book and web talks by deborah evans

Buzzards. Are they a topic of interest? It is possible to write an interesting essay about buzzards? Yes! Listen to Deborah’s discussion of Lee Zacharias’ essay  “Buzzards”, originally published in the Southern Humanities Review and republished in The Best American Essays, 2008. Also referenced is an article on essays from the July/August 2008 Utne Reader.

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Are you a lover of lists and bibliographies? Would you like to make your book reviews and lists available to other researchers, or perhaps to just your family, friends, students, or colleagues? Listen to Deborah’s discussion of worldcat.org, a place you may come to love.

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Is the author always the best voice and the best choice for narrating an audio book? Maybe. Listen to Deborah’s review of two excellent audio book presentations: Angela’s Ashes, read by the author Frank McCourt and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, read by actor Kristoffer Tabori.

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Does anyone read poetry these days? If you are not a poet or a student, why read poetry? If you cannot create rhymed, symmetrical, or rhythmic arrangements of words, should you attempt to understand a poet’s work?

Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler(published by Coffee House Press of Minneapolis in 2008) answers these questions.  Smith’s poems capture the energy, longing, anguish, and angry power of the experience known as Hurricane Katrina.  After reading these poems, you will wonder how the world has managed to forget what this event meant to people everywhere. Listen to a brief commentary and exceprts from the book.

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2008 was the twentieth anniversary of Paulo Coehlo’s modern classic fable, The Alchemist. This story of a Spanish shepherd in search of his life’s purpose is an international bestseller. It presents the question: do dreams torture us or transform us? Listen to an assessment of this book’s message and answer the question for yourself.

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There is a certain delight in reading about something you imagine to be interesting, but know you would never do. Ammon Shea’s reading of the entire Oxford English Dictionary and his book about the experience fall into this category. Listen to a  personal response to the book Reading the OED: one man, one year, 21,730 pages.

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Lewis B. Smedes (1921-2002), a Christian scholar in the Reformed tradition, makes the case for forgiveness. Listen to an excerpt. Regardless of your religious beliefs, you will find something useful in his work.

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Yes, she really does have something new to say!

In her introduction to Letter To My Daughter, Angelou writes of her lack of biological daughters. When you read her book, you will join her family, sample her wisdom, and become energized by her love of life.

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Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian, creates powerful, funny, and life-wisening characters in his short stories and novels. Here is an overview of some of his recent work.

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Booktalk on William P. Young’s bestselling book, The Shack. Why is evil so persistent in human history? If you could meet God “face to face”, what would “she” look like and why would it matter? Young addresses these questions with intelligence, sensitivity, and unflinching honesty.

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