How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Faber & Mazlish

how to talkIf you have ever felt like the words you speak are falling on deaf ears, you may want to check out How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.

The book is addressed to parents, mostly, but I have found the suggestions presented are useful in many other contexts, too. Teachers will no doubt find them useful, as well as anyone who wants to work on their communication skills or has ever had to deal with difficult people.

The authors learned many of their principles of effective communication from their teacher, Dr. Haim Ginnott, of Columbia University. They went on to hone their approach over many years through their experiences as parents and teachers.

The following principles are taken from Dr. Ginnott’s approach:

  • Never deny or ignore a [person’s] feelings.
  • Only behavior is treated as unacceptable, not the [person].
  • Depersonalize negative interactions by mentioning only the problem. “I see a [broken lightbulb].”
  • Attach rules to things, e.g., “[People] are not for hitting.”
  • Dependence breeds hostility. Let [people] do for themselves what they can.
  • Limit criticism to a specific event—don’t say “never”, “always”, as in: “You never listen,” “You always manage to break things”, etc.
  • Refrain from using words that you would not want [anyone] to repeat.
  • Ignore irrelevant behavior.

The book presents these ideas using amusing vignettes of common scenarios and how best to handle them. If you like this book, you may also be interested in the following by the same authors:

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too  

Liberated Parents, Liberated Children

Between Brothers & Sisters: A Celebration of Life’s Most Enduring Relationship

How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk 

The Knick

the knickCinemax has put together a splendid fictional drama based on the medical field and goings on at the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York. In this show called The Knick,  surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff and benefactors, deal with the ins and outs of running a hospital in downtown New York in 1900. The star of this show is the new chief of surgery, Dr. Thackeray, having just inherited this position after the suicide of his predecessor.

Dr. Thackeray and the rest of his team are forced to deal with changes due to poor finances and increased competition between the other hospitals when all of their wealthy patients leave. In order to keep the place afloat, viewers will see the administrators wheedling for money, extorting patients, selling bodies, all the while telling people things are going okay.

The Knick is a fairly bloody and graphic show, which one must expect considering it is a medical drama. This show deals with complicated subject matter, like drug addiction amongst the doctors, racial and gender prejudice when Dr. Thackeray is forced to work with his new Deputy Chief of Surgery who just happens to be a black doctor, while all the while dealing with a typhoid outbreak (HELLO Typhoid Mary!) and trying to come up with and perform new surgeries to save their patient’s lives.

I found this show to be riveting and personally can’t wait for the second season to come to DVD, so I can check up on Dr. Thackeray and friends to see how they are all fairing!

New Philosophy and Psychology

Featured new additions to DPL’s Philosophy and Psychology collections! Click on the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if there’s a title you would like to read, please send us a purchase suggestion.


where-we-belong-9781476752426_hrWhere We Belong: Journeys That Show Us the Way by Hoda Kotb – In this incredible collection of stories, Hoda Kotb writes about individuals who realized their path in life was either veering off in a completely new direction or was getting too far off course from where they knew they belonged. By following their passions, their gut, and their heart, these people learned how fulfilling life could truly feel. From the investment banker who became a minister after years of working on Wall Street, to the young woman from a blue-collar background whose passion took her to Harvard Medical School,  the stories in Where We Belong come from an array of ordinary individuals who have discovered the power of embracing change or fighting for a dream.


10165Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray by Helen Fisher – First published in 1992, Helen Fisher’s Anatomy of Love quickly became a classic. Since then, Fisher has conducted pioneering brain research on lust, romantic love, and attachment; gathered data on more than 80,000 people to explain why you love who you love; and collected information on more than 30,000 men and women on sexting, hooking up, friends with benefits, and other current trends in courtship and marriage. And she presents a new, scientifically based and optimistic perspective on relationships in our digital age―what she calls “slow love.”


untitledInventology: How We Dream Up Things That Change the World by Pagan Kennedy – A father cleans up after his toddler and imagines a cup that won’t spill. An engineer watches people using walkie-talkies and has an idea. A doctor figures out how to deliver patients to the operating room before they die.  By studying inventions like these — the sippy cup, the cell phone, and an ingenious hospital bed — we can learn how people imagine their way around “impossible” problems to discover groundbreaking answers. Pagan Kennedy reports on how these enduring methods can be adapted to the twenty-first century, as millions of us deploy tools like crowdfunding, big data, and 3-D printing to find hidden opportunities


9780241201954Calm by Michael Acton Smith – Achieving mindfulness doesn’t require a huge lifestyle shift or special training. It’s about mastering simple habits that work with the demands of your busy life. It uses the abilities you’re born with: creativity, spontaneity, and awareness of the world around you. There are no rules to follow or break. Everyone can achieve calm. In Calm, Michael Acton Smith combines fascinating neurological research, ancient wisdom, and real-life experiences to demystify meditation and show you the many simple ways to be mindful everyday.

 


the-geography-of-genius-9781451691658_hrThe Geography of Genius: A Search for the World’s Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley by Eric Weiner – In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And, with his trademark insightful humor, he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo remains. In these places, Weiner asks, “What was in the air, and can we bottle it?”


717sH-KWi5L__SL1500_The Challenge of Things: Thinking Through Troubled Times by A.C. Grayling – A. C. Grayling’s lucid and stimulating books, based on the idea that philosophy should engage with the world and make itself useful, invariably cause discussion. In describing and exposing the dark side of things, he also explores ways out of the habits and prejudices of mind that would otherwise trap us forever in the deadly impasses of conflicts of all kinds.Whether he is writing about the First World War and its legacy, free speech, the advantages of an atheist prime minister or the role of science in the arts, his essays are always enlightening, enlivening, and hopeful.

February Online Reading Challenge – Journeys

ReadingChallengeBWHere we go folks! Welcome to the first month of the Davenport Library Online Reading Challenge!

This month’s theme is Journeys. How you define “journey” is entirely up to you. The most obvious interpretations are travel memoirs, but there are also journeys of the mind and spirit. The best books combine a bit of both – interesting locations and new awareness from the writer. The Merriam-Webster definition of journey is:

1 : an act or instance of traveling from one place to another : trip. 2 chiefly dialect : a day’s travel. 3 : something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another <the journey from youth to maturity> <a journey through time>

Journeys, big or small, long or short, have the potential to fundamentally change how you see the world and traveling alongside someone on their journey is the next best thing (plus, you get to do it from the comfort of your own chair!)

Here are a few titles to get you started. Remember, you don’t have to read any of these from the list – you are free to pick anything that fits the theme of Journey.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson – Tramp along the Appalachian Trail with local boy Bill Bryson (he grew up in Des Moines) and his crazy friend Stephen Katz as they set out to conquer this classic American journey. This book is very, very funny, (although the chapter about bears might make you think twice about walking anywhere less settled than Eldridge), but it is also full of insights about the beauty of nature, the oddity of human beings and the rewards of perseverance. Bryson has written several books about travel, all excellent, but this is the best (so far)

Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage – This is the book that woke up the wanderlust in me. A young couple sell everything and spend two years bicycling around the world. Their adventures and mishaps make for can’t-put-down reading and their journey is a testament to how far dreams and determination can take you.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed – After the death of her mother and after making multiple poor life choices, Cheryl decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. What she learns about herself along the way – to trust yourself and your own strengths, to ask for help from others, to believe in the healing power of the outdoors, to put one foot in front of the other again and again, are both life lessons and travel memoir.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner – In search of the happiest place on Earth, Eric Weiner travels the globe. Each chapter focuses on a new location, with many witty insights into the culture of each place. Some psychology, a dash of science and lots of travel and humor make for an engaging read. And maybe a few ideas for your next travel destination!

This is just a tiny sample of the many books about journeys that are out there. I’ve picked fairly recently published titles; the motif of a journey in literature is nearly as old as storytelling (The Odyssey anyone?), and has been used many times – Huckleberry Finn, Travels with Charley, On the Road. The possibilities are nearly endless.

My choice for this month is The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson’s newest travel book. He is back in England, moving from south to north, exploring and observing as only he can. What about you? What will you be reading? Tell us in the comments!

Look for Online Reading Challenge bookmarks at each of the library buildings in a few days – they’re designed to be a handy way keep track of the books you’ve read as part of the 2016 Challenge. We’ll put them out as soon as they’re available.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to report on my progress and to check up on how you’re doing.  Have fun and Happy Reading!

Check here if you need to more information about the Online Reading Challenge.

 

 

New Science Fiction and Fantasy in January

Featured new additions to DPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy collections! Click on the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if there’s a title you would like to read, please send us a purchase suggestion.


All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders – Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn’t expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one’s peers and families. But now they’re both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together–to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.


81JLIh6bQCLMorning Star by Pierce Brown – The conclusion of the Red Rising trilogy, Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come.

 


91VUYTvyFOLBarsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen – In the future, humans have vanished; what remains are the anthropomorphic animals from the former Earth, who have spread throughout the universe bringing with them their own cultures and prejudices. The exiled Fants (elephants) on Barsk are even more separated than the other animal species. Their only contact is through the trade of koph, a special plant that gives certain creatures the ability to speak with the dead. It is this plant that is at the heart of the conflict that will test the resolve of two Fants as they uncover a shameful truth that the most powerful in the universe will do anything to keep secret.


81HKI8ZoecLThe Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson – Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors’ artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight. The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive. The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.


the-wildings-original-imadkvejnmzzmfbuThe Wildings by Roy Nilanjana – In the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighborhood in Delhi, India, lives a small band of cats. Miao, the clan elder, a wise, grave Siamese; Katar, loved by his followers and feared by his enemies; Hulo, the great warrior tom; Beraal, the beautiful queen, swift and deadly when challenged; Southpaw, the kitten whose curiosity can always be counted on to get him into trouble. Unfettered and wild, these and the other members of the tribe fear no one, go where they will, and do as they please. Until one day, a terrified orange-colored kitten with monsoon green eyes and remarkable powers lands in their midst–the first in a series of extraordinary events that threatens to annihilate them and everything they hold dear.


81Ete5lFP2LOversight by Thomas Claburn – Disgraced detective Sam Crane would do anything to help his comatose daughter recover. But when he’s told to turn a blind eye to the murder of a reclusive scientist, he refuses, seeing his resolve as atonement for failing his family and his colleagues. Sam’s determination to persevere endangers his friends, even as it reveals a secret sought by a deluded advertising magnate, a set of look-alike terrorists, and government agents: a way to alter the visible world. If only he could have seen the truth through his own eyes. Confronting a deceptive, hyper-commercial world amid a pandemic of blindness, Sam realizes he must embrace the artifice he resents to maintain his integrity. He plays his adversaries against each other in a gamble that puts his investigation at risk but offers a way to mend his fractured life-if he can survive.


9780802124647The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo –  Finlandia Award-winning author  Johanna Sinisalo’s reputation as a master of literary speculative fiction and of her country’s unique take on it, dubbed “Finnish weird.” Set in an alternative historical present, in a “eusistocracy”–an extreme welfare state–that holds public health and social stability above all else, it follows a young woman whose growing addiction to illegal chili peppers leads her on an adventure into a world where love, sex, and free will are all controlled by the state.

The Martian

The-Martian-2015-movie-posterThe Martian

Just looking at the title, one would assume that this movie is just about space, presumably Mars.  But you would be wrong.  The Martian is a story of survival that just happens to take place on Mars.

Mark Watney, portrayed by Matt Damon, is accidentally left behind on Mars after his crew mates erroneously presumed that he was dead.  Watney must figure out how he is going to survive with some meager supplies.  Surviving in the wilderness on Earth can be quite challenging in itself.  One must find food and clean water as well as have shelter from predators and the elements.  Imagine having all of these problems plus needing to have a supply of oxygen and protect one self from the hostile environment on Mars.

“If the oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab beaches, I’ll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen. I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah.” – Mark Watney

And yet, Mark Watney manages to find a way to stay alive.  And he does so with a sense of humor.  Even in  a tense situation, while you are sitting on the edge of your seat, Watney will figure out a way to make you laugh as he himself laughs at danger.  He makes contact with NASA and finds out that it will take a very long time for them to rescue him.  The question becomes, will Mark Watney be able to stay alive long enough so that he can be rescued?

Nominated for Best Picture and for Best Actor, Matt Damon.  The Martian won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical and for Best Actor, Matt Damon, in a Comedy of Musical.  Do not let the Golden Globe Awards fool you.  Even though The Martian has funny moments, it is not a comedy.

martian bookThe Martian is based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir which is also available at the Davenport Public Library.

 

 

 

Box Office Hits for 2015

Box Office BlogAs 2015 came to a close, I found myself curious about how the box office turn out was for 2015. Box office refers to the grand total a particular movie made while it was in the theaters. Sales are counted for United States and world wide. What I was most interested in was the United States totals. 2015 was a great year, grossing more money than ever with a grand total of 11,125 million dollars. The big push to put 2015 over the top came at the very end of the year, when the highest grossing film of all time was released to theaters.

Box office numbers are taken from Box Office Mojo. The top ten highest grossing films of the year are as follows:

10. Spectre with $198,579,382 – Spectre is the most recent release in the James Bond movie franchise. DVD release in early February.

9. Cinderella with $201,151,353 – Cinderella  is the remake of the classic fairy tale starring Lily James as Cinderella.

8. The Martian with $226,579,382 – The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars.

7. The Hunger Games: MockingJay Part 2 with $277,901,047 – Final installment in the Hunger Games series. DVD release late winter/early spring.

6. Minions with $336,045,770 – Minions is the prequel to Despicable Me that centers on the history of the minions.

5. Furious 7 with $353,007,020 – Furious 7 is the most recent release in the Fast and Furious movie franchise.

4. Inside Out with $356,461,711 – Inside Out is a Disney Pixar animation film that gives personalities to emotions.

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron with $459,005,868  – Age of Ultron is the second film in the Avengers series and part of the even larger scale Marvel franchise movies.

2. Jurassic World with $652,270,625 – Jurassic World is the next installment to the popular 90’s Jurassic Park trilogy. Fourteen years later the park is bigger, better, and more dangerous than ever.

1.Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a whopping $819,687,937 in only 14 days! – The Force Awakens is the long awaited 7th installment in the Star Wars movie franchise. It takes place about 30 years after episode VI.

For a complete list of 2015 box office movies go to Box Office Mojo.

Introducing the Davenport Public Library’s Online Reading Challenge!

stacks of booksGreat news! Starting next week, the Davenport Library will unveil our very own Online Reading Challenge!

Would you like some help finding a good book? Maybe a little structure to keep you on track reading and not spend so much time online? (that’s my problem!) Ready to break out of a reading rut? Book Clubs are great – you meet new people, eat some fancy desserts, get into some passionate discussions – but they can be difficult to squeeze into a busy schedule and, horror of horrors – what if you have to spend your precious, limited reading time on a book you hate? Enter the DPL Online Reading Challenge!

This will be a no-pressure, let’s-share-some-great-books kind of challenge – there are no finishing prizes but, on the other hand, the Library Police aren’t going to show up on December 31 and drag you off to Library Jail if you don’t finish all of your books! (Hint: there is no such thing as Library Police) The idea is to introduce you to some new books/genres/themes you might not have tried before, to have fun expanding your reading horizons and to read one book a month (more or less – totally up to you.)

So here’s how it’s going to work.

There will be a different theme each month. The themes will cover a wide range of subjects and areas of interest. You may already be a fan of some of the themes, but leery of others (Graphic Novels, I’m looking at you!) At the first of the month I’ll talk about that month’s theme and give you a list of 4-5 curated titles that I think are great starter books for that theme. I’ll also link to any online lists of recommendations if available and invite you to chime in with any titles you suggest.

I’m going to be right there with you, reading a book a month. Some of the themes are favorites of mine but several of them are completely new to me so I’ll be tapping the expertise of our resident librarians (in case you didn’t know this, we have a lot of passionate readers on staff!) I’ll check in with you sometime in the middle of the month to see how everyone is progressing and list more titles I might have come across. Then at the end of the month I’ll tell you how I did and, most importantly, ask you to update us on how you did. You’re encouraged to add comments and recommendations via the blog throughout the month.

The rules are pretty simple; basically, there are no rules. If the theme-of-the-month is abhorrent to you, skip it (although I would encourage you to give it a try at least). If you don’t finish, no problem. If you’re impossibly busy that month, try again the next month. You are not restricted to the titles I’ll be listing; they’re just a starting point. The book itself can come from any source – the library, a bookstore, your own bookshelves at home (in fact, this might be a great opportunity to read some of those books on your “to read” list that you never seem to get around to!) You can read paper or digital or listen to it (if available) but please, no Cliff notes or watching the movie instead! You don’t even have to belong to the Davenport Library – anyone is welcome to join us!

Here is the Theme Line-Up for 2016:

February – Journeys (travel)

March – Magical Realism

April – The Good War in Fiction (WWII)

May – Graphic Novels

June – Summer Reads

July – Time Travel

August – Games We Play

September – Books about Books

October – Young Adult

November – Other Lives (fictional biographies)

December – Happy Holidays

Like I said, there are no finishing prizes (except for a glowing sense of satisfaction), but I do plan to have a few little extras available for you. Bookmarks listing the monthly themes and with room to write in what you read will be available in a couple of weeks as well as a display at the Fairmount Library with pertinent titles. I’m also working on a downloadable Reading Log that you print out and use to keep track of all the books you’ve read (a fun and valuable exercise), which we hope to launch in a few months.

Any questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email at ahetzler@davenportlibrary.com! Hope to see you right back here on February 1st!

 

New Religion and Spirituality in January

Featured new additions to DPL’s Religion and Spirituality collections! Click on the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if there’s a title you would like to read, please send us a purchase suggestion.


51zqYF24+iL__SX337_BO1,204,203,200_The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis – In his first book published as Pope, and in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis here invites all humanity to an intimate and personal dialogue on the subject closest to his heart—mercy—which has long been the cornerstone of his faith and is now the central teaching of his papacy.

 

 

 


Breaking+Busy+CoverBreaking Busy: How to Find Peace on Purpose in a World of Crazy by Alli Worthington – Marrying popular secular research with solid biblical principles, Allie Worthington instills confidence that you, too, can move from crazy busy to confident calm. With refreshing candor, uproarious true stories, and a Christian worldview, Alli delivers truths that dismantle common happiness myths. Then she empowers you to get unstuck, to let go of the good to make way for the great, to know yourself and your Creator, and ultimately to find peace and purpose in this world of crazy.

 


9781611801002The Vow-Powered Life: A Simple Method for Living with Purpose by Jan Chozen Bays – Making a vow is a powerful mindfulness practice—and all you have to do to tap into that power is set your intention consciously. A vow can be as “small” as the aspiration to smile at someone at least once every day, or as “big” as marriage; as personal as deciding to be mindful when picking up the phone or as universal as vowing to save all sentient beings. It can be deeply spiritual, utterly ordinary, or both. Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays looks to traditional Buddhist teachings to show the power of vows—and then applies that teaching broadly to the many vows we make. She shows that if we work with vows consciously, they set us in the direction of achieving our goals, both temporal and spiritual.


Battling-the-Gods-coverBattling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World by Tim Whitmarsh – How new is atheism? Although adherents and opponents alike today present it as an invention of the European Enlightenment, when the forces of science and secularism broadly challenged those of faith, disbelief in the gods, in fact, originated in a far more remote past. In Battling the Gods, Tim Whitmarsh journeys into the ancient Mediterranean, a world almost unimaginably different from our own, to recover the stories and voices of those who first refused the divinities.

 


Out-of-Sorts-Cover-525x800Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey – Blogger Bessey  shares with her readers the power of uncertainty in the face of the transformative reality of the Spirit. Instead of arguments, Bessey invites readers into a conversation of loosely topical vignettes. These biographical reflections are a feast of wit, passion, criticism, intelligence, and, above all, gentleness. Whether Bessey is addressing how to handle theology, the authority of Scripture, social justice, or the problem of evil, it is always as a story. Along the way, we walk with her in her early embrace of the Charismatic Movement, her disillusionment with it and Christianity in general, and finally her critical reconciliation.


for_the_love_jhFor the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards by Jen Hatmaker – Best-selling author Jen Hatmaker is convinced life can be lovely and fun and courageous and kind. She reveals with humor and style how Jesus’ embarrassing grace is the key to dealing with life’s biggest challenge: people. The majority of our joys, struggles, thrills, and heartbreaks relate to people, beginning with ourselves and then the people we came from, married, birthed, live by, go to church with, don’t like, don’t understand, fear, compare ourselves to, and judge. Jen knows how the squeeze of this life can make us competitive and judgmental, how we can lose love for others and then for ourselves. She reveals how to: Break free of guilt and shame by dismantling the unattainable Pinterest life.

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson

symphony for the city of the deadBiographies or any sort of nonfiction relating to the siege of Leningrad that occurred amidst World War II can become depressing to read because of the many, many atrocities committed and the vast number of people who died. Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson is the opposite of the traditional heavy nonfiction. Anderson breaks up his story of Shostakovich and the evolution of Leningrad by dropping in back-and-white historical photographs that allow readers to put a face to a name. This inclusion breaks up the chaos and destruction happening within his descriptions of Stalin’s purges and the eventual siege of Leningrad by bringing in pictures and maps to connect the history presented with an actual physical place and actual people. It may seem easy for people to ignore and write off atrocities committed, but I find that when authors choose to add pictures into their books, the subject matter becomes even more real and life-changing.

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad really brought to life for me the importance of art and culture to a nation and its citizens, both in a negative and a positive light. Anderson tells readers the story of Stalin and his purges: how he rid the country of top military officials, science experts, and a wide variety of other people and effectively set his country up for more widespread disaster when Hitler invaded and he had no experts to ask for advice. This book focuses on art and culture, specifically music and Dmitri Shostakovich. This Russian composer escaped death at the hands of Stalin and instead found himself navigating the tricky tight-rope of composing the music that Stalin finds appropriate while still staying true to himself. Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony is the one that he writes for Leningrad, “The City of the Dead,” and this book effectively sets the stage for discovering Shostakovaich’s mindset around that time and also the necessary cultural and political framework that he was up against. Highly recommended!

Check out the following fiction and nonfiction books for more information about the siege of Leningrad and related topics!

the madonnas of leningradcity of thievesleningrad siege and symphonyinferno the world at warstalin the court of the red tsarabsolute war

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