Blog Post
Teen (and Parent) Magazine Update -- Home Schooling, Conspiracy Theorists and Luchador Socks
by MariaK
As winter and spring duke it out for supremacy, a beautiful new collection of magazines has blossomed in our teen room. Check out these lovely flowers:
For Teens:
Audrey -- All about Actress Olivia Munn, plus an article on the presence of Asian-Americans in mainstream TV shows.
ESPN Magazine -- See athletes strut their stuff in this special Style Report, in more ways then one, plus Derrick Rose shows off his luchador socks.
Rolling Stone -- Where else can you see Snooki, rock star Sammy Hagar and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in the same place? Plus, 2011's coolest new faces.
Sorry, parents, I've only got one magazine for you this time, but it's a good one:
Home Education Magazine has ideas on teaching your kids about gardening and food, as well as a list of books for Women's History Month!
Get out your umbrella and come check out these cool magazines!
Blog Post
Read Behind the Headlines in North Africa
by annevm
With citizens revolting in Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Djibouti, and Morocco, first drafts of history are being written every day in the media. If, as a reader, you're seeking a deeper understanding of the region, check out North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present, by Phillip Naylor, who teaches history at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Published in 2009, the book concludes with a section on "The Peril and Promise of North Africa."
Blog Post
Ladies of the Lights
by cecile
What was life like for a lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes? Find out when Patricia Majher, author of Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service visits the library on Thurs., Mar. 3, 7-8:30 PM at the Downtown Library.
This most unusual occupation, especially for women, isn't very well-known even though the United States Coast Guard maintains a list of all the women who were employed as lightkeepers calling them "trailblazers."
In addition to being a fine author, Patricia is also editor of Michigan History Magazine which is published by the Historical Society of Michigan. The Historical Society of Michigan is dedicated to preserve, protect, interpret and celebrate the rich and diverse history of our state.
Blog Post
Author Birthdays: Shirer, Cornwell, Sandford
by marshd
February 23rd marks the birthday of authors William L. Shirer, Bernard Cornwell, and John Sandford.
William L. Shirer was an American writer of mostly non-fiction history books. Much of his works focus on Nazi Germany, which isn't surprising, considering he was a WWII journalist who actually reported from Berlin. Part of his book 20th Century Journey called "The Nightmare Years", about his time in Germany, was made into a TV movie with Law & Order star Sam Waterston playing the journalist.
Shirer's "This is Berlin" is a collection of his radio broadcasts from said city. As noted by Library Journal, it gives "the reader a sense of the drama and tension of 'history as it happens'". He also wrote a diary of the days leading up to the war.
Bernard Cornwell is an English historical novelist, best known for his novels centered on character Richard Sharpe, which take place during the Napoleonic Wars. They were also adapted into a television series.
Cornwell has also written stories in the times of Saxon and Arthurian Britain, and the American Civil War. His latest, The Fort, published last year, is a tale of the Revolutionary War, more specifically, of the Penobscot Expedition.
John Sandford (born John Camp) is an American journalist and novelist, probably best known for his Prey series, featuring the character Lucas Davenport. His newest novel, Buried Prey, is in this series and comes out in May.
Sandford's other works include the novel Dead Watch, which has been called "full of suspense, political intrigue, and violence" by Library Journal; you can also see some of his journalistic exploits on his website.
Blog Post
Check Out a Museum Adventure Pass!
by monkk
Looking for some indoor fun this winter? Come to any of our branches and check out a Museum Adventure Pass! There are over 30 museums you can visit, and the passes admit 2 or 4 depending on where you're headed. Why not take a look around the corner at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History? Exhibits include displays on prehistoric life with the most extensive dinosaur exhibits in the state of Michigan, Michigan wildlife, anthropology, geology, and a Planetarium. Have fun, learn, and stay warm all at the same time!
Blog Post
Condos From the $290s
by cecile
Every day on my way to work I pass a worn sign that says "Condos From the $290s." Whenever I tell anyone about this sign they laugh out loud as it seems to illustrate a bygone era perfectly. In the past couple years a number of books and and videos have come out trying to explain the universal question we all have: What Happened?
Here are a few covering the recent history of financial calamity available at the Ann Arbor District Library:
All the Devils are Here : the Hidden History of the Financial Crisis by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera is one of the newest and best entries that tries to explain the financial meltdown.
The Monster : How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America--and Spawned a Global Crisis by Michael Hudson (a former WSJ reporter) also does an excellent job of making an intricately complicated system of failures understandable.
Complicit : How Greed and Collusion Made the Credit Crisis Unstoppable by Mark Gilbert of Bloomberg News covers the issue from the perspective of someone who warned of the impending crisis at least 18 months before the actual meltdown.
Plunder: the Crime of Our Time is a film by Danny Schechter that interviews inside players, economists and journalists to illustrate various aspects of the crisis.
Blog Post
Author Birthdays: Franklin, Asimov, Michaels
by marshd
January 2nd marks the birthday of authors John Hope Franklin, Isaac Asimov, and Leonard Michaels.
John Hope Franklin was an American historian who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His best known work is From Slavery to Freedom, which is often regarded as the definitive history of African-Americans, outlines African origins, slavery, and the fight for freedom.
Franklin's other works include Runaway Slaves: Rebels On The Plantation, a book about the resistance and escape of African-American slaves, and an autobiography which Library Journal described as "worth knowing and understanding because at its heart it is a particularly American story about the challenges of being black in this country, about personal triumphs, and about his feeling of urgency regarding the promises America has yet to realize."
Isaac Asimov is best known as a Russian-American science-fiction writer. Among his books, he is probably most widely recognized for his series, especially the Foundation series, which actually includes dozens of stories, one of them being the basis for the film I, Robot.
Asimov's many, many--and I mean many--other works include the two award-winners The Gods Themselves and The Bicentennial Man. There is also Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, which first came out in 1977, named for Asimov because of his huge standing in the science-fiction genre.
Leonard Michaels was an American writer of short stories, novels, and essays, who graduated with his Master's and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. One of his novels, Sylvia, is based upon his first wife, who committed suicide.
Michaels also wrote some autobiographical fiction collected in the book Shuffle. Publishers Weekly discusses it as "Created in fragments of journal entries, short stories and memoir-like confessions, a matrix of past and present formations is slowly brought into focus; thus, a life."
Blog Post
Youth and Teen Magazine Update -- Mars, Manga and the World's Greatest Drummers
by MariaK
Want to jump into January 2011? Try these magazines -- with awesome new issues for the New Year!
For kids:
Ask Magazine: Giant dinosaurs, an island of tiny humans, and the reason giants don't exist.
Muse Magazine: Women Astronauts, Space-Sickness and Martians, oh my!
For teens:
Drum! Magazine: The Ultimate Readers' Choice Awards -- The World's Greatest Drummers!
Otaku USA Magazine: News, reviews and, of course manga! This month Otaku USA features sneak peeks at Lychee Light Club and Street Fighter Gaiden, with reviews of FLCL, Gravitation, Xam'd: Lost Memories.
Read 'em while they're new, people!
Blog Post
Why Did Washtenaw County Vote Against Suffrage, Not Once, But Twice?
by Debbie G.
Liberty Awakes in Washtenaw County: When Women Won the Vote, a new exhibit at the Museum on Main Street runs January 8-February 27, 2011. The exhibit features artifacts, stories and images from the local woman suffrage movement. On the 2nd and 4th Thursday of January and February, please bring a lunch and join in a discussion on woman suffrage in Washtenaw County from 12 noon-1:00 PM.
The exhibit is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area and the Washtenaw County Historical Society. For more information or to arrange group tours or talks email Zoe Behnke at bliz468@yahoo.com
Blog Post
Author Birthdays: Solzhenitsyn, Paley, Harrison
by marshd
December 11th marks the birthday of authors Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Grace Paley, and Jim Harrison.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian historian and writer of fiction, as well as a Nobel laureate. His most extensive work of history is called The Gulag Archipelago; it discusses Soviet forced labor in the early 20th century, including the author's own experiences in a work camp.
Solzhenitsyn's fictional works are interesting and extensive. The First Circle is a tale written after the author's experiences at Gulag, as well as his diagnosis of cancer, and exile. Booklist called it a "many-voiced, flashback-rich, philosophical, suspenseful, ironic, and wrenching tale". Along those same lines, One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich is a book about hope and life during Communist tyranny and its Siberian work camps.
Grace Paley was an American short story writer and poet. Among her works of prose are collections like The Little Disturbances Of Man and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute.
Paley's poetry has been described as having a "strong pulsating rhythm". Here at AADL we have a few collections, including Fidelity, Leaning Forward, and her New And Collected Poems. The Collected Stories has many of what are considered her "classic" stories in one volume.
Jim Harrison is an American author, born in Grayling, Michigan. His most well-known work might be Legends of the Fall, which is actually made up of three stories and was later put to film. His latest publications, from last year, are called The Farmer's Daughter, another collection of three novellas, and a collection of poetry entitled In Search of Small Gods.
Harrison also wrote a memoir. The book outlines his life, including childhood tragedy, his alcoholism and cocaine habit, love of nature, and, the hopefully more upbeat discussion of his associations with famous men like Jack Nicholson and Jimmy Buffett.