Blog Post
Small Gems
by muffy
As in years past, when the days get shorter and the to-do-list gets longer, it is hard to find time to read. I would tend to reserve literary door-stoppers like Wolf Hall and The Children's Book for when I could carve out a large chunk of time, and look for the small gems.
Urban fantasy lovers (and Jim Butcher fans) would not want to miss his stand-alone 12,000 word novelette, set in the Dresden Files. Backup is narrated by Harry's big brother Thomas - only this time, Harry is the one in BIG trouble!
In Muse of Fire, Hugo winner Dan Simmons "combines his fine prose with a well-developed sense of wonder and love for reworked literary and mythological materials". In the far future, The Earth's Men, an interstellar troupe of Shakespearean players meet up with the Archons - members of the usually invisible ruling caste and change human and non-human history. This intellectual adventure story of astonishing richness and depth, wit and erudition will please and entertain.
The Moon Opera a "tiny, perfect novel" by Bi Feiyu give us not only a glimpse into the Chinese opera world but also deep into a woman's heart. With drama, intrigue, jealousy, retribution and redemption, it introduces Western readers to one of the most respected authors and screenwriters in modern China.
Blog Post
The Darkest Night of the Year
by CasualTim
As we approach what one of my favorite bands refers to as "The Darkest Night of the Year," it feels right to consider how often we must wait and endure, how both the dark and light are required to give the other meaning, and (maybe) how we can bond over the end to this shared suffering that is bitter coldness.
Wendell Berry's recent Whitefoot is a "gifty offering" that is formatted and appropriate for youngsters, but finely-crafted enough to warrant wider attention. The mouse at the center of the story finds itself swept away from home by the elements, in constant danger, and with simple needs that are at odds with the tendency to want to stay out of said danger. Despite the urgency of this situation, "Berry finds a heroic dimension to Whitefoot, and his gift is to make readers feel it, too," according to Publishers Weekly.
Minor White: The Eye that Shapes has been called "a landmark book" of photography and notes in a Library Journal review. While it might seem that White can find inclusion in this note simply because a vast amount of his work is in black and white, he uses contrast to its most effective. Of "Snow on Garage Door, Rochester, New York 1960," I feel alternately frigid and resentful of the shoveling I'm about to have to do, or cozy and thankful for early weekend evenings around the fireplace. Not that I have a fireplace. This book is full of silent nights, patient waiting, and frozen potential.
For some lighter fare (and to make sure this modern classic gets all the attention it deserves), check out Elf. I was amazed to meet someone the other night who hadn't seen this sweet Will Ferrell tale. If anyone in your family is the Christmasy-type, this one's required viewing for all. With a buoyant outlook on even the most emotionally challenging moments in the film, Buddy the Elf finds true happiness in the light at the end of the long, dark (Lincoln) Tunnel.
Finally, if you (and your kin) would like to know a little more about why, when, and how the sun will come back, check out The Return Of The Light : Twelve Tales From Around The World For The Winter Solstice. That this transition is such a universal cause for celebration and reverence makes me feel like it's warming up already.
Blog Post
Bob Books are here!
by manz
There are several new Bob Books now sitting in the readers section in the Youth Departments at AADL locations. What are Bob Books? They are fabulous! Each little box comes with eight small fit-in-your-hands readers for emergent readers to practice reading or to focus on particular skills. Some skills included are long vowels, compound words, and the alphabet. There are also some sets of books that are simply books for beginning readers. (You can visit their website for a better look.) Give Bob a chance, you’ll like him. And if you’re looking for more leveled readers be sure to have a peek at the complete readers section. If you’re not sure where they are, ask us!
Blog Post
A few of the best Teen Books from 2009
by ringenka
The editors at Amazon.com have picked their favorite teen books from 2009 . These are just a few:
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
Marcelo Sandoval is a 17-year-old with an Asperger's-like condition forced by his powerful father to work in his law firm's mail room. Marcelo is out of his sheltered comfort zone and forced to deal with "real world" conflicts. Publisher’s Weekly writes Marcelo in the Real World is “Not to be missed.”
Fire is the prequel to Graceling and shares only one character. Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last human monster which means she can read and control minds. Her father is afraid of her powers, so he sends her to a faraway land. This novel features plot turns, romance and leaves the reader wanting more.
Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
In March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl from Montgomery, Alabama made the same refusal. In this book Hoose introduces readers to this historical, courageous teenager.
Blog Post
Teen Stuff: 'how i live now' by Meg Rosoff
by Caser
In Meg Rosoff's Printz award winning novel, how i live now, the next world war takes place on British and American soil, and it's no good guys versus bad guys with appropriately color-schemed wardrobes. It's terrorism, chaos, distrust, and civil war. And the victims are not in uniform. They, like American teen Daisy living with her cousins in rural England, are civilians sequestered away from their families, surviving on food scraps and trying to avoid friendly fire or the next car bomb.
The narrative is told through Daisy's voice, captured in fragments, run-ons, and not-so-random capitalization for emphasis. This at first comes off as naive, a youth playing with style for its own sake, but as the stakes grow steadily higher and her family begins to rely on the strength she didn't realize she has, that same voice becomes poignant, even profound in its ability to capture a sense of truth amidst anarchy, a voice of reason in life during wartime. After reading the first half of the book, I nearly abandoned ship. After finishing the second half, I'm recommending it every chance I get.
Blog Post
“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” ~ Garrison Keillor
by muffy
I always look forward to NPR's holiday guide to book-giving. In the Best Books of 2009 there is certain to be something marvelous for almost everyone on my list (and yours too).
There are the "lush and elaborately illustrated titles" on the Big And Beautiful: Best Gift Books that a kindle just won't do.
For the adventurous literati, there are the Best Foreign Fiction picks. Or, like Susan Stamberg, you place your trust in Indie Booksellers' top picks. Alan Cheuse and Glen Weldon also share their season's favorites.
For families young and old, Sally and Stephen Kern have a simple and inexpensive way to bring families together in A Holiday Reading Tradition For The Whole Family, where they keep a box of special books about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the winter solstice just for this time of year. (Available as a podcast).
For the music lovers on your list, you can rely on Best Music Of 2009.; or David Dye's (of World Cafe) The Top 10 Albums Of 2009; as well as the 2009 Best Music For Kids.
For the younger readers on your list, I like the New York Times' Notable Children’s Books and graphic novels.
Alright, if only toys will do (Oh, I do understand!) - at least make it eco-friendly. The Parents' Choice Foundation's annual holiday gift guide is indispensable for parents and grandparents alike. Buy if you must, but first check out the parents' guide in making sound media choices for the family.
Happy Holidays and please, make it a safe one.
Blog Post
Modern poetry can be good and unobscure.
by Maxine
Today is the birthday of poet Thomas Lux who was born in Northampton, Mass. in 1946. He is a strong proponent of the idea that poetry can be both good and accessible. With modernism, he says, "came this new notion that.... poetry became something that needed to be deciphered, a kind of riddle....A lot of people read poetry, and they don't understand it and it makes them feel resentful." Many even believed that poetry was only good if you couldn't understand it. Lux breaks through that myth by writing vital and intelligent poems, at times whimsical and at times more serious, but always with the intention of communicating to the reader/listener. The following poem attests to that promise:
A Kiss
One wave falling forward meets another wave falling
forward. Well-water,
hand-hauled, mineral, cool, could be
a kiss, or pastures
fiery green after rain, before
the grazers. The kiss — like a shoal of fish whipped
one way, another way, like the fever dreams
of a million monkeys — the kiss
carry me — closer than your carotid artery — to you.
Blog Post
Up in the Air
by Caser
Jason Reitman's film, Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, comes to local movie theaters on December 25, but you can get a preview of the story that's being hailed as the most timely of the year by reading the book of the same title by Walter Kirn. Reitman spent several years adapting the novel into a screenplay, turning it from a story about a guy who gets paid to lay people off into one man's search for self-realization and fulfillment.
In the film, Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a frequent flyer, motivational speaker, professional firer, and reveler in the superficial pleasures of what Chuck Palahniuk called the "single serve life." All this changes when a new female coworker introduces a cost-cutting idea that threatens to end his flight hopping lifestyle. The film has some local connections too, for several scenes were filmed at Detroit Metro Airport, and one sequence features real-life Detroit residents that have recently lost their jobs.
Other thematically related items at the AADL include the book Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, & Dismissed, created by actress Annabelle Gurwitch, as well as her DVD and CD also called Fired!
Blog Post
Not Twilight…but close…
by ringenka
If you find yourself reading and re-reading Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, you might want to try some of these fantasy love stories:
Swoon by Nina Malkin
Dice tries to help her cousin whose body is inhabited by a ghost. She accidentally frees the ghost and so needs to kill him before he destroys the whole town. The problem: Dice falls in love with the ghost.
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Grace loves watching the wolves behind her house. Sam is a wolf-by-winter and human in the summer. While human Sam meets Grace and falls in love...Sam then struggles to remain human as winter approaches.
Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant spends the summer on a small island with her mother. She meets Leo, falls in love with him, and then realizes he might be a mermaid.
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Aislinn unlike other teenagers can see faeries. One of the fairies, Keenan, wants Aislinn to become his queen, and he is determined to make this happen at any cost.
Blog Post
Looking for a Christmas Read?
by ErinDurrett
In previous years, I've suggested popular fiction for holiday reads. This year I have decided to concentrate on two of my favorite genres: Romance and Mystery.
Recently, I buried myself in Lisa Kleypas' Wallflower Series. The final book in this 5 part series is Wallflower Christmas. Once Lillian Bowman and the other Wallflowers are settled with beaus, it's time to find her elder brother Rafe a wife. If romance, action, mystery, and the supernatural meets your interest, try Kerrelyn Sparks' All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire part of the Love at Stake Series. If short stories are your thing try this Christmas compilation: Wish List with stories by Lisa Kleypas, Lynsay Sands, Claudia Dain, and Lisa Cach.
For good Christmas mystery reads try Deck the Halls and it's sequel He Sees You When Your Sleeping co-written by bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark. Regan Reilly, Carol Higgins Clark's dynamic young sleuth, meets Alvirah Meehan, Mary Higgins Clark's famous lottery-winning amateur detective, and both embark on a desperate search for Regan's kidnapped father and then reassemble in the sequel to help a family reunite during the holidays. Additionally, there is the short story collection Wolfsbane and Mistletoe with tales by talented authors such as Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn.
For more suggestions of Romance, Mystery, as well as other Fiction Christmas reads, Check out: http://www.overbooked.org/booklists/subjects/themes/christmas.html