Ages 18+.
Blog Post
World AIDS Day 2006
by Maxine
Yesterday, Dec. 1 was Worlds Aids Day, a time to be reminded of the still widespread scourge of this devastating disease. Many remembrances and ceremonies were held to remember those who died and to raise awareness of treatment and prevention.
Two new books in our collection highlight the urgent need for care. Dr. Arthur M. Fournier's book, Zombie Curse: A Doctor's 25-Year Journey Into the Heart of the AIDS Epidemic in Haiti describes the role of poverty in the spread of AIDS in this country and his founding of Project Medishare.
Melissa Fay Greene, the author of Praying for Sheetrock has written a new book, There is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children. Greene tells the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian woman who took in many AIDS orphans. In the process, she uncovers the urgency of the AIDS pandemic in Ethiopia which has the highest concentration of AIDS orphans in the world.
Both of these books can be compared to Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, the story of Dr. Paul Farmer's work in Haiti and the book chosen for this year's Ann Arbor Reads.
Yesterday is a film originally released in 2004 which tells the story of a South African woman, Yesterday, who learns she is HIV positive, and is shunned by the women in her village. Her one dream is to live long enough to see her child start school. Not a true story but it easily could be.
Blog Post
The New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of the Year
by Van
This Sunday the New York Times Book Review features their selection of the 100 Notable Books of the Year.
The Ann Arbor District Library has all of these books.
Click on read more for the Fiction & Poetry and the Nonfiction titles linked to the library catalog.
Blog Post
Monk
by tkj
What do cheese, daisies, and reindeer have in common? Well, nothing really... But I betcha Monk could find a connection in order to solve a case!
Don't know about Monk? Check out Seasons 1-3 on DVD. Now watch every-single-episode... and-in-order... there will be a quiz...
BTW... Monk (Tony Shalhoub) played the voice of Luigi in the animated film Cars.
Blog Post
What is Assisted Living?
by iralax
With many people considering alternative housing for their loved ones, the category of "assisted living" turns out to be less clearly defined than many people would think. Linda Lawther, President and CEO of Michigan Center for Assisted Living, said it's only a marketing term in this state. It could refer to several types of housing, such as adult foster care, independent senior apartments, or homes for the aged. The Michigan Department of Human Services regulates licensed sites. Books like Elder Care and Choose the Right Long Term Care can help better educate consumers about this very important family and financial decision.
Blog Post
The Marseilles Trilogy
by Van
Fabio Montale is a marginalized neighborhood cop in the Arab ghetto in Marseilles.
1. Jean-Claude Izzo's Total Chaos is a compelling noir tale of growing up poor and immigrant, especially poor and Arab. The story mixes organized crime, police corruption and compartmentalization, the uneasiness of love and friendship, the requirements of honor, and a keen sense of place (food, drink, neighborhoods).
2. Chourmo
3. Solea (due out in June 2007)
Blog Post
Depths of Concrete
by anned
Paul Chadwick’s 1980s Concrete series has been recently re-released by Dark Horse Comics. The series follow the life of Ronald Lithgow after aliens transplant his brain into a massive body made of rock. Instead of having Concrete seek revenge on the aliens who put him into this predicament, or having him declare his intentions to rid the world of evil-doers, Chadwick explores how Mr. Lithgow (former senatorial speechwriter and average Joe) deals mentally, emotionally, and physically with suddenly having a "nigh invulnerable" body.
In the first book of the series, Depths, we get Concrete’s origin story, complete with aliens and woodland creatures. Also included are some of the early stories, never before collected, in which Concrete attends a birthday party, attempts to swim an ocean, and becomes bodyguard to a rock star. The page layout choices are well thought out and the illustrations are fantastic. Chadwick’s attention to detail throughout adds a lot to the story (especially the 150 panel swim sequence on page 54).
Blog Post
New Fiction on the New York Times Best Sellers List (12/3/06)
by Mazie
Hiassen has taken his white-hot anger about the environmental destruction and degradation that he first reported on for his Miami newspaper and played it for laughs in a remarkable number of satirical novels. By making fun of the developers, politicians and "players" in the ongoing assault on the quality of life in his beleaguered home state, he continues to win converts to his cause.
At #1 is Cross by James Patterson: "Alex Cross, retired from the F.B.I., has a chance to track a rapist who may have murdered his wife."
At #4 is Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen: "A single mother takes revenge on her lecherous ex-boss and an annoying telemarketer in the Florida Keys."
At #8 is Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark: "Passengers on a Christmas cruise for charity, including an amateur sleuth, manage to foil two escaping felons."
Blog Post
Novelist Bebe Moore Campbell, 56, has died
by sernabad
Bebe Moore Campbell, author of popular best-selling novels about romance and interracial friendships, died November 27, 2006, from brain cancer.
Often compare to Terry McMillan, Campbell’s fiction titles focused on upper middle class African Americans figuring out the balance between having it all, having satisfying romantic relationships, and enjoying friendships that crossed the color line.
Several of Ms. Campbell’s novels used history to frame her stories. Her first fiction title, Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine (1992), is based on the life of Emmett Till. Brothers and Sisters (1994) is the story of two bankers, one white and one African American, in post-L.A. 1992 riots. In What You Owe Me (2001), the friends are a Holocaust survivor and an African American. Her last novel, 72 Hour Hold (2005), was based on a family member's struggle with bipolar disorder.
Ms. Campbell was 56 when she died.
Blog Post
Wine Trivia, Wine Books
by Eartoground
If you're ready to learn about wine, check out New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia. If you're ready to compete about wine, sign up for Wine Jeopardy Trivia Night @ Paesano's at 8 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 29. If you don't win, well, keep studying:
2007 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone
Ontario Wine Country
History In A Glass: Sixty Years Of Wine Writing From Gourmet.
Blog Post
Feminism Redux- A Novel Idea
by Maxine
Was Tolstoy right? Tracy Farber, 33 year old English professor disputes Tolstoy's claim that "happy families are all alike." Thus the title, Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish. Farber begins to investigate the possibility of happy endings, both in literature and life in this funny and intelligent foray into academic witch hunting and the search for a perfect man. Tracy meets George at a cocktail party where he, in an act of creative empathy, lets his hors d'oevres slide off his soggy plate as he watches Tracie's do the same. From then on, their whirlwind romance hits some rough spots as Tracy realizes that while a feminist, she can also accept some of George's traditional values. A few steps up from the "chick lit" genre, Tolstoy Lied is an engaging read.