Posted by Candice on Wednesday, Jan 17, 2018
Like books? Like bars? Like good food and drink, and lively conversation? Then you might want to join us at our next BYOBook meet-up! We're meeting on Tuesday, February 6, at Basta Pizzeria Ristorante, starting at 6:30 p.m.
We will be discussing Roz Chast's Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, which was one of the New York Times Book Review's top ten books of 2014. In it, Chast recounts the time spent caring for her ailing, elderly parents, and the NYT describes it as "a beautiful book, deeply felt...about what it feels like to love and care for a mother who has never loved you back...and achingly wistful about a gentle father who could never break free of his domineering wife and ride to his daughter's rescue." If that doesn't convince you (and it might not, I know), the reviewer goes on to say that it "veers between being laugh-out-loud funny and so devastating I had to take periodic timeouts."
Interested? We have multiple copies, both in our circulating collection and in our ebook collection, and more copies at the Info Desk on the second floor of the Library (stop in or call 319-356-5200 to check availability). You can register for the event in our calendar. If you can't make it to this one, stay tuned...We've got Atul Gawande's Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In the End on deck for March.
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About the Author
I work at the Info Desk on the second floor, and I select books for the adult nonfiction collection. I have a degree in anthropology, which really helps in selecting...well...almost anything. I also manage the Art To Go collection of framed prints and original art, and the nonfiction DVDs.
What do you like to read?
In no particular order:... more
This was a really fun listen! The subject matter is a nice blend of serious and otherwise, with a main character who is both a private detective and movie location scout. The action takes place is Canada, which was part of the reason I gave it a listen--a different setting is always nice. The mystery here is a slow-burner, and worth the wait. The discussion of male depression and suicide is important and nicely done, and then there's a bonus side-mystery involving lots of stake-outs and following, and perhaps the occasional double-crossing and a modicum of violence. The main characters--the aforementioned detective/scout, along with his burgeoning love interest who's a late-30s bit-part actress with an endearing fondness for early-century architecture--are worth following and rooting for. The narration is excellent! -Candice