The Bookworm Omaha - Events Feed

As the Worm Turns Book Group

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:24:59 -0400

Start: May 17 2012 - 6:30pm

End: May 17 2012 - 6:30pm

The As the Worm Turns Book Group will discuss Straight Man by Richard Russo (Vintage, $15.95). William Henry Devereaux, Jr., spiritually suited to playing left field but forced by a bad hamstring to try first base, is the unlikely chairman of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania University. Over the course of a single convoluted week, he threatens to execute a goose, has his nose slashed by a feminist poet, discovers that his secretary writes better fiction than he does, suspects his wife of having an affair with his dean, and finally confronts his philandering elderly father, the one-time king of American Literary Theory, at an abandoned amusement park. Robert Runyon will facilitate the discussion. Space is limited, so please call to reserve your place.

Paths to Publication, session 3

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:46:39 -0400

Start: May 19 2012 - 9:00am

End: May 19 2012 - 12:00pm

Alex Kava and Joe Starita will discuss their experiences following the traditional path to getting published by major publishing houses. Alex Kava is the author of the New York Times bestselling Maggie O’Dell mystery series, published by Mira Books, Random House and Brilliance Audio. Visit her website at www.alexkava.com. Joe Starita has his books published by Macmillan, Penguin, and the University of Nebraska Press. His I Am a Man is the 2012 One Book, One Nebraska selection. His biography is at http://journalism.unl.edu/cojmc/about/bios/starita.shtml. Those interested in participating should contact Ellen Scott at ellen.scott@bookwormomaha.com.

Joe Starita will sign the One Book, One Nebraska selection for 2012, I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:47:42 -0400

Start: May 19 2012 - 1:00pm

End: May 19 2012 - 1:00pm

In 1877, Chief Standing Bear's Ponca Indian tribe was forcibly removed from their Nebraska homeland and marched to what was then known as Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). I Am a Man chronicles what happened when Standing Bear set off on a six-hundred-mile walk to return the body of his only son to their traditional burial ground. Along the way, it examines the complex relationship between the United States government and the small, peaceful tribe and the legal consequences of land swaps and broken treaties, while never losing sight of the heartbreaking journey the Ponca endured. It is a story of survival---of a people left for dead who arose from the ashes of injustice, disease, neglect, starvation, humiliation, and termination. On another level, it is a story of life and death, despair and fortitude, freedom and patriotism. A story of Christian kindness and bureaucratic evil. And it is a story of hope---of a people still among us today, painstakingly preserving a cultural identity that had sustained them for centuries before their encounter with Lewis and Clark in the fall of 1804.

Books and Bagels

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:20:59 -0400

Start: May 20 2012 - 11:00am

End: May 20 2012 - 11:00am

The book group Books and Bagels will discuss Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (Algonquin Books, $13.95). It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion. The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale.

World War II History Book Group

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:47:46 -0500

Start: May 21 2012 - 2:00pm

End: May 21 2012 - 2:00pm

The World War II History Book Group will discuss Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway--The Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes by Tameichi Hara (U.S. Naval Institute Press, $21.95). This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the "Unsinkable Captain."

The Crime Through Time Book Group

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:53:01 -0400

Start: May 22 2012 - 6:30pm

End: May 22 2012 - 6:30pm

The Crime Through Time Book Group, formerly the History/Mystery Book Group, will discuss Dissolution by C. J. Sansom (Penguin, $15.00). The year is 1537, and England is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protege uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

Civil War Book Group

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:46:19 -0500

Start: May 26 2012 - 10:00am

End: May 26 2012 - 10:00am

The Civil War Book Group will discuss by Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War by H. Donald Winkler (Cumberland House, $18.99). During America's most divisive war, both the Union and Confederacy took advantage of brave and courageous women willing to adventurously support their causes. These female spies of the Civil War participated in the world's second-oldest profession-spying-a profession perilous in the extreme. The tales of female spies are filled with suspense, bravery, treachery, and trickery. They took enormous risks and achieved remarkable results-often in ways men could not do. Winkler uses primary Civil War sources such as memoirs, journals, letters, and newspaper articles, plus the latest in scholarly research, to make these incredible stories come alive.

Craig Johnson will sign As the Crow Flies

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:50:13 -0400

Start: May 31 2012 - 6:00pm

End: May 31 2012 - 6:00pm

The Wyoming lawman returns after staking his claim on the New York Times bestseller list. Sheriff Walt Longmire has a more important matter on his mind than cowboys and criminals. His daughter, Cady, is getting married to the brother of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti. Walt and old friend Henry Standing Bear are the de facto wedding planners and fear Cady's wrath when the wedding locale arrangements go up in smoke two weeks before the big event. The pair set out to find a new site for the nuptials on the Cheyenne Reservation, but their scouting expedition ends in horror as they witness a young Crow woman plummeting from Painted Warrior's majestic cliffs. It's not Walt's turf, but the newly appointed tribal police chief and Iraqi war veteran, the beautiful Lolo Long, shanghais him into helping with the investigation. Walt is stretched thin as he mentors Lolo, attempts to catch the bad guys, and performs the role of father of the bride.

U.S. Presidents Group

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:23:20 -0400

Start: Jun 2 2012 - 10:00am

End: Jun 2 2012 - 10:00am

The U.S. Presidents group reads and discusses concise biographies of past presidents, their leadership abilities and how well their reputations have withstood the test of time. The biography for May is John Quincy Adams by Robert Remini (Times Books, $23.00). Remini paints a vivid portrait of a man whose pre- and post-presidential careers overshadowed his presidency. Chosen by the House of Representatives after an inconclusive election against Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams often failed to mesh with the ethos of his era, pushing unsuccessfully for a strong, consolidated national government. Remini recounts how in the years before his presidency Adams was a shrewd, influential diplomat, and later, as a dynamic secretary of state under President James Monroe, he solidified many basic aspects of American foreign policy, including the Monroe Doctrine.