Blog Post
Madeleine L'Engle has died
by sernabad
Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, one of the most enduring children’s classics, died September 6th in Connecticut.
Publication of A Wrinkle in Time, which won the Newbery Medal, was an exercise in patience. It was rejected more than two dozen times before Farrar, Straus & Giroux published it in 1963. Alfre Woodard starred in the film version in 2004.
Ms. Engle was 88.
Blog Post
Kid Bits - A Porcine Wonder !
by ryanikoglu
If you are a fan of delightful pig fiction, then discover the tales of Mercy Watson. Mercy is the favorite pig of Mr. and Mrs. Watson. Read her adventures in
Mercy Watson Goes For A Ride;
Mercy Watson To The Rescue;
Mercy Watson Fights Crime and Kate DiCamillo's newest addition to the series
Mercy Watson: Princess In Disguise. Kids can read these as a "first chapter book", or the family can enjoy them together. OINK with pleasure !
Blog Post
DVD Bits - A Family Film
by ryanikoglu
Most people know Winnie the Pooh. Many people do not know Winnie The Pooh originated with a real bear named Winnie, shortened from Winnipeg. A.A. Milne and his son Christopher met the real Winnie at the London Zoo in 1926. A Bear Named Winnie is based on the story of that amazing bear. Thus began the whimsical tales that appeared in Now We Are Six; House At Pooh Corner; and When We Were Very Young.
Blog Post
Madeleine L'Engle Brought Us Such Reading Pleasure
by StoryLaura
I remember being curled up in my "hiding place" 44 years ago and reading the first line, "It was a dark and stormy night". How many thousands of other children were turned upside down by Madeleine L'Engle's imagination and amazing literary skills? In her Newbery Award acceptance speech the author, who often claimed that children's literature is literature too difficult for adults to understand, said "A writer of fantasy, fairy tale or myth must inevitably discover that he is not writing out of his own knowledge or experience, but out of something both deeper and wider." That is why L'Engle, who wrote more than 60 books and died this week at the age of 88, will continue to enrich the lives of many young readers on a dark and stormy night.
Blog Post
One of my favorites
by RiponGood
My love of fantasy stories started at an early age. One series that really captured my imagination was Xanth by Piers Anthony. The first story is A Spell for Chameleon about a young man named Bink, a woman named Chameleon, and the evil Magician Trent.
In the land of Xanth, each person must hae a magical power or become exiled to Mundania. Unfortunately, Bink doesn't know what his power is so he must travel to visit Good Magician Humfrey to discover what it is. Thus begins one of the best fantasy series ever written.
Blog Post
Alan Greenspan - Economist, Fed Chairman, Blogger?
by remnil
He's a legend. A veritable deity in the business pantheon. A man whose words were scripture for bankers and the financial warriors of Wall Street. And now, the venerable former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is blogging.
Well, sort of, anyway. Greenspan's only actually made one entry, and it seems to be primarily to promote his new book. But it not unprecedented for economists to turn books into blogs. Or in some cases, even blogs into books.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #85
by muffy
Considered by people-in-the-know (Bill Ott @ Booklist) to be possibly “the thriller of the year” - HeartSick* by Chelsea Cain is a must read for fans of Thomas Harris and Ridley Pearson, and those who likes them "gritty, grim, and gory".~Publishers Weekly
Set in Portland, OR, this outstanding thriller pits Archie Sheridan, a police detective addicted to painkillers and pink-haired newspaper reporter Susan Ward, against a psychotic serial killer targeting high school girls. Added to the suspense is Archie’s ambiguous relationship with the imprisoned Gretchen Lowell, a sadistic serial killer who carved her trademark (a heart) on Archie two years ago. Archie now hopes Gretchen could help him catch the After School Strangler.
“Cain (Confessions of a Teen Sleuth: A Parody) never misses a beat here, turning the psychological screwdriver tighter for both Sheridan and Ward while drawing us deep into the nightmare that lives inside Gretchen Lowell's head”. Projected to be the first of a series, so don't let this one slip by.
* = Starred Reviews
Blog Post
Kerrytown BookFest Sunday!
by Sancho Panza
Ready for the Kerrytown BookFest this Sunday? AADL will be there, along with over 100 other exhibitors, authors, demonstrators, and booksellers. Stop by the information booth to sign up for tours of Ben Burkhart’s functioning linotype machine, and then head over to the Author’s Tent at 11 to see Library Director Josie Parker receive the annual Book Community Award, presented this year by the KBF’s honorary chair, Ed Surovell. Library staff members will also be manning a booth at the Fest, so makes sure to say hello to them, too! Can’t wait until Sunday? Check out Jim Horton’s fascinating photo tour of the process he used to make the Fest’s letterpress printed posters, and study up on the Library’s collection of book arts materials.
Blog Post
Comics AND Science!
by anned
What better format through which to explore science than comics? Jim Ottaviani does a splendid job of introducing us to the scientists who shaped the 20th century (including one of my all time favorites Richard P. Feynman). His informative writing is enhanced by the illustrative stylings of many talented artists.
Jim Ottaviani will be at the Kerrytown Book Festival this Sunday (September 9) appearing on the Future of Comic Art panel with Jerzy Drozd, Kay Fedewa, and Chad Sell.
Blog Post
Tim Gunn is back
by manz
Fashion gurus and reality TV hounds are most likely familiar with Bravo’s hit show Project Runway. The dapper and debonair Tim Gunn is the witty pedagogical figure who acts as a mentor and gives the designers advice regarding their designs. Tonight is Bravo’s premiere of his new show: Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.
The show will run 8 weeks and features Gunn doing his thing, giving out that advice with the best vocabulary ever, as he tries to give fashion-challenged women some insight on fashion and tries to boost their inner-selves. The series is based on his book, Tim Gunn : a guide to quality, taste & style. Perhaps all this new Tim Gunn action will tide us over until season four of Project Runway gets underway, the date of which Bravo is yet to announce. (Rumor has it that it could be in the fourth quarter of this year.)