There is no way that I am not going to pick up a book with the title, A Natural History of Dragons, and then when I read it was a memoir of Lady Isabella Trent, “the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist” how could I put it down?  Well, I did eventually put it down about 3 days after I picked it up!

Much to her mother’s chagrin, Isabella was always interested in nature especially winged creatures and growing up in the countryside of Scirland provided much to observe.  Her collections contained everything from winged insects, beetles, feathers to Sparklings.  Being the only daughter in a family of six she was constantly getting into things with her brothers that her parents did not approve of though secretly her father was very proud to have such a smart daughter.

One day after being caught dissecting a dove (she does point out it was already dead when she found it) her father sat her down for a long talk about what is ladylike behavior. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to suppress Isabella’s interest he gave her a book, Gotherham’s Avian Anatomy, with strict orders not to let her mother see it.  Isabella’s interests are constantly getting her in trouble and finally her Mother puts her foot down. She is very concerned that no one will want to marry Isabella if she doesn’t start acting more like a lady.

Years later, Isabella and her husband, Jacob, are given the opportunity to go on an expedition to study dragons.  Isabella has talked her way into going along because she can draw. She convinced Lord Hilford, who organized the expedition, that she would be an asset.  When they reach Vystrana, where they will be studying the Rock-Wyrm Dragon, they come to realize that something is not quite right.  The dragons are showing signs of irregular behavior and the small group is determined to find out what the cause is.  Little do they know that they will be caught up in a web of corruption that they might not be able to escape.

This volume of the memoirs of Lady Trent is of course very early in her life and I cannot wait for the future volumes to be published.  I am positive that Isabella has not left anything out or exaggerated her life experiences at all.  In fact she tells us:

“One benefit of being an old woman now, and moreover one who has been called a ‘national treasure’ is that there are very few who can tell me what I may and may not write.”

“Be warned, then:  the collected volumes of this series will contain frozen mountains, foetid swamps, hostile foreigners, hostile fellow countrymen, the occasional hostile family member, bad decisions, misadventures in orienteering, diseases of an unromantic sort, and a plenitude of mud.  You continue at your own risk.  It is not for the faint of heart-no more so than the study of dragons itself.  But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments-even at the risk of one’s life-is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten.  If my humble words convey even a fraction of that wonder, I will rest content.”

If I could I would say to Lady Isabella Trent that I am not ‘faint of heart’ and I am ready to experience more.  If you feel that you too are strong of heart and ready then please (when you have a few days to spare) pick up A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan and vicariously go on the adventure of a lifetime!

It may still be cold outside but at Lemuria we’re already thinking about Summer Reading! This is our third year to work with One Jackson Many Readers, a collaborative partnership with JPS, United Way, Jackson-Hinds Library Systems, City of Jackson, MPB, Jackson Zoo, Mississippi Children’s Museum, and others to support summer reading. We are also honored to share that One Jackson Many Readers has been named one of the Governor’s Top School-Community Partnerships.

Last year the Jackson Public School system saw dramatic increases in books read over the summer along with a significant increase in circulation at our Jackson-Hinds Library system. This year the One Jackson Many Readers team has set a goal to find ways to increase reading among middle and secondary school kids. Any parent knows this is no easy task! Despite the challenges of getting kids to read, the gains will last a lifetime, and kids who don’t read during the summer can lose up to three months of academic progress.

As our One Jackson Many Readers team strengthens every year, I am continually encouraged by what our community can do. Thank you to everyone who supported the Pages of Promise book drive last year. We collected many donated books from individuals but also we were able to offer our 20% discount to large donors who have adopted schools or school groups. When these orders are placed through Lemuria, all of your tax dollars stay here in our community. It’s a win-win situation.

This year when you donate a book to the Pages of Promise book drive not only do you get a 20% discount on those books but you also get a free pass to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (March 21-24) for every book you donate. You can get up to four tickets. Come get yours before they’re all gone!

Stay tuned for more news on One Jackson Many Readers!

If you have any questions about how you and your group can be involved in One Jackson Many Readers, contact lisa@lemuriabooks.com

Paradox has been on my nightstand for a while now. I picked it up originally because it looked exactly like the kind of book that would capture my imagination as a kid. I loved science books — especially science books that taught me something unexpected, something unbelievable, something that seemed more like science fiction. I loved learning about science because it set the rules for what was possible — and then hinted at those things that seemed impossible but could possibly be.

I loved books about stars and planets. I loved books about atoms and quarks and photons. I loved books about how animals communicate. I loved books about how planes fly. I loved books about black holes and white dwarfs and quasars. And really what I loved about all of those books is that they confirmed what my child’s mind knew must be true — that the world is a mysterious place, not at all boring or predictable, something to be explored and wondered at.

And then, for a while, I found the world boring and predictable. It wasn’t cool to talk about quarks or homing pigeons or the concept of infinity. And then I met my wife, and found to my great amazement that someone else was intrigued and astounded by the world we live in. And I started reading books about science and nature and the world again.

This is a book for people who see the world this way. Jim Al-Khalili has written a book for people who are not embarrassed to be curious, to wonder at the world, to marvel at the mysteries around us.

The title is, if not deceptive, then at least misleading. The common philosophical meaning of “paradox”  is something that appears true but, upon further examination, cannot logically be so. What Al-Khalili intends here is the opposite, something that seems patently false, ridiculous, impossible, yet from observation must be true. His task is to bridge that gap.

Paradox begins with the classics: the Monty Hall paradox, Zeno’s paradoxes, Maxwell’s demon, and a few others. As Al-Khalili moves forward through the history of science, he covers Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity, the time-travel “can you go back in time and kill your own grandfather” paradox, Schrödinger’s Cat, and Fermi’s Paradox. In each chapter Al-Khalili dissects the apparent paradox into component parts that are more easily understood, and then walks the reader through the explanation, making what at first appears absurd finally make sense.

I recommend this book for curious people.

Matthew Dickman is cool. He has shaggy hair, round square glasses, and isn’t shy to do a poetry reading in his Converse All-Stars (with his pants cuffed, of course). His most recent book, Mayakovsky’s Revolver is a foray into a poetic modern world. The long poems carry you with them; they aren’t so much about one or two good lines as much as they are about image after image slamming into you.

…And then I think

the world is like a crowded staircase

full of midtown commuters all pushing and pulling, each dropping

something important that they will not remember

until it’s too late. And then I think I’m an idiot for thinking

the world could be a story I tell myself

to make myself better.

-from “Blue Sky”

The Poetry Foundation has a video of Matthew reading his poem, Slow Dance. It’s worth a look.

But that’s not what make Matthew really cool. He also has a twin brother, Michael Dickman. And guess what? He’s a poet too.

If Matthew’s poems are densely packed punches, Michael’s are stretched out like taffy. Each image is given plenty of space on the page, stretching across stanza and line breaks.

Here is an excerpt from “My Autopsy,” originally published in The New Yorker.

There is a way

if we want

into everything

 

I’ll eat the chicken carbonara and you eat the veal, the olives, the

small and glowing loaves of bread

 

I’ll eat the waiter, the waitress

floating through the candled dark in shiny black slacks

like water at night

 

The napkins, folded into paper boats, contain invisible Japanese

poems

 

You eat the forks,

all the knives, asleep and waiting

on the white tables

 

What do you love?

 

I love the way our teeth stay long after we’re gone, hanging on

despite worms or fire

 

I love our stomachs

turning over

the earth

Read the rest here.

Join us Tuesday, April 16th at 5:00 for an event with Ms. Bee Donley in honor of her new poetry book Mostly Ghosts. The event will be held in our Dot Com building adjacent to Banner Hall.

This December, I was given a surprise from my 12th grade English teacher, Bee Donley. (She was also my daughter, Saramel’s, high school English teacher.) Bee had given me a copy of her book of poetry: Mostly Ghosts. A perfect gift since Christmas time is about sharing joy and reflecting on our shared memories.

I’ve slowly worked through her little book and have enjoyed reading of her past and of her inner self.

Mostly Ghosts is divided into three sections, titled: Ghosts, Delta Poems, and Through the Mists. The poems reflect Bee’s past as she shares memories of her father, WWII, and a young lady’s romantic memories.

“Women listen; men only think they do.

Maybe that’s not fair.

But only women hear an inflection

Go suddenly flat

Catch a turn of head that speaks disinterest

Sense a turning out, the murmured response.

 

And all good Southern girls know

To turn the conversation”

-from “Generally Speaking”

Bee (Ms. Donley) is one of the loveliest ladies I’ve ever known. Her wise beauty is so well reflected in her poetry.

Perhaps my favorite poem, “Quail Hunting with my Father,” reflects Bee’s core and her ability to relate to her high school students.

“my father got a cup of hot coffee

That he spooned Jack Daniels into.

We settled down as we watched

sparks from the fireplace

And always the unspoken words kept

my life together.”

In her poem, “Litany on an Eighty-fifth Birthday,” I believe Bee is at her best. Those who know her know she is an example of a well lived life:

“What happened to that girl, the dancer, the flirt,

the wife, the mother?

I don’ recognize this stranger.

What happened to all the yesterdays?

Get out the rose chiffon and let’s dance.”

It’s odd how our paths cross; figuring out why is another story. Bee was kind to me, she passed me even though I was a terrible student, allowing me to graduate from high school. My 12th grade term paper on Ian Fleming’s James Bond, reflected my youthful love of reading mysteries. She gave me an “A” and I skated out of Murrah by a sliver. Little did we both know that in later years she would become a loyal follower of Lemuria. All these years our lives have stayed connected through reading. She is my teacher, and I her bookseller.

Bee is a dear friend and a fine poet. Let me conclude with the final lines of her poem, “Precedence”:

“I have no problem believing that

Dogs and trees and right paths go together”