Saturday, April 20 / 1 p.m. | Celebrating National Poetry Month with Nebraska's new State Poet, Matt Mason. Featured books of poetry include
Poems from Louder than a Bomb: Great Plains 2017-18 (edited by Gina Keplinger. $10.00). Louder Than a Bomb is an annual teen poetry festival and competition based in Omaha and featuring schools from all over Nebraska and the Great Plains. Louder Than a Bomb is one of the programs of the Nebraska Writers Collective, an Omaha-based literary education non-profit organization. The Nebraska Writers Collective believes that everyone has stories worth sharing, and Louder Than a Bomb helps middle school and high school students throughout Nebraska and Iowa share them. This is a collection of 20 poems from the 2011-2018 competition.
The Baby That Ate Cincinnati by Matt Mason ($18.00) is a collection of poems about parenthood. And horror movies. It's about that other side of things, the bit with the wonder and the magic as well as the terror of trying to redefine yourself and your place in the universe with what is really a very strange and monumental change in who you are, what you do, and what you truly fear. Ultimately, you know, it's life affirming, just like all classic scary movies, by the time the credits roll.
Sunday, April 21 | The Bookworm will be closed in observance of Easter.
Friday, April 26 / 6 p.m. | Stephanie Anderson will sign One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl's Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture (University of Nebraska Press, $21.95). Sustainable has long been the rallying cry of agricultural progressives; given that much of our nation's farm and ranch land is already degraded. Industrial agriculture has also co-opted the term for marketing purposes without implementing better practices. Stephanie Anderson argues that in order to provide nutrient-rich food and fight climate change, we need to move beyond sustainable to regenerative agriculture, a practice that is highly tailored to local environments and renews resources.
In One Size Fits None Anderson follows diverse farmers across the United States: a South Dakota bison rancher who provides an alternative to the industrial feedlot; an organic vegetable farmer in Florida who harvests microgreens; a New Mexico super-small farmer who revitalizes communities; and a North Dakota midsize farmer who combines livestock and grain farming to convert expensive farmland back to native prairie. The use of these nontraditional agricultural techniques show how varied operations can give back to the earth rather than degrade it. This book will resonate with anyone concerned about the future of food in America, providing guidance for creating a better, regenerative agricultural future.
Saturday, April 27 | Help us celebrate Independent Bookstore Day! Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April.
Independent bookstores are not just stores, they’re community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.
In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism. They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. And they are at your service.
“Consumers control the marketplace by deciding where to spend their money. If what a bookstore offers matters to you, then shop at a bookstore. If you feel that the experience of reading a book is valuable, then read the book. This is how we change the world: we grab hold of it. We change ourselves.” ― Ann Patchett
May 2 - May 6 | Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Weekend. The Bookworm has the honor of providing the book store at Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings. We have a complete selection of books by and about Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, the Berkshire managers, and investing.
Friday, May 10 / 6 p.m. | Michael Richardson will sign Framed: J. Edgar Hoover, Cointelpro & the Omaha Two Story ($19.95). Framed explores the racial divide of the time, events leading to murder, the details of the FBI intrusion into a local prosecution, and the unsuccessful efforts of two convicted men to obtain a new trial. The book uses prison interviews, police reports, FBI memorandums, news accounts, and legal documents to tell the hidden story of justice undone. The author concludes a policeman's killers got away with murder so that the two Black Panthers, Ed Poindexter and David Rice, could be blamed and sentenced to life imprisonment. J. Edgar Hoover's role is documented from previously secret COINTELPRO documents. Statements of the prisoners who became known as the Omaha Two add a personal element to a unique and compelling story.
Saturday, May 18 /1 p.m. | Margaret Lukas will sign River People ($18.95). In Nebraska in the late 1890s, seventeen-year-old Effie and eleven-year-old Bridget must struggle to endure at a time when women and children have few rights and society looks upon domestic abuse as a private, family matter. The story is told through the eyes of the girls as they learn to survive under grueling circumstances. River People is a novel of inspiration, love, loss, and renewal.
Thursday, May 23 / 6 p.m. | Rob Kugler will sign A Dog Named Beautiful: A Marine, a Dog, and a Long Road Trip Home (Flatiron, $26.99). When U.S. Marine Rob Kugler returns from war he had given a year of his life in service to his country, and had also lost a brother in the fighting as well. Lost in grief, Rob finds solace and relief in the one thing that never fails to put a smile on his face: his chocolate lab Bella. Exceptionally friendly, and always with a smile on her face, Bella is the friend Rob needs, and they spend their days exploring nature and taking photos.
But then Bella develops a limp in her front leg. It's cancer, and the prognosis isn't good. Rob has a choice, either to let Bella go now, or amputate her cancer riddled leg, and see what the next few months would bring.
Instead of waiting at home for the cancer to spread, Rob and Bella pack their bags and hit the road. Life is short, but the road ahead is long and winding, and as they crisscross the country Rob and Bella meet remarkable, life-changing men and women who are quick to make friends with this incredible three-legged dog. A Dog Named Beautiful is a book full of inspiration, hope, love, tears, and laughs.
Wednesday, May 29 / 6 p.m. | Tari K. Robinson will sign Turnabout is Fair Play ($12.00). For the past five years, Tracy Raymond has been obsessed with international rock star Jake Benjamin. But with her Plain Jane looks, she knows that her chances of winning his affections are slim.
But a fortuitous encounter with an enigmatic merchant will change her life forever. The mysterious old woman sells Tracy a pricey love potion that guarantees to snag the affections of anyone who consumes it. Tracy manages to finagle her way into Jake’s inner circle to slip him the elixir. Her plan to live happily ever after is put in motion, but the mysterious potion quickly turns the man of her dreams into her worst nightmare.
Turnabout Is Fair Play is an edgy, mesmerizing thriller packed with suspenseful conflicts, torrid romance and edge-of-your-seat drama. It’s a page-turner that effectively explores the theme of obsessive love … with a shocking ending you won’t see coming!
Saturday, June 1 / 1 p.m. | Kris Waldherr will sign The Lost History of Dreams (Atria, $27.00). When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead, his cousin Robert Highstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer, is charged with a simple task: transport Hugh's remains for burial in a chapel. This chapel, a stained glass folly set on the moors of Shropshire, was built by de Bonne sixteen years earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada. Since then, the chapel has been locked and abandoned, a pilgrimage site for the rabid fans of de Bonne's last book, The Lost History of Dreams.
However, Ada's grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record Isabelle's story of Ada and Hugh's ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights.
As the mystery of Ada and Hugh's relationship unfolds, so does the secret behind Robert's own marriage--including that of his fragile wife, Sida, who has not been the same since the tragic accident three years ago, and the origins of his own morbid profession that has him seeing things he shouldn't--things from beyond the grave.
Sunday, June 2 / 1:00 p.m. | Tim and Lisa Trudell will sign Unique Eats and Eateries of Omaha ($20.95). Omaha's food landscape has grown from the old steak and potato days. Once known as the place to find great steak, nowadays you're likely to find amazing vegetarian and fresh farm-to-table fare alongside the T-bones and ribeyes. Unique Eats and Eateries of Omaha pops open the top on a culinary scene that's definitely not just for grandparents anymore.
Explore the diverse dining options in Nebraska's largest city, with recommendations for some of the best in local and international cuisine. Learn the stories of the geniuses behind the food, like internationally renowned chefs who have returned to Omaha for a slice of "The Good Life." Try the burger at Block 16 dubbed the best in the world by Alton Brown. Tempt your taste buds at local gems like seasonally on point Dante, authentic Malara's, or the extremely popular Runza.
Whether it's Nebraska's first female James Beard nominee or a family that's run their restaurant for generations, the personal touch of the talented chefs of Omaha has made it a true foodie destination. Co-authors Tim and Lisa Trudell make their living exploring, writing about, and eating all things Omaha. With this mouthwatering guide, they'll take you on an exciting exploration of their hometown's culinary tableau.
Friday, June 7 / 6 p.m. | Mary Pipher will sign Reviving Ophelia 25th Anniversary Edition: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Riverhead, $17.00).
When Reviving Ophelia was published in 1994, it shone a much-needed spotlight on the problems faced by adolescent girls. The book became iconic and helped to reframe the national conversation about what author Mary Pipher called "a girl-poisoning culture" surrounding adolescents. Today the adolescent girls and the parents, teachers, and counselors who care about them find themselves confronting many of the same challenges Pipher wrote about originally as well as new ones specific to today.
Girls still struggle with misogyny, sexism, and issues of identity and self-esteem. But they're also more isolated than ever before: They don't talk face-to-face to the people around them, including their peers, as they used to: They're texting or on social media for hours at a time. And while girls today are less likely to be in trouble for their drinking or sexual behavior, they have a greater chance of becoming depressed, anxious, or suicidal.
In this updated Reviving Ophelia, Pipher and her daughter, Sara Pipher Gilliam, have incorporated these new issues for a 21st-century readership. In addition to examining the impact that social media has on adolescent girls' lives today, Pipher and Gilliam explore the rising and empowering importance of student activism in girls' lives, the wider acceptance of diverse communities among young people, and the growing disparities between urban and rural, rich and poor, and how they can affect young girls' sense of self-worth. This new edition of Reviving Ophelia builds on the relevance of the original as it provides key insights into the challenges and opportunities facing adolescent girls today.
Saturday, June 8 / 1 p.m. | Jennifer Klepper will sign Unbroken Threads ($15.99). Jessica Donnelly's life is beginning to unravel. When the attorney turned stay-at-home mom tentatively volunteers to represent Amina Hamid, a woman seeking asylum, Jessica must learn an unfamiliar area of the law. Soon, rising opposition to Muslim immigration and unexpected prejudices put her relationships on shaky ground. Amina fled Syria with little more than memories that now fight against the images splashed on the news. Seeking a secure future and freedom from guilt and grief, she must learn to trust others amidst the reality of fear and hate. To find stability, Jessica and Amina will both need to harness their own strengths, which may lie in connections that transcend generations, cultures, and continents
