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Ages 18+.

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Crime Story: New Mystery & Suspense Titles

by muffy

The Brooklyn Public Library staff has put together a dynamite list of the latest new mystery and suspense titles.

The focus is not on the mega bestsellers or the blockbuster authors, but rather noteworthy new titles/authors flying under the media radar. On this current list are some personal favorites you have seen me blogged as Fantastic Fiction Firsts. So I am recommending all of them with confidence.

The list is updated every month. Here is how to subscribe. Robert, thanks for sharing.

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Fred T. Saberhagen has died

by sernabad

Fred T. Saberhagen, creator of the Berserker series, an ever popular science fiction series, died June 29, 2007, in Albuquerque.

Saberhagen began his writing career as a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica from 1967 to 1974. Berserker, first in the series by the same name, was published in 1967.

Among the more than 60 books penned by Saberhagen, he also wrote two popular fantasy series, one featuring Dracula’s world perspective and the “Sword” series.

Saberhagen, 77, died of prostate cancer.

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Foreign language books at the library!

by Tara LS

If you know another language besides English, you may want to check out the library's large and continuously growing Foreign Language Collection.

We have many different languages including Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Indian languages (including Hindi, Gujarathi, Marathi, Kannada, Panjabi, Malayalam, Bengali, Telegu, Tamil and Urdu) Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Farsi and Italian.

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Small Towns- Great Stories

by Maxine

Today, July 10, is the birthday of Canadian short story writer, Alice Munro who was born in Wingham, Ontario in 1930. This small town that she longed to move away from because no one was interested in literature or writing later held the treasures she would mine for her stories. When she was in her thirties, married and with children, her husband opened a bookstore where she found refuge to write. Returning home to care for her aging father, Munro realized the richness of everyday speech and the depth of story in ordinary peoples' lives. Her many stories are beautifully written, full of compassion and insight into the human drama.

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Pickles' Picks for 20-somethings

by muffy

If you are young, smart, brash, you wear flip-flops to the office or listen to iPods at your desk, you want to work but you don't want work to be your life, Joanna Spikol (aka Pickles), the resident 20something at HarperLibrary Marketing might just know what appeals to you, book-wise.

Check out the blog Pickle's Picks for 20-somethings on myspace.com.
Good reading.

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Blog Post

The Myths of Domestic Violence

by MarilynG

Domestic violence isn't limited to physical abuse or to women. It takes many forms. The library offers books on the subject and has links on the AADL Favorite Sites to community sources of help such as Huron Valley Community Services. From there you can link to local agencies like SafeHouse Center for information and support. Check out these resources and become more fully aware.

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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #73

by muffy

Fans of novelist and memoirist Diana Abu-Jaber: The Language of Baklava (2005), Crescent (2003); and Arabian Jazz (1993), should not be surprised that critics are calling her first mystery The Origin* ...“poetic in tone and profound in its inquiry into the nature of memory and the self”, themes explored in her earlier works which centered mostly around the Arab-American communities close to her heart. (Author's website)

This time around, in The Origin, Lena Dawson, an emotional fragile fingerprint examiner for the Syracuse police is suffering from personal memory issues. Since her philandering husband’s departure, she lives for her work. When a rash of infant deaths afflict the area, she suspects that something (someone, more likely), other than crib death is at work. Added to the palpitating tension is her budding romance with a wounded detective, the nagging mystery of her own childhood, and a stalker dogging her every step.

A gripping contemporary thriller with a “flawed but appealing protagonist”. “Haunted, moving,” and highly recommended.

* = Starred Reviews

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I've found the lost city of Atlantis!

by RiponGood

The location of the lost city of Atlantis is... The Pegasus Galaxy. At least according to Stargate Atlantis - The Rising the pilot of the Stargate Atlantis TV show. Be sure to check-out both seasons 1 and 2 as well.

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No "Stranger in a Strange Land"

by Maxine

Today, July 7, is the 100th birthday of science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein. Considered by some to be the father of modern science fiction, Heinlein wrote over 50 novels and collections of short stories. He never considered becoming a writer. While serving in the Navy, Heinlein contracted tuberculosis and was at a loss on what direction his life would take. When he saw an ad in a pulp fiction magazine offering $50 for a story, he wrote one but decided it was too good and sent it to a science fiction magazine where it was accepted. And so began his new career. Unlike other science fiction stories at the time that were full of gadgets and imaginary machines, Heinlein's fiction dealt with the world as it was and how it could be imagined realistically in the future.
He was ahead of his time in discussing atom bombs, cloning and how space travel could actually happen.

His most famous book was Stranger in a Strange Land which was about a boy raised by Martians.

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A good sketch is better than a long speech

by N3RD

I've been in to picture books, comics, manga, graphic novels or what ever you prefer to call the medium of artistic story telling for a long time. I remember trying to explain my appreciation for graphic novels to my parents. They looked at me with slightly puzzled, slightly worried looks...

"...so are they called graphic novels because they are violent?"

"Some are some aren't, but thats not important"

"... so are they called graphic novels because they have naughty pictures?"

"Some do some don't, but that's not important"

".. so is it the foul language that makes them graphic?"

" NO!, they are called graphic because of the art work."

I grew up with weekly comic book anthologies where I got to follow many stories by different writers. These stories some times had dedicated artists some would change artists and styles from weeks to week. I'm sure just about everyone has heard the proverb about the textual value of a picture and with with artistic story telling a picture is worth even more. With so many changes I came to a realization that I can forgive a bad plot if the art is good but if the art is bad the plot better be 'super fantastic' to continue holding my attention.

I had my favorite writers like Pat Mills, John Wagner, Alan Grant, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Alan Moore and when they worked with my favorite artists of the time like Carlos Ezquerra, Ian Gibson and Massimo Belardinelli then they could do no wrong in my book.

Over the years I've come to experience many differing forms of artistic story telling and my list of favorites is long and twisted. I remember the first time i read Arkham Asylum : a serious house on serious earth, such a dark story it left me a little disturbed. Whenever I return to it I'm amazed at the levels and detail in the work.

OK at the risk of totally undermining anything I've said above, I'll let you into a big secret. One of my other favorites even surprises me. Its not my usual fare but when I accidentally flicked through a copy of the book my eyes caught the mix of photographs and drawings and I actually stopped and took the time to read it.

Knuffle bunny, is a young children's picture book, very short and the art works so well to draw you into the story. Now having said that if you where to stop me on the street and ask me about it I'll deny everything... but really I did enjoy the book ;0)