Author: Susanna Calkins
Lucy, a somewhat unconventional chambermaid living in seventeenth century England, gets caught up in a murder investigation of one of her friends who has been brutally slain. She battles the rough terrain of London, perseveres through a plague, and even dabbles in a bit of love and courtship.
What’s great about this book is that the author manages to convey realistically how it was like to live during this era. Great detail is woven into the narrative to explore the attitudes about women and working class people at the time and also how rumors and news gets circulated in small areas of the city. It was also interesting to read about what families did and had to sacrifice in a crisis, especially if word of a plague had broken out.
Susanna Calkins, a historian and professor of history, took nearly ten years to complete the manuscript for this debut novel, and I really looking forward to her next book in the series coming out next year. The novel is available at Acorn in our New Books section.
Author: Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel, one of the most celebrated indie rock bands of the ’90s, recently announced they will reunite for an international tour. It will be their first tour since the follow-up to their 1998 album — In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The news inspired me to listen to that strange and wonderful album and, luckily, Acorn is one of a handful of libraries that owns a copy. The album definitely has devoted fans, but it’s not for everyone. Jeff Magnum’s nasal, often shrill voice, the full horn section, and the surreal lyrics make for a unique and interesting sound. If you haven’t heard of Neutral Milk Hotel and you’re interested in independent rock music, check it out.
Author: Rachel Kushner
I’m currently reading this novel, and it’s just blowing me away. Pun intended. Reno, our quietly fearless protagonist, finds her way through the curious intersection of motorcycle racing, art, mercurial Italian aristocrats, and subversive politics. Set in the mid-1970s and careening through rough-hewn Nevada, a seedy, teeming NYC, and Red Brigades-era Italy, Kushner’s writing crackles with a nervy vitality that perfectly captures both the idealism and inevitable destruction of the time. Acorn owns The Flamethrowers, and you can request it through SWAN.
I’m really happy with Zinio, Acorn’s new digital magazine service. Zinio lets you download complete issues to your computer or tablet—which you get to keep! Our selection offers something for just about everyone, including sportos (ESPN: The Magazine, Golf Tips), newshounds (Newsweek, Foreign Policy), health enthusiasts (Shape, Prevention), brides-to-be (Martha Stewart Weddings), busy chefs (Every Day with Rachael Ray, Taste of Home, Eating Well), culture buffs (National Geographic, Smithsonian, Chicago Magazine), music fans (Vibe, Rolling Stone), women looking to unwind (O: The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Martha Stewart Living), and tech mavens (PC Mag, Macworld).
Zinio is compatible with most devices, including Kindle Fires, iPads, Androids, and Nook HD and HD+ Tablets. I suggest surveying the instructions before accessing Zinio. Please Contact Us with any questions about this service.
Author: Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
If you’re looking for a new Blues album to check out, I’d recommend Get Up!, the new album by Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. I’m not always a fan of what he puts out, but Harper is an undeniably versatile guitar player and I really enjoyed this album. Musselwhite is a harmonica legend and he proves that status with this album. I particularly like the song “I Don’t Believe A Word You Say”. Get Up! is located on the New Shelf and is available through SWAN.
Author: Bryan Fuller
Having been familiar with Thomas Harris’s novels regarding Hannibal Lecter, I was definitely intrigued by the new NBC series very loosely based off of this literary character. Hugh Dancy makes an appearance as Will Graham, a mildly autistic and anti-social FBI specialist who can fully empathize with psychopaths and murderers; Will then knows what that individual is thinking, feeling, etc. and he helps the FBI track them down before anyone else gets killed. But there are devastating consequences for Will – he mentally can’t handle the strain of his FBI assignments and must seek counseling – from the one and only Hannibal Lecter himself.
I am very interested to see how the first season plays out.The show is graphic and has created some controversial buzz. However, if you’re interested in the psychology behind murder, then this is a new show you should check out.
Author: Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange’s This Is Running for Your Life: Essays is an incomparable resource in exploring the intersection between individuality and images. Though Orange’s essays circle a similar theme, the subjects range from contemporary cinema to Facebook to marathon running. Intellectualizing social media or personal experiences isn’t anything novel but the breadth and candor of Orange’s insights are both unique and startling. For readers who enjoy scope over brevity. This collection can be ordered through SWAN.
Author: Lucy Knisley
Former Chicagoan Lucy Knisley has created something of a strange hybrid with this graphic novel – part memoir, part travelogue, part cookbook. She doesn’t give us a strong narrative line; instead we are treated to a bunch of little stories about the author’s love of all things gastronomic. I would probably not call the writing here great, but it’s good enough, and all of the art is filled with grace and charm and love for the food she’s depicting. If nothing else, reading this book will make you ravenous, and there’s a bunch of fabulous recipes here that might just be able to help you out on that front. This book is available through SWAN.
The DPLA launched only a week or so ago but it’s a great resource for those who like history. The Digital Public Library of America is a web resource that displays historical information and primary sources for not only educators, scholars, and librarians but also the general public. Digitized images are scattered throughout and you can search items by time period or place. I like the DPLA’s Exhibitions page, where they have online exhibits that feature unique information and original photographs. There’s one right now entitled, “Boston Sport Temples”, and with Boston being in the media as of late it was really interesting to see the original photos for the opening of Braves Field and Fenway Park – how it looked back then, what people wore, and how many people filled the stands – and the bonus is that I didn’t have to travel to Boston to see it!
My introduction to the poetry of Robinson Jeffers came at the perfect time – the last week of National Poetry Month and immediately after reading The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. The Swerve is this month’s choice for Barcodes, the library’s nonfiction book club. Greenblatt’s work is the story of the rediscovery of Lucretius’s epic poem De Rerum Naturain in the 15th century. I enjoyed Lucretius’s work, but I love Jeffers’s poetry. His philosophy is similar to Lucretius and Epicurus, but with a Modern perspective. If you enjoy nature writing or are interested in Jeffers’s “inhuman” philosophy, you can find his books in SWAN.
Author: National Public Radio
NPR has been airing an excellent series on coffee, which explores the science, historical impact, and artistry of the world’s favorite stimulant. I particularly enjoyed the segment on a gracious tradition in Naples, Italy, called caffè sospeso, where a customer will buy two cups of coffee–one for themselves and another to be redeemed by someone who can’t afford to buy their own.
Jerry Seinfeld probably best sums up coffee in all of its grim majesty: “I think the answer is we all need a little help, and the coffee’s a little help with everything — social, energy, don’t know what to do next, don’t know how to start my day, don’t know how to get through this afternoon, don’t know how to stay alert. We want to do a lot of stuff; we’re not in great shape. We didn’t get a good night’s sleep. We’re a little depressed. Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup.”
With the rise of the internet, long pieces of information such as news articles and exposés have been turned into snippets that are read or skimmed as we “surf the web”. Add to that pretty, bright pictures or graphics and infographics is what you end up with. It’s a more than a chart or graph; it’s a way to present what might be sometimes difficult material in layman’s terms so that practically anyone can understand it. Go ahead and just type in “infographic” into Google and you are flooded with results that are usually colorful and display genuinely interesting information. Infographics have been around for some time, but it’s a form of visual media that’s definitely become quite popular only recently. Two of the best sites that I’ve seen are Daily Infographic and Cool Infographics. Both feature a new infograph every day (if not, then every other day) and displays enthralling information about health hazards (like how many cups of coffee does it take to give you the “jitters”), new and upcoming movies, or even historical information about the world. It’s a wonderful marvel for trivia buffs or for people just looking for new information to stuff into their brains.
