Just about this time each year, with the first hint of spring, I've found myself humming April in Paris, and thoughts tend to drift to the City of Light. Now debut novelist Hilary Reyl will take us there, through the painterly eyes of a young American artist, in Lessons in French.

1989, a time of social and political upheaval. Her fluent French got new Yale grad Kate hired by famous American photojournalist Lydia Schell as her assistant. Kate is thrilled with the chance to pursue her dreams as a painter, but also to return to France where, as a child she was sent to live with cousins while her father was dying.

Immediately she is dazzled by the Schell's fashionable Sixth Arrondissement home, frequented by their famous friends, and falls into the orbit of a band of independently wealthy young men with royal lineage. Impressionable and wanting badly to fit in, Kate deliberately engages in a forbidden romance, becoming deeply enmeshed in the drama of this volatile household, and the ever-more questionable requests they make of her. In the meantime, Kate struggles with her own art.

"In compelling and sympathetic prose, Hilary Reyl perfectly captures this portrait of a precocious, ambitious young woman struggling to define herself in a vibrant world that spirals out of her control. Lessons in French is at once a love letter to Paris and the story of a young woman finding herself, her moral compass, and, finally, her true family".

French literature scholar (Ph.D. NYU) Reyl's first novel is rich and magnetic. Will appeal to readers who enjoy novels of Americans in Paris and other coming-of-age stories.

A current resident of Ann Arbor has a story to tell about her remarkable survival during a period of tremendous upheaval and bloodshed a lifetime ago and an ocean away. Miriam Garvil's autobiography "I Have To Survive: Miriam's Story" is available on Amazon and is the culmination of twenty years' worth of work. Ninety-two year old Garvil, who resides in an assisted living facility in Ann Arbor, began writing with the encouragement of social worker Ruth Campbell, who continued to assist Garvil's work even after retiring herself.

"I Have To Survive" reveals the author's past growing up in Poland before the outbreak of the Second World War, and recounts her memories of the concentration camps Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. She lost her mother, father and sister in the camps, and recalls her promise to her father: "If you don't survive, I will survive for you".

You can find more information on Miriam Garvil and her story in this month's issue of the Ann Arbor Observer.

Professional cellist Edward Kelsey Moore, whose short story "Grandma and the Elusive Fifth Crucifix" was selected as an audience favorite on NPR's Stories on Stage series just published his first novel. He lives in Chicago (website).

I sincerely hope you are not expecting The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat * being Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross, - the sensation from Detroit's Brewster-Douglass public housing project that helped put Motown Records on the map in the 1960s. But seriously, you won't be too disappointed once you've met Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean.

Dubbed "The Supremes" since their high school days, these Plainsview (IN) mavens have weathered life's storms together arm-in-arm. Dutiful, proud, and talented Clarice must struggle to keep up appearances as she deals with her husband's infidelities. Beautiful, fragile Barbara Jean must try to live with a youthful mistake that continues to haunt her. Fearless Odette engages in the most terrifying battle of her life while entertaining visitations from her (dead) pot-smoking mother and an inebriated Eleanor Roosevelt. For four decades, what sustain these strong, funny women through marriages, children, happiness, and disappointments, is their Sunday table at Earl's Diner, the first black-own business in this racially divided town, where they can count on good food, gossip, occasional tears, uproarious banter and each other.

"With wit and love, style and sublime talent, Edward Kelsey Moore brings together four intertwined love stories, three devoted allies, and two sprightly earthbound spirits in a big-hearted debut novel that embraces the lives of people you will never forget."

Poised to give Waiting to Exhale, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Steel Magnolias a run for their money. Readers might also enjoy works by Pearl Cleage, and April Sinclair, or other novels on women's friendship.

* = starred review

AADL presents America's Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway, an eight-week series featuring documentary film screenings and discussions at the Downtown Library.

Wednesday evening sessions, led by Mark Clague, Associate Professor of Musicology and Director of Research, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will focus on various genres of twentieth-century American popular music, including:

• Blues and Gospel Music
• Broadway and Tin Pan Alley
• Swing Jazz
• Country and Bluegrass
• Rock
• Latin Rhythms From Mambo To Hip Hop

A final session on May 8 will center on the history of performances at Ann Arbor’s own Hill Auditorium.

Throughout the series, the Library and Kerrytown Concert House will present related concerts performed by some of the area’s prominent musicians.

The series begins March 13 with a concert by Mr. B and a film preview at the Downtown Library.

The Ann Arbor District Library is one of fifty sites nationwide to host the America’s Music series, a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint, and the Society for American Music.

The AADL series is cosponsored by Kerrytown Concert House, UMS, WCBN 88.3 FM, and the Friends of the AADL.

America’s Music has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.

26 yr.-old Claire is immediately drawn to Harry and Madelein Winslow during a summer visit to the Hamptons. The charmed couple is sophisticated, beautiful and talented (Harry is a National Book Award-winning author), and Maddy is sweet and old-moneyed. They in turn are drawn to Claire's youth, naivety and easy manners. Over the course of the summer, reverence transforms into dangerous desire.

The affair between Harry and Claire and the devastation unleashed on their circle of family and friends, especially on Maddy, is narrated by Walter, her childhood friend who also harbors his own secrets.

Charles Dubow in his first novel Indiscretion*, "proves himself to be an elegant writer... Glamorous settings, old money, and steamy sex all combine to make this one a totally addictive read". Rules of Civility meets Fatal Attraction .

"Dubow crafts an epic novel of friendship, betrayal and undying love".

* = Starred review

linkIf you like classic video games and dig DIY and crafty things, we've got a chance for you to combine the two!

Sunday, March 24 at 2pm, convert classic video game graphics into cross-stitch patterns and make over-sized stitched version of Mario, Pac-Man (or Pac-Man Ghosts) or Link!

Working through the process, you'll learn the basic technique for turning other classic characters into patterns you can make later.

This event is for teens (grade 6 and up) and adults.

Miss Representation offers a disturbing but necessary conversation between some of the media's most powerful women about the ongoing gender inequalities that are propelled by the inaccurate representation of women in the media. This documentary takes the argument a step further and claims that this inaccurate portrayal of women is not confined to the media, but spills over into what leadership roles are available to women.

Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, Katie Couric, Nancy Pelosi, Geena Davis, Condoleezza Rice, Rachel Maddow, and Rosario Dawson are just a few of the women who participate in this discussion each drawing on their own personal struggles to bring unique insights to the larger conversation.

If this topic is interesting to you, you might also enjoy Generation M: Misogyny in media and culture. Or if you are interested in learning more about the way the media works in the U.S., check out the DVD America in Primetime.

Should the hype about Saga. Volume One convince you to read it? You bet! This tale of two soldiers from opposite sides involved in an endless galactic war who fall in love and attempt to initiate change through their newborn daughter will draw you in from the dramatic opening to the surprising end. Apparently writer Brian K. Vaughan has not previously used narration but effectively does so here in using the newborn Hazel to tell the story. Actually, it’s a grown up Hazel looking back who tells the story of how from the first breath of life there are those who try to wipe her and her parents off the galactic map.

I enjoyed Vaughan’s pacing and engaging characters. Fiona Staple’s stunning artwork creates amazing worlds and characters, balancing the poignant quiet moments with the battles for survival. Request this book and be ready when Saga, Volume Two arrives July 9!

Sunday, March 3 | 2:30 - 4 pm | Pittsfield Branch Program Room | Teen to Adult

Looking for new craft ideas? How about ribbon crafts!

Come learn how to make beautiful bows and flowers out of ribbon. We’ll be trying four crafts out of The Complete Photo Guide to Ribbon Crafts, including a ribbon rose and a five-pedaled flower. They're perfect for hair accessories or brooches or even decorating gifts. All materials will be provided. Some crafts will require simple sewing.
ribbon rose

Monday, February 18 | 6:30pm-8:30pm | Pittsfield branch | For Grade 6 - Adult

Join us for an evening of making decorative pins and hair clips out of felt and other embellishments. You’ll cut out your shapes, jazz them up, and sew and glue them into place. All materials will be provided, just bring your creativity!

For more fun with felt, check out this list of books.