Jamie Lee Curtis to Kids: Make Good Choices

Fri, 09/08/2006 - 5:06pm by Eartoground

Jamie Lee Curtis has a rhythmic new children's book out, Is There Really a Human Race?, with illustrations by Laura Cornell. The frenzied race metaphor plays out through this picture book, and at one point a boy tells us that if we don't help each other, we'll all crash. Curtis joins a chorus of other Baby Boomers in hoping that children will one day make our world a better place. Admirable, that hope.

Local author's book featured on PBS today

Thu, 09/07/2006 - 10:50am by amy

Local author Nancy Shaw's, Sheep on a Ship will be featured on Between the Lions today at 1:30 p.m. on the Detroit station, WTVS, with a repeat next Tuesday, September 12, at the same time. Click here to find out the PBS schedule for channels 23 and 28.

Presidential Summer Reading

Wed, 09/06/2006 - 4:03pm by Eartoground

Apparently The Stranger, by Albert Camus was not the only intellectually challenging book on President Bush's reading list this summer. Adam Gopnik, writing in the Aug. 28 New Yorker, names two others on what he describes as "An amazingly strenuous list, actually." The bonus books were American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and , by Richard Carwardine. Whether Bush has actually read either of these books is unclear to me. But even if he has, that's only three for the summer - two short of the five books required to finish the AADL Summer Reading Game. Better luck next year, Mr. President.

Invasion of the mini-books!

Tue, 09/05/2006 - 8:10pm by emilyas

Have you ever wondered what your favorite book would look like in miniature? Well, now's your chance! This Sunday, September 10th, marks the fourth annual Kerrytown BookFest and this year the special guest is the Miniature Book Society (MBS). The festival will be accompanied by lectures, demonstrations and plenty of exhibitors showing and selling books of all kinds. So come to the BookFest and pick up some new, potentially tiny, reading material!

Sign up for September Book Group (Gr. 9-12)

Thu, 08/31/2006 - 4:01pm by K.C.

Call 327-8301 to register for the September 11 book group and receive a free copy of Next Door Lived a Girl by Stefan Kiesbye. Read the book and meet on the 11th from 6:30-8 p.m. in the 4th floor conference room of the Downtown Library. Refreshments will be served. Meet the author, Stefan Kiesbye, 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 12 at the 2nd Tuesday presentation in the 4th Floor Board Room of the Downtown Library.

NOTE: This is the first in a series of monthly author events and related book discussions. You can receive Community Resource credits from the Ann Arbor Public Schools for participating – contact Jeff Kass at jeff@neutral-zone.org for more details.

The perils and politics of research

Sat, 08/26/2006 - 3:36pm by Maxine

Allegra Goodman in her new novel, Intuition, takes us to a struggling research lab in Boston where Cliff, a somewhat careless postdoc when it comes to record keeping, finds that the R-7 virus he's had little luck with is now producing amazing remissions in his cancerous mice. Sandy Glass, lab director, pounces on these findings and broadcasts them to the medical research community at large. While all this is happening, Robin, Cliff's jilted lover and unsuccessful researcher in the same lab, discovers his sloppy notes and reveals possible fraud to an NIH watchdog group. Goodman spins a suspenseful, well-written tale that reveals the tenuous existence of medical research that is dependent on grants, connections and political maneuverings.

You know they don't want to talk about it but it's just around the corner...

Tue, 08/22/2006 - 11:00am by emilyas

Whenever I think of back-to-school time, I am reminded of the Staples commercial that played several years ago. To the tune of "It's the most wonderful time of the year" it showed two children slowly walking through the aisles of the store staring at the floor with hunched shoulders. Meanwhile we see Dad joyously pushing a cart of school supplies behind them and kicking up his heels with excitement.

Going to school doesn't have to be a cause for distress. One way to help kids, especially the youngest students, get excited about school is to read stories that help them understand what to expect on their first day. For the youngest children there are stories such as Back to school is cool by Jim Jinkins, Brand-new pencils, brand-new books by Diane De Groat and Countdown to kindergarten by Alison McGhee.

For older children we have an assortment of books about middle school and high school experiences. So pick up a book and get your kids excited about Fall and going back to school!

Fall Film Fever

Wed, 08/16/2006 - 12:04pm by amy

Coming to theaters on October 20:
Fast Food Nation: Director Richard Linklater (Waking Life, Dazed and Confused) takes on the controversial 2001 book by author Eric Schlosser. Also, Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Paul Haggis (director of last year's Oscar winner, Crash), and adapted from James Bradley's book, tells the story of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima.

Coming to theaters on November 17: Bobby, directed by Emilio Estevez, follows the stories of 22 people who were at the Ambassador Hotel when U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968.

Coming to theaters on November 22:
For Your Consideration, directed by the inimitable (A Mighty Wind, Waiting For Guffman). Three actors learn their performances in a period drama are generating award-season buzz. Also: The Fountain, an epic sci-fi drama/love story directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Pi).

Wild Man LA Writer Charles Bukowski

Wed, 08/16/2006 - 10:36am by Eartoground

Today is the birthday of Charles Bukowski, who lived 1920-1994 and published more than fifteen books of fiction and poetry. Abused as a child, Bukowski grew up to be, at least for a while, literally a starving writer, limiting himself to one candy bar a day, while writing up to five short stories a week, according to The Writer's Almanac, where you can find more information. Bukowski's books include Run With the Hunted.

Useful Advice in a Flash

Wed, 08/09/2006 - 10:08am by annevm

Pediatrician and best-selling author Melvin D. Levine penned the popular book Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, which examines the young-adult transition from academics to work. This week the book is the non-fiction pick at DearReader.com, the AADL service that e-mails you five-minute daily excerpts. We currently have two copies of the book available, one Downtown and one at Pittsfield.