Blog Post
Poet Marvin Bell on Politics and Aging
by iralax
Marvin Bell is now retired from teaching poetry at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, but this wordsmith isn't slowing down. His nineteenth book, Mars Being Red, is a gutsy meditation on politics and aging. In "I Didn't Sleep," we read "I thought maybe I could sleep after the war / or catch a nap after the next election." And from "Assisted Living Quarters," Bell observes "All / the mothers have seventy-year-old babies." These are difficult themes for poems without coming across preachy or trite. Bell succeeds with measured doses of humor and grace, surprise and anger, and a fearless spirit.
Blog Post
Acknowledging Borrowed Gifts
by annevm
Former Ann Arborite Charles Baxter describes Los Angeles in intriguing detail in his latest novel The Soul Thief, and at the end, he expresses gratitude to another former Ann Arborite, Francesca Delbanco, and to Arden Reed “for certain details about Los Angeles flora and fauna . . . “ In my book, it was such details that lifted this novel from well worth reading, to truly a gift.
Blog Post
Help support the Women's Center
by Maxine
This Friday, May 2, The Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan will be hosting their seventh annual fundraising event, "Opening Doors," an auction and dinner at the Morris Lawrence Building of Washtenaw Community College. The Women's Center is an agency devoted to helping women achieve personal and economic self-sufficiency through personal and financial counseling, job coaching and support groups. They charge minimal fees so that any woman can take advantage of their services. For more information on the event or their services, call 973-6779.
We have a great collection of books at the library on women's issues that may also be helpful to women going through some life transitions.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #110
by muffy
According to a New York Times article, it took a citywide fund-raising effort for The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to raise the $68 million needed to keep a Thomas Eakins masterpiece - The Gross Clinic in the city. "The painting is widely considered to be among the greatest convases in American art".
Though Eakins' fame is "almost entirely posthumous and he was little known and admired in his native city" during his life time, but in Lawrence Goldstone's debut The Anatomy of Deception, Eakins is front and center in this highly readable, intriguing and historically well-researched forensic thriller. Also depicted are the real-life characters such as William Osler (the Father of Modern Medicine), famed surgeon William Stewart Halsted and the vibrant social scene of Philadelphia 1889.
Historical mystery readers, especially those of Caleb Carr and Matthew Pearl will find much to like here.
Blog Post
Book Clubs To Go - A New Service for Book Groups
by muffy
If your book group has trouble getting enough copies for every member to read, the discussion is lackluster from time to time, or you're hard pressed for time reading the book--let alone researching author information and books reviews: The AADL's new service Book Clubs To Go is the answer.
In each of our attractively packaged Book Clubs to Go kits you will find:
* 10 copies of the book (many literary award winners and some in large print format)
* Book reviews and an author biography
* A list of thoughtful discussion questions (Believe me, our staff labored over these so you don't have to!)
* A list of "read alikes"
* and some helpful Book Group Tips to revive, revamp and revitalize any book group.
The kits circulate for 6 weeks and may be picked up at all library locations. Holds should be placed by a representative of the group.
For those books to film titles, we have included DVDs to enhance your discussion. Some kits contain two titles to be discussed in tandem.
Why not plan an evening of fun, food and intellectual pursuit by also checking out Recipe for a Book Club (a monthly guide with menus and recipes)?
Blog Post
They are still recruiting
by RiponGood
The Starfist series of books by David Sherman and Dan Cragg follows the Confederation Marine brigade, the 34th FIST (Fleet Initial Strike Team) during their time of service. In the opening book of the series First to Fight we are introduced to Gunnery Sergeant Charlie Bass and new Marine recruits Claypoole and Dean, on their mission to the planet Elneal. Their duty is to provide humanitarian relief. The planet is completely worthless except for mineral deposits which are being mined by Consolidated Enterprises. The indigenous population is primarily composed of nomadic tribes who wage constant war amongst themselves until now...
Blog Post
Splendid Table fans, take note!
by Nicole R
The show’s host, Lynn Rossetto Kasper, is coming to Michigan as part of the book tour for her new book, How to Eat Supper. Kasper will prepare recipes from the book, assisted by culinary students from Schoolcraft College. Attendees can sample the food and ask questions of the author.
The event takes place on Saturday, May 10th at Schoolcraft College's Vista Tech Center in Livonia. Get more information at the Michigan Radio website.
Can’t make it to the demonstration? Check out the book and try some recipes at home!
Blog Post
Cheaper by the dozen
by amy
The Saline Area Players will be presenting “Cheaper by the Dozen” on April 18, 19, 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m. and April 20 & 26 at 2:00 at the Liberty School Theater, 7265 N. Ann Arbor St., Saline, Michigan. The play is dramatized by Christopher Sergel based on the book of the same name by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students through high school and seniors 65+. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling 677-3727 or at the door. Special advance group rates are “cheaper by the dozen” – buy a dozen (tickets) and save a dozen (bucks)! Visit the website for more information. Meanwhile, you can also check out the 2003 DVD movie or the earlier 1950 version.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #109
by muffy
In Girls in Trucks we first meet Sarah Walters and her Camellia (Society) girls at the Charleston Cotillion School for future debutantes. Then come the Ivy League college days and the decade as single girls in the big city. We watch as they make consistent bad choices about men, drugs and alcohol, falling short of the Camellia Society ideal (no riding in shiny red trucks with boys), and in danger of totally missing out on a chance for happiness.
Told in the linked-short-story format, Katie Crouch’s “exceptional, stylish debut” is distinguished by its “gentle humor and sharp observation couched in straightforward prose with none of the preening preciosity so often seen in Southern fiction.”
Fresh, heartwarming and engaging, it reminds one of Melissa Bank’s The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing and The Last Girls by Lee Smith.
Blog Post
Henry's Freedom Box (a true story from the Underground Railroad) by Ellen Levine
by Tahira
Henry's Freedom Box tells the amazing story of one of the most famous slaves to travel on the Underground Railroad. Henry "Box" Brown got his name because he traveled to freedom in mail crate. Ellen Levine's short poetic sentences tell the story with clarity and awe. While Kadir Nelson's use of water and oil color illustrations lends a photographic air of realism to the text. An excellent read for young readers.