THIS WEEK IN AUGUST

  1. Wednesday Jul 14 CHRISTINA OLDS WEDNESDAY, JULY 14; 7-8 PM @ The Greene CHRISTINA OLDS discusses the book she wrote about her father, Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds. He was a graduate of West Point and quickly became a top fighter...
  2. Thursday Jul 15 RHODA JANZEN THURSDAY, JULY 15; 7-8 PM @ The Greene RHODA JANZEN will introduce the softcover edition of her humorous and very moving book, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home. Rhoda wasn’t just raised a Mennonite, her...
VIEW FULL CALENDAR >>

HOT BOOKS

  • THE SHALLOWS: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr

    In The Shallows, the author of The Big Switch brings us a fascinating look at how technology is changing our brains. We are surrounded with the wonders of technology, and while we delight in it, is it good for us? Can we get too much of a good thing? Are our brains being “taught” to scan and skim rather than delve deeply into a matter? Are we losing the ability to think for ourselves? Is our attention span dangerously short? Are we losing our capacity for “concentration, contemplation, and reflection?” These and many other topics are addressed in this thought-provoking book.

  • THE POPULARITY PAPERS by Amy Ignatow

    Kids who love the Wimpy Kids books will enjoy this one. It is funny illustrated journal covering a year in the life of 5th graders Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang who are bemoaning the fact that they don’t think they are popular. They develop a research project to try to figure out what makes a kid popular. They want to crack that code before they start middle school, and that’s when the fun starts. Their quest to gain popularity may not turn out the way they planned, but it surely keeps the reader in stitches.

  • SEAWORTHY: A Swordboat Captain Returns to the Sea by Linda Greenlaw

    The author shared her deep-sea fishing experiences with us in The Hungry Ocean and The Lobster Chronicles. Now, after a 10-year hiatus, she returns to captain a swordboat, and once again captures for us the thrill of pursuing and capturing the majestic and elusive swordfish. Besides following her thrilling adventures on the water, the reader walks with her as she unexpectedly sits in a jail in Canada jail, accused of trespassing into Canadian waters. Written in a conversational style, you’ll feel that Linda is having a chat with you about her seafaring adventures, and you’re sure to enjoy it.

  •  

CHRISTINA OLDS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14; 7-8 PM @ The Greene

CHRISTINA OLDS discusses the book she wrote about her father, Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds. He was a graduate of West Point and quickly became a top fighter pilot and squadron commander at the young age of 22, and an ace with 12 aerial victories. But it was in Vietnam where he became a legend. He arrived there in 1966 and found a dejected group of pilots. It was his unorthodox leadership that turned the group around and made them into distinguished fighter pilots. He did this by putting himself on the flight schedule and challenging the pilots to train him properly because he would soon be leading them. If they didn’t do it well, the unspoken theory was the group would not survive. They rose to the challenge. Olds went on to amass another four confirmed kills, becoming a rare triple ace. Fighter Pilot is his fascinating story.

Christina Olds, daughter of Robin Olds, holds a Vassar College BA in English and Creative Writing and compiled her father’s writings to help complete this book with Ed Rasimus, a retired USAF fighter pilot, who has written two books on the Vietnam air war, When Thunder Rolled and Palace Cobra. They both live in Colorado.

CHRISTINA OLDS