Legendary Washington Post Editor, Ben Bradlee, Dies at 93

Wed, 10/22/2014 - 8:06am by amy

Legendary editor Bill Bradlee, who took over the Washington Post in 1965 and served as its executive editor during the Watergate Era, died yesterday of natural causes. Best remembered by many of us in the guise of a wily Jason Robards in All the President's Men, Bradlee was known for his leadership style: recruiting talent and encouraging aggressive investigative journalism. We have a few books by and about Bradlee, including 2012's Yours in Truth: A Personal Portrait of Ben Bradlee, and his work is featured in Katherine Graham's Washington.

2014 Man Booker Prize awarded to Richard Flanagan for The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Tue, 10/14/2014 - 6:46pm by eapearce

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Australian author Richard Flanagan, has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The Man Booker is of British origin and comes with an award of 50,000 pounds. This was the first year that the prize was open to all authors writing in English, regardless of their nationality. In previous years, only citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Republic of Ireland, or Zimbabwe were eligible.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a story of love and war spanning over six decades. Beginning during World War II, the story follows the life of an Australian surgeon, Dorrigo Evans, who is being held in a prisoner-of-war camp on the Thai-Burma Death Railway. As he struggles on the outside to save his men from disease, abuse, starvation and death, he is ravaged on the inside by memories of an affair he had several years earlier with the wife of his uncle. Readers learn not only of Dorrigo’s experiences in the POW camp, but of his childhood in Tasmania, his life before the war in Melbourne, and his experiences once the war is over.

Flanagan worked on this book for twelve years, and the Guardian (UK) calls it, “A masterpiece… a symphony of tenderness and love, a moving and powerful story that captures the weight and breadth of life.”

The other books short listed for the Man Booker Prize were To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, J: a novel, The Lives of Others, and How to be Both.

AADL Featured in Current Magazine

Wed, 10/01/2014 - 4:36pm by aadl staff

Did you know about all of the Unusual Stuff we have to borrow?

The October issue of Current Magazine features a full-page article highlighting AADL's music tools collection, explaining how the collection has attracted interest from "musicians and teachers, students, parents and hobbyists," as well as the general public and mentioning that AADL offers access to these unique materials at no charge to library cardholders.

The article also relates the collection to AADL's mission to offer resources to the community through the use of traditional and innovative technologies and mentions our growing collections of games, home tools, art prints and telescopes.

Great Teen Non-Fiction: "Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design"

Thu, 09/25/2014 - 1:45pm by annevm

If you or a young person in your life is interested in graphic design, be sure to check out Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd. The book was a finalist for this year's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for young people ages 12-18. From YALSA: "This innovative book offers an introduction to the history and basic concepts of graphic design from one of the most successful designers working today. Using real world examples and rich visual aids, Kidd teaches readers how effective design can communicate ideas and messages, and he suggests ways to think critically about the design elements that infuse the media around us. Kidd invites readers to experiment with design themselves by ending the book with a series of 10 design challenges and offers a venue to share their work online."

Ree Drummond: The Pioneer Woman

Tue, 09/23/2014 - 12:29pm by eapearce

Ree Drummond’s memoir of how she met, fell in love with, and married her rancher husband is hilarious, romantic, and charming. Titled The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, A Love Story and published back in 2011, the entirely true story definitely made me want to find my own cowboy out there somewhere! Ree was born in urban Oklahoma and went to college at USC, where she fell in love with the city life. After a few years in Los Angeles, she moves back home temporarily before she plans to move to Chicago. When she meets “Marlboro Man” one night in a smoky hometown bar and he begins to woo her, Ree’s plans change somewhat and before she knows it she finds herself the wife of a down-home Oklahoma rancher, living over an hour from the nearest grocery store and surrounded by cattle rather than skyscrapers. Ree’s stories of her new country life are completely heartwarming.

After publishing this lovely memoir, Ree was inspired to write more and has produced several fantastic cookbooks complete with delicious, easy recipes interspersed with more stories of family life at the ranch. The Pioneer Woman Cooks: recipes from an accidental country girl, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: food from my frontier, and The Pioneer Woman Cooks: a year of holidays, are all beautifully photographed, adorably written, and extremely handy to have in any kitchen!

Most recently, Ree has branched out into writing children’s books about Charlie the ranch basset hound, who is based off of the basset hound that she and her family own in real life. There’s Charlie the Ranch Dog, Charlie the Ranch Dog: where’s the bacon?, Charlie and the New Baby, and Charlie and the Christmas Kitty, as well as several other picture books about the lazy, mischievous dog.

For more information about Ree, and for additional recipes, stories, and photos, check out her awesome blog The Pioneer Woman.

2014 Young People's National Book Award Longlist Announced!

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 2:17pm by erin

It's that time of year again - book award season! This year the National Book Award for Young People has listed ten youth and teen fiction and non-fiction titles in the running for the 2014 National Book Awards. The titles in contention are:
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Skink-No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
Threatened by Eliot Schrefer
The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Revolution: The Sixties Trilogy, Book Two">Revolution by Deborah Wiles
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A few of these titles are on order and should appear in our catalog shortly so that holds may be placed.

Nicola's Book: Meet Rachel DeWoskin

Thu, 09/04/2014 - 2:20pm by annevm

Author Rachel DeWoskin will visit Nicola's Books in Westgate Shopping Center on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., following publication of "Blind," her debut young-adult novel.
From Publishers Weekly: " At the start of Emma’s freshman year, she loses her sight in a freak accident. Despite help and support from her parents, six siblings, best friend Logan, and classmates at Briarly—a school for the blind Emma attends before she “mainstreams” back to her local high school—Emma wants to curl up and die. But when Claire, a friend from her “old life,” kills herself by swallowing a cocktail of painkillers and drowning, Emma rethinks her “PBK” (poor blind kid) attitude and her approach to recovery. While writing the book, DeWoskin learned Braille at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind . . . " The book is for readers age 12 and up. DeWoskin, an Ann Arbor native, lives in Chicago. Her previous books include Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the scenes of a new China and Big Girl Small, which won the Alex Award from the American Library Association.

An Author and his Therapy Dog

Thu, 07/31/2014 - 2:05pm by annevm

Author Luis Montalvan is scheduled to sign books at Barnes and Noble, 3235 Washtenaw Ave in Ann Arbor, on Aug. 16 at 11:30 am. He will be joined by Tuesday, his therapy dog, and he will discuss his books including Until Tuesday : a wounded warrior and the golden retriever who saved him and Tuesday tucks me in : the loyal bond between a soldier and his service dog. Man and dog have been featured by the Late Show with David Letterman, NPR and National Geographic. Montalvan will answer questions and demonstrate Tuesday's Animal Assisted Therapy techniques.

Muse: The Magazine of Life, the Universe, and Pie Throwing

Sun, 07/27/2014 - 11:55am by annevm

Currently one of the most popular magazines at AADL is Muse: The magazine of life, the universe, and pie throwing. Although the magazine is published for kids ages 9-14, many adults enjoy reading it, too. Check out the excellent articles on science, history and the arts, plus plenty of humor to keep things in the right perspective. Muse magazine won a 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award.

Ann Arbor Civic Theater: Noises Off

Sun, 05/04/2014 - 3:09pm by annevm

Ann Arbor Civic Theater will present Noises Off May 8-11. From the synopsis on the A2ct web page: "Noises Off finds a dysfunctional theater troupe mounting a classic farce entitled Nothing On. This comedy-within-a-comedy offers the audience a glimpse behind the scenes during dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and a performance toward the end of the run." Ticket information is here.