Tuesday, December 27, 2016
[Author Obit] Richard Adams 1920 - 2016
Richard Adams, British author best known for his 1972 novel, Watership Down, passed away at the age of 96 on December 24, 2016.
Requiescat in Pace - The Official website of Watership Down
Obituaries from the web:
Richard Adams, Whose Novel 'Watership Down' Became a Phenomenon, dies at 96 - The New York Times
Suggested title from the library catalog:
The Day Gone By: an autobiography by Richard Adams
Search the library catalog to revisit or discover more books by Richard Adams.
*Adams photo credit: "The novelist Richard Adams in 1974. Credit Tom Smith/Daily Express/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images"
*Adams photo credit: "The novelist Richard Adams in 1974. Credit Tom Smith/Daily Express/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images"
Labels: Author Obits, News
Tuesday, July 05, 2016
[Author Obit] Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
Holocaust survivor and author of over sixty books, Elie Wiesel, passed away at the age of 87 on Saturday July 2, 2016.
From CNN:
"Wiesel, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, recounted his family being sent to the Nazi concentration camps in his first book, "Night," which was published in 1955." (Full article)
From NPR:
"Elie Wiesel was called many things during his life: a messenger of peace, a humanitarian, a survivor. He liked to call himself simply a witness. And as a witness, he said, it was his duty to never let those who suffered be forgotten." (Full article)
Other sites of interest:
(Wiesel's Nobel acceptance speech, lecture, interview)
Browse the library catalog holdings for the works of ELIE WIESEL
Labels: Author Obits, News
Monday, March 07, 2016
[Author Obits] Umberto Eco and Pat Conroy
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| Photo source: The Guardian |
Learn about Eco’s background and accomplishments from the following obituaries:
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| Photo source: USA Today |
Pat Conroy (b.1945) passed away Friday, March 4 at the age of 70. Conroy’s most popular novels include The Great Santini, The Water is Wide, and The Prince of Tides. (Pat Conroy website)
Learn more about Conroy’s background and accomplishments from the following obituaries:
Time Magazine***Browse the library’s holdings to discover or revisit the works of Umberto Eco and Pat Conroy.
Labels: Author Obits, News and Notes
Monday, February 22, 2016
[Author Obit] Harper Lee (1926 - 2016)
Before
I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that
doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.
—
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee died at the age of 89 on February 19, 2016.
News and tributes from around the web:
CNN Obituary
Remembering Harper Lee Through Her Writing - Galleycat
New York Times Obituary
Harper Lee: Opus the Penguins No. 1 Fan - USA Today
(Photo source)
Labels: Author Obits, News and Notes
Monday, September 21, 2015
[Author Obit] Jackie Collins 1937 - 2015
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| (Image via Huffington Post) |
Author Jackie Collins passed away Saturday September 19, 2015 at the age of 77 from breast cancer. Known for writing racy, steamy novels about the rich and famous, her first novel, The World is Full of Married Men, was published in 1968. Her extensive body of work includes the best-selling novel Hollywood Wives, one of many novels adapted into tv movies.
Learn more about Collins' accomplishments and fan tributes by viewing the following:
Jackie Collins Website
Jackie Collins Facebook Page
New York Times
People Magazine
Labels: Author Obits, News
Thursday, August 27, 2015
[News and Notes] Ann Rule's Death and Award Winners
Here are a few news stories some may have missed:
True crime author Ann Rule passed away July 27. Born in Michigan in 1931, Rule is best remembered for a book published in 1980 about former friend turned serial killer, Ted Bundy, titled The Stranger Beside Me. Before the success of her first and subsequent books, Ann Rule wrote stories in True Detective magazine under male pseudonymns.
Read more interesting facts about Ann Rule from the following:
Ann Rule, 83, Dies: Wrote About Ted Bundy (a Friend) and Other Killers - The New York Times obituary (Search the library catalog for Ann Rule)
The International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the Thriller Awards at Thrillerfest X on July 11, 2015. (Click to view all finalists)
The Fever by Megan Abbott won Best Hardcover Novel
The Hugo Awards for the best in science fiction were announced August 22. This year's Hugos were steeped in controversy as detailed in The Hugo Awards (and No-Awards) from The Booklist Reader and Wired's Who Won Science Fiction's Hugo Awards and Why it Matters.
Hugo winners available at the library:
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| From AccessAtlanta 2009 |
True crime author Ann Rule passed away July 27. Born in Michigan in 1931, Rule is best remembered for a book published in 1980 about former friend turned serial killer, Ted Bundy, titled The Stranger Beside Me. Before the success of her first and subsequent books, Ann Rule wrote stories in True Detective magazine under male pseudonymns.
Read more interesting facts about Ann Rule from the following:
Ann Rule, 83, Dies: Wrote About Ted Bundy (a Friend) and Other Killers - The New York Times obituary (Search the library catalog for Ann Rule)
The International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the Thriller Awards at Thrillerfest X on July 11, 2015. (Click to view all finalists)
The Fever by Megan Abbott won Best Hardcover Novel
The Hugo Awards for the best in science fiction were announced August 22. This year's Hugos were steeped in controversy as detailed in The Hugo Awards (and No-Awards) from The Booklist Reader and Wired's Who Won Science Fiction's Hugo Awards and Why it Matters.
Hugo winners available at the library:
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator
August 29th, 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the natural disaster Hurricane Katrina. The Booklist Reader's 10 Novels to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina can be a great way for young adult readers to learn about the resilience of the human spirit through fiction.
Search the library catalog for Hurricane Katrina 2005 to find memoirs, documentaries, and other materials that chronicle the tragedies and triumphs of Katrina's survivors.
August 29th, 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the natural disaster Hurricane Katrina. The Booklist Reader's 10 Novels to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina can be a great way for young adult readers to learn about the resilience of the human spirit through fiction.
Search the library catalog for Hurricane Katrina 2005 to find memoirs, documentaries, and other materials that chronicle the tragedies and triumphs of Katrina's survivors.
Labels: Author Obits, Awards, News and Notes
Monday, July 27, 2015
[Author Obits] John A. Williams and E.L. Doctorow
Two highly regarded authors passed away recently:
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| New York Times Photo |
John A. Williams, (b.1927) died July 7, 2015 in New Jersey at the age of 89. Williams wrote The Man Who Cried I Am in 1967 and is also known for the controversial book, The King God Didn’t Save: Reflections on the Life and Death of Martin Luther King Jr. (1970).
Read the full New York Times obituary, John A. Williams, 89, Dies; Underrated Novelist Wrote About Black Identity
Other Williams tributes:
According to the NYTimes obituary, Williams “regarded his peers as E. L. Doctorow, John Updike and Norman Mailer.” Which leads to the next loss in the world of literature.
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| New York Times Photo |
Historical novelist E.L. Doctorow (b.1931) died at the age of 84 in Manhattan on July 21, 2015. His numerous works include the 1975 novel, Ragtime and The March, published in 2005.
Other Doctorow tributes:
EL Doctorow: 'He showed how a great literary imagination can illuminate the present through the prism of the past' - The Guardian Books Blog
Labels: Author Obits, News
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
[News and Notes] March is Women's History Month
Women’s History Month takes place throughout the month of March. Today's News and Notes updates are all about the women.
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| Bertrice Small |
O'Malley Saga author Bertrice Small passed away February 24 at the age of 77. Born in 1937 and the author of 56 novels, she was best known for “bodice-ripping” historical romances, fantasy romances, and erotic novels. (Source: New York Times Obituary) (Bertrice Small--library catalog)
Louise Erdrich won this year's Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Erdrich's novel, The Round House, won the National Book Award in 2012. (Source: New York Times)
African American authors Harriet E. Wilson and Toni Morrison made Flavorwire’s list of Female Firsts in the Arts
OpenCulture shares 74 Essential Books for Your Personal Library: A List Curated by Female Creatives
Search the library catalog for featured authors or titles
Search the library catalog for featured authors or titles
Labels: Author Obits, News and Notes
Thursday, March 12, 2015
[Author Obit] Terry Pratchett 1948 - 2015
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| Image from goodreads.com |
From The Associated Press London:
"Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, creator of the exuberant, satirical "Discworld" series and author of more than 70 books, has died. He was 66...
Transworld Publishers said Pratchett died Thursday at his home, 'with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family.' " Full AP story)
Transworld Publishers said Pratchett died Thursday at his home, 'with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family.' " Full AP story)
More news and tributes from around the web:
The Guardian's Terry Pratchett Tribute Page includes 15 of his best quotes and photo gallery.
Terry Pratchett tributes on Twitter
Terry Pratchett Facebook page
Terry Pratchett's Official Website (Server currently down 3/12/15)
Browse the MPLIC catalog for the works of Sir Terry Pratchett
Labels: Author Obits, News
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
[Author Obit] Robert Stone 1937 - 2015
Author Robert Stone passed away January 13, 2015. His debut novel, A Hall of Mirrors was published in 1967. Stone won the National Book Award in 1974 for his second novel Dog Soldiers (biography.com).
More about Robert Stone's career:
Author Robert Stone, Known for 'Dog Soldiers,' Dies at 77 - National Public Radio
Robert Stone, Novelist of the Vietnam Era and Beyond, Dies at 77 - New York Times
Search the catalog for Robert Stone's works
Labels: Author Obits, News
Friday, July 11, 2014
[News and Notes] July 11, 2014
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| From walterdeanmyers.net |
Visit walterdeanmyers.net for a touching tribute.
Browse Walter Dean Myers in the library catalog.
Other items of interest from the web:
World Book Night U.S. is ending because of a funding shortage. This was reported by the Los Angeles Times.
The Sherlock Holmes book sculpture below, designed by Valerie Osment, is one of many book bench sculptures scattered around the city of London for a special exhibit called “Books about Town”
Find out what title represents your home state with The Most Famous Book Set in Each State map from Business Insider.
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| Image from booksabouttown.org.uk |
Find out what title represents your home state with The Most Famous Book Set in Each State map from Business Insider.
According to our 26th president, “A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time.” Read more of Teddy Roosevelt’s 10 Rules for Reading
Ever wonder what it takes to sort and deliver library materials to different branches? Look at behind the scenes footage, filmed with a camera drone, titled “Flying Around Book Ops” from the Brooklyn and New York Public Libraries.
Labels: Author Obits, News and Notes
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
[Author Obit] Maya Angelou 1928 - 2014
Obituaries:
Legendary Author Maya Angelou dies at age 86 -CNN
May Angelou, Poet, Activist, and Singular Storyteller
Dies at 86 -NPR
Maya Angelou, Lyrical Witness of the Jim Crow South, Dies at 86 -NYTimes
Maya Angelou Dead at 86 - TIME
Browse the library catalog for Maya Angelou
Labels: Author Obits, News
Monday, January 13, 2014
[Author Obit] Amiri Baraka 1934 - 2014
Playwright and poet Amiri Baraka passed away Friday, January 9, 2014 in a New Jersey hospital at the age of 79. He was born Everett Leroy Jones and later known as LeRoi Jones before changing his name to Amiri Baraka.
Baraka was part of the Beat poetry movement, and co-founder of the Black Arts Movement. He was the author of the highly-acclaimed Blues People: Negro Music in White America and the controversial 1964 play Dutchmen.
More websites of interest:
12 Quotes from the Late Amiri Baraka -Buzzfeed
Browse the library catalog for the works of Amiri Baraka
Labels: Author Obits, News
Thursday, December 05, 2013
[Author Obit] Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)
It was announced Thursday evening, December 5, 2013 that Nelson Mandela passed away. He was 95 years old. (Source: cnn.com)
Other stories: Nelson Mandela, Inspiration to the World Dies at 95 (NPR); Nelson Mandela...Remembering an Icon of Freedom (Time)
In honor of the legacy of Nelson Mandela, we encourage readers to learn all about his life and his revolutionary stand against apartheid.
Items available at our Memphis Public Library branches:
Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (1994)
(Downloadable E-book available)
Conversations with Myself (2010)
Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom (2012)
Browse the library catalog for more works by and about Nelson Mandela.
Other stories: Nelson Mandela, Inspiration to the World Dies at 95 (NPR); Nelson Mandela...Remembering an Icon of Freedom (Time)
In honor of the legacy of Nelson Mandela, we encourage readers to learn all about his life and his revolutionary stand against apartheid.
Items available at our Memphis Public Library branches:
Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (1994)
(Downloadable E-book available)
Conversations with Myself (2010)
Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom (2012)
Browse the library catalog for more works by and about Nelson Mandela.
Labels: Author Obits, News
Monday, November 18, 2013
[Author Obit] Doris Lessing (1919 - 2013)
Interesting facts about Lessing:
- Doris May Tayler [Lessing] was born in Kermanshah, in what is now western Iran, where her British father was a clerk with the Imperial Bank of Persia.
- In 1925 the family moved to Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, to run a maize farm, though the venture was not a financial success.
- In October 2007 she became the oldest ever winner, and only the 11th woman in 106 years, to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. -More from Obituary: Doris Lessing
Learn more fascinating details from the following:
Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-winning author, dies aged 94 -BBC News
NobelPrize-winning author Doris Lessing dies; wrote 'The Golden Notebook' -CNN
Doris Lessing, Novelist Who Won 2007 Nobel, Is Dead at 94 -NYTimes
Doris Lessing: A Retrospective
Browse the library catalog for Doris Lessing
*Photo credit: nobelprize.org
Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-winning author, dies aged 94 -BBC News
NobelPrize-winning author Doris Lessing dies; wrote 'The Golden Notebook' -CNN
Doris Lessing, Novelist Who Won 2007 Nobel, Is Dead at 94 -NYTimes
Doris Lessing: A Retrospective
Browse the library catalog for Doris Lessing
*Photo credit: nobelprize.org
Labels: Author Obits, News
