Winter 2012-Adult Book Discussions

Titles have been selected for the Lake Forest Library’s winter Adult Book Discussion programs. Here is the schedule for January - March:

Elise Barack leads our evening discussions, beginning at 7:15pm --

Thursday, 1/5/12 The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwalk 

Thursday, 2/2/12 Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez

Thursday, 3/8/12 How to Read the Air by Dinsaw Mengestu


Judy Levin hosts our afternoon series, beginning at 12:30 pm -- 

Thursday, 1/19/12 The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

Thursday, 2/16/12 The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway *

Thursday, 3/22/12 The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson


*In February we will compare and contrast these two books.

For more information call the Adult Reference Desk at 847-810-4609. These programs are sponsored by the Friends of Lake Forest Library

Planets and Black Holes, Oh My!

With NASA's recent discovery of extrasolar planet Kepler 22B in the habitable zone of a sun-like star, and with U. C. Berkeley astronomers reporting their recent discovery of the two biggest-ever black holes "that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system," we thought readers might be interested in these astronomy titles from our collection.

Black Holes Explained (DVD) -  Filippenko, Alexei V. (The Teaching Company, 2009) : "...12 lavishly illustrated lectures by veteran Great Courses Professor Alex Filippenko, a distinguished astronomer and award-winning teacher at the University of California, Berkeley." (from The Teaching Company)

The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets (Book) - Boss, Alan (Basic Books, 2009): "This is the story of the discovery of extrasolar planets--planets outside our solar system. Not just a dry tabulation of the more than 300 such planetary systems already discovered, the book reads like an adventure yarn, reminiscent of archaeologists looking for fabled lost cities. " (from Choice)

First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life beyond Earth (Book) - Kaufman, Marc (Simon & Schuster, 2011): "In this century, predicts Kaufman, scientists will find evidence of life somewhere in the universe. It's an arresting idea, and Kaufman delivers an entertaining look at the science supporting it." (from Publishers Weekly)

Monster Black Holes (DVD) - (National Geographic, 2009): "Travel to the edge of space and beyond to discover natures ultimate abyss - black holes. Explore where they are found, how they begin, and how it may be possible to harness and use the power they produce." (from National Geographic)

The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos (Book) - Greene, Brian (Knopf, 2011): "That our cosmos is but one of many has inspired a recent spate of theoretical physicists - authors Lisa Randall, Michio Kaku, Leonard Susskind - to advance their particular idea of the multiverse in general-interest works. Here their peer, Greene, comprehensively covers major variations of the multiverse concept." (from Gilbert Taylor, Booklist)

More titles like these are listed in our catalog at this link:  Planets and Black Holes, Oh My!