The Great War in Europe has ended with no victor because of a plague and an infestation of vampires. Lord Baltimore a British one-legged veteran of the war becomes the scourge of the undead after being wounded on the battlefield and witnessing a horrific attack on his men by vampires. He too is attacked by the vampire Haigus and manages in desperation to gravely wound him. Haigus swears vengeance and thus the plague is set in motion. Is there any way Baltimore prevent the end of humanity?

The team of Mike Mignola and Christoper Golden bring you Baltimore: The Plague Ships. Horror fans don’t miss this one or others in the series. This is graphic novel gothic horror at its best.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority just announced that the award-winning app, TransitTimes + has added Ann Arbor to its list of more than 50 cities that provide details about their transportation modes to this popular app.

Now you can easily locate The Ride's bus schedules, the location of your particular bus and its arrival time, or map out and save a route to a new location.

To see how easy this app is to use, check out TransitTimes' YouTube channel here.

For more information about this app and to see the growing list of U.S. and international cities being added all the time, click here.

3 debut novels - from the wilds of British Columbia to the idyllic Swedish countryside, from WWII Paris to contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn, - the stories of sisters.

In Frances Greenslade's Shelter *, living almost off-the-grid with their hippie parents in the Pacific mountains, Maggie and Jenny experience their first blow when their father is killed in a logging accidents. Then their mother disappears, leaving them with almost strangers. It is up to them to build the shelter, both physical and emotional— to sustain themselves as they move into adulthood.

"Heartbreaking and lushly imagined,Shelter celebrates the love between two sisters and the complicated bonds of family. It is an exquisitely written ode to sisters, mothers, daughters, and to a woman's responsibility to herself and those she loves."

I am Forbidden * brings to life four generations of one Satmar family. 1944 Transylvania, little Mila was rescued from certain death and raised with Atara, the daughter of Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community. As the two girls mature, Mila's faith intensifies, while her beloved Atara discovers a world of books and learning that she cannot ignore, and continues to question fundamentalist doctrine. The different choices the two sisters make force them apart until a dangerous secret threatens to banish them from the only community they've ever known.

"A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide". Anouk Markovits was raised in France in a Satmar home, breaking from the fold when she was nineteen to avoid an arranged marriage. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Science from Columbia University, a Master of Architecture from Harvard, and a PhD in Romance Studies from Cornell. I Am Forbidden is her English-language debut.

Drowned *, set in the idyllic countryside during a short-lived Swedish summer, Marina, a burnt-out college student visits her older sister Stella who is living with Gabriel, a famous writer as charismatic as he is violent. As Marian gradually comes under Gabriel's spell, she also senses unease in Stella and the many secrets she keeps. With recurrent references to Ophelia, savvy readers could already anticipate the plot that mixes "hothouse sensuality with ice-cold fear". A compelling psychological thriller not to be missed.

Debut novelist Therese Bohman is a magazine editor and a columnist writing about literature, art, culture, and fashion. She lives in Sweden. Translator Marlaine Delargy serves on the editorial board of the Swedish Book Review. She lives in England.

* = starred review

Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet - vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis.

Vanishing of the Bees a 90-minute 2009 documentary (which is unrated) follows two commercial beekeepers as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The two friends plead their case on Capitol Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean on the quest to protect their honeybees.

Local beekeeper Richard Mendel, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, will lead a post-film discussion. He is also bringing with him an observation hive where you can watch live bees working in their comb.

Wednesday | July 11, 6:30 - 8:30pm | Downtown Multi-Purpose Room | Grade 6 - Adult

Wednesdays, July 11 thru August 15 | 6:00-8:00 PM | Pittsfield | Grades 9-Adult

Join cartoonist Jerzy Drozd as he helps you explore illustration and storytelling strategies used by professional cartoonists to create graphic novels, manga, and comic books. Learn how to choose the right moments in your story, how comics take advantage of the rules of art and literature and how the illustration style you choose contributes to the tone of your work.

THIS WEEK: Take a camera with you to your favorite place and snap at least six pictures of things you see that you like. Bring them to class. Also start thumbnailing your story and bring it with you to class.

Basic supplies (pencils, erasers, paper, etc.) are provided along with a weekly gamecode to add to your summer game totals. No registration required.

Tuesdays July 10 thru August 14 | 1:00-3:00 PM | Malletts Creek | Grades 6-12

Hey teens! Enjoy doodling and have a story to tell? Join the six-week Comic Book Academy at Malletts Creek this summer. Cartoonist Jerzy Drozd will guide you through the steps to creating a complete comic book. You’ll learn about character design, writing the story, penciling the first draft, refining and completing the penciled pages, and inking (finishing) the pages.

THIS WEEK: Learn more about comics creation and start your comics story.

All the supplies (pencils, erasers, paper, etc.) will be provided along with a weekly gamecode to add to your summer game totals. No registration required.

Elections matter and yes, your vote DOES count.

Therefore, just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in the primary on Tuesday, August 7th. The City of Ann Arbor has posted all the details here.

Bring your collected items (photos, ticket stubs, etc.) from that memorable event or trip for your scrapbook. We'll be making the scrapbooks from cardboard and special papers.

Join us at the Traverwood Branch on Thursday, July 5, from 2 - 3:30 pm. Grades 6 - 12.

Click here to check out materials from the library to jump start any scrapbooking project. Of course, a code will be given out for points towards your summer reading game.

Tessa Harris' The Anatomist's Apprentice (in audio) opens in 1780 London with the death of 19 year-old Sir Edward Crick, a dissolute young man mourned only by his sister Lady Lydia Farrell. Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia, known for his forensic skills and unconventional methods, is asked to investigate when Lydia's husband Capt. Michael Farrell comes under suspicion.

(Debut novelist) "Harris has more than a few tricks up her sleeve, and even veteran armchair puzzle solvers are likely to be surprised".

In the aftermath of the Great War and a devastating family tragedy, Laurence Bartram lives a solitary life in a London attic, devoting all his time and effort to the writing of an architectural history of English churches. When Mary Emmett writes to ask him to look into the suspicious death of his friend John while in the care of a remote veterans' hospital, his investigation forces him to face his own demons, and draws him back into the world of the living.

"At once a compelling mystery and an elegant literary debut, British historian Elizabeth Speller blends the psychological depth of Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy with lively storytelling from the golden age of British crime fiction", in the first of a projected series with The Return of Captain John Emmett (2011). Just released is the follow-up, entitled The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton in which Bartram arrives in the village of Easton Deadall and is embroiled in a dangerous case involving a murdered woman who may be linked to the disappearance of a child years earlier.

Both of these debut mysteries/series will appeal to fans of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series (in audio) by Charles Todd (Charles Todd is the joint pseudonym for the mother-and-son writing team of Charles Todd and Caroline Todd, pseudonyms of David Todd Watjen and Caroline L.T. Watjen); the John Madden series by Rennie Airth; the Nell Bray Series by Gillian Linscott; and the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

Would you like to make and own your very own tutu? Join us for a Tutu Making Workshop at 2pm on June 28th, in the Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library! We’ll have all the materials you need to make your very own no-sew tutu out of tulle and ribbon of various colors.

Here are some books to get you started:
T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet
Just Grace and her Terrible Tutu
Tallulah’s Tutu
Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet

And some DVDs of my favorite ballets!
Coppélia
Swan Lake, with an all male cast
Swan Lake, by the American Ballet Theater
Ballet for Boys

This event is for kids grades K through 12.