the students and Kelly at the Nice Songer Center, so shout out to all of them as well. We're gonna take a quick break. Break and come on back with, if I can speak, with more book recommendations. Don't go away. We are back, All Sides Weekend Books. This is the book show. I'm Christopher Purdy with Cassie Rose, with Jillian Ober, and with Chris Hickey. Chris Hickie brings us to Quick Picks in the library, so Quick Pick me again.
Hickey: David Sedaris has a new book and it is absolutely wonderful. So he's the humorist. He has books of essays about his family and just his observations in the world. And this one is called "The Land and Its People." This is his 16th book. And what's interesting about this one is his audience edited these stories. So when he's on his speaking tours, he will share new essays and based on their reactions to it, he will go back and. Revise and edit. So that is what this book is. He says this is his favorite title because if there's people in it, it works. The land and its people.
So there's just a variety of things on here. He is learning German via Duolingo and has these very interesting conversations with the chat bot named Lily and how he breaks down and what he's sharing with her is very odd. And the essay is hilarious. He writes a really beautiful one about his mother, kind of comparing her to an article he's read about cool moms. But it is really beautiful and interesting, all these little things about his Mother. One of the really funny ones, he goes to the Vatican. He and other humorists and comedians are invited by Pope Francis.
Purdy: Listen to what you just said, a bunch of comedians go to the Vatican.
Hickey: That's what he does tell some really inappropriate jokes which I will not share to the Pope yeah or to the to all the other comedians I need to laugh too yes yes there I there I can't repeat them in front of the crowd that wouldn't be good anyway while he is there he goes to what he calls a bespoke tailor who dresses the Pope and his people because he wants to buy cardinal outfit. So he, with the sash and the 33 buttons that represent the life of Jesus, he knows they're not going to just sell it to him. So he has to come up with a story and he takes the actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus with him. Now she improvises and makes the lie too big and what happens is just hilarious.
Rose: So they didn't recognize either of them.
Hickey: Apparently not. But but what she said, I don't know. Well, this tailor, this tailor, they've been they've dressing the put for hundreds of years. And he walks around New York and this just to see how people will treat him. So he got it. He did get it. Yeah, he did get it. They were able to navigate this big story that just got bigger because of Julia Louis Dreyfus. He has an essay about a dog. That he miscalculates how people would react to it. And audiences were not on his side. And it's very interesting. It's a very interesting essay. But it is just wonderful. He's best on audio because his voice, the way he tells his stories are just so funny. It's just, I just love David Sedaris. If you want something that's gonna make you laugh out loud and just delight, just it will delight you. He's wonderful.
Rose: If you listen to that on audio, I just had this feeling like that would be like having a comedian right there with you and
Hickey: and the way he's a great storyteller.
Purdy: Yeah, that's great.
Hickey: He tells a story. His husband, Hugh, is having hip replacement surgery and he's not helpful at all. David is not helpful. And he sees on Hugh's phone a text from his sister, Hugh's sister, who says, I hope is David being helpful to you at all? And David takes the phone and he texts back, none whatsoever. And his sister or the actress, Amy Sedaris, they just get into these, they're just so funny together. It's wonderful. What's the title? It's David Sedaris, "The Land and Its People."
Purdy: Sounds like a good gift item too, I mean, yeah.
Hickey: It would be a wonderful gift idea.
Purdy: By the way, Chris Hickey, you're probably a little hungover from the book festival. Yes, which was last weekend. Discuss.
Hickey: Yes, it was a gosh. It was so great. Um, two days of authors, wonderful response. We love that. So many people love books and want to turn out. We are committed to keeping it a free event. And, um, I, I had a wonderful time, especially with TJ cloned that I was, I got to spend time with him and he was just so wonderful and generous with everyone who came through his signing line. All, all of the authors I saw, you know,
Purdy: You know what I noticed this year, because it happened at the one that I convened, but in other ones too that I attended, it was a great crowd. The audiences were in every room that you went into, and the one with the authors I talked with, the people were fantastic. They participant, and laughed, and had a good time.
Hickey: They enjoyed, they so enjoyed being there. I moderated a panel on Romanticie and the audience was just electric and they just, they were having a great time and the authors were having a great times interacting with them. It was just.
Ober: It really is a wonderful crowd at that event. We've had a booth there. Next Chapter Book Club has had a booth there the last three years. And I've snagged a couple of fantastic volunteers and some new members from being there. But just the energy of the folks that are there is really wonderful.
Hickey: It's such a positive experience, people who love books just gathering in one big place.
Purdy: Let me say that Alisa Leahy and a lot of people, the volunteers that I dealt with, could not have been more helpful. And it was miserably hot and nobody cared. They were just, they were always cheerful and helpful. People were coming around with their badges on saying, are you okay? Do you need water? Are you having a good time? What can we do? And really, I mean, you should really be get a shout out for that. They're wonderful. We have the team that puts this together.
Hickey: Yes, Michalene, Rebecca Carr, they are just outstanding at what they do.
Purdy: Well, congratulations, Columbus Library for another fabulous book festival. Congratulations for that. Thank you very much. And then Cassie Rose, top that.
Rose: Well, I don't know if I can, but I will. I'm going to preface this by saying that I, something that I told myself I was going to do this year. In January, I said, at least one book every month that I read has to come off my reading table, the ones that have been sitting there forever that you think you're always going to get to. And so the one I read this month was Saul Bellow's "Mr. Sammler's Planet." And I absolutely love this book. Now, I'm a big Saul Bellow fan, and I've read "Herzog," I've red "Humboldt's Gift," I've the Thief, I read a lot of his books. And this book opened, Mr. Sammler is in his 70s. He's Jewish, living in New York. He is a Holocaust survivor. He has a family member, Dr. Gruner, who has brought him and his daughter over to New York and subsidizes them in their living. And Mr.Sammler. Is, and he has only one eye, because he lost the other eye in the war. There's not much, I'm spending more time on it than they spend on it in the book.
Anyway, he's on a bus, and I think this really kind of a famous part of this book where on Broadway, and he sees a pickpocket at work, lifting a woman's wallet, and this man is an elegant black man in a beautiful, I think they describe it as a puma-like coat, and he has. You know, cufflinks and all this. So he called, Mr. Sammler calls the police, which of course aren't gonna pay any attention. This is in the 1960s in New York. And... But that has an anchor scene with it. There's another, then when we go on, we meet his daughter, there's another crime because his daughter steals a manuscript from a professor to give to the father. This happens over a few days and I'm making it sound more serious than it is because Mr. Sammler is just like going along thinking, oh well, I'm trying to do the best I can. Actually, the pickpocket does see him another time watching him and follows him into his lobby and in a very classic unbelievable scene threatens him in a way that's really with not without a weapon. I'll just leave it at that. If you've read the book, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Anyway, it just becomes a very involving book about the characters that are all very colorful, including his cousins, who one of. A young woman named Angel, who is fully into the 60s, a sexual revolution and the way she dresses to the shock of her father and another cousin who is Wallace, who was trying to get Mr. Sammler into a business deal that is really off the charts. And he calls him whatever, he's just kind of crazy. So meanwhile, then Dr. Gruner begins to die because he has a health incident. All of this is just going on like in about a week. And this is where the humanity of the book comes in because Mr. Sammler is the one that shows the humanity during death while the two cousins, the daughters of Dr. Gruner, are Wallace wants his money and Angela is just worried about her father being angry with her.
It's very hard to describe the atmosphere in this story of New York in the 60s of who Mr.Sammler is in terms of what he has experienced in his life. I will tell you at the end of the book, the last paragraph is one after I read it, I thought if I ever have to give a eulogy for someone, that is what I will read. It was just, and it is one of those books that because you have stayed with it all of this time, because there are moments where you're gonna be in the middle of it, and he's going in this long discussion with this. Professor whose manuscript, his daughter has stolen whatever and how they talk back and forth with each other. You think, why am I giving time to this book? I will tell you when you get to the end of it, you'll know why. Saul Bellow. Saul Bello. "Mr. Sammler's Planet," this was published in 1976, which was the same year that he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Purdy: You said that came off your reading table. Yes. How high is that stack?
Rose: It's, it's actually two tables. It's two tables and one of the tables is a double deck. It's got a shelf below. So this is why I'm saying this is.
Purdy: Okay so every month you're promising yourself yes comes up but then you replace it with another book because you want the do you want to pile to go down
Rose: I do want the pile to go down. And yes, it is sort of an, you know, it it is. But the satisfaction is seeing the books that have been there for years.
Purdy: Coming off. Like my table has, I have to blow dust off. Did you do that? Yeah. Yes, I do that. Okay, all right. Never mind. Now, another quick pic from Chris Hickey.
Hickey: All right, let's talk about "The Great Wherever" by Shannon Sanders. So this is a book that's inspired by her own family. It's not about her family, but inspired. So it's about a woman named Aubrey. Things are not going great for her. She doesn't have a steady job. She's grieving the loss of a longtime relationship and her father has just died. So she finds out that she has inherited his piece of this large farm in Tennessee. And so she goes there. And there are four ghosts watching her with a great deal of interest. These are ghosts of her ancestors. And so as she's connecting with the living family, these ghosts are, she calls them relentless gossips. They're very judgmental.
And alongside her story in the present time, we meet Thomas, who is her ancestor that purchased the farm. He was one of the first people of color in the community to buy land. And something had happened on this farm that had created this break within the family. So it's a sweeping family drama with these very gossipy ghosts. But this is inspired because her grandmother with some of her siblings, they own a farm together. So she had a lot to draw on between these relationships. So this is a very hot book. This has got a lot of buzz right now. So this is called "The Great Wherever" by Shannon Sanders.
Purdy: And that is a quick pick of the Columbus Library recommended to us by the library and by Chris Hickey who is from the whetstone branch and we have time to come back and just get have a few final words with Jillian Ober and the next book club the next chapter the next Chapter Book Club we got the longest chapter over here and the and the Next Chapter Book club again for people who want to join the club or more information what's the best way to do that?
Ober: You can go to nextchapterbookclub.org, or you can contact me directly at jillian.ober at osumc.edu, and that would be for clubs here in central Ohio.
Purdy: And if people are tuning in late, the next chapter book club is for
Ober: For adults with developmental disabilities, regardless of their reading level, we have volunteers that are trained to provide support as needed. And our clubs take turns reading aloud together instead of reading independently and then coming together to talk about the book. And people get as much or as little support with reading as they need. You have two more titles you can read? I do. Oh, great. I do, one of my favorites. Is "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo. I just think she's wonderful. And this one in particular is about a young girl named Flora who is a self-proclaimed cynic. And there's a book that she reads called Terrible Things Can Happen to You. And so throughout the book, there are little things where, you know, little, excuse me, excerpts where she will talk about. Sorry about that. She will talk about what to do if you get attacked by a bear or stuck in quicksand. And her mother is a romance novelist who is just, those two just couldn't be any more different, Flora and her mother.
And so one day there's a squirrel who has a run-in with a vacuum cleaner at the neighbor's house. And the squirrel is sucked up and spit out and in the process really sort of has a near-death god experience, if you will, and emerges from that with some superpowers. And that is that he can communicate and he becomes a poet. And he uses Flora's mother's typewriter to write some poetry. And it's just the sweetest book. I just couldn't recommend it more. And then the other one that I have
Purdy: Twenty seconds, just- but go ahead, give it to-
Ober: "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi. It's a wonderful coming-of-age story about a young girl who travels across the Atlantic on a masted sailing ship with a lot of rough sailing folks. So it's a great story.
Purdy: Jillian Ober is with the Nisonger Center here on the OSU campus. She convenes the Next Chapter Book Club. If you would like more information, the next chapter book club dot org dot org is that for you. Cassie Rose is WOSU's book critic and her blog is the longest chapter dot com. Great to have your recommendations and Chris Hickey is the Youth Services Manager at the What's Done branch of the Columbus Library. And Chris Hickey brings us the quick picks The books everybody wants to read. I've already written down David Sedaris. I think that's going to be terrific I'm sure it has a long list, but check it out the library shelves You may find it in advance and I am Christopher Purdy and this has been all sides weekend the book show my thanks to Marcus Charleston our producer my thanks the Chris Johnson who runs the board and keeps us on the radio my thanks To all of you for listening check out wosu.org All sides give it a day or two and all the books we discussed should be listed there with links to the library so check it out and until then keep reading and keep cool.