Banned Books Week

How many of you have read and loved the classics? Books like The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, and Slaughter-House Five. Maybe you read them for school or pleasure. Did you know that all of those books and thousands more have been challenged or banned?

We are supporting the 30th Banned Books Week (Sept. 30th to Oct. 6th) here at the Lake Forest Library. The library proudly supports the freedom of readers to choose what they want to read. But the world isn't black and white. Parents may or may not have legitimate concerns over what their children read. Many instances of challenged and banned books can be found in the recent century, here are a few examples:

• Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Should others have a hand in censoring certain books or are people (and children with parental guidance) responsible enough to make their own choices?

Tell us in the comments.

Adult Book Discussion-Thursday, 10/4/12

Please join Elise Barack this coming Thursday, October 4^th at 7:15 pm for a discussion of The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje.  We will meet in the Children’s Programming Room downstairs.

The Cat’s Table, set in 1953, tells the story of an 11-year-old boy’s ocean voyage from Ceylon to London. Joined by two friends, Michael eavesdrops, gets into trouble, and observes unfathomable adult behavior while on board.  The boys are seated at the cat’s table, the place farthest from the Captain’s Table, but home to some very interesting personages.  Captivated by his fellow passengers -- a mysterious prisoner, a titled thief, and exotic acrobatics—Michael’s 21 unsupervised days at sea prove momentous. 

Michael Ondaatje is probably best known for his novel, The English Patient, winner of the Booker Prize in 1992.   His work includes fiction, autobiography, poetry and film. Ondaatje was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), moved to England in 1954 and relocated to Canada in 1962.  Some reviewers have noticed parallels between the novel and his own life story. He is married to novelist and academic Linda Spalding and  co-edits Bricks, A Literary Journal. 

Visit the The New York Times Book Review and The Washington Post for reviews of The Cat's Table. Also visit NPR for an interview with the author.

The Cat’s Table is available at the library in print, large type, CD, ebook and e-audiobook formats.

Samuel Ryder and the Ryder Cup

Source:  Ryder Cup Diary
http://www.ryderdiary.com

This week the USA's best male professional golfers team up against Europe's best to play for the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club near Chicago.  You can read about the teams, the course, and formats to be played at the Ryder Cup web site, but this post is devoted to Samuel Ryder, after whom the contest is named.

Source:  St. Albans Museums
www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk

Samuel Ryder (1858-1936) was a successful English seed merchant in St. Albans (about 20 miles NW of London) whose pioneering business of selling seeds in packets by mail brought him wealth.  But by the time Ryder was in his late 40s, he was in poor health and exhausted from his rigorous work habits. When his doctor prescribed exercise and fresh air, Ryder took up golf on the suggestion of a minister friend.  Although Ryder had no prior interest in the game, he devoted considerable resources to learning it, having a 200-yard hole built in his back yard, hiring a private coach, and practicing six days a week.  By age 51 he was an accomplished player with a 6 handicap.

Source: GOLF.com Sports Illustrated
blogs.golf.com

Ryder was both an active amateur competitor and a promoter of professional competition.  In1926, at age 68, he was an enthusiastic spectator of an informal British and American pro team match held prior to the British Open at the Wentworth Golf Club.  Ryder's personal coach, Abe Mitchell, played in and helped organize that match.  Afterwards, Ryder commissioned a gold trophy to be the prize for a similar match to be held biennially between Great Britain and the United States, and the figure of the golfer at the top of the gold cup was modeled after his friend and instructor Abe Mitchell. The first official Ryder Cup match, played in 1927 in Worcester, Massachusetts, was won by the United States with Walter Hagen as captain.  After 1977 the Great Britain team was expanded to include European pros, because the matches had become one-sided with the United States having won all but three matches since 1927.

Addressing the British Ryder Cup team in 1931 before it headed to the U.S. for matches, Samuel Ryder said, "..it has been a source of pride and gratification to me that these matches have taken their place among the great sporting events of the world.  I hope I have done several things in my life for the benefit of my fellow men, but I am certain I have never done a happier thing than this."

Sources (Article titles link to full text in the library's ProQuest subscription database.  Your Lake Forest Library card # is required if accessing articles from outside the library.):

Armstrong, M.  A Special Thank You to Samuel Ryder. (Las Cruces Sun-News, Oct. 1, 2010)
Campbell, Malcolm. The New Encyclopedia of Golf. (DK, 2001)
Duffy, B.  Ryder Had Faith in His Idea.  (Boston Globe, Sep. 22, 1999)
Ryder, Samuel.  Fellow Golfers and Sportsmen. (Speech delivered in 1931, www.oldsportsauction.com)
Samuel Ryder St. Albans Trail: An Introduction. (St. Albans City and District Council, June 2010)

International Inspectors on DVD

Call them Inspector, Detective or Commissario , the international crime solvers have caught America’s attention.  The Brits – Inspectors Morse, Foyle, Lewis and Lynley – were first.  Lately, the Swedes – Wallander, Maria Wern, Irene Huss and Beck—have become popular.  The Library has all of these and more on DVD.  Commisario Brunetti makes Venice a safer place. Detective Montalbano operates in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata.  Southern Sweden is the setting for Wallander’s cases, while Maria Wern lives in the scenic island city of Visby. The Norwegians are represented by  P.I. Varg Veum who lives in the coastal city of Bergen.  And “East West 101” features Zane Malik, a Muslim detective in Sydney, Australia.

More series are arriving constantly.  You can inspect what’s in on the shelves immediately to the right of the stairs on the lower level.

Adult Book Discussion - The Submission

Join Judy Levin this coming Thursday, 9/20 at 12:30 p.m. for a discussion of the timely novel, The Submission by Amy Waldman. 

In The Submission Ms. Waldman, a former reporter for The New York Times, imagines what would happen if an architectural plan by a Muslim-American was chosen for the design of a Ground Zero-like memorial in an anonymous competition. Waldman examines how Mohammed "Mo" Khan, an American-born and raised architect, becomes embroiled in a growing furor between two opposing factions: those who see the memorial as a symbol of peace and others who harbor anti-Islamic sentiments and find his design anti-patriotic. Public anger and  fear erupt even as the memorial committee tries to bring healing and reconciliation to their community and country.

2012 marks the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  Several reviewers have compared this novel to Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities,  for its examination of politics, art and religion in contemporary America. 

For additional insights and other opinions look at The Submission’s official website  and at The New York Times Book Review’s article. 

Books to Movies

Many popular and classic titles will be in the theaters this fall and winter.  Maybe you would like to revisit some of these books.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A coming-of-age story about a boy trying to survive his freshman year of high school with the help of two senior friends and a teacher.

Based On: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Release Date: September 20, 2012
Starring: Emma Watson, Paul Rudd


Cloud Atlas
A movie about disparate people connecting, their fates intertwining, and their souls drifting across time.

Based On: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Release Date: October 26, 2012
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry

Anna Karenina

A rebellious Russian socialite forgoes her loveless marriage in favor of a tumultuous affair that eventually leads to tragedy.

Based On: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Release Date: November 16, 2012
Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law

Life of Pi

A 16-year-old Indian boy is stranded on a lifeboat with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a tiger.

Based On: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Release Date: December 21, 2012
Starring: Tobey Macguire


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Bilbo Baggins is dragged along by a group of dwarves who plan to reclaim a stolen treasure.

Based On: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Release Date: December 14, 2012
Starring: Luke Evans, Elijah Wood

Les Miserables

An ex-convict seeks redemption in France during the early nineteenth century.

Based On: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Release Date: December 14, 2012
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman

What are you going to wear today?

              

     Colin Cowie CHIC:The Guide to Life as it should Be. Are you wondering how to  be fashionable not only in your clothing but in your life?  Organizing your closet, hosting and party ideas , how to be the perfect guest as to be invited again and many other clues to living a gracious life are detailed in this book written for both men and women.  646.7 Cowie

     Life's Little Emergencies: Everyday Rescue for Beauty, Fashion, Relationships and Life. Fashion emergency?  Find your style, shop for the essentials and accessorize.  Emme's breezy style and good humored advice will have you ready for any and all occasions without spending a fortune.    Emme and Natasha Stoynoff  646.7

         
Shop your Closet: The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Closet with Style. Take stock of what you have and what you need and get organized to pull together an outfit for any time of day or night.   Melanie Charlton Fascitelli   648.8 Fascitelli

     Off The Cuff: The Essential style Guide for Men and the Women who Love Them.    Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame takes an edgy, humorous walk through every man's closet and delivers a guide on how to dress timelessly and with style.  646.3  Kressley

             

          I Have Nothing to Wear.   Jill Martin & Dana Ravich.  A Painless 12-step Program to declutter your life so you never have to say this again! 646.3 Martin

         What Not to Wear.      The Art of Camouflage, surreptitous tricks and golden rules for dressing your body shape.  Funny, witty and helpful. The photos are hilarious.    646.3  Woodall

               

Fact or Fiction ? Children's Library is more than just stories

From early experiences with books about trains, dinosaurs or their own bodies to reading up on the latest issues like the recent Japanese nuclear accidents and Mars rovers, children love to read about the world around them (and beyond!).  
 Favorite topics to read about?  The animal kingdom is  the most popular.   Rascal, and the children's versions of Marley & Me and Christian the Lion are fact-based accounts of human/animal relationships that have made it to the best seller lists. An engrossing new book tells the story of Moonbird, a red knot who has migrated 9000 miles a year for a least 17 years. 
Craft , comics  and sports books are also popular both by those who want to read about their favorites or learn the skill.   And there must be a lot of you  who like the 'strange but true' category or  ‘biggest, smallest, oldest, youngest, etc. ' as world record books are always the first to be snapped up from our summer reading prize cabinet.  

Nonfiction plays a definite role in pleasure reading.  Its role in print form as a research tool for school children seems to be changing.  The Common Core Standards adopted by Illinois stress the importance of reading for content, valuing evidence and critical thinking skills.  Students seem to be turning to digital sources for their reading material. 
Here  in the Children’s Department, requests for assistance in research have declined.  Why?  Printed material becomes dated.  Google searching has resulted in desiring a pinpoint answer to one question, without taking time to delve into material.  This type of research involves more independent initial gathering of material.  Are students doing the research at home on their own computers?  Students have many demands upon their time, so being forced to use reference books within the confines of the library may be too limiting.  Recognizing this shift, we have databases to help students from home, such as World Book, Facts on File (great for researching an issue with its pros and cons), Eco Kids and science fair projects.  Take some time, browse these with your kids.