Blog Post
Fantastic Fiction Firsts #84
by muffy
Emergency room physician Vincent Lam’s debut collection of linked stories - Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures* is the 2006 winner of The Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s premier literary prize for fiction. It revolves around four young multicultural Toronto medical students. (Think Grey’s Anatomy!)
Along with the requisite sex, death and sleep deprivation crucial to any hospital drama, it's action-packed and insightful. "The stories' quiet strength lies in Lam's portrayal of the flawed humans behind the surgical masks". ~Publishers Weekly
For a clear-eyed look at what it is like to be a doctor-in-training, try The Soul of a Doctor: Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death, and Audrey Young's What Patients Taught Me: A Medical Student's Journey.
*= Starred Reviews
Blog Post
Man Booker Prize shortlist for 2007
by sernabad
The 39th Man Booker Prize committee has announced the short list of fiction titles for the 2007 Booker Prize.
The short list of 2007 authors is:
Anne Enright The Gathering – a lyrical, three-generation Irish family saga
Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist– a Pakistani Muslim, disillusioned with his successful life in America, meets his would-be assassin, post-9/11
Lloyd Jones Mister Pip – the lone white man on a down-under island, teaches Great Expectations to a group of children in the midst of war
Ian McEwan On Chesil Beach – in 1962, newlyweds, Edward and Florence, stumble toward their wedding night as they reflect on their short lives.
Also, Indra Sinha (Animal’s People) and Nicola Barker (Darkmans) have not yet been scheduled for U.S. publication
The winner will be announced on October 16th.
Blog Post
The End of Mr. Y
by Van
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
I like novels that incorporate the texts of other imaginary books and provide scads of non-fiction detail about topics on which I would be unlikely to read an actual non-fiction book. Add an interesting narrator, a little narrative drive, and The End of Mr. Y becomes an excellent choice to read. The book within the book shares the title and is by the nineteenth-century writer Thomas E. Lumas. The scads of non-fiction detail involve Derrida and French deconstruction, Samuel Butler, Einstein and thought experiments, theoretical physics, and homeopathy. Ariel Manto is a poor graduate student working on a dissertation about Lumas. The library classifies the book as Science Fiction, not unreasonable since it involves the ability to jump into the minds of others in the troposphere (the world of the mind). This ability is brought on by drinking a mixture of Carbo Vegetabilis and holy water then staring at a white card with a small black circle at its center. A fantastical story, most compelling before the author has to bring the story to an end.
Blog Post
Baby Bits - Chick-Chick-adee !
by ryanikoglu
Baby PlayGroup series is arriving the week of September 10, 2007. And new books keep arriving. Look for rhythm and rhyme and names and pictures you LIKE!
Remember .... You'll need to read it again, and again, and AGAIN!
Try Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan; and Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett; and The Cow Who Clucked from Denise Fleming.
Blog Post
"Gifts of Art" is a true gift
by Maxine
Do you know about the "Gifts of Art" program at the University Of Michigan Hospital? If you don't, check it out tomorrow when Tad Weed, recently transplanted Los Angeles jazz pianist performs at 12:10 p.m. in the University Hospital's main lobby. For the last twenty years, Weed has toured with Woody Herman, bandleader, singer Carmen McRae and others.
"Gifts of Art" is an innovative program that brings both art exhibits and music to hospital patients, family, friends and staff in the belief that art promotes healing. The events are open to the public. Concerts are weekly and cover a broad range of musical styles from classical to world music. Exhibits include exemplary work from area sculptors, painters, mixed media artists and photographers. Also, check out the Library's books on art and healing.
Blog Post
More new Japanese books at the library!
by Tara LS
There will soon be new Japanese books for adults at all branches. The selection varies from branch to branch and includes original Japanese works and works translated into Japanese from other languages. Browse the shelf for new books or place holds through the library catalog. Questions, comments or suggestions, please contact stantont@aadl.org. Click on "read more" to see a list of books.
Blog Post
New adult books in Japanese at all branches
by Tara LS
There will soon be new Japanese books for adults at all branches. The selection varies from branch to branch and includes original Japanese works and works translated into Japanese from other languages. Browse the shelf for new books or place holds through the library catalog. Questions, comments or suggestions, please contact stantont@aadl.org. Click on "read more" to see a list of books.
あなたがパラダイス BY 平安寿子 (Anata ga paradaisu by Taira Asuko)
クジラの彼 BY 有川浩 (Kujira no kare by Arikawa Hiroshi)
ダーティ。ワーク BY 絲山秋子 (Dāti wāku by Itoyama Akiko)
水底の光 BY 小池真理子 (Minasoko no hikari by Koike Mariko)
みずうみ BY いしいしんじ著 (Mizumi by Shinjii Ishii)
(Seeing a series of question marks? It's possible your browser is not capable of showing Japanese characters.)
Blog Post
A fine postapocolyptic Robinsonade
by annevm
Among the best books I read this summer was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The genre is Robinsonade, which means it bears some resemblance to Robinson Crusoe. But this is the story of a father and his son walking alone through a totally devastated, burned America. Normally I don't choose this type of book, but my brother assured me that the warmth of the father-son relationship would carry me right through the darker parts. He was right. After it came out last year, this book became an Oprah's Book Club pick, a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, and a New York Times Notable Book.
Blog Post
Total Eclipse of the Heart...
by erin
The drama continues in the third book in the vampire/werewolf, love triangle series by Stephenie Meyer. Following the first two titles, Twilight and New Moon, Eclipse picks up where we left Bella, Edward and Jacob - with more drama, high romance and Bella still grappling with when to become one of the undead. The BIG NEWS is that the series has been optioned for a film and now has a director - the fabulous Catherine Hardwicke of Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown fame. It's nice to know that someone that really *gets* the material and can deliver an authentic story will be at the helm.
Blog Post
Japanese Contemporary Photography at the University of Michigan Museum of Art
by joy k
If you haven’t already visited the Japanese contemporary photography exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, you have a couple more weeks before it’s gone for good. Out of the Ordinary/Extraordinary features the work of eleven young photographers, most of whom are unknown by western audiences. The exhibition runs until September 16 at the museum's temporary exhibition space. For hours, directions, and other information, visit the museum web site. The library also has lots of books on photography, from how-to’s to exhibition catalogs. Check them out at your favorite AADL location.