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Blog Post

Is the grass greener on the other side of the wall?

by gulickb

I'm not normally a fan of graphic memoirs, often I find them to be only of interest if you are a fan of the artist already but there are several graphic memoirs that despite having never heard of the author prior to picking up the graphic novel that have endeared themselves enough that I've read them multiple times. One of those graphic memoirs is The Other Side of the Wall by Simon Schwartz. The novel is set in the 1980's in Germany and follows the Schwartz family as they move across the wall from East Germany to West Germany in search of freedoms that they could not have in East Germany. This period of time is incredibly interesting and Schwartz manages to capture a lot of the emotions that his family went through, as well as documenting their personal history.

This graphic novel is wonderful and will open up a world that might otherwise be impossible to see. Germany in the 80's was on the brink of change, and it is in this precipice that Schwartz sets his graphic memoir.
The artwork is simple but at the same time conveys a huge amount of information about that period in time.

So if you're looking for a fantastic graphic memoir, or to learn about post war Germany, then The Other Side of the Wall is for you!

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Blog Post

A Celebration of friendship: Harper Lee and Truman Capote

by mansii

If you have affection for Harper Lee's Scout Finch and her endearing, if imperfect, small town in the South, you will be delighted by G. Neri’s brand new book Tru and Nelle. Inspired by the real-life friendship of Harper Nelle Lee and Truman Capote, this precious chapter-book recounts the fictionalized adventures of this imaginative pair who forge their friendship from mutual quirkiness and love for books. Tru, a seven-year-old gentleman who wears pristine suits with pride, feels abandoned when he is sent by his parents to stay the summer in Monroeville, Alabama. Yet it is here that he finds a place to belong alongside little sized but big-hearted Nelle, who is more comfortable in overalls than a dress. With Sherlock Holmes as their hero, the two step out to unravel the mystery of a theft, and end up revealing both prejudice and courageous kindness in the hearts around them. A tale for those who have ever felt like the odd-one-out, this celebration of the healing joys of sincere friendship will bring smiles to anyone young or old who can’t get enough of To Kill A Mockingbird, enjoys historical tidbits, or even just craves a good mystery!

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Blog Post

MAP: Exploring the World

by manz

The 300 maps on the pages of Map: Exploring the World are paired in such a way that they complement or contrast each other, rather than be presented in chronological order. This big and beautiful book includes old maps, modern maps, and everything in between. A variety of artistic style and presentation of information in the maps look amazing on the pages of this new book.

You’ll find maps of the depth of the world’s oceans, a map of Vesuvius, survey maps, a serio-comic war map, astrological charts, a geologic map of Mars, a bird migration map, star charts, population maps, sea charts, maps of Disney Land and Hollywood, maps of the brain, and plenty of world maps and state maps, among many others. Included with each map is a rich blurb about the map and its creator.

Also included is a very interesting and brief timeline of cartography and a timeline of world history. It's great from an artistic point of view, as well as history!

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Lectures & Panel Discussions

CANCELLED: Ypsilanti as an African-American City with Local Historian Matt Siegfried

Wednesday February 10, 2016: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

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Lectures & Panel Discussions

Women's History Month Event: Great Girls in Michigan History

Saturday March 19, 2016: 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
Grade 3 - Adult

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Lectures & Panel Discussions

Building Matters: Kahn Arbor

Wednesday March 2, 2016: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room

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Blog Post

Wayne State University Press E-books Are Here!

by lucroe

We are extremely pleased to offer e-books from Wayne State University Press.

Library patrons can download these e-books (they are in PDF format) after logging in to our website. Enjoy titles such as Coney Detroit and, find out how Detroit became the coney hotdog capital of the world! Interested in Detroit music history, check out MC5: Sonically Speaking, A Revolution of Rock'n'Roll or Techno Rebels : The Renegades of Electronic Funk Or how about some Michigan history, specifically young women, try Great Girls in Michigan History or the automotive variety, Reuther Brothers : Walter, Roy, and Victor. Or how about a study on a tv show, like Doctor Who, Deadwood, or the Sopranos, to name a few.

There are more titles to choose from so check out the list here and start downloading today!

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Blog Post

2016 Michigan Notable Books Announced!

by Sara W

The 2016 Michigan Notable Book Award winners have been announced! These are books recognized by the Library of Michigan for "celebrating Michigan people, places, and events."

There are 20 books on the list, covering a wide variety of topics and aimed an an array of different audiences, including children's books, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. This list covers the Michigan Notable titles available for borrowing through AADL, but wait, there's more! Back in October, AADL hosted David Maraniss for a discussion of his book, Once in a Great City: a Detroit story, which can be downloaded or viewed directly library's site.

This list will lead you to explorations of niche Michigan industries, celebrations of famous Michiganders, National Book Award-finalist storytelling, and mouth-watering recipes. So, congratulations to our new Notable authors, and next time you seek a pleasant, Michigan-inspired read, look about you.

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Exhibits

Always Lost: A Meditation on War

Friday December 11, 2015: 11:55am to Wednesday February 24, 2016
Downtown Library: 3rd Floor Exhibit

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Blog Post

NPR's Best Books of 2015

by eapearce

NPR recently released its Best Books of 2015 list, an in depth yearly endeavor where critics and NPR staff choose their favorite books of the year and compile them into a genre-spanning list of several hundred titles. I love that, along with the expected books on the list that are getting accolades from numerous publications and organizations, NPR’s list always contains more obscure titles that many readers likely missed over the course of the year.

You can view all of the titles from the list that we have available in our catalog here.

So what’s on this list of nearly 300 books? Here’s a preview:

In Speak, by Louisa Hall, a young Puritan woman travels to America with her unwanted husband, while in other time and place Alan Turing writes letters to his best friend’s mother and a Jewish refugee tries to reconnect with his distant wife. Elsewhere in time and space, a lonely young girl speaks with an intelligent software program and a formerly celebrated Silicon Valley entrepreneur is imprisoned for making illegal lifelike dolls. How does Hall tie all these characters together? As they all try somehow to communicate across gaps, Hall connects their stories, creating an amazing book that is a blend of historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy.

V is for Vegetables offers more than 140 simple recipes for cooking vegetables in unique and unexpected ways at home. Author and chef Michael Anthony has cleverly divided the chapters of the book by vegetable, so if you ever find yourself staring at kohlrabi or tomatillos in the grocery store, curious about how one cooks such things, this is the book for you! And even expert cooks will be refreshed by Anthony’s new ideas for ways to use common vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, carrots and squash.

The Battle of Versailles tells of a little-known event that took place at the Palace of Versailles: as a fundraiser for the restoration of the palace, the world’s elite gathered in the grand theater there for a “fashion competition” of sorts: five American designers (including Oscar de la Renta and Anne Klein) faced off against five French designers considered to be the best designers in the world—Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy and others. The American clothes were expected to be a laughingstock but instead, the garments and the energy of the models who wore them wowed the crowd. By the end of the evening, American fashion in the world had transformed from a footnote to an enormous influence, not only on style itself but also on the way race, gender, sexuality and economics were treated in fashion in the years to come.