Ages 18+.
Blog Post
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2008 Book Chosen
by iottJen
The Eighth Promise by William Poy Lee has been selected as the focus of the 2008 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads. An eleven-member selection team, composed of community members, eduators, students and librarians from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area chose The Eighth Promise (Rodale, 2007) from a group of three books, all of which centered on the theme China and America: Bridging Two Worlds.
Lee's memoir gives a rare view of the Chinese-American experience from a mother-son perspective. The story is told in two voices -- the author's and that of his mother. His moving and complex story unfolds simultaneously in his mother's war-torn childhood of China of the 1930s-40s and amidst the housing projects of San Francisco Chinatown of the 1960s-70s.
Blog Post
Flu Vaccine Research Study
by Mazie
Are you healthy and between the ages of 18 and 49? Are you interested in participating in a scientific study? If so the University of Michigan School of Public Health would like to hear from you.
In cooperation with Eastern Michigan University Health Services, the School is looking for participants for a double-blind flu vaccine study. You will even be paid. At least $100!
You will be given either an injection or a nasal spray, which will contain a vaccine or a placebo.
Participants will be accepted at least until the second week of November and possibly until Thanksgiving. There will be followups, so you will have to be available to come back three to five weeks later.
For further information or to enroll, please call (734)487-3065 for Ypsilanti or (734) 615-8331 for Ann Arbor.
Blog Post
Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell
by anned
In Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell, New Yorker cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan, has created a hilarious look at the first-world problems of modern life. Edmund, Rosemary, and their cat Delia lead normal lives until Edmund puts two and two together. Cell phones, unintelligent and incomprehensible movies, the Pop movement, telephone robots, big chains that refuse to give people health insurance and where you can never find anything, wars, diseases, natural disasters, global warming.... Edmund concludes that he, Rosemary, and Delia are living in Hell. Is there a way out?
Blog Post
Psychohistorically Speaking
by RiponGood
Psychohistory, the fictional science developed by Hari Seldon which combined history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to create a (nearly) exact science of the actions of very large groups of people. The entire fate of the Galactic Empire rested upon those principles. You can learn more by reading Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation series, Foundation ( Book/ Audio), Foundation & Empire ( Book/ Audio), and Second Foundation ( Book/ Audio). As the years went by, Asimov expanded his Robots and Empires series to make them part of the same universe. Other authors have contributed to the series after Asimov's death.
Blog Post
Criminalization of the mentally ill
by annevm
Few people know as much about unfair treatment of the mentally ill as author Pete Earley who will be in town next month to discuss Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness. His visit is cosponsored by Avalon Housing and the National Alliance on Mental Health. Earley is a former Washington Post reporter. His book tells the story of his mentally ill son Mike, and also profiles what happens to mentally ill inmates in places including the Miami-Dade County Jail. In addition to his Avalon Housing appearance Nov. 4, Earley will speak at the Mallets Creek branch of the library 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday Nov. 5.
Blog Post
New Fiction on the New York Times Best Sellers List (10/28/07)
by Mazie
Ken Follett arrived on the bestseller scene back in 1978 with Eye of the Needle. In his own words, Follett recalls it "did well all over the world". His latest bestseller is World without End and it enters the List right at the top.
And just today in USA Today online I read this announcement:
"Ken Follett will write The Century Triology, to cover three generations of families during tumultuous times in history. The first book in the trilogy, which Dutton will publish in hardcover in 2010, will take place before and up to World War I. Book 2, set to be published in 2012, will encompass World War II, and Book 3, due out in 2014, will conclude during the Cold War."
The other new entries are The Gift by Richard Paul Evans and Fatal Revenant by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Click here for a look at the rest of the List.
Blog Post
A Halloween Treat for a Cause
by MarilynG
Want to have fun on Halloween and help a local non-profit organization at the same time? Consider going to the Halloween Benefit for the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan on October 31st at the Michigan Theater. The concert, held at 7:30pm, will feature MacPodz, Ragbirds, My Dear Disco, Jamie Register & the Glendales and many more.
The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan is one of the many non-profits that helps women and families in our area. Instead of giving out treats on Halloween, give to others and have a great time in the process.
Blog Post
Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution
by Maxine
On October 23rd, 1956, Hungarian students and workers began their protest and demonstrations against the Soviet installed government. Although they were able to mobilize many people, the uprising was crushed by Soviet forces by November 4th. Still, it was seen as the beginning of the crack in the Soviet Empire.
Two new books in our collection chronicle the history and effects of the Revolution. Michael Korda's Journey to a Revolution is a history of Hungary's place in post World War II Europe and his personal journey there as a young man during the Revolution. Victor Sebestyen's Twelve Days contains excerpts of previously unreleased documents and eyewitness accounts of that exciting and dangerous time.
Blog Post
Al Gore scores again with a Quill Award
by sernabad
The Quill Awards, literary awards all glammed up, gave the nod to Al Gore on Monday, October 22, in the category of History/Current events/Politics for The Assault on Reason. Gore won in this same category last year for An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming. Gore has also won an Emmy, an Oscar, and the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
Nora Roberts garnered a two-for-one, winning Quills for both the Book of the Year and for Romance with her Angels Fall, her romantic thriller of the lone survivor of a workplace massacre who tries to lose herself in a diner near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Diane Setterfield was named Debut Author of the Year for The Thirteenth Tale, a ghost story and a mystery. Aging Vida has endless versions of her life story. Young Margaret Lea wants to pin her down for the truth.
For a full list of this year’s winners, go to the official website. The award show will be broadcast Saturday night, October 27, 2007, on NBC.
Blog Post
October Books to Films
by muffy
Gone, Baby, Gone< /em> is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, the author of another blockbuster adaptation - Mystic River. This also marks the directorial debut for Ben Affleck.
In the tough neighborhood of Dorchester (MA) where the streets are littered with the detritus of broken families, hearts, and dreams, PIs Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro risk everything looking for a missing child.
The Heartbreak Kid, is based on the short story A Change of Plan by Bruce Jay Friedman. A newlywed man who believes he's just gotten hitched to the perfect woman falls for another on his honeymoon. Slapstick-funny.
Lust, Caution, an espionage thriller, is based on a novella by the Chinese writer Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing), that was first published in 1979. It is set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai and Hong Kong during World War II when a small group of university students plot the assassination of a powerful Japanese collaborator. Directed by Ang Lee, it's sensuous and moody.
O Jerusalem is based on a 1972 nonfiction book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. The conflict surrounding the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 is viewed through the eyes of two American friends, a Jew and an Arab. (NYTimes review).
The animated Persepolis, is the poignant story of a young girl coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is adapted from Persepolis:The Story of a Childhood, an award-winning autobiographic graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi (see author interview).
Reservation Road by John Burnham Schwartz is a tale of anger, revenge, and great courage, where two fathers’ lives converge after a tragic accident. Look for powerful performances by a star-studded cast in this adaptation.