Are you a fiction writer? Have you ever wondered about the writing techniques of a journalist? Well, now is your chance to get your questions about journalism answered! 826michigan’s “How to Write Like I Do” writing workshops presents: The Reported Imagination: Journalism Techniques for Fiction Writers. Heading up this workshop is none other than V.V. Ganeshananthan, Zell Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Michigan and author of the critically acclaimed 2008 novel, Love Marriage. Topics of discussion will include how fiction writers can use journalism techniques, such as interviewing and arduous editing, in their craft.

This fun event is for adults only, and takes place on Saturday, February 4th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 826michigan. Participants will be treated to Zingerman’s coffee and pastries.

Cost for this event is $25 per participant. However, 826Michigan is running a Bring-a-Friend special that allows you to purchase two tickets for $40! All proceeds from the event go to support 826michigan’s free creative writing program for youth ages 6-18 in Washtenaw County. So, get out your pen and paper or computer, and come join V.V. Ganeshananthan in a discussion about incorporating journalism techniques in your fiction writing!

Date: February 4, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Place: 826michigan
115 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Cost: $25 for 1 person
$40 for 2 people (the Bring-a-Friend special)
Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com

Award winning author Carole Boston Weatherford is coming to Ann Arbor in honor of Black History Month. This author writes fiction, poetry and non-fiction for children. She will be at the downtown library on Saturday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Ms. Weatherford said her visit to Ann Arbor would " . . . focus
on poetry that celebrates the African-American experience and pays tribute to both famous and unsung heroes and heroines."

Books will be on sale at the event, courtesy of Nicola's Books.

Established in 2010 by the American Library Association Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of RUSA, The Listen List recognizes and honors the narrators who are a pleasure to listen to; who offer listeners something they could not create by their own visual reading; and who achieve an outstanding performance in terms of voice, accents, pitch, tone, inflection, rhythm and pace.

This inaugural list (Be sure to check out the wonderful listen-alikes with each of the winners) includes literary and genre fiction, memoir and history and features voices that enthrall, delight and inspire.

The 2012 winners are:

All Clear by Connie Willis. Narrated by Katherine Kellgren.
This sequel to Blackout, a stellar science fiction adventure, follows the plight of a group of historians from 2060, trapped in WWII England during the Blitz. In a narrative tour de force, Kellgren brings to life a large cast of characters, including a pair of street-smart urchins who capture the hearts of characters and listeners alike.

Bossypants by Tina Fey Narrated by Tina Fey.
In a very funny memoir made decidedly funnier by its reader, Tina Fey relates sketches and memories of her time at SNL and Second City as well as the difficulties of balancing career and motherhood. In a voice dripping with wit, she acts out the book, adding extra-aural elements that print simply cannot convey.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman.
Dominic Hoffman reads this elegiac novel of memory and redemption with fierce grace, inhabiting Mosley’s characters with voices perfectly crafted in pitch and rhythm. His rough, gravelly narration manages the pace and mood of the book with astounding skill, brilliantly capturing the mental clarity and fog of 91-year-old Ptolemy Grey’s world.

Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert, Narrated by Edward Herrmann.
Ebert’s clear-eyed account chronicles his life from his youth in Urbana, Illinois, to his fame as a world-renowned film critic in Chicago. Herrmann’s engaging, affable reading mirrors the author’s tone—honest, often humorous, sometimes bittersweet—as he unhurriedly ushers listeners through Ebert’s moving reflections on a life well lived.

Middlemarch by George Eliot. Narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
Juliet Stevenson brings crisp clarity, a witty sensibility and a charming tonal quality to Eliot’s masterpiece of provincial life. Through her deft management of pacing and tone, she reveals character motivation and illuminates the many themes of the novel. But most of all she reclaims Eliot for listeners who thought they did not enjoy classics.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willg. Narrated by Kate Reading.
In this Regency Christmas caper, a pudding, a spy, a hilarious school theatrical and a memorable country house party lead to laughter, love and an offer of marriage. Reading’s lovely English accent and exuberance are a perfect fit for the wide range of characters, from young girls to male teachers to members of the aristocracy.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde. Narrated by Emily Gray.
In this genre-bending romp, the “written” Thursday must rescue the “real” Thursday from a nefarious Bookworld plot. Emily Gray wears Thursday like a second skin, as she does the robots, dodos, and space aliens running around. The story is paced such that every nuance of pun and word play is captured and rendered aurally.

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley. Narrated by Jayne Entwistle.
Flavia de Luce, a terrifyingly proficient 11-year-old amateur chemist and sleuth, investigates the beating of a gypsy and the death of a villager in this third outing. Entwistle’s spot-on narration reveals the irrepressible, intrepid heroine’s prowess and captures a delicious range of secondary characters in these whimsical mysteries set in 1950s rural England.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø. Narrated by Robin Sachs.
The icy chill of the Norwegian countryside and a series of cold-blooded murders dominate this Harry Hole crime novel. Sachs contrasts Hole’s world-weary professional attitude, his unquenchable thirst for justice and his yearning for love and comfort, as he skillfully maintains a suspenseful pace and projects an overarching sense of doom.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Narrated by Simon Prebble.
The tragedy and heroism of the French Revolution come alive through Prebble’s distinctive and graceful narration. As the lives of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton intersect, Prebble takes listeners deep into France and England, narrating terrifying descriptions and breathless acts of courage with a cadence that sweeps one away.

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. Narrated by Susan Duerden and Robin Sachs.
In this imaginative novel, Balkan physician Natalia, on a mission of mercy, learns of her beloved grandfather’s death. Duerden’s mesmerizing voice leads listeners through the complexities of this rich novel with its intertwining stories, while Sachs memorably relates her grandfather’s haunting tales in a gentle and gruff voice.

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick. Narrated by Nathaniel Philbrick.
In what should be required reading before cracking the pages of Moby-Dick, Nathaniel Philbrick’s homage to this great American novel compels the listener to experience Melville with an almost incandescent joy. His voice resonates with palpable enthusiasm and calls to mind a New England professor giving a fascinating lecture.

2012 Newbery Honor book, Breaking Stalin's Nose, by Eugene Yelchin is a welcome addition to what I expect out of historical literature for young adults. If I'm looking for great books about the Civil War, early-1900s race relations, the Holocaust, or the Civil Rights Movement, I have award winners like Elijah of Buxton, Number the Stars, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had and One Crazy Summer, or dozens of others. But what about the Cold War?

In Breaking Stalin's Nose, ten-year-old Sasha lives in Cold War-era Soviet Union. The novel opens with a set of beliefs Sasha holds above all, "My dad is a hero and a Communist and, more than anything, I want to be like him. I can never be like Comrade Stalin, of course. He's our great Leader and Teacher."

From there, readers are plunged into a fog of Stalinist propaganda that permeates Sasha's life, in his cramped apartment, on the radio, and in school lessons. Sasha is a devoted Soviet with hopes of joining the ranks of the Young Pioneers, an elite youth nationalist group at school. But when Sasha's father, a member of the State Security, is taken from their komunalka in the middle of the night, leaving the boy an orphan, Sasha begins to discover the cost of a culture of fear, suspicion, and persecution as his status careens from elite to outcast.

The issues raised in Breaking Stalin's Nose are far deeper than a didactic 'Communism is bad and Capitalism is good', and the situations and choices the characters face are relevant beyond their immediate setting. This title would make a fantastic classroom or book group discussion selection.

Monday January 23, 2012: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

Come to the class and learn how you can enjoy eMedia @ AADL!
- Download digital library books using the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services
- Download music with Magnatune
- Listen to AADL Podcasts
- Watch AADL Video on Demand

Registration is not required. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for the complete schedule.

The 2012 winner for the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during the November 1 2010 – October 31 2011 publishing year is Notorious Benedict Arnold. Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America’s first, most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest war heroes. Please meet the real Arnold: reckless, heroic, and driven. Packed with first-person accounts, astonishing battle scenes, and surprising twists, this is a gripping and true adventure tale.

The four 2012 Excellence in Nonfiction finalists are:Sugar Changed the World : a Story of Spice, Magic, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition, Wheels of Change : How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom, and Music was It : Young Leonard Bernstein.

This year’s winner of the Printz Award is Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. Seventeen-year-old Cullen's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance.

The 2012 Printz Honor Books are Why We Broke Up, The Returning, Jasper Jones, and Scorpio Races.

Monday January 16, 2012: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Jeff Kass from the Neutral Zone shares some poetry on Civil Rights, Equality, Peace and Justice in celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This event is for grades 4 - 12.

The following new Book Clubs to Go kits have been added to our collection:

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Ralph Truitt, a wealthy businessman with a troubled past has advertised for a reliable wife; and his ad is answered by Catherine Land, a woman who makes every effort to hide her own dark secrets.

City of Thieves by David Benioff
A captivating novel about war, courage, survival-and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered in Seattle, Henry Lee embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment.

Room by Emma Donoghue
A 5-year-old narrates a riveting story about his life growing up in a single room where his mother aims to protect him from the man who has held her prisoner for seven years since she was a teenager.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Dagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease, Harvard psychologist Alice Howland struggles to find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her concept of self gradually slips away.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Abandoned on a 1913 voyage to Australia, Nell is raised by a dock master and his wife who do not tell her until she is an adult that she is not their child, leading Nell to return to England and eventually hand down her quest for answers to her granddaughter.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave sixty years ago. Yet her cells -- taken without her knowledge, grown in culture and bought and sold by the billions -- became one of the most important tools in medical research.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
The stories of a small Cape Cod postmistress and an American radio reporter stationed in London collide on the eve of the United States's entrance into World War II, a meeting that is shaped by a broken promise to deliver a letter.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
When their seven-year-old daughter goes missing, Antonia evaluates her decision to stay in a loveless marriage that caused her child to withdraw into silence, while Martin confronts an uncomfortable aspect of his own personality.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Unwillingly brought together to care for their ailing mother, three sisters who were named after famous Shakespearean characters discover that everything they have been avoiding may prove more worthwhile than expected.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
An alternate historical work based on a premise that Alaska became the Jewish homeland after World War II finds detective Meyer Landsman investigating a heroin-addicted chess prodigy's murder, a case with ties to an extremist Orthodox sect.