Published on Monroe County Public Library, Indiana - mcpl.info (http://mcpl.info)

For the Love of Reading

The Transit of Venus--Books

ISBN:

9780307700179

Tonight if you are lucky and the sky doesn't cloud up, you will be able to observe one of astronomy’s rare celestial events, the transit of Venus. But be careful, and don't look directly at the sun without using safe viewing glasses or lenses. If you don't own those, you can attend one of the free events listed below. If you miss tonight's transit, alas, you won’t catch another in your lifetime because the next one won’t occur until 2117.

I’ve been reading about the transit of Venus and how an earlier one in the 18^th century really expanded our knowledge of the solar system. It also was the earliest example of a large and cooperative international scientific expedition.

We have two new books that report on this scientific quest. Andrea Wulf's Chasing Venus: the Race to Measure the Heavens reports on the work and incredible adventures that were undertaken by scientists worldwide in trying to observe and make measurements for the transit that occurred on June 6, 1761. In an age when it took several months for a letter to cross the oceans and a few more months for a response, a scientist in England organized this great scientific undertaking. In remote corners of the world, scientists from Britain, Russia, India, Germany, the Read more »

Posted by Dory L. on Jun 5, 2012

Summer Reading - Not Just for Kids!

Don't forget - Summer Reading isn't just for kids! Though MCPL has a very popular and excellent reading program for kids from birth to 12, we have opportunities for teens and adults as well.

DreamIt Teens ages 13-20 are able to participate in our Dream It - Do It Summer Reading Program. Teens can earn points by a combination of books read, programs attended, computer questions answered and/or book reviews written. Ten points earn the choice of a paperback book starting July 1. All entries will be saved for a grand prize drawing for one of two Kindle eBook readers later in August. Pick up a Teen Summer Reading Program Game Board at the Main Library, Ellettsville, or Bookmobile Information desks to learn more and get started!

Adults are also encouraged to participate in the Adult Summer Reading Program. There are 6 reading ideas for inspiration and winners will be selected weekly. Enter at the Main Library, Ellettsville Branch, Bookmobile and/or online. Read more »

Posted by Sarah B. on Jun 5, 2012

Miss Fuller

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ISBN:

9781586421953

"I am absurdly fearful and various omens have combined to give me a dark feeling ... It seems to me that my future upon earth will soon close ... I have a vague expectation of some crisis—I know not what." Shortly before returning to America from Europe, the famous 19^th century feminist Margaret Fuller wrote these words.

This small elegantly designed historical novel is a pleasure to read. Besides the famous activist Fuller, it presents portraits of other famous 19^th century literary heroes including Thoreau, Emerson, and Hawthorne. But these are basically side characters; it’s really about Margaret Fuller, the activist, writer, and revolutionary who changed the world’s thinking about women.

It’s divided into two sections. The first tells the story of Fuller’s shipwreck off Fire Island, New York. This section is told primarily through the viewpoint of Annie Thoreau, the famous naturalist’s younger sister and helpmate. What makes Annie’s viewpoint interesting is that at the beginning she does not like Margaret. Like many in the politically active town of Concord, Annie felt that by concentrating on the problems of women, Fuller was stealing fire from the anti-slave movement. Read more »

Posted by Dory L. on Jun 4, 2012

Wild & Other Hiking Related Books

wild The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,663 mile long trail reaching from the Canadian border in northern border in Washington, through Oregon, to the Mexico border in southern California. Hiking this trail can take 4-6 months and it purposefully avoids civilization. The Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains make for both difficult hiking and beautiful unspoiled scenery.

After a trying few years after the death of her mother, author Cheryl Strayed started her PCT trail hike despite her outdoor inexperience. Her book, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail chronicling her hike came out this past spring and was well reviewed. I promptly put this book on my to-read list as doing a long hike lingers at the bottom of my life to-do list.

Looks like I will have to wait to read this memoir a little bit longer as this past week Oprah selected Wild as the first title of her new Oprah Book Club 2.0. As of this morning there were quite a few holds on this book, but I'm thinking the wait just might be worth it. Read more »

Posted by Sarah B. on Jun 4, 2012

Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

NorthernLight Grace Brown, a 20 year old skirt factory employee, was murdered in 1906 just outside an Adirondack mountain resort by Chester Gillette. Gillette was arrested soon after Grace’s body was recovered in a lake and he was later executed in a New York prison.

This gruesome true story serves as part of the backdrop for the very non-gruesome and excellent young adult novel, A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. The main character, Mattie Gokey, receives a bundle of letters from a guest at the resort and makes a promise to burn them. But when Grace’s body is later pulled out of the lake, Mattie becomes unsure what the right thing to do. Maybe the letters hold answers?

Mattie is also torn between her duty to her family and her dream of going to college. Her family lives in a rural area and they work extra hard making a living off of the land, made especially difficult since her mother has passed away and there are three younger girls to look after.

Read more »

Posted by Sarah B. on May 30, 2012

Books Plus for June

calebscrossing In Caleb’s Crossing, Pulitzer-Prize winner Geraldine Brooks returns to the seventeenth century setting she captured so well in Year of Wonders, but this time around she's chosen the New World for her location. The novel tells the story of a deep friendship between a young Pilgrim servant girl, Bethia, and a member of the local Native American tribe, Caleb Cheeshahteaumauck, who later became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

Before becoming a novelist, Brooks was an investigative reporter who covered the international beat. She brings her investigative and research skills to this novel, and a sense of narrative developed by writing many pieces of journalism and several nonfiction books.

Please join us this Sunday as we discuss this novel with its historical American themes. Here’s what the New York Times said about it: "Caleb’s Crossing could not be more enlightening and involving. Beautifully written from beginning to end, it reconfirms Geraldine Brooks’ reputation as one of our most supple and insightful novelists."

Books Plus meets the first Sunday of each month. All are welcome. Join the discussion or simply come to listen.

No registration necessary. Drop in.

2 p.m., First Sundays

See the full summer schedule below. Read more »

Posted by Sarah B. on May 29, 2012

Pop by Gordon Korman

A book about football in the summer? Sure! Pro teams are already running organized team activities, and high schools & colleges will be training hard while most of us are sipping lemonade. Gordon Korman's Pop is the perfect summer football book. Marcus is the new kid in upstate New York's Kennesaw, a former star quarterback at this old Kansas high school. Read more »

Posted by Chris H. on May 25, 2012

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

IceCream Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner and hot days are near. For many people this means firing up the grill. Interested in shaking up your grill routine? The library has loads of cookbooks with many new ideas – for both meat eaters and vegetarians.

Maybe grilling isn’t your thing. Once the weather turns hot, and the fresh fruits start arriving at the Market and the grocery stores all I want to do is make ice cream. I recently checked out the excellent Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts by Peggy Fallon and marked about 20 pages of interesting and often easy recipes to try including Chocolate Chipotle Ice Cream, Black Forest Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate and Cherries, and Quick Caramel-Pecan Light Ice Cream. There are also chapters on sorbets and non-dairy frozen desserts.

The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein delivers over 500 recipes covering many different types of ice creams, sorbets and granitas. He also gives ideas for recipe variations and toppings. Pictures aren’t included, but this serves as a fairly straight forward reference and would be great for beginners. Read more »

Posted by Sarah B. on May 24, 2012

Blood, Bones & Butter

BloodBonesButter Before I became a librarian, I worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years. I learned to cook from my dad and had dreams of going to culinary school to become a chef. Career changes happen, but I am still drawn to cooking shows and spend a lot of time reading books about food, food policies, eating, and food history –think Bittman, Kurlansky, & Kingsolver. When it came out recently, I knew I had to read Blood, Bones & Butter: the Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Hamilton is owner and head chef at Prune, a well-reviewed and established restaurant in New York. This book sets out her love of food from her parents to her on-the-fly education in New York City catering. Her path to recognition and establishment later in life is both gory and determined. Being a woman in this business can be ugly and Hamilton both investigates and dismisses this fact. What she does well is understanding the connection between food and family and what it means to be part of this process on both an intimate and grander scale.

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Posted by Sarah B. on May 22, 2012

Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History

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ISBN:

9781554078974

If you're an animal lover (and who isn't?), you'll love this book. Fifty Animals is full of fascinating facts and anecdotes that describe our symbiotic and other relationships with interesting creatures through time.

Do you admire your friend's bright red shirt? If so, tell her that for centuries the best and most durable red dye came from Mexico and was shipped as far away as Asia. This red dye came from thousands of insects named chochineal. It takes about 70,000 insects to make just a pound of it. Since the advent of chemical dyes, it's seldom used in textiles any longer, but it now employed as a safe colorant for food.

The lowly donkey otherwise known as ass, has a reputation for being incredibly dumb, when in fact, they are smart, very adaptable animals that have carried our heavy loads for centuries throughout the world.

The wise and majestic elephant--my favorite mammal--we unfortunately coerced into war. In fact, the sight of just one of these intelligent beasts carrying archers and slingers reportedly so terrified the defenders of early Britain that the poor Anglo-Saxons were routed by the Roman army. Read more »

Posted by Dory L. on May 19, 2012