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Family Reads - If You Like Junie B.

by ryanikoglu

If you enjoy Junie B. Jones and Ramona Quimby, try Roxie And The Hooligans by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Willimena Rules: How To Fish For Trouble by Valerie Wilson Wesley, and Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry.

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Domestic Violence in the Spotlight

by ulrich

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Sponsored by a number of organizations, it is designed to raise awareness of the effort to end violence against women, children and within families. It is estimated that 20% of violent crimes against women are committed by their partners. Locally the effort to support and protect victims is led by the SafeHouse Center. Family
violence
, spouse abuse, and child abuse are all pervasive problems in American society which need our serious attention. If you are a victim, call the SafeHouse hotline at (734)995-5444 for assistance.

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Kiran Desai wins the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2006

by sernabad

If you believe that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, then you won’t be surprised to learn that Kiran Desai, daughter of acclaimed author Anita Desai, won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday, October 10, 2006.

Kiran Desai, 35, is the youngest woman (and the first woman since 2000) to be awarded the UK’s most prestigious literary award in its 37-year history. She enchanted the jury with The Inheritance of Loss, an epic novel spanning the globe from India, home of Ms. Desai’s birth, to the tense world of Manhattan’s illegal immigrants.

The other authors on the shortlist for this year were: Hisham Mater (In the Country of Men), Kate Grenville (The Secret River), Edward St. Aubyn (Mother’s Milk), M. J. Hyland (Carry Me Down), and Sarah Waters (The Night Watch).

The Desai women are the first mother/daughter team to be nominated for the Booker. Anita Desai, (Baumgartner’s Bombay and The Zigzag Way), was a finalist three times.

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What do opera and bebop have in common?

by Maxine

Not much, except that today, October 10, is the birthday of both Thelonious Monk and Giuseppe Verdi. Thelonious Monk, born in North Carolina in 1917, is best known as one of the prime inventors of bebop, a kind of jazz that uses repitition of sound to create a jumpy, irregular phrasing out of standard tunes. Monk played music with the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. His two most popular albums are Brilliant Corners and Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.

Giuseppe Verdi was born in Parma, Italy in 1813. His first opera, Oberto, performed at La Scala, was a modest success. After the tragic death of his wife, Verdi vowed he would never compose again but after reading the brilliant libretto of Nabucco, he changed his mind. Verdi wrote a total of 26 operas, his most famous, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Falstaff.

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Stormbreaker opens in theaters October 13

by K.C.

The film, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker opens this Friday nationwide. A teen who saw it in England told me it is great. Based on the first Alex Rider book, Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz, it's the story of Alex Rider, a teenager with unusual talents, who is recruited by the British Secret Service to carry out a dangerous mission following the mysterious death of his uncle. Check local theaters for the AA release.

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World Series- dare we hope?

by Robb

Here we are. The Tigers just wiped out the New York Yankees who were thought by some to be the best team in baseball. Now can they go the rest of the way? I think they can. What do you think?

The Tigers have a great manager in Jim Leyland. He's got the Tigers doing what the basketball Pistons did a few years back. He's got them playing as a team. What a concept! Everybody knows thats what you're supposed to do but you see it so rarely.

If you're interested in the history of the World Series the Library has some great books on the subject.

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Commercial sellout or exciting new kind of teen read?

by K.C.

Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233 has been panned by the publishing world for its ties with Proctor & Gamble. The story includes mention of various Cover Girl products. In addition Proctor & Gamble is helping to promote the book.

The book’s main character, Cathy, is searching for her boyfriend who disappears shortly after breaking up with her. As she turns up clues (phone numbers or a company name) she calls the numbers or Googles the company name. You, the reader, can too. By dialing the phone numbers and searching the web you can glean additional information.

Intrigued or turned off? We haven’t ordered this book yet. Should we?

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Annie Get Your Camera

by Sancho Panza

It’s hard to shake a stick without running into a photograph taken by Annie Leibovitz lately. Famous for her Rolling Stone photographs of the 70’s and 80’s, she most recently made headlines for snapping the coveted first pics of little Suri Cruise and family. Now she’s released a new book. A photographer’s life 1990-2005 draws not only on her evocative images of the rich and famous, but also exhibits work from her private, personal life—her friends, family, and in particular, the late Susan Sontag.

Some of these photographs are also featured in the DIA’s exhibit, on display through January: Annie Leibovitz: American Music, which chronicles her role as a photographer of American Roots musicians and those who’ve been influenced by the movement. See images up close and in personal of B.B. King, Pete Seeger, The White Stripes, and many others.

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Buck O'Neil, A Baseball Legend Dies

by K.C.

John "Buck" O'Neil, age 94, passed away in a Kansas City hospital Friday night. A player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues as well as the first black baseball coach when hired in 1962 by the Chicago Cubs, O'Neil was known not only for his love of baseball but also for life.

Buck was a fabulous storyteller and was "discovered" in his 80's when he appeared in Ken Burns series, Baseball. Read some of those stories like why baseball great, Satchel Paige called him "Nancy" in the Kansas City Star.

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Funke Fans--Have Heart!

by Sancho Panza

Fans of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the final installment of the trilogy. According to Funke, the “working title is Inkdeath,” and it could be released some time in 2007. While you’re waiting, check out Funke’s new series for younger readers, Ghosthunters, or one of her fantastic novels for older kids, like The Thief Lord—I’m currently listening to the audio book, and it’s so good that I make excuses to get back into the car and listen to another chapter. Finally, if you’re especially patient, start counting the days until the Inkheart movie is released in 2008!