All three locations of the Davenport Public Library will be closed today, Wednesday March 9 so that we can conduct a Staff In-service. We’ll be busy learning all the latest and greatest ways to serve you better and continue to be the best library possible.
We’ll be open again on Thursday as usual – the Main and Eastern Avenue libraries will open at 9:30am and Fairmount will open at noon.
Adrift after graduating from Harvard and rejecting the demands of his Orthodox Jewish upbringing, Avi Steinberg stumbles into a job running the library in a tough Boston prison. Funny, heartbreaking, sometimes brutal, always human Running the Books is his memoir of his time spent among the inmates.
The criminals that Avi encounters are complex – many of them are cruel and dangerous, but there is also an undercurrent of sadness, of lives devastated by poverty, abuse and violence. Hope for redemption for most is slim. And although he is completely unsuited to prison life, Avi attempts to reach out and make a difference – with decidedly mixed results.
This book also works as an excellent memoir as Avi reflects on his own life and the choices he’s made. The humor is sardonic and Avi is not afraid to shine a light on his own failings. It’s also a great study of the library as central to a community and to the humans, imperfect and lost, that use it.
I have to admit that when I first watched the pilot of Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones back in 2009, I was not impressed. I gave it up right then and didn’t look back until recently, when I heard great things about how much the show had improved. Curious, I picked up seasons one and two from the library and decided to give it another shot. The show follows the Parks and Recreation department of fictional town Pawnee, Indiana, led by Deputy Director Leslie Knope (Poehler). She’s ambitious and overly-eager, trying to get things done while dealing with the red tape so often associated with local government. The show starts off with her big project: trying to fill in a giant pit that local nurse Ann Perkins (Jones) complained about and turn it into a beautiful park.
Doesn’t sound like an exciting plot? Well, it is made wildly entertaining by the cast of characters who work and volunteer for the Parks Department. This includes the over-the-top womanizer Tom (played by hilarious comedian Aziz Ansari), office punching bag Jerry, apathetic intern April, and my personal favorite: Leslie’s boss, Ron Swanson, who deadpans every line and almost makes the moustache cool. It gets even better as we learn about the personal lives of each character (just wait until you see Leslie on a date and meet Ron’s evil ex-wife Tammy). I am so glad I gave this show another chance because now into its third season, it makes me laugh every week. If you like The Office, I highly recommend checking out this underrated and hilarious series.
If you could only see one color, which one would you choose? Blue, so you could see the sky? Green, so you could see the fields? Purple, so you could see the bloom of a delicate orchid? Red, so you could see a person blush at the sound of your voice? Well, that is the world you would be born into if you lived in Jasper Fforde’s latest novel, Shades of Grey, only with one big difference: you wouldn’t get to choose what color you can see. Nope, that would all depend on your parents.
In Shades of Grey, Fforde creates a rather bright & colorful dystopian society where spoons are sold on a black market, doctors use color swatches for healing, and genetics determine one’s color vision which in turn determines a citizen’s place in society. Citizens are expected to marry within their colors, be obedient to the colors higher in the Spectrum and never ever go out after dark. Eddie Russett can see, and thus is, Red, and has always been satisfied with his lower place in the Spectrum. However, soon he finds himself in love with Jane Grey, a rebellious Grey at the lowest point in the Spectrum, who causes him to question everything he sees and doesn’t see. This novel is completely different from Fforde’s quirky meta-literary universes in his Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series, but it still contains his same nonsensical and snarky humor while addressing bigger issues of individualism, government/corporate power, and spoon shortages.
On a tangent: I experienced Shades of Grey in the audiobook format (although I may reread it in the text format–I wonder if there was any visual wordplay that I missed) and I tend to listen to listen to audiobooks while I wash the dishes, so I created a very, very complex formula to determine how much I enjoy listening to a particular book:
[(# of times I wash dishes) + 2(# of times I wash dishes despite it being my husband’s turn) – (# of times I listen to a Shakira playlist instead of audiobook)] / (# of weeks I listen to an audiobook) = x
if x < 1 then I probably never finished the book.
if x = 1 then the book was solidly good.
if x >1 then I enjoyed the book so much that I changed my dish-washing habits just to listen to it more often.
The audiobook for Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde was about a 2.25, thus I REALLY ENJOYED this book!
I feel a little guilty admitting this, but I literally could watch the Food Network all day long. One of the shows I really enjoy is Ace of Cakes, where the folks at Charm City Cakes make the most unique desserts you can imagine. So naturally when I was looking through the cookbook section of the library a few days ago and stumbled upon Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes by Duff Goldman and Willie Goldman, I had to pick it up. I really just wanted to look at the pictures of all the amazing cakes they have made on the show, but I found myself really reading through the book because there was so much interesting information about how Charm City Cakes got started and what inspires the staff of bakers and decorators.
The coolest part of the book is definitely the pictures of all the crazy creations they have made over the years. I wish I were as creative as these people! Their cakes are like nothing I have ever seen before. There are cakes to please every personality type and every interest you could have, and a lot of them don’t even look like cakes! The full page of Star Wars themed cakes really warmed my little geek heart (though I was sad that they didn’t include my favorite Ace of Cakes creation, the cake in the form of Han Solo frozen in carbonite). For the creative types, the book will inspire you to try out some new and cool things with cakes. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to bake or enjoys watching the Food Network.
February was Black History Month, but March marks the transition into Women’s History Month. If you didn’t catch our displays last month, stop by and see what’s new.
One book in particular that serves as the perfect segue from one theme to the other is Sister Days by Janus Adams. Subtitled “365 Inspired Moments in African American Women’s History,” the book is written in diary style, with short anecdotes for every day of the year. For example, Philippa Schuyler, who was declared a prodigy at age 3, is featured on July 29th, while Era Bell Thompson, who was inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame, is the woman of the day on April 30th. Personally, I had not heard about either of these remarkable individuals!
Another book that’s received a lot of press lately is the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It’s a true story of a poor woman who died of cervical cancer. Before her death in 1951, a sample of her cancerous tissue was taken, but without her knowledge or consent. Her cells, known as HeLa cells, not only survived in the lab, but thrived, providing scientists with a building block for many medical breakthroughs, starting with the cure for polio.
This is just a small sampling of a wide variety of materials celebrating women of achievement throughout the years. Come check some out!
March 1
Burlesqu
e – Cher, Christina Aquilara
Ali, a small-town girl with a big voice, escapes hardship to follow her dreams to L.A. After stumbling upon the Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job from the club’s proprietor and headliner. After Ali finally makes her way from the bar to the stage, things take a dramatic turn when her larger-than-life voice causes a charismatic entrepreneur to make an enticing proposal.
127 ho
urs – James Franco
The powerfully uplifting true story of one man’s struggle to survive against mountainous odds. Aron Ralston has a passion for all things outdoors. But when a falling boulder traps him in a remote Utah canyon, a thrill-seeker’s adventure becomes the challenge of a lifetime. Over the next five days, Ralston embarks on a remarkable personal journey in which he relies on the memories of family and friends as well as his own courage and ingenuity to turn adversity into triumph!
March 8
Morning Glory – Rachael McAdams, Harrison Ford
For Becky, running a TV show in New York City was the big break she dreamed of, until star co-anchors Mike and Colleen declare an all-out, on-air war. Making the show work with its cast of eccentric characters and outrageous story angles will take a major miracle, but Becky is ready to rise and outshine.
Next Three 
Days – Russell Crowe, Olivia Wilde
Life seems perfect for John Brennan until his wife, Lara, is arrested for a murder she says she didn’t commit. Three years into her sentence, John is struggling to hold his family together, raising their son and teaching at college while he pursues every means available to prove her innocence. With the rejection of their final appeal, Lara becomes suicidal and John decides there is only one possible solution: to break his wife out of prison.
March 15
The Fighter – Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams
Micky Ward is a struggling boxer long overshadowed by his older brother and trainer, Dicky, a local legend battling his own demons. Their explosive relationship threatens to take them both down. However, the bond of blood may be their only chance to redeem their pasts and, at last, give their hard-luck town what it’s been waiting for: pride.
March 22
The Tourist – Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie
During an impromptu trip to Europe to mend a broken heart, Frank unexpectedly finds himself in a flirtatious encounter with Elise, an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Paris and Venice, their whirlwind romance quickly evolves as they find themselves unwittingly thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Yogi Bear – Voices of Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake
Everyone’s favorite pic-a-nic basket-stealing bear brings his meal-mooching ways to movies in this live-action/CG-animated adventure. Jellystone has been losing business, so conniving Mayor Brown has decided to shut it down and sell the land. Faced with the loss of his home, Yogi must prove he really is ‘smarter than the average bear’ as he and Boo Boo join forces with Ranger Smith to find a way to save the park from closing forever.
March 29
Tangled – Voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi
When the kingdom’s most wanted bandit, Flynn Rider, hides in a mysterious tower, the last thing he expects to find is Rapunzel, a spirited teen with an unlikely superpower: 70 feet of magical golden hair! Together, the unlikely duo sets off on a fantastic journey filled with surprising heroes, laughter, and suspense.
Black Swan – Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis
A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet. An insecure ballet dancer wins the lead in Swan Lake but slowly loses her grip on sanity when a seductive newcomer is out to steal her role.
Mad Men – Season 4 – John Hamm, Elisabeth Moss
Set in 1960s New York City, Mad Men explores the glamorous and ego-driven ‘Golden Age’ of advertising, where everyone is selling something and nothing is ever what it seems. Mad Men returns for a new year rife with possibilities.
I don’t know about you, but the warmer weather we’ve been having has made me realize that “swimsuit season” will soon be upon us! If you’re also looking for some help or motivation in getting a little toned up before it gets really hot out there, check out these titles on our “New Materials” shelves.
Pilates Practice Companion is a beautiful book with tons of color photograhps. The book has several different sections featuring exercises at different levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced, as well as other chapters, such as “Maturing with Pilates.” It also has two-page spreads with 15, 30 or 45-minute routines which would certainly simplify any home workout. Another advantage is that it also shows photographs of “common faults.” When I first starting taking Pilates classes, the instructor would come around and correct our form. Often I thought I was doing a move correctly, only to have her alter my position by what seemed like an inch or less, taking me from “oh, this is okay” to “ohmygosh this is hard!” A final plus is that the author, Alycea Ungaro, is well-known in her field, having written several books on the subject as well as having trained many celebrity clients, such as Madonna.
Full Body Flexibilty by Jay Blahnick is another great book whose message is enhanced with wonderful photos. Our staff is now doing stretching exercises at work each day (just for a few minutes) but those interested in taking it to the next level would be well-served by this resource. One feature that’s particularly useful is that the stretches are divided by different sections of the body. So, for example, if you had back or hip problems, you could concentrate on those stretches. I think this book will prove popular: I had it out at a public desk while working on this blog and a patron asked if she could check it out. Absolutely. That’s what we’re all about!
If you are a big fan of scary movies, you should definitely check out Paranormal Activity. I saw the commercials, which were especially creepy and scary, and when a copy was available at the library I hesitated at first, but then decided to watch it. I am glad that I didn’t watch it alone!
A young couple, Katie and Micah, move into a new home near San Diego and are wary of strange sounds and activity in the middle of the night. Trying to figure out what is exactly happening when they are asleep, Micah sets up a video camera to capture what goes bump in the night. Much of what the viewer sees is through the eyes of the camera. The events start out small – unexplained footsteps and doors closing themselves. But, as time goes on more ominus things start to happen to the couple. By the end of the movie the paranormal happenings escalate so much, you have no idea what is next and the ending is definitely shocking. The DVD contains an alternative ending which is worth watching too.
I am normally not a fan of horror films, but Paranormal Activity was a fun watch and scary movie. I checked out Paranormal Activity 2 which is a prequel to this movie that was just released and I will blog about it soon!
Emmett Conn is now a fully-Americanized 92-year-old man living in Georgia in The Gendarme. But his story fades back in forth in time, to when he was still Ahmet Khan, a 17 year old Turk charged with deporting a large group of Armenians from Turkey to Syria at the start of World War I. Emmett has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor; it is unclear whether the tumor of the medications used to treat it are causing him to have vivid, sometimes terrifying dreams. Or perhaps these dreams are the truthful but shocking memories of a past he has long forgotten?
A central figure in Emmett’s dreams is the beautiful Araxie, one of the Armenian refugees who first captivates him by her unique appearance, but with whom he later becomes obsessed. He is determined to protect her — indeeed the odds are stacked against her. The conditions in the refugee camps are abysmal; food and water are scarce and many die from dysentery. Of the original 2000 deportees, possibly only fifty are expected to make it alive to Aleppo.
It is an alarming fact of history that these forced death treks occurred. But more alarming is that so few people know about it, and I include myself in that group. Initially, I felt guilty about my ignorance, but these feelings were somewhat assuaged when the author (Mark Mustian, who is of Armenian descent) stated that he himself had not heard of the atrocity until well into his thirties. Indeed, even the World Book Encyclopedia barely mentions it. I quote: “The campaign reached a peak during World War I. By 1918 about 1,800,000 Armenians had been murdered and thousands more had fled to other countries.”
This was a fascinating book with a little something for everyone — adventure, danger, romance, much of it in an exotic setting. Even the secondary characters, such as Emmett’s daughter, Violet, were multi-dimensional. Still, I think the best part of the book was how the author almost subliminally imparts a deeper message of peace and forgiveness, about how love can transcend race, religion and politics.
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