On Display – Crafts!

- Ann 1 Comment

March is National Craft Month, so if you’ve ever felt the urge to be creative, now’s a great time to try something new. No matter whether you’d like to try a paper craft, such as origami, or you’re more interested in making jewelry (with beads or clay) or you’re just looking for a fun activity to keep your kids occupied, we’ve got something for you at the Davenport Public Library. Check out some of these titles:

Rosie O’Donnell’s Crafty U

Ceramic Bead Jewelry: 30 Fired & Inspired Projects by Jennifer Heynen

The Papercraft Weekend Workbook by Fiona Jones

rosie-crafts beads papercraft

Snark attack

- Bill 1 Comment

snark1David Denby is a man on a moral, ethical mission in Snark: A Polemic in Seven Fits. In it, he seeks to quell “the bad kind of invective — low, teasing, snide, condescending, knowing” he refers to as snark.

This extended essay of a little over 100 pages has a definite academic lean. In it, he defines and traces forms of this disdainful rhetoric over the centuries. Included is a section on the purported origin of the word in Lewis Carroll’s Hunting the Snark, as well as its roots among macho posturing poets and warriors over the ages.

The more poignant examples are culled from the combatants in the last presidential campaign.  A shocking revelation, I know.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

- Ann Leave a comment

housekeeper-and-the-professorThis lovely jewel of a novel, set in Japan, explores the power of memory and how it shapes our lives, and how love and friendship can transcend hardship and loss.

The Professor is a brilliant mathematician, able to describe and demonstrate the most complex formulas into something simple and poetic and beautiful, but due to a traumatic head injury his short-term memory lasts only 80 minutes. The Professor spends his days in his study, working on difficult mathematics problems; everything before that fateful night in 1975 still clear and real to him, everything else more than 80 minutes old, new and confusing.

The Housekeeper, a struggling single mother, is assigned to care for him. Gradually they make a connection – the Professor pins multiple notes to his coat to help him cope with his handicap – and the Housekeeper’s young son often joins them. The Professor shares his love of numbers with them and joins the boy in his love of baseball.  Together the three form an unconventional family.

Thoughtful, poignant and bittersweet, this spare, elegant novel will stay with you long after you’ve finished.

DVDs for March

- Ann 1 Comment

australia2March 3

Australia – Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman

An English aristocrat inherits a large ranch in the untamed wilderness of Australia. When English cattle barons plot to take her land she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover to save her ranch. Together they experience a cattle drive, a love affair and the bombing of their town by the Japanese at the beginning of World War II.milk1

March 10

Milk – Josh Brolin, Sean Penn

Based on the true story of the first openly gay man elected to a major public office,  Harvey Milk’s powerful journey inspired hope for equal rights for all. Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.

rachael1Rachel Getting Married – Anne Hathaway

After being in and out of rehab for ten years, Kym returns to the family home to attend her sister’s wedding. Though friends and relatives have gathered for a joyful weekend of celebration, Kym’s passion for drama creates tension in the family.

Also coming out March 10 – Cadillac Records and Transporter 3

twilight1March 21

Twilight – Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

Bella Swan moves to a small town in Washington where she meets the mysterious and handsome Edward Cullen, a boy who’s hiding a dark secret – he’s a vampire. Edward must battle the bloodlust raging inside himself as well as the undead that would make Bella their prey.

March 24bolt1

Bolt – voices of Miley Cyrus, John Travolta

Super-dog Bolt, the star of a hit TV show, is accidently shipped to New York City. His cross-country journey through the real world to get back to his owner and co-star becomes his biggest adventure yet where Bolt discovers that he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero.

solace1Quantum of Solace – Daniel Craig

Betrayed by Vesper,  the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission peronsal. Bond and M interrogate Mr White who reeals that the organization that blackmailed Vesper and is far more complex and dangerous than anyone imagined.

March 31

marley1Marley and Me – Jennifer Anniston, Owen Wilson

A memoir of Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Grogan’s life with his yellow Labrador this is the heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life.

Also coming out March 31 – Seven Pounds

Changes in the Public Computers at the Library!

- Ann Leave a comment

The Davenport Public Library will be implementing a new computer reserve and print release system on

Sunday, March 1 – Tuesday, March 3.

Here is what you need to know:

1. All copies will be $0.10 per page once the system is complete. (See schedule below) The first 10 pages will no longer be free.

2. If you currently have money on your card, you will need to cash it out before March 1.

3. The computers will be down according to the schedule below.

On Sunday 3/1 – the adult public computers at Main will be unavailable

On Monday 3/2 – All Public Computers at Main (Adult, Children, Special Collections) will be unavailable.

On Tuesday 3/3 – All Public Computers at Fairmount (Adult, Children) will be unavailable.

WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE

*If you have any questions, please see a Customer Service

Representative. Thank you!*

Explore Darwin in Fiction

- Lynn 1 Comment

evolution-of-janeHave Darwin’s birthday celebrations piqued your interest in natural selection and evolution? One painless way to learn about a complex subject is to explore it through fiction.  A funny, easy-to-read example is The Evolution of Jane by Cathleen Schine. While on an ecological tour of the Galapagos Islands, Jane  begins to apply Darwin’s principles to her own relationships – in particular, the unexplained break with her childhood friend, who(coincidentally!) is leading the tour.

Barbara Kingsolver calls the book  a “beautifully descriptive travelogue of the Galapagos, loaded with mini-lectures on natural history, evolutinary theory and Darwiniana, wrapped around a rollicking family saga tinged with hints of sexual intrigue….My hat is off to any writer who can render such complex ideas comprehensibly in English…”

The New African-American Kitchen by Angela Shelf Medearis

- Ann Leave a comment

new-african-american-kitchenFocusing on the various cultural traditions that have influenced modern African-American cuisine, Angela Shelf Medearis’ The New African-American Kitchen will have you heading for the kitchen in no time. Known as “The Kitchen Diva” on her PBS cooking show, Medearis sprinkles historical information and quotes throughout the book, making it as entertaining to read as it is to cook from.

Recipes begin in Africa, then travel to the Caribbean and then to slave kitchens where the ingenuity and skill forged by the hardships and conditions of each situation have help create the unique dishes of modern African-American dishes.

Medearis also includes a chapter on healthy eating, aimed at providing delicious recipes for diabetics (more than 3 million African-Americans have some type of diabetes) and one with recipes for African-American holidays such as Juneteenth and Kwanzaa. Emphasis throughout is on healthy, organic ingredients, simple preparation techniques and the joy of sharing good food with family and friends.

A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd

- Ann Leave a comment

matter-of-justiceThis is the 11th in the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery series, but the first one I’ve read.  As a historical mystery, it makes for an interesting genre, but what I found even more intriguing was that the author, Charles Todd, is a pseudonym for a mother-son team who don’t even live in the same state!  Even in this high-tech world, I still marvel at that kind of skill, but for now, let’s focus on the story.

A Matter of Justice takes place in 1920’s England, and the main character, Rutledge, is an inspector for Scotland Yard.  He is called to the rural village of Somerset to investigate the brutal murder of a successful London financier, Harold Quarles.  There are no shortages of suspects, as many of the villagers openly admit to totally despising the man.  Even Quarles’ wife and the town’s police officer are under suspicion.

In what turns out to be a very effective technique, the reader is clued in to the real killer early on, and as the pages kept turning, I began to fear that Rutledge would arrest the wrong person or never literally bring the “matter to justice.”  Another useful ploy was the voice of Hamish in Rutledge’s head.  Hamish,  a soldier who died under Rutledge’s command in the trenches of WWI,  serves as a sort of guilty conscience for the inspector. This contributes greatly to making him a fully human character and not just some singular sleuth.  Though some will find this similar to an Agatha Christie mystery, I found it refreshingly superior.

Darwin Diluted

- Ann Leave a comment

young-darwin2

How does one simplify the subject of evolution?  One solution — read some children’s books on the subject.  Well, at least that’s what I did.  After quickly purveying Darwin’s original On the Origin of the Species, it was pretty obvious that I wouldn’t be finishing it anytime soon, so I did the next best thing.  I checked out what we had in the juvenile section, and lo and behold, I could actually understand them!  I also garnered some fascinating tidbits about this legendary scientist.  For instance, did you know that Darwin . . .

  • was a poor-to-mediocre student who would rather be out hunting than studying the classics?  (Wouldn’t most kids?)
  • dropped out of medical school as he couldn’t stand to watch surgery being performed on children without anesthetic? (That would do me in, too.)
  • spent five years on a voyage around the world aboard the HMS Beagle?  (Though plagued with terrible seasickness, he collected countless new specimens and fossils.)
  • spent eight years just studying barnacles?
  • was an ardent abolitionist?
  • preferred the term “transmutation through natural selection” over “evolution”?
  • suffered from stage fright so severe he couldn’t publicly defend his ideas?

If you’re interested in finding out more about Darwin, check out these titles:

Darwin and Evolution for Kids: His Life and Ideas by Kristan Lawson

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution (a graphic novel!) by Heather Adamson

The Tree of Life: a Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin, Naturalist, Geologist and Thinker by Peter Sis

And the Oscar Goes to….

- Ann Leave a comment

oscarThe big night is almost here! And while some of the excess will be reigned in due to the struggling economy, there will still be plenty of glitz and glamor on view Sunday night when the Oscars are presented. Will Slumdog Millionaire, the feel-good movie set in India, continue its current winning streak and grab the Best Picture prize, or will The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or The Reader win in an upset? And, most important, who will wear the best dress and who will make an unfortunate choice? The fun starts early on Sunday so grab a copy of the complete list of nominees and follow along to see if your favorites finish on top. You can watch trailers and brush up on Oscar history and trivia at the official website.

Haven’t seen all of the nominated films yet? Don’t worry – most of them are either out on DVD now or will be in the next few weeks. And the library will have copies of each of these titles – new releases are listed in eConnections, our electronic newsletter (sign up to receive this on our homepage) or watch our regularly updated list of forthcoming titles (also on our homepage)

Now, get the popcorn ready – the show’s about to begin!

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