Thursday, March 20, 2008

Downloadable Audio Service

Overdrive, the provider of the JCLC's downloadable audiobook service, will be upgrading their server Saturday, March 22, 2008.

Users will be unable to access Overdrive from 7am-5pm while this update takes place.

Normal service should resume soon after 5pm Saturday evening.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

We've Lost Another Great Author...


Arthur C. Clarke, age 90, was found deceased at his home in Sri Lanka a short time ago.



Clarke was more than just a science fiction author, he also co-wrote a movie with Stanley Kubrick (2001: a Space Odyssey) and was a commentator with Walter Cronkite on the Apollo moonshots of the 1960's.










Arthur C. Clarke (literary criticism)


Arthur C. Clarke (literary criticism)








The Big Read @ EOL!

If you haven’t heard about this exciting county-wide literary extravaganza, visit your local library and ask for details about THE BIG READ! You can also visit the The Big Read website at http://www.projectmockingbird.org/ or our website at http://www.eolib.org/ for more information. You can purchase Big Read/TKAM apparel and merchandise at our Café Press site!

With your help, we can get on the same page at the same time by reading To Kill a Mockingbird together during the month of April. Everyone in Jefferson County is invited to participate in The Big Read by reading Alabama's own Harper Lee's book and attending programs at any public library.

The month of April is going to be action packed with Big Read activities! The month’s highlights include:

To Kill a Mockingbird, Alabama Theatre
Showing – Thursday, April 10th, 7pm
Tickets will be sold at all Jefferson County libraries until April 9th and at the Alabama Theatre the evening of the performance beginning at 6pm. March Badham, who played Scout in the 1962 film, will make a special appearance. Tickets are $4 per person and this price includes a soft drink & popcorn. Subtítulos en español.

Hoover Public Library presents An Evening with Scout
Friday, April 11th, 7pm
Mary Badham, who played Scout in the movie, makes a special appearance for a first-come, first-admitted free lecture and casual reception. Books and photographs for sale. Mary Badham charges a fee for her autograph. This event is free and open to the public, but you must make reservations (444-7820). SPACE IS LIMITED!

Birmingham Public Library presents Alabama Bound
Saturday, April 12th, 10am-3pm
The Birmingham Public Library’s 10th annual author festival presents a day-long series of programs featuring To Kill a Mockingbird. Panelists include Alabama’s premier historian, Dr. Wayne Flynt; Samford University English Professor Dr. Chris Metress; Assistant Professor in Educational Foundations Dr. Tondra Loder-Jackson; “Scout” from the 1962 film Mary Badham; and Sandy Jaffe, Birmingham native and producer of the documentary Our Mockingbird, which will be previewed in the BPL Arrington Auditorium. Enjoy music from the 1930s and food from the Irondale Café. Books and photographs for sale. Mary Badham charges a fee for her autograph. Central location. http://www.alabamabound.org/

To Kill a Mockingbird Last Page Event at Linn Park (downtown)
Wednesday, April 30th, Noon
Listen to favorite passages from the book and read the last page of To Kill a Mockingbird together as we celebrate The Big Read finale. Special guest appearances, food, fun and music!

On the Trail of Justice: Montgomery, Monroeville, Selma, a Bus Tour of the Old South
April 24&25, May 1&2, May 8&9, or May 15&16
You have four opportunities to enjoy this specially planned overnight tour of historic Alabama sites that has been designed to enhance programming for our county's Big Read activities. The cost for this trip is $105 per person. Your payment and registration must be received no later than April 10, 2008.
Click here for the brochure. Click here for the registration form.

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Programs at the Emmet O'Neal Library include:

April 1st – 10am-5pm
Big Read Kickoff
Come see what The Big Read is all about and why we’re excited about it!

April 6th – 2pm-4pm
Afternoon @ The Movies presents To Kill a Mockingbird
If you haven’t seen this outstanding 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, now is your chance!

April 8th – 10am-11am
Bookies Book Club
This month the Bookies will meet at the library to discuss Charles Shields’ Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee.

April 19th – 2pm-4pm
Afternoon @ The Movies For Teens presents To Kill a Mockingbird

April 22nd – 6:30pm-8pm
Evening Book Discussion – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This meeting marks the very first evening book discussion at Emmet O'Neal Library! This book group will continue to meet the last Tuesday of each month (unless otherwise noted) at 6:30pm. If you haven’t joined a book group yet, come join us!

April 23rd – 12:30pm-1:30pm
Emmet O'Neal Library Brown Bag Program
Join us in the library’s Meeting Room as we hear local scholars from several fields discuss the impact of To Kill a Mockingbird on today’s society. We’d love to see you every week! Brown Bag Programs are Wednesdays at 12:30pm in the library’s Meeting Room. Please bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert provided.

For more information about any of these programs, contact Katie Moellering at 205/445-1118 or kmoellering@bham.lib.al.us.

Happy Reading!
htw

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

More Books-to-Movies!

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity To Master the Art of Living by Julie Powell (movie news)

8 Simple Rules For Marrying My Daughter (4/8/08 publication date) by W. Bruce Cameron (movie news)

Bone comic books by Jeff Smith (movie news)

The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey (movie news)

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella (Madeleine Wickham is listed as the author in the "movie news" but it is Kinsella's series)(movie news)(more movie news)

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (okay, so this one is headed to HBO instead of the big screen but we had an author event with him here! He must be mentioned!) (HBO news)

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (movie news)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (movie news) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (movie news) by J.K. Rowling

The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta (movie news)

Veronika Decides to Die by Paul Coelho (movie news)

The Amulet (young adult graphic novel series) by Kibuishi Kazu (movie news)

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (movie news)

Lush Life by Richard Price (movie news)

Dune by Frank Herbert (movie news)

Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai by Ben Mezrich (movie news)

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (movie news)

Drive by James Sallis (movie news)

Ronin (graphic novel) by Frank Miller (movie news)

The Witness by Sandra Brown (movie news)

Happy Reading (and viewing!)
htw

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Dazzling Debuts

Here are several debut novels getting some hot press right now!

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
...a novel disguised as a quirky family memoir

Resistance by Owen Sheers
...the World War II that wasn't

Souvenir by Therese Fowler
...star-crossed lovers meet again

Obedience by Will Lavender
...hypothetical case study or cold-blooded murder....you decide

Happy Reading!
htw

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Don't Forget!!!!

Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday March 9th and we will set our clocks forward one hour!

Happy Reading (in the extended daylight)!!!
:)
htw

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Reel Good Books!

Here are some of the movies-from-books I've come across lately. Some are in talks, in production, coming soon to a theater near you or in theaters now!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (movie news)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (movie news)
The Ruins by Scott Smith (movie news)
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (movie news)
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (movie news)
Downers' Grove by Michael Hornburg (movie news)
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue (movie news)
Locke & Key (comic book) by Joe Hill (movie news)
Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (movie news)
Horton Hears a Who by Theodore Geisel (movie news)
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (movie news)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (movie news)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Seabold (movie news)
Marley & Me by John Grogan (movie news)
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (movie news)
The Life Before Her Eyes by Laura Kasischke (movie news)
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (movie news)
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (movie news)
No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley by Rita Marley (movie news)
Beautiful Children by Charles Bock (movie news)
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (movie news)



Cinematical has thrown the question out to their readers and I'm now issuing the challenge!

What great books have you read that would be perfect for the big screen?





Happy Reading!
htw