Blog Post
The Countdown Continues!
by MariaK
With only two weeks to go, we at AXIS Coffeehouse are doing our best to send you to summer with a bang. Last Friday we got a visit from Detroit rap artist The Chozn Bravesoul, and this Friday we will host another special guest -- Maggie Hanks of Ann Arbor Word Works! Don't miss this chance to get some writing advice from a poet described as "bold and insightful".
Also, our last day at AXIS Coffeehouse, March 26th, will be recorded for for the AADL podcast, so bring that poem you've been working on for a chance at library fame!
As always, AXIS Coffeehouse will offer food, drink, good writing and good company -- as well as $5 fine forgiveness coupons and free books for those who present at the mic. Join us at Mallett's Creek this Friday, from 6:30-8 for a great time!
Blog Post
Great Lakes, Great Times Reading Series 3/20
by manz
Great Lakes, Great Times is a monthly reading series that, according to the host, “showcases the best established and up-and-coming writers working today.” The March reading will take place at 826Michigan, and will feature readings from authors Dan Chaon, Laura van den Berg, and Christian TeBordo.
Check here to see which authors are up next in the series. So many authors are visiting, and these events have been filling the house!
The monthly event is geared towards adults, admission is FREE, and anyone is welcome. It's all happening Saturday, March 20, 7pm at 826michigan The Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair Shop at 115 East Liberty.
Blog Post
An Icelandic tale
by Maxine
Not a saga by any means, but the 1935 Nobel Prize winner's Haldor Laxness' novel, The Fish Can Sing still captures the earthy beauty and earnestness of the Icelandic people in this, one of his later books. In a small village near Reykjavik at the beginning of the twentieth century, a boy named Alfgrimur is raised by his beloved foster grandparents. His grandfather, Bjork, is a simple fisherman, often taking Alfgrimur out in his boat to catch lumpfish. Alfgrimur tells the villagers, when they ask what he wants to do with his life, that he wants to be a fisherman like his grandfather.
But the return of the reknowned lieder singer, Gardar Holm, to his native village inspires Alfmigur to follow in Gardar's path after Gardur has heard him sing and thinks he has a future. The plot, which is meandering but not to a fault, moves toward a recognition of who Gardar really is and what Alfmigur learns which is the "one true note." Poignant, funny, and revealing the independent spirit of the people of Iceland at that time, this is a special book. And Magnus Magnussen's translation is poetic and lush. I can't wait to read some of Laxness' other books.
Blog Post
Database Spotlight: DearReader.com
by manz
Would you like to read or read more but don’t have time? DearReader.com is a way you can receive books in your email inbox. Although DearReader.com is included on AADL’s long list of many databases, what’s nice about it is that you don’t have to log in to your AADL account to access it. You can go straight to DearReader.com from any computer without logging in.
With DearReader.com, Monday through Friday you receive 5 minute sequential reads of part of a book, and by the end of the week you will have read 2-3 chapters. At that point you can stop or continue reading by finding the book at your library or in a store. You sign up simply by entering your email address and choosing a genre on DearReader.com. (You may choose more than one genre.) Some of the genres are Business, Science Fiction, Author Buzz, Nonfiction, Mystery, Pre-publication, Teen, Good News, Thriller, and Classics. You can unsubscribe at any time, and the emails have a link to check availability at your own library. There is a book forum for each book so if they choose to- readers get a chance to chat about the books with each other. Readers can also check out past books and read emails they may have missed.
It all started when Suzanne Beecher was sending 5 minute excerpts of books to her staff after some of them had complained that they didn’t have time to read. Many found that reading Suzanne’s snippets got them hooked on books again. Now more than 375,000 library patrons start their morning with a book excerpt in their email, thanks to DearReader.com.
Blog Post
Jane Austen In Connecticut
by sarahc
Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility has not inspired nearly as many movie adaptations, sequels, or retellings as her most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice; but Cathleen Schine’s latest book, The Three Weissmanns of Westport, makes up for the lack of quantity with quality. Judged merely on its literary merits, the novel is a little lacking; the pacing is slow, and the characters are sometimes two-dimensional. But as a reimagining of the story of the Dashwood sisters, their mother, and their lovers, it is as faithful as a devoted Austen fan could want.
Updated to present-day America, set in New York City, Westport, Connecticut, and Palm Springs, California, the Dashwood family is now the Weissmann family. Older sister Elinor, quiet and practical, is Annie, a library director. Younger sister Marianne, headstrong and emotional, is Miranda, a literary agent. One major change is that all the characters are older than in Austen’s story; Annie is 52, Miranda is 49, and their mother, Betty, is 75. When Betty’s husband of 48 years dumps her for another woman, the three Weissmann women retreat from their elegant New York apartments to share a tiny cottage in Westport, owned by their gregarious cousin Lou. Here, Annie pines for Frederick Barrows, a distinguished author; Miranda falls for Kit Maybanks, a dashing young actor; and Betty tries to put her life back in order.
For Austen fans, the fun comes in recognizing the new incarnations of various characters. All of the important plot developments occur just when they are supposed to, which makes the book rather predictable, but comforting in its familiarity. The only notable deviations from Austen’s plot come at the end in some surprising twists, but I thought those changes actually worked well, and give the story a satisfying finish. I also enjoyed Schine’s evocative similes (“[Betty’s lawyers seemed to find the law a constantly surprising series of impediments, as if they were crossing rocky desert terrain for the first time and had forgotten their shoes.”); and I found her to be most poignant in her depictions of parent-child relationships. All in all, this is a book that will mainly appeal to fans of Austen’s original, but it has enough inventiveness to stand on its own as mildly entertaining chick-lit.
Blog Post
Crazy Like Us, Sharing More Than Cultural Trends
by ErinDurrett
Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche is a book about how not only does America export modern cultural trends such as strip malls and fast food chains, but it's prevalent maladies from anxiety disorders and depression to anorexia and schizophrenia. The author Ethan Watters is an anthropologist who went to research medical trends in several countries around the world. Watters noticed the re-occurrence of anorexia in Hong Kong, schizophrenia in Zanzibar and depression in Japan. He also discusses how the treatment of these illnesses, whether experimental or otherwise, clashes with the local cultures that fall prey to these trends. Watters feels that the American medicalization of other societies threatens traditions of these cultures: "We should worry about the loss of diversity in the world's differing conceptions of treatments for mental illness in the same way we worry about the loss of biodiversity in nature."
Blog Post
Graceling
by anonymous
Kristin Cashore's 2008 book, entitled Graceling, is listed as a honor book of the William C. Morris Young Adult Debut Award, and will be of interest to most teens looking for a fantasy.
The book takes place in a world of seven kingdoms. The main character, Katsa, is a Graceling--that is, a person who is Graced with an extreme ability. All Gracelings have complete heterochromia--two different colored eyes. The Gracelings are either seen as blessed or burdensome, and this provides much of the conflict in the book. It also provides much of the significance in the work, inspiring feelings of tolerance and acceptance of others'--and especially one's own--differences.
This book is probably best suited to teen girls who are independent or tomboys, as that is Katsa's character. There are elements of romance, violence, and sparring humor involved that create for a great storyline. However, the drawbacks may irritate some older readers; there are some instances of poor sentence structure, and the ending may be found wanting.
For those interested, her latest book is Fire, which contains the same seven kingdoms, though entirely different characters. It is not considered a sequel, but a companion.
Overall, it isn't one of the best works in teen fiction, but it is definitely worth a look.
Blog Post
The Best Minds of Our Generation
by Caser
The 52nd Annual Southeast Michigan Science Fair is taking place this Saturday and Sunday, March 13 - 14, from Noon - 4pm. Middle and High School students from the area compete at WCC’s Morris Lawrence building for the top two individual and team prizes in a variety of projects, from models and collections at the middle school division to microbiology and chemistry at the senior division. Top science projects will move on to the Intel International Science Fair in San Jose, CA in May.
If your child is working furiously on an upcoming science fair project, check out the AADL's robust collection of science fair books, ranging from encyclopedias of project ideas to specific project ideas for different forces in the physical world. To find out what your local branch has right now, follow the link earlier in this paragraph, and then click the check box next to "limit to items available at," and then click on the drop down menu to find your branch name. Create this list by clicking "Search."
Blog Post
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
by ringenka
Historians may think I have a tendency to overstate the importance of baseball upon the Civil Rights Movement, however, James Sturm and Rich Tommaso have written a book which acutely represents the historical significance of baseball and stars like Satchel Paige.
When I began reading the book, I thought it would be a Satchel Paige biography in the form of a graphic novel; but its actuality is even better. There is a two page introduction on Paige at the start, but after that he is featured in only a few frames throughout the book. Instead of detailing Paige's life, the book portrays the life of a sharecropper on a cotton farm in Alabama during the 1930s. The description (in both words and pictures) of his reality is contrasted with Satchel Paige's visit to town and a realization of possibility.
Satchel Paige is everything a book should be.
Blog Post
Neutral Zone Short Story Workshop Reading!
by erin
Teens from the Neutral Zone Short Story Workshop will read new stories on the theme of "impostors." The Short Story Workshop brings together young authors from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti each Friday afternoon to work on the craft of short fiction. Their latest book is The Lizards Are Crawling Back through Your Window. Teens and adults are welcome to this special reading! Friday, March 26, 7:00-8:30 PM at the Downtown Library Multi-purpose Room.