Picture this Garden

          

Picture Books are not just for children. Gardens and nature have been the subject of artists from Monet to Ansel Adams.  The Lake Forest Library has a large collection of oversize "coffee table" books featuring gardens from all over the world, traditional and modern, small and large.If you simply want to relax and curl up with a beautiful garden or be inspired to design your own please ask at The Adult Service desk.

Take a journey through Marie-Antoinette's private kingdom. This garden, Petit Trianon was a gift presented to the Dauphine by her husband Louis XVI: "To you who love flowers so, I present this bouquet". Stroll through beautiful botanical illustrations from the royal court artist accompanied by entertaining anecdotes, medicinal recipes and stories from The Court .  From Marie-Antoinette's Garden:An Eighteenth-Century Horticultural Album by Elisabeth De Feydeau.
                                                                                  
Step across the channel and into twenty five significant English Gardens, lushly photographed and open to all via Tim Richardson's artistic eye. The tree house designed for Princes William and Harry at Highgrove, a Sunken Mediterranean garden at Packwood House, walled gardens with whimsical topiary at Daylesford House. Contrast the traditional with Througham Court's edgy unconventional art and design and Crockmore House's modern aesthetic. The New English Garden by Tim Richardson.
                                                                                                                
Expand your view of the garden: look up.The Vertical Garden:From Nature to the City by Patrick Blanc is filled with stunning photos of vertical gardens in nature and vertical gardens in architecture. These living walls defy gravity, they are ever changing works in progress: indoors and out, hotels, cafes and homes and even an underground car park.

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Step right in and join the party. Lisa Newsom's  Veranda:The Art of Outdoor Living is not just about the garden: the architecture, the design details and the story behind them will draw you in. Whether it's a garden in the Cotswolds, Charlote Moss's East Hampton garden, or a Kathy Ireland's French country farmhouse on 30 acres in Los Angeles  the vibrant photography will instill your senses just in time for Spring.

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West Side Stories: Titles to Accompany Lake Forest - Lake Bluff Historical Society Exhibit

West Lake Forest is the subject of the West Side Stories exhibit opening tomorrow at the Lake Forest - Lake Bluff Historical Society.  To accompany that exhibit, we are displaying many books on west Lake Forest people and places and have prepared a reading list that includes books, articles, and web pages.

Here's a sampling of titles on featured people from the exhibit:




Albert D. Lasker,
advertising pioneer and owner of Mill Road Farm and golf course:
Cruikshank, Jeffrey L. and Arthur W. Schultz.   
The Man Who Sold America: 
The Amazing (but True!) Story of Albert D. Lasker 
and the Creation of the Advertising Century  
Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010.  
BIOG LASKER CRU

Picture Source:
Orphans of the Storm
http://www.orphansofthestorm.org/

Irene Castle, 
dancer, animal lover, 
and founder of Orphans of the Storm:
Castle, Irene.  Castles in the Air.  

Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1958.  
BIOG CASTLE CAS

Ginevra King, F. Scott Fitzgerald's first love:  
West, Lames L. W., III.  
The Perfect Hour: 
The Romance of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ginevra King, His First Love.  
New York: Random House, 2005.
813 FITZGERALD WES

Arthur Meeker, Jr., 

columnist, novelist, owner of Arcaday Farm: 
Meeker, Arthur.  Chicago, with Love: 

A Polite and Personal History.  

New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 1955.  977.311 MEE

Picture Source:
The University of Chicago Library
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/

Helen Culver, Hull House Donor:

Goodspeed, Thomas Wakefield.  

“Helen Culver” pages 77-99 in 

The University of Chicago Biographical Sketches, Vol. 2. 

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1922.  

REF 920.077

GOO V.2

20 Feet from Stardom

Chances are you've never heard of Merry Clayton, but we know you've heard of The Rolling Stones!  One of our favorite new movies in the library's collection is this year's Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom -- a fascinating look at the talented singers who back-up some of the biggest and best bands in the world.  This entertaining film shines a well-deserved spotlight on the wonderful performers you hear but rarely see.

 We've highlighted two of the performers featured in the film below:  the aforementioned Clayton and Darlene Love.  You may not know their names, but both are considered legends inside the world of rock and roll.  We've also provided links to a few albums available through the library that feature several of their best-known performances.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2011)

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, Darlene Love began her career in the 1960's all-girl group The Blossoms.  Under legendary music producer Phil Spector, the group provided background vocals in some of the biggest hits of the era for the  'R & B' groups The Ronettes and The Crystals, as well as for solo performers such as Betty Everett (It's in His Kiss).  Although her lead performances in songs such as A Fine, Fine Boy and the holiday classic Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) were hits in their own right, Love was ultimately exploited by Spector when he credited, without her knowledge, several of her other lead performances to The Crystals.  Despite such unfair practices and other career setbacks, Love recorded several studio albums of her own and continues to perform today at age 73. 

You can hear Love's magnificent voice on the following albums:

Love (center) and The Blossoms

Wall of Sound -- The Very Best of Phil Spector:  includes lead performances by Love in A Fine, Fine Boy and Today I Met the Boy I'm Going to Marry; uncredited lead performances in He's a Rebel and He's Sure the Boy I Love (credited to The Crystals); and background vocals with The Blossoms on Be My Baby and Baby, I Love You (by the Ronettes) -- and Da Doo Ron Ron (by The Crystals). 


A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector:  this iconic holiday album features Love's lead vocals on Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home); Winter Wonderland; and White Christmas.

The Sound of Love -- The Very Best of Darlene Love:  studio album of Love's greatest hits, including a mix of original releases and songs recorded later in her career.

Merry Clayton

Merry Clayton's professional career began when she was just a teenager, and she soon graduated to singing back-up for a huge variety of recording artists, including Bobby Darin, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Jones, Carole King -- and the great Ray Charles, for whom she was the lead singer in his group The Raettes.  Clayton is best known for her duet with Mick Jagger in The Rolling Stones' classic song Gimme Shelter, and she remains one of the few woman to ever share a lead vocal with Jagger.  Clayton recorded several solo albums which were applauded by critics but, due to lack of name recognition, failed to reach a large audience.  She continues to perform solo at age 66 -- and recently released a compilation album of her greatest hits.

With Charles and the Raettes (upper left)

You can hear Clayton's commanding and recognizable vocals on the following albums:

Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by The Rolling Stones:  includes Clayton's iconic duet with Mick Jagger in Gimme Shelter.

All-Time Greatest Hits by Lynard Skynard:  Clayton provides powerful back-up in the hit single Sweet Home Alabama.

Ultimate Collection by Joe Cocker:  Clayton toured often with Cocker, and you can hear her here in his hit Feelin' Alright.

The Best of Merry Clayton:  a solo studio album featuring Clayton at her soulful best, including her own rendition of Gimme Shelter.  

These women are just two of the gifted singers featured in 20 Feet From Stardom whose vocal gifts support the music industry's superstars.  Check it out for yourself -- and don't be surprised to find yourself singing along!

New eBook Service!

My Media Mall is an excellent place to find library eBooks. It has a huge selection that you can browse or search through, plus audio books! But we also share that entire collection with other libraries and sometimes the new eBooks are checked out.

If you are looking for newer eBooks, check out our new service: 3M Cloud Library! This collection is only available to those with a Lake Forest Library card and will be growing with new books every month. We also have an excellent collection of eBooks for teens and children.

Now that you are stoked about this untapped resource, here are the particulars:

• eBooks are available to read on your computer or on an app-capable device (iPad, tablet, etc.)
• You can have five items out at once, each with a two week loan time
• Once the two week loan has ended, the eBook will automatically be returned

 The best way to get started is to pick up your tablet and download the 3M app (it looks like the above symbol). Once downloaded, it will guide you through an easy setup process to find the Lake Forest Library and then you will need to enter your full Lake Forest Library card number.

Need help? Want to know more? Stop by the library or give us a call at (847) 234-0636.
Or visit our 3M Page.