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Modern Classic Nonfiction

Cover of the book Good-bye to all that
Good-bye to all that
By Robert Graves.
In this autobiography, first published in 1929, poet Robert Graves traces the monumental and universal loss of innocence that occurred as a result of World War I.
Cover of the book The illustrated Souls of Black folk
The illustrated Souls of Black folk
By W.E.B. Du Bois ; edited and annotated by Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. ; with a foreword by Manning Marable.
"Richly illustrated, this special edition of Du Bois's seminal work vividly conveys the story of African American life, politics, music, and culture from slavery through reconstruction, and up to the dawn of the twentieth century. Most of the photos, engravings, and documents are from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and depict slavery and its legacy, African-American daily life, and the prominent figures and events associated with the book's content."--BOOK JACKET.
Cover of the book Out of Africa
Out of Africa
By Isak Dinesen.
In this book, the author of Seven Gothic Tales gives a true account of her life on her plantation in Kenya. She tells with classic simplicity of the ways of the country and the natives: of the beauty of the Ngong Hills and coffee trees in blossom: of her guests, from the Prince of Wales to Knudsen, the old charcoal burner, who visited her: of primitive festivals: of big game that were her near neighbors--lions, rhinos, elephants, zebras, buffaloes--and of Lulu, the little gazelle who came to live with her, unbelievably ladylike and beautiful. The Random House colophon made its debut in February 1927 on the cover of a little pamphlet called "Announcement Number One." Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, the company's founders, had acquired the Modern Library from publishers Boni and Liveright two years earlier. One day, their friend the illustrator Rockwell Kent stopped by their office. Cerf later recalled, "Rockwell was sitting at my desk facing Donald, and we were talking about doing a few books on the side, when suddenly I got an inspiration and said, 'I've got the name for our publishing house. We just said we were go-ing to publish a few books on the side at random. Let's call it Random House.' Donald liked the idea, and Rockwell Kent said, 'That's a great name. I'll draw your trademark.' So, sitting at my desk, he took a piece of paper and in five minutes drew Random House, which has been our colophon ever since." Throughout the years, the mission of Random House has remained consistent: to publish books of the highest quality, at random. We are proud to continue this tradition today. This edition is set from the first American edition of 1937 and commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of Random House.
Cover of the book Let us now praise famous men; three tenant families,
Let us now praise famous men; three tenant families,
By [by] James Agee [and] Walker Evans.
Cover of the book Black boy (American hunger) : a record of childhood and youth
Black boy (American hunger) : a record of childhood and youth
By Richard Wright ; with an introduction by Jerry W. Ward, Jr.
Cover of the book Hiroshima
Hiroshima
By John Hersey.
Describes the effect of the bombing of Hiroshima on six survivors of the atomic blast.
Cover of the book The diary of a young girl : the definitive edition
The diary of a young girl : the definitive edition
By Anne Frank ; edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler ; translated by Susan Massotty.
Compelling and candid, this diary introduced the world to a girl filled with the emotional concerns of a typical teenager, but living in stifling and terrifying circumstances.
Cover of the book Mere Christianity : a revised and amplified edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, Broadcast talks, Christian behaviour, and Beyond personality
Mere Christianity : a revised and amplified edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, Broadcast talks, Christian behaviour, and Beyond personality
By C.S. Lewis.
This volume discusses the essence of Christian faith and the doctrine of the Trinity. It is a discussion of Christian belief that rejects the boundaries that divide Christianity's many denominations. The author finds a common ground on which all Christians can stand together, and provides an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear a powerful, rational case for their faith.
Cover of the book The affluent society
The affluent society
By John Kenneth Galbraith.
Galbraith's classic on the "economic of abundance" is, in the words of the New York Times, "a compelling challenge to conventional thought." With customary clarity, eloquence, and humor, Galbraith cuts to the heart of what economic security means (and doesn't mean) in today's world and lays bare the hazards of individual and societal complacence about economic inequity. While "affluent society" and "conventional wisdom" (first used in the book) have entered the vernacular, the message of the book has not been so widely embraced--reason enough to rediscover The Affluent Society.
Cover of the book The rise and fall of the Third Reich : a history of Nazi Germany
The rise and fall of the Third Reich : a history of Nazi Germany
By a history of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer with a new afterword by the author.
From the Publisher: Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer's monumental study of Hitler's German Empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of this century's blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
Cover of the book A history of western philosophy
A history of western philosophy
By Bertrand Russell.
Cover of the book Silent spring
Silent spring
By Rachel Carson ; introduction by Linda Lear ; afterword by Edward O. Wilson ; [drawings by Lois and Louis Darling].
First Published in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations ... Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, for Time's "100 Most Influential People of the Century"). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson's watershed book with new essays by the author and scientist Edward O. Wilson and the acclaimed biographer Linda Lear, who tells the story of Carson's courageous defense of her truths in the face of ruthless assault from the chemical industry in 1963, the year following the publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death.
Cover of the book Why we can't wait
Why we can't wait
By Martin Luther King, Jr ; with a new afterword by Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
This paperback reissue of a classic not only examines King's Birmingham campaign for civil rights, but the history of the struggle and the tasks that await future generations fighting for equality. New Afterword by Rev. Jesse Jackson. Reissue.
Cover of the book Memories, dreams, reflections
Memories, dreams, reflections
By by C.G. Jung ; recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffé ; translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston.
The Swiss psychologists shares the visions, inner experiences, and dreams that have shaped his work and thought.
Cover of the book The autobiography of Malcolm X
The autobiography of Malcolm X
By with the assistance of Alex Haley ; introduction by M.S. Handler ; epilogue by Alex Haley.
Written by Alex Haley from conversations with the Negro leader over a period of two years before his death.
Cover of the book Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the flak catchers
Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the flak catchers
By Tom Wolfe.
Cover of the book Fear and loathing in Las Vegas : a savage journey to the heart of the American dream
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas : a savage journey to the heart of the American dream
By by Hunter S. Thompson ; illustrated by Ralph Steadman.
Records the experiences of a free-lance writer who embarked on a zany journey into the drug culture.
Cover of the book The art of memory
The art of memory
By Frances A. Yates.
Cover of the book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
By Annie Dillard.
Cover of the book Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: an inquiry into values,
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: an inquiry into values,
By by Robert M. Pirsig.
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. This 25th Anniversary Quill Edition features a new introduction by the author important typographical changes and a Reader's Guide that includes discussion topics, an interview with the author, and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Resonant with the confusions of existence, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a touching and transcendent book of life.
Cover of the book Animal liberation
Animal liberation
By Peter Singer.
Since its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of concerned men and women to the shocking abuse of animals everywhere--inspiring a worldwide movement to eliminate much of the cruel and unnecessary laboratory animal experimentation of years past. In this newly revised and expanded edition, author Peter Singer exposes the chilling realities of today's "factory farms" and product-testing procedures--offering sound, humane solutions to what has become a profound environmental and social as well as moral issue. An important and persuasive appeal to conscience, fairness, decency and justice, Animal Liberation is essential reading for the supporter and the skeptic alike.--From publisher description.
Cover of the book The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956; an experiment in literary investigation, I-VII
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956; an experiment in literary investigation, I-VII
By [by] Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn.
Cover of the book The woman warrior : memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts
The woman warrior : memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts
By Maxine Hong Kingston.
Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity.
Cover of the book Dispatches
Dispatches
By Michael Herr.
Cover of the book The gnostic gospels
The gnostic gospels
By by Elaine Pagels.
"A startling account of the meaning of Jesus and the origin of Christianity based on gnostic gospels and other secret texts, written almost 2,000 years ago, recently discovered near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt"--Jacket subtitle.
Cover of the book The right stuff : illustrated
The right stuff : illustrated
By Tom Wolfe.
Enhanced by hundreds of period photographs, presents an illustrated edition of the classic portrait of America's early space program and its first astronauts.
Cover of the book A people's history of the United States : 1492-present
A people's history of the United States : 1492-present
By Howard Zinn.
Presents the history of the United States from the point of view of those who were exploited in the name of American progress.
Cover of the book The soul of a new machine
The soul of a new machine
By Tracy Kidder.
In 1979, Kidder went underground in the research department of Data General to observe the workings of the computer wizards who were designing and building a fast new computer.
Cover of the book The making of the atomic bomb
The making of the atomic bomb
By Richard Rhodes.
Describes in human, political, and scientific detail the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the power of the atom, to the first bombs dropped on Japan.
Cover of the book And the band played on : politics, people, and the AIDS epidemic
And the band played on : politics, people, and the AIDS epidemic
By Randy Shilts.
Cover of the book A brief history of time : from the big bang to black holes
A brief history of time : from the big bang to black holes
By Stephen W. Hawking ; introduction by Carl Sagan ; illustrations by Ron Miller.
Provides an introduction to today's scientific ideas about the cosmos and reviews past theories. Also covers black holes, quarks, antimatter, and other mysteries of physics.
Cover of the book Cadillac desert : the American West and its disappearing water
Cadillac desert : the American West and its disappearing water
By Marc Reisner.
This history of water rights in the American West focuses on the political corruption and intrigue, including the rivalry between the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.s. Army Corps of Engineers.
Cover of the book The armies of the night : history as a novel, the novel as history
The armies of the night : history as a novel, the novel as history
By by Norman Mailer.
This novel interprets and dramatizes the October 1967 anti-war demonstration in Washington and the issues and politics involved.
Cover of the book Orientalism
Orientalism
By Edward W. Said.
Cover of the book The mismeasure of man
The mismeasure of man
By by Stephen Jay Gould.
This book was immediately hailed as a masterwork when first published in 1981, the answer to those who would rank people according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. And yet the idea of innate limits--of biology as destiny--dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to "The Bell Curve," whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by biologist Gould. In this revised edition, Dr. Gould traces the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness. Further, he has added five essays on questions of "The Bell Curve" in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general.--From publisher description.
Cover of the book The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order
The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order
By Samuel P. Huntington.
Based on the author's seminal article in Foreign Affairs, Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order is a provocative and prescient analysis of the state of world politics after the fall of communism. In this incisive work, the renowned political scientist explains how "civilizations" have replaced nations and ideologies as the driving force in global politics today and offers a brilliant analysis of the current climate and future possibilities of our world's volatile political culture. ... Publisher description.
Cover of the book We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families : stories from Rwanda
We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families : stories from Rwanda
By Philip Gourevitch.
An unforgettable firsthand account of a people's response to genocide and what it tells us about humanity. This remarkable debut book chronicles what has happened in Rwanda and neighboring states since 1994, when the Rwandan government called on everyone in the Hutu majority to murder everyone in the Tutsi minority. Though the killing was low-tech--largely by machete--it was carried out at shocking speed: some 800,000 people were exterminated in a hundred days. A Tutsi pastor, in a letter to his church president, a Hutu, used the chilling phrase that gives Philip Gourevitch his title. With keen dramatic intensity, Gourevitch frames the genesis and horror of Rwanda's "genocidal logic" in the anguish of its aftermath: the mass displacements, the temptations of revenge and the quest for justice, the impossibly crowded prisons and refugee camps. Through intimate portraits of Rwandans in all walks of life, he focuses on the psychological and political challenges of survival and on how the new leaders of postcolonial Africa went to war in the Congo when resurgent genocidal forces threatened to overrun central Africa. Can a country composed largely of perpetrators and victims create a cohesive national society? This moving contribution to the literature of witness tells us much about the struggle everywhere to forge sane, habitable political orders, and about the stubbornness of the human spirit in a world of extremity.
Cover of the book Fast food nation : the dark side of the all-American meal
Fast food nation : the dark side of the all-American meal
By Eric Schlosser.
An exploration of the fast food industry in the United States, from its roots to its long-term consequences.
Cover of the book Nickel and dimed : on (not) getting by in America
Nickel and dimed : on (not) getting by in America
By Barbara Ehrenreich.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job -- any job -- could be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on six to seven dollars an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered as a woefully inexperienced homemaker returning to the workforce. So began a grueling, hair raising, and darkly funny odyssey through the underside of working America. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.
Cover of the book The beauty myth : how images of beauty are used against women
The beauty myth : how images of beauty are used against women
By Naomi Wolf.
Wolf says the new obsession with women's appearance arose as part of a violent backlash against feminism, a political weapon imposing on women new restrictions.
Cover of the book The tipping point : how little things can make a big difference
The tipping point : how little things can make a big difference
By Malcolm Gladwell ; [with a new afterword by the author].
Ideas, products, messages and behaviors "spread just like viruses do." Behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes.
Cover of the book Guns, germs, and steel : the fates of human societies
Guns, germs, and steel : the fates of human societies
By Jared Diamond.
Guns, Germs, and Steel is a brilliant work answering the question of why the peoples of certain continents succeeded in invading other continents and conquering or displacing their peoples. This edition includes a new chapter on Japan and all-new illustrations drawn from the television series. Until around 11,000 BC, all peoples were still Stone Age hunter/gatherers. At that point, a great divide occurred in the rates that human societies evolved. In Eurasia, parts of the Americas, and Africa, farming became the prevailing mode of existence when indigenous wild plants and animals were domesticated by prehistoric planters and herders. As Jared Diamond vividly reveals, the very people who gained a head start in producing food would collide with preliterate cultures, shaping the modern world through conquest, displacement, and genocide. The paths that lead from scattered centers of food to broad bands of settlement had a great deal to do with climate and geography. But how did differences in societies arise? Why weren't native Australians, Americans, or Africans the ones to colonize Europe? Diamond dismantles pernicious racial theories tracing societal differences to biological differences. He assembles convincing evidence linking germs to domestication of animals, germs that Eurasians then spread in epidemic proportions in their voyages of discovery. In its sweep, Guns, Germs and Steel encompasses the rise of agriculture, technology, writing, government, and religion, providing a unifying theory of human history as intriguing as the histories of dinosaurs and glaciers. Thirty-two illustrations.
Cover of the book Freakonomics : [un economista poliÌticamente incorrecto explora el lado oculto de lo que nos afecta]
Freakonomics : [un economista políticamente incorrecto explora el lado oculto de lo que nos afecta]
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner ; traducción: Andrea Montero.
¿Qué resulta más peligroso, una pistola o una piscina? ¿Por qué continúan los traficantes de drogas viviendo con sus madres? Quizás éstas no sean las típicas preguntas que formula un economista, pero el autor no es un economista típico. Es un especialista que estudia la esencia y los enigmas de la vida cotidiana y cuyas conclusiones, con frecuencia, ponen patas arriba la sabiduría convencional. A través de ejemplos prácticos y una sarcástica perspicacia, Levitt y su coautor demuestran que la economía, en el fondo, representa el estudio de los incentivos: el modo en que las personas obtienen lo que desean, o necesitan, especialmente cuando otras personas desean o necesitan lo mismo. Este libro singular analiza el trasfondo de muchas de nuestras decisiones cotidianas demostrando que las leyes económicas pueden explicar el porqué de muchas de nuestras acciones; literalmente redefine el modo en que vemos el mundo.--Desde la descripción de la editorial.
Cover of the book The God delusion
The God delusion
By Richard Dawkins.
A preeminent scientist asserts the irrationallity of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society from the Crusades to 9/11. He critiques God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. In so doing, he makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just irrational, but potentially deadly. Dawkins has fashioned an impassioned, rigorous rebuttal to religion, to be embraced by anyone who sputters at the inconsistencies and cruelties that riddle the Bible, bristles at the inanity of "intelligent design," or agonizes over fundamentalism in the Middle East--or Middle America.--From publisher description.
Cover of the book The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11
The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11
By Lawrence Wright.
A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI's counterterrorism chief, John O'Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal. As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden ... the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole ... O'Neill's heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers ... Prince Turki's transformation from bin Laden's ally to his enemy ... the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks. The Looming Tower broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O'Neill's high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life-he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others' existence-and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.
Cover of the book The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century
The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century
By Thomas L. Friedman.
Offers a concise history of globalization, discussing a wide range of topics, from the September 11 terrorist attacks to the growth of the middle class in both China and India.
Cover of the book The forever war
The forever war
By Dexter Filkins.
A prizewinning "New York Times" correspondent chronicles a remarkable chain of events that begins with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continues with the attacks of 9/11, and moves on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Cover of the book The emperor of all maladies : a biography of cancer
The emperor of all maladies : a biography of cancer
By Siddhartha Mukherjee.
A "biography" of cancer from its origins to the epic battle to cure, control, and conquer it. A combination of medical history, cutting-edge science, and narrative journalism that transforms the listener's understanding of cancer and much of the world around them. The author provides a glimpse into the future of cancer treatments and offers a bold new perspective on the way doctors, scientists, philosophers, and lay people have observed and understood the human body for millennia.

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 200th 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

IndieFlix logoIf 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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