Book of the Week: ‘Tiffany Girl’
Tiffany Girl Deeanne Gist 2015, 508 pages Fiction Did you know that there were “Tiffany Girls” – women who worked for Tiffany, the famous stained-glass and jewelry company? For the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, Louis Comfort Tiffany was planning to create a state-of-the-art stained-glass mosaic chapel. But his male workers went on strike, so Tiffany hired young women from the Arts Students League of New York. Beautiful,...
Book of the Week: ‘Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives’
Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives Tim Harford 2106, 294 pages Nonfiction We are asked to clean our rooms as children, and later on to have a neat desk at work, but are there times when being “messy” actually helps matters? Or when things don’t go according to plan, can the messiness of life sometimes provide better, unexpected outcomes? Tim Harford shows how being messy or messy situations can produce amazing...
Book of the Week: ‘The Poet’s Dog’
The Poet’s Dog Patricia MacLachlan 2016, 88 pages Children’s FictionThe Poet’s Dog opens with a poem: “Dogs speak words But only poets And children Hear” And the poem soon proves to be true.Rescued by a poet, Teddy, an Irish Wolfhound, learned words from his eloquent master, and the two became best friends. When the story opens, Teddy’s poet is gone and Teddy is alone in a snowstorm. He discovers and rescues two children seemingly...
Book of the Week: ‘His Bloody Project’
His Bloody ProjectGraeme Macrae Burnet2016, 280 pagesFiction In 1869, three people are found murdered in a remote Scottish farming community. Roderick Macrae has admitted to the crime, but what has led him to this project? The narrative is presented as a collection of documents discovered by the author, including witness statements, crime scene reports and Roderick’s own testimony. The villagers have conflicting views about Roderick –...
Book of the Week: ‘Darktown’
DarktownBy Thomas Mullen, narrated by Andre Holland201610-CD audiobookFiction In 1948, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers. War veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith eagerly apply, but within six months are disgusted and ready to quit. The new policemen can’t arrest white suspects, drive squad cards or set foot into police headquarters. White cops, including the brutal Dunlow and the newcomer...