February 19, 2010
My daughter and I flew to New York City last week to visit my ailing sister. For the flight I had picked up Gone to New York, a collection of short non-fiction by the contemporary humorist Ian Frazier. Two-time winner of the James Thurber prize, Ian Frazier is a comic writer with a great heart, just […]
February 17, 2010
In celebration of Black History Month, we invite you to learn about American master, Gordon Parks (1912-2006), whose huge talents in various fields of the arts brought truth, clarity, and beauty to the lives of many Americans. His photography career began at age 25 when he was inspired by photos of migrant workers. Parks documented […]
February 16, 2010
Caught up with New Year’s resolutions? It’s time to broaden your literary horizon! Salon’s Laura Miller explains how… SR
February 15, 2010
You kids today with your iTunes and your iPods and your customized playlists, burned CDs, and superslick Photoshoped homemade CD covers think you’re pretty hip, eh? Well nobody will ever out-hip Mr. Louis Armstrong who was making and decorating mix tapes before such a thing even existed. As if Satchmo needed one more claim to greatness, […]
February 15, 2010
Think you spend too much on books? In Peru, a book can cost as much as 20 percent of an average workers weekly salary, and library funding is near non-existent. It’s resulted in a big market for cheap and illegal books. Underground publishing thrives in Peru …complete with its own version of the book mafia…and […]
February 12, 2010
Lost is one of those TV shows you either love or hate. The haters can stop reading this post now. However, if you love Lost and are looking for a way to fuel your obsession with the show, why not pick up one of the books featured on it? Perhaps doing so will enable you to […]
February 6, 2010
Rosetta Stone, the language instruction company, has been featured on NPR for its endangered-language program. RS is working with American Indians to preserve their languages and to offer language instruction to younger members of their tribes. Have a listen. Mary B. ( Reader’s Services)
February 4, 2010
Okay, okay, I know, I’m a longtime children’s librarian, so I know that children’s books are a larger portion of my thinking and reading than for the average person. Even so, I really appreciate when I find that children’s literature is important to other adults, too. I was checking into some online library literature and found […]
January 29, 2010
Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller writes about Scandinavian mystery novels and authors in this article. (Laura H.)
January 27, 2010
A departure from his usual subject matter, Krakauer’s latest chronicles the events that led to Pat Tillman’s tragic death in remote Afghanistan. While Tillman’s death was initially blamed on an enemy ambush, weeks later the Army released information that suggested he was instead the victim of fratricide – killed by his own men. Where Men […]
