Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Gamers Paradise


 I love video games - from the original Atari, Intellivision, and Nintendo, to the handheld DS.  I started with Pong, Pac Man, Mario Brothers to Golf and Bowling. I've tried my hand with Guitar Hero and the piano keyboard … even sing with the band. So I was thrilled when the Library decided to purchase them for the Nintendo Wii, XBOX360, and PS3!!
You can borrow one for a week, free of charge. Some of the games we offer are:  Marvel vs. Capcom 3; Topspin ;  Final Fantasy XIII; NBA 2K11;  Need for Speed;  Prince of Persia and Major League Baseball 2K11.
                                  
Aside from these games that you can borrow, the Library also offers a program for Young Adults called Gamer’s Paradise. Teens can play with the Library’s Nintendo Wii, XBOX360, and PlayStation 3.  It is held in the Community Room, with big screens and boomchairs. How much more fun is that? The next date is May 27. You can either register online or call the Reader Services Desk. Perhaps we’ll see you then, but if not, keep an eye on the Library's calendar as there will be other dates.


           

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

New Pull-Out Bins And New Release Round-up



Yes, you're gazing at our beautiful new pull-out drawers for the music CD collection. Transfixed? It's hard to avert your eyes, I know. Ok, beautiful might be a small stretch, but beauty's in the eye of the beholder, right? We love them. Hopefully they will greatly improve your browsing experience as you peruse the growing collection of music CDs in the AV room. We have all kinds of sounds at your fingertips. And speaking of 'growing' there are lots of new titles hitting the Pop/Rock shelves this month so stop by and check out a few OR call the Audiovisual Desk to place a hold. If you don't find what you're looking for, please let us know about that too.

Here's a small selection of some recent Pop/Rock (and Rap/Hip-Hop, etc,) additions to the catalog collection:


Panda Bear - Tomboy
Frank Black - The Golem
Kahlifa Wiz - Rolling Papers
Snoop Dogg - Doggumentary
tUnE-yArDs - Whokill
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part II
Robbie Robbertson - How To Become Clairvoyent
Gorillaz - The Fall
Stevie Nicks- In Your Dreams
Crystal Stilts - In Love with Oblivion
John Oates - Mississippi Mile
Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave
Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain
North Mississippi Allstars- Keys to the Kingdom
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang
Alison Krauss - Paper Airplane
Lykee Li - Wounded Rhymes
Disappears - Guider
Stever Miller Band - Let Your Hair Down
Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Beans - End it All
Adele - 21
Rise Against - Endgame
The Kills - Blood Pressures
Travis Barker - Give the Drummer Some
K.D. Lang - Sing it Loud
Times New Viking - Dancer Equired
Sade - Ultimate Collection
The Cars - Move Like This

There are lots of classical musical titles being added to the collection as well!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Civil War Fiction

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  Is this a period of time that you'd like to learn more about?  Maybe you've attended one of the many events in your community commemorating the anniversary, or maybe you've been brushing up on your history by doing some reading.  Don't forget that there's lots of fiction that captures this historical era.  If you like historical fiction set in this period of time, you may want to try one of the following titles:

March by Geraldine Brooks. Inspired by the father in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, this novel depicts the experiences of a man who leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and how he is challenged during the war.

The March by E.L. Doctorow.  The story of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's devastating march through Georgia and the Carolinas during the final years of the Civil War and the impact this journey had on the outcome of the war.

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks.   A story based on the true experiences of a Civil War heroine finds Carrie McGavock witnessing the bloodshed of the Battle of Franklin, falling in love with a wounded man, and dedicating her home as a burial site for fallen soldiers.

Savannah, or, a Gift for Mr. Lincoln by John Jakes.  Jakes, a popular and prolific writer of Civil War fiction, recreates the spirit of the times as he tells a story of Sherman's army marching from Atlanta to the sea in 1864.  The city of Savannah lies directly in its path, threatening the livelihood of widow Sara Lester and her twelve-year-old daughter Hattie, who struggle to save the family plantation.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.  In this gripping novel about the four days during the battle at Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet tell the Southern view of the battle while Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and General John Buford present the Northern view.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Download Some May flowers!

So the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers, so after the rains we've had we should expect an abundance of flowers this season. So get your gardening groove on, grab your e-reader and get ready to download.


American Rose by Karen Abbott
An expansive story of America's coming-of-age, told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered.

Mystic Rose by Stephen Lawhead
A tale rich in history and imagination, filled with danger, betrayal, courage, and faith, as the third generation of a Scottish noble family continues its eternal quest to secure the divine on earth, and preserve humankind's last true hope for salvation.

The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne
England's top spy has a score to settle with her family. But as they're drawn inexorably into the intrigue and madness of Revolutionary Paris, they gamble on a love to which neither of them will admit.

Marrying Daisy Bellamy by Susan Wiggs
There are days on Willow Lake... Daisy Bellamy has struggled for years to choose betweet two men - one honorable and steady, one wild and untethered.

The Daisy Club by Charlotte Bingham
Daisy, Jean, Freddie and their friends Aurelia and Laura are devoted to their quaint village Twistleton, so that when war breaks out it becomes the embodiment of everything for which they are fighting. With death haunting every moment, love is their one all-too-fleeting consolation--and also their final triumph.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Blues Hall of Fame

The 32nd Blues Hall of Fame induction will be held Wednesday, May 4, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee. Those being inducted include:

- Soulful singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Cray
(Born August 1, 1953 in Columbus, Georgia)

Cray started playing guitar in his early teens and loved blues and soul music. By age 20, he decided to start his own band and began playing in college towns across the West Coast.

By 1982 he was the opening act for Eric Clapton. He generally played Fender guitars (Telecasters and Stratocasters). Cray continues to record and tour. Cray supported Eric Clapton on his 2006-2007 tour and joined Clapton on backup guitar for the Cream song "Crossroads".

- Acoustic blues artist, singer, guitarist, and harpist John Hammond
(Born November 13, 1942 in New York City, New York)

Hammond began playing guitar in high school and has recorded with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Hawks/The Band, Dr. John and Duane Allman.

He usually plays acoustically, choosing National Reso-Phonic Guitars and sings in a barrelhouse style, an early form of jazz. Hammond earned one Grammy Award and was nominated for four others. He provided the soundtrack for the film, Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman.

His most recent album, Push Comes to Shove, was released in February 2007.

 - Singer/songwriter, the Queen of Soul Blues Denise LaSalle
(Born July 16, 1939 in Belzoni, Mississippi)

LaSalle was raised in Belzoni, Mississippi and sang in local churches before moving to Chicago in the early 1960s. She was greatly influenced by country music as well as the blues. Her first recording contract was with Chess Records in 1967.

In 1971, she and her then husband Bill Jones, established an independent production company, Crajon. Her first major success was "Trapped By A Thing Called Love", released on Westbound Records. It made #1 on the national R&B chart and #13 on the Billboards Hot 100 chart.

She continues to work as a live performer at festivals.


- Big Maybelle, one of the most important R&B vocalists of the 1950s
(Born May 1, 1924 in Jackson, Tennessee-Died January 23, 1972 in Cleveland, Ohio)

Big Maybelle sang gospel as a child and in her teens switched to rhythm and blues. She started singing with Dave Clark's Memphis Band in 1936 and toured with the Sweethears of Rhythm.

She made the sang on the stage of the Spollo Theater in New York City and the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. She appeared in Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960 filmed at the Newport Jazz Festival. Her last hit single was in 1967 with a cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians.

Big Maybelle's final album, Last of Big Maybelle, was released after she died in 1973.

 - Singer/songwriter, Alberta Hunter
(Born April 1, 1895 - Died October 17, 1984)

Hunter was an American blues singer, songwriter and nurse. Her career started in the early 1920s in Chicago and later she became a successful jazz and blues recording singer. In the 1950s she retired from music and became a nurse only to resume her singing career in her eighties.

She got her first break in New York City where she performed with Bricktop and Louis Armstrong. Hunter preferred performing in Europe where racism was not prevelant as it was in the United States.

- Singer/songwriter J.B. Lenoir
(Born March 5, 1929 in Monticello, Mississippi-Died April 29, 1967 in Urbana, Illinois)

Lenoir was greatly influenced by the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Arthur Crudup and Lightnin' Hopkins.

Om 1949, he moved to Chicago and was intoduced to the local blues community by Big Bill Broonzy. He became an important part of the city's blues scene. In 1951 he began recording on the J.O.B., Chess Records, Parrot, and Checker labels. His most successful songs included "Let's Roll", "The Mojo" and "Tax Paying Blues."

Lenoir was known for his showmanship, his zebra-patterened costumes and his high-pitched vocals in the 1950s. In 1963 he developed an interest in African percussion. During the Vietnam War, he wrote about racism.

John Mayall wrote "I'm Gonna Fight for You, J.B." and "Death of J.B. Lenoir". The 2003 documentary film The Soul of a Man, part of Martin Scorsese's series The Blues, explored Lenoir's career.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

2011 Pulitzer Prizes Recently Announced

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 and endowed by Joseph Pulitzer, the noted Hungarian immigrant newspaper publisher. The Pulitzer Prize categories included here are in the Arts and recognize distinguished works of fiction and nonfiction published in book form by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Bennie Salazar, an aging punk rocker and record executive, and the beautiful Sasha, the troubled young woman he employs, never discover each other's pasts, but the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other people whose paths intersect with theirs in the course of nearly 50 years. This novel is about time, about survival, about our private terrors, and what happens when we fail to rebound and it is told with both affection and intensity.


Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction - The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

A magnificent and humane "bio" of cancer from its origins to the epic battle to cure, control, and conquer it. The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist.

Pulitzer Prize for Drama - "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris

This play is a dramatic imagining of events taking place before and after Lorraine Hansberry's classic "A Raisin in the Sun." Similarly, it looks at the long and unhappy relationship between race and real estate in Chicago.

Pulitzer Prize for History - The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner

Master historian Foner describes, explains, and casts a new light on Lincoln's attitudes toward slavery as they evolved over time. Since this is the best account ever written on the subject, it should be an essential read for all Americans.



Pulitzer Prize for Biography - Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

This celebrated biographer provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation, dashing forever the stereotype of a solid, unemotional man, and revealing an astute and surprising portrait of a canny political genius who knew how to inspire people.

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry - The Best of It: New and Selected Poems by Kay Ryan

This is a representative and retrospective collection of the current U.S. poet laureate which also contains new poems. This is excellent contemporary poetry that is sassy, smart and deep as it is hilarious.

Pulitzer Prize for Music - Zhou Long for Madame White Snake, premiered Feb. 26, 2010, by the Boston opera at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. The libretto is by Cerise Lim Jacobs.

This is a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical tradition of the East and the West.


Friday, May 6, 2011

Forthcoming Fiction for June

Here are some titles coming out this June. You can reserve these by going to our Online Catalog, Bibliocommons, or by calling the Reader Services Desk at 847-729-7500 x7600!

From Barcelona, With Love by Elizabeth Adler
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
One Summer by David Baldacci
Disturbance by Jan Burke
The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook
The Kingdom by Clive Cussler
Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver
Blood of the Reich by William Dietrich
Smokin Seventeen : A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich
Folly Beach : A Lowcountry Tale by Dorothea Benton Frank
Bones of a Feather by Carolyn Haines
Hit List by Laurell Hamilton
Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Learning by Karen Kingsbury
Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lakey
When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey
Dragon s Time : A Dragonriders of Pern Novel by Anne McCaffrey
The Dog Who Came in from the Cold : A Corduroy Mansions Novel
by Alexander McCall Smith
Merciless by Diana Palmer
State of Wonder: a Novel by Ann Patchett
Now You See Her by James Patterson
Camouflage by Bill Pronzini
Tigerlily s Orchids : A Novel by Ruth Rendell
Outrage by Robert Tanenbaum
Heat Wave: a Novel by Nancy Thayer

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Agatha Awards Have Been Announced!

The Agatha Awards are given out at the Malice Domestic mystery convention for mysteries that are considered traditional.
Here are the winners for 2010.

Best Novel:
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Best First Novel:
The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames

Best Non-fiction:
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran

Best Short Story:
"So Much in Common" by Mary Jane Maffini, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - Sept./Oct. 2010

Congratulations to all the winners!

For more information on the Agatha Awards and to see past award winners and nominees, click on the links.


MF

Artists in Fiction: Fictional accounts of prominent artists

John James Audubon
Audubon’s Watch
Brown, John Gregory
Fiction Brown, J.

Carvaggio
The Garden of Evil
Hewson, David
Mystery Hewson, D.

Mary Cassatt
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper
Chessman, Harriet Scott
Fiction Chessman, H.

Paul Cezanne
Mayle, Peter
Fiction Mayle, P.

The Cezanne Chase
Swan, Thomas
Fiction Swan, T.

Leonardo da Vinci
The Da Vinci Code
Brown, Dan
Fiction Brown, D.

Leonardo’s Swans
Essex, Karen
Fiction, Essex, K.

Frida Kahlo
Frida
Mujica, Barbara Louise
Fiction, Mujica B.

Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia
Lapierre, Alexandra
Fiction Lapierre, A.

Vreeland, Susan
Fiction Vreeland, S.

Henri Matisse
The Matisse Stories
Byatt, A.S.
Fiction Byatt, A.

Michelangelo
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Stone, Irving
Fiction Irving, S.
Johannes Vermeer
Chevalier, Tracy
Fiction Chevalier, T.

Vreeland, Susan
Fiction Vreeland, S.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Murder With A Foreign Accent

Many of us have read mysteries which take place in familiar settings in the U.S. But don’t lose out on a whole slew of who-dunnits set in other countries and written in languages other than English. These works contribute their own unique perspective to the genre.

The first foreign writer to become popular in America was France’s Georges Simenon, whose detective Jules Maigret became a well-known and well-loved character who immerses himself in the crime, the people, the place and the feelings of the crime. He was one of the first authors to explore the psychology behind crime.

In contrast to Simenon, most non-English speaking authors write more traditional police mysteries. Japanese mystery writer Seicho Matsumoto used the realistic police procedural to show how he police in Japan slowly unravel a crime, but he also comments on the problems in Japanese society. He uses a very Japanese motive for murder – the need to “save face”.

 Many non-English speaking mystery authors feature police investigators who are moody, insightful loners who solve the crimes on their own.

Here are a few titles you might read which will give you a view of other countries and other societies from an insider’s point of view, and will give you a unique perspective on crime and punishment in different countries.

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri.
Follows Sicilian detective Inspector Montalbano as he investigates the suspicious death of an engineer who had made a name for himself in a small town.
The Silence of the Rain by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza.
Brazilian Inspector Espinosa investigates the murder of a corporate executive found dead in his car, piecing together clues surrounding the victim's missing secretary, a life insurance policy, the victim's widow, and two additional murder victims.

Murder in Jerusalem by Batya Gur.
When a woman's body is discovered in the wardrobe warehouses of Israel Television, brooding police superintendent Ohayon embarks on a tangled and bloody trail of detection through the corridors and studios of Israel's official television station and, especially, through the relations, fears, loves, and courage of the people who make the station what it is.

The Mao Case by Xiaolong Qiu.
Inspector Chen investigates a young woman, the granddaughter of an actress who was once close to Mao, who may be in possession of an object that would bring dishonor to the Chairman's memory.

Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten.
While investigating the apparent suicide of a wealthy financier who is connected to one of the most powerful families in Sweden, Detective Inspector Irene Huss soon finds herself immersed in a murder mystery involving motorcycle gang members, skinheads, immigrants, and neo-Nazis.