Ages 18+.
Blog Post
Super Folk!
by Rich
Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale and Mrs. Cruise, is now available on DVD at the library. Could this be the best movie based off a comicbook ever made? Maybe, but here are some others that were pretty good too: Spider-man, Spider-man 2, The X-men, Hellboy, and The Crow. Of course, the best ever might be the man in blue tights, who'll return in 2006.
Blog Post
Question of Identity: Read This New Comic Thriller
by Van
Jonathan Rowe, Ann Arbor native, two-time Hopwood award winner, lawyer (with a recent appearance before the Michigan Supreme Court), and city tennis tournament champion, has written a comic thriller involving a long-time SDS Weather Underground fugitive, sought for her part in an attempted fire bombing of the University law school and the attendant murder of an Ann Arbor policeman. Set in Ann Arbor with local buildings, alleys and parking structures featured in a chase scene, with local street people, and local restaurants. The main character is a tabloid journalist (and disbarred attorney), who breaks and enters, plants bugs and video cameras, misrepresents himself, and, reader please be forewarned, mutilates and steals Ann Arbor District Library materials.
Blog Post
Honoring Our Veterans
by ulrich
November 11 is Veterans Day, a day set aside for remembering and honoring the sacrifices and contributions of our soldiers, sailors and airmen. November 11 is particularly memorable because it commemorates the Armistice which ended World War I, one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. To get an appreciation of the background to Veterans Day read the excellent book by Joseph E. Persico, Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour which provides a comprehensive overview of the major campaigns of ‘The Great War’, as well as a poignant portrait of the last bloody hours which preceded the official end of the war at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.
Blog Post
Five 5-star Films for Veterans Day
by amy
My choice for the all-time best Veterans Day film would have to be the Academy award-winning Best Years of our Lives starring Frederick March and Myrna Loy. Here are a few other films to consider watching tomorrow night: Coming Home from the Vietnam War was a different experience altogether for Jon Voigt and Bruce Dern. The Deer Hunter, starring Robert DeNiro, captures the war's effect on four friends from a working-class Pennsylvania town. In Random Harvest, Ronald Colman plays a WWI shell-shocked amnesia victim with nowhere to go until he meets Greer Garson, and Paul Muni's plans of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities following WWI in I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang.
Blog Post
Louder Than Thunder
by ulrich
Communications consultant and motivational speaker Carol Dunitz's most recent book, Louder Than Thunder: A Business Parable, focuses on the importance of listening for managers and leaders, but is also relevant to all kinds of interpersonal communication. The author will present her ideas on communication at the Library's next "Sunday Edition" program on Sunday, November 13 at the Downtown Library at 2:00 p.m. Dunitz, who has degrees in English, Speech and Theater, has been active in advertising, public relations and speech writing. Her presentations are lively entertainments complete with costumes and music. More information about the author and the book can be found at the following web site.
Blog Post
David Bergen wins the 2005 Giller Prize
by muffy
The Giller Prize is dedicated to celebrating the best in Canadian fiction each year.
Critics called The Time In Between - ”Luminous, haunting, profound,... A beautifully composed, unflinching and harrowing story. Perhaps the best fiction yet to confront and comprehend the legacy of Vietnam.” (Kirkus starred review)
David Bergen is the author of three highly acclaimed novels: A Year of Lesser, a New York Times Notable Book; See the Child; and, most recently, The Case of Lena S., winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. He lives in Winnipeg.
Blog Post
John Fowles, 1926-2005
by sernabad
John Fowles, celebrated British author, died Saturday, November 5, 2005, in Lyme Regis, England. Fowles had been in poor health for several years.
A prolific writer of fiction, non-fiction, and essays, Fowles is best known for several provocative novels that left his readers guessing at the end. The Collector (1963), The Magus (1966), and the The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) were all made into movies that captured the attention of both critics and moviegoers.
A self-proclaimed curmudgeon, Fowles was displeased with his parents, his leadership role at his prep school, all world leaders, and the Royal Marines, not to mention intrusive fans wanting to discuss his work with him.
Fowles, whose last book was Wormholes, was 79.
Blog Post
New Fiction Titles on the New York Times Bestseller List (11/6/05)
by Mazie
With all the new releases by favorite authors this fall, The Da Vinci Code is “falling” on the list, this week to #12. The publisher is now contemplating when to release the paperback version. It will be interesting to watch those sale numbers. Is there anyone who has not read the book?
At #1 is At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks: a continuation of the inspiring love story from True Believer.
At #6 is The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum: with a nod to the great spy novelist Eric Ambler, this latest thriller by Ludlum involves a former agent escaping from government custody in order to establish his true identity.
At #9 is Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan: another fabulous tale from Tan, the cultural conflicts and misunderstandings of Americans traveling abroad in China and Burma providing all the drama and humor.
Blog Post
Love Bites
by muffy
It is hard to believe that I stayed up all night with a teen novel, a vampire one at that. Twilight (film rights to MTV) took hold almost immediately and I was furiously turning pages (498 of them) – riveted, spooked and delightedly hooked. The basic storyline is one of a pair of 17 year-old star-crossed lovers, except for one fabulous twist – Bella is a potential meal for Edward, who is a vampire.
I don’t want to give too much away here but you could read up on the reviews. When you have the book in hand, plan on an all-nighter. And don’t go looking for other novels by Stephanie Meyer, this is her first! Let's hope she is working on the next one.
Blog Post
Before you see Aeon Flux...
by Rich
November is upon us and that can only mean that Hollywood will soon be rolling out its holiday lineup. Personally, I'm looking forward to the live-action version of Aeon Flux. Originally a series of animated short films created for MTV's Liquid Television, Aeon Flux tells the story of an extremely acrobatic female secret agent from a futuristic universe. Charlize Theron will play the title character in the film to be released in early December. We'll see if she can do justice to her animated counterpart. Meanwhile, if you want to take a look at other works by the original series creator, Korean American animator Peter Chung, check out Reign: The Conqueror and "Matriculated" in The Animatrix.