Mystery Bits - the Wright book

Tue, 08/29/2006 - 4:04pm by ryanikoglu

If you like facts along with your fiction, read Wright 3 by Blue Balliett. There is a mystery to solve for the three sixth gradersin this book. While following the clues you learn about architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie House in Chicago, and facts about both of them. If this book intrigues you, read more in Frank Lloyd Wright: Maverick Architect and Frank Lloyd Wright For Kids and compare facts with fiction.

American comic book artist Jack Kirby

Mon, 08/28/2006 - 6:58pm by emilyas

89 years ago today (August 28, 2006) Jack Kirby was born in New York City. According to wikipedia.org Kirby "was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books."

To celebrate Kirby's life check out some of his comics at the library, or visit the Kirby museum. Also of interest is the the Jack Kirby Chronology from the Marvel Masterworks website.

Idlewild

Sun, 08/27/2006 - 11:55am by amy

According to Sunday's Ann Arbor News, Idlewild, the new film opening this week, is named after the famous Lake County Michigan resort, otherwise known as the Black Eden of Michigan in the 1920s and '30s and the Summer Apollo of Michigan in the 1950s and '60s. Idlewild, Michigan, hosted great jazz acts in its day, including Duke Ellington, and was the vacation spot of choice for such black luminaries as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Even W.E.B. Du Bois owned a home there. But the film itself is set in Georgia and its "Idlewild" is a small-town speakeasy. It does take place during the same period and features the music of OutKast (a bit of a historical stretch, but oh well). So far, reviews are mixed but Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gives it an A-.

You can read more about the real Idlewild in Idlewild: the Black Eden of Michigan by Ronald J. Stephens.

The Play Ground

Sat, 08/26/2006 - 4:08pm by Albert

The Gin Game is a two-act, four-scene play about a woman in her twilight years, Fonsia Dorsey, who enters a "home for the aged" and is, for a while, saved from melancholy by the crusty charm of Weller Martin. They were most famously played by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn back in 1977 and it eventually ran on Broadway for 516 performances. This week Redbud Productions' Lenore Ferber directs local actors in a staged reading of DL Coburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Wed. August 30, 8:00pm at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Tickets $10 in advance and at the door. 769-2999.

The perils and politics of research

Sat, 08/26/2006 - 3:36pm by Maxine

Allegra Goodman in her new novel, Intuition, takes us to a struggling research lab in Boston where Cliff, a somewhat careless postdoc when it comes to record keeping, finds that the R-7 virus he's had little luck with is now producing amazing remissions in his cancerous mice. Sandy Glass, lab director, pounces on these findings and broadcasts them to the medical research community at large. While all this is happening, Robin, Cliff's jilted lover and unsuccessful researcher in the same lab, discovers his sloppy notes and reveals possible fraud to an NIH watchdog group. Goodman spins a suspenseful, well-written tale that reveals the tenuous existence of medical research that is dependent on grants, connections and political maneuverings.

Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Sat, 08/26/2006 - 3:14pm by amy

This week marks the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Below are some of the titles recently added to our collection.

Books
After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina, edited by David Dante
Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, by Jed Horne.
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster, by Michael Eric Dyson
Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, by Douglas Brinkley
The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina: The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist, by Ll Ivor Van Heerden

DVDs
Inside Hurricane Katrina (National Geographic)
The Storm (PBS Frontline)
The Storm that Drowned a City (WGBH)

Also available in our reference collection or online: Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-73): as signed by the President on September 23, 2005; Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-135) as signed by the President on December 21, 2005: law, explanation and analysis.

Pluto Downgrade

Sat, 08/26/2006 - 11:28am by amy

Now that the International Astronomical Union has stripped Pluto of its official status as a planet, what should we do with all our books about "the planet" Pluto?

Mercy Me!

Fri, 08/25/2006 - 3:47pm by StoryLaura

This is one joyful, adventurous little pig, and she is much better looking than her parents! Kate Dicamillo's newest reads for the beginning chapter book crowd, Mercy Watson to the Rescue and Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, are filled with escapades illustrated by Chris Van Dusen that look like 1950's pics gone wild. Check out the fabulous description of Dicamillo's essay writing experience on her kid-friendly website katedicamillo.com. It says it all.

Marketing Research: Key tool for entrepreneurs

Fri, 08/25/2006 - 3:25pm by ulrich

Robert J. Kaden's new book Guerrilla Marketing Research provides an accessible introduction to all phases of marketing research for prospective, new and established entrepreneurs. Presented in a clear, easy-to-read format, the book examines topics such as how to get started, how much it costs, how much research should be done, how to develop a research plan, and the various methods of getting information such as surveys, focus groups, sampling, brainstorming, etc. The subtitle of the book says it all: 'Marketing Research Techniques That Can Help Any Business Make More Money.' It's a great place to start for all business people.

The 2006 Quills Awards: The OTHER Election

Thu, 08/24/2006 - 10:54am by sernabad

Last year, the Quill Awards was established as “…a consumer-driven celebration of the written word created to inspire reading while promoting literacy.” Booksellers and librarians nominate authors and titles in 19 categories. The lists are then opened up to consumers online. The Quill Awards and the Quills Literacy Foundation are initiatives supported by Reed Business, Inc.

The 2nd annual Quill Awards are fast approaching. Winners will be announced on October 11, 2006, and broadcast on NBC, the Quills’ official broadcast partner, on October 28, 2006.

So hurry and cast your vote here.