The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas
I was so disappointed when I read the front page article in the Parsons Sun yesterday. Davy Rothbart who wrote the book The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas and is the creator of Found Magazine was at Service Valley Elementary School last Saturday and I never saw an announcement in the newspaper or anywhere about it. I would have loved to attend this event, but I never heard about it. We have the book by the way if you would like to check it out. All I can say is Davy if you are ever back in Labette County stop by Parsons Public Library, we would love to have you visit!
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club has changed its focus several times over the years. It started out featuring little known contemporary authors followed by a hiatus then there was a focus on the classics and now to memoir. Oprah's latest title is A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. No I have not read it, but I have read reviews and critiques. As with many of the books chosen by Oprah this is not a comforting and happy ever after book. In this book Frey writes about his drug and alcohol addiction and recovery without the Twelve Step Program. If this sounds like your type of book or if you read everything recommended by Oprah then stop by or contact the library to reserve a copy.
Nobel Prize in Literature
Harold Pinter, an English playwright was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. I checked our library catalog and we happen to have two of his plays, The Homecoming and Old Times. We have a pretty good collection of plays at our library due to the fact that Jane Mast, who was director of the library for many years ,was involved in the theatre before becoming a librarian. I am always surprised at what I find back in the 812's (the Dewey Decimal number for plays).
The National Book Award finalists were also announced this week. I was surprised to once again bump into Joan Didion's new book, The Year of Magical Thinking which made the nonfiction list. I first ran across the title while perusing my spouse's stack of magazines last weekend where it was reveiwed in the New York Review of Books. On Tuesday the New York Times Book Review appeared on my desk with Joan's book featured on the front page and then yesterday as I was reading People magazine to catch up on Prince William's love life once again there was a feature story about the book. It is on the order list for the library so expect to see it here in the next couple of weeks.
See also: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4866010
Events for Teens
Several events are scheduled for this week and next for the 12 - 18 crowd. On October 14th at 2 p.m. we will be showing a movie involving a pair of pants and girls. There will be a Teen Advisory Board meeting at 5 p.m. on the same day. On October 21st we will be showing a scary movie at 2 p.m. There is no school scheduled in Parsons for both of these days so all teens should sleep in late and then come to the library for a movie and snacks.
On October 22nd from 2 - 4 there will be a Teen Read Week Voting Party. For more information about Teen Read Week and a list of nominated books for the Teens Top Ten Vote look here.
New Adult Books
Here are some of the new adult books that just came in today:
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, (Book Eleven in The Wheel of Time series)
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The Planets by Dava Sobel
Symptoms of Withdrawal by Christopher Kennedy Lawford
Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie
Warren Beatty : A Private Man by Suzanne Finstad (Large Print)
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
I was intrigued by the Warren Beatty and Christopher Lawford books because I always enjoy the picture sections in biographies and then after looking at the pictures I can't help, but want to read the book. While looking through the Warren Beatty I was thrilled to see a picture of Warren with William Inge. William Inge is from my hometown of Independence, Kansas and since its beginning I have tried to attend the William Inge Festival. William Inge wrote Splendor in the Grass which starred Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood. There are also lots of great pictures in the book of Warren with Natalie Wood. I read Natasha: the biography of Natalie Wood by Suzanne Finstad a couple of years ago so this new biography should compliment it well. Our library has the Natalie Wood biography and the video Splendor in the Grass available for checkout.
Storytime
Storytime happened today at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. like it does on most Wednesdays. Having all of the kids here especially on a school day brings about a happy, bubbly energy. Today was monkey day with our featured story being Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow. Next week our children's librarian Miss Ellynne will be reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and our new children's room assistant Emily is working on a cool art project using leaves. This fall our morning storytime has been almost a full house, but we have lots of room for more kids in the afternoon. We also have lots of new babies coming along with older siblings. If you would like to bring a child to storytime then please drop by or check our schedule at: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/library/parsons/children.htm
October Displays
We have new displays up for the month. If you stop by the library you can also enter our drawings. This is our display for The Secret Life of Bees read-alikes. If you liked this book then we have suggestions for other books that may be of interest. There are also many internet sites that help you find read-alikes. One of our staff favorites is www.waterborolibrary.org/bklista.htm .
New Month. New Blog.
The October - December newsletter is now available at the library or at
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/library/parsons/newsletter.htm .
An Alfred Hitchcock double feature is scheduled for Friday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m. at the library. Food and fun for adults over age 18 only.
