CPL Blog

CPL Blog Chicago Public Library Current Blog http://www.chicagopubliclibrary.org October 9, 2008 <![CDATA[Louise Glück]]>

Please join us on October 21st for a reading and book signing with former U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück! Among Glück’s numerous books of poetry, Averno (2006) was a finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry, The Wild Iris (1992) received a Pulitzer Prize, and The Triumph of Achilles (1985) received the National Book Critics Circle Award. She has also been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts. Recently in the Washington Post, fellow poet and author Mary Karr wrote of Glück: "The way mere ruins of the Coliseum evoke lost grandeur more than a newly articulated structure, or the way a few strokes from Picasso conjure a whole guitar, so Glück's plain speech makes maximum impact in smallest space." This event is co-sponsored by the Poetry Foundation in celebration of the 54th annual Poetry Day; you can check out a few of Glück's poems in their online archive, and you can find more of her books at the library.

Paul Newman (1925 - 2008)

Posted October 7, 2008

Paul Newman, who died last month at the age of 83, was one of the biggest stars in American history. He was also an excellent actor, which isn't always true of big Hollywood stars, and when you consider that he was a significant humanitarian, our loss seems all the greater. Fortunately, Newman left a tremendous body of work for film lovers to remember him by. Newman broke into the film business in the 50s, around the same time as James Dean (which puts Dean's early death into even sadder perspective), but lived long enough to charm today's youngest audiences by voicing a character in the Pixar movie Cars. He's left quite a legacy to celebrate. Here are just some of the most notable Paul Newman films available on dvd from the library's collection:

The Long Hot Summer
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Hustler
Exodus
Hud
Cool Hand Luke
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sting
The Verdict
The Color of Money
The Hudsucker Proxy
Road to Perdition
Empire Falls
Road to Perdition
Cars

DIY Film Fest: Flights of Fancy

Posted October 02, 2008

We began celebrating our fall One Book, One Chicago selection a little early this year. Back in August there was a film screening of The Right Stuff at Grant Park. The 1983 film was an award-winning adaptation of Tom Wolfe's classic based on the true story of the seven men who were chosen to man the first space flight, known as Project Mercury. Now that we've got the flying bug, we thought we'd put together a list of some great movies and documentaries that play off the theme of pilots, flight and space exploration.

Apollo 13
Tom Hanks stars as Jim Lovell, lead astronaut of Apollo flight 13, the historic mission that experienced technical difficulties of grave proportions, prompting Lovell to utter the unforgettable phrase, "Houston, we have a problem."

2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick's classic film was said to be ahead of its time when it was released in 1968, winning an Academy Award for its visually stunning special effects, and made yet another contribution to pop culture with the introduction of the HAL 9000, a computer that takes control of the ship shuttled by Dave Bowman and Frank Poole.

Sunshine
This 2007 film starring Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh set 50 years in the future has a team of astronauts trying to save the sun from dying out, but it's no easy feat, and the crew struggles to survive the mission.

Serenity
This feature film spun off from the short-lived Fox series Firefly features a stellar cast and an edge-of-your-seat space adventure. Led by a rogue captain the crew of the Firefly has unwittingly taken aboard two fugitives, a troubled young woman and her protective brother. Now they must flee from the authorities and hope that they make it out alive.

Top Gun
A very young Tom Cruise stars as Maverick, the guy with a need for speed trying to out-fly everyone and win the girl at the U.S. Navy's fighter-weapons school, Top Gun.

In the Shadow of the Moon
This 2007 documentary explores the history of the Apollo space program by presenting archival film footage from NASA as well as never before seen interviews with the surviving astronauts who lived through this historic period.

From the Earth to the Moon
This 5-disc set collects the 12-hour HBO miniseries presented by Tom Hanks. It chronicles the Apollo missions from President Kennedy's speech calling for the program to reach the moon within a decade to the pinnacle of that quest and all the ups and downs in between.

]]> October 09 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[Chicago Book Festival]]>

Fall is upon us, and the Chicago Book Festival, a celebration of books, authors and reading during the month of October, is one of the great events of the season. This year we can look forward to programs with Jonathan Kozol, Louise Glück, and Sarah Vowell (promoting her latest book, The Wordy Shipmates), just to name a few. You can also join Josh Elder to learn about creating comics; or attend Writers on Record with Victoria Lautman featuring Egyptian author Alaa al Aswany. Bring your appetite for the culinary talk and tour with Marilyn Pocius, author of A Cook's Guide to Chicago (Where to Find Everything You Need and Lots of Things You Didn't Know You Did); or if you're a poetry fan, don't miss Li-Young Lee reading from his most recent collection, Behind My Eyes. Don't forget about the many One Book, One Chicago programs taking place this month as well, including discussions, exhibits, panels, performances and screenings focused on our Fall 2008 book, Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. There is a wide variety of Chicago Book Festival events happening at the Chicago Public Library and many other venues throughout the city. Every book lover will find something of interest at this year's CBF, so join the celebration!

Fall Into Books

Posted September 25, 2008

This week Autumn officially begins. The kids are going back to school, the weather is cooling down, and as the nights get longer we look forward to curling up with some good book. To that end, we present a list of some of the biggest, most anticipated books of the Fall season, followed by a second list of books flying slightly lower on the radar but which also sound particularly promising.

The Big Books of Fall
September
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Indignation by Philip Roth
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Given Day by Dennis Lehane
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods

October
Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike
Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass
A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré
Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

November
Tales from the Perilous Realm by J. R. R. Tolkien
Cross Country by James Patterson
Divine Justice by David Baldacci
Dying for Revenge by Eric Jerome Dickey
Midnight: A Gangster Love Story by Sister Souljah
Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
The Private Patient by P D James

Staff Picks: Beyond the Blockbusters of the Fall lineup:
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Sep)
Fabergé's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire by Toby Faber (Oct)
Chicago by Alaa Al Aswany (Oct)
Fault Lines by Nancy Huston (Oct)
New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker (Oct)
John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman (Nov)
2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Nov)
Bamboo and Blood: An Inspector O Novel by James Church (Nov)

Real Bookish

Posted September 23, 2008

Do you ever feel that your book club has become a chore? The folks over at Real Simple may have just the thing for you. In the current issue RS asks readers, "What is the best book your book club has read?" We think that's a terrific question. What's even better is that RS is starting their very own book club, the No-Obligation Book club. This is how it works. Every month a RS editor chooses four titles. You vote on which one should be read for the month. During the month, the editor will post their thoughts on the book and facilitate the discussion online. You can jump in when you like by commenting, or not, whatever suits you. It's the same process every month with a different book, but the past discussions remain online so you can always go back and comment. They still have a lively discussion going for their inaugural book club selection, Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck. Ephron's book beat out The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Interested in joining? You can go here to vote for October's pick. The four contenders are listed below and can be found at the Chicago Public Library. The Real Simple line of books is also available at various branches of the Library.

Brother I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat
The Book of Other People edited by Zadie Smith
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Run by Ann Patchett

And some highlights from Real Simple readers' book club picks, also available at CPL:
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hal
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Little Heathens : Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted September 18, 2008

Yesterday was the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and the Chicago Public Library is celebrating by offering a variety of programs throughout the month, so please join us. Hispanic Heritage month is also an ideal time to highlight some novels by Hispanic authors. Dominican-American author Junot Diaz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year for his excellent debut novel The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Fans of Diaz’s wonderful short story collection, Drown, waited a decade for Oscar, the overweight nerdy protagonist who dreams of becoming a fantasy writer. Diaz visited the Chicago Public Library last week to talk with Victoria Lautman. If you missed the event, you can listen to the interview in MP3 format at Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman. Speaking of Pulitzer winners, Oscar Hujelos won the 1990 Pulitzer for Fiction, the first American-born Hispanic author to do so, for his novel Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. The story about two brothers who emigrate from Cuba to New York City in 1949 was also adapted into a film. We also recommend The House on Mango Street, a series of vignettes in the life of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in Chicago, and Caramelo, narrated by Lala, the youngest of a large Mexican American family recounting her family’s history as they travel to and from Mexico. Both books are by poet and author Sandra Cisneros, who was born in Chicago in 1954. Luis Alberto Urrea, who currently resides in the Chicago area, rigorously researched the life of his great aunt, Teresa, for the historical novel The Hummingbird’s Daughter. You can check out a recent review of this title on the We Recommend section of our website or an interview with the author on the literary weblog The Elegant Variation. These are just a few of many titles that we have enjoyed. For more recommendations check out Hispanic Heritage Month: A Selected Bibliography featuring music, movies and more books.

David Foster Wallace, RIP

Posted September 16, 2008

The much too premature death of author David Foster Wallace has shaken the world of literature this week. There are abundant appreciations and memorials on the web. A few highlights: Time Magazine, Mark Caro in the Chicago Tribune, Laura Miller on Salon.com, Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times, and Dwight Garner on the Paper Cuts blog. Meanwhile, McSweeneys is assembling "memories, anecdotes and encounters" which they will be posting throughout the week. And Believer has made available an interview that Dave Eggers conducted with Wallace.

What better way to remember the writer than to read his work? His most famous book, of course, is that notorious doorstopper Infinite Jest, but Wallace is very much loved for his nonfiction and his stories as well.

Selected Books by David Foster Wallace:
Consider the Lobster (essays, 2005)
Oblivion (stories, 2004)
Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (nonfiction, 2003)
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (stories, 1999)
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (essays, 1997)
Infinite Jest (novel, 1996)
Girl with Curious Hair (stories, 1989)
The Broom of the System (novel, 1987)

Booker Prize Shortlist 2008

Posted September 11, 2008

The announcement of the annual Man Booker Prize shortlist this week unofficially kicks off the literary awards season that seems like a traditional part of fall. The winner will be announced in mid-October. Likewise, the National Book Award finalists will be announced in October, the winners in November. (In fact, this year the NBA finalists will be announced by Chicago area author Scott Turow at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre on Oct. 15th.) The Nobel Prize for Literature is usually awarded in October. In November and December, those ever-popular "best books of the year" features will start popping up in newspapers and magazines across the English-speaking world, and by the time the National Book Critics Circle Awards and the Pulitzer Prizes are announced in early 2008, a consensus will probably have emerged about which 2008 books will be celebrated as the best. The interesting thing right now is that there doesn't seem to be any consensus at all, a refreshing change after last year when the same 4 or 5 books dominated every award and list.

This shortlist is notable for skipping Salman Rushdie's latest, not to mention Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, one of the few literary novels to emerge from the pack so far this year. It's also notable for featuring some fairly fresh names that are unlikely to appear on the later lists. In other words, dear readers, there's still plenty of time to explore those bookshelves and to make up your own minds about what's good before the season of heavy hype sets in.

2008 Booker Shortlist:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (coming in October)
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant (not yet scheduled for U.S. release)
The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher (to be published in the U.S. in 2009)
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

Elvis Appears on the Ed Sullivan Show

Posted September 9, 2008

On September 9, 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. 1956 was considered Presley's breakout year. That year he appeared on The Milton Berle Show in April and again in June with such huge ratings that Steve Allen (NBC) booked him to appear on his show in July. Concerned about the uproar over his gyrating hips, the network asked Elvis to keep this appearance "family friendly" by singing "Hound Dog" to a basset hound in a top hat. Despite this ridiculous performance, the ratings topped The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time and subsequently Sullivan booked Elvis for three appearances on his show for $50,000, an unhead of sum for the time. His debut on The Ed Sullivan Show drew an estimated 55 million viewers, the largest television audience ever at the time. Notably, Elvis was only shown from the waist up on The Ed Sullivan Show. We imagine the viewing audience could have been even larger had this not been the case. Those interested in Elvis's life should check out the slim biography, Elvis Presley, by Bobbie Ann Mason. However, we think the best way to experience the King is to listen to his music, so we have put together a list of some essential recordings to get you started.

D.I.Y. Listening Fest: Elvis 101
Elvis 30 #1 Hits - A primer for the Elvis novice, this disc includes all of the King's hits, big and small, including "Don’t Be Cruel," "Hound Dog," and "Love Me Tender."
Elvis At Sun - Presley's first recordings were with Sun Records in Memphis in 1954-1955. This album includes his five Sun singles and additional demos with Scotty Moore on guitar and Billy Black on bass. These energetic early recordings include rockabilly, country and blues tracks.
Million Dollar Quartet - This is a recording of an impromptu jam session at Sun Studios made on December 4, 1956 with other Sun artists Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.
How Great Thou Art - Elvis did more than cause anxiety in the parents of American teenagers. He also sang the praises of God. His second full length gospel LP won a Grammy in 1967.
From Elvis in Memphis - On the heels of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special television appearance, he recorded the album that many critics consider his best. Elvis returned to Memphis to record this album which featured country, blues and soul tracks.

Sew Long Summer

Posted September 02, 2008

I don't know about you, but with the official close of one busy summer, I'm looking forward to getting back to some indoor hobbies. Last year—with lofty ideas of whipping up cute household accessories or doing my own alterations—I took some sewing classes. But then winter came along and my interests turned to all things knit. And though I'm not quite ready to pull out the crochet needles, I think I'll dust off the old sewing machine and find a new project. Thankfully, the library has lots of books for both beginners and pros in need of a refresher course or inspiration. A quick browse of the catalog turned up lots of good picks starting with S.E.W. : Sew Everything Workshop: The Complete Step-By-Step Beginner's Guide with 25 Fabulous Original Designs, Including 8 Patterns by Diana Rupp. This jam-packed volume covers everything from the gear you'll need, to the how-to, and finally tons of fabulous ideas. My favorites so far are the "tote-ally awesome" tote bag and the "wear anywhere yoga pants." Another great find was Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew by Amy Karol. I first heard of Karol from her Flickr page of the same name. She set it up so that all you crafty people can post photos of the great stuff you make using her book. What a great idea. The book includes 30 projects including: pillows, aprons and purses. Need more ideas or tips? Try some of the titles below and you'll be well on your way to becoming a master seamster.

Subversive Seamster : Transform Thrift Store Threads into Street Couture by Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng and Melissa Rannels
Sewing Basics by Wendy Gardiner
Sew What! Skirts: 16 simple styles you can make with fabulous fabrics by Francesca DenHartog & Carole Ann Camp
Simple Gifts to Stitch: 30 elegant and easy projects by Jocelyn Worrall
Sew U: the Built by Wendy guide to making your own wardrobe by Wendy Mullin with Eviana Hartman]]> September 30 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[Jazz 101]]>

Jazz Fest kicks off this weekend, bringing thousands of music fans and dozens of world-class jazz musicians to various stages in Grant Park. The headliners for this year's fest are two legendary saxaphonists: Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman. You can check out CDs from our colllection by Rollins and Coleman, or countless other jazz greats to put you in the mood for the fest. If you are looking for a starter book, why not try What jazz is : an insider's guide to understanding and listening to jazz by Jonny King, which hopes to guide those new to the genre through some of the basics of this musical genre, as well as giving a list of seminal recordings. Another good choice in the same vein would be Jazz 101 : a complete guide to learning and loving jazz by John Szwed. But if you are new to jazz and want to know where to start, a great visual introduction would be the wonderful 10-part DVD series, Jazz from Ken Burns. He walks both fans and the uninitiated through the history of this very American musical form. There is also a series of CDs put out around the same time focusing on some of the icons of jazz. These CDs can be a way to get a sampling of the hits of these great artists, but jazz purists will always go for the orginal albums. A guide to some of the landmark jazz recordings can be found in The Penguin guide to jazz recordings.

Oprah with a British Accent

Posted August 26, 2008

In the United States, it's almost impossible not to have heard of Oprah's Book Club, which has a massive effect on book sales. Across the pond in the U.K., television stars Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a married couple who host the Richard and Judy Show, have a similarly popular book club. However, there's a twist that makes their club a bit different. Every year the club reads ten or so titles, but at the end of the season, the public votes on their favorite selection, Idol-style, and the winner gets a "Book of the Year" award, presented at the British Book Awards:

Richard and Judy Book Club Winners
2004: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
2005: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2006: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
2007: The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
2008: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Looking beyond the winners to the full list of club selections, it's clear there's been no slighting of American authors: books by Alice Sebold, Audrey Niffenegger, Nicole Krauss, and Joshua Ferris have all been chosen (Sebold's book was voted the best of its year). It's also interesting to look up titles that have gone unpublished or uncelebrated here in the States. There's The Know by Martina Cole, a writer who's a bestseller in the U.K. and who recently made her U.S. debut with Close. Some books are perhaps a bit too regional to have crossed over: there's Feel, Chris Heath's biography of U.K. popstar Robbie Williams, and Nigel Slater's Toast, a foodie's memoir that sounds steeped in British cuisine. Other titles, like Danny Scheinmann's Random Acts of Heroic Love and Katharine McMahon's Rose of Sebastopol are scheduled for release in the U.S. in the next year. But if you're looking for something good to read now, there are plenty of enticing Richard and Judy selections that were published in the U.S. to relatively little fanfare. Here's a sampling:

Starter for Ten (U.S. title: A Question of Attraction) by David Nicholls: 80s-set tale of quiz shows and love
Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor: a tale of immigrants during the Irish famine
The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartwright: a family is reunited with a prodigal daughter
The Conjurer's Bird by Martin Davies: a historical mystery with a dash of romance about the quest for a rare bird
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice: glamour and romance in 1950s London
The Girls by Lori Lansens: heartwarming tale of two sisters who were born conjoined yet learn to lead full, independent lives
The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson: a Scottish minister who doesn't believe in God meets the Devil

DIY Film Fest: Back to High School

Posted August 21, 2008

Summer is winding down and Chicagoans of all ages are preparing to return to school soon. Even if your formal education is long behind you, there isn't a better time for reminiscing about your own school days then at the end of summer. We are feeling the back to school spirit too and have put together a list of some of our favorite high school movies for you to enjoy. So sharpen some No. 2 pencils, pack your lunchbox, grab a spot on the couch and head back to school.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Feigning sickness, Ferris takes the day off with his best friend and girlfriend and spends the day in Chicago while his high school principal desperately tries to catch him skipping school.

Grease
Greaser Danny and good girl Sandy have a memorable summer romance. When they find themselves enrolled in the same high school Danny tries to protect his cool image by snubbing wholesome Sandy. Could a few changes by both Sandy and Danny draw them back together?

The Breakfast Club
Five very different students find themselves in Saturday detention. They think they have nothing in common, but by the end of the day barriers are broken and friendships are formed.

Hoosiers
Set in 1952, Hoosierstells the story of a small town Indiana basketball team's remarkable trip to the state championships.

Rushmore
Underachiever Max Fisher, a student at Rushmore academy, finds himself in a battle for the affections of teacher Ms. Cross with his good friend, wealthy industrialist Herman Blume in this Wes Anderson comedy.

Stand and Deliver
Based on a true story, this films stars Edward James Olmos as Jaime Escalante, a Los Angeles high school math teacher who rigorously prepares a group of students for the AP calculus Exam.

Mean Girls
Homeschooled by her parents for her entire life, Cady enrolls in a public high school after her family moves from Africa to the United States. She quickly climbs the social ladder until she develops a crush on the ex-boyfriend of the most popular girl in school.

Dead Poet's Society
An emotionally moving film about an English teacher whose unorthodox teaching methods at a boys' preparatory school inspires a group of his students to embrace their passions.

Napoleon Dynamite
Oddball Napoleon befriends new student, Pedro, and helps him run for school president in this offbeat comedy.

Election
This satire, based on a book by Tom Perotta, tells the story of go-getter Tracy Flick's pursuit to get elected as student body president and her teacher Mr. McAllister's attempts to thwart her.

Ooh la la

Posted August 19, 2008

Fashion icon Coco Chanel was born on this day in 1883. Chanel opened her first dress shop in Paris in 1914. She first became known for her ready-to-wear designs for women, but it was the launch of her classic fragrance, Chanel No. 5, in 1922 that really helped keep her growing fashion empire going during the ensuing difficult years of World Wars I and II. Along with her signature fragrance and her ever popular "Chanel suit," we also have her to thank for the "little black dress" and jersey fabric. Yes, that's right Coco is credited with introducing the soft, light knit, previously only used for undergarments, into the fashion foreground. Thanks for that, Mademoiselle Chanel. The Chanel name is still going strong and today the coutre line is designed by Karl Lagerfeld, a fashion icon in his own right. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who isn't familiar with the name Chanel today, but few people probably know much about her life. That is easily remedied by picking up her biography by the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue, Edmonde Charles-Roux' Chanel and Her World : Friends, Fashion, and Fame. Yet another pick for some insight into the world of Chanel is Axel Madsen's Chanel : A Woman of Her Own. If what you really want is a glimpse of her fabulous designs check out the catalogue from the Chanel exhibit held at Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. For another fun look at Parisian fashion check out Alicia Drake's The beautiful fall : Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and the glorious excess in 1970s Paris. And for an interesting look at the perfume industry check out the recent book by New York Times perfume critic, Chandler Burr, The perfect scent : a year inside the perfume industry in Paris and New York. Burr chronicles the creation of two new fragrances. One by a designer at Paris' Hermes who is charged with creating a scent which will "challenge le monstre of the industry, bestselling Chanel No. 5." The other a fragrance created by Sarah Jessica Parker and Coty, Inc.

Age of Napoleon

Posted August 14, 2008

In honor of the birthday of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was emperor of France in the early 19th century, we'd like to suggest you spend some time with us in the Napoleonic era. Napoleon was born August 15, 1769 on the island of Corsica. He came to power after the French Revolution, through his numerous and successful military campaigns. Considered by many to one of the greatest military leaders of all time, he expanded the French Empire aggressively and eventually plunged all of Europe into war. The period of Napoleon's reign and the Napoleonic wars has long been a fascinating one for writers and has spawned some of the greatest adventure stories ever written. The writings of C.S. Forester would be a great place to start, especially any of the novels in the Horatio Hornblower series set in the British navy. These novels were also made into a terrific collection of movies. Speaking of action on the high seas, another outstanding series of novels is about Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and fellow adventurer Dr. Stephen Maturin, by Patrick O'Brian. The Aubrey/Maturin books are considered some of the greatest examples of historical fiction, richly detailed and with characters that you will want to follow from adventure to adventure. If you prefer your military adventure on dry land, you can hardly go wrong with the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. These novels of British soldier Richard Sharpe are set throughout Europe and follow many of the actual battles of the period. And, finally, for a more fanciful take on the age of Napoleon, try the Temeraire novels by Naomi Novik. In this fantasy series she reimagines the Napoleonic wars with an aerial squadron made up of dragons. And yes, I know how that sounds, but fans of both historical fiction and fantasy will be happily surprised at how well it works.

David Sedaris, Rock Star

Posted August 12, 2008

An actual author on network television? David Sedaris was a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman a few weeks back. Not only did the legendary talk show host invite Sedaris to his deskside for a chat (rare enough for an author), but after a commercial break he turned the show over to him completely, like he was the musical guest or something, and there was Sedaris behind a podium reading from his latest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Sedaris, of course, is a mega-bestselling author who came to prominence on NPR reading his now-famous Santaland Diaries. His last five collections of humor pieces have hit the New York Times Best Sellers list, and Engulfed has perched triumphantly atop the chart since June 22nd. The guy will even be doing an evening at the Auditorium Theatre in October where top-tier tickets are selling for $100. If you've never heard of Sedaris before, please excuse us for thinking you need to get out a bit more. He's a rock star. Still, Sedaris has only written so many books, so if you're looking for more books to tickle your funny bone, consider these recent successes:

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux
(Not That You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions by Steve Almond
Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped Me ed. Ben Karlin
Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max
My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face by Michael Ian Black
Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Waiter (coming soon)
Swish: My Quest To Become the Gayest Person Ever by Joel Derfner
The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death by Laurie Notaro
I am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Dark at the Roots by Sarah Thyre

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Posted August 7, 2008

Tomorrow evening the Summer Games opening ceremonies will take place in Beijing and thousands of athletes will compete in over 300 sporting events until the closing ceremonies on August 24th. The games date back to possibly 776 BC, although historians are uncertain of the exact date, and were celebrated every four years until 393 AD until they were stopped by Roman emperor Theodosius I. The documentaries The First Olympics and The Real Olympics explore the history of the ancient Olympics. In 1894, 1500 years later, the International Olympic Committee was created by Pierre de Coubertin and the first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece with only a handful of countries participating. Over 500 athletes will be representing the United States at this year’s games, including swimming superstar Michael Phelps, who has a shot to win 8 gold medals to top Mark Spitz’s 7 gold medals in the 1972 Munich games, the most gold medals won in a single Olympics. Those who are interested in Phelps should check out Amazing Pace: The Story of An Olympic Champion. Be sure to watch 41 year-old Dara Torres who will be the first swimmer to compete in five Olympics. Torres is competing in the 50m freestyle and two relays. To learn more about what it takes to be a 41 year-old Olympic athlete, check out Torres' recent profile in the New York Times. Another remarkable American athlete to watch is Sheila Taormina. Taormina competed in swimming in 1996, the triathlon in 2004, and at the 2008 games is participating in the pentathlon! Perhaps not the most popular event, the pentathlon requires a large skill set. Participants compete in epee fencing, pistol shooting, 200m freestyle swimming, show jumping on horseback and a 3km cross country run. How about the Lopez siblings? Steven, Mark and Diana are all competing in Taekwondo, and elder brother Jean is their coach. This is just a sampling of many phenomenal athletes who will be competing this year. Over the next two weeks there are certain to be stories of glory and heartbreak from Beijing.

Caught Reading on the CTA: Blue Line Edition

Posted August 5, 2008

We're at it again. We've been peering over our own books to catch a glimpse at what you're reading this summer. Turns out you're into a little bit of everything. We spotted two Sedaris titles, his latest, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and an oldie, Me Talk Pretty One Day. Another recent release spotted was Lavinia, the latest from fantasy maven, Ursula K. LeGuin. On the chick lit front, a copy of Sleeping Arrangements by Madeline Wickham (otherwise knows as Sophie Kinsella of Shopaholic fame) caught our eye. Looks like classics remain popular with commuters. The Great Gatsby, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Antigone (!) are making the rounds. One title that really made us perk up was The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. This piece of non-fiction examines what would become of our cities and our environs if humans were to disappear. It's an interesting take on the hot topic of the environment, which just so happens to be the theme of our Summer Reading program, Read Green, Live Green. Of the many books we spied on the train two in particular made us want to run to our computers, sign on to Goodreads and add to our to-read shelf: Motherless Brooklyn (we are long overdue to read Lethem's works) and Monster Island : a zombie novel by David Wellington (zombies!). Here's what else Blue line riders are reading:

Bomb the Suburbs by William Upski Wimsatt
Bright Lights, Big Ass: a self-indulgent, surly ex-sorority girl's guide to why it often sucks in the city, or Who are these idiots and why do they all live next door to me? by Jen Lancaster
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon.
Clinton Wars by Sidney Blumenthal
What is the What by Dave Eggers
War by Candlelight: stories by Daniel Alarco�n
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Afterglow by Catherine Coulter]]> August 28 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[Focus on China]]>

As we close in on the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the whole world will be turning their attention to Beijing and China. A country still mysterious to most Westerners, the Olympics are an opportunity for the world to learn a little more about this exotic and diverse country. Even those not interested in the sporting events that will be broadcast from Beijing may find themselves itching to see more of China. The library has a variety of books for those interested in Chinese history and culture, as well as some outstanding fiction titles. Those wishing for an overview of the country might enjoy the heavily illustrated China: People, Place, Culture, History. A reader of current affairs could get a good sense of the current political climate by reading the recent book by The Washington Post’s recent China Bureau Chief, Philip Pan called Out of Mao’s Shadow. A look at the changes happening in China today through the eyes of a traveler could hardly have a more insightful guide than Rob Clifford in his journey across that country detailed in China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power. Peter Hassler is another writer who has done much to shine a light on the mystery of China and her people. One of his best books is Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China. But why stop at nonfiction? Fiction can often offer us an even more vivid window into how people really live. For a fictional look at China and her people, try a novel by one of these terrific Chinese writers:

Da Chen
Ma Jian
Ha Jin
Anchee Min
Jiang Rong
Qiu Xiaolong
Gao Xingjian

Based on the Books

Posted July 29, 2008

Books and movies, movies and books. They go together like Romeo and Juliet...or at least chocolate and peanut butter. At the moment there are several movies in Chicago theaters that were based on books, and as always there are several more to come. We've got everything you need but the popcorn. Here's a handy rundown:

Currently in Theaters:
Tell No One
The American bestseller by Harlan Coben has been adapted into a terrific French thriller about a man whose wife dies in mysterious circumstances. (Incidentally, the film is being nationally distributed by Chicago's own Music Box Films.)

A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jules Verne's classic science fiction novel has been adapted for the big screen again, this time starring Brendan Fraser.

Brideshead Revisited
Evelyn Waugh's novel of love, religion and money in pre-WWII England has previously been made into a well-known 11-hour miniseries starring Jeremy Irons but has now been made into a feature-length film starring Emma Thompson.

Preview of Coming Attractions:
Midnight Meat Train
The short story by master horror writer Clive Barker can be found in the collection Books of Blood.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2
The new Sisterhood movie draws on elements from throughout the beloved series of books by Ann Brashares but is mostly based on Forever in Blue: the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood.

Boy A
A child criminal is released as an adult after serving time and struggles to assimilate back into life outside in this British novel by Jonathan Trigell and its forthcoming film adaptation.

Man on Wire
The documentary about Philippe Petit and his famed 1974 tightrope walk between the towers of the World Trade Center isn't based on a book, but readers may wish to check out his autobiography, To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers or the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein.

Elegy
This drama starring Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz is based on Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal.

Blindness
A mass epidemic of blindness breaks out in Portuguese author José Saramago's book club smash.

The Women
Clare Boothe Luce's play The Women was previously made into a classic film starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Fontaine, among others, and the new version is no slouch in the casting department. It stars Annette Bening, Candice Bergen, Meg Ryan, Jada Pinkett Smith, and many many others.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Toby Young's snarky memoir has been made into a feature film starring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Bridges.

Joyeux anniversaire, Alexandre!

Posted July 24, 2008

One of the most prolific writers in world literature, Alexandre Dumas was born on this day in 1802. At the mention of his name two titles instantly come to mind: The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. While these are his best-known works, Dumas wrote volumes. Some attribute the abundance of his writing in part to the day's marketplace. At the time serial-novels, published in popular periodicals, were all the rage. Often, Dumas would work on more than one novel at a time to meet demand. Others attribute Dumas' drive to produce to the lavish lifestyle he led. Successful as he was, he needed to constantly churn out work to pay off debts and continue to lead the high life. Dumas may be most remembered for his novels, but early in his career he worked as a playwright and later in life he published travelogues and memoirs. To this day, his classic adventure stories resonate in popular culture. They've been made into feature films and can be found in various incarnations in places you'd least expect. Take, for instance, the premise of The Count of Monte Cristo. The hero, Edmond Dantès, is falsely accused of a crime and is imprisoned for many years only to escape capture and return to France to carry out his revenge. Sound familiar? Last year's hit, Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp offered up its own take on the timeless story of revenge. And in the 2006 film V for Vendetta the tortured V refers to the 1934 classic film as his favorite movie because he identifies with the plight of Edmond Dantès. Clearly Dumas' stories have left a lasting impression. To read more about Dumas' work and his very colorful life check out Claude Schopp's Alexandre Dumas : genius of life. Ready to add some adventure to your summer reading? Check out one of the hefty tomes listed above or try The Last Cavalier, one of Dumas' serialized novels just discovered by Schopp at the Bibliothe?que Nationale earlier this decade. Not ready to make the commitment? Try one of his shorter works like, The Black Tulip. If you'd rather while away a lazy summer night with a swashbuckling film, CPL owns the 2002 film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce. Or, if you're already a Dumas fan, try Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte in which the lead character, a book detective of sorts, gets lured into a sinister plot after a book collector is found hanged, leaving behind a part of the original manuscript for The Three Musketeers. Pérez-Reverte will have you riveted with his cast of characters that bear resemblance to those in Dumas' classic tale.

Dillinger Days

Posted July 22, 2008

On this day in 1934 America's "Public Enemy Number 1" was gunned down outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater. Born in Indiana, the small-time crook turned to more serious crime after a nine-year prison stint for robbery and assault. Hardened and embittered after his release, Dillinger took up with more experienced criminals and began his short-lived career as a bank robber which took him throughout the Midwest and eventually brought him to Chicago. After some 10-20 bank heists Dillinger was finally brought down by the FBI with the help of his new acquaintance, Anna Sage. Sage had informed the FBI she would be going to the movies (incidentally, Manhattan Melodrama was the movie they saw) with Dillinger and his girlfriend, Polly Hamilton. In order to be more easily identifiable to the agents posted at the theater she dressed all in red, cementing her place in history as "the lady in red" who betrayed Dillinger. As they exited the theater the FBI closed in, killing Dillinger with two shots. It's the stuff of classic crime films, no? Perhaps that's why there's been so much written about Dillinger throughout the years. Originally published in 1963, John Toland's Dillinger Days chronicles his brief career. In John Dillinger : The Life and Death of America's First Celebrity Criminal author, Dary Matera, paints a romantic picture of Dillinger and a less flattering one of his pursuers. Yet another account of the famed robber can be found in Dillinger : The Untold story by G. Russell Girardin. Looking for another angle at this fascinating period of history? Try Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang by Ellen Poulsen and for an even broader treatment of the era you might delve into Public Enemies : America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough. Finally, if this has you at all intrigued, be sure to keep your eye out next year for Johnny Depp's latest project, Public Enemies, a period piece filmed right here in Chicago in which the very talented Depp will play Dillinger.

Pitchfork Music Festival

Posted July 15, 2008

This Friday Pitchfork Music Festival starts at Union Park and runs through the weekend. Organized by Pitchfork, the Chicago-based music website featuring news, interviews, and criticism, the festival features a large lineup of musical acts that will draw tens of thousands of music fans. Last year, Sonic Youth performed their classic album Daydream Nation, and this year festival goers can look forward to Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back on Friday evening.

On Saturday, the Ivy League-educated Vampire Weekend, whose Afropop-infused self-titled debut fittingly features a song about the Oxford comma, will perform. Also, Brooklyn-based The Hold Steady, whose 2006 release Boys & Girls in America received a whopping 9.4/10 rating on Pitchfork, making it one of the best reviewed albums of that year, will also perform. Sunday's line-up includes Spoon, whose Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is a staff favorite, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, and the recently reunited Dinosaur Jr. If you can't attend, check out these albums by some of the acts that are performing at the fest this year:

Vampire Weekend / Vampire Weekend
For Emma, Forever Ago / Ben Iver
Let's Stay Friends / La Savy Fav
Boys and Girls in America / The Hold Steady
Legend of Wu Tang / Wu Tang
You're Living All Over Me / Dinosaur Jr.
Green Mind / Dinosaur Jr.
Gimme Fiction / Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga / Spoon
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back / Public Enemy
Fear of a Black Planet / Public Enemy

Vive Le Tour!

Posted July 10, 2008

For three weeks in July, while most Americans are enjoying barbeques and baseball games, one of the most grueling, exciting, exacting sporting events on the planet takes place in France – a cycling race known as the Tour de France. Truly one of the most incredible endurance events in sports, 199 riders started the race on July 5th, and they will ride virtually every day, over 3,500 kilometers until they finish on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on July 27th with one final rider wearing the coveted yellow jersey. Some days of riding are through the gentle rolling countryside of France, giving spectators stunning views of charming rural villages, medieval castles, and towering cathedrals. But the real drama always happens in the mountains. As riders struggle up climbs in both the Alps and the Pyrenees mountain ranges, you see why this is an endurance race. The Tour de France has been plagued by scandals galore in recent years, as dozens of the top riders were thrown out for doping. But despite the scandals, the tour is an amazing thing to watch, and Americans have had a growing interest due in large part to the record demolishing 7 straight wins by the now-retired American cyclist Lance Armstrong. Those wanting to read more about the amazing story of Armstrong’s journey from cancer survivor to tour champion could find no better place to start than his memoir It’s Not About the Bike. But perhaps you need a little more background about the race itself? There are some great guides to the Tour, including Tour De France: The Illustrated History and the more intimate and amusing The Tour de France Companion: a Nuts, Bolts & Spokes Guide to the Greatest Race in the World, written by former competitor and current commentator Bob Roll. Read more about the scandals in From Lance to Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy at the Tour de France by David Walsh. An entertaining look at the event from an amateur insane enough to try and duplicate the route on his own comes in the form of the comic memoir French Revolutions from travel writer Tim Moore. And finally, there are several great movies that celebrate cycling. Why not try Breaking Away, the story of a young man from a working class family in Bloomington, Indiana who dreams of cycling with the great teams of Europe, or at least competing with the more privileged college kids in a local bike race. For a more whimsical cycling story, you could hardly do better than the animated French film, The Triplets of Belleville, about an old woman who has trained her grandson to be a Tour De France champion. Even if your last bicycle had training wheels, hopefully these great titles will inspire you to watch the Tour and maybe even dust off your own bike and take a ride.

Ziegfeld Follies

Posted July 8, 2008

On June 8, 1907 the first Ziegfeld Follies show opened in New York. Inspired by the Folies Bergères in Paris, Florenz Ziegfeld launched the popular Follies, which ran until 1931 in New York City. The elaborate song and dance revue featured lavish sets and costumes and the best entertainers of the era including Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, and W.C. Fields. Barbara Streisand played Ziegfeld star, Fanny Brice, in the biopic Funny Girl, a screen adaptation of the Broadway musical. The 1946 film Ziegfeld Follies, featuring the real Fanny Brice, is a sequence of musical numbers and comedy sketches.

One of the most popular aspects of Ziegfeld Follies was the chorus girls, known as Ziegfeld Girls. Ziegfeld often featured more than a hundred girls donning extravagant costumes which they changed several time during each show, so it is no wonder they were such a draw. Several women who went on to become Hollywood film stars got their start as Ziegfeld Girls including Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell. Surprisingly, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer and Lucille Ball were all rejected by Florenz Ziegfeld. The Rockettes, who got their start in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri and now perform at Radio City Music Hall, are reminiscent of the Ziegfield Girls. The 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl, starring Judy Garland, Heddy Lamar and Lana Turner, depicts three women's experiences as Ziegfeld Girls. For a more academic treatment of the Ziegfeld Girl and her legacy, check out Ziegfeld Girl: Image and Icon in Culture and Cinema by Linda Mizejewski.

DIY Film Fest: I Was a Ziegfeld Girl
The following films feature former Zeigfeld Girls who went on to become Hollywood stars:

Gold Diggers of 1933 with Joan Blondell
Footlight Parade with Joan Blondell
Dames with Joan Blondell
Nightmare Alley with Joan Blondell
Double Indemnity with Barbara Stanwyck
Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyck
Christmas in Conneticut with Barbara Stanwyck
The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers with Barbara Stanwyck
The Great Dictator with Paulette Goddard
Modern Times with Paulette Goddard
The Women with Paulette Goddard
Pandora's Box with Louise Brooks

Salman Rushdie

Posted July 3, 2008

Sir Salman Rushdie (a knighthood was conferred upon him by the Queen last month) will be giving a reading at the Harold Washington Library Center on the evening of Thursday, July 10th. Though he may be most famous for his second novel The Satanic Verses, in the literary world the author's most lauded book has probably been his Booker Prize-winning fourth novel Midnight's Children. That book won a special "Best of the Booker" award in 1993, and it's also the odds-on favorite to win again in this year's 40th anniversary "Best of the Booker" award. The winner is to be announced on the 10th, when he is here.

Rushdie is touring to promote his new novel The Enchantress of Florence, which takes up the author's perennial theme of East meets West in a tale of classic storytelling set during the time of the Renaissance. Critics have called the novel "enchanting," "magical and haunting," and "entertainment of the highest literary order." In a widely quoted early review, one critic wrote that if the book "doesn't win this year's Man Booker I'll curry my proof copy and eat it."

Rushdie's other novels include: Grimus, Shame, The Moor's Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet (which inspired a song of the same name by U2), Fury, and Shalimar the Clown. A collection of his major nonfiction work, Step Across This Line, was published in 2002.]]> July 31 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[Oh Henry]]>

Suddenly, Henry James is everywhere again. He's the subject of Sheldon M. Novick's Henry James: The Mature Master and one of the subjects of the forthcoming House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family by Paul Fisher. But what's more striking is that four years after Irish novelist Colm T�ib�n won so much acclaim for his novel The Master, James has recently turned up again as a character in several new novels and stories.

In the new novel The James Boys: A Novel Account of Four Desperate Brothers by Richard Liebmann-Smith, the author takes an odd flight of historical fancy: what if brothers Henry and William James, those classic eggheads, were also brothers to Frank and Jesse James, gangsters of wild West legend? In the title story of Cynthia Ozick's new story collection, Dictation: A Quartet, the secretaries of Henry James and Joseph Conrad meet and scheme about making their own mark on literary history. In The Open Door, Elizabeth Maguire takes what little is known about the relationship between Henry James and writer Constance Fenimore Woolson (grandniece of James Fenimore Cooper) and reimagines the story through Woolson's eyes. And in Joyce Carol Oates' collection Wild Nights! Stories About the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James and Hemingway, the author shows James tending the young wounded soldiers of WWI in London and wondering whether his writing has been too bloodless.

So what's going on here? Is it possible that James is more fun to read about than to actually read? Or perhaps it's just that writers can't resist getting their hands on "the Master" of great literature to reassure themselves he was only human, too.

AFI Picks the Top Genre Films

Posted June 24, 2008

The American Film Institute has apparently not run out of things to make lists of, and film fans at a loss for what to check out next can benefit. This time out, they have picked some of the most popular categories or genres of films, and chosen what they think are the top ten in each of those genres. The Chicago Public Library is happy to provide access to many of these terrific films. For each category below, the # 1 AFI title is listed, plus a CPL nominee that didn?t quite make the cut. To see the entire list of films honored by the AFI in their 10 top 10 genre lists, visit the AFI?s webpage. Either way, you are bound to discover something worth watching.

Animation
AFI Pick: Snow White and the 7 Dwarves
CPL Nominee: My Neighbor Totoro
It?s hard to argue with this # 1 pick or the 9 that followed it, but for those who like to stray from the fairy tale canon, the amazing Studio Ghibli animated films can be an amazing introduction to family-friendly Japanese animation. Note: Due to the annoying "Disney Vault" policy, Snow White is currently unavailable on DVD.

Romantic Comedy
AFI Pick: City Lights
CPL Nominee: Say Anything
The AFI list is uniformly wonderful, and it?s great to see the incredible Charlie Chaplain silent film City Lights take the number one spot. Still, a strong case can be made for Say Anything, one of the best portrayals of a truly romantic high school love story.

Western
AFI Pick: The Searchers
CPL Nominee: The Good the Bad and the Ugly
The AFI top ten list moves far beyond the cowboys and Indians that you may think of in this genre, but it seemed a lapse not to have one of the iconic ?spaghetti westerns? from Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone on this great list.

Sports
AFI Pick: Raging Bull
CPL Nominee: Hoop Dreams
No sports movie list could be complete without this documentary of two Chicago high school students with dreams of playing professional basketball.

Mystery
AFI Pick: Vertigo
CPL Nominee: Memento
Heavy on the Hitchcock, the AFI mystery list is great but could use something more modern. I would nominate the tricky mystery film, Memento, with the epitome of the unreliable narrator, a man with no short term memory.

Fantasy
AFI Pick: Wizard of Oz
CPL Nominee: Pan's Labyrinth
A fantasy film should take you to a wondrous place, and the brilliant Pan?s Labyrinth certainly qualifies as a girl?s imaginary world becomes just as dangerous as her real one.

Science Fiction
AFI Pick: 2001: A Space Odyssey
CPL nominee: The Matrix
Although their pick is a truly epic landmark, it doesn?t touch the adrenaline or pace of the visionary first film from the Wachowski Brothers. Sequels? What sequels?

Gangster
AFI Pick: Godfather
CPL Nominee: Miller?s Crossing
The Coen Brothers always have a slightly unique take on the crime film, and this saga of an Irish crime syndicate fighting for control of a city during prohibition is both stylish and gripping.

Courtroom Drama:
AFI Pick: To Kill a Mockingbird
CPL Nominee: Inherit the Wind
Most of the great legal films make the AFI cut, but this classic tale of the epic Scopes trial to decide whether evolution could be taught in schools is a must-see.

Epic AFI Pick: Lawrence of Arabia
CPL Nominee: Dr. Zhivago
This seems like a pretty hard category to define, but based on sweep and scale another David Lean masterpiece, this one featuring the snowy fields of Russia rather than the deserts of Arabia, would be a great pick.

Beach Reads

Posted on June 19, 2008

Chicago's beaches may not be the white sand, tropical paradises that some people imagine when you say "beach read", but for my money, there are few things finer than a sunny weekend afternoon on the Chicago lakefront. So what if we don't have palm trees? We have the most magnificent skyline in the country to look at from our beaches. So grab your sunscreen and a book, and enjoy the third coast this summer. The perfect beach book can be anything that you have been saving for when you really want to just kick back and be entertained. Here are some of the hot books for summer:

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich: Intrepid bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is back and as wacky as ever in the latest installment of this hilarious series.

Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen: Fans of last year's hit Garden Spells will be happy to see this new novel that again revolves around small-town life and family secrets.

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George: Over her long career, George has made a name for writing detailed, psychologically tangled mysteries, and this latest is no exception. Inspector Lynley has taken left Scotland Yard in this novel, but still gets pulled into the investigation of a death on the Cornish coast.

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles: What could be better to read while you are lounging on the beach, than a novel about some poor sap trapped in an airport? In this very funny novel the sap pens a complaint letter to the airline that stranded him and reflects on his life.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry: Towner Whitney comes from a family that has the ability to read the future in lace patterns, but it is the past that she must confront when she returns to her hometown of Salem, Mass.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris: Sedaris finds humor in his childhood, his long-suffering boyfriend, and the perils of foreign travel in this new collection of essays.

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith: A Soviet Security Officer clandestinely investigates a murder spree that the Stalinist government swears could never happen in this debut novel, set in and around post-WWII Moscow.

Up Till Now: The Autobiography by William Shatner: There are certainly more serious and important biographies out this summer, but few are as much guilty fun. With his trademark humor, Shatner tells great stories of his long career.

Fire Up That Grill

Posted June 17, 2008

As the temperatures rise, the kitchen oven looks less and less appealing. Summer is a great time to move the cooking outdoors. For those ready to fire up the grill, Chicago Public Library has a variety of cookbooks to help you plan the perfect backyard meal. Both new and experienced grillers will find something to love in the guru of the barbeque Steven Raichlen?s classic How to Grill. Other great barbequing titles by Raichlen include Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters & Glazes, Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA with recipes from across the country, and the offbeat and fun Beer-Can Chicken. The Culinary Institute of America?s expansive Grilling covers everything from meats to breads and desserts. The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining provides outdoor party planning tips, complete menus, and moves beyond the grill including instructions and recipes for cooking outdoors with smokers and big pot cookers. Those who prefer meatless fare should check out The Complete Book of Vegetarian Grilling or Grilling from the Garden. Even those who lack a place to cook outside aren?t prohibited from preparing great grilled food with Raichlen's Indoor! Grilling. Check out our online catalog for additional barbequing titles.

Tell Me A Story

Posted June 12, 2008

At a recent conference in Los Angeles, the Audiobook Publishers Associations handed out their awards for the best audiobooks of the year, the Audies. Audiobooks continue to be a hot area in libraries (especially downloadable audiobooks), and the Chicago Public Library can be a great place to feed your audiobook habit. Whether you listen in the car, on the 'L', while in the garden or doing chores, audiobooks can be a boon to those who feel like they don't have as much time for reading. Think of it this way - why should kids be the only ones who have stories read to them? If you've never listened to an audiobook CPL has an audiobook to get you started, from collections of short stories, to the latest bestselling novels, to classics, to new nonfiction.

Why not start with one of these Audie-winning titles?

Tree of Smoke by Dennis Johnson (Winner, literary fiction, 2008) - Available on CD and downloadable
Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke (Winner, Mystery, 2008) - Available on CD
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Winner, Suspense/Thriller, 2008) - Available on CD
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Winner, Romance, 2008) - Available on CD
Dune by Frank Herbert (Winner, Science Fiction, 2008) - Available on CD
Roots by Alex Haley (Winner, Nonfiction, 2008) - Available on CD
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walker Isaacson (Winner, Biography/Memoir, 2008) - Available on CD
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (Winner, Short Stories, 2008) - Available on CD and downloadable
Malinche by Laura Esquivel (winner, Spanish language, 2008) - Available on CD

Adopt-A-Cat Month

Posted June 10, 2008

June is Adopt-A-Cat Month. According to the American Humane Association shelters see an increase of kittens needing new homes at this time of year. No doubt you've heard cat owners attest to the joys of having a cat, but cats aren't for everyone. Not sure you're ready to be a cat owner? We have books on everything you'll need to know before you adopt. You can start by consulting The Humane Society of the United States Complete Guide to Cat Care . Or you might need something a little more specific. Say for instance you decide to bypass those little bundles of energy for a more laid-back, mature cat. You might consider checking out, Complete Care for Your Aging Cat. Does that sound like crazy talk 'cause you can't resist all things small, cute and fluffy? Then check out, Kitten Care, for all you need to know from training to visiting the vet and kitten safety. Or are you a cat lover but have allergy concerns? You may want to take a look at The Sneeze-free Cat Owner to learn which breeds work better for you and how to manage your allergies. If you decide to take the plunge and find your new pet is having some trouble settling in you might check out some books that get into your kitty's head like The Cat Behavior Answer Book, Outwitting Cats or Cat Be Good. Still got questions? The titles listed below should satisfy that curiosity and the American Humane Association has some useful guides to help you decide if adoption is right for you and how you go about the process when you're ready to adopt.

The Cat Fanciers' Association Complete Cat Book by CFA and its associates ; edited by Mordecai Siegal
Your cat : Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life by Elizabeth M. Hodgkins
The Cat Owner's Manual : Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance by David Brunner and Sam Stall ; illustrated by Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum

Chicago Blues Festival

Posted June 5, 2008

Today is first day of the 25th annual Chicago Blues Fest! This free event runs Thursday through Sunday, from 11 am until 9:30 pm each day, and features music on six stages. Some highlights this year include performances by blues guitarist Johnny Winter (who played at the inaugural fest in 1984), Chicago's own Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, legendary B.B. King (making his first appearance at the fest in over 20 years), and many others. Visit the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special events for a complete schedule. If you need a primer on Chicago's storied blues history, check out the Chicago Office of Tourism's History of Chicago Blues audio tour narrated by Buddy Guy. You can also explore the blues on Chicago Public Library's Chicago Blues webpage or download recordings from Chicago's independent blues record label, Alligator, available on our downloadable media collection, or check out our large collection of circulating blues compact discs, many of which can be found through searching on Chicago Blues in our online catalog.

Lambda Awards

Posted June 3, 2008

Just in time for Pride Month (and for the "Out and Proud in Chicago" special premiering tonight), the major awards recognizing excellence in the field of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender literature have all been announced. There are several categories from the Lambda Awards that readers can explore, but the top winner in Women's Fiction was The IHOP Papers by Ali Liebegott. In Men's Fiction the big winner was Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. The IHOP Papers also took the top prize for women's fiction in the Publishing Triangle's Ferro-Grumley Awards, as well as an honor from the Stonewall Book Awards. The Ferro-Grumley Award for men's fiction went to Peter Cameron for Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, and the winner of the Stonewall award for literature was The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. The Stonewall award for nonfiction went to Mark Doty for his memoir Dog Years. Congratulations to the winners as well as the many finalists and honorees.]]> June 26 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[(B)read and Circuses]]>

Not many animals have received the full biography treatment over the years, but one large exception has recently been made for Jumbo the Elephant, for whom the adjective "big" just wasn't adequate. The new biography Jumbo: The Greatest Elephant in the World by Paul Chambers tells the full story. Born in Africa, the world's most famous pachyderm spent years in Paris at the Jardin des Plantes and later at the London Zoo before P.T. Barnum transported him to America where he delighted children by the thousands as the star of The Greatest Show on Earth. Of course, Jumbo inspired the story that became Disney's Dumbo, which continues to delight children to this day. Jumbo's life was not without its hardships, however, ending tragically during a railroad accident while the circus was touring Canada, and Chambers raises important questions about the treatment of animals.

Still, Jumbo was one of the great celebrities of his day. His epic story brings to mind the many fine circus stories in the library's collection. Here's a sampling:

The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day
A Cabinet of Wonders by Renee Dodd
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough
A Son of the Circus by John Irving
The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan
The Aerialist by Richard Schmitt
Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss

The Thin Man

Posted May 27, 2008

Here at Chicago Public Library we spent April celebrating Raymond Chandler and crime fiction, but if you missed those events or haven't had your fill, today provides a reason to revisit the genre as we celebrate the birth of another hard-boiled master, Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894). If you know and love Chandler's Marlowe, you'll no doubt want to acquaint yourself with Hammett's Sam Spade. This tough guy, featured in one of Hammett's best known works, The Maltese Falcon, was brought to life by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film adaptation of the same name. But Hammett is not just a Chandler wannabe. He's the real deal. Before he began his writing career Hammett worked as an operative for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. He became disillusioned with the agency and quit, but not before gathering much inspiration for his detective stories. Many, including Chandler, have given Hammett his due for his contribution to the crime fiction genre. The New York Times went so far as to anoint him the "dean of the?'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction" upon his death in 1961. Follow the links below for more books by and about Hammett.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (also available: the film adaptation starring William Powell and Myrna Loy)
Complete Novels by Dashiell Hammett
Selected letters of Dashiell Hammett 1921-1960
Dashiell Hammett: A Daughter Remembers by Jo Hammett
Hellman and Hammett: the Legendary Passion of Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett by Joan Mellen

Happy Birthday, Jimmy!

Posted May 22, 2008

Over one hundred years ago, James Stewart was born in a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth and Alexander Stewart. An American icon, Stewart starred in over fifty films covering nearly every genre and worked with some of the finest directors including Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder, and Frank Capra. He was nominated five times for an Academy Award and ten of his films are preserved in the United States Film Registry. He was a close friend of fellow actor Henry Fonda, whom he met in the summer of 1932 while both were working with the University Players acting troupe. His first prominent role was in 1936?s After the Thin Man starring Myrna Loy and William Powell (which can be found in The Complete Thin Man Collection). He was awarded his only Academy Award for his performance as a tabloid reporter in the comedy The Philadelphia Story (1940). Perhaps Stewart is remembered best as George Bailey in Capra?s It?s a Wonderful Life (1946), which flopped at the box office but is now considered a Christmas classic as well as one of the most popular films of all time. Stewart began working with Hitchcock, making some of the best films of his career, including the iconic and suspenseful Rear Window and Vertigo. Later in his career he starred in many westerns, including John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stewart?s final Academy Award nomination was for his work in Otto Preminger?s Anatomy of Murder (1959). Stewart continued acting until the 1980s. He died on July 2, 1997 in his Hollywood home.

Any of the above would make a great DIY film fest, but if you need more Jimmy Stewart (and who doesn't?) why not try:

You Can't Take It With You
The Shop Around the Corner
Rope
Harvey
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Call Northside 777

Caught Reading on the CTA

Posted May 15, 2008

What are other people reading? Isn't that the question that sends us scurrying to the bestseller lists, asking friends for recommendations or - yes, we've seen you do it - peeking at the shelving carts at the local library? Of course, in Chicago the traditional place to snoop on your fellow readers is on the CTA. For all of the hassles of public transit (and don't get us wrong, we're happy to see all the construction projects), one of its joys is that the commuter can spend that time blissfully reading instead of brimming with road rage behind a steering wheel. (Just don't get us started on cellphone abuse.)

So we've been snooping on you, Chicago, checking out what you've been reading on the Red line, and we have to say, we're impressed. We've spotted you reading King Lear by William Shakespeare, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, not to mention American Pastoral by Philip Roth, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson and recent megabestseller Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Here are some of the more surprising books we spotted:
Death Masks by Jim Butcher
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
Random family: love, drugs, trouble, and coming of age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Mayflower: a Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

Who knows where we'll snoop next?

Indie Rocker's Reads

Posted May 13, 2008

Over at Found In The Margins they do a terrific job of tracking what various creative types like to read. Recently they featured Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene. He shared some of his favorites including Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster, Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck, and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. He also talked about what he looks for in a book. He's a plot man, and when he's touring he likes to take along some fairly heavy stuff judging by his recent picks, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and What is the What by Dave Eggers. But Canning isn't without a sense of humor or a taste for some intrigue. He's currently enjoying David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day and Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre. The guy certainly likes to change things up.

DIY Film Fest: Mothers (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)

Posted May 8, 2008

Sunday is Mother?s Day! After showering your mother with affection and gifts this Sunday, settle in and enjoy one of these films with mom.

Freaky Friday
Jodie Foster stars as Annabel Andrews and Barbara Harris as her mother in this 1976 comedy film (based on the 1972 book by Mary Rodgers) in which a mother and daughter switch bodies and get to walk in the other's shoes one Friday. The experience of struggling through one another?s day leads them to appreciate each other more. This film was also remade in 2003 with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Mommie Dearest
Faye Dunaway stars as Joan Crawford in this 1981 film based on a memoir by Christina Crawford, her adopted daughter. A very unflattering portrait of her mother as neurotic and abusive, the movie was panned by critics but became a cult classic. This 1996 version contains the added bonus of a commentary by filmmaker John Waters.

Mildred Pierce
Based on a novel by James M. Cain, Joan Crawford stars as Mildred Pierce, a newly divorced housewife with two beloved daughters,Vera and Kay. Mildred goes to great lengths to provide a comfortable lifestyle for them, but spoiled Vera never seems satisfied. Finally, the increasingly ungrateful daughter commits a terrible crime which her mother cannot cover up.

Imitation of Life
This 1959 film is an adaptation of the 1933 novel by Fanny Hurst. Lana Turner stars as Lora Meredith, a widowed mother with dreams of stardom, who hires Annie Johnson, also a widowed mother, as a nanny for her daughter. Meredith becomes a famous Broadway star, but her relationship with her daughter suffers, and Johnson deals with her own heartbreak as her light-skinned daughter attempts to pass as white. The DVD also includes the 1934 version starring Claudette Colbert.

Little Women
Susan Sarandon stars as Marmee March, the strong-willed, loving mother of four adolescent girls, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, as they share joy and struggle while their father is off fighting in the American Civil War in this 1994 adaptation of the popular book by Louisa May Alcott.

Monster-in-Law
A successful television journalist, Vera (Jane Fonda) has just been fired from her job and is now faced with the possibility of losing her son to his new fianc�e, Charlotte (Jennifer Lopez). Determined to scare away the bride to be, Vera sets out to be a monstrous mother-in-law, but Charlotte isn't quick to walk away from the man of her dreams.

Steel Magnolias
This film revolves around the lives of a group of female friends who regularly congregate at a beauty salon in a small town in Louisiana. At the center of the group are M'Lynn (Sally Field) and her diabetic daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts). When Shelby's health begins to decline, the women come together to comfort and support one another.

Edgar and Nebula Awards Announced

Posted May 6, 2008

There are dozens of literary awards given out each year, with lots of press and prestige (and sales) flowing to winners of the Pulitzer Prize or the National Book Award. But in the world of genre fiction, there are also a large number of awards given out for outstanding writing in a particular field; awards that make people even outside the genre sit up and take notice. For the mystery genre, the big award is the Edgar, named after Edgar Allan Poe (whom some consider the father of the modern mystery), and it is presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America. This year the top prize, Best Novel, went to Down River by John Hart. This novel, set in small-town North Carolina, is about a man who returns to his hometown after a long absence. Five years earlier, he had been accused of murdering a family friend, and although a jury acquitted him, his family and friends did not. So he stayed away until a mysterious call from an old friend draws him back. The other books nominated in this category are:

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Priest by Ken Bruen
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman

Another award given out at the same ceremony is the Edgar for best first novel. This award is worth watching, as some of the most respected names in the genre first appeared on this nomination ballot (James Patterson, Michael Connelly, and Patricia Cornwell all won this award for their first novels). This year's winner was In the Woods by Tana French.

But the Edgars weren't the only important genre award given out recently. The Nebula Award, given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, is one of the biggest awards in the speculative fiction genres. This year's winner was a bit of a surprise, as it had been marketed outside of the genre and was written by an author more known for his literary fiction. But The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon does qualify as speculative fiction, set as it is in an imaginary alternate history where the Jewish homeland was set up in Alaska, not Israel. This whimsical setting allows Chabon to play with a lot of "what ifs?" as well as telling an intriguing hardboiled mystery story. It is worth noting that this novel was also nominated for the Edgar this year, the first time the same novel was nominated for both awards. The other nominees for the Best Novel Nebula Award were:

Odyssey by Jack McDevitt
The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson
Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell

To see previous winners of both the Edgar and the Nebula, as well as many other literary awards, visit our Books Movies and More page.

Knit One, Read Two

Posted May 1, 2008

Knitting has had a resurgence in popularity over the past several years, and it's not just your grandmother's hobby anymore; a younger generation of both women and men are toting their yarn and needles around town. In part, the 2003 book Stitch 'n Bitch: A Knitter's Handbook by Deborah Stoller, with its irreverent tone and stylish projects, prompted the trend. Stoller has published several books, including one on crochet, The Happy Hooker: Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet, and her most recent, Son of Stitch and Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men. Stitch 'n Bitch groups, social groups that meet to knit, have been around since at least WWII and have also regained popularity. The Museum of Contemporary Art holds a popular Stitch 'n Bitch group.

The trend has also inspired novelists. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood have both connected with knitting fans. And in the world of cozy mysteries, knitters solve crimes. Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mysteries began with Knit One, Kill Two, and her most recent novel is A Killer Stitch. Author Mary Kruger kicked off her knitting mystery series with Died in the Wool.

Want to learn to knit? The Chicago Public Library has materials for new as well as seasoned knitters. Start by checking out some of the new and classic knitting books in our collection.]]> May 29 2008 12:00 AM GMT <![CDATA[Aria Ready?]]>

Lyric Opera of Chicago recently announced its 2008/09 season, and Chicago Opera Theater's 2008 season kicks off this week. Looking to shake up your routine with a night at the opera but not sure which show is for you? Prep for your big night out (or just spend a night at home on the couch) with music from the library.

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2008/2009 Season:

Manon by Massenet - Available on dvd and cd
The Pearl Fishers by Bizet - Available on cd
Lulu by Berg - Available on dvd and cd
Porgy and Bess by Gershwin - Available on cd (alternate cd)
Madama Butterfly by Puccini - Available on dvd, cd, and downloadable format
Tristan und Isolde by Wagner - Available on dvd, cd, and downloadable format
Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni and Pagliacci by Leoncavallo - Available on dvd and cd (Cavalleria, Pagliacci)
The Abduction