Sunday, July 29, 2012

Forsyth Reads Together

I’ve been lucky to have met a number of authors at various book signings over the years.  I’ve been even luckier to have helped coordinate some author appearances at libraries.  And I have a great track record, only losing one author.  (It was an accident!  After the event, the author followed me in his car to the hotel where I had booked him.  I turned left, but he kept going!)  I’m going to be very careful not to lose the author scheduled to visit us in September, because he’s an authentic Southern treasure. 

We are very honored that Terry Kay has accepted our request to speak about his novel To Dance with the White Dog, which has been selected as the 2012 Forsyth Reads Together title.  You can meet Terry and get a book signed at the kickoff event on Monday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lanier Tech Forsyth Conference Center.  In the few weeks following the kickoff there will be a number of related events.

Pat Conroy has a great quote: “Terry Kay is a perfect writer for those who love to read.  His prose contains music and passion and fire.  His work is tender and heartbreaking and memorable.”

Have you read To Dance with the White Dog yet?  If so, tell us about it below.  And we’ll see you in September!

Steve Kight
Assistant Director for Public Services

Friday, July 27, 2012

Olympic Reads

The 2012 Summer Olympics are here!  What are your favorite events?  I can’t wait to see the gymnastics competitions, the diving, and of course the Opening Ceremony.  I may also have to check out the archery, sure to be popular this year with all of those Hunger Games and Katniss fans tuning in to watch!  Pass the time between watching your favorite athletes and events with some Olympic reads:

How to Watch the Olympics: the Essential Guide to the Rules, Statistics, Heroes, and Zeros of Every Sport by David Goldblatt
“With witty, detailed descriptions and clever illustrations, How to Watch the Olympics will help anyone grasp handball, archery, wrestling, fencing, and every other Olympic event like a true pro.”  (from publisher description)

The Complete Book of the Olympics by David Wallechinsky
“Every sports writer assigned to cover the Games ensures they have their early copy of this prodigious work of reference, packed with absorbing anecdotes and essential statistics. A treasure trove of 116 years of Olympic history, it is also an amazingly readable book, for in the course of recording every single Olympic final since 1896, it concentrates on the strange, the memorable, and the unbelievable.”  (from publisher description)

A Passion for Victory: the Story of the Olympics in Ancient and Early Modern Times by Bobrick Benson
“From the barefoot races of 8th century BC to the underwater obstacle courses in the early 20th century to the high-tension Berlin Games preceding World War II, the Olympics have always been exciting dramas of athletic prowess and human interest. In A Passion for Victory, award-winning author Benson Bobrick tells the details of the captivating story of the Olympic Games, starting with their inception in Ancient Greece.” 
(from publisher description)

Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever by Jack McCallum
“In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation.”
(from publisher description)

Rome 1960: the Olympics that Changed the World by David Maraniss
“From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author David Maraniss, a groundbreaking book that weaves sports, politics, and history into a tour de force about the 1960 Rome Olympics, eighteen days of theater, suspense, victory, and defeat” 
(from publisher description)

Winning Balance: What I’ve Learned So Far About Love, Faith, and Living Your Dreams by Shawn Johnson
“Recounts the Olympic gymnast's life, her training, and experiences since winning four medals at the Beijing Olympics.”
(from publisher description)

Off Balance: a memoir by Dominique Moceanu
“At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American women's team to take gold at the Olympics. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships.”
(from publisher description)

And watch the catalog for these Olympic titles, coming soon:

Igniting the Flame: America’s First Olympic Team by Jim Reisler

Running for My Life: One Lost Boy’s Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games by Lopez Lomong

Showdown at Shepherd’s Bush: the 1908 Olympic Marathon and the Three Runners Who Launched a Sporting Craze by David Davis


Kim Tomblin
Collection Development Librarian  
 






Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Staff Picks

Pietro Brwna is a boy raised by the mob.  He goes into the witness protection program and studies medicine to become Dr. Peter Brown in Josh Bazell’s Beat the Reaper.  Mafia mayhem and violence ensue, making this a suspenseful page turner, but it’s also full of arcane footnotes that temper the pace and add dark humor.  The twists and turns are literally fantastic.  (Can you really do that with a fibula?)
I so enjoyed this book when it was published in 2008 that it was a nice surprise when I recently found its twin in Mine All Mine by Adam Davies.  In this novel, Otto Starks is a high-tech security specialist who chews on lethal poisons when he is nervous in order to build up his immunity.  The fast pace and sense of unreality are the same as in Beat the Reaper, with the only difference being whether or not the hero gets the girl.  Read both and find out!


Mary Kretsch
Information Specialist

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Staff Picks

Has mid-week mealtime become overwhelming? 
Are you short on time but don’t want fast food?
Do you want your family to eat more nutritious food?


The library has an array of cookbooks that focus on recipes with minimal preparation and healthy ingredients. All include photos, hints, and nutritional information.  Give these a try:
 
Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast 24/7 from the editors of Cooking Light magazine
Everyday Food:  Fresh Flavor Fast:  250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living
Fabulicious!  Fast and Fit: Teresa’s Low-Fat, Super-Easy Italian Recipes by Teresa Giudice




And for a personal hint that I learned from my grandmother:  keep a few staple ingredients on hand and you’re always only ten minutes away from dinner.  I like to keep grilled chicken breasts in the freezer and pasta and seasoned diced tomatoes in the pantry.

Happy Cooking!

Mary White
Information Specialist

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Staff Picks

Family Friendly Road Trip Reads

Nothing helps pass a long drive in a hot car like a great audiobook! Check out one of these great audio titles about long summers and long road trips:

Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Twelve-year-old Jack wants nothing more than to enjoy his summer vacation, but instead finds himself grounded.  But when Jack’s mother forces him to help out their elderly neighbor, Jack finds himself stuck in the middle of a mystery.  A great laugh-out-loud book about growing up in the 1960s, this audio title is read to perfection by the author himself.


Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm
When Turtle is sent to spend the summer on the Florida Keys with an aunt and cousins she’s never met, she has no idea what she’s in for.  A beautiful setting, a big adventure, a pirate treasure hunt, and a group of boys who call themselves “the diaper gang” make Turtle in Paradise the perfect audiobook for a trip to the beach.


My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
Jane is determined to have an adventurous summer.  And she does, but each adventure is more unexpected than the last, and each comes with a new friend.  A great listen-aloud book with a lot of heart and characters that are sure to please the whole family.


The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
What do you get when you put together one pre-teen girl, one car on the verge of a breakdown, one alien invasion, one alien stowaway, one ornery cat, and a race to save all of humanity?  The best, most unbelievable road trip across America!  Join Gratuity Tucci (real name) and her alien traveling companion, J. Lo, on a madcap trip across the U.S.


Cleo Slaughter
Youth Services Specialist

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (20th in a series)

I loved my local library as a child.  It was a town library, not a county-run library like here in Forsyth County.  (At one time, my dad even tried to run for a seat on the library board!)  I spent many hours, mainly on the fiction side, reading to my heart’s content.  My mom had a limit on how many books could go home with us—how could I choose?  If my younger sisters were behaving, I could attend story time and listen to someone else’s vocal interpretation of that week's story.  I remember discovering the magazine section, with its couches and comfy chairs, and finding out about a lot of kids' magazines that I didn’t even know existed.  When I got a little older, and could be trusted to meet with friends to work on a project---what a sense of “growing up” that was!  I remember sitting on the non-fiction side and working with my group, and getting “shushed” by the librarians because we were talking too loud!  I also remember being scared about that, because my friend’s mom was a librarian and she would tell my mom!  My love of reading started at a young age, and remembering my old public library still brings a smile to my face.

That's my memory of the library...what's yours?