APL Recommends

Books from our Booklists

Microhistories

At home : a short history of private life

By Bill Bryson.

Bryson takes readers on a tour of his house, a rural English parsonage, showing how each room has figured in the evolution of private life.

Bicycle : the history

By David V. Herlihy.

"In this, the definitive history of the bicycle, David Herlihy recounts the saga of this far-reaching invention and the passions it aroused." "Because we live in an age of cross-country bicycle racing and high-tech mountain bikes, we may overlook the decades of development and ingenuity that transformed the basic concept of human-powered transportation into a marvel of engineering. This history retraces the extraordinary story of the bicycle - a history of disputed patents, brilliant inventions, and missed opportunities. Herlihy shows us why the bicycle captured the public's imagination and the myriad ways in which it reshaped our world."--Jacket.

Blood, iron, & gold : how the railroads transformed the world

By Christian Wolmar

In this book, the author, a transportation journalist, celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious pioneers who developed the railways that would dominate the globe. She reveals the huge impact of the railways as they spread rapidly across the world, linking cities that had hitherto been isolated, stimulating both economic growth and social change on an unprecedented scale. From Panama to the Punjab, she describes the vision and determination of the pioneers who developed railways that would one day span continents, as well as the labour of the navvies who built this global network. She shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by the unrelenting construction and how they had a vital role in civil conflict, as well as in two world wars. Indeed, the global expansion of the railways was key to the spread of modernity and the making of the modern world.

The bomb : a new history

By Stephen M. Younger.

From his years at Los Alamos and the Nevada test site to his meetings with nuclear arms experts in Moscow, former weapons designer Stephen M. Younger has witnessed firsthand the making of nuclear policy. With a deep understanding of both the technology and the politics behind nuclear weapons, he guides us from the Manhattan Project to the Cold War and into the present day, illuminating how nuclear weapons fit into our globalized, war-plagued world. Does the United States genuinely need a massive stockpile in an era of precision bombs and missile defense? Under what circumstances might we need nuclear weapons in the future? How does the proliferation of weapons in the hands of other nations affect our own nuclear policy?--From publisher description.

Breasts : a natural and unnatural history

By Florence Williams.

Feted and fetishized, the breast is an evolutionary masterpiece. But breasts are changing. They are getting bigger, arriving earlier, and attracting newfangled chemicals. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against us in the struggle against breast cancer, even among men. What makes breasts so mercurial and so vulnerable? The author, a science journalist sets out to uncover the latest science from the fields of anthropology, biology, and medicine in this expose about the breast, an incredible life-giving organ and its imperiled modern fate.

Brilliant : the evolution of artificial light

By Jane Brox.

Documents the role of light in history, tracing how the development of specific innovations had a pivotal influence on social and cultural evolution.

Coal : a human history

By Barbara Freese.

Publisher's description: The fascinating history of a simple black rock that has shaped our world--and now threatens it. In this remarkable book, Barbara Freese takes us on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, expanded frontiers, and sparked social movements, and still powers our electric grid. Yet coal's world-changing power has come at a tremendous price, including centuries of blackening our skies and lungs--and now the dangerous warming of our global climate. Ranging from the "great stinking fogs" of London to the rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from the impoverished slums of Manchester to the toxic streets of Beijing, Coal is a captivating narrative about an ordinary substance with an extraordinary impact on human civilization.

Cod : a biography of the fish that changed the world

By Mark Kurlansky.

Cod spans a thousand years and four continents. From the Vikings, who pursued the codfish across the Atlantic, and the enigmatic Basques, who first commercialized it in medieval times, to Bartholomew Gosnold, who named Cape Cod in 1602, and Clarence Birdseye, who founded an industry on frozen cod in the 1930s, Mark Kurlansky introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs, and of course the fishermen, whose lives have interwoven with this prolific fish. He chronicles the fifteenth-century politics of the Hanseatic League and the cod wars of the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. He embellishes his story with gastronomic detail, blending in recipes and lore from the Middle Ages to the present. And he brings to life the cod itself: its personality, habits, extended family, and ultimately the tragedy of how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction. From fishing ports in New England and Newfoundland to coastal skiffs, schooners, and factory ships across the Atlantic; from Iceland and Scandinavia to the coasts of England, Brazil, and West Africa, Mark Kurlansky tells a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus. The codfish. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious than gold. Indeed, the codfish has played a fascinating and crucial role in world history.

Coffee : a dark history

By Antony Wild.

"From obscure beginnings in east Africa in the fifteenth century as a stimulant in religious devotion, coffee became an imperial commodity, produced by poor tropical countries and consumed by rich temperate ones. Through the centuries, the influence of coffee on the rise of capitalism and its institutions has been enormous. Revolutions were once hatched in coffeehouses, commercial alliances were forged, secret societies were formed, and politics and art were endlessly debated. Today, while coffee chains spread like wildfire, coffee-producing countries are in crisis: with prices at a historic low, they are plagued by unprecedented unemployment, abandoned farms, enforced migration, and massive social disruption."--Jacket.

The dirt on clean : an unsanitized history

By Katherine Ashenburg.

What could be more routine than taking up soap and water and washing yourself? And yet cleanliness, or the lack of it, is intimately connected to ideas as large as spirituality and sexuality, and historical events that include plagues, the Civil War, and the discovery of germs. For the first-century Roman, being clean meant a two-hour soak in baths of various temperatures, scraping the body, and a final application of oil. For the aristocratic Frenchman in the seventeenth century, it meant changing your shirt once a day and using perfume to cover your own aroma as well as others', but never immersing yourself in water. Now we live in a deodorized world where sales of hand sanitizers and wipes are skyrocketing. Ashenburg's tour of history's baths and bathrooms reveals much about our changing and most intimate selves--what we desire, what we ignore, and what we fear.--From publisher description.

Cover of the book E=mcÂ² : a biography of the world's most famous equation

E=mc² : a biography of the world's most famous equation

By David Bodanis.

Examines the science and scientists who provided the backdrop to Einstein's seminal 1905 discovery and offers a definitive explanation of the equation from a mathematical, historical, and scientific perspective.

Electric universe : the shocking true story of electricity

By David Bodanis.

In his bestselling E=mc2, David Bodanis led us, with astonishing ease, through the world's most famous equation. Now, in Electric Universe, he illuminates the wondrous yet invisible force that permeates our universe and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets. For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. In harnessing its power, we have created a world of wonders complete with roller coasters and radar, computer networks and psycho pharmaceuticals. A superb storyteller, Bodanis weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through lucid accounts of scientific breakthroughs. The great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Samuel Morse, a painter who, before inventing the telegraph, ran for mayor of New York City on a platform of persecuting Catholics. Here too is Alan Turing, whose dream of a marvelous thinking machine what we know as the computer was met with indifference, and who ended his life in despair after British authorities forced him to undergo experimental treatments to cure his homosexuality. From the frigid waters of the Atlantic to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery by a master science writer.A popular history of the science of electricity follows the work of the scientists and pioneers who investigated its unique properties and secrets, including Alessandro Volta, Michael Faraday, and Samuel Morse, and discusses the influence of their scientific breakthroughs on our ability to harness its power. By the author of E=mc2. 75,000 first printing.

Empire : a tale of obsession, betrayal, and the battle for an American icon

By Mitchell Pacelle.

It is the most famous skyscraper in the world--a towering edifice whose silhouette defines New York's skyline. Each year, millions of visitors from all over the world flock to its upper reaches to take in its dramatic views. Yet few are aware of the triumphs and tragedies that have played out in its storied corridors. Ever since it was erected during the Great Depression, the Empire State Building has been coveted by ambitious, self-made men who have gone to great lengths to call it their own. It has carried some of them to prominence, others to the precipice of financial ruin. For a few, the building has exacted an even higher toll--costing them friends, family, and even their freedom.

Garbology : our dirty love affair with trash

By Edward Humes.

"Narrative science book about trash"--

The golden ratio : the story of phi, the world's most astonishing number

By Mario Livio.

"The Golden Ratio is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist."--Goggle Books.

The gun

By C.J. Chivers.

In a tour de force, a prize-winning "New York Times" reporter traces the invention and mass distribution of the assault rifle, and its effects on war.

Happiness : the science behind your smile

By Daniel Nettle.

In a world obsessed by happiness, this is the first book to look thoroughly at what happiness is and how it works. Bringing together insights from psychiatry, psychology, and philosophy, psychologist Nettle examines whether people are basically happy or unhappy, whether success can make us happy, what sort of remedies to unhappiness work, why some people are happier than others, and much more. We discover the evolutionary reason why negative thoughts are more powerful than positive ones. We read that happiness varies from country to country--the Swiss are much more happy than Bulgarians. Nettle discusses the brain systems underlying emotions and moods, ranging from serotonin, "the happiness chemical"; to mood enhancing drugs such as D-fenfluramine, which reduces negative thinking in less than an hour; to the part of the brain that, when electrically stimulated, provides feeling of benevolent calm and even euphoria.--From publisher description.

A history of [pi] (pi)

By Petr Beckmann.

"Documents the calculation, numerical value, and use of the ratio from 2000 B.C. to the modern computer age, detailing social conditions in eras when progress was made."

Indigo : in search of the color that seduced the world

By Catherine E. McKinley.

"For almost five millennia, in every culture and every major religion, indigo--a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a parasitic shurb through a complex process that even scientists still regard as mysterious--has been at the center of turbulent human encounters. Indigo is the story of this precious dye and its ancient heritage... But Indigo is also the story of a personal quest: McKinley's adoptive parents descend from a clan of Scots who wore indigo tartan as their virile armor; she's also the kin of several generations of Jewish "rag traders," the maternal granddaughter of a Massachusetts textile factory owner; and the paternal granddaughter of African slaves--her ancestors were traded along the same Saharan routes as indigo, where a length of blue cotton could purchase a human life. McKinley's journey across the ancient trade routes of West Africa in search of this rare, luminous, and costly blue pigment--in search of beauty and her own history--ultimately leads her to a new and satisfying path, to finally 'taste life.'" -- dust jacket.

The information : a history, a theory, a flood

By James Gleick.

From the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood "talking drums" of Africa, James Gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human consciousness. He also provides portraits of the key figures contributing to the inexorable development of our modern understanding of information, including Charles Babbage, Ada Byron, Samuel Morse, Alan Turing, and Claude Shannon.

Longitude : the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time

By Dava Sobel ; with a foreword by Neil Armstrong.

Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day -- and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution. The quest for a solution had occupied scientists for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, England's parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom (£20,000, or approximately $12 million in today's currency) to anyone whose method or device proved successful and reproducible. The scientific establishment throughout Europe -- from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton -- had mapped the heavens in it pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution -- a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land" --Cover, p. 2.

OK : the improbable story of America's greatest word

By Allan Metcalf.

It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK", the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the secret history of OK, how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. The authot, a writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, ranging across American history with portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839, used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for "oll korrect" (ie, "all correct"), but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a nineteenth century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called "Old Kinderhook"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the "I'm OK, You're OK" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd "Okeley Dokeley!" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful global exports.

One good turn : a natural history of the screwdriver and the screw

By Witold Rybczynski.

"... a story of mechanical discovery and genius ..."--Dust jacket.

Rat : how the world's most notorious rodent clawed its way to the top

By Jerry Langton.

Examines the characteristics, physiology, habits, behavior, evolution, history, myth, and psyche of one of the world's most successful animals, in a study that explores the reasons why the ever-adaptable rat has risen to the top of the animal kingdom.

Sand : the never-ending story

By Michael Welland.

"From individual grains to desert dunes, from the bottom of the sea to the landscapes of Mars, and from billions of years in the past to the future, this is the extraordinary story of one of nature's humblest, most powerful, and most ubiquitous materials"--Jacket.

The secret of Chanel No. 5 : the intimate history of the world's most famous perfume

By Tilar J. Mazzeo.

"From Tilar Mazzeo, the author of the bestselling The Widow Clicquot, a captivating new book that shares her journey to discover the secret behind the creation, iconic status, and extraordinary success of Chanel No. 5, the world's most famous perfume"--Provided by publisher.

Sex, death & oysters : a half-shell lover's world tour

By Robb Walsh.

Award-winning Texas food writer Walsh offers a gastronomic adventure story in this fascinating collection that highlights the most exciting, instructive, poignant, and just plain weird experiences during his five-year journey into the culture of one of the world's oldest delicacies.

Spice : the history of a temptation

By Jack Turner.

"Spice: The History of a Temptation is a history of the spice trade told not in the conventional narrative of politics and economics, nor of conquest and colonization, but through the intimate human impulses that inspired and drove it. Here is an exploration of the centuries-old desire for spice in food, in medicine, in magic, in religion, and in sex - and of the allure of forbidden fruit lingering in the scents of cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace, and clove." "We follow spices back through time, through history, myth, archaeology, and literature. We see spices in all their diversity, lauded as love potions and aphrodisiacs, as panaceas and defenses against the plague. We journey from religious rituals in which spices were employed to dispel demons and summon gods to prodigies of gluttony both fantastical and real. We see spices as a luxury for a medieval king's ostentation, as a mummy's deodorant, as the last word in haute cuisine." "Through examining the temptations of spice we follow in the trails of the spice seekers leading from the deserts of ancient Syria to thrill-seekers on the Internet. We discover how spice became one of the first and most enduring links between Asia and Europe. We see in the pepper we use so casually the relic of a tradition linking us to the appetites of Rome, Elizabethan England, and the pharaohs. And we capture the pleasure of spice not only at the table but in every part of life."--BOOK JACKET.

The science of kissing : what our lips are telling us

By Sheril Kirshenbaum.

From a noted biologist and science journalist comes a wonderfully witty and fascinating exploration of how and why we kiss.

Straight : the surprisingly short history of heterosexuality

By Hanne Blank.

Presents a history of heterosexuality, explores the contemporary psyche of sexual orientation, and shows how culture creates and manipulates thoughts and experiences of desire, love, and relationships.

Sweet tooth : the bittersweet history of candy

By Kate Hopkins.

"Sweet Tooth is a book with a real edge, a balanced firsthand account of [the author's] obsession with candy and a detailed look at its history and development. The sugary treats we enjoy today have a prominent past: They've delighted kings, cured the ill, and were developed into a billion-dollar industry. At the same time, however, the bitter side of this chronicle tells how the confectionery industry helped create an environment of unhealthy overindulgence, quelled small-business competition deemed to pose risks to any corporation's bottom line, and was indeed largely responsible for the slave trade that evolved during America's colonial era."--Book jacket.

The 13th element : the sordid tale of murder, fire, and phosphorus

By John Emsley.

It was discovered by alchemists, prescribed by apothecaries, exploited by the industrialists of the nineteenth century, and abused by the combatants of the twentieth century. It can be found in many things that have improved our everyday life, from toothpaste to detergents to food additives. For more than 300 years, phosphorus--one of nature's deadliest creations--has continued to fascinate us with the many surprising roles it has played in human history. From murders-by-phosphorus where the bodies glowed green to the match-factory strike that helped end child labor in England, to the irony of the World War II firebombing of Hamburg, to even deadlier compounds derived from phosphorus today, this book weaves together a rich tableau of brilliant and oddball characters, social upheavals, and curious, bizarre, and horrific events that comprise the surprising 300-year history of nature's most nefarious element.--From publisher description.

Traffic : why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)

By Tom Vanderbilt.

Based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, Traffic gets under the hood of the everyday activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological, and technical factors that explain how traffic works, why we drive the way we do, and what our driving says about us. Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He shows how roundabouts, which can feel dangerous and chaotic, actually make roads safer--and reduce traffic in the bargain. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots.--From publisher description.

The true history of chocolate

By Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe.

it was used as a medicine, and find that the Spanish learned of chocolate through the Maya, not the Aztecs. From Maya hieroglyphs to kingdom of the Hershey Bar, this is a fascinating history, beautifully told, and enhanced with quotations, illustrations and old recipes - a book for chocolate-lovers everywhere.

Tuna : a love story

By Richard Ellis.

The author of The Book of Sharks, Imagining Atlantis, and Encyclopedia of the Sea turns his gaze to the tuna--one of the biggest, fastest, and most highly evolved marine animals and the source of some of the world's most popular delicacies--now hovering on the brink of extinction. In recent years, the tuna's place on our palates has come under scrutiny, as we grow increasingly aware of our own health and the health of our planet. Here, Ellis explains how a fish that was once able to thrive has become a commodity, in a book that shows how the natural world and the global economy converge on our plates.--From publisher description.

Uranium : war, energy, and the rock that shaped the world

By Tom Zoellner.

Uranium is a common element in the earth's crust, and the only naturally occurring mineral with the power to end all life on the planet. After World War II, it reshaped the global order. Marie Curie gave us hope that uranium would be a miracle panacea, but the Manhattan Project gave us reason to believe that civilization would end with apocalypse. Slave labor camps in Africa and Eastern Europe were built around mine shafts, and America would knowingly send more than 600 uranium miners to their graves in the name of national security. Fortunes have been made from this yellow dirt; massive energy grids have been run from it. Fear of it panicked the American people into supporting a questionable war with Iraq and its specter threatens to create another conflict in Iran. Now, some are hoping it can help avoid a global warming catastrophe.--From publisher description.

Water : the epic struggle for wealth, power, and civilization

By Steven Solomon.

"A narrative account of how water has shaped human society from the ancient past to the present"--Provided by publisher.

White bread : a social history of the store-bought loaf

By Aaron Bobrow-Strain.

White Bread is both an epic, often funny history of the industrial loaf and a wise commentary on today's polarized food politics.

APL Recommends Blog

Saturday, May 18

Two Hundred Years of Mr. Darcy!

by: debbie.schneekloth

Many of you may know that this year is the 200^th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice. Austen wrote the novel in 1797-98, originally calling it First Impressions. Her father attempted to have it published, but the manuscript was rejected. It was not until her first novel, Sense and Sensibility was published in 1812 that Pride and Prejudice was accepted. By that time, another author had published their novel called First Impressions. Austen found another title for her book from a quote in fellow female author Fanny Burney’s novel, Cecila. Thus Pride and Prejudice was born. The novel was an instant success and has proved to be her most popular novel.

While we know much about her life from records and her own letters, there are aspects of her life of which we know nothing because her sister destroyed letters after the author’s death in 1817 in order to protect family privacy. Scholars and authors can only speculate what the subjects of those letters were and what dimensions they could have added to our understanding of Jane Austen.

By Jane Austen:

Jane Austen's Letters by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice: An Annotated Edition by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice (DVD) Miniseries starring Colin Firth

Based on Jane Austen:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance -- Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith

The Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Rebecca Ann Collins

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

Lost in Austen (DVD) Miniseries starring Jemima Rooper

Pride and Prescience, Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged: A Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris

Friday, May 17

The Best Thing About Books You Hate

by: betsey.blanche

The Twitter feed “Fake Library Stats” recently tweeted “After complaining the pituitary glands of 63% of librarians secrete a hormone that is necessary to keep them alive.” Sure, there’s a stereotype that we librarians like to complain but we can also be overwhelmingly positive when it comes to resources we offer. And I’m about to be super positive about the fact that I just read a library book and did not enjoy it at all.

The Library’s Graphic Novel Book Club just finished reading and discussing Yuichi Yokoyama’s Garden. In Garden, a large group of people with strange masks and costumes on explore a strange garden and describe what they see in terse sentences. That goes on for 300 pages in which none of the characters are developed and nothing really happens in a conventional plot kind of way. As a result, I was feeling nervous before the meeting. I couldn’t think of a single productive thing to say about it. Worse, I was reminded of a frustrating, non-library book club meeting I’d attended to discuss Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore in which most participants could only comment on the weirdness of the novel. Was that going to be me?! After finishing the reading all I could think was, “Huh. Well. I just don’t . . . What?! I don’t get it. It’s weird.” Neither articulate nor a good way to start a conversation. I felt like I was missing something. But this is one of the best things to happen to a book club because it this case everyone felt the same way and was more than willing to talk about how much they disliked the reading experience and why. It turns out this makes for a much more fruitful conversations than when everyone unanimously enjoys a book. In those cases all you can do is say, “yeah, it was good. I liked the art and the characters and the story. Yup.”

I’m willing to consider the possibility that I really just didn’t get it. So give it a try for yourself and see! Maybe ask some friends to read it too. It might result in a heated debate if one of you loves it. Or, you might just have a pleasant time complaining about how annoying it was. Either way is pretty fun.

Side note: Graphic Novel Book Club is free and open to the public. We meet on the third Wednesday of every month at Jo's Coffee Downtown and you can find our reading list on the Events page of the Library's website.

Thursday, May 16

Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See

by: carolyn.rogers

The 2010 novel Anthill is a fictional account of an Alabama backwoods boy who grows up to be a Harvard lawyer fighting to save the woodlands of his childhood, the West Nokobee Tract at the edge of William Ziebach National Forest. It is a privately owned tract of longleaf pine savanna. It becomes his secret place and he bicycles into it every chance he gets to escape his parent's troubled marriage. The woodlands and the national forest are fictional but the ecology is not. Longleaf pine forests are the most diverse ecosystem in North America, with 500 species per square kilometer. In the novel, the eminent Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson tells a southern coming-of-age story while persuading Americans, and especially Southerners, to protect our vanishing natural environment and wildlife.

E.O Wilson also wrote the forward to Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See: A New Vision of North America's Richest Forest which offers 11 essays on these forests, including numerous photographs that cultivate appreciation for the beauty of the tree itself; of the unique species it supports; and of the breathtaking landscape it creates.

Longleaf pine savanna is one of the only ecosystems that is both forest and meadow. The book reveals this dynamic system in panoramic images of golden light filtering through trees and illuminating long grasses beneath. And there's no shortage of close-ups. Longleaf was once so common that it was hardly remarked upon, and ecologists are only now beginning to understand the forest that once covered 90 million acres of North America and now covers only 3 million acres, some of it in Texas. The final sections of the book detail potential restoration solutions for the longleaf that remains. Longleaf is not a story of loss, but one of deep reverence for the grandeur and mystery of these regions.

Using your Austin Public Library card you can read both books together.

Wednesday, May 15

Book Your Summer

by: christina.chiarchiaro

Summer time in Austin, Texas cannot be defined by the temperature outside. If it were, then we wouldn't have a Fall or Spring. Instead, universities, teachers, parents, and especially students define it by the months-long reprieve from the daily obligations of school. Retailers and restauranteurs mark Summer as when the tourists come to town. For festival goers it is the time between SXSW and ACL. For myself, I like to honor its arrival by joining the Summer Reading Program at my neighborhood branch of the library. Because I continue to work full time during that period of the calendar I can't necessarily devote more time to reading. Therefore, I have adopted my own personal challenge. Each year I have a goal to use the summer months to try a genre I don't normally read. Last year it was graphic novels and the year prior was nonfiction. In doing so, I discovered that I rather enjoy graphic novels and that they include so much more than superheroes. I also learned that I mentally focus much better on nonfiction material when I listen to it rather than read it, especially when it's read by an enthusiastic and passionate author or actor. So far my favorite of these is Michael Pollan, most notably known for Omnivore’s Dilemma, and who has a new one out soon I look forward to trying. I haven't decided yet on this year's genre, but it will undoubtedly be a mind opening experience. The pretty great thing about APL is that no matter which subject matter or material type I choose, I will have tons of titles from which to pick. The other awesome thing about summer reading in Austin is being part of the Summer Reading Program. It is a great way to inspire kids to join the youth summer reading program and encourage people all over town to read by showing off your progress. I have seen whole families come in to pick out items they planned to read together. Now that makes me excited about summer!

Wednesday, May 15

Stream Independent Films with IndieFlix

by: amy.mullin

If you're a fan of film festivals and out-of-the-ordinary movies, you'll love IndieFlix. It offers over 4,500 features, shorts, and documentaries from independent filmmakers hailing from all corners of the globe. Entries from film festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, SxSW, and the Austin Film Festival are highlighted. All you need to watch is an Austin Public Library card and a broadband Internet-connected device.

You can watch a film’s trailer, add a film to your queue for later viewing, view it immediately on a device, or watch it on your TV with a Roku or XBox. You can search for films by title or browse films by channel. You can limit films according to length, country of origin, festival, genre, or age range. These films are not rated by the MPAA, so viewer discretion is advised.

The IndieFlix registration process is pretty easy. If you’ve already signed up for Zinio, you can use the same email and password to login to the IndieFlix landing page. You will be directed to the IndieFlix page where you need to register with them directly (You can use the same email address and password that you used on the landing page). But that’s it! Then you're ready to browse the movies and start watching. No checkouts, returns, or deletions from your device. Multiple users can watch the same film on different devices at the same time.

Steps to sign up:

1. You will need to create a login at the landing page (aka RB Digital Gateway) first.

2. You will receive a confirmation email for this login. Please verify your account by clinking the link in the email. You can return to the landing page and login again. A pop-up Notice will appear. You will need to check the box and click "Continue" to get to the IndieFlix page.

3. On the IndieFlix page, you need to create another login. You can use the same email and password that you did on the landing page.

4. On the IndieFlix page, you can search for films, or browse by genre, mood, length, and rating. Click on the movie to watch the trailer or full feature. You can also click on the + sign to add to your queue for later viewing.

There are links to a Help page and an FAQ at the bottom of the IndieFlix site that can help you with most issues. Also, Customer Support is available via email: indieflix@recordedbooks.com

Grab some popcorn, and stream some films that you won't see anywhere else.

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A slapstick satire on race relations featuring Gunnar Kaufman, a black writer from Santa Monica who becomes famous by saying all the right things whites want to hear. The novel pokes fun at both blacks and whites. A first novel.

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