Wednesday, January 30, 2013
[Library Events and Programs] Part 2: Making Sense of the American Civil War
Don't forget to visit the Central Library for this fascinating series. Each discussion is led by Timothy S. Huebner of Rhodes College. The next session is Thursday, January 31st.
Making Sense of the American Civil War
Part II: Choosing Sides
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3030 Poplar Avenue
4th Floor, Memphis Room
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Call 415-2709 for more information.
Labels: Library Events and Programs
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
[Book Review] BITTER IS THE NEW BLACK by Jen Lancaster
Nonfiction/Memoir
Andrea reviews BITTER IS THE NEW BLACK:
by Jen Lancaster (New American Library, 2006)
Okay, yes, the title is more than a mouthful, so for the purpose of this review, I will just call it Bitter. This memoir by Lancaster is laugh out loud hysterical. Told from the first person point of view, the author rose to success during the early days of dot.com companies. Spending more money than sense, Lancaster never imagined how badly the drop would be from such heights.
Ms. Lancaster was let go from her position of power, wealth, and prestige just as she was reaching the pinnacle of her career. Before the reader can think, “Good, the b**** deserved it!” we discover Jen is thawing out to become more human.
As harshly and realistically as possible, Ms. Lancaster describes how she and her husband, Fletch, are laid off. She does not want sympathy or pity; she just wants a job. Her biting sarcasm and money-saving methods are understandable during this all-too-true time of recession.
Yes, there is a happy ending, but you have to get to the very last pages of the very last chapter to unveil it. This is a difficult subject to read because unemployment is so prevalent in our society. Because of the author’s mixture of hilarity and sarcasm, though, this “bitter” pill is much easier to swallow.
Andrea King, Poplar-White Station
by Jen Lancaster (New American Library, 2006)
Okay, yes, the title is more than a mouthful, so for the purpose of this review, I will just call it Bitter. This memoir by Lancaster is laugh out loud hysterical. Told from the first person point of view, the author rose to success during the early days of dot.com companies. Spending more money than sense, Lancaster never imagined how badly the drop would be from such heights.
Ms. Lancaster was let go from her position of power, wealth, and prestige just as she was reaching the pinnacle of her career. Before the reader can think, “Good, the b**** deserved it!” we discover Jen is thawing out to become more human.
As harshly and realistically as possible, Ms. Lancaster describes how she and her husband, Fletch, are laid off. She does not want sympathy or pity; she just wants a job. Her biting sarcasm and money-saving methods are understandable during this all-too-true time of recession.
Yes, there is a happy ending, but you have to get to the very last pages of the very last chapter to unveil it. This is a difficult subject to read because unemployment is so prevalent in our society. Because of the author’s mixture of hilarity and sarcasm, though, this “bitter” pill is much easier to swallow.
Andrea King, Poplar-White Station
Labels: Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews by Andrea King
Monday, January 28, 2013
[News and Notes] Happy Birthday to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
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| Jane Austen |
The ArtsBeat page at NYTimes.com notes a number of celebrations taking place for this bicentennial, including a 12-Hour Read-a-Thon and a recreation of the Netherfield Ball for television. Read about more events at Austen Fans to Celebrate 200 Years of Pride and Prejudice.
Goucher College Library in Baltimore is presenting an exhibition called Pride and Prejudice: A 200 Year Affair.
BookRiot has gathered Goodies to Celebrate Pride and Prejudices 200th Anniversary for all ages plus Pride and Prejudice bags, iphone covers and magnet Swag.
5 Phenomenal Pride and Prejudice Adaptations exemplifies how this story has been re-visioned over the years, from having a Jack Russell Terrier play Mr. Darcy (ala Wishbone) to a modernized web series on the Internet called "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries."
Image of Austen from World Book Advanced
Labels: News and Notes
Thursday, January 24, 2013
[Book Review] CRATER by Homer Hickam
Science Fiction/Young AdultBeth reviews CRATER: A HELIUM-3 NOVEL by Homer Hickam (Nelson, 2012).
It's the 22nd Century and our main character, the orphaned Crater Trueblood, just turned sixteen and is already a seasoned Helium-3 miner on the moon. His lifelong goal is to be a foreman on the scrapes (the mining area). Crater sees his chance when his boss, the Colonel, requests Crater to take a treacherous journey through space to pick up a priceless treasure. Crater, accompanied by Maria and his gillie--an often insubordinate clump of slime mold cells that has amazing capabilities--must move a convoy of Helium-3 trucks across an unsettled section of the moon.
What is the treasure Crater is looking for? Why are so many willing to kill for it? Is it worth the trouble?
Beth, Cordova Library
Labels: Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
[News and Notes] World Book Night Application Deadline Extended
Anyone interested in participating in World Book Night will have until January 25, 2013 to apply.
World Book Night is April 23, 2013. Participants will give away pre-selected books in communities across the country to individuals who don't read on a regular basis.
Visit World Book Night US website for more details.
Are you participating this year?
World Book Night is April 23, 2013. Participants will give away pre-selected books in communities across the country to individuals who don't read on a regular basis.
Visit World Book Night US website for more details.
Are you participating this year?
Labels: News and Notes
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
[News and Notes] Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be 84 years old today.
The Memphis Public Library has an extensive collection of books for adults and children about King's life and his legacy.
Browse materials about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
All library locations will be closed Monday, January 21, 2013 for the MLK holiday.
Labels: News and Notes
Monday, January 14, 2013
[Book Review] THE BLACK COUNT by Tom Reiss
Darletha reviews THE BLACK COUNT: GLORY, REVOLUTION, BETRAYAL, AND THE REAL COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Tom Reiss (Crown, 2012)
Alexandre Dumas was born Thomas-Alexandre in 1762 to a French marquis named Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie and a female slave, Marie Cessette Dumas. Antoine is described as a rake who lived off the wealth of relatives and had affairs with female slaves on his brother’s sugar plantation in Saint-Domingue, French colonial Haiti. When Antoine became a wanted man he changed his name and fled into the mountains where Thomas-Alexandre was born. Thomas-Alexandre joined his father in France in 1776.
There is extensive detail about the French Revolution that slows down the pacing but it doesn’t take away from discovering that General Alex and other blacks and mixed-race men enjoyed equal rights and opportunities in 18th century France. Reiss details how “Thomas-Alexandre” became “Alexandre Dumas,” rejecting his noble upbringing to begin his military career as a low-ranking dragoon. General Alex was fearless in battle and possessed a physical presence so commanding that the Egyptians took a more favorable notice of General Alex over “short” and “skinny” Napoleon.
Reiss' narrative style fills each chapter with intrigue and action. Through military records, correspondence, and unpublished documents General Alex is depicted as an highly-respected man with strong principles who was also despised, imprisoned, and tragically forgotten in history. Alexandre Dumas (the author not the general) borrowed from many of his father's experiences to pen his classic novels. Art truly imitated an amazing life.
Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library
Labels: History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Darletha Matthews
Thursday, January 10, 2013
[Library Events & Programs] What's Your Flavor? January 2013
Do you enjoy novels with uplifting messages but don't know what to read next? Make plans to visit the Central Library next Thursday. What's Your Flavor? returns with a presentation by Heather Remmert (Frayser Branch).
What's Your Flavor? Inspirational Fiction and Gentle Reads
Thursday, January 17, 2013
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3030 Poplar Avenue
Call 415-2726 for more information.
Labels: Library Events and Programs, What's Your Flavor
Monday, January 07, 2013
[Library Events & Programs] Making Sense of the Civil War, Part 1
Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War
A scholar-led reading and discussion program for public audiences.
Part I: Imagining the War
Presented by Timothy S. Huebner, Rhodes College
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, Memphis Room
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Call 415-2709 for more information
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| March by Geraldine Brooks |
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| America's War, edited by Edward L. Ayers |
Labels: Library Events and Programs
Thursday, January 03, 2013
[Library Events & Programs] Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War
Beginning January 10, 2013 Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library will host Making Sense of the American Civil War, a scholar-led reading and discussion program. This program is organized as a five-part series of conversations that aim to get below the surface of familiar stories about the Civil War battles to explore the complex challenges brought on by the war. All sessions will take place Thursday evenings, 6:00 - 7:30 pm, in the Memphis Room at the Central Library.
The facilitator will be Timothy S. Huebner, Professor and Chair of the Department of History and the L. Palmer Brown Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Rhodes College.
Selected readings for this series:
March by Geraldine Brooks
Making Sense of the American Civil War is presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Library Association, Humanities Tennessee, and local support from the Memphis Library Foundation.
Click to view full schedule
March by Geraldine Brooks
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, the Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War by James M. McPherson
America’s War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries edited by Edward L. Ayers
Making Sense of the American Civil War is presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Library Association, Humanities Tennessee, and local support from the Memphis Library Foundation.
Click to view full schedule
Labels: Library Events and Programs
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
[News and Notes] The Reader's Bill of Rights
THE READER'S BILL OF RIGHTS
The right to not read
The right to skip pages
The right to not finish
The right to reread
The right to read anything
The right to escapism
The right to read anywhere
The right to browse
The right to read out loud
The right to not defend your tastes
-- from Better than Life by Daniel Pennac
Labels: News and Notes
