Ghoulishly Good Nonfiction

This Halloween treat yourself to Roseanne Montillo’s The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece.  In this lively rendering, Montillo binds biographical sketches of Mary Shelley, her husband and poet, Percy Shelley, and other Romantic notables, including John William Polidori, author of The Vampyre, with sinews of 18th and 19th century scientific thought.  Booklist calls it, “Sick, shocking, spellbinding . . . a dual history of literature and science.”  Deborah Blum, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author of Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death, writes in her review for the New York Times, “Montillo achieves a freshness through her lively narrative approach and a fascination with long-ago science and its ethics that sparks across the pages.”

If you haven’t read Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, now might be the time.  Not because Frankenstein features a spine-tingling monster--it doesn't--but because Shelley's novel raises ongoing ethical questions about hubris, scientific inquiry, and personal responsibility.

For scarier Halloween fare and reviews of contemporary horror stories, visit the American Library Association's online readers' advisory guide, RA for All: Horror.
   
For other “classic” reading choices, stop by the reference desk in Teen and Adult Services and pick up Ready to Read the Classics? A Sampler of European and American Classics in the Library's collection.

The picture above comes from the 1831 edition of Frankenstein.

Let's Reminisce

 

Do you remember what flying was like in the 60s and 70s? Maybe you're too young to remember, but are interested to find out. Check out the September issue of Reminisce Extra. Especially fun is seeing what the stewardesses wore - Hughes Airwest stewardesses were called "The Sundance Kids" because of their bright yellow get-up. Flying during this period of history was usually a great experience because you were treated like gold and every effort was made to see that you were comfortable and well-fed. One woman shares her account of working for Lake Central Airlines in Indianapolis, which is quite an interesting story.

Also included in this edition is a story about old movie theatres. Beautiful photographs of their glory and the crowds that they drew presents quite a contrast to today's movie theatre experience. It's always fun to check out the section "How I Met My Spouse," which has heartwarming stories of how couples met, married and raised families. Bring all of your nostalgia with you, along with a hot cup of tea. Sit down, enjoy and Reminisce.

National Book Award Finalists

Finalists for the 2013 National Book Awards were announced yesterday.  Presented in four categories by the National Book Foundation, these awards are among the nation's most prestigious literary prizes.  Winners will be announced November 20.  The 2013 Finalists are:


Fiction

• The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
• Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
• Tenth of December by George Saunders

Nonfiction

• Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore
• Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
• The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
• The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor
• Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

 Poetry

• Metaphysical Dog by Frank Bidart
• Stay, Illusion by Lucie Brock-Broido
• The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka
• Black Aperture by Matt Rasmussen
• Incarnadine: Poems by Mary Szybist

 Young People's Literature

• The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt
• The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
• Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
• Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
• Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

New Day and Format for Book to Film Discussion Group

New for Fall 2013, the Book to Film Discussion Group moves to a new format on a new day and at a new time!  Beginning in October, both the film viewing and discussion will take place on the same day, the 3rd Sunday afternoon of the month between 2 and 5 pm in the Hussey Room on the first floor of the Library.  All are invited to participate in this program sponsored by the Friends of the Library.  Read the book, then come to the Library to watch the film, and stay for the discussion.  Or just watch the film if the big screen is all that you’re interested in … or come for only the discussion if you’re into book discussions.

Sunday, October 20th from 2 – 5 pm features October’s selection, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett and the film, rated PG-13, starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone.  Set in 1962 segregated Mississippi, the book is reviewed by Goodreads as, "In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't."  Watch the film beginning at 2 pm and stay afterwards for discussion about the film, the book and how the film was adapted from the book.  Theater-style popcorn and cold drinks will be served and you’re welcome to bring a comfy chair of your own.  Register for The Help on October 20th.

November’s title is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and the film, rated PG-13, starring Jennifer Lawrence; the film showing and discussion will be on Sunday, November 17th, 2 – 5 pm.  If you’ve heard about this exciting young adult book series and/or the wildly popular film adaptation of this first of 3 books in the series, and haven’t read the book and/or seen the film, this is your chance!  The film adaptation of the second book in the series, Catching Fire, premieres the following Friday on November 22nd, so this is the perfect opportunity to catch The Hunger Games fever!  Register for The Hunger Games on November 17th.



The final book to film discussion of 2013 takes place on Sunday, December 15th from 2 – 5 pm and will feature the book  Ethan Frome  by Edith Wharton with the film, rated PG, starring Liam Neeson and Patricia Arquette.  Amazon.com summarizes this classic tale thus: Tragic story of wasted lives, set against a bleak New England background. A poverty-stricken New England farmer, his ailing wife and a youthful housekeeper are drawn relentlessly into a deep-rooted domestic struggle in this hauntingly grim tale of thwarted love. Considered by many to be Wharton's masterpiece.  Register for Ethan Frome on December 15th.


As the temperatures begin to dip and you need some escape from the preparation for the holidays, read some books and view some films that you may not otherwise pick up to enjoy and share some literary and cinematic time with others at the Library this fall!  Registration is required and may be done via the Programs & Events Calendar on the Library's website.

"Juicing 101" Demonstration & Tasting

The 2013 United We Read book, "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan, finds its characters doing a lot of healthy eating. From delicious-sounding raspberry and bean sprout scones to oat cookies to kale juice to spicy couscous salad, their mealtimes are enough to make you run to the kitchen --or the nearest natural food store-- to whip up a tasty snack of your own.

On Tuesday, October 15th from 7-8pm, Rick Montieth, owner of Georgetown Market, will be at the Library to demonstrate "Juicing 101." He will talk about juicing, give you hints and tips, and offer samples to taste. Georgetown Market is a family-owned natural food store that has been in business for forty years. The "Market Eatery," located inside of Georgetown Market, offers a wide variety of natural, mouth-watering dishes on its menu, including fresh, organic juices. Check out a few of their drinks:

"The Daily Carrot" with organic carrot and apple
"I Love Juicy" with organic carrot, orange, lemon, and apple
"Green Drink" with lemon, lime, cucumber, kale or spinach, apples, celery, and ginger
"Mender Blender" with organic carrot, spinach, cabbage, cucumber, beet, & celery
"Popeye’s Punch" with organic spinach, celery, cucumber, garlic, parsley, and cabbage
"Indy Car Driver" with organic carrot, celery, parsley, beet, spinach and Spirulina

A recent Wall Street Journal article, "Juicing, A to Z: A Guide to Healthy and Fun Drinks," discusses the evolution of juicing from basic (and perhaps less than palatable) to concoctions described as "...a lively kale, apple, lemon, ginger and celery blend with terrific body and a mineral finish. To describe a juice in this way —as one might a wine— is beginning to make sense now that more chefs are getting into the game. At long last, juice is having its epicurean moment." The article includes a handy "Juicing A-Z" ingredients chart that describes the flavors and uses of ingredients from apple to jalapeno to raspberry to zucchini.

The Library has many books about juicing, too, including "Fifty Shades of Kale: 50 Fresh and Satisfying Recipes That Are Bound to Please," which includes recipes for a "Blueberry Kale Smoothie," an "Energy Jolt," and a "Cocoa Delight," made with cocoa, kale and black cherries. Gwyneth Paltrow's newest cookbook, "It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great" contains a recipe for an Almond & Kale Smoothie, and there are plenty of other books to borrow that have juicing recipes galore.

Register your seat today for "Juicing 101" with Georgetown Market and we'll see you at the Library at 7pm on Tuesday.

Teen Read Week Activities and More!

Teen Read Week is always the third week in October.  It is a week declared by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) as a week dedicated to encourage teens to read for the fun of it.  The theme for this year is "Seek the Unknown."  Now before you read all about all the great the fantastic programs we have at the Library, we are proud to announce that our Library was one of ten libraries to receive a $1,000 grant to support programs during Teen Read Week.  To kick off Teen Read Week, we will host a Capitol Feast from 2 - 4 PM on Sunday, October 13, where students in grades 6-12 will prepare a meal with recipes from The Unofficial Recipes of the Hunger Games and The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook.  On Tuesday, October 15 from 6:30 - 8 PM young adult novelist and executive director of the Indiana Writers Center will chat with students about the realities of the writing world.  Also, we will be ordering pizza.  On Friday, October 18, the Library will entertain students on their day off (Fall Break) by hosting a three hour Reading Marathon.  What's that?  You say you cannot read for three hours?  Sure you can!  We'll have activities and snacks to help break up the time. 

In addition to all this, the Library will also be hosting a Blinkybugs program at the schools to help reinforce the STEM initiative as well as to let the kids know that the Library is a really awesome place.  These little guys are not only full of awesome and serve as a handy light source, they are amusing way to use batteries, LED lights, guitar string, and a piece of copper.  Just have your child ask their media specialist for more details or come in and grab one of our bookmarks.  They have all the essential Teen Read Week information on hand, as well as information on our Zombie Ponies program the day before Halloween.  So get ready to have some fun, because the Library is full of awesome for October.  Also, a huge thanks to the folks at YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for generously sponsoring Teen Read Week.

Best in Kid's Music - Librarian Picks

Need some new beats for your kids? Here is a list of some of my all-time favorite kid CDs, all of which can be found at your library!

Beethoven’s Wig: Sing Along Symphonies (or any of the Beethoven's Wig collection)

This is for classical music lovers who enjoy a bit (okay, A LOT) of silliness.

Music for Babies - Playful Baby (or any of the Music for Babies collection)

Sweet, beautiful, and energizing classical-styled music for babies.

Ladybug Music Red Collection (also Yellow, Purple, Pink, and Green Collections)

A fun collection of mostly classic kid songs and ditties, but done in an original way; each song is unique and diverse in genre. For example, there's a donkey song done in a Zydeco musical style, a peas fingerplay done in a Rap style and with a panflute! So fun! Each color has a different group of songs.

Caspar Babypants – Here I Am!

Terrific folk acoustic music for the youngers. Sweetly done!

Sandra Boynton – Rhinoceros Tap (also Philadelphia Chickens and Blue Moo)

Classic funny music for kids, with full band for extra toe-tapping effect! (My children grew up with these songs and still fondly sing them word for word.) A Recording Industry Association of America Gold album.

Laurie Berkner – The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band

Who doesn’t love Laurie and the great connection her guitar makes with kids every where, in every way. Your kids will love pretending they are goldfish that shower and ride bikes!

Muppets: The Green Album

A modern take on some old Muppet classics by some current rock and alternative rock bands. 

 

John Lithgow – Singin’ in the Bathtub

If you like oldies and full orchestra, you’ll love John Lithgow’s zany take on these entertaining songs.

Okee Dokee Brothers – Can You Canoe?

This is happy music full of banjos and fiddles and lyrics about being in the great outdoors. A great antidote to the high tech world we’re in today.

And for the pure fun of it, here’s a link to Jimmy Fallon, his band The Roots, and the cast of Sesame Street singing the theme song to Sesame Street…

Early Literacy at home: Talking to Children

In our Storytimes we love promoting language because language is a key ingredient in developing young readers.  Something really simple that you can do at home to begin developing reading skills is to simply talk to your child.  Children, even infants, begin learning language by watching and listening to loved ones talking to them, you are their first teacher!  When you talk to a child you are expanding their vocabulary and good readers have a big (enormous, huge, gigantic) vocabulary.  When you talk to your child they begin to understand what words mean and the more words they understand, the easier it is for them to read.  Also, talking to children helps them make connections to their own life, which improves reading comprehension skills.
Things to try at home:
1.    Create a photo journal for your child.  Take photos of your child doing things such as going to school, playing at the playground, picking a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch, etc.  Print these pictures and put them in a photo book that your child can keep on his/her bookshelf.  You and your child can look through the photos and talk about those fun experiences in the book, your child will love telling you about what they are doing in the pictures!
2.    Play guessing games.  Pick a game you want to play with your child and have them guess what it is, give kids clues to help them guess.  This also works with food…have them guess what you will make for dinner by telling them how you will make it.
3.    When you are reading to your child you can talk about the pictures they see on the pages.  You can also talk about the story or the characters, books are great conversation starters!
4.    Talk about what baby is seeing.  Even if you feel silly talking to an infant, it is important to talk!  “Look at the big green leaves on the tree; they are high in the air!”  You can talk at the grocery store, on a walk, in the airport—help your child understand the world by explaining what is around them.
 
If you would like to learn more about how to talk to children, you might like to read
How to talk so Kids will listen and how to listen so kids will talk.
If this book doesn’t interest you, we have plenty other books on family communication you can try!

4-Star Author Talk: Robin Sloan

The 2013 United We Read: Boone County selection, "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan, has been consistently checked-out since we put copies of it on display at the end of August. Whether you have finished reading the story or are still working on it, or even if you haven't yet read it, we invite you to join us for a special event on Tuesday, October 8th, at 7pm, when we talk with the author, Robin Sloan. Mr. Sloan is excited and honored that Boone County selected his book for our community read, and he will answer questions and talk with us from San Francisco via Skype.

"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" is getting a lot of great buzz, with a 4-star rating on Goodreads, Novelist and Amazon. A lighthearted adventure driven by books and the future of books, at its core the tale is about friendships both new and old and discovering what is truly important in life. We'll ask Mr. Sloan his thoughts on Clay and the rest of the characters, the future of books, and Google's ubiquitous presence in his entertaining story. Be here at 7pm on Tuesday to support this new author and show him a big crowd in Zionsville who enjoyed his book for our 2013 United We Read.

“It’s a Mystery Book Club" 4th Anniversary

October marks the 4th anniversary of the  “It’s a Mystery Book Club”.  Since its 2009 inception, an incredibly varied selection of mystery/crime/thrillers have been read and discussed.  Titles have included the classics, cozies, police procedurals, the humorous, historical fiction and newly translated Scandi-crime novels.  Some nonfiction picks have included “The Monster of Florence”and “The Devil in the White City”.  Hopefully there has been and will continue to be something for everyone.

Because it is October, it seems appropriate to venture into the otherworldly with two well-written (and award winning) novels by Simone St. James.   As a teenager she wrote about a ghost in a library.  As an adult, her books have been described as a combination of spellbinding mystery, romance and history.


In “The Haunting of Maddy Clare” she writes of a timid young woman who accompanies a ghost hunter to study the angry spirit of a young woman haunting the barn where she committed suicide.  Her innate strength and intuitiveness are revealed as she uncovers who Maddy was and what is driving her vengeance.

The lead female character in “An Inquiry Into Love and Death” is an Oxford student in 1920’s England who must deal with the death of her ghost hunting uncle.  She is drawn into an investigation of his death and that of Walking John who haunts a local village.

All are welcome to discuss the monthly selections.