A Book Review for Times Like These

Last year, I received this book as a birthday gift. The book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, is written and illustrated by Charles Mackesy. The book was also selected as the 2019 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year; however, I wonder if it might be an insightful message for the COVID-19 world that we witness today.

Our CMRLS director, Mara Polk, sent out an email on Friday confirming another week of library closings and requested that branch managers "keep up the CMRLS blog." She suggested that we do book reviews, share things we could do while at home, DIY, etc., and then she ended the email with this statement, "You're doing the best you can, when you can, and how you can," which is exactly the message of this book.

When reviewing an adult book, it is easy to discuss character development, realistic settings, strength of plot, conflict and resolution, audience appeal, appropriate genre or writing skills; however, when reviewing books with illustrations, such as children's books or graphic novels, you have to not only read but see. These pages belong to Charles Mackesy -- the words, illustrations, and copyright; but the message belongs to us all.

I was reminded of the book over the weekend when one of Forest's hometown authors, Jan Risher, posted an illustration on her Facebook page and then followed-up with her weekly column for The Acadiana Advocate. I read the column and shared it to my own page, then I decided to review the book for the CMRLS blog.

Here's my book review of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy:

My first reaction to the book was...Huh? I don't get it. How was this book selected as Barnes and Noble Book of the Year? And it's written for adults? Do any of the libraries in our system have this book? I called my daughter who also bought herself a copy and asked for her thoughts. She had the same reaction. Are we missing something? Three days ago, I re-read it after seeing the post, and I realized that the book is a rare literary masterpiece. That morning, I showed up for class at the school of unlearning.

"The greatest illusion," said the mole, "is that life should be perfect."

-Charles Makesy

I am so grateful that I am reviewing this book today and not three months ago. My reviews would have been completely different because today our lives are completely different. The words on each page are not simple, they are profound. As we face the most indescribable world crisis, this book provides lasting lessons. Life is not perfect. How we react to things is a freedom. We can't control the big things, but we can love what is right in front of us.

"One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things." 

-Charles Mackesy

"When the big things feel out of control...focus on what you love right under your nose." 

-Charles Makesy

"Life is difficult but you are loved." -Charles Makesy

A book review is so subjective. I read hundreds of book reviews each year, as does every librarian who is responsible for ordering books for their patrons. The reviewers for journals and magazines try to convince us that their reviews are completely objective, but they rarely are. We all have these elevated notions that we are completely unbiased. No. We are still human. What we read and how we read depends on many personal factors. This book is small by adult fiction standards - not much text, mostly illustrations - and yet my adult heart grew three sizes reading it again this weekend. Three months ago, I was enjoying a birthday trip to booksellers, eating out at a favorite restaurant, and shopping at specialty stores. That was three months ago, not today.

"When the dark clouds come...keep going." -Charles Makesy

"This storm will pass." -Charles Makesy

"We have such a long way to go," sighed the boy.

"Yes, but look how far we've come," said the horse. 

-Charles Makesy

"I think everyone is just trying to get home," said the mole. 

-Charles Makesy

Last week, one of our "home" assignments was to watch webinars and tutorials to improve our library skills. I watched a webinar entitled Finding the Heart of Library Service. The webinar ended with a quote from Ram Dass, an American author of the book Be Here Now: We're all just walking each other home. So much of our world is quarantined at home, trying to stay safe, and avoid COVID-19. Businesses and schools are closed. Libraries are closed. Home has a new meaning for us all. We play music, we read books and exercise (and try new recipes), we post encouraging quotes, we find ways to be generous and supportive, and we show kindness.

One library in the CMRLS system has a copy of this book, cataloged as an adult graphic novel. (No, it's not Forest.) As soon as we librarians get back to reading reviews and ordering books, this book is going to the top of my list as highly recommended..if for no other reason than times like these.

Party Time at the Brandon Library!

The celebrations keep on coming here at the Brandon Library! On Thursday, December 19 at 10:30 a.m., our Genealogy Club and DNA Club are joining together for their annual Christmas Party! 

The Creative Crafters will also be having their annual Christmas Party on Thursday, December 19th at 6:00 p.m. 

While you're here, come check out our Staff Picks display! We at the Brandon Library want to share some of our favorite titles with you this holiday season. 

One of Shirley's picks is Gregg Olsen's newest book, If You Tell. "I love mysteries and thrillers," Shirley says, "and this book is fantastic on both counts. I couldn't put it down."


Check here for the Goodreads summary, or put this book on hold through the CMRLS catalog here!

Summer, on the other hand, is living for The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. She says, "I am totally obsessed with this series. I just finished it and I already want to read it all over again."

Check here for the Goodreads summary, or put this book on hold through the CMRLS catalog here!

Quit rushing around; stop and get lost in a fairy tale.

This month our book club is reading Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen and what a great story to get lost in during the rush, rush of the season. I don’t know any other way to describe the book but as a fairy tale for adults. 

Take one man that loses his beloved wife in a freak accident (for which he blames himself), add a little girl that loses her dad unexpectedly and thinks he’s come back as a forest creature. Stir in a fortune the man receives for the accident that cost him his wife and an odd brother named Wolf that is intent upon taking the money for himself. Fold in a librarian’s story about a grum and his gold. Add in a grieving wife trying to move on, a forest, a cast of unique characters from a small town, a treehouse in the forest, a falling-down library, and $4 million in gold. Beat together a man and a little girl on an adventure that helps them reconcile their great loss, and you truly have the makings of a fairy tale.

All in the book club have wonderful things to say about this book. Charming! Enchanting! A true modern-day fairy tale! I have personally read this book twice and enjoyed it as much the second time as the first. Take our advice and read this delightful title. If you’re truly too busy now, it would be a great pastime for those cold January days.

CMRLS Catalog to Request your Copy

Author John Floyd to Visit Florence Library

Author John Floyd to Visit Florence Library.
Wednesday,  August 14, 2013
11:00 a.m. 

Author John Floyd will be discussing his latest book Deception. The short fiction of John M. Floyd has appeared in The Strand Magazine, Woman's World, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and many other publications. A Derringer Award winner and former Air Force captain, John spent thirty years with IBM and now teaches writing courses in the Continuing Education department at Millsaps College. He and his wife Carolyn live in Mississippi.Refreshment will be served. 

Deception 

by John M. Floyd 

Deception is not only the name of this book, or the title of one of the tales inside. It might be said that deception is also the central theme of the hundreds of short stories John M. Floyd has written and published over the past eighteen years. Many are mysteries and some represent other genres (fantasy, Western, romance, etc.), but all of them involve trickery and suspense and Hitchcockian plot reversals. In many ways, this collection picks up where his previous book, Clockwork, left off. Here are thirty more delicious stories of mystery, intrigue, and betrayal. And although Floyd has often said he loves twist endings, the surprises here are not limited to the final pages or paragraphs: they also happen throughout the stories. If his fiction has one common denominator, it is the uncertainty built into each tale, that tingling feeling of not knowing which direction the plot is about to take. In addition to all the standalone adventures, this collection features (as did the first three books) several lighthearted mysteries starring retired schoolteacher Angela Potts and small-town sheriff Charles Chunky Jones. But whether the setting is the Deep South or deep space, the characters are touch-me real and the plots are clever and fast-moving. If you are looking for pure entertainment, these stories are for you. Prepare to be deceived . . .

Homemade Soda?

Homemade Soda

I took a look at this book mostly out of curiosity! Can I really make soda at home? Fruit fizzes I know about, but homemade soda? I had a mental picture of the old westerns we used to watch and the one teetotaler cowboy that asks the bartender for a sarsaparilla.

Well I've not started my own "lib-blogger bottling" but I did find recipes that sounded great and there weren't too many ingredients or sound like something too difficult. The author, Andrew Schloss, gives recipes for sodas that you would expect to find on most any grocery store shelf--cola, root beer, fruit flavors and then there are those that I'm not sure I would try just because I'm not much of an experimentalist when it comes to sodas. I first saw them listed on the cover--"herbal and healing waters, sparkling teas and coffees, shrubs and switchels, cream sodas and floats, and other carbonated concoctions". I thought, floats are good, anything with ice cream on top. However, someone who does like to experiment with tastes could truly check out this book and have fun with it. Schloss makes it sound easy and fun, and he does explain what shrubs and switchels are!

If you are looking for something different to do for those hot summer days or just want to really be sure of what your family is drinking, check out Homemade Soda, by Andrew Schloss!