Blog Post
Pack Your Bags! Book Lust To Go
by darla
Nancy Pearl, America's "rock star librarian", is at it again with a brand new collection of recommended reading. This time she takes us global with both fiction and non-fiction books relating to more than 120 destinations around the world. Book Lust To Go : Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers offers an incredible selection of reader's advisory, covering too many locations to list in this small blog: Albania, Botswana, Corfu, Detroit, Ethiopia, Finland, the Galapagos, Hawaii...I could go through the entire alphabet several times. Whether you're prepping for a vacation or looking for an armchair adventure, this wealth of reading ideas will send you on your journey. Not familiar with the cult of Nancy Pearl? Visit her website, take a peek at her action figure (yes, action figure!), listen to her recent NPR interview about Book Lust to Go, or check out some of her other books offered here at the AADL. Bon Voyage!
Blog Post
ArtPrize 2010
by muffy
ArtPrize turns the city of Grand Rapids (Michigan) into an art gallery for two weeks every fall. ArtPrize features over 1,700 pieces of art on display at more than 175 venues in downtown Grand Rapids, including seven main exhibition centers.
This year, the dates are September 22 - October 10. It is an international art contest solely voted on by the general public. Yes - that means YOU!. Here is how to register to vote.
As the world's largest art prize, a total of 449,000 is awarded to the top 10 artists (with $250,000 going to the 1st place winner). New this year are the juried awards.
The winner will be announced Thursday, October 7 (7:00PM EDT) among this year's entries.
Don't feel like making the 133-mile trip on your own and the hassle of parking? Michigan Radio has organized a round-trip bus tour for Sunday, Sept 26, 2010. The bus will leave Ann Arbor at 10am and return at approximately 8pm. For reservations/information: (734) 946-7021 ext. 21, or email junsworth@biancotours.com.
Blog Post
September Books to Film
by muffy
The American is adapted from Martin Booth's A Very Private Gentleman.
As an assassin, Jack (George Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends badly, Jack holes up in a small medieval town nestled in the mountains of Abruzzo. While there, Jack takes on an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious buyer, accepts the friendship of a local priest, and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful prostitute, Clara.
Julia Roberts stars in this big-budget, glossy, Hollywood adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's runaway bestseller Eat, Pray, Love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia. It traces the author's decision to quit her job and travel the world for a year after suffering a midlife crisis and divorce - a journey that took her to three places in her quest to explore her own nature and learn the art of spiritual balance.
Flipped is the deligthful adaptation of Wendelin Van Draanen's teen romantic comedy of errors, told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices.
The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he’s thinking there’s more to her than meets the eye, she’s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed.
Blog Post
Visit Zion National Park...RIGHT NOW!
by ccamp
Searching for the perfect fall getaway? Look no further than Zion National Park! I just spent three terrific days at Zion, hiking by day (in 100 degree heat!), and relaxing in the charming desert hamlet of Springdale, Utah, by night. Whether you're a casual visitor or a seasoned adventurer, Zion has trails for every level of hiker, from the peaceful Riverside Walk to the steep and arduous Angels Landing. Though short, the trip was one of the best vacations of my life and I can't recommend this beautiful and majestic park enough. And if you do decide to go, don't forget to check out one of our many park guides.
Blog Post
101 Places Not to See Before You Die
by breaking_glass
Didn’t get time to travel over the summer? Don’t fret. Author Catherine Price’s new book 101 Places Not to See Before You Die describes in detail all of the places you never should have bothered to see. From The Museum of Tap Water in Beijing (sounds thrilling) to the germy Blarney Stone in Ireland, Price has done the legwork so you don’t have to. One particularly exciting-sounding destination that caught my attention is the Karostas Cietums Prison Hotel in Liepaja, Latvia where, and I quote, “guests” of the prison sleep on iron beds or prison bunks. For an extra-special occasion, you can arrange to be abducted at your workplace and delivered to the hotel.” Check out the author’s blog to follow Price’s further adventures in travel madness.
Blog Post
Music for the Road
by annevm
The US 12 Heritage Trail sounds like a fun road trip. I also like their list of Best Road Trip Songs, including Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett and Truckin' by The Grateful Dead. Some weekend this summer, I'd like to check out a bunch of road-music CDs and head for the highway.
Blog Post
Reacquaint yourself with Sex and the City!
by ErinDurrett
Reacquaint yourself with the first feature length film starring Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha and Mr. Big!
The new film, Sex and the City 2, is opening tonight at 11:59 pm. This movie is set two years after the original. Carrie and Big are feeling more settled in their marriage, Charlotte is dealing with raising two daughters, Miranda is back on track with Steve, and Samantha is still a serial dater at 52. However, while everything seems great on the surface, the women are feeling a bit restless, and when Samantha gets a job offer that includes an all expenses paid trip to India for 4, the women embark on a new adventure.
For ticket and show times information, checkout Yahoo’s movie page.
AADL also owns five seasons of the TV Series on DVD.
Blog Post
Italian Holiday?
by anonymous
Ever dream of going to Italy? Can't afford it? Using the library is a great alternative!
First, you can experience the sights through art books in our collection. The works of greats such as Botticelli, Bernini, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio will transport you into the culture of Italy. However, if you wanted something a little closer to the real experience, you could try this book of paintings within the Uffizi. It's basically a tour in itself!
If you want to feel like you're actually walking the streets of Italy, try a book on the architecture of Brunelleschi, the famous creator of Florence's Il Duomo, or maybe something a little broader.
Perhaps you're anxious to taste some real Italian food? Unfortunately, you'll have to cook it yourself. But books on Italian Cooking will be able to make that a bit easier for you.
In order to hear Italy, you can try your hand at speaking it yourself. With our fantastic Italian language-learning collection, you'll be able to go from a beginner's lesson, to something more advanced. Although, if you tired yourself out with all that cooking, you might just like to listen to some opera.
If you're really into this whole plan, maybe you want to get some more background? There are tons of Italian history books. There are also biographies on key figures, such as Caesar, Lucrezia Borgia, Savonarola, Garibaldi, Mussolini, and the well-known Medici family.
Maybe all of these books are too much for you, and you really need a break? Well, luckily, AADL also carries movies. Something lighthearted, like Roman Holiday might help you through your journey. Or, if you'd like something a little more thrilling, perhaps The Talented Mr. Ripley? We even have films in Italian, like La Dolce Vita!
It may not be exactly the same as climbing the Spanish Steps, but it's as close as you can get without actually going! But, if you ever decide to go, don't forget your travel book.
Blog Post
Going on a space trip...
by RiponGood
What would it be like to travel to another planet? Jamie Waterman, a Native American geologist gets to find-out in Ben Bova's Mars. At the last minute, Jamie is picked to fill the geology slot in the first International space expedition to Mars. When Jamie first steps onto the Martian surface, he is overwhelmed by the experience and instead of saying his canned politically correct speech, expresses himself in his native Navajo. This simple mistake launches a firestorm among the supporting nations of the expedition. Be sure to read this book to learn about how Jamie and his fellow astronauts survive their Martian experience.
Blog Post
Hidden Gems: Books Unjustly Dusty #6
by cecile
Christina Dodwell is a remarkable adventurer/traveler who also happens to be a very good writer. Her adventurous lifestyle began by chance in 1975 when she and a friend on holiday in North Africa were left abandoned and on foot by their fellow travelers. Instead of making it to the nearest airport they went on a voyage of 1,000 miles on rivers in equatorial Africa in a dugout canoe.
After her African adventure, Dodwell decided to go solo through the highlands, jungles and along the Sepik River of Papua New Guinea. Part of her journey (only 1,000 miles or so!) was on horseback where she encountered Stone-Age tribes, crocodile hunters, tribal wars and swamp-forests. In Papua New Guinea is her book about this incredible trek.
Her next adventure, detailed in A Traveller in China, began in Kashgar, an ancient hub on the Silk Road in northwestern China. She canoed in Lake Karakol, followed Marco Polo’s route to Beijing, canoed the Yellow River and was one of the first westerners to witness the Dragon Boat Race on Lake Erhai.
If that hasn’t whet your appetite for armchair adventure, check your pulse and two other books authored by Dodwell: A Traveller on Horseback and Travels with Pegasus: a Microlight Journey across West Africa