THIS WEEK IN AUGUST

  1. 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.

  •  

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 father was once the head of the North American Mennonite Conference. And although she had long ago left the church, the conservative religious community of her youth welcomed her back with open arms and generous advice. That was just what she needed. In the embrace of her family and community she finds the space to come to terms with her failed marriage and the time to reflect not only on her desire, as a young woman, to leave her sheltered world behind but also on the choices she’d made that both freed and entrapped her.

Rhoda Janzen has an MA and Ph.D. in American literature and has received numerous awards, honors, and fellowships. She teaches English and Creative Writing at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

RHODA JANZEN