Wednesday, December 8, 2010
ReadingGroupGuides.com - Blog
Check out this blog from Reading Group Guides: it poses the question, "Are Kindles making reading cool?" ReadingGroupGuides.com - Blog
Thursday, October 14, 2010
October Book Group Pick: Suite Francaise
For our October meeting, the library's Tuesday Night Book Group (which meets at our Berea location) requested a good historical fiction with some "action" ... and Suite Française delivers.
Often deemed “the last great fiction of the war,” Suite Française is a collection of two novellas detailing northern France’s fall to the Nazi advances of 1940. The first section, Storm in June, chronicles the connecting lives of a group of Parisians, who are all fleeing the probable air raids in the city for the safety of the countryside; the group moves just hours ahead of the advancing German army. The second section, Dolce, details life in a French farming village under Nazi occupation in 1941.
Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukranian Jewish origin, completed what was to be the first two sections of a planned five part Suite Française just before being arrested by the Gestapo in 1942. She was detained and months later killed at Auschwitz concentration camp. Suite Française was discovered by Némirovsky’s daughter, who finally published the text in France in 2004. Since then it has been translated into 38 languages, with millions of copies sold worldwide.
While the action in Suite Française may not be as overt as a Tom Clancy novel, it is certainly a story of war. It also offers a unique perspective not only of the Germans' occupation of France, but also of the anxiety of fleeing one's home, city, and identity.
The Tuesday Night Book Group meets on October 26 at 6:30PM at the library's Berea location. Sign-out a copy of the book at the library's circulation desk, then come to the meeting and share your thoughts - we will certainly have much to discuss!
Often deemed “the last great fiction of the war,” Suite Française is a collection of two novellas detailing northern France’s fall to the Nazi advances of 1940. The first section, Storm in June, chronicles the connecting lives of a group of Parisians, who are all fleeing the probable air raids in the city for the safety of the countryside; the group moves just hours ahead of the advancing German army. The second section, Dolce, details life in a French farming village under Nazi occupation in 1941.
Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukranian Jewish origin, completed what was to be the first two sections of a planned five part Suite Française just before being arrested by the Gestapo in 1942. She was detained and months later killed at Auschwitz concentration camp. Suite Française was discovered by Némirovsky’s daughter, who finally published the text in France in 2004. Since then it has been translated into 38 languages, with millions of copies sold worldwide.
While the action in Suite Française may not be as overt as a Tom Clancy novel, it is certainly a story of war. It also offers a unique perspective not only of the Germans' occupation of France, but also of the anxiety of fleeing one's home, city, and identity.
The Tuesday Night Book Group meets on October 26 at 6:30PM at the library's Berea location. Sign-out a copy of the book at the library's circulation desk, then come to the meeting and share your thoughts - we will certainly have much to discuss!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Want to hear more of the Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars?
Did you see Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars’ Richmond concert? If you missed this great group, or if you heard them and want more, check them out at the library location in Richmond. We have their albums "Rise and Shine" and "Living Like a Refugee." We will be getting a DVD documentary about Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars soon. Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Library supporters encouraged to nominate librarians for national I Love My Librarian Award | American Libraries Magazine
NEW YORK – Nominations are now open for the 2010 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.
The award invites library users nationwide to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations run through Sept. 20 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December.
Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school librarianship from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.
In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue annually through 2012. The award continues in the tradition of one The New York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.
Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian. For more information on last year’s winners, visit www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
The award invites library users nationwide to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations run through Sept. 20 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December.
Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school librarianship from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.
In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue annually through 2012. The award continues in the tradition of one The New York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.
Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian. For more information on last year’s winners, visit www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Nancy Horan's Loving Frank vs. T.C. Boyle's The Women
Over the past two months, both of our book discussion groups have read the historical fiction novel Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Loving Frank is the fictional account of the relationship between famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and his mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. I knew little about Wright's work, let alone his personal life; after reading Loving Frank, I wanted to learn more about this man whose life was truly stranger than fiction. The stories of his loves, losses, mistresses, and wives provides the backdrop for another novel, T.C. Boyle's The Women.
While The Women details all of Wright's wives and his mistress, Loving Frank focuses solely on Mamah Cheney. In 1909, both Wright and Cheney left their spouses and children for a two-year European excursion. The trip was an "elopement" of sorts that spawned media and public scrutiny, effectively ruining Wright's career for at least a decade and breaking up both the Cheney and Wright households. The relationship was also the foundation for Wright's prairie mansion, Taliesin, that provided the couple with a respite from the harsh critics in their native Chicago, but also set the scene for a horrific murder rampage and fire that claimed the lives of seven people.
The gruesome Taliesin murders provide a chilling climax and finale for both novels, however, The Women travels through Wright's life in reverse chronological order. The novel starts with Olgivanna, Wright's third wife, then Miriam, Wright's second wife, and finally Kitty (first wife) and Mamah. Miriam certainly causes the most spectacular drama here, arranging press conferences to discuss her husband's philandering, filing lawsuit after lawsuit against Frank in multiple states, and trespassing in to hotel and hospital rooms in hopes of catching her husband. She proves to be the most interesting of the 4 women, but definitely not in a positive way.
Overall, I would suggest Boyle's The Women over Loving Frank. Nancy Horan's account relied too much upon the romantic aspect, and could have offered more details about the consequences. Also, Horan delves deeply into the relationship between Cheney and Ellen Key, a Swedish feminist philosopher who greatly influenced Mamah's life choices. While Key provides an interesting backdrop, if not an explanation, there is simply not enough to drive the large portion of the novel that Horan devotes to this particular storyline. However, even though I favored The Women, I still enjoyed Loving Frank.
If you want to learn about the "other" side of Frank Lloyd Wright, check out these books -- you will not be disappointed!
While The Women details all of Wright's wives and his mistress, Loving Frank focuses solely on Mamah Cheney. In 1909, both Wright and Cheney left their spouses and children for a two-year European excursion. The trip was an "elopement" of sorts that spawned media and public scrutiny, effectively ruining Wright's career for at least a decade and breaking up both the Cheney and Wright households. The relationship was also the foundation for Wright's prairie mansion, Taliesin, that provided the couple with a respite from the harsh critics in their native Chicago, but also set the scene for a horrific murder rampage and fire that claimed the lives of seven people.
The gruesome Taliesin murders provide a chilling climax and finale for both novels, however, The Women travels through Wright's life in reverse chronological order. The novel starts with Olgivanna, Wright's third wife, then Miriam, Wright's second wife, and finally Kitty (first wife) and Mamah. Miriam certainly causes the most spectacular drama here, arranging press conferences to discuss her husband's philandering, filing lawsuit after lawsuit against Frank in multiple states, and trespassing in to hotel and hospital rooms in hopes of catching her husband. She proves to be the most interesting of the 4 women, but definitely not in a positive way.
Overall, I would suggest Boyle's The Women over Loving Frank. Nancy Horan's account relied too much upon the romantic aspect, and could have offered more details about the consequences. Also, Horan delves deeply into the relationship between Cheney and Ellen Key, a Swedish feminist philosopher who greatly influenced Mamah's life choices. While Key provides an interesting backdrop, if not an explanation, there is simply not enough to drive the large portion of the novel that Horan devotes to this particular storyline. However, even though I favored The Women, I still enjoyed Loving Frank.
If you want to learn about the "other" side of Frank Lloyd Wright, check out these books -- you will not be disappointed!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Free Concerts @ Your Library
Join us at the Madison County Public Library during the month of July as we wrap up our Librarypalooza Summer Concert Series with six performances by local musicians! Here is our lineup:
The Incredible Sounds of L & J
Tuesday, July 6, 6:30PM, Richmond location;
Monday, July 19, 6:30PM, Berea location
Unihorse
Tuesday, July 13, 6:30PM, Richmond location
Robert Tincher
Friday, July 23, 6:00PM, Berea location
The Westbrook Trio
Monday, July 26, 6:30PM, Berea location
Saturday, July 31, 2:00PM, Richmond location
For band details, sound clips, and other information, visit our website: www.madisonlibrary.org/adultprograms.htm
Thursday, June 10, 2010
MCPL's Couch to 5k Team
MCPL's new Couch to 5k Team hit the track last week -- and we lived to tell the tale!
Couch to 5k (or C25k) is an exercise program that takes participants from inactivity to 5k running in just 9 weeks. It is completely doable; for the first several weeks, each training day alternates intervals of walking and running. As a result, new runners are far less likely to get overwhelmed.
The library's C25k team combines this easy-to-do, beginner's exercise program with a group mentality. We are a group of unique people with a common goal, and we hold each other accountable in our training -- we also manage to have fun while we do it!
From the first training session to the second, our C25k team doubled in size. This is such a wonderful opportunity not only to get active, but to get to know others in your community! To join the library's C25k team, send an email to Christina: christina@madisonlibrary.org.
For more information about the C25k running program, visit http://www.c25k.com/.
Couch to 5k (or C25k) is an exercise program that takes participants from inactivity to 5k running in just 9 weeks. It is completely doable; for the first several weeks, each training day alternates intervals of walking and running. As a result, new runners are far less likely to get overwhelmed.
The library's C25k team combines this easy-to-do, beginner's exercise program with a group mentality. We are a group of unique people with a common goal, and we hold each other accountable in our training -- we also manage to have fun while we do it!
From the first training session to the second, our C25k team doubled in size. This is such a wonderful opportunity not only to get active, but to get to know others in your community! To join the library's C25k team, send an email to Christina: christina@madisonlibrary.org.
For more information about the C25k running program, visit http://www.c25k.com/.
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