Garden of Evening Mists
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Garden of Evening Mists, by Tan Twan Eng.
Winner of the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize, a new novel of love, war and memory. Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice “until the monsoon comes.” Then she can design a garden for herself. As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the Garden of Evening Mists remains a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all? What did you think of this book? Tell us! |
Between Shades of Gray
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Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.
An international bestseller, which was a New York Times Notable Book; a Carnegie Medal Nominee and the winner of the Golden Kite Award. Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? This powerful tale of heartbreak and hope is sure to haunt readers long after they finish the last page. What did you think of this book? Tell us! |
Blog Post
Suggest a Title for AA/Ypsi Reads 2014
by hillary dorwart
The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads program is a community initiative to promote reading and civic dialogue through the shared experience of reading and discussing a common book.
The 2014 Reads theme is A Very Good Read and will highlight a work of fiction. Suggest a title for a ‘Very Good Read’ to the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads planning committees (by June 30) and your suggestion just might be this year's title!
Blog Post
Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Reads 2013 Book Discussion
by hillary dorwart
Tuesday February 19, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Join us for an open discussion of the book that is the focus of this year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads - "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander.
This discussion, led by Ann Arbor District Library staff, will examine this stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status--denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.
This event is for adults and teens (grade 9 and up).
Blog Post
Film & Discussion: Broken On All Sides
by Bertha
Matthew Pillischer, director of this 2012 documentary, will lead a discussion after a screening of the film. Broken On All Sides: Race, Mass Incarceration and New Visions for Criminal Justice in the U.S. focuses on mass incarceration in the U.S. and racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. It discusses the theory that mass incarceration has become "The New Jim Crow" by targeting people of color and allowing much of the discrimination that was legal in the Jim Crow era to be applied to "criminals."
Using interviews with people on many sides of the criminal justice system--including Michelle Alexander the author of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book, The New Jim Crow-- the film attempts to answer and provoke questions about the American penal system.
Cosponsored by the UM Community Scholars Program.
Thursday, February 21 -- 6 - 8:30 PM -- Grade 9 - Adult -- Downtown Library Lower Level Multi-Purpose Room
Blog Post
11th Annual Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Event At Washtenaw Community College
by hillary dorwart
Thursday February 7, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Washtenaw Community College - Morris Lawrence Building 4800 East Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105 (map)
This 11th annual event focuses on the 2013 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book selection "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander and will also explore this year's theme Understanding Race.
The Keynote Speaker will be one of America's most influential civil rights attorneys - Connie Rice, Co-Director for the Advancement Project, Los Angeles, and renowned for her unconventional approaches to tackling problems of inequity and exclusion. Rice is also the author of "Power Concedes Nothing: One Woman's Quest for Social Justice in America, from the Courtroom to the Kill Zones".
Doors for this event will open at 6 pm to offer the opportunity to connect with local community agencies and representatives who will be staffing resource tables in the lobby. There will also be time following the event to interact with these local organizations. Copies of "The New Jim Crow" and "Power Concedes Nothing" will be for sale and the event will include a book signing.
Blog Post
Film & Discussion: Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity
by Bertha
Blacking Up explores racial identity through the lens of hip-hop music and culture.
This 2010 documentary examines the popularity of hip-hop among America's white youth, and considers whether this reflects
new racial understanding in white America or reinforces an ugly history of stereotypes.
The director, Robert A. Clift is a filmmaker from Washington, DC, whose previous film, Stealing Home: The Case of Cuban Baseball, appeared nationally on PBS.
He is currently writing his dissertation for the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University
A discussion will follow the film.
Cosponsored by the UM Community Scholars Program
Thursday, January 31, 6:00 - 8:30 PM -- Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Blog Post
Learn How To Host Your Own Book Discussion: Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads: "The New Jim Crow" Book Discussion Training
by hillary dorwart
Sunday, January 13, 2013: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room AB
Are you interested is planning and hosting an Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads book discussion for your school or community? This year's theme is 'Understanding Race' and the book for 2013 is The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.
Representatives from the Understanding RACE Project will lead this workshop, presenting tips and tools for leading a discussion of the theme of Race and this award-winning book.
This event is for adults and teens (grade 9 and up).
Blog Post
Family Science Workshop: Just Like Me?
by OneillT
Saturday January 12, 2013: 10:00 am to 11:00 am -- Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
What makes us different? What makes us the same?
Families will learn about the biological reasons behind skin color, hair texture and explore other inherited genetic traits like the ability to taste certain compounds. Families will also get to perform a DNA extraction.
This event is for grades K-5 with an adult.
Blog Post
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2013 Book Selection
by hillary dorwart
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2013 has selected its next book: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness. This award-winning book is authored by civil rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar Michelle Alexander.
An eleven-member selection team composed of community members, educators, students and librarians from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area chose the book last Monday night from a group of three titles, all of which centered on the subject of Understanding Race.
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2013 is scheduled to occur January through February 2013. There will be multiple opportunities for the community to become involved. More information will be continually added before and during the AA/Ypsi Reads 2013 season. follow the Reads site for details and updates. Participate in next year's discussions, and place a hold on your copy!