Sarah B.'s blog

It seems common knowledge that riding your bike to work is a low carbon activity. What you might not know if that if you fuel your bike ride with air-freighted off season asparagus, then your carbon footprint increases dramatically and you'd be better off commuting buy Hummer. The art and science of taking into account many aspects of what constitutes a carbon footprint has often been ignored.
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I am deep in the middle of Adam Hochschild's new book, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 about the anti-war movement before and during World War I (and is thus far excellent). And I recently slogged through British historian Antony Beevor's 500+ page D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, which was a bit too detailed, but very fair in representing Allied incompetence and portrayed some of the major players, including Montgomery, Eisenhower and Patton in a new light for me. Can you tell I was a history major? Standing out so far in this recent WWI/WWII kick was Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in WWII by Indiana University history professor, James H. Madison.
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The Edgar Awards are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America and are often considered the most prestigious awards for the mystery genre. This year's awards were presented this weekend and the winners include:

Best Novel: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Best First Novel: Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva

Best Paperback Original: Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard

Best Fact Crime: Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry
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It's Bloomington Reads Week! The Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools is hosting a week of reading related activities designed to focus on the importance of everyday literacy. For more information visit their website and help Monroe County focus on reading and literacy.

EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27,11:30 to 1:00
Bring Your Own Book and Read Monroe County Courthouse Lawn
Pack a lunch, a book and a blanket and spend your lunch hour reading.
Sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, Monroe County Public Library, & FMCCS
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Balmy May will soon be here. And on the very first of the month, Elizabeth will lead a discussion about an American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain's famous novel was first published in England in 1894, but still generates controversy to this day. Earlier this year, a scholar published an edited version that cleaned up some of the words, many of them based on race. The reaction was immediate and, on the whole, negative. Many people prefer the book the way Twain conceived and wrote it.
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National Park Week is April 16-24 and has been created to celebrate this country's 394 National Parks. "This year's focus, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America's national parks play in both."

Indiana isn't awash in National Parks, but we are blessed with amazing State Parks, State Forests and lots of opportunities for hiking and connecting with nature. Despite some possible rainy weather, what better time to celebrate nature!
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The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded this week and include awards for letters.

Fiction
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

History
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner

Biography or Autobiography
Washington : A Life by Ron Chernow

Poetry
The Best of It: New and Selected Poems by Kay Ryan

General Nonfiction
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Do you know what my favorite thing about the library is? Everything! Ok, maybe I am biased because I work here but I do wonder about people who haven't discovered the riches within. Popular magazines? Check. The latest Michael Koryta? Check. The Wall Street Journal? Check. Nora Roberts, book discussions, graphic novels, Paolo Bacigalupi, and downloadable audio and ebooks? Check and check.
Why the celebration of the library?

It's National Library Week!
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Have you ever read the back of your shampoo bottle and wondered what all those ingredients actually are? Then No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt is for you. The beauty product industry is both huge and powerful and generally don't want consumers to know that most of their products contain thousands of chemicals that can readily be absorbed through our skin. Many of these chemicals are known irritants, and some are possible carcinogens. Read more »

Who says suburban living has to be dull and unimaginative? Welcome Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia, which takes traditional suburban ideal living and turns it on it's head. This book is bursting with imagination as it tells 15 short, illustrated short stories filled with wonder, loss, peace, hope and redemption. Not to make it sound all like butterflies and flowers, there is a slight bizarre and surreal edge to these tales that will leave the reader both wondering and and inspired. Read more »