Whoa – last week’s quote was a bit of a downer. Did you recognize which complicated Russian novel it was from? Let’s lighten things up a bit – after all, spring starts this week! – and go with something fun.
“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink”.
Now how could you not want to read this book after an opening line like that? If you’re not sure of the title and want to track it down you can find the answer here.
City and suburb dwellers sometimes dream about what it would be like to live on a country farm and raise animals. Adventures in Yarn Farming invites readers to participate vicariously in the daily life of a working sheep farm without ever having to muck out a barn, be chased by a recalcitrant ram, or lift a hay bale.
Told through the eyes of veteran shepherd and textile artisan, Barbara Parry’s stories follow her flock over the course of a year, showing all the facets of life connected to sheep and making yarn. Readers get a front-row seat to the sheep show – tending sheep on winter mornings, shearing day, the round-the-clock chaos of lambing season, preparing fiber for yarn – and a visit to Barbara’s dye studio, where she colorfully transforms skeins for hand-knit creations. With the growing locavore movement, the rising eco-friendly trend in sustainable farming, and the ever-increasing interest in crafting, this book is relevant on many fronts. It will draw readers who yearn for a closer connection with a rural lifestyle and who enjoy making things by hand. Through 13 projects, as well as sidebars and side excursions, readers get a slice of life on a New England farm. (description from publisher)
Ree Drummond—accidental country girl, award-winning blogger, Food Network personality, and #1New York Times bestselling author—presents The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, a fantastic collection of recipes, photos, and homespun humor to help you celebrate all through the year.
Ree shows you how to ring in your favorite holidays with inspired menus for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, parties, deliveries, and feasts, accompanied by fun instructions and hundreds of her signature step-by-step photos. Filled with creative and flavorful ideas for intimate dinners, group gatherings, and family meals, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays includes dozens of mouthwatering dishes (with nineteen recipes for Thanksgiving alone!), helping home cooks create a variety of delights.
Whip up a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day; Whiskey BBQ Sliders and Dr Pepper Cupcakes for The Big Game; Glazed Ham for Easter; Watermelon Sangria for a sizzling Fourth of July cookout; and perfect Popcorn Balls on Halloween. For Christmas, Ree includes special homemade treats, including Caramel Apple Rolls, Christmas Rum Cake, and a selection of smile-inducing cookies, perfect for Christmas deliveries to family and friends.
Enjoy holidays all year ’round…Pioneer Woman style! (description from publisher)
From Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump, comes the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during the great age of flight in The Aviators. These cleverly interwoven tales of their heart-stopping adventures take us from the feats of World War I through the heroism of World War II and beyond, including daring military raids and survival-at-sea, and will appeal to fans of Unbroken, The Greatest Generation, and Flyboys.
With the world in peril in World War II, each man set aside great success and comfort to return to the skies for his most daring mission yet. Doolittle, a brilliant aviation innovator, would lead the daring Tokyo Raid to retaliate for Pearl Harbor; Lindbergh, hero of the first solo flight across the Atlantic, would fly combat missions in the South Pacific; and Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace, would bravely hold his crew together while facing near-starvation and circling sharks after his plane went down in a remote part of the Pacific. Groom’s rich narrative tells their intertwined stories–from broken homes to Medals of Honor (all three would receive it); barnstorming to the greatest raid of World War II; front-page triumph to anguished tragedy; and near-death to ultimate survival–as all took to the sky, time and again, to become exemplars of the spirit of the “greatest generation.” (description from publisher)
How did you do with last week’s quote? Did we stump you or are you a fan of classic horror and recognized it right away? Here’s an easy one that we’ve all heard. Do you know which famous book it’s from?
“Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.
Check here to see if you were right.
In this inspirational volume, artist and author Pam Carriker offers uninhibited mixed-media play while encouraging you to look at your work with a newly evaluative eye and determine what works for you.
Create your own art journal while using a variety of mixed-media techniques and explore seven important elements of art: Color, Texture, Shape, Space, Depth, Mark Making and Shading An art-making workshop in a book, Creating Art at the Speed of Life offers a 30-day syllabus, introducing and exploring each element in a series of exercises, complete with worksheets to help you evaluate your work and make it more successful and satisfying. In an “open studio” at the end of each chapter, well-known contributing artists share inspirational work focused on that chapter’s element.
With Pam’s lessons and advice on how to assess your artwork, you will experiment and grow into a more confident artist. (description from publisher)
I am one of those people who understands history through art. Partly for the classic idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but also because the concept of “this artist made this during this time while these things were happening” just somehow clicks with me. To me, art IS history, so I am always a bit baffled when I hear other people snicker or gripe at stories that come out about people who make heroic efforts to save a piece of artwork as if the idea that a person would put themselves in danger to save history is somehow silly. I am also one of those people who understands things by relating them to movies made in the 1980’s. And thanks to the Back to the Future Trilogy, those of us living in the twenty-first century should all now be fully aware of how saving history will also save our future.
But alas, earwax! The Back to the Future Trilogy did not exist during World War II! Can you imagine telling a Superior Officer in the military (who has no IDEA what Jan Van Eyck painted, nor what song Marty McFly sang after his parents’ first kiss) that he needs to set free a recently captured group of German Soldiers because a German Monk told you that they are the only men trained to keep a historical church from catching on fire from the bombs the Allies are still blasting at the city? Yeah, he may not take it that well…
Luckily, the small group of men and women assigned to the MFAA, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Division, understood the importance of their job even when others did not, and were able to save the history (and thus, the culture, spirit and future) of Europe from total destruction. Their story, after being forgotten for many years, is finally receiving worldwide attention thanks to the wonderful book by Robert M. Edsel (with Bret Witter), The Monuments Men : Allied heroes, Nazi thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and the new movie based on Edsel’s book, Monuments Men, directed by and starring George Clooney.
Led by George Stout, an art conservation pioneer from Iowa (and who Clooney based his fictional film character on–Learn more about George Stout here: http://bit.ly/MeLsKn), the MFAA members managed to protect historical world sites from unnecessary bombings, repair sites damaged due to necessary bombings, protect priceless cultural items from looting by both the Nazis and Allies, and track down and conduct emergency conservation efforts on millions of items stolen by the Nazis and return them to their rightful countries and owners, including those owned by Germany. And here is the super amazing part, although the MFAA would eventually include hundreds of members (still a very small amount compared to the millions who served during WWII), the Monuments Men numbered UNDER TEN MEMBERS during their most critical period to save all of the art in NORTHERN EUROPE (and unlike in the film, they were mostly working ALONE). As the brilliant Dr. Emmett Brown would say, “Great Scott!”
Robert Edsel’s book, The Monuments Men, as well as his companion books and the related documentary, The Rape of Europa, are must-sees for those interested in Art History, World History and Military History as well as anyone who likes a good treasure hunt around Europe.
Spring is almost here, and with it comes that fifth season of the year: wedding season! Brides everywhere are elbow deep in flower arrangements, cake tastings, and dress fittings. If you’ve got a wedding coming up this year, or maybe just got a ring for Valentine’s Day, let the Davenport Public Library help you plan your dream wedding!
For a great all-around planner, try The Knot Wedding Planner and Organizer. It’s full of checklists and timelines to make your wedding planning as stress-free as possible.
Need the perfect cake? Check out Wedding Cakes. London cake designer Mich Turner includes simple as well as elaborate designs and recipes for every wedding style.
Need decorating inspiration? Knack Wedding Flowers has great ideas for floral arrangements, centerpieces and bouquets for every season and budget as well as DIY tips if you want to skip the florist and create these looks yourself.
Did you know that for every bride there is an average of four bridesmaids? If you’re one of the thousands of bridesmaids this season, pick up The Bridesmaid’s Manual. In it you’ll find valuable advice for everything from party planning to etiquette.
Whether you’re planning a fantasy wedding or you’re a bride on a budget looking for diy ideas, the library has you covered. So stop by today and check out our great collection of wedding books!
How are you doing with our Favorite Quotes? Having fun with them, or getting frustrated? Here’s the last line from a classic we all know, but may not have read….
“He was soon borne away by waves and lost in darkness and distance”.
For those of us unfamiliar with this one, the answer is here.
MARCH 4th
12 Years a Slave – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
The harrowing account of a black man, born free in New York State, who was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in 1841. Having no way to contact his family, and fearing for his life if he told the truth, Solomon Northup was sold from plantation to plantation in Louisiana, toiling under cruel masters for twelve years before meeting Samuel Bass, a Canadian who finally put him in touch with his family, and helped start the process to regain his freedom. Rated R
About Time – Domhall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Mitchell Mullen
The night after another unsatisfactory New Year party, Tim’s father tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can’t change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life, so he decides to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend. But as his unusual life progresses, Tim discovers that, in the end, making the most of life may not need time travel at all. Rated R
Dallas Buyers Club – Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner
Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof’s free-wheeling life was overturned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Shunned and ostracized by many old friends and bereft of government-approved medicines, he decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. Bypassing the establishment, he joined forces with an unlikely band of renegades and outcasts and established a hugely successful ‘buyers’ club. Rated R
MARCH 7th
Catching Fire – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson
Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a ‘Victor’s Tour’ of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell); a competition that could change Panem forever. Rated PG-13.
MARCH 11th
Book Thief – Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson
The profoundly moving story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. Although Liesel is illiterate when she is adopted by a German couple, her adoptive father encourages her to learn to read. Ultimately, the power of words helps Liesel and Max, a Jew hiding in the family’s home, escape from the events unfolding around them. Rated PG-13
Best Man Holiday – Monica Calhoun, Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa
At a fifteen year reunion over the Christmas holidays, a group of college friends soon discover how simple it is for old rivalries and romances to resurface. Rated R
Inside Llewyn Davis – Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake
Follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. He is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, some of them of his own making. Rated R
MARCH 18th
Frozen – Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff
When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna, a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna’s sister Elsa, the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, a funny snowman named Olaf, Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction. Rated PG
Mandella – The Long Walk to Freedom – Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto
Based on South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography of the same name, it chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. Rated PG-13
American Hustle – Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams
Brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. Carmine Polito is the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the cons and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Rated R.
Saving Mr. Banks– Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell
When P.L. Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Walt Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character, Mary Poppins, to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers reflects back on her difficult childhood in 1906 Australia. Rated PG-13.
MARCH 25th
Walking with Dinosaurs – Charlie Rowe, Karl Urban, Angourie Rice
For the first time in movie history, audiences will truly see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Meet dinosaurs more real than anyone has ever seen and take off on a thrilling prehistoric adventure, where Patchi, an underdog dinosaur, triumphs against all odds to become a hero for the ages. Rated PG
The Wolf of Wall Street – Leonardo Dicaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie
Martin Scorsese directs the story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort. From the American dream to corporate greed, Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late ’80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ Rated R.
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