Vonnegut factoid

Sat, 04/14/2007 - 9:13am by sernabad

The complete official title for Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse Five, is:

Slaughterhouse Five; or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., a Fourth-Generation German-American Now Living in Easy Circumstances on Cae Cod (and Smoking Too Much) Who, as an American Infantry Scout Hors de Combat, as a Prisoner of War, Witnessed the Fire-Bombing of Dresden, Germany, the Florence of the Elbe, a Long Time Ago, and Survived to Tell the Tale: This Is a Novel Somewhat in the Telegraphic Schizophrenic Manner of Tales of the Planet Tralfamadore, Where the Flying Saucers Come From

Now Filming

Sat, 04/14/2007 - 9:05am by RiponGood

The movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian is schedule to come out on May 16, 2008. Be sure to check out our wide selection of Narnia books as you get ready for next year's movie release.

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #59

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 4:20pm by muffy

Set in a poor and crime infested housing estate in Nottingham, England, The Killing Jar* by first-time novelist Nicola Monaghan is a compelling read and recipient of several literary awards.

Young Kerrie-Ann Hill was abandoned (by a drugged-out prostitute mother), abused (by a teacher), coerced into running drugs at nine, and graduated to violent crimes as a sly and ruthless teenager.
Amidst the ugliness were moments of joy like an old neighbor who taught her about butterflies (and the killing jar), caring for her younger brother, and first loves.

Unapologetically realistic and bleak, the portrayal of the drug culture in urban England is spot on, while feisty Kerrie-Ann as the flawed heroine will earn your respect and sympathy.

Nicola Monaghan grew up at Broxtowe, the same council estate she set The Killing Jar. She is the first person in her family to go to university, and is currently at work on her second novel Starfishin, about a woman working hard to fit into the edgy London lifestyle.

* = Starred Reviews

FairyTale Bits - NEW !

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 3:15pm by ryanikoglu

Jan Pienkowski's The Fairy Tales is a stunning and dramatic visual treat! "Exquisitely beautiful silhouettes ... complete the atmosphere of magic and enchantment". There are Four traditional tales that have been faithfully translated from the German Brothers Grimm and the French Charles Perrault. Danger and Romance exist in the words and the pictures on every page. Very sumptuous indeed !

Goddess Bits - NEW !

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 3:03pm by ryanikoglu

A lovely new book arrived at the Library full of "Goddess Stories from around the World". The Lady Of Ten Thousand Names brings 8 goddess myths with lovely illustrations, ... just the right length for grade school ages and older to enjoy.

Storytime Scoop

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 2:55pm by StoryLaura

Hold onto your hats for windy, rainy stories to Wake Up Spring at the Downtown and Pittsfield preschool storytimes the week of April 16th.

Tales of Science Projects - 3rd-5th grade

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 2:35pm by ryanikoglu

Have Science Fair projects entered your life at school? These books are about scientific projects ... good and bad. 4th grade science wiz Phineas is assigned to work with the new boy in class in Phineas L. McGuire ERUPTS!. Jake Drake Know-It-All wants to win the Grand Prize in the 3rd grade. 10 yr old Jackson has more zucchini than he ever wants to see in Jackson Jones And Mission GreenTop. And in Gloria Rising, 4th grade Gloria meets a woman astronaut.

Two Nobel Prize Laureates born April 15

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 10:00am by Maxine

Today is the birthday of two Irish literary stars, poet Seamus Heany and playwright, novelist, Samuel Beckett. Heaney was born in 1939 in Mossbaum, Northern Ireland, the oldest of nine siblings. His poetry is infused with images from his rural background. His father was a cattle dealer and Heaney grew up in a three room thatched farmhouse. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. A poem in tribute to the hard working hands of his father and granfather, "Digging," contains the lines:

"The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them."

Samuel Beckett insisted he was born on Good Friday, April 13, 1906 although his birth records indicate it was a month later. He grew up in a wealthy suburb of Dublin but moved to Paris in his twenties. Known as the founder of absurdist drama, Beckett was also an accomplished novelist. But perhaps he is best known for two of his plays, Endgame and Waiting for Godot in which one of the characters says:"We are all born mad. Some remain so." Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1969 and gave most of the money to charity.

Sign-Up Now for the FINAL High School Book Discussion Group!

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 7:56am by erin

Register now and get 2 FREE books for the next book discussion group on Monday, May 7 from 6:30-8:00 PM @ the Downtown Library. We'll be reading and discussing two books by Ron Koertge - Stoner and Spaz and Margaux with an X. Then you will get to meet Ron, and have him sign your book during the Ann Arbor Book Festival on Saturday, May 19 from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Modern Languages Building on campus. Ron will be the featured speaker at our Short Story Writing Contest Award Ceremony. We will have pizza, drinks and snacks at the book discussion group too. Call or visit the Downtown Library Youth Department desk to register now - 327-8301.

New Fiction on the New York Times Best Sellers List (4/8/07)

Thu, 04/12/2007 - 11:23am by Mazie

Tracy Chevalier has carved out a unique and narrow fictional genre for herself. She may never duplicate the enormous critical (and monetary) success of Girl with a Pearl Earring but she continues to write popular books about other artists. Her latest, Burning Bright, features William Blake, the English poet and visionary, famous for:

"Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

Some readers may be disappointed, however, at the minor role he plays in the novel. For others the magic of eighteenth century London and the charming story about Blake's fictional neighbors has been enough to put it on the List at #12.

The only other entry is For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison. This fantasy novelist also writes in a specific sub-genre labeled "sexy supernaturalism".