If you enjoy a leisurely afternoon browsing in antique shops, or find yourself searching out flea markets in your travels, then I think you will find a little treasure here. 13, rue Thérèse came out earlier this year but I waited for the audio book, and I was not disappointed. Jefferson Mays and Mia Barron did an amazing job bringing drama and breathing life into this recording of Elena Mauli Shapiro's debut novel.

Trevor Stratton, an American academic working in Paris is fascinated with a box of personal artifacts found in a filing cabinet in his new office. Sorting through the photographs, postcards, handkerchief, letters, and other vintage keepsakes that once belonged to a woman named Louise Brunet, Trevor begins to imagine and invent a life for her at 13, rue Therese, Paris, - from losing a young lover on the WWI battlefield, a marriage to someone of her father's choosing, to a daring and passionate affair with a married neighbor.

As Louise's life takes shape in Trevor's mind, he begins to notice Josianne, one of the young secretaries, and her eerie connection to the box. Trevor is intrigued and must find out why.

Elena Mauli Shapiro was born and raised in Paris, France, in an apartment below the real-life Louise Brunet’s. Shapiro found herself in possession of a box of Louise’s keepsakes after her neighbor died. They became the inspiration for the novel. See the real artifacts online at the book's website.

Joyce Saricks, Readers Advisory guru, focused her attention recently on the Unexpected Pleasures of audiobooks. I especially enjoy listening to translated works or works set in exotic locales. I often find them impromptu language lessons, with a bit of serendipitous armchair-traveling thrown in. 13 rue Therese was a real find.

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

POP / ROCK
Sun Palace: Gossamer Folk-Rock
Angel-voiced Andriette Redmann teams up with Smithereens frontman John Rokosny to make a luxuriant, yet lighter than air, pop-rock creation. Give Me A Perfect World is an impressive demonstration of Redmann's talents, which have been compared to Sarah McLachlan and The Sundays. Highlights include the idyllic title track, the courtly and fateful "Round and Round," as well as the deeply dreamy "Familiar Voices." This album features legendary drummer Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel/Paul McCartney/Elvis Costello) and cellist Jane Scarpantoni (Springsteen/Lou Reed/REM). Highly expressive, highly listenable.

CLASSICAL
Wildcat Viols: Viola da Gamba Girls Gone Wild
The San Francisco ensemble Wildcat Viols mines the richest vein of the viol da gamba consort repertoire. On Fairest Isle you'll hear the astounding music of Henry Purcell and Matthew Locke, the last great masters of English viol music. In this, their debut recording, the three women of Wildcat Viols, occasionally joining forces with the delicious soprano voice of Catherine Webster, luxuriate in the daring and passionate sound-world of 17th-century England. By turns quirky, languid, exuberant, sensuous, virtuosic, and always sublime, this music represents the final flowering of England's remarkable viol ensemble repertoire, in which finely-crafted Renaissance equanimity gives way to the dramatic volatility of the Baroque - with a distinctively British accent.

ELECTRONICA
Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli : Pan Pacific Ambient Dance Masters
The pulse of captivating and ear-catching dance rhythms forms the foundation for these hauntingly melodic and evocative soundscapes. The compositions are expertly balanced by an intricate interlacing of ancient Japanese instruments and singing. Beyond the Circle is a masterful melding of the latest electronic textures with the most spiritual of Asian musical history. This upbeat music features vocalist Nanako Mikado singing traditional Geisha songs, the expressive playing of shakuhachi master Masakazu Yoshizawa, and WILCO guitar legend Nels Cline.

WORLD
Anamar: Songs with a Latin & Afro mood, blended with Tango, Milonga, Morna, Rumba, Habanera
Transfado comes from a cult figure in the Portuguese music scene. Simple acoustic accompaniment on piano, double bass and Portuguese guitar puts Anamar's smoky, passionate voice in the best possible light, in songs that are vibrant, sultry, emotive, and cathartic. Fado songs are defined by their feeling of "saudade," a Portuguese term best translated as a genuine and intense yearning. Transfado has yearning to burn, but it's also a deeply sophisticated work with unexpected melodies and profound warmth.

NEW AGE
Harlan Williams : Beautiful Dark and Airy Guitar
The compositions on The Glass Desert are instrumental and range in moods from ambient and celestial to darkened and tragic, always with a layering of harmonies and an intricate structure. The writings are usually in minor key and can sometimes end up gothic sounding. The style is very unlike traditional classical guitar music, using multiple instrument parts, elaborate arrangements, and unusual timings. All of the song titles on this recording are found somewhere in the scope of Christian history or directly in the Bible itself. For example, "In Nomine Domini" is Latin for "In the Name of the Lord", "Gregory IX" was the pope who instituted the inquisition, and "The Limb of the Fiend" is a 16th century reference to "The Arm of Satan".

tuba player

“I want to emphasize the subversiveness that I think you librarians have by providing access to this information.” Dan Savage, author of several books and creator of the Savage Love column and podcast, spoke at the annual ALA conference in New Orleans last Friday. Savage praised libraries for providing critical access to information and resources for all people, even (and especially) when that information is controversial. He recalled his own days as a teenager when he would go to the Chicago Public Library to find answers to the questions he had about his developing sexuality. Savage stated that libraries are often the only resource troubled kids have to look for the answers to questions that they don’t trust their parents or peers with.

Access to information is a very personal subject to Dan Savage, who created the It Gets Better Project, an internet-based project with the goal of reaching out to depressed and suicidal LGBT youth. The project was designed to reach isolated young people who are dealing with bullying, abuse, hostile parents, or oppressive communities, all because of their (real or perceived) sexual identities. Thousands of grown-up LGBT people, celebrities, and organizations have contributed supportive videos to the project, all with the message that life is going to get better for these kids. Savage has also released a collection of essays in a book, It Gets Better, with contributing authors such as David Sedaris, Tim Gunn, Ellen Degeneres, Suze Orman, President Barack Obama, and tons more. Check out the book or BOCD at AADL, or visit the It Gets Better Project’s website at www.itgetsbetter.org.

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

HIP HOP
Urban Response: Funky Urban Tropical Electro Hop from Brazil
Urban Response was formed in 2009 by Irish producer Elektrodouche and Brazilian lyricist MC Quilombola. Their first EP, A Origem da Natureza Urbana, is a true melting pot of their diverse influences - a mix of classic hip-hop, dub, funk, electro, urban, trip-hop and ragga, along with a handful of collaborations from Ireland, Spain and Nigeria. The result of their musical journey together is a modern union of different nationalities, colors, flavors, sounds, places and styles. Music knows no boundaries.

JAZZ
Robin Stine: Jazzy, bluesy numbers that sound like comfortable standards
Robin Stine's music seduces with a whiff of subtle perfume and a casual graze of her hand as she walks past, leaving the listener powerless to do anything but follow. As a singer, her voice floats on the stylish edge of contemporary cool-light, but never lightweight. Daydream, her debut album, is a sleek collection of a dozen original jazzy, bluesy numbers that immediately sound like comfortable standards. Her enviably experienced crew includes pianist Warren Bernhardt (Steps Ahead, Jack DeJohnette, Gerry Mulligan), drummer Gary Burke (Joe Jackson, Bob Dylan), trumpeter Steven Bernstein (Roswell Rudd, Medeski Martin & Wood, Don Byron), and her fellow Kansas City native, guitarist Steve Cardenas (Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Paul Motian, Mark Isham).

HARD ROCK
Louis Lingg and the Bombs: Punk Rock to blow your head off
Wave the black flags, get out your molotov cocktails, don your ski masks and hit the streets with Louis Lingg and the Bombs. Named after a famous Chicago anarchist, their sound is a mix of ultra-political anarchic punk rock and fizzing children's nursery rhyme riot-pop. Their latest album, Light Lullabies for Skinny Monkeys, was recorded in a bedroom in Paris, France. These are nasal sounding DIY punk songs sung with energy and humor. There is a wild and all encompassing party contained on this album, all you have to do is press play.

CLASSICAL / WORLD
Skarazula: Medieval European, Turkish and Arabic music
Ostara, Skarazula's first album, is an homage to the pagan spring equinox festivities of ancient times. The name comes from the Teutonic spring goddess "Eastre", that later became Easter in English. Skarazula's second album, Litha, continues the pagan rituals theme with the summer solstice festival in the Saxon culture. Litha includes songs from many parts of the ancient world: a troubadour's pastourelle, a sephardic love song, a Cantiga de Santa Maria, Turkish, Breton and Italian music. Take a trip around the world with the three minstrels of Skarazula and enjoy both original and traditional pieces. All of their music is played on instruments built by Skarazula's members, giving them a completely unique sound.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Ninety Pounds of Ugly: Country, Rockabilly, Western Swing and Lounge
“Country malcontents Ninety Pounds Of Ugly are hung up on the heart, cracking wise, burning bridges and losing control, all with the brazen, belittling charm of a jaded barfly's liquored up loose tongue, on Richmond Motel Room #3. The rockabilly thump of Out of Your League struts like the sequel to Loretta Lynn's You Ain't Woman Enough, while Tain't One, Tain't the Other is the best Dolly song you've never heard." (Steve Baylin - Ottawa Xpress)

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This weekend is the annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a festival of events ranging from music, dance, comedy, film and much more. One of the main acts at Summer Fest is comedian Steve Martin performing with the bluegrass band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, on Saturday evening at 8 PM. As you may know from from his auto-biography, "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life", Steve Martin has been an accomplished banjo player for over 40 years and an acclaimed bluegrass performer.

Though considered a traditional form of American folk music, Bluegrass as a genre is becoming more popular in recent years thanks to popular movies like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and bluegrass events like the Los Angeles Bluegrass Situation put on by writer and comedian Ed Helms. Over the years various Bluegrass bands have mixed their sounds with Blues, Country, Honky Tonk and electronic instruments but performers like Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers play more contemporary Bluegrass music with traditional roots.

If you're interested in listening to some Bluegrass similar to Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, check out:

• The Grascals
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Mountain Heart
• NewFound Road

summe reading

School is out and the longest day of the year is here. The sun is hot and the water is calling. Time to pack the beach bag. Want some suggestions?

Every year, I look forward to the NPR's recommendations of summer books. I especially like the Indie Booksellers Target Summer's Best Reads for an insider's take on what is good that might not hit the bestseller lists.

This year O's (Oprah) Summer Reading Lists go for wide appeal. You are bound to find something to your liking.

• The Irresistibles: Lyrical, Luscious Reads
• Unputdownable Mysteries
• Tantalizing Beach Reads
• Memoirs We Love
• Short Stories We Love

These are what the editor's of the New York Times Book Reviews are reading for pleasure this summer. Check out their recommendations in the great big Summer Reading issue.

New Yorker Magazine wades in with their own Beach Reads for (Almost) Everyone.

I also like this year's Summer Beach Reads from Goodhousekeeping. Great current titles.

Just to prove that writers are avid readers, here is Stephen King's month-by-month summer reading list. Boy, is he organized!

Hey, if you are going to spend a lot of time in the car, try Summer’s Best Audio Books recommended by the Washington Post, and Library Journal's Best Audiobooks. Want more? Here is a list of the Top 100 Audio Book Bestsellers.

One last thing..... don't forget to sign up for the Summer Reading Game. Here's how to get started. You can actually earn points and get stuff for having fun. Really. For grown-ups too.

You Know When the Men are Gone * * brings to mind the final line in John Milton's (1608-74) sonnet On His Blindness : "They also serve who only stand and wait"; and is a powerful, unsentimental portrait of America at war on the domestic front.

This debut collection of 8 interconnected stories by Siobhan Fallon relate the experiences of Fort Hood (Texas) military wives who share a poignant vigil during which they raise children while waiting for their husbands to return.

In the audio, a winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award, narrator Cassandra Campbell packs each story with a unique emotional punch, capturing the loneliness, the waiting, the anxiety, boredom and sometimes resentment among the women.

The author lived at Fort Hood while her husband, an Army major, was deployed to Iraq for two tours of duty. She earned her MFA at the New School in New York City. Fallon lives with her family near the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

When you leave Fort Hood, the sign above the gate warns, You've Survived the War, Now Survive the Homecoming . For the lingering effect of war on families, I liked Tim Farrington's Lizzie's War (2005).

And let's not forget the young who too, are asked to endure, I highly recommend Laura Harrington's Alice Bliss (2011), a coming-of-age story with wisdom and heart.

* * = Starred Reviews

33 1/3 Sereis image

The AADL recently added the 33 1/3 series of books to the collection. Each volume covers one album from the perspective of a diverse set of authors. Some of the volumes tell the story of the band, or the recording of the record, while others tell how that record effect the author. There are a couple of volumes that are fiction and dissect the record as part of the story.

Now as part of the Ann Arbor Summer fest three of the volumes
The Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy & The Lash”
Tom Waits' “Swordfishtrombones”
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
Are going to be highlighted locally.

From (http://33third.blogspot.com)
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Ann Arbor: 33 1/3 Reading & Listening Parties

As part of the 2011 Summer Festival and the Fresh Ink Literary Arts Series in Ann Arbor, there will be a series of readings/listenings with local writers, journalists, and music aficionados reading excerpts from 33 1/3 books, followed by a guest DJ mixing from the oeuvre of the featured artist of the evening, beginning June 20th, and running for 3 weeks. A very cool idea...

Monday, June 20
Guest Reader: Bob Needham | Entertainment Director, AnnArbor.com
The Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy & The Lash” by Jeffery T. Roesgen
WCBN DJ: Sue Dise

Monday, June 27 
Guest Reader: Jeff Meyers | Managing Editor, Concentrate Media
Tom Waits' “Swordfishtrombones” by David Smay
WCBN DJ: Saramin

Monday, July 4 
Guest Reader: Emlyn Chand, Writer and Book Publicist
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” by Geoffrey Himes
WCBN DJ: Aaron Smith

All events are free. 7-9pm. Location: Arbor Brewing Company's ABC Brewpub

You can check out the series here, and there is also a partial list matching both the books and the CD version of the albums coverd by the book in our collection.

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

JAZZ
Jive Ass Sleepers: Chilled out grooves & uptempo funkathons
Jazz Funk lovers rejoice! Funk Factor is packed full of laid back funk grooves and soulful jazzy moods. Blending a retro seventies vibe with a modern twist, infectious melodies on guitar, horns and keyboards are served over toe tapping rhythm sections. Tight production with a gritty edge, this is the perfect album for all Acid Jazz fans who dig music from artists such as The Crusaders, Brand New Heavies, Ronny Jordan, George Benson and Jeff Lorber to name a few.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Mexeena: Achingly beautiful, almost edible
The album Ether is strangely compelling. Embark on a musical exploration with Mexeena's soft vocal guiding you down a faintly familiar path. Encounter sparse acoustic guitars freeing themselves from the darker, textured recesses. Follow your senses as you continue through stimulating, yet calming, tracks. Go ahead, breathe in the turquoise air. Find found sounds and pulsing beats, and cast out bad dreams while you absorb yet another melody.

CLASSICAL
Misericordia: Sickeningly good Medieval music
Passion, Pestilence and Polyphony brings you music and song from the dark and troubled fourteenth century. From the rhythmic drive of bagpipes, hurdy gurdy and percussion, to haunting three part polyphony via solo voice accompanied by gothic harp, this recording includes complex instrumental istampitas, love songs by Guillaume de Machaut, and music from England, France and Italy.

HARD ROCK
Damsel Down: Rock to take the top down and drive to
Damsel Down's debut consists of ten uplifting songs with heavy gritty guitar, hard hitting rock drums, low warm bass, and smooth vocals. As the title suggests, Now We Rise seeks methods of resurrecting from trials and tribulations. From smooth ballads to songs that make you want to get in your car and burn up the pavement, Damsel Down hopes you enjoy the ride.

WORLD
Moh Alileche: Music of the mountains of Kabylia
All songs on In Memory of a Hero are sung in the ancient native North African language, Tamazight, incorporating the use of instruments common to that region, namely the mondol, bendir, banjo and flutes. Alileche (pronounced "ali-LESH") blends his soulful, emotionally charged, passionate voice to hypnotic rhythms, captivating melodies, and entrancing beats. The album highlights the need for conscientious resistance to authoritarian regimes that undermine human rights, and is dedicated to late singer and activist, Lounes Matoub, who was assassinated in Algeria at the age of 42.

secrets

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

HARD ROCK
Sweet Teen Killing Machine: Don't go down into the cellar
Self-described as "horror-rock," Portland, Oregon-based, Sweet Teen Killing Machine creates hard-hitting, heavy rock soundtracks for fictitious horror movies. From the supernatural album openers, "Curse of the Bloodwolf" and "City of the Shrieking Dead”, to the more human terror of "Virgin White" and "New Meat," Sweet Teen Killing Machine can be described as the sound of a beast that always seems to be chasing you.

CLASSICAL
Vito Paternoster: Cellist extraordinaire
Vito Paternoster picked five of the most beautiful Italian Baroque sonatas for cello on his new album Sinfonie and Sonate del settecento italiano per Violoncello e Basso Continuo. Works by Benedetto Marcello, FP Scipriani (in world premiere recording), Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Francesco Geminiani and F Martino are performed with virtuosity and lyricism, bringing us back to the sounds, voices and colors of Venice, Naples and Florence long ago.

WORLD
Amelia Cuni and Werner Durand: Experimental winds meet Indian classical
Waves of Beauty – Nada Yoga Vol. 2 is a single 56 minute long track. Amelia Cuni's crystal clear voice is set in a soundscape generated by acoustic sources, using no synthetic sounds. Her singing draws from the rich heritage of Dhrupad, the oldest form of North Indian music. She uses ragas and Indian vocal techniques that are powerful and soothing, moving and hypnotic. This uplifting album is designed to calm the listener's mind, supporting balance and well being. It may be used for relaxation, massages, yoga sessions, or that bubble bath you've been daydreaming about.

ELECTRONICA
Industrial Sound Bank: The sounds that shake the masses
The Disk Platter Spins is a musical journey; a gapless, seamless blending of dance, trance and noise. There's a strong "dance-ability" factor, but even for those who choose to just listen, Industrial Sound Bank (a.k.a. In.So.Ba.) provides great material.

CHRISTIAN ROCK
Predestined: Alternative rock music out of New York City
Predestined formed in 2005 as a project of songwriter/guitarist Mike Parenti. Their self-titled album, influenced by many classic and modern rock artists, from The Beatles and The Who, to Staind and Lifehouse, explores unconditional love, Christian faith and spiritual growth.

baby with headphones