When you visit the library, do you have something of an agenda and head for a particular section, or are you more of a browser, embracing serendipity and wandering from one area to another? When you go for a walk, do you aim for a certain place, or do you saunter until something piques your…
On The Water Knife and the American West
“You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh?” asks the original water knife in the movie Chinatown. Roman Polanski’s California thug is pretty sharply-dressed compared to the flak-jacketed New Mexico henchman and title character in Paolo Bacigalupi’s new book about water wars in the American West; thug life has changed with the times…
The Hidden Half of Nature: A Great Read About Microbes
While waiting for signs that winter is in fact waning and that it’s time to dig my hands in the dirt, pruning fruit trees is one of my favorite activities. As I thin and train branches, I ponder recent discoveries of tree health: how soil bacteria and fungi spread and exchange nutrients, how to encourage…
Kevin Willmott’s Top Ten
From the New Yorker to the LA Times, critics have voted a movie– Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq– the best of 2015. Richard Brody calls it “a latter-day masterwork,” and it also won his vote for the best screenplay of the year. A biting social commentary based on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Chi-Raq is set in Chicago and was co-written by Lawrence’s own Kevin Willmott…
Call Me Lucky
Last year, a friend left me a cryptic voicemail with those five scary words no one wants to hear: "You Need to Call Me." With my hands shaking and my heart racing, I pressed the button and put the phone to my ear. He answered, "Hey. I have an opportunity for you that you won't…
Staying in Larryville for spring break?
If you're sticking around for spring break and wondering what to do, the LPL Teen Zone has a little bit of everything you need to make this break the best one yet: tasty eats, amazing crafts, and a party for the ages! Bring all your friends (and those visiting relatives) and come to the LPL…
Choose Kind @ Your Library
February and March are Read Across Lawrence months at Lawrence Public Library. The goal is to get everyone in the community on the same page by reading the same book at the same time; this year, we tried a grand experiment: one book for all ages. Wonder by RJ Palacio was the perfect choice. Its…
A Reflection on Zadie Smith, 15 Years in the Making
[Nota Bene: What I have attempted below is most likely better left to academics and others better suited to pontificate upon Zadie Smith and White Teeth, her critically-acclaimed debut novel, but oh well, here goes…] In celebration of Zadie Smith’s visit to Lawrence—thanks to our lovely friends at KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities—I was asked…
What Am I Waiting For? Books on My To-Read Shelf
I have been a terrible reader lately, and it is all because of the vile temptress of Netflix. For literal years, I’ve prided myself on being that pretentious person: not watching television, certainly not owning a television (goodness, no), not using the letters “T” and “V” in the same sentence, blah blah blah. My very…
TV Killed the Literary Star
The sophomore season of Donald Glover’s cult-favorite TV show Atlanta kicked off yesterday, continuing the story of Earnest “Earn” Marks and his struggle to make money (and sense) in an often absurd world. It’s likely one of Glover’s lesser-known works among his renaissance-man slate of music and acting—such as playing Lando Calrissian in an upcoming…
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